I ride my bike right into the giant hanger we use as a garage. When I turn the engine off, the silence assaults my ears. I prefer the noise and vibration of the motorcycle—the riot calms the demons inside me.
“Deke.” My alpha steps out from behind the Humvee. He’s not fooling anyone—I scented him as soon as I rode up.
“Alpha,” I say. A growl tinges my voice without me meaning it too. My wolf is amped up, ready to fight. Like always.
“You smell like that human,” Rafe says.
I grunt and pick up a clean cloth hanging from a hook on the wall by the tool rack. I swipe it over my leather seat, pretending to clean off a bit of mud.
“You think I didn’t scent her on you last night?” Rafe jerks his nose into the air and sniffs. “Civilian. Sadie Diaz. Kindergarten teacher. Her ancestors were original Spanish settlers in the area. Father’s on the city council. Scott Sears is her ex.”
A growl rumbles in my chest. “You looked into her.”
“Course I did. I haven’t seen you so interested in a human before.”
“It’s nothing,” I lie. Which is stupid because any shifter can tell when someone’s lying. I toss the cloth away. “I’ll probably never see her again.” My wolf snarls at the thought.
“You won’t see her again,” my alpha says firmly.
Fuck this. I snarl again, this time out loud, and stomp out of the hanger.
“You can’t claim her, Deke,” Rafe calls after me. “You don't know what your wolf will do.”
He’s right. My wolf is a monster, out of control. The only thing I’m good at is killing. And one day, I’ll go too far, and my pack will have to put me down.
I can’t see Sadie again.
It’s for the best.
Chapter 4
Sadie
This morning my eyes are gritty, and I’m exhausted. If my kids or fellow teachers notice my smile is a bit forced, they don’t say anything.
I didn’t cry over Deke. I barely defended him to my friends. They left after I gave them a half-hearted promise to let them know if Scott makes another move.
I don’t care about Scott. My thoughts are consumed by the big biker and our supernova kiss. I barely knew Deke, and my heart feels empty, like he already made a place for himself, and now he’s gone.
I bring the motorcycle cookies to my classroom. Charlie stole two last night, but there are still plenty.
We’re out for recess when one of my students tugs on my skirt. “Miss Sadie, there’s a man here to see you.”
Sure enough, there’s Scott in navy slacks and a tie with a bouquet of red roses crossing the parking lot towards our enclosed playground. My lip curls. Roses? So cliché. I pull out my phone to text Charlie that she won the bet.
I signal to my fellow teachers that I’m going to go deal with this and march to the gate. Scott smiles when he sees me. I can practically see him flip a switch to “charming.” His thinning hair blows in the breeze. No amount of fancy product can hide the fact that he’ll eventually go bald. It’s petty of me to look forward to it, but if Scott cared half as much for being a decent person as he does his grooming, he’d might be tolerable to be around maybe.
Why did I ever date him? Was I really that desperate for my dad’s approval?
“Scott.” I cross my arms over my chest. “What are you doing here?”
“Council meeting next door. But I knew I would see you.” He proffers the flowers. I raise a brow.
“I can’t accept these. We’re not together any more.” Darn him for putting me in this position in front of my students.
The smile slips a little from Scott’s face. “Why not? Sadie, we were good together.”
I can’t help it. I half laugh. It’s so far from the truth, it’s funny. Amazing I never saw it that way before.
Scott’s smile is gone now, and I catch a glimpse of something else, something ugly. “You’re not acting like yourself, Sadie. You’re not usually like this.”
“Maybe this is who I am. Maybe before I was too nice. I deserve to have you respect my boundaries.”
“Is it that biker? His influence? Are you really seeing him?” He shakes his head. “Your dad is going to flip.”
I’m about to answer when the roar of motorcycles interrupts. Two Harley Davidsons roll up to the parking lot next door. The huge bikers pilot their bikes into a shared parking space, then dismount. The sunlight glints off their aviator shades. They’re in dark jeans that hug their powerful thighs and black leather jackets. They look like they just walked off the set of the most badass action movie ever filmed.
As they get closer, I recognize them. Deke and one of the other guys from the plaza two nights ago. A flush rolls up from my toes, heat climbing steadily towards my cheeks. My heartbeat thuds in my ears.
I’m not the only one who notices the bikers. Half my class is pressed against the fence, pointing to the motorcycles.
“So cool,” one little girl shouts. “Miss Sadie, those are motorcycles. Like the cookies you brought us.”
A breeze kicks up, and Deke’s head snaps my way. I give a little wave and lean back on the fence to compensate for my suddenly weak knees. Deke immediately alters his course to detour away from the school entrance to where I stand. After a second’s hesitation, so does his biker buddy.
Deke arrives first, his shades pointed right at me. “Sadie.”
“Deke,” I greet him, my voice catching a little. He looks good. Behind him, his buddy scowls at me. It’s not the blond from last night but a different guy who clears his throat as if he doesn’t want Deke to forget he’s there.
Deke steps to the side and jerks his head to his buddy. “This is Rafe.”
“Hi, Rafe,” I say. We’re all standing in a loose circle, me with my back to the fence, Scott to my left, Deke right in front of me, and his buddy at his left elbow. Not awkward at all.
Scott clears his throat, annoyed at being left out. “Excuse us,” he says, and his voice is high and whiny compared to Deke’s deep rumble.
“Sears,” Deke says, with a brief glance at the flowers Scott brought.
“Adalwulf.” Scott tries to face off with Deke, but Deke refuses to look at him.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask both Deke and Rafe.
“Council meeting. City’s hiring us for some security,” Rafe answers. Deke just looks at me. I can’t see his eyes behind his shades, but my insides quiver like I’m stipped naked.
Nope, did not imagine the intensity between us. And it isn’t going away. It’s getting stronger.
“Cookies?” asks Deke, raising a brow.
“You heard that?” I am full on blushing now.
“You gave mine away.”
“You left without taking them.”
This time both Rafe and Scott clear their throats, and I realize Deke and I are talking like it’s only the two of us.
“So you guys do security?” I ask Rafe.
“We do. We’re former military.”
“Rafe was my staff sergeant,” Deke says.
A small hand tugs the edge of my sweater. “Miss Sadie, can they come next week?” Jenny, one of my kindergarteners, asks.