Chapter 59

Shirley

The sight of Ralph’s smile makes me instantly forget that I have to pee and nearly causes a shiver to slide down my back.

It has been over a week since I’ve seen him, which almost made me forget about his disdain for me…for Anya. But based on the look on his face, I can tell that hate hasn’t faded - it may have even grown.

“Do you need something?” I finally bring myself to ask, my grip tightening on my phone. It’s still open to my text thread with Keith, oddly making me thankful that I could hit call if necessary. But why do I feel like I may need to?

“Just checking on you,” Ralph says, his smug smile growing. “I see you’ve made some friends.”

He glances over my shoulder, causing me to turn and do the same as I see the distracted wolves in my party.

“If that’s what you want to call it,” I reply as I turn back to him.

Ralph hums, the sound only adding to my discomfort as I try not to grimace. But I still grow more rigid as I frown.

“Guess it’s nice to have people to keep you company,” he begins again. “Considering you don’t seem to be looking for your sister.”

There it is. That’s why Ralph decided to approach me, that’s the blow he wanted to deliver. It makes me want to simultaneously swallow and roll my eyes. But I choose a more subtle way of showing my awkwardness by slowly exhaling, not wanting to give Ralph a reason to pounce.

“If you want,” Ralph continues. “You and I could go look for her together. We might be able to take care of this whole thing if we put our heads together.”

Again, I want to shudder, hating the way the words sound so menacing coming from his tongue. They’re threatening, strangely eager. I find myself thinking back to the dead birds, the fire, everything - wondering if it all comes back to this man and his obvious feelings against me.

“In fact, we could go right now,” Ralph says, his voice quieter that time. And I swear - I swear - I see his arm begin to move forward, sending alarms into my head as I expect him to reach toward me.

I forget how to scream as I wait for him to grab me, knowing he may be seconds from being dragged out.

But my thumb hovers a centimeter over Keith’s name.

Ready to press call.

“Everything okay here?”

The voice that suddenly appears at my side almost makes me jump, especially as I don’t recognize it. Nor am I familiar with the person’s touch as their arm slides around my shoulder. However, I don’t feel any reserve against their actions - not like how I did with Ralph.

Meanwhile, Ralph’s own advances have stopped - making me wonder again if I’d simply imagined them. Instead, his features are smoothed and at a disadvantage as he blinks at my new friend, making me turn to do the same.

A woman stands at my side, and I can officially confirm I’ve never seen her. She’s a few inches taller than me, her face framed by fiery red hair. Her blue eyes are not focused on me as she continues to stare at Ralph, a hint of a challenge on her face as he still doesn’t say anything. With little effort, she’s brought him to a complete standstill.

And I’m beyond thankful. I realize as she stays by my side that my evident discomfort has probably drawn her over. She likely thought Ralph was hitting on me, figured I wasn’t interested by body language, and decided to come to my rescue. Little does she know - she saved me from something way bigger than a wolf’s silly attempts at flirting.

“Well?” she asks again as the silence stretches on, waiting for Ralph to respond. Finally, I watch as Ralph bounces back, his smile gone as a hint of seriousness settles onto his features.

“Everything is fine,” he tells her. “We were just talking.”

“Gotcha,” the woman replies. “Well, then you won’t mind if I steal her away from you.”

Again, it’s a challenge and I notice as she straightens her back a little, making it so she stands taller. She’s waiting for Ralph to try something, preparing herself for whatever bullshit he could pull.

But it seems Ralph isn’t interested.

“Of course not,” he says, trying to give a casual smile - though it’s not quite right. Finally, he gives me one last look before he begins to walk away. “Have a good night.”

His words are slimy, but they don’t affect me as badly as he leaves, the woman’s arm making me feel calm. When he’s finally gone though, she removes it before she fully turns to me.

“Okay, but seriously,” she begins. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I breathe, giving her a nod. “Thanks for stepping in, though. I appreciate it.”

“No problem,” she says. “Couldn’t help but notice he was being a little weird, but I guess that’s common for Ralph.”

She knows Ralph? Well, I guess that makes sense considering they came from the same pack and he was within Keith’s inner circle. Maybe her knowing his name really shouldn’t surprise me.

And yet, I can feel my brow lift a little as I study her face. She seems to notice my confusion as she soon nods.

“I’m Gwen,” she tells me. “Kai’s girlfriend.”

Oh, Kai. Now it made sense. Kai was another member of Keith’s close group and attended all of the meetings. And he was here tonight with the same party I came with, which explained why Gwen has probably dropped in. I assume she must have just arrived. .

“I’m Shirley,” I answer her finally. “I work for Keith.”

Gwen nods. “I’ve heard about you. Apparently you’re fucking amazing at your job.”

Her response pulls an immediate laugh from me, making me relax further as I think over her words.

“People are saying that?” I ask.

“Oh, yeah,” Gwen replies openly, even giving a slight smile. “I’m glad I was finally able to meet you. Even despite the circumstances.”

“Yeah, well, it’s nice to meet you too,” I reply.

“You’re staying at Keith’s, right?” she asks then, and I feel myself hesitate as I try to gauge where she’s going with this. But she brushes a hand through the air, showing me her question is innocent. “I heard about the fire at the Tudor. I knew you were staying there when it went up in flames. Can’t believe that happened to you.”

She shakes her head then and I give a soft smile in return. “It’s okay,” I say with a shrug. “I feel awful about the house, but no one was hurt. And yes, I am staying with Keith. In his guest bedroom.”

I don’t know why I added in that last part, but for some reason it feels important.

“Good,” Gwen says with a little smirk, causing me to raise my brow as she looks decently smug.

“What?” I ask.

“Well, I’m glad the pack didn’t throw you into a hotel after what you’ve been through or I would have kicked Keith’s ass,” she rattles out, making me laugh again as I hear how she mentions the Alpha.

“Plus…” Gwen carries on, her lip twitching upward a little more. “I know that you staying at Keith’s absolutely pisses Lily off and I love it.”

I almost want to gasp at that - but out of pure delight. Instead, my eyes grow wide as I smile at her, sensing a thrill run through my blood.

“You don’t like Lily?” I ask, almost too eager.

Gwen groans, rolling her eyes. “I can’t stand her. I’ve known her for years and she’s somehow only gotten worse.”

I hum in enjoyment, feeling my respect for Gwen grow.

“I don’t like her either,” I admit. “And you’re right. She was livid when she found out I was staying with Keith. But she’s hated me since day one.”

“Don’t worry,” Gwen jumps in. “You should take her hating you as a good thing - it means you’re a good person.”

Once more, I’m laughing. “Keith’s mom seems to like her. And even Keith does too. Are they not good people?”

“Oh, Ruth is the best - trust me. But she’s also sly and cunning. She’s perfectly aware why Lily sucks up to her, but she just plays along for enjoyment,” Gwen explains.

“Seriously?” I ask, thinking back to breakfast when I’d seen Lily and Gwen together.

“And Keith…honestly, I don’t think he has much say in the matter. He’s hot, Lily wants him, and so she doesn’t leave him alone,” she explains with a shrug. “Maybe someday she’ll take the hint.”

I nod back to her, making sense of her words. It does seem valid on all ends.

“Anyway,” Gwen begins again. “Let’s get you another drink. I know you probably need one after all those meetings you’ve been sitting through.” She then steps forward, linking her arm through mine as she leads me away. “Especially since you’ve been locked in a room with basically all male wolves, breathing in their testosterone.”

She sticks her tongue out then, wrinkles her nose. And I laugh again. I think I’m going to like Gwen. In fact, I already like her.

And I certainly wouldn’t mind having her as a friend.

~

Hours later, it seems we’ve all had our fill of fun and decide it’s time to head home. But - holy Goddess - I hadn’t even realized it was already two in the morning. I don’t even know if Warren is awake and I would feel awful for pulling him out of bed at this hour.

I guess I could always get a taxi…

“Need a ride?” Asher almost makes me jump as he appears at my side.

I stare at him for a moment, taking in that boyish smile as he looks at me warmly. I continue to study him, looking for any wicked intentions, but quickly fail to find any.

So I nod. “That would be great. Thank you.”

The drive back to Keith’s is smooth as Asher and I laugh about the jokes we all shared throughout the night. Asher really is a pretty funny guy and my cheeks hurt from smiling by the time he pulls into the driveway.

I thank him for the ride as I climb out before quietly going inside. As I go down the hallway, I step cautiously and try to listen for any other sounds in the house. And soon, I discover one just as I pass by the living room.

It’s Keith’s voice, and he sounds anything but amused.

“Why did Asher drive you home?”