The Wolf King’s Possession

3

I’m on my way to Evergreen. Surprise! Come save me from dinner with Nana tomorrow night?

Sure. Just let me know what time, I sent back, already bracing for impact. If Mom was coming back to Evergreen, it could only be for one reason.

Sure enough, her next message dropped the bomb.

I’ve got someone special coming with me. I think this one might be a keeper.

Sounds great, I texted back. Can’t wait to meet him.

Not that I’d bother getting too attached. Wherever Mom went, she left a long string of broken hearts in her wake—though you’d never know that from the way she told things. Every man she’d ever been with was a god in her eyes at first, and the devil himself by the time she was done with him. Her relationships rarely lasted more than a few months.

Meeting the new guy didn’t exactly fill me with glee. Already, I was dreading this dinner. It was clever of her—getting me to agree to it before I knew what I was really in for.

I tried to drift off again, but it was no use. Worrying about Mom had smothered my sleepiness. After twenty minutes, I gave up and reached for my phone again.

You up? I texted Xander.

Hell yeah, sexy mama. Can’t sleep. Too hot thinkin’ bout you.

I snorted. He’d replied immediately, and with his favorite joke, too.

It was the same bit he did when we went out for drinks. Anytime a guy came anywhere near us, Xander would put on a big show of hitting on me in the most egregious way possible, and I’d put on an even bigger show of falling for it. He loved springing surprise acting exercises on me like that, leaving me with no choice but to react and play along. I was pretty sure he only did it to see the look on the other guy’s face when we left together—as if Xander’s ham-fisted flirting had actually worked.

How much do I have to pay you to knock that off? I asked.

How much do I gotta pay you to come over and get that pretty mouth around my big fat…

I laughed as Xander’s text broke into a long series of eggplant emojis. If I’d been silly enough to believe there was any truth to his pick-up lines, those eggplants would have set me straight again.

Xander never used emojis—unless he was trying to make me laugh.

My mom’s coming to town tomorrow, I texted as I crawled out of bed to grab a drink. She twisted my arm into dinner at Nana’s. Sounds like I’m about to meet my next stepfather.

I was halfway to the kitchen when my phone rang.

“Seventh time’s the charm, right?” Xander said.

“Eighth, actually.” I opened the fridge and perused my options. “You’re forgetting about the what-happens-in-Vegas debacle.”

“Ah, right. How could I forget those seventeen hours of wedded bliss?” Xander scoffed as I grabbed a LaCroix. “How long do you think this one is gonna last? Twenty bucks says they split before Thanksgiving.”

“You’re being too generous. Fifty says they’re done by Easter.”

“You’re on. You need back-up tomorrow? I clean up real nice.”

“Nah. I’m well-equipped to handle Mommy Dearest these days.” I cracked open the LaCroix and headed to the living room, where I flopped down on my secondhand green couch. “Besides, it would only give her ideas.”

“What kind of ideas?” The flirtatious note returned to his tone.

“The wrong kind,” I assured him. “The last thing this dinner needs is another sidebar from my mother about how I need to lock you down before some prettier girl snatches you up.”

“As if there are prettier girls than you.”

This time, I almost blushed. Xander and I were only friends. It was all we’d ever be. I’d had a crush on him back in high school, of course. The same could be said for every girl who had attended Evergreen High with him. But unlike the rest, I’d laid those feelings to rest long ago.

Still, I wasn’t immune to him complimenting me. Every woman in town wanted him, and with good reason. He was the total package. An absolute catch.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I joked, brushing it off.

“Yeah? Then at least keep me in mind for a wedding date. If she decides to play runaway bride again, you’re gonna need me.”

“I’ll think about it.” Most likely, this relationship wouldn’t make it to the altar. For now, Mom’s new guy was Mr. Right, but in a few months, she was sure to find something to hate about him, just like she did with all the rest.

To her credit, she usually wasn’t wrong.

“How was work?” Xander asked as I booted up Netflix. If I couldn’t sleep, I could at least rewatch a few episodes of Bridgerton.

“Long and exhausting. Yours?”

“Still at the firehouse. Nothing’s burned down yet.” I heard him spit—the Miller family’s way of knocking on wood. “You want me to have a word with your management? That place is gonna crumble if they work you to death.”

“You know how I feel about you pulling strings for me,” I reminded him.

“And you know how I feel about it.”

As alpha of the Evergreen pack, Xander was essentially small-town famous. He knew everyone, everyone knew him, and no one ever hesitated when it came to doing a favor for their favorite wolf.

I should have never let him help me haggle on the Flamingo’s price with Mr. Burnett. He’d been looking for his chance at an encore ever since.

“No meddling,” I said in the most serious voice I could manage.

“I’ll do my best. You got plans for tonight?”

“Lexi’s going out. Big party in Boston, if you wanna join her.” Part of me hadn’t even wanted to tell him about it, but I’d promised Lexi I’d pass the invite along.

“You going?”

“Yeah, there’s nothing I like more than spending twelve hours on my feet in scrubs and another twelve in heels.”

“Tell Lexi I’m busy, then. You shouldn’t hang out with her so much.”

“I work with her,” I reminded him. “Pretty unavoidable.”