Read Awaken a Wolf for Free Online

mouth to say something, but Solan elbowed him.  Shutting his mouth with a firm click of his teeth, he nodded and they turned and walked away.  She peeked out of her apartment and saw them getting into a sleek black town car.
    She shut the door slowly, a little stunned that they hadn’t argued or asked for an explanation.
    Striding through the apartment, she knocked twice on Cyrus’s door and opened it.  He was sitting at his desk.
    “Wanna go out and get a beer?  My treat.”
    He swiveled in the desk chair and smiled.  “Sure.”
    She smiled back at him and went into her bedroom to get dressed.  She ignored the vase of gorgeous pink lilies on the dresser as she pulled out a pair of socks.  Guilt pricked at her for choosing to go out with her roommate instead of the male who had saved her life.  Hell, she hadn’t even thanked him for what he’d done; instead, she’d been defensive.
    “Why don’t you want to see him?” Cyrus asked her later when they were sitting at a dive bar known as the Crow’s Nest.  She sipped at her beer and played her fingers across the marred, dark wood of the counter.
    “Because it’s too weird, too fast.  And I don’t like anyone making decisions for me and ordering me around.”
    Cyrus turned slightly on the barstool and regarded her carefully.  “You can ignore this stuff for only so long, Cin.  You are already showing signs of your werewolf nature.  I know it’s scary, but it would be scarier going through a shift for the first time by yourself.  At your age, I’m not sure that you can even go through it on your own.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, if you do eventually shift, it may be a long, difficult process.  Your wolf side, if she does really exist, has lain dormant.  Maybe if your father had stuck around and exposed you to his wolf pack, then you would have come into your shift earlier.  You need someone to help you, baby girl.  The full moon is eight days from now.  I think you need to give Adam a chance.”
    “You weres sure do stick together.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    Adam stared at the empty chair across from him.  The restaurant hummed with activity, but he was like an island in the middle of it all.  Cinder should have been sitting with him, letting him treat her to a gourmet dinner and giving him a chance to not act like a possessive jackass.  He knew he’d gotten off on the wrong foot with her at the hospital.  He’d practically shoved her relationship with the cat in her face and shown his disapproval.  She was clearly loyal to her friends.  He admired that quality, even as he wished he had her loyalty for himself.
    Wadding up the napkin from his lap, he stood and looked at the table behind him where Brick, Solan, and Joe were sitting.  Each male tried to look neutral, but Adam saw that they were embarrassed for him.  Hell, he was embarrassed for himself.  He’d never had a female turn down a dinner invitation.  Part of him wanted to go home and forget he’d ever laid eyes on the beautiful witch, but the other part of him howled to go to her and make the situation right.  He would never be happy until Cinder Knight was in his arms for good.
    Solan stood slowly.  “Want to go to Lycos?”
    “Nah.  You guys go if you want to. I’m heading home.”
    After leaving enough money on the table to cover his drink, he strode through the restaurant and out into the parking lot.  He unlocked the door to his BMW, sat down, and slammed the door.  The scent of roses filled the interior, and he looked at the bouquet he’d left there for Cinder, planning to give it to her at the end of dinner.  As he pulled out of the parking lot, he debated his next step.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 5
     
    Cinder tried to take a nap the following afternoon, but her body was humming like a tuning fork and her mind was a jumbled mess.  She could feel her wolf more strongly now, as if someone had given the creature a boost.  She’d slept like hell Tuesday