Free Shopping Showdown by Buffi BeCraft-Woodall Page A

had become Pack Mother, not because she wanted to, or because
Adam had wanted her to, but because the pack chose her. Her sweet,
needy boys.
    The pack originally consisted of five
teenagers that Adam had rescued from abuse. For some reason the
boys had latched on to her. The other two sexy men at the table
were Adam’s new wardens and pack members. As wardens, golden Chase
and dark elegant Tank, were like the pack bodyguards. Adam had even
defied convention and made Karen, Diana’s daughter and another
male, both human psychics like Diana official members of the pack.
Then, there was Tamara, the bubbly wolven female that Diana never
quite knew what to say around. If Tamara wasn’t so freaking nice
and blond, Diana might have had a reason to dislike her. As it was,
the other woman had latched on to her just like one of the
boys.
    And she was going out with Adam. Dating
and the best sex she’d ever had in her life. But she hadn’t made
the last commitment he’d been pushing for the last several months.
It was a decision she planned to make very carefully. Mating was
serious magical ju-ju with no back-out clause. There could be no
divorce to save her from a second marital mistake.
    Adam folded the paper with neat,
precise creases and laid it down on her worn kitchen table. A lot
more worn and scratched with the pack’s regular use. He pinned her
with a steady gaze.
    “Look honey, Even without taking the
mate’s bond, you are still alpha female. It’s only an invitation to
a baby shower. You don’t have to go.” He was as clueless as the
rest of the male species. Diana wanted to slap the long-suffering
attitude right out of his chauvinistic werewolf mug.
    “Nooo,” She drew the word out. Two
could play at this game. “It’s not just a baby shower. I have to
go. It’s your nephew. In your old pack.”
    The idiot just blinked. Diana growled
at him and snatched the invitation back. “I am not going to blow
off an invitation from your parents. Who just happen to run one of
the biggest packs in Texas.”
    “Mara’s more like a stepmother and
there’s only about ten territories in the state.” Adam calmly held
out his cup for a refill.
    “Arrggh!” Diana stormed off. Let his
lackeys refill his cup. She wasn’t going to let him get to her, or
guilt her into making a commitment she wasn’t ready to make. And
someone owed her some freaking expensive coffee.

    Adam sighed and took a swig of the
coffee refill. God, the woman had some amazing coffee. He could
never find stuff like it on the store shelf. On either side of him,
the tension began to slide from Chase and Tank. He gave his wardens
a faint smile and a shrug.
    What was a guy to do when his woman
kept saying no?
    “Don’t worry boss. She’ll come around.”
Chase stood up and slugged down the rest of his coffee. The extra
long braid slapped at his tee shirt covered back, telling Adam that
his new wardens planned to ride their bikes in today. “C’mon Tank.
Time to hit the road if we’re going to keep working.” The blond
wolven male stretched, cup hanging from his fingertip. Adam
snatched the mug before it dropped. There were enough broken things
around this house and his own with the boys running
around.
    “ Where are you guys crashing
tonight?”
    “Here.” Tank, the larger of the two,
gathered up breakfast dishes and carried them to the sink with the
ease of someone who felt right at home. Within moments, he had the
dishwasher loaded and humming through its first cycle.
    It was a valid question. The two
wardens may have found a job at a local bike shop, motorcycles not
bicycles, but they hadn’t settled yet in any one place. Adam’s
house was full to bursting with the most of the boys and Tamara
staying there until she found a place. Some nights ,Chase and Tank
settled on Diana’s living room floor, content as two pups. No,
three. Adam spied the wolf slinking into the kitchen for a drink
out of bowls sitting in the raised trays by the sliding