part of Ty’s master plan. Fox thinks he knows best…” Grady continued muttering under his breath.
They left the coffee shop and trailed Sophie until a large pain in Monty’s ass broke from the shadows and blocked their way. Behind him stood four more gray wolves. They certainly had presence. The wolves stood a head taller than most Ac-taw to begin with. Most of his kind were brawny and thick. Dense muscle, sharp teeth and deadly claws, when shifted, kept Cougar Falls safe when the wolves weren’t ripping up the town and its inhabitants in turf wars.
Now they stood between him and Sophie.
The mean grin Axel gave him brought out his wolf, eager for payback. “Fancy meeting you on the street, Monty. Out for a stroll with your boyfriend?”
The other wolves snickered.
Grady laughed as well. “Good one. Didn’t know you dogs had a sense of humor.”
They bristled. Wolves hated to be confused with domesticated canines. Monty didn’t like it either, but he could appreciate the general insult. It certainly scored with Axel.
“Look, Chastell. This is between us and GrayClaw. Move it along before I have to hurt you.” He looked more than up for it.
Grady backed away, his hands in the air. “You won’t get any trouble from me.” He shrugged. “I can’t speak for the others, though. For some odd reason, they seem to like the dumb wolf.”
“Hey.” Monty glared, then grinned as the scent of felines accompanied the shift of the wind. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted Stacey, Dean and two of Stacey’s sisters, Melissa and Amy. Normally one cat could take on a pair of wolves with ease. Male lions were bad enough. But the females didn’t take kindly to anyone messing with what they considered theirs. At all.
“Oh hell. Hiding behind a bunch of women?” Axel sneered at him.
Monty nodded. “You bet your ass. You might have taken me in a fight, but I dare you to tackle any of them.”
Axel cursed him and took a step forward. Then Amy and Melissa were suddenly in front of Monty, nudging him behind them.
He wanted the fight, but he wanted Sophie more. So he left the cats to battle the wolves and entered an alleyway to circle behind the buildings. With the theater taken care of, he’d lie in wait back at Sophie’s. He had to hand it to Grady—the cat had left little to chance. Now if Ty could sabotage Rafe and Sophie’s romance under the big screen, Monty wouldn’t have to break the cat into tiny pieces.
Either way, Monty wasn’t going home tonight without Sophie.
Sophie settled next to Rafe in the crowded theater. There weren’t many seats available, but she and Rafe had been lucky enough to score some toward the middle, with the row behind them only half full. Darkness settled as the advertisements began, and the rest of the Ac-taw milling about took their seats.
Rafe held a box of popcorn out to her, but she was too jittery and nervous to eat, still unsure about him. The woman didn’t know what to make of him, but her wolf was warming to him by degrees. She sniffed and rubbed, constantly moving Sophie’s hands or shoulders to brush against him before Sophie could control herself.
“Sorry,” she repeated for the fifth time, hoping she didn’t look as embarrassed as she felt. Thank goodness for dimmed lighting.
“No problem. I like you touching me,” he rumbled, again inviting her to move closer. He entwined his hand with hers and held them over the arm of the seat—the lone barrier separating them. She thought she’d scented his arousal a time or two. But he’d laid his jacket over his lap, so she couldn’t tell if he truly desired her or just liked the contact.
Wolves needed touch. She’d always been a demonstrative person and now knew why. Her uncle and cousins had abhorred her affection, and she’d spent much of her youth alone and lonely while surrounded by family. Here, with people she was still getting to know, Ac-taw of all shapes and sizes greeted her with