Pack Mentality: A Wolf Alone

Chapter 1

"So is sex with a werewolf different than with a . . . non-werewolf?" There wasn't an ounce of sarcasm in Dean's voice as he sat on the hood of Seth's SUV and gazed out into the dense forest.

Becky set down her coffee before she could scald herself with it. "Dean!"

"What? We all know you two have sex." Dean looked legitimately confused at her shock until she pointed at the leash and collar he was holding. Seth never wore them unless some unsuspecting humans wandered past and he had to pretend to be a dog. "What, the leash? Some people are into that, Irish. I don't judge."

"That's not what I meant!" Becky shook her head and let out a long breath, mostly just to see it curl up into the chilly air. Waiting in the SUV would have been more comfortable, but Seth had been having problems shifting back to his human form lately, so they wanted to be able to get to him quickly if necessary.

"Then what?" When Dean finally clued in, he rolled his eyes and his hand—and almost tumbled off the SUV. "I didn't mean . . . you know, when he's a wolf-wolf. Obviously. I just meant in general. Like the difference between fucking a wrestler and a non-wrestler, that sort of thing."

Becky brought her cup back up to her mouth again, hoping it and her fluffy mittens would hide most of her blush. "It's hard to know what to . . . attribute to Seth being a werewolf and what's just . . . him. I mean, I've never been afraid of him or anything." Seth had been advised against having sex on full-moon nights, but they had come dangerously close more than once. So far nothing had happened, but Seth was torn between carnal curiosity and his ever-present worry about hurting her. "It's not like he howls or anything. . . ."

Dean leaned back on his elbows and chuckled. "I bet he would," he teased, "if you asked him to."

"And people say I'm horrible. Honestly." Becky couldn't help but grin, though. In some ways, hanging around with Dean was like someone had taken her unfiltered voice out of her head and plunked it in a separate body. Seth had worried that Dean and Becky would butt heads too often; now he was more worried about them ganging up on him. Roman had a wholesome, steady vibe that made people feel instantly at ease with him, and he was a natural moderator—but that didn't mean he didn't take some shots at Seth too. "How are things with you and Renee?"

"Nice deflection, Irish. And no, I'm not telling you if we use leashes, so don't bother asking." A loud thump made him straighten up. "Was that you?"

Becky shook her head, gazing around the SUV. They weren't in Seth's regular spot even though they were close to his home, but it was still heavily wooded and sparsely travelled; on the hour-long drive, they only saw four other cars heading the same direction, and the road through their particular patch of forest had been empty ever since they had arrived. "Maybe something fell in the back?" She had started to say shifted instead of fell, but caught herself; a lot of words she had taken for granted before now felt loaded.

"Shouldn't be anything back there but a spare go-bag for Seth." Dean slid down from the hood and went around to the back, popping open the rear door and peering inside. "Nope, everything looks fine in here."

Then Becky caught the barest flick of motion out of the corner of her eye, so small it could have been a wayward eyelash coming loose. Staying as still as she could, she inched her phone out of her jacket pocket and sent Dean a quick text: Quiet. I thought I saw something.

To her constant surprise, Dean didn't have his phone programmed with a litany of obnoxious notification sounds. A brief ping was all she heard and then some soft swearing before the SUV shook a bit beneath her; Dean had shut the door as gently as possible, but it was still heavy. She shut her phone off and angled the screen so it was like a dark mirror, and she watched him come up behind her. "What did you see?" Even with him leaning up against her arm, she barely heard his hushed words.