The Forest Club
He squelched a chuckle, loving the way she had so graciously capitulated. He wasn't about to tell her the small town had no fast-food places he'd be willing to take her to.
And he decided the Italian place wouldn't suit her as much as the Forest Club, where tables sat under fake trees covered in real bark that looked about as real as the ones in the woods surrounding his ranch.
The club's "sky" was black velvet sprinkled with twinkling white lights, and dance music beat a rhythm made for hot dance numbers on a chilly night. The only real drawback was that one of the mated couples in his pack owned the place, and many of his pack members frequented it, too.
Still, it was the perfect place for questioning the doc about her wolf sighting. Nice table situated in the dark forest, massive trunks hiding them from most of the other guests. And she probably had never seen anything quite as unique.
He drove her to the place a mile away, and when they reached the expansive building where giant maples towered over the gravel parking lot at irregular intervals like a forest, she frowned at him.
He thought she'd be pleased because of the kind of work she did. Or maybe she lectured a lot and didn't really live among the wolves as he thought.
She opened her door, and he hurried out of the vehicle to reach her before she shut the passenger door. "It's not a fast-food restaurant," she said matter-of-factly.
"None of them are very appealing around here. I thought you might enjoy something kind of unusual. Since you're a wolf biologist and all."
He reached behind her, and with a whisper of a touch on her back, guided her to the building, which looked like a hobbit's home, with a thatched roof for quaint appeal.
The composite roof shingles underneath protected the occupants during frequent rains or the occasional snowstorm.
Cassie wasn't smiling yet, and her step slowed the closer they got to the entrance as they walked on the pine-needle-covered pathway as if they were strolling through piney woods.
He reached for the door, but one of his men pushed it open, heading out with his mate. As soon as he saw Axel Ash with Cassie, the man and his mate grinned, backed out of Axel Ash and Cassie's way, and followed them back inside.
Axel Ash sighed. He should have figured that no matter where he took the attractive redhead, his people would be curious as to what might develop.
He guessed they still didn't know him well enough to realize that except for a one-night stand or two with a willing human, he wasn't ever taking one as a mate.
Cassie suddenly shrank away from Axel Ash and even groaned. He glanced down at her. "Are you all right?"
She looked a little pale.
"Cassie?"
* * *
What else could go wrong tonight? Cassie didn't even want to pose such a question in her head for fear she'd get an answer she didn't like.
The Forest Club was the most interesting eatery she'd been to in a very long time, and if she hadn't been worried about Axel Ash and his people discovering what she was, she would have loved it. The problem was the place was filled with his... well, their kind.
She took a deep, fortifying breath. Okay, she could do this. She was used to pretending to her colleagues that she was only a human-wolf biologist.
She could pretend she was a human-wolf biologist to this crowd of werewolves. As long as the hunter spray didn't give out on her. Or she didn't give herself away in some other manner.
Axel Ash guided her to a secluded booth that formed their own little forest hideaway. The only other tables nearby were empty.
She could do this.
Thankfully, Axel Ash escorted her to one side of the booth and then sat opposite her, like the perfect gentleman. She supposed he was looking for a little nighttime diversion. He must not be mated.
"Like it?" he asked, handing her a menu already placed on the table against a tree trunk.
She finally gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks. I love it. Feels like home. Except for the music." She motioned in the direction of the beat.
He smiled broadly back, looking relieved she'd changed her tune. "Maybe you'd like to dance later."
"Uhm, no. Thanks. Don't dance." She quickly looked at the menu and fought the blush that rose to her cheeks.
"Ever?" He sounded disappointed.
She gave him a quick smile meant to appease but faked to high heaven. "Sorry, never."
"I can teach you--"
"No."
He watched her. She didn't have to look up to know he was studying her, trying to figure her out.
"You're not a hard-shell Baptist, no drinking, no dancing, are you?"
She smiled, only this time it was for real. "No. I'll have the..." She frowned as she studied the menu. "Forest Urchin Special."
"A vegetarian's dish."
She nodded. "Red meat's not good for you, you know." She figured that would throw him off track if he had any inkling she was a wolf, although she was dying to have the chicken or beef added for substance.
A little bit of meat would give her more energy to sustain her for longer. And she'd need it for her trek through the woods tonight. As soon as she could have her truck in working order and leave.
"I'll have the roast tenderloin." He closed up the menu and motioned to one of the waiters, who hurried to bring them glasses of water.
The man had been staying clear of them, trying to give them privacy, Cassie thought, as she'd seen him attempting not to be noticed but glancing often in their direction.
Probably all Axel Ash's pack members were dying to know where this would lead. Which most likely meant Axel Ash was their pack leader. Great. Just great.
Axel Ash opened the wine menu. "Want a glass of wine?"
"Uh, no, thanks." She sure didn't need to drink before she started her long trek later tonight, trying to hunt the wolf down.
He closed the menu. "All right. So, where did you see the wolf?"
* * *
Axel Ash couldn't figure out Cassie's mixed messages. One minute, she seemed resigned--like when she agreed to eat with him. She was skittish again when she entered the club and then panicky when he mentioned the wolf.
He knew for sure she'd seen one, then. But where? And was it one of his reds? Or was it a plain, old grey wolf, nothing to really worry about?
He waited for her to answer his query: where had she seen the wolf? She hesitated, took a sip of water, and glanced over at their waiter, George, as he brought their meals. She smiled at him and placed the napkin on her lap, totally ignoring Axel Ash's question.
As soon as George put the food down, asked if they needed anything else, and then hurried off, she eyed Axel Ash's tenderloin.
If he hadn't thought she was a vegetarian because of the dish she'd ordered and because of her comment about red meat not being good for him, he would have sworn she wanted some of his roasts.
He cut up a portion of it, slid his plate over, and smiled. "Won't kill you. I promise."
Her gaze switched from him to his meat again, and she began to shake her head and decline, but he insisted. She wanted it. Probably concerned about her figure. She had nothing to worry about in that regard from what he could tell.
"Go ahead, Cassie."
She looked up at him. "You said you hadn't eaten and you're hungry."
He chuckled. "Pass over some of your rabbit food. We can share."
Still, she hesitated.
He eyed her mushrooms sautéed in a spicy sauce along with spinach and broccoli, carrots, and potatoes. "Looks a lot better than my plain old baked potato."
She twisted her mouth a little and considered his tenderloin again. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. We can always get more if we want."
He didn't know why it pleased him so much, but he wanted her to like this place as much as he did. He wanted her to enjoy her meal as much as he would, and he really wished she'd dance with him.
Maybe it would make up for the way some bastard had given her so much trouble in the form of two flat tires, or the way Hollis had interrupted her when she was lecturing about the wolves. Maybe it had to do with how much she truly loved wolves.
She seemed to enjoy the meat like he did, almost as much as he enjoyed watching her savour every bite of the tenderloin. As if it was her first good meal in ages and would be the last for even longer.