Free Vice (Fireborn Wolves Book 1) by Genevieve Jack Page B

stronger during the full moon. Different wolves had different vices. Jason’s was sex. It didn’t matter with whom, as long as he had enough of it. Other wolves were known to eat pizza before every full moon, an entire extra-large pizza loaded with every meat topping imaginable. If a vice was denied, the need grew stronger, until the desire consumed the host wolf. In wolf world, there was one very simple rule: deny the vice; pay the price.
    “I can’t… I can’t want him in that way. Kyle can’t be my vice.”
    “Maybe your wolf just needs sex, like mine,” he said. “Try with someone else.”
    “She didn’t just want sex, she wanted him .” Laina leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling. “He brought his dog into Four Paws in Carlton City.”
    “Huh?”
    “He was just passing through. The dog got sick. Becca took care of it after I left. He asked me out the night of the ball. I missed our date. But, my wolf wanted him then too. She’s asked for him twice .”
    “Shit, Laina.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, if he is the playboy the tabloids make him out to be, maybe you can find a way into his bed.”
    She sat up quickly, causing bathwater to splash onto the floor. “I will not! I’m not a whore, and if I have an affair with a human, it sure as hell won’t be one who promotes the objectification of women.”
    “It’s not like that and you know it. The wolf wants what she wants. You get in there, you do the deed, and you take off. She’s happy; you’re happy. This is about physical needs and your metaphysical health, nothing more. You don’t want to become a stalker, do you? You don’t want to find yourself three months from now masturbating outside his window.”
    “It doesn’t have to be like that. There have been cases when a vice has faded with time and distance. I’ve never indulged my wolf’s desire. I might be able to redirect her.”
    “Good luck with that.”
    “Turn around. I’m getting out.”
    Jason slid to the other side of the toilet and stared at the door. She pulled the plug on the drain and stood up to grab a dry towel from the rack. Wringing out the wet towel, she hung it up to dry before wrapping the new one around her body. “Okay.”
    “What about the fairy box? Did you do Monty’s dirty work?” Jason asked, turning back toward her.
    “Yes. The box is activated and in the dustiest corner of the kitchen. The place will be crawling with rats by tomorrow. If the health inspector doesn’t close Hunt Club down, at least temporarily, Monty hasn’t bribed the right people.”
    “Good. Hopefully, that’s the end of it. The packs should be here tomorrow. We need Monty to be cooperative.”
    “It’s three o’clock in the morning. I think we can officially say the packs will be here later today, which is why I sorely need to get some sleep.” She started for her room.
    The toilet rattled as Jason removed himself from its porcelain lid. “Hey, Laina.”
    “Yeah.”
    “I know you think that if you work hard enough and study long enough, you can cure yourself of being a werewolf and escape what it means. You can’t. This isn’t a disease. There is no cure. You’re a supernatural being. It’s magic, not medicine. And if your wolf wants Kyle, there’s no shame in it. Do what you have to do.”
    “Just like there’s no shame in marrying someone I don’t love to perpetuate the Fireborn bloodline? Like how there will be no shame in cheating on whoever the male might be because marriage is nothing more than a practical business arrangement and I am simply a uterus in need of impregnating?”
    “Come on, Laina…”
    “No. Don’t deny it. That’s exactly how the pack thinks. That’s how Silas thinks. Maybe that’s how you think. Well, let me tell you how I think. I think love exists, real love, the kind of love that brings you to your knees and holds you tight during the storm. I believe that sex means something and so does marriage.”
    He