P.S I'm a WOLF! (Paranormal Shifter Romance Book 1) Page 3

  Every wolf present there watched and listened carefully. They ranged in color and size, in age, and in rank within their packs. Some of them had not heard the tale, though most had.

  King Nicholai continued. “On the night when both the princess and prince were born, our two packs made a vow to one another. We vowed that when the pups came of age, they would be united in the unification ceremony, and as life mates, their union would combine our two regions and make the entire Pacific coast the biggest and strongest of all regions in the country.”

  Every wolf at the gathering howled their approval and excitement. The king continued.

  “The time of unification is nearly upon us. On this night, we bring these two wolves together to meet for the first time and to begin their courtship.” King Nicholai turned his head and looked at his guest, King Grigor.

  King Grigor eyed a young-looking wolf with glossy mahogany fur at the front of his pack. She stood and walked toward him with dignity and strength. King Grigor spoke to the gathering proudly. “My daughter, Princess Petra.”

  He nodded to her after she bowed her head to him, and she took her place at his side. The four royals sat in a row, facing the two packs. Everyone watched and listened intently.

  King Nicholai spoke again, nodding to Kip at his side. “My Grandson, Prince Kipling.”

  Princess Petra and Prince Kipling dutifully left their places and met in front of the two kings, gazing at each other in full for the first time. There was silence between them.

  King Nicholai continued, “You have now met. For the next three months, pack Dalca will live nearby as guests on our lands in the south house. During that time, there will be celebrations and preparations for the ceremony. In three months’ time, on the full moon, the prince and princess will be united as life mates. Together, they will create a lineage of the most powerful werewolves in the world. Long may you live and love.”

  Every wolf there howled in excitement at the upcoming union, and as the two kings looked on, the prince and princess left the platform and moved into the crowd of wolves that gathered around them.

  Kip stayed as long as he had to while all eyes were on him, but as the wolves began to spread their attention to each other, he slipped out of the building and left it behind, running silently through the trees, over big boulders and up and down small hills until he came through a thick stand of trees and stopped on a small rocky cliff, overlooking the great valley below.

  He laid down then, panting as his heart pounded hard, and he raised his head and gazed up at the moon traversing the dark sky. He was quiet, laying there in the silence of the massive forest at night, where only occasional sounds of owls or nocturnal creatures scurrying through the dark underbrush met his ears.

  He thought of his duty to his family, his pack, and to the visiting Dalca pack. He had been told since he was young that he would be married to Petra one day, but they had never met, and he had put it from his mind until the month before when his grandfather, King Nicholai, had informed him that pack Dalca were coming and that the time of the unification was upon them.

  Kip had no interest in Petra, but it wasn’t about love; it was about pack politics, and as he was next in line to be king over his pack, he knew that there was no way out of it. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, letting the breath out slowly as he pushed the tangle of thoughts from his mind.

  When they had nearly all gone, only one was left, and it was the only one he wanted to think about. Janine came to the forefront of his mind, and that was right where he wanted her. He thought about their kisses that day, about the things they had talked about, and about how much he liked her, how much he wanted her, and how hungry he was to be with her. Everything about her haunted him, and he didn’t want it to stop.

  Emotion swept through him, and he drew in a deep breath and looked at the moon, howling her name to it.

  The night wore on, and Kip slept on the ledge. He woke with the light of dawn reaching out silently in pastel colors and gold, touching every place he could see. Still in his werewolf form, he got up, stretched, and then broke into a run back to the house.

  When he reached the expansive mansion, he shifted back into a human and went to his room to shower and dress for the day. He was surprised when he walked into the kitchen to see Princess Petra there. He knew it was her immediately, though he had not seen her in her human form.

  Her hair was dark brunette, hanging long down her back to her waist in great curls. Her skin was slightly paler than his, with a rosy blush to it. Her eyes were large and sea green, rimmed with thick lashes. She had full, round pink lips and a stunning face. Her form was strong and healthy, her curves generous, and her body toned and muscular. She was the picture of beauty and health. If Kip was singularly beautiful among men, she was his opposite in that she was easily one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen.

  There was a single moment of awkwardness between them, and it was silent, but then she broke it by flashing a million-dollar smile at him. Kip held his hand out to her, and she shook it. She stared at him, intrigued by him and fascinated with him.

  With a sly smile forming over her mouth, she considered him thoughtfully. When she spoke, her voice was as smooth as velvet and as sweet as honey. “I had no idea that I would be marrying someone as gorgeous as you are,” she said appreciatively.

  He shrugged one shoulder as he gazed back at her. “We would have had to marry one another no matter what we looked like.”

  “You’re right,” she agreed amiably as she let her gaze wander down over his body slowly before looking back up at him. “But I think we got lucky. I love the way you look.”

  She took a few steps toward him then, lifting her hand and resting it flat against his chest. Gazing up into his eyes, she gave him a sultry smile. “I’ll admit, I was nervous about meeting you, but now I can’t wait for the three months to be up, just so that I can take a bite out of you.” She laughed softly and curled her fingers into a sort of claw, raking it down his chest in a seductive way.

  “Would you like to practice a little before our wedding night?” Petra slid her hand back up his chest to where the buttons on his shirt were undone, and slipped a fingertip against the skin there, toying with the hair as she smiled sensually at him.

  Kip reached his hand up and closed it over hers, pulling her hand down away from his chest. “I’m a bit old-fashioned,” he said evenly. “I would rather wait.”

  Petra peered closely at him, and she cocked an eyebrow as she half-laughed. “Oh, now look at you. There’s something going on here that I need to know about.” Considering him, she tilted her head a little to one side. “How do you feel about our upcoming wedding? Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

  Kip shrugged and looked away from her. “It’s just part of the job.” He turned away from her slightly and continued, hoping to change the subject at least a little. “Have you seen the south house where you’ll be staying? It’s another mansion, almost as big as this one. It’s on the south side of the mountain we’re on here. We keep it for company.”

  He could smell her attraction to him, and something else, something that smelled like hunger, but not for him. Perhaps for power or ascension to her eventual role as queen.

  Petra nodded, her eyes locked on him. “Yes, I saw it this morning. It’s very nice. I came here because I wanted to see you, and now I’m so glad that I did. You are definitely worth seeing.” She lowered her voice and reached her hand to his arm, stroking it slowly up and down. “And now that I have, I can’t wait to see a lot more of you.” She gave his arm a firm squeeze as she licked her lips. Kip pulled away from her, and she laughed.

  Kip only looked at her, keeping a stoic expression. “I’m glad you’ve seen the house. I hope that you have a good stay while you’re with us.” With that, he turned and walked out of the kitchen and then the house.

  As he drove into Seattle, he could think of little else but Petra and what was to come for them both. It loomed ah
ead of him, and it felt to him as if he was trapped, and there was no way out it. He grew frustrated, and as he worked the thoughts over and over again in his mind, he was interrupted by thoughts of Janine. They were a welcome reprieve to him, and he focused on those, pushing all other thoughts from his mind until there was nothing but Janine, and he felt a peace and happiness come over him.

  Kip drove to a big office tower and pulled into a parking garage beneath it. A long ride up the elevator later, and he was walking into offices on the fifteenth floor, overlooking the city and Puget Sound. It was a stunning view and was certainly the best in the building, especially as his offices were on the top floor.

  As he entered the offices, a man with slightly untamed dark brown hair came up to him with a smile on his face. He was a little older than Kip, but he was as youthful as a young man.

  “Good morning, Luca.” Kip gave him a smile.

  “Morning. I wasn’t sure if I would see you today. That was some party, huh?” Luca raised his brows and chuckled quietly.

  Kip’s poker face remained. “It was fine.”

  Luca grew a little more serious. “I know you left the party early. Really early. Why didn’t you stay around?”

  Kip shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Luca sighed and eyed him keenly. “What is it? You don’t like Petra?”

  Kip shot him a look of annoyance. He knew Luca wasn’t going to just let it go. He was one of the most stubborn wolves in the pack, and he loved a good argument almost as much as he loved a good discussion. He was smart, and that was why Kip used him as his assistant, but it did come at a cost.

  “No, Petra is beautiful and strong. She’s fine. I have just always had a hard time with accepting that I am going to be forced to marry some stranger because we both happened to be conceived and born on the same nights. I just think it’s a coincidence, it doesn’t mean anything, and as I said, I have a hard time with it.”

  Luca stared at him. “Kip, you can’t be serious. You must understand how rare and incredible you both are. Two natural conceptions on the same night and then simultaneous births again on the same night is unheard of. You two are a phenomenon. If you have children, they will be some of the greatest wolves ever brought into this world. Surely you understand that!”

  “Yes, I do get it. It is unusual, and I guess in its own way, it’s very special. I just don’t think that it necessitates us getting married. I don’t know what’s wrong with keeping the pack regions the way that they are. Why do we have to unite our two packs and expand?” Kip grumbled slightly.

  Luca looked him in the eyes seriously. “Kip, with your unification with Petra and the combination of the two regions through the marriage, we will all have the biggest region in the country! On top of that, with two full moon babies, or I guess adults now, who are already extra powerful on your own as our leaders, we’ll all become a super pack! I really think that when you two have children, whether they are born on a full moon or not, those babies will be the strongest werewolves in the country, if not further. It’s all too incredible!”

  Kip turned away slightly and slipped his hands into his pants pockets. “I don’t like it. Think about this, Luca. Why do we need to make a power move like this? Isn’t that inviting war from the other regions in the country? Isn’t everything good enough as it is? You know… if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

  “Things are good now, but we have a rare chance to make it better, to make it the best! That’s why everyone is so geared up for this marriage! How can you not be excited about that?” Luca pleaded, doing his best to try to change his prince’s mind.

  Kip waved his hand in the air dismissively. “We need to get to work.”

  A smile spread over Luca’s face. “Ha! Work is happening without us, though it’s better when we’re handling all of it. I have it set up so that we don’t have to do much to it. We’ve already made two million dollars just this morning while we’ve been discussing the unification.”

  Kip’s eyes widened. “Really? Two million? That’s good business done. Our global market is that good?”

  Luca nodded proudly. “Yes, it has been for decades. Everything runs like a well-oiled machine. In fact, it’s better than it’s ever been now.”

  “Then keep working on it.” Kip smiled at his assistant. “We cannot grow lax because things are good. We must stay vigilant and always keep an eye to the future.”

  “I agree.” Luca smiled back. “I’ve been running this company that way for decades, and I will keep running it that way for decades more to come.”

  “Good.” Kip gave him a pat on the back.

  The day felt to Kip as if it was dragging by, and though he tried his best to focus on work, all he could think about was Janine, their amazing kisses the night before, and how he was going to see her that evening. His body grew hot just thinking about it, and more than once, he felt himself beginning to grow hard with need for her, each time doing what he could to cool off, remembering that he would see her eventually.

  Luca and Kip finally closed the office late that afternoon. They didn’t go in every day, but usually they were there at least three times a week, sometimes more if there was important business going on. The office was around the corner from the coffee shop where Janine worked, and that was how he had seen her the first time. He had been out walking in the sun, picking up some lunch from a restaurant next to the café, and she had strolled by him. Everything about her had entranced him, and he followed her into the coffee shop, only to leave, telling himself that she might be enchanting, but she was nothing he should become involved with. Kip couldn’t stay away, and before long, he was going in to see her often.

  As he strode into the coffee shop that afternoon, he was very glad that he had gone back so many times and gladder still that things had changed the day before. He knew full well that they shouldn’t have, but he just couldn’t convince himself to let go of his infatuation with her.

  Janine saw him come in, and she grinned, winking at him and blowing him a kiss. Her coworkers were stunned when they saw her do it, and they congratulated her on knowing such a gorgeous man. They were murmuring it under their breath to her discreetly, but Kip heard them from across the room all the same.

  Kip did not bother to order coffee from her, as she had picked up on his ruse. He didn’t like coffee, and he never drank it. He only bought it to have a reason to be in the coffee shop. Instead of getting a cup, he sat in the same corner table that he always sat in, and this time, he waited for her without bothering to pretend to read a newspaper. He watched her work, and he waited, but he wasn’t waiting long. Ten minutes after he’d come in, she was off, and she came to him, holding her hand out for his. He gave it to her, fascinated with her, and smiled as they walked out the door.

  “I thought I’d take you to dinner tonight, if you like.” Kip couldn’t help smiling at her. It felt to him as if the sun had just risen inside of him merely by being with her.

  “Oh, I’d love that! There’s a little Italian place a couple of streets from here. Jordano’s. Do you know it? It’s run by an Italian family, and they make the best food ever.” Janine grinned at him, loving the warmth of his hand against hers, the mystery and depth in his dark eyes, and the way that just being near him made her hungry for him in ways that she never knew she could feel. There was a powerful draw to him for her, and it got stronger the closer he was to her.

  “I do know that place! I haven’t eaten there before, but I’d love to try it!” He was happy. For the first time since he had left her the day before, he was genuinely happy.

  When they were seated at their table for dinner, the waiter set their silverware and water before them, along with fresh homemade bread. Kip eyed the silverware on the table and looked up at the waiter with a pleasant smile.

  “Would you please remove the silverware? I brought my own. Thank you,” Kip said, reaching into the inner jacket pocket of his leather coat and pulling out a full set of
pure gold flatware, wrapped in a beautiful linen cloth. Without any kind of issue, he laid them out on the table as the waiter stared at him in surprise for a moment and then removed the silverware.

  Kip looked up at Janine and smiled. She was stunned. “You brought your own flatware to a restaurant? Do you always do that?”

  Kip nodded. “Yes, actually. I always have some with me. I never feel fully sure just how well cleaned the restaurant silver is. It’s a little quirk I have.”

  She laughed lightly. “I think that’s weird, but I like you, and it makes me smile. We all have quirks, don’t we?”

  Their dinner was served, and Kip had to admit to her that it was in fact the best Italian he had ever eaten outside of Italy. They enjoyed their time together, talking about a wide range of things, but the conversation was not the best part of their evening in either of their minds.

  The best part for each of them was the closeness that they felt together as they flirted and teased, touching one another softly now and then, savoring the sparks that flew between them and the flames that licked at them, intensifying their rapidly mounting desires for each other.