Free Wolf Bitten by Ella Drake Page A

most of her life blared up at her, and she froze. Sweat trickled down the sides of her face, but she didn't move to wipe it.
    Wolfsbane. The emblem of two swords crossed over the head of a howling wolf represented the hunters who preyed on the PACk. Even though she was completely human, she'd been raised in one of their peaceful communities and couldn't understand the motives of Wolfsbane. She'd run from home so she wouldn't have to couple with one of them, but they didn't cause trouble for anyone. They kept to themselves.
    Fonso and the man murmured to each other, their voices too low for her to hear above the traffic rushing by on the interstate. Brock would want to know about this, but she didn't know where he was, and she sure didn't want to know. The last she'd seen him, he'd been pissed and didn't give her a chance to explain her fears. Not that she could tell him that she didn't want to mate with a half-man, half-animal. He wouldn't take that well, probably worse than he'd taken her refusal of marriage.
    "Hey, Allie."
    She started before she recognized her best friend's voice. Max gripped her arm from behind. “Why are you standing in the middle of the driveway?"
    "Oh, just about to head back inside for a break. Fonso's got it covered out here,” she said. By the time she peeked back over her shoulder, the dark-haired man had slipped his helmet and jacket back on.
    Over the racket of the muffler, she yelled at Max, “Come on, let's get out of this heat."
    The bell jingled over the door when they went inside to a cold wave of conditioned air. In the small front office, Allie grabbed two bottles of water from the mini-fridge and handed one to the tall and gangly Max, who wore a local band shirt and jeans, his usual outfit of choice.
    "How ‘bout we take a turn at your place for movie night?” Max's voice remained neutral, but the pleading in his eyes twinged her a little. Crowded by his three roommates, he obviously wanted to go to her studio apartment because they'd be alone.
    "I don't think that's a good idea. My TV is about as big as a bread box,” she said, trying to discourage him without an outright rejection.
    "Come on, we can watch something old so it won't matter.” Max flashed his most charming grin, his teeth white in his tanned face, the one that usually worked with other girls.
    "Okay, you bring the popcorn, but I can't promise I won't fall asleep halfway through."
    "That's okay,” he said and grinned. “You can use me as a pillow."
    "Uh-huh.” She bent over the day's repair schedule to pretend interest.
    She didn't think Brock would like her sleeping on Max. Not one bit. She'd been trying to ignore Max's attempts to move from friendship to something more. Something she couldn't give. Damn Brock for preying on her mind when she hadn't seen him in years. She didn't want him. Really, she didn't. Why not take what Max had to offer?
    The door dinged again when Fonso entered.
    "Guess break time is over.” She downed the rest of her water in one big gulp and tried not to let her worry show when she asked, “Who was your friend?"
    His usual jocularity hidden behind a mask of indifference, Fonso eyed her for a moment. “What friend?"
    "On the hog.” She tipped her head to the side toward the front of the station.
    "Him? Not a friend. He's just passing through."
    Before Allie could ask anything more, a car pulled up, and she headed outside.
    "I'll see you tonight,” Max said when she didn't bother saying good-bye. He touched her hand as they walked out before he crossed to his car. That bucket of bolts should've been too loud to surprise her, but somehow he'd parked it while she'd been studying the Wolfsbane scum.
    Once she'd filled the customer's tank, she retreated to the overhang of the service bay. Fonso was still inside, making calls to customers with repair updates. She flipped open her mobile and hit speed dial for her mom, Sunnie, who'd promised to keep secret Allie's whereabouts. Sunnie knew