A Mate's Bite

20

Karla woke up to the sound of laughter coming from her kitchen. And the urge to vomit. Thanks a lot baby Spot. Well, at least the day could only get better from there, right?

When she got to the kitchen, she found Jordan, Ellie, Nicole, and Emma sitting around the dinner-table eating.

“Hey! There’s the sexy mama.” Emma grinned, waving her wine glass toward Karla.

Shit. How long had she slept? And more importantly, how much had Emma had to drink? Her eyes had that glassy look to them with her cheeks tinged pink.

“What time is it?” Karla smiled, enjoying the scent of lemon and honey drifting to her nose from the tea Barbara passed her.

“Dinner time.” Jordan pulled a biscuit apart. “You slept a long time, girl.”

“I guess I didn’t realize I was that tired.” Or that s*x with Nate would drain her this much. But who the hell cared when she’d felt that good. She’d give up sleep if it meant multiple orgasms with the muscled shifter. “Did you guys see Kel leave?”

“He went home, said he’d take a shower and come back later. And Nate went over to Caleb’s to see if there was anything he could help with in the immediate area,” Ellie said, answering the real question Karla wanted to ask.

“Thanks. I wonder if Kel was feeling any better.” She drank more of the tea that calmed her stomach.

“He said he was. And he looked well-rested. He also said to let you know Kass was on her way.”

Awesome. That’s not what she wanted to hear. Her sister coming for a visit when her world had been flipped on its axis wasn’t her idea of a fun time. “Not that I don’t love you all, because I do, but what are you all doing here anyway?”

“Um, it’s man-bashing night!” Nicole cheered so loud Karla winced, clinking glasses with Emma. Another who’d had more than one glass.

“Mrs. Wolfe,” Emma turned to Barbara with a frown, “Mason is a big bully.”

Oh, brother. It began. Karla ate toast while listening to Emma’s complaints over Mason. She couldn’t stop herself from putting her friend on the spot. “What did you do now?”

Emma lifted an arched brow high, leaning forward. “What do you mean what did I do?”

Barbara patted Karla’s hand. “Mason is a hardhead.”

“Thank you.” Emma sniffed, leaned back on her seat and sipped her wine. “He is a hard head, and he keeps kicking me out of his club!”

Everyone turned to stare at Emma. Barbara cleared her throat. “The Horny Wolfe?”

“Yep. He says that place is dangerous for me. Me!” She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips.

“Well…” Jordan’s face turned a deep shade of telltale crimson. “I got in trouble the last time I was there too.”

Nicole snorted through a giggle. “Yeah, but I think the kind of trouble you got into is the kind we like.”

Emma refilled her glass. “Mrs. Wolfe, tell him to stop being such a bone head and leave me alone. I’m just observing.”

Karla knew Emma wanted Mason. Probably as much as she wanted Nate. It was fun to see the two butt heads constantly. With as difficult as Emma was, Nate had it easy with Karla. She wasn’t bent on kicking ass. Nope. She was only emotionally closed-off and afraid to open up.

Damn. Maybe Nate didn’t have it all that easy.

“I’ll give it a try, Emma,” Barbara promised, placing baked chicken on the table. “But my boys can be really difficult at times.”

Emma’s face scrunched in frustration. “If he doesn’t quit it, I’ll have to get violent with him.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Nicole murmured. “I may have to get violent with whoever keeps peeping around my windows at night.”

“Are you being stalked?” Karla sat up straighter. Nicole’s breezy grin didn’t sound fearful. In fact, she appeared glad to have someone looking through her windows.

Nicole shook her head. She grabbed a biscuit and moaned at the fresh baked scent. “Nah. It’s Jake. He thinks I don’t know, but I do have security cameras placed strategically around my house.”

“Aw,” Ellie sighed. “He’s worried about you.”

Nicole picked up a corn on the cob to put on her plate. “I like the term stalking better.”

Ellie’s phone went off at that moment. The sound of She-Wolf filled the dining room.

“It’s Mason.” She frowned, glancing at her screen. “He says to come get Karla because she’s rubbing between two young wolves and Nate is on his way there from Thirsty Wolfe. He’s trying to keep the two young guys alive.”

“What?” If Nate was at Thirsty Wolfe, then that meant he was working at his own bar instead of hunting with Caleb. He’d been neglecting his business trying to help his friend get his pack back. Karla would offer to help him with the bar, but she didn’t want him to think she was overstepping boundaries. Ellie’s words finally caught her attention. “Wait a second. What did you say?”

Ellie shrugged in her oversized top. “Let me call him.”

“He’s probably drunk and hitting on women.” Emma folded her arms over her chest.

“They don’t get drunk, dear.” Barbara smiled. “And I doubt he’d hit on anyone else.”

Ellie put the phone to her ear. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Did you get cloned and not tell us about it?” Jordan toyed with Karla’s ponytail.

Cloned? Oh, no. Her sister was already wreaking havoc in her life.

“We have to go.” She rushed to her feet. Good thing she was already dressed, even though it was in yoga pants and T-shirt. They didn’t have time to waste.

“Let’s go.” Emma stood. “I’m ready to give Mason a piece of my mind for being such a dickhead.”

Jordan snorted. “Just as long as you don’t give him a piece of something else in the process.”

“Jordan!”

She grinned. “I’m just saying.”

Ellie hung up.