{"id":1333,"date":"2016-03-19T13:37:37","date_gmt":"2016-03-19T17:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1333"},"modified":"2018-06-19T15:41:10","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T19:41:10","slug":"half-wolf-chapter-2-scene-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1333","title":{"rendered":"Half Wolf Chapter 2, Scene 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Be sure to read the first part of Chapter 2<\/a> before diving deeper into Fen’s story!<\/em><\/p>\n

Chapter 2 Scene 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Hunter and I first met, I was a happy-go-lucky member of a different clan entirely. Our alpha was kind but firm, our pack was quite capable of protecting its weaker members from all comers, and my wolf spent nearly all of her time asleep.<\/p>\n

Despite that pastoral tranquility, though, half of my days involved patrolling the pack\u2019s boundaries to make sure potential dangers didn\u2019t encroach. So when I discovered the aforementioned uber-alpha in lupine form nosing through trees half a mile from our village, I immediately bared my human teeth and shouted out a challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop there!\u201d I demanded. Never mind that I couldn\u2019t back up my posturing with any alpha dominance of my own. I\u2019d learned that simply lifting my chin in challenge and speaking like I meant it usually did the trick. And, sure enough, the huge wolf slinking through the undergrowth paused and cocked his head in response.<\/p>\n

Without the sensory assistance of a rampant inner wolf, I\u2019d just assumed the stranger was an over-zealous drifter trying to decide if our clan was open to new members. We generally were, but we also preferred supplicants to come in through the front door rather than sniffing around behind our backs. So I was terse when I stalked over, grabbing his ruff with one hand and clenching down on the top of his muzzle with the other. \u201cRude,\u201d I growled, shaking the stranger as if he was a puppy and I was his alpha. \u201cCome with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter obeyed easily enough, letting me drag his furry butt back to my alpha without complaint. Only when I saw the latter\u2019s tense body language did I realize the error of my ways. It seemed I\u2019d misread the stranger\u2019s crooked grin as submission and had invited a predator into our den by mistake.<\/p>\n

A den into which a young pup soon ambled, throwing us all into a tizzy of over-protectiveness. Any shifter who got my alpha\u2019s hackles up was one I didn\u2019t want hanging around youngsters. Unfortunately, my weak lupine nature meant that I wasn\u2019t able to physically protect the kid in question or to boot the stranger out the door. So I resolved the issue in the only way I knew how\u2014by continuing to pretend like I was far more wolf than I could ever dream of being.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamily matters,\u201d I told the stranger as my pack leader turned his attention to the pup. Grabbing the uber-alpha\u2019s newly materialized hand, I pulled him over to a chair in the corner and away from the kid who had caught his eye. Perhaps if I was able to sidetrack our guest for a few minutes, my alpha could shuffle the youngster back out the door and then take this explosive bundle of handsomeness off my hands.<\/p>\n

This time around, though, my playacting was a little less confident than usual. After all, if my alpha\u2014who possessed the strongest inner beast I\u2019d ever seen\u2014was concerned about this stranger, then Hunter could likely bark and I\u2019d offer up my finger bones to be used as toothpicks. I shivered, but still put pseudo-command in my voice when I spoke. \u201cTalk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The uber-alpha feigned obedience once more, but I got the distinct impression that he was only humoring a shifter who he found intriguing. \u201cTalk about what?\u201d he asked. His voice was so deep it seemed to rumble through the air and into my belly like heavy bass, and I had to clench my jaw in order to ignore the tantalizing sensation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

I was definitely in over my head but the stranger seemed to enjoy my spunk. He took one of my hands between his much larger paws, sending yet another tremor through my body. \u201cI\u2019m Hunter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that your name or what you do?\u201d I couldn\u2019t resist asking. And now Hunter\u2019s smile finally reached his eyes. The uber-alpha was obviously impressed by my perspicuity, even though he really shouldn\u2019t have been. I had no choice but to be alert to the subtle cues of body language since I couldn\u2019t depend on my inner wolf to clue me in. And it wasn\u2019t as if the stranger was trying to hide his thoughts either.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth,\u201d he confirmed. \u201cAnd you\u2019re Lost Wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m Fen,\u201d I answered, ripping my hand out of the stranger\u2019s grasp before my brain caught up with my mouth. I knew I shouldn\u2019t be antagonizing a shifter so strong he gave my alpha heart palpitations, but it offended me that Hunter had so easily seen into the core of my being.<\/p>\n

Okay, so \u201coffended\u201d probably wasn\u2019t the right word. It scared me to death. It made me mad as hell. And, yes, it also pleased me no end that someone had finally seen what none of my pack mates had cared to notice during the last twenty-one years of my existence.<\/p>\n

While I was trying to work through all of those contradictory emotions, Hunter elaborated on his analysis. \u201cYou\u2019re different and lonely. You\u2019re looking for a place to fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOookay.\u201d I did my best to brush off his words even though each one struck like a dart into my soul. \u201cDid I accidentally sign up for a therapy session?\u201d<\/p>\n

I feigned checking the planner on my cell phone, but fumbled the device instead since I wasn\u2019t able to tear my eyes away from the shifter in front of me long enough to complete the pretense. The phone hit the ground with a clatter that made me jump but didn\u2019t seem to affect anyone else in the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re uncomfortable,\u201d the stranger said after a moment of silence. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

True and true. But the kid who Hunter wasn\u2019t supposed to interact with was still in the room and my alpha continued to radiate distress. So I shook my head. \u201cNo, I\u2019m dying<\/em> to have a pleasant conversation with you.\u201d And that was, unfortunately, true as well. \u201cBut we\u2019ve just met. Ever hear of small talk?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds trivial and inconsequential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you sound like you swallowed a thesaurus.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t feel the effects, but I\u2019d gotten used to the glassy eyes and clenched jaw that signaled a shifter exerting his or her alpha dominance. So I wasn\u2019t surprised to see the kid flinch on the other side of the room as Hunter\u2019s gaze bore down on me.<\/p>\n

In response, my wolf stirred groggily awake deep within my body. And for the split second that she was less than completely comatose, I was able to fully understand the power of the werewolf before me. My nostrils flooded with the intense aroma of cold, wet sassafras, as if I\u2019d been immersed in a vat of chilled root beer. And I felt an overwhelming urge to lunge forward and kiss the uber-alpha on the lips.<\/p>\n

Then I pushed my wolf so hard she was flung backwards into the dark recesses of my mind and washed off her feet by the flood of my subconscious. As her presence faded, so did Hunter\u2019s compulsion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know it\u2019s sexual assault to force a woman to kiss you against her will, don\u2019t you?\u201d I snarled. Then I whispered under my breath: \u201cAnd pretty darn desperate too.\u201d<\/p>\n

What I really wanted was to punch the guy, but I had a sinking suspicion he wasn\u2019t human enough to respond chivalrously to a blow from a lady. And if Hunter decided to fight back, I\u2019d be dead. So I stuck to the defense that made me feel strongest\u2014verbal sallies.<\/p>\n

The uber-alpha cocked his head to one side curiously, then responded. \u201cI only asked you to let your wolf do what she wanted to do,\u201d he rumbled, and I flushed beet red. \u201cSurely that\u2019s not against two-legger rules?\u201d<\/p>\n

Yep, he\u2019d definitely won that round.<\/p>\n

But I wasn\u2019t ready to roll over and show my belly just yet. When in doubt, ignore the facts and go for the jugular.<\/p>\n

Finish Chapter 2<\/a> here…<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Be sure to read the first part of Chapter 2 before diving deeper into Fen’s story! Chapter 2 Scene 2 When Hunter and I first met, I was a happy-go-lucky member of a different clan entirely. Our alpha was kind but firm, our pack was quite capable of protecting its weaker members from all comers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,45,21],"tags":[14,7,27,23,8],"class_list":["post-1333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excerpts-aimee-easterling","category-alpha-underground-series","category-urban-fantasy-paranormal-romance-fantasy-romance-reviews","tag-paranormal-books","tag-shifter-books","tag-urban-fantasy-books","tag-urban-paranormal-romantic-fantasy","tag-werewolf-books","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1333"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1345,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333\/revisions\/1345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}