Free Dire Desires: A Novel of the Eternal Wolf Clan by Stephanie Tyler Page A

right?” Jez asked and Gillian’s stomach rumbled. She blushed and laughed a little and Jinx felt himself grow lighter every time he heard the sound.
    Fucking pansy ass. “You know who owns this, right?”
    Jez smiled. “Of course.”
    Jinx kept Gillian close when they went inside. Most Weres wouldn’t be able to sense what she was—they just didn’t have that kind of nose when a Dire was preshift, and Dires were good at that kind of camouflage for good reason. But still, that didn’t always stop stupid things from coming out of wolves’ mouths.
    “Grab a seat in the back,” the owner called. He was a big Were, head of this family-run business. The Were family considered themselves their own pack, owing loyalty to no one. And yet, Jinx heard they pledged theirs to Liam, if push came to shove.
    A smart move to align themselves with the once and future king.
    Obviously, Jez had been here before, as none of the Weres looked at him oddly. In fact, the waitress asked if Jez wanted his usual.
    Jinx raised a brow when Jez nodded.
    “I don’t think I want to know what a deadhead’s usual is,” he murmured without thinking.
    “You like the Grateful Dead?” Gillian asked and Jez gave her a smile.
    “I followed them one summer.”
    Jinx rubbed a hand along the back of his neck as he watched his mate and his vampire roommate bonding over “Sugar Magnolia.” He supposed things could be worse.
    They all ate heartily once the food came. Jinx ordered another round of fries for Gillian and a burger and shake for himself—they would be his third—and she didn’t seem to think the way they ate was odd at all.
    “I see someone I need to do some business with.” Jez excused himself and made his way to a table across the room where two werechicks sat. They’d been staring at Jez from the moment he’d walked in and Jinx made a mental note to ask his roomie what the hell that was all about.
    The extra food came and Gillian put ketchup carefully on the side of her plate. Took a sip of his shake when Jinx offered to share.
    “Thanks. This food is so much better than the hospital.” As she spoke the word, her expression tightened a little.
    “It’s okay, Gillian. I’ll make sure you stay out of that place.”
    “Why are you doing this? Hiding me? Helping me?” she asked.
    “Does it matter? You’re free.”
    She nibbled a fry dipped in ketchup, then said, “In my experience, there’s a price you pay for everything.”
    “I think you’ve paid enough, Gillian.”
    She smiled. “I like the way you say my name. You don’t have an accent, but every time you say my name, you do.”
    Because he slipped into the cadence of the old language whenever he was around her, couldn’t help it. He felt like he was in the old country; expected he could look out and see the bloom of the Reinrose, the delicate purple Revebejelle that circled around the center of town hall where all the celebrations took place. He could see Gillian dancing in a loose white dress, her hair glinting like diamonds in the sun.
    You are losing your ever-loving mind
. And after living with both Vice and a vamp, he didn’t have all that far to go.
    •   •   •
    Jinx seemed far away for the moment. She took the opportunity to study him carefully. He was like no man she’d ever met before—a mix of modern motorcycle badass and somehow old-fashioned in his manners, the way he opened her doors for her, pulled out her chair. That wasn’t some act, like her father and his friends. No, this was ingrained in him, like it was second nature.
    His eyes were green like the fields she ran in during the springtime—she slept on the pads of warm grass during the day, hidden away from the prying eyes of the others in the park, and at night, she ran, smelling the musk of the flowers. His eyes warmed her. His hair felt as silky as it looked and she wanted to run her hands through it again. To kiss him again, although granted the cemetery was possibly the