The Vegan and the Wolf, Julie Steimle [fantasy books to read .txt] 📗

at the place where she works over veganism.”

“Really?” Kim glanced back. “I’m feeling more respect for her every second. What can’t she do?”

Rick chuckled. “She’s human enough.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

He drew in a heavy sigh. “For me, it is.”

Kim halted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Shaking his head, his voice getting harder to hear the further he went, Rick said, “She’s a good person, Kim. She saved my skin—twice. Which is why I don’t want her tangled in my mess.”

Twice? Audry wondered which times. She recalled Paris and him running from someone back at the Eiffel Tower. But when was the second time? It couldn’t have been at the conference. Was it at the ski lodge when she reported in those hunters? Was that it? They were definitely trying to hunt ‘werewolf’—never mind that there was no such thing.

She could not hear him anymore. She could only watch him.

“You saved our brother?” the boy asked, gazing up at her.

The little girl’s eyes were huge on her also.

Crouching down on her heels, Audry tried to sit next to them. “I first met your brother in Paris.”

They stared more. “Really?”

“It was very short meeting,” she explained. “But he was doing back then the same thing he is doing now—being sneaky.”

They giggled, hands over mouths to smother it.

“He said somebody was chasing him, and he wanted to hide with my school group and pretend to be one of us,” she said. Then she opened her purse and took out her cell phone to show the picture.

As they were admiring it, especially poking fun at Rick’s longer hair, she felt like laughing. He did look like the perfect skater.

“Wolf brother looks so cool,” the boy said. “I want to be like him when I grow up.”

The little girl looked up at Audry and said, “When you get married, will you have wolf babies?”

“What?” Audry stared at her.

“Shht!” the boy hushed her, wide-panicked eyes on Audry. “He didn’t say they were getting married.”

“I like puppies.” The girl ignored him, smiling. “Their hair is so soft and cuddly. I like to pet them.”

“I like puppies too…” Audry looked around, wondering why the conversation had gone in that direction. But then, the girl was rather young.

“Wolf brother has the nicest fur…”

“Shht!” the brother hissed. “That’s a secret.”

“We don’t keep secrets,” the little girl hissed back. “Only surprises.”

“But she’s not ready to be surprised,” the boy hissed back. “Remember he told us it had scared Mom.”

The little girl slapped two hands over her mouth. Her eyes bugged wide, looking left and right and then on Audry. Pulling down her fingers, the girl whispered, “Sorry. Are you scared?”

Gazing at her with a half-laugh, Audry said, “Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about. But, for the record—your brother and I are just friends. Acquaintances really.”

The boy looked a little disappointed. Yet the girl didn’t care either way. Most likely she didn’t comprehend the word ‘acquaintance’.

As she was about to explain, Audry glanced up, as she thought she saw someone approaching. But then she did a double take, as the person approaching from the stairs was Harlin.

Too Many ‘Boyfriends’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Nine

 

 

Harlin marched right past her. He did not recognize her. At least, not at first. He did a double take, then halted, staring.

Audry rose, feeling around her purse for the tazer. “Stay back.”

His eyes went to the two children in ninja costumes.

“What? Are you babysitting?” He stared at her, dumbfounded. He approached her. “And here I thought you were here behind my back with that rich prick Deacon.”

“I am here with my cousin Vincent!” Audry snapped loudly.

Several heads turned, overhearing them.

Harlin reached out for her.

The little boy kicked him in the leg with a “Hi-ya!”

Hopping on one foot, Harlin cussed.

“You said a swear!” the little girl called out, pointing.

“Audry, just come with me,” Harlin stepped back, rubbing his leg yet keeping his distance from the two kids.

“No,” Audry snapped. “You are demented. I broke up with you half a year ago. Give. It. Up.”

His face contorted in protest. She could see in his eyes that he mentally refused to accept it.

“What are you two doing up here?” a mother’s voice rose from the murmur of the party.

Both children with Audry turned, cringing.

“Playing Mission Impossible?” the little boy said, his head hunching between his shoulders.

Moaning, Mrs. Dell marched cross the balcony towards them, still elegant as she approached them. “Howie…”

Harlin staggered back, recognizing her. He pointed, backing away. “You’re that crazy lady with the tazer.”

Mrs. Dell gazed wanly on him. “And you are that idiot who didn’t learn from that experience.” She then gazed on Audry. “Did Howie con you into watching these two?”

Audry shrugged, glad for the company. Her hand relaxed on the tazer in her purse.

“He has gone on Mission Impossible, Mom,” the little girl said, whining for her mother to understand.

“Hasn’t he ever heard of room service?” Mrs. Dell said with a gentle moan. She looked to Audry. “I can take it from here.”

“Please don’t get mad,” Audry said, ignoring Harlin who maintained his distance from Mrs. Dell. “They were just playing a game.”

But Mrs. Dell shook her head. “A game which I am sure Howie put into their heads, the little mischief monster. He used to get kids to play sardines with him in the hotels we visited. It got us into so much trouble with the hotel staff.” Her eyes started to rake the room over for her son. “Problem is, he has become quite an expert in hiding.”

The little boy and girl snickered together.

“And you two—Jessie, Claire—don’t think you are out of hot water either,” their mother said.

Audry felt guilty. It had been just an innocent game after all.

“Hey, Audry,” Harlin hissed, urging her to come with him.

Audry stepped closer to Mrs. Dell. “Bug off.”

He clenched his teeth, but resisted to grab her. He didn’t know Mrs. Dell no longer had the tazer, but had given it to her.

Jessie spat out a raspberry at Harlin. “Yeah. Bug off.”

“She’s gonna marry my biggest brother,” Claire called after.

Audry went pink.

“No,” Jessie said to his little sister. “I told you. And she said so. They’re just friends.”

“Girlfriend,” Claire retorted. And then in sing-song, “And I’m gonna be a flower girl.”

Jessie gazed at Audy, looking hopeful.

Their mother smirked, saying nothing. Her eyes still scanned the crowd. They fixed on the buffet. “There he is.”

Harlin looked too, jealously curious. Whoever this ‘Howie’ was, he wanted to end him. His eyes set on Rick who was stacking a plate full of cream puffs and little chicken wings.

“Oh crap.” Audry paled, watching Harlin immediately take off running toward the nearest stairs to the Terrace room.

“She said a swear!” Claire sang out.

“Where’s he going?” Mrs. Dell asked.

“After your son,” Audry groaned.

“That’s a bad idea…” Mrs. Dell murmured, pulling back palely from the balcony. “Why?”

“He thinks Rick and I had an affair…” Audry groaned, hand to her head. She quickly called out, “Vincent! He’s here!”

Vincent’s head perked up. He looked to where he heard Audry’s voice.

Audry pointed towards the party-crashing Harlin.

 Nodding, Vincent said something to the group of men he was with, and they, in turn, rose and rushed with him to intercept Harlin.

The perspective from above gave Audry a view of everything. Others watched as Harlin attempted to get at Rick who had also looked when Audry had called to Vincent. Like a curious wolf, his eyes took in Harlin charging toward him. The calm yet oddly feral look in his posture was enough to cause Audry to pause. His mother had a cringe on her face, bracing for what might be a bad scene in the crowd—and yet the confrontation never happened.

Stewart and another friend grabbed Harlin and held him back—much to Harlin’s surprise, as security was called to drag Harlin’s sorry carcass out of the party. Vincent walked with them, dragging Audry’s ex back up to the mezzanine foyer. Rick watched them, looking bemused. That is, until he saw his mother watching him from above with those chastening eyes.

Ducking behind a flower display, Rick snatched up his plate of booty and hastily maneuvered his way through the crowd toward them. He bumped once into his step-father who just shook his head at him and chuckled. He dodged around Ewan who stared at him as if he just discovered his pocket was being picked. And he made his way back up the steps where immediately Jessie and Claire made a break from their mother, snatching Rick’s goodie plate to quickly rush off with it towards the stairway. They got ahead of her, but before his mother could get out a word, Harlin shouted, “I see you! You can’t hide from me! I know what you did!”

Moaning, Vincent strode in between Harlin and Rick, and pulled out the papers from his suit pocket. “Harlin Nichols. You have been served.” He set the papers into Harlin’s hand.

Harlin peered at Vincent as if he were some specter who had abruptly appeared out of nowhere. Then he stared at the papers. “What’s this?”

“A copy of Audry’s petition for an order of protection against you, a copy of the order itself, and a summons to appear at court to give your piece, if you have any,” Vincent dutifully replied.

“Who are you?” Harlin growled out, his hatred now fixed on Vincent.

“Her cousin, Vincent Williams,” Vincent said, smiling with steel in his eyes. “And from hereon, if you violate this order, you can be arrested. So, we’ll see you in court.”

Harlin stared. His eyes whipped to Rick who was smirking at Audry, nodding in approval. Harlin’s glare deepened back on him. “You did this.”

Rick looked to him. “What? Are you kidding? I don’t even know you.”

Pointing to Audry, Harlin said, “What about her?”

Rick stared wanly at him. “I’ve known Audry Bruchenhaus longer than you have.”

Audry paled. And though technically that was true, it was like Rick was throwing gasoline onto the fire.

Harlin lunged at him. Or tried to. Stewart and his friend held him back. Yet they stared at Rick.

“And though she and I are not ‘seeing each other’ at all,” Rick added with a mischievous chuckle, and a glance to all those involved, “I did tell her to dump you once when she had described you to me.”

Harlin nearly lunged at him again. But Stewart and his friend still held him fast.

Rick stepped even closer, glaring with his wolf-gray eyes predator-fixed on Harlin “And if you lay a finger on her, I will bite it off.”

“Howie!” his mother protested.

“Oh, come on, Mom,” Rick said, throwing his hands up. “She’s saved my life twice.”

All eyes turned to Audry.

Audry moaned. “You are over-exaggerating.”

Rick shook his head, walking up to her. “No. I am not. And I never forget a debt.”

Her cheeks colored. She looked away, blushing.

“Oooh!” Jessie started laughing and making kissing noises while clutching his plate of creampuffs.

“Two little lovers, sitting in a tree…” Claire began in a sing song voice. “K I S S I N—”

Rick chased after them.

Squealing, they ran up the stairs, fast, running off with their plate full of ‘booty’ from the party.

“The wolf is after me!” Jessie called out, laughing hysterically.

Claire’s squeals filled the mezzanine and stairwell.  

“Rrrow!” Rick fake growled, making monster faces as he pursued them. He purposely bumbled most of it, escaping the scene with