Wolf3are (4 page)

“
I'm sorry,” Chris said as he fell back against the loveseat, staring out into space. “I . . . I should go.” He stood to leave.

“
Chris.” I flew to my feet, but before I could take two steps towards the door he was gone.

What in the hell just happened? I sat down, curling my fingers into my hair. The second the tears began flowing, I turned off the lights, resigning myself to cry in the dark so that no one could see me from the outside, not that anyone would come look through my window. It just felt safer in the dark, somehow.

That night, I cried myself to sleep, but when I woke up the next morning, it was with new resolve to finish my interviews. In the end, this was only a job. I couldn't afford to have feelings for Chris. Besides, it had probably just been the alcohol that had caused him to act in such a way.

Devon arrived early, as usual, to pick me up for breakfast. This time, he had even more pep in his step, due to shedding his omega rank.

“
You're awfully happy this morning,” I teased him, pretending like I didn't know what had happened at the hierarchy trials.

“
Of course I am.” He beamed at me. “I got to pass the shit sandwich on to someone else.”

“
I bet you wish you could have passed me on to someone else too.”

“
Nonsense. This is still easier than most of the jobs out there. I wouldn't dream of giving up my free ride.” Devon cocked an eyebrow at me, and I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

Breakfast was a little strange without Chris sitting across from me. Now, it was the very loud and rough Sasha that I had to contend with. If it wasn't for the events that had transpired the night before, I might have been tempted to leave the alphas and betas and go sit with Chris instead, but I was still a bit too nervous.

“
You interview me after breakfast today, eh?” Sasha said, her thin face all excitement.

“
How do you not have a hangover?” I asked, amazed at how lively she was after the night of partying. Even Emmett was holding his head in pain.

“
Russian women know how to hold their alcohol. Not like you puny Americans and your pussy beer.”

I had no idea what to say to that. Every word that came out of Sasha's mouth blew me away, the sheer bluntness of the way that she spoke. It was obvious she feared nothing.

“
I'll interview you after breakfast,” I told her, just wanting to get it out of the way.

“
I show my biiiiiig house. Make your room seem itty bitty.” She squished her fingers together.

I wanted to tell Sasha that I had already been given the tour by Emmett, and that the two houses were exactly the same, but I was too intimidated by her to open my mouth again. This was one bitch I definitely did not want to piss off.

After lunch, I followed Sasha to her house. The place was so new to her that she hadn't even moved her stuff inside yet. Still, Sasha gave me the grand tour as if she had lived there all the while.

“
Is this your first time as female alpha?” I asked when we returned to the living room.

“
Yes. First time as alpha, but won't be last,” she insisted with a proud smile.

Unlike Emmett, Sasha didn't offer me a drink. Eager to get the interview started, she plopped down on her leather soda, leaving the recliner for me.

“
You ask whatever you want. Don't be shy,” Sasha told me, staring at my notepad with enthusiasm as I flipped it to a blank page and began writing her name down.

“
What's your last name?” I asked after wracking my brain to remember. Lord knows I wouldn't be able to spell it once she said it.

“
Abakumov,” Sasha said, and then thankfully spelled it for me afterward.

“
Are you originally from Russia?”

“
Yes. I came from Russia five years ago. I was a mail-order bride. Husband have big wallet and little cock,” she guffawed.

“
Wow, that's interesting.” My eyes widened in surprise. While I was curious to know more, I didn't like Sasha enough to want to be in her presence any longer than I had to. “And how long have you been on the reservation?”

“
About a year and a half.”

“
How old are you now?”

“
I'm twenty-five.”

Younger than me but older than Chris, I thought, though I wasn't sure why it even mattered. There was no competition here.

“
How did you contract the lycanthropy disease?”

Sasha shrugged, looking innocent for a second before she spoke, “Like I said, husband had small cock. I look for bigger cock elsewhere.”

“
What happened to the host werewolf?”

“
Was never found.” She shrugged again, obviously not caring. “Rich husband divorced me when the reservation take me in, but I no care. Plenty of big cocks in here.” Sasha's smile was so wide it could have taken over the whole room, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her regard towards men.

“
So, no children?”

Her face sulked into a frown. “One daughter. Husband take care of her while mommy is away.”

“
Oh, I'm sorry to hear it,” I said sympathetically.

Sasha grunted in reply.

“
How do you feel about the reservation?” I quickly moved on, leaving the sad subject behind. For as much as I wasn't a fan of Sasha, I didn't want to make her feel bad either. It must be horrible to have children outside of the reservation, knowing that they were growing up without you and that you probably wouldn't ever see them again.

“
Reservation okay.” She didn't appear to want to say anything else.

“
And the detainment process. Was it hard on you?”

“
Detainment process no fun for no one.”

“
So I keep hearing. How did the other werewolves treat you when you first came to the reservation?”

“
Everyone very nice to me,” Sasha said, but her eyes were miles away.

“
Well, I think that's about it. I'll take my leave now,” I told her before flipping my notebook closed and standing up.

“
You like Chris Abbot, don't you?” she asked, catching me off guard.

“
What makes you think that?” I turned to her, trying to hide the tension in my voice.

“
Chris spend lots of time with Taya.”

I didn't know what to say. The real answer was yes, but I dare not disclose it to anyone. To care for Chris in the way that I wanted was to break my own heart. Nothing could ever come of my affection for him.

“
We're just friends,” I said finally.

“
Good.” Sasha's face lit up once more, and all traces of depression were washed away with thoughts of a new conquest. “I'd like to see how big his cock is.”

“
You do that,” I told her between gritted teeth, showing myself to the door.

It wasn't until I was outside that I let out a loud sigh. The interview wasn't as torturous as I had thought it would be, but the last part was still painful. Eventually, Sasha and Chris would be together, I was certain of it, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Chris didn't show up on my doorstep that night, nor did he make an appearance the following day. I was beginning to think that our friendship was over. He was obviously embarrassed by the way he had acted, regretting his advance on me. While I missed him dearly, I was too prideful to approach him, and I think we both knew it was better if we stayed apart.

In the middle of my second week on the reservation, I decided to try interviewing the lone wolves again. I had been making a lot of progress with my other interviews, knocking out sometimes four in one day. It was certainly going a lot faster than I had planned. With nothing else to do around the reservation, sticking to business was the best way to pass my time.

Devon had become lazy about visiting me in the mornings. In fact, the morning that I decided to go visit the lone wolves, he didn't come to wake me up at all. I had to track him down where he was working out in the garden. Apparently, Devon had decided to take advantage of his new-found freedom and his position as my guide by using his time doubling up on job points.

“
You're working?” I said with a twinge of surprise in my voice as I came upon Devon picking tomatoes under the morning sun.

The sleeves of his blue jumpsuit were rolled up, and small beads of perspiration sparkled on his light-brown skin. Devon turned to me, looking like a deer caught in the cross hairs of a gun, knowing that he had been caught.

His face screwed in apology before the words even came out, “I didn't think you'd need me today. You rarely ever really seem to need me.”

“
I suppose you're right.” I tried not to be agitated. What a little sneak he was? “Are they really letting you double up on job points like this?”

“
They said I could if you said it was alright.” Devon cowered a bit, and his large brown eyes turned to doe eyes of pleading.

“
Funny, I don't recall saying such a thing.”

“
Please, Taya. Please don't say anything. I've been an omega for so long. I deserve a better life, and I'm not going to get an opportunity like this again,” he begged.

Most of the time, Devon just escorted me to meals, and that's where his job ended. It made sense that he would try to pick up extra work with so much free time at his disposal.

“
Well, I was going to go visit the lone wolves again and see if I can get my interviews from them,” I said.

“
Can it wait until after lunch? My shift isn't over until then. I can cancel out my other one afterward.”

I knew damn good and well that the compound would let Devon leave his job in the garden if I requested it. He obviously just didn't want to go, the same as last time. Not wanting to hear him whine about it, I decided to let him off the hook.

“
No, just keep on working,” the agitation in my tone was clear again. “I'll go by myself.”

“
I don't think they're going to open the doors to you this time either, if you want me to be honest.”

Devon was looking less and less honest in my eyes by the second. Perhaps I was wrong to think of him as a trusted friend.

“
Well, I suppose I'll find out,” I told him.

“
Do you remember how to get there?”

“
I think I can find my way.”

“
Alright. You might want to get a walkie talkie from the guards, just in case.”

“
I appreciate your concern,” I said sarcastically, and he cowered away from me again.

“
I'm sorry, Taya. I really am. I hope you understand.”

“
Oh, I do understand, though I'm not quite sure if I approve.”

Devon looked around to make sure that no one had heard me. “Thanks, you're a real friend.”

“
I know,” I sighed, thinking that I was, but he wasn't.

It was easy enough to get the compound to lend me an ATV again, especially since I only needed one this time. They asked why Devon wasn't going with me, and out of the kindness of my heart, I told them that I had allowed him to work instead. Who knows what they would have done to him if I told them the truth?

Since I was making the trip alone, the compound was more than happy to issue me a walkie talkie. They also gave me a map of where I could find the homes of the lone wolves and a compass to guide my way. It seemed like I was all set for the journey.

As I took off from the base of the reservation, I spied Chris walking from one housing unit to another. It appeared that he had gotten the maintenance position he had applied for. I cast a smile in Chris's direction, but he chose to avoid my eyes, causing my face to sink into a frown. Whatever, I thought as I revved the engine and took off into the woods.