Marriage Claws Read online

  “But his brother isn’t,” Jack said. “If Marcus challenges my father and loses, Mike will be punished for his brother’s actions. I can’t let that happen. I will be alpha, even if I have to kill Marcus to take it back. But not because it’s my birthright, or because I’m power-hungry. I’ll be alpha to protect my pack . . . all of them. Even if it’s from my father’s backward thinking and my beta’s twisted envy.”

  I stared at Jack, seeing him a little differently than I had only a few minutes before. He was still the sexy, rumpled Prince Charming of Wall Street he’d always been, but now I understood the reason behind his unrelenting, workaholic, drive.

  It wasn’t arrogance that had kept him out of any sort of serious relationship, it was fear of repeating the mistakes of his father. And it wasn’t self-importance and entitlement that made him bully his way in business, it was love of family. He’d do whatever it took to protect the people he loved. I get that.

  “Okay, enough of the gloom and doom,” Lenny said. “Time to get you ready for the really scary shit.”

  “Oh God.” I grabbed my wine and took a big gulp.

  “What are you talking about?” Jack asked, his expression softening. “There’s nothing for her to be afraid of.”

  “Ah, that’s because you’re seeing it all through the eyes of someone who’s grown up among us.” He glanced at George then back to Jack. “Trust me. It’s scary from the outside lookin’ in. You don’t want her screamin’ her head off the first time she sees one of them drop their skin, do you?”

  “Oh.” Jack’s smile flattened. “Right.”

  “They drop their skin? Really?” I asked, trying not to laugh at the absurd thought. I still found it surprising how far they were taking the werewolf thing.

  Lenny nodded, his smile big—too big—maybe a little crazed. “See? She needs to see it to believe it.”

  “Okay, Kate,” George said, scooting forward in his seat. “Just stay calm. No matter what happens just don’t freak out.”

  “You want to show your fiancé, or should I?” Lenny asked Jack.

  “I am not the entertainment,” Jack said.

  “Valid point.” Lenny pushed back from the table, his chair scraping my scuffed wood floor.

  “You’ve seen this?” I asked my brother. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. Of course. I’m going to be doing it myself this weekend. I better know what to expect,” he said.

  Riiiight. Lenny pushed the couch closer to the TV and kicked the area rug out of the way.

  “You’re just going to switch forms—become a wolf—right here—right now?” I asked him.

  Lenny nodded, pushing his wild dark curls from his face. He pulled his shirt off over his head and toed out of his cowboy boots. When he started unfastening his jeans, Jack pushed straighter in his chair.

  “Maybe this isn’t the best idea,” he said. “There’s not much room and your claws could damage the floor.”

  “Relax, dude. I’ve shifted here before,” Lenny said, and shoved his jeans and underwear to his ankles.

  Suddenly I knew way more about my brother’s lover than I ever wanted to. Lenny high-stepped his feet free of his jeans, and peeled off his socks, tossing them to the far corner.

  He rolled his shoulders, shaking his arms like an athlete preparing for an event. “Alright sis, get ready. And don’t forget, no screaming, no sudden moves. I’m not wholly myself in wolf form. There’s a beast in me and in wolf form the beast is driving the bus.”

  The lanky man closed his eyes, concentrating. Within seconds a subtle vibration shook his body. Lenny bent over, the vibration growing more intense. Muscles and bones rolled and pressed under his skin, deforming his body and reshaping it as I watched.

  “Ohmygod . . .” My breath stuck in my chest, terror freezing my muscles.

  Long thick fur grew as if in a fast-motion movie, quickly covering his flesh even as a tail sprouted, and his face stretched, contorted and reshaped. Soft grunts and gushes of air as he released his breath then held it again, accompanied the nerve-rattling sound of bones snapping and skin stretching like a rubber balloon.

  He dropped forward to hands that shrunk and reformed into long powerful legs and fat, clawed paws before he landed. His back legs changed only a heartbeat after his front and within seconds the man I knew as Lenny was gone. In his place was a wolf that looked more like a large husky than the typical horror movie monster.

  “You okay?” Jack asked.

  I nodded, my throat too dry to speak. I snapped my mouth closed, my hands white—knuckling the seat of my chair. Jack reached for my wine glass, and handed it to me. It took a second to unclamp my fingers from my chair, but I took the glass and downed the contents in three long gulps. I dropped my hand to my lap, almost losing my hold on the glass.

  “Werewolves are real,” I said in a mumble. I blinked. “Werewolves are fucking real.”

  Lenny shook from head to tail, settling his reformed skin onto his bones, then trotted over to my brother. I stiffened as he drew near, instinct screaming for me to put as much distance as I could between the big animal and me.

  But a soft whine squeezed out of him and George reached out and stroked Lenny’s long muzzle, the wolf lovingly pushing into his hand. It really was Lenny in there, somewhere inside. This was what my brother would become in a day or two. This was what I was marrying.

  I looked at Jack, in his tailored shirt and expensive slacks. So civil and distinguished, sipping his wine. But inside the sexy Prince Charming of Wall Street lurked the body and soul of a wild animal—a beast—a wolf.

  And a part of me couldn’t wait to meet it.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Dad, Mom, this is Kate. My fiancée, my chosen mate, and the future alpha female for the North Eastern New York Pack.” Jack’s wide hand weighed warm and heavy against the small of my back.

  The weekend was supposed to be casual, though Jack was dressed in an expensive pinstriped suit and matching dark blue tie. I had on the same dark pink dress I’d worn to the zoo luncheon. Wasn’t like I had a lot to choose from. In fact, I’d packed nearly everything Jack had bought for me, sensing that casual meant something totally different in Jack’s world.

  I smiled at my future in-laws, my stomach twisting, knowing what was at stake, that everything had to go perfectly for this to work, and that it was all a lie.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand.

  The pair had been in some sort of intense discussion. Both of them turned to stone the moment their son stepped up and spoke. Their eyes alone shifted to my outstretched hand, brows creased as they’d been when we approached.

  Frank and Meredith Pensione were an exceptionally good-looking couple—him in a well-fitted dark suit, her in a pale blue dress and heels. They seemed too young to have a son Jack’s age, looking to be in their late forties, mid-fifties at the most. Jack was in his early thirties. At least that’s what I’d assumed. I’d never asked.

  I realized in that moment I hadn’t asked anything about age and aging, especially when it came to the werewolf mythology and what was real or not.

  At least I didn’t have to ask where Jack had gotten his tall frame and hard muscled physique. He’d been sitting last time I’d seen him. I hadn’t realized Jack’s father was roughly the size of a barn and as solid as a brick house. Frank Pensione was at least twenty pounds heavier than Jack, and it looked like most of it was muscle.

  His eyes were a clear sky blue and he had the same uneven dimples as Jack, the right side deeper than the left. The nose was Jack’s, straight and narrow, but the chin was wrong. Frank’s chin was wider, more rounded at the tip than Jack’s, and his mouth didn’t hold the hint of a smile the way Jack’s always did.

  I found Jack’s mouth when I shifted my attention to Meredith Pensione. The same soft curve of the lips, the delicate chin and the brilliant green eyes were all there. She was a little thing, compared to her husband and son, the top of her head only reachi
ng the bottom of her husband’s chin.

  The real shocker was Meredith’s hair, sugar cookie blonde shining like a star among all the dark heads around her. She was lean and fit, her body a lot like mine and nothing like the willowy starlets Jack seemed to gravitate toward before me.

  As though suddenly released from a spell, Jack’s parents exploded with smiles and warm greetings. Frank shook my hand first.

  “Finally,” he said grinning wide. “Thought the pup would never settle down.”

  Then Meredith took my hand, only for a moment though, before she brushed it away and pulled me in for a lung-crushing hug. For a little thing, the woman was freakishly strong. “It’s so good to finally meet you. We didn’t even know you and Jack were dating until a few days ago.”

  Welcome to the club. “Thank you for having us,” I said with what little breath I had left in me. She let me go, waving off my gratitude.

  “Don’t be silly. You’re family,” she said. “At least you will be. You and your brother. He’s such a dear.”

  “Thanks. He didn’t cry much as a baby,” I said. “So we kept him.”

  Frank and Meredith shared a confused glance but held their smiles, nodding. Clearly my humor was too advanced for them. I made a mental note.

  “George is taking the bite tomorrow night,” Meredith said, clasping her hands in front of her conspirator’s smile. “Maybe we could make it a double ceremony?”

  “No, mom,” Jack said. “I told you we’re doing things our way.”

  “Your way,” Frank scoffed. “You mean whatever’s opposite of hundreds of years of tradition. You wait much longer, boy, and you’ll have no pack to welcome your new bride. You’ll be banished, and so will she. Is that what you want?”

  Jack ran a hand through his hair with a loud exhale. “Don’t be melodramatic, dad. Okay? Not this weekend. Just let it go.”

  “Let it go?” Frank stood taller, brows going up, his big body towering. “Let it go? I handed you this pack on a silver plate and you piss it away, refusing to do even the slightest thing to secure your birthright.”

  “The slightest thing? Dad, I went to college, got my MBA in business and finance. I’ve been working at the company for years, overseeing projects, purchasing, selling, everything. I earned this pack fourteen million dollars last year—”

  “Money and fancy degrees . . .” Frank snorted. “Who the hell cares about that garbage?”

  “Seriously?” Jack shook his head, hands on his hips.

  “Boys . . .” Meredith said, but I’m pretty sure I was the only one who heard her.

  “What you should’ve been doing is finding a mate,” Frank said. “Instead of dippin’ your wick in all those human whores, too frail to stand against a good wind.” He looked at me. “Sorry. No offense.”

  I shook my head, not realizing I should’ve been offended until he’d apologized.

  “Right. We’re done.” Jack snagged my hand. “I knew I shouldn’t have brought Kate here. Exposed her to this dysfunctional family. You can’t be civil for two minutes—”

  “Jack no . . .” Meredith said, pushing forward, pressing her small hands to her son’s chest. “Stay. He didn’t mean it. He’s thrilled you came and that you brought Kate. We both are.”

  “That’s right. Blame me,” Frank said still caught in his storm of anger. “Always blame me. Any excuse to cut and run. Thumb your nose at yet another of our traditions. Can’t even see beyond yourself to stand up for your best friend during his mate’s induction into the pack.”

  “Frank, please stop. Jack’s staying,” Meredith said, then looked to her son. “You’ll stay. Right, Jack?”

  Jack shifted his glare from his father to his mother, then instantly softened his expression. He blinked, taking a step back. “Fine. Yes. We’ll stay . . . for Lenny. And you. But I don’t want any more talk of a double ceremony. Kate will take the bite after we file the marriage license. Once everything’s legal.”

  Take the bite. Become one of them—a werewolf. We hadn’t talked about it. I was fairly sure Jack was just buying time, gaining the pack’s approval of me as their future alpha female without making anything permanent. He needed to solidify me as his mate now and forever so that when we divorced in the human courts I’d still be counted among them. But would that work if I wasn’t really one of them, if I was still human? A nervous tremble shook under my skin, but I forced a smile. I had to trust that Jack knew what he was doing.

  “Of course, dear,” Meredith said. “You two take things at your own pace. There’s plenty of time—”

  “Don’t lie to the boy,” his father said.

  “Frank, enough.” Meredith narrowed her eyes at her husband. “You’ve said what you wanted to say, now leave it. They’re not doing the ceremony this weekend, but she’s here. Jack’s made it official. She’ll get the pack’s approval. That’s enough for now.”

  Jack’s father huffed, and looked away. “Fine. I guess I can use that to help quiet the council. For now.”

  Meredith turned to me, her smile cranking up a few watts. “Besides, Kate has to meet the families first anyway.”

  “Families?” I asked. “You’re not all related?”

  Meredith laughed. “No, dear. There are four main families, each of them generations deep. But we’re all one pack with Frank as our alpha. I’m sure Jack’s told you Benito Russo is our beta, with Don Augusto as our Omega. And then, of course Galvan Passat’s son, Ralph, is our new sentinel.”

  I nodded, but my brain was spinning. Jack, Lenny and George had spent hours last night giving me a crash course on the New York werewolf pack, but it seemed we hadn’t even scratched the surface. I felt like an idiot. Normally, I’m used to that, but this time . . . A part of me really wanted Frank and Meredith to like me. I refused to consider why.

  Meredith looped her arm through mine and squeezed, smiling happily. “I’m sure you have a million questions. And many of our members have questions for you. They’re so excited to meet you. C’mon, Frank, help me show our new daughter-in-law around the place.”

  Frank shifted forward then stopped to toss a questioning glance at his son. Jack sighed and threw his hands up, stepping out of the way so his father could take his place at my side. Frank gently held my elbow and the two of them led me out of the den into the family room.

  We hadn’t been at the upstate house for long, but I knew there must be at least a hundred people milling around. The house itself was massive, three floors, maybe ten bedrooms. The grounds were huge, spanning acres and acres according to Jack. And a large portion of it edged along the shores of Lake Ontario.

  They’d set up two big white tents in the backyard, filled with tables and chairs and long buffets of food. These people seriously liked to eat.

  I learned that the house, the grounds, and everything that came with it belonged to the pack, bought and donated for use by the pack alpha. When Jack took over for his father, his parents would move out and Jack would move in with me, his mate, to start a family. Too bad that was never gonna happen.

  As my future ex-in-laws led me around, introducing me to the head of this family and that, I couldn’t help the sadness niggling at the back of my neck. It felt wrong. Everyone was so nice, and accepting, forgiving my ignorance and the fact that I was only human. They were honest and genuine and I was lying straight to their faces.

  I would never really be a part of Jack’s world, this magical, mystical world. These people, as warm and eager as they were to welcome me, would never be my family. I would never be one of them. We were using them, charming them to get what we wanted. And soon I’d be legally separated from them—from him—with only a brief moment of marriage in between and no way to make things right.

  A few days ago that wouldn’t have bothered me. I mean, that was the plan, right? I didn’t want to be a werewolf, sprouting hair all over my body. Hell, I paid good money to remove most of the hair my body already sprouted. And no way did I want to be married to a man I thought
was a self-centered, pushy, materialistic, beauty hound—a man who never dated anyone who wasn’t taller than five-seven, less than a hundred-thirty pounds, and on the cover of Vogue at least once.

  But now . . . now that I’d met his loving family, now that I knew Jack, knew the reasons behind my misconceptions? Now that I knew that despite everything, despite his huge family, all his money and power, Jack felt as alone in this world as I did? Now . . . ? I wasn’t so sure.

  “There she is,” Frank said, after we’d made the rounds through the crowd of pack members at least twice. His smile beamed as a pretty teen girl, platinum blonde curls bouncing over her shoulders, pink airy dress floating around her body, came bounding toward us.

  When she was near enough she leapt into Jack’s arms, his smile enormous and so genuine he nearly glowed with joy. “Anna,” he said, his breath huffing out of him on impact. “You’re going to have to start taking it easy on your big brother. I’m getting too old to take your tackle hugs. You’ll snap me in two.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” she said, still crushing him in hug. “You’re not old. You’re only eighteen years older than me, and I’m practically still a child. Just ask Mummy.”

  “Anna,” Meredith chastised.

  Big brother? Jack had a sister? Who knew? I sure as hell didn’t.

  The pretty blonde—a clone of her mother—dropped from Jack’s neck and turned to me. Her smile was stunning and warm. “So you’re going to be my new sister?”

  “Anna, no,” Jack said, reaching for her, but then stopped. His worried gaze flicked between us and it hit me—he’d forgotten about her, his precious little sister. He hadn’t thought about how she’d take his devious little plan to undermine werewolf tradition. He hadn’t considered how his Anna would take his betrayal, and it worried him. Truly worried him. I could almost feel it.

  His sister glanced back at him. “This isn’t Kate?”

  “Of course it is,” Frank said. “What’s wrong with you, boy?”

  “Nothing.” Jack shook his head, brows tight, slipping his hands into the front pockets of his slacks. “Nothing’s wrong. Yes. This is Kate. Kate, this is my baby sister, Anna.”