Savage (Wolf Ranch 4)

She held up a spoon. “It doesn’t even need chips, does it?”

I shook my head, grabbed the spoon and dug in, getting every bit of the seven layers piled on.

This went in, the flavors of barbeque, refried beans and sour cream melding on my tongue. I had no idea something so disgusting could be so good.

“You’re a really good cook,” I told her after she brought me a glass of water to wash it all down.

“Thank you. It’s bribery. My boys want good food. They sit at my table.”

“That’s devious but smart.”

“It got you to open the door, didn’t it?”

I pointed the spoon at her before digging up some more dip. “You’re a good mom,” I said. “Trust me, I know bad ones.”

She patted my hand and gave me a small smile. “Want to tell me about yours?”

I sighed, taking a break from stuffing my face. I’d eaten all but two little hot dogs and half the dip. I wiped my mouth with the napkin then looked down and saw a glop of barbeque sauce on my shirt. I tried wiping at it, but Janet stilled my hand. I could only imagine what I looked like. I’d cried myself to sleep, and my hair was a snarl. I was wearing Audrey’s hand-me-downs that didn’t fit all that well. I put the napkin down. A stain on my shirt wasn’t going to make me look worse.

“The short version?”

She nodded. “Sure.”

“My parents are… religious. The kind who preach but mess up on the practice part. They weren’t married when my mom got pregnant. There was a quickie marriage, and I was born early.”

Janet’s dark brows went up, but she said nothing.

“They believe marriage is for life. That what God has joined together, no man shall put asunder and all that. It didn’t matter if they didn’t like each other. Or blamed their loveless marriage on me. My ex… well, he never did become my ex, did he?” I gave a humorless laugh and took a little drink. “Todd wasn’t a nice guy.” I told her about leaving Todd and how he refused to divorce me. “My parents sided with Todd. I should have been a better wife and all that. Staying and being miserable was what was important to them. I didn’t agree, and now we don’t talk. Pretty much, it was Todd or me, and they chose Todd.”

Janet clucked her tongue and gave me a soft smile. “We favor marriage for life, too. By we, I mean shifters. And we don’t marry, we mate. But you know all that. Now. The difference is, males would never hurt their mate, either emotionally or physically. Never.”

I nodded.

“Males are also as dumb as a box of rocks.”

I had a spoonful of dip halfway to my mouth when she said that. I dropped it back in the container and laughed.

“It’s true,” she said. She put her hand to her dark hair and patted it. “I have a mate, two boys of my own and the Wolf three. Plus a few other friends they’ve all brought home over the years. If you have questions about shifters, specifically male shifters… even more specifically about male shifters I’ve birthed, then fire away.”

I pushed back my chair and stood. Went to the fridge and opened it. Then shut it. God, did I have questions. Glancing over my shoulder at her, I said, “I… I don’t know if I’m ready for the answers.”

I opened the freezer, found a tub of Rocky Road ice cream and pulled it out. “Want some?” I asked.

“No, honey. Thank you.”

I dropped back into my chair, ripped off the lid. After grabbing the spoon from the dip and licking it clean, I scooped up some ice cream.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” I asked.

She sighed. “Box of rocks, remember? Did Audrey tell you how she found out Boyd was a shifter?”

“She didn’t tell me Boyd was a shifter.”

“She couldn’t, honey. I know she’s your best friend, but pack law is stronger than human friendships. She’d be endangering her mate and her unborn child if she did.”

“Toss in the baby and make me feel bad,” I grumbled.

“She found out when a teenage shifter got shot, and he shifted while she was helping him.”

My eyes widened. “Is he okay?”

She smiled at my concern. “Of course. Shifters have rapid healing abilities. But Boyd didn’t tell her before she discovered it the hard way. Marina found out when the barn roof collapsed at Audrey’s wedding reception.” She patted my hand again. “Audrey didn’t tell Marina either.”

I gasped. “She didn’t? Her own sister? Oh man, she must have been furious.”

“My point is, the guys are idiots. They think we females can’t handle tough stuff. They love to protect us, even from the things we need to know.”

“I didn’t even know I was mated.” I stared at her then blushed. “Oh my God, you knew.”