I need a shower.

“Zoey—” Warner starts, but I whirl on him, unwilling to be scolded for defending myself.

“He talked at me like I was a thing.” My temper rises at the memory, and I glare at Warner, suddenly not feeling too warm and fuzzy toward men in general. “So, I gave him a taste of his own medicine. And I hope he chokes on the bitter taste. He deserved it.”

We stare at each other for a moment before Warner nods. “You’re right.”

“You agree that he deserved it?”

“Yes.” Warner scoops up one of my hands and presses a kiss to my palm before offering me a smirk with burning eyes. “But I was referring to the first night we met.”

I try to remember what exactly he might be referencing. Warner doesn’t let me struggle for long.

“You’re way more than kinda intimidating.”

34

WARNER

When Zoey drops me back off at work after lunch, I’m smiling. An hour of eating and getting her to laugh is a good way to spend my break.

But my happiness evaporates the second I see Ross’s scowl across the worksite. It’s aimed at Zoey’s bumper.

If Ross were a human guy, he’d probably keep his anger to himself, maybe throw out some insulting comments the next time he crossed paths with Zoey.

But Ross isn’t human. He’s wolf. And what’s more, he’s an asshole.

From his angry expression, he’s still smarting from Zoey’s put-down.

That means the next time the two of them are in the same room, things could get a lot worse than some harsh words.

Werewolves hold grudges. I’ve seen it plenty of times over my life.

Most often, it’s something small, like how Tanya never misses a chance to stick a mocking note on the back of Trent, the guy who harassed Isaac in middle school for being scrawny. To this day, half the time I cross paths with Trent in town, he’s got a yellow sticky note on his back that says he’s dense or he wears lacy panties.

Annoying, but harmless.

Moose, owner of The Rabbit Hole, heard one of the pack members complaining about the selection of beers he had on tap. It’s been six months, and the bartender still won’t serve the guy anything other than water.

Hilarious, but still harmless.

Courtney had a different experience. Twin brothers Jordan and Anthony remind me a lot of Ross. Young wolves that see their powers as proof that they’re badass. One of them, maybe both, was interested in Courtney. I wasn’t there when she turned them down, but whatever she said made it clear there was zero chance. Instead of accepting her decision and moving on, the brothers took the rejection as a personal offense.