Taming the Wolf (Anna Avery #1) 1

My head snapped up when Wade pulled into the theater. Not exactly the venue I’d expected for testing my limitations to humans. The small cinema only showed two movies at a time and those movies had been out for months. Of course since I’d been a werewolf for the past few months, I hadn’t seen the flicks. Once Wade parked, he hopped out of the SUV and Adam and I followed. Downtown Buffalo could barely be considered a city. Its buildings were small and the majority sold hunting stuff and antiques. Even the theater was tiny with its square roof and bland plastered walls. If it wasn’t for the sign announcing what it was, it could’ve passed for a warehouse.

“What are we seeing?” No matter how sad the building was, I was excited to see a movie in an actual theater instead of in my living room. I guess that explained how pitiful my life was. Not that I was a social butterfly before becoming a werewolf, but I did have times I’d have fun.

“You choose,” Wade said. “But we’re not here to have fun. We’re here to see how you do sitting in a room with humans. We’ll start here and see how you do just being around them, and then we’ll interact, depending on how this goes.”

Great, so I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the movie with two pairs of eyes judging my reactions to the crowd. Maybe I could stuff my face with buttery popcorn and get lost in some hot vampire action, so I wouldn’t notice being stared at for two hours.

“Fright Night,” I said, pointing to the poster of Colin Farrell in a tight white tank top. Both Wade and Adam groaned as I walked inside the building. I stopped short as a thought came to me. I leaned closer to Wade, cupped a hand in front of my mouth, and asked, “Are vampires real?” It seemed likely considering I was living proof werewolves weren’t just the monsters fairytales are made of.

Wade sucked in a deep breath as if annoyed or pissed. “Yes, they exist.”

My eyes shot wide. “Seriously? Have you met any? Are they sexy and mysterious like in the movies and books?” I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice.

“Well,” Wade said, smiling. “They don’t sparkle.”

“How can I help you?” The young girl behind the counter asked. I took a moment to judge my reaction to her. My wolf bristled underneath my skin as the girl stared me in the eyes. I sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm my inner beast.

“Three for…Fright Night,” Wade said dismally. I smiled at the girl, but turned towards Adam so my wolf had something more scrumptious to focus on. My clever trick worked because as soon as my eyes found those azure orbs, my body relaxed. Adam smiled and a shudder ran the length of my spine. Man, he was gorgeous.

“Come on you two,” Wade ordered and we followed him over to the concession stand. A young man with a skin condition smiled at us revealing braces wrapped around his teeth. Man, I’m happy I’m out of that awkward stage.

“Tell the man what you want, Anna,” Wade said. I stepped closer to the counter, took another deep breath, and made sure my eyes were focused on the menu board instead of the kid. As I searched the set of choices, my stomach rumbled. I hadn’t eaten at dinner and now I was feeling the effects of my lost appetite.

“I’ll have a large popcorn, large coke, and nachos” The young kid looked surprised at how much food I’d ordered. His beady eyes flicked to my slim waistline and then he nodded. He probably thought I would scarf the greasy goodness down and throw it up later. Hey, as long as he didn’t think I was a werewolf all was good.

After we had our junk food, we headed for the room that our movie was playing in. It wasn’t hard to find, there were only two showings total. As I picked a row and walked towards the middle of the seating, Wade took the row behind me.

“What are you doing?”

“I can see your reactions better if I sit behind you,” he said as he sat down. Shrugging, I placed my soda in the drink holder and sat down as I tried not to drop my popcorn and nachos. Adam sat next to me, which was both awkward and exciting. Almost like we were on a date.

There weren’t a lot of humans in the room, maybe six. So far my wolf was more focused on the food and Adam’s close proximity to worry about them. The lights dimmed and the large screen flickered to life as previews started to play. I was aware that the arm rest to my right was pushed up and Adam’s hand was resting against the side of my leg. I wondered if Wade would have a problem with Adam and mine’s relationship, or if it was normal for alphas to sleep with the females in their packs. Knowing how Nicholas was, Wade probably wouldn’t bat an eyelash if Adam stripped and mounted me right there. My wolf got excited thinking about it.

The spot that the back of Adam’s hand touched tingled. Closing my eyes, I gave myself a pep talk to ignore those lustful feelings and concentrate on the screen in front of me. Unfortunately, the pep talk didn’t work. When I opened my eyes, I snuck a peek at Adam and a sexy smirk lifted one side of his mouth. How I wanted to kiss those lips. Fisting a hand in my popcorn, I shoved the kernels into my mouth and ground them into nothingness. Adam turned his hand so his fingers faced my leg, and with the slightest movement, he caressed it. Heat flourished through my body. The arm holding the popcorn squeezed the bucket tighter while my free hand crushed the arm rest. What in the hell was he doing?

I can’t focus on anything but you. Adam’s voice sounded in my head and the intrusion was surprising enough that I jumped. Luckily, a scary preview was showing, and Wade would think I got scared. Adam didn’t speak to us, well me, telepathically unless we were in wolf form.

Well, Wade is focusing on me too, so knock it off. I smiled, unable to contain it.

Oh, come on. Don’t you want to see how far we can go before we’re caught? His voice grew huskier.

I bit my lower lip as the heat settled between my legs. Considering he’s right behind us, we won’t get far. There may have been a bit of disappointment in my voice.

Is that a challenge?

I suppose it is. I ran a hand over my mouth to conceal my growing smile.

“Anna has to go to the restroom,” Adam said, turning around to face Wade. My eyes shot wide as I realized what Adam was thinking. “We’ll be right back.”

“Maybe I should take her,” Wade countered, and Adam’s defenses perked up before he calmed himself down. “Anna?”

“Um…” I stammered. “I’m okay with Adam.” I hoped the nervousness in my stomach didn’t sound in my words.

“Okay, but don’t let her out of your sight,” Wade warned Adam.

“Oh, I’ll be on her like white on rice,” Adam replied with a grin that caused my legs to shake. A whole month and he hadn’t touched me. The anticipation was so strong I about sprinted to the bathroom.

As I stood I caught Wade’s eyes and the suspicion within them. Looking away, I followed Adam out of the theater and towards the restroom. My heart was jackhammering in my chest.

You go in first, Adam said. Shouldering past him, I stepped into the small bathroom. Deciding it’d be safer to hide in one of the stalls, I shoved the doors open on all of them and entered the last one. It would make it easier for Adam to know which one I was waiting for him in. I was so excited I felt jittery. Blowing into my hand, I checked my breath. Ack, popcorn, that couldn’t be sexy. Slipping out of the stall, I turned on the faucet and brought a handful of water to my lips. Swishing it around, I spit into the sink and slipped back into the stall. It was the best I could do and hopefully Adam wouldn’t mind too much.

Two minutes passed and no Adam. I leaned against the wall, shifting my feet back and forth and staring at my watch. Four minutes and still no Adam. Did I misread the situation, and he was just waiting for me to pee? That didn’t make sense. After eight minutes, I was no longer jittery with excitement. I slipped out of the bathroom and headed out. Adam stood off to the side, cell phone pressed to his ear, and an annoyed look on his face.

“Eve, I don’t know what to tell you. She’s my responsibility, and I couldn’t just shove my duties off on Wade. There’s nothing going on between me and Anna.”

And there it was, the proof I needed that Adam didn’t feel the same way I did for him. My heart felt like it’d fallen to my feet and my chest rose and fell heavily as I stared at him. He looked up and our eyes met. His eyebrows furrowed and his mouth hung open slightly as he realized I heard his conversation. I didn’t want to hear anymore, I stalked back to the theater.

Chapter Fifteen

If someone asked if Fright Night was good, I wouldn’t be able to tell them. After Adam returned from his phone conversation, he tried to talk to me through telepathy for the entire movie. I ignored him as best as I could, but it made focusing on the film difficult. The only good thing that came out of it was that I also couldn’t focus on the humans. After the movie, we hopped back in the SUV, and Wade drove to Wal-Mart. It was the only store that was open all night and had a sufficient amount of people. I walked on the side of Wade where Adam wasn’t. How could I believe he was my chante or that the heartfelt words he’d spoken in the past had meaning. They were just that—words.

“You did very well at the theater,” Wade said, and I reined in my anger to pay attention.

“Thanks,” I said coolly. “So are vampires as sexy as Collin Farrell?” I needed something to occupy my mind, so why not find out more about the fanged?

Wade laughed. “Only if they were sexy to begin with. Turning vampire isn’t an instant beauty serum; they look just like everyone else.”

I could have met one and not even known it. “Are there any in Wyoming?”

“I’m sure there are a few, but they tend to migrate to more crowded states.”

“Have you ever met one?”

“Yes,” Wade said a bit annoyed. “Enough about vamps. I need you to pay attention to the humans. Your wolf needs to interact with them.”

I rolled my eyes, but kept my lips sealed. “Hello,” I said to the greeter at the doors. The old gentleman smiled and my wolf perked up. I reminded myself that the elderly man wasn’t challenging me, just simply smiling. Once we stepped into the large store the scent of human overwhelmed my senses. Sweat, perfume, cologne, urine, and food assaulted my nostrils and made my brain swirl with mixed emotions. My wolf wanted to growl, while I wanted to vomit. All the smells mixed together were enough to turn the greasy theater food sour in my stomach.