In the Loup Box Set #1: Werewolf Shifter Romance

Chapter 2

2

Stephanie for her part felt very rested when she woke up at about six. It was dark outside now and she was hungry again. She sat up and stretched, and her mouth dropped open when she glanced out the large windows opposite the bed. They faced the road and looked far out into the town, which was both a constant privacy headache and wonder at the view.

She glanced at the clock, and sure enough the numbers read a little past six. More surprisingly, she didn’t wake up with that after-nap hangover she usually had where her head ached like she’d been out drinking all night. She tossed aside the covers and dressed herself in some comfortable home clothes. Then she went downstairs, all the while wondering if Bob had prepared something special for her return home dinner. Maybe he’d made reservations at a fancy restaurant, or maybe there was something edible on the table tonight like takeout.

Any one of those scenarios would have made her happy, but the one she found downstairs just infuriated her. She found her husband still sitting on the couch watching one of his favorite television shows. There wasn’t any smell of food cooking, or even anything laid out on the dining table in preparation for the coming takeout.

“What’s for dinner?” she wondered aloud. She couldn’t help but smirk when he jumped a mile in the air from surprise. He hadn’t heard her come downstairs.

“Jesus, what the hell are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?” Bob accused.

“No, but it was funny seeing you jump that high,” she playfully teased as she stepped over to the couch. “But seriously, what are we having for dinner?”

“I don’t know,” he grumpily conceded. “Probably whatever you can find,” he absently noted as he waved his hand at the fridge. “Go at it.”

That was not the answer Stephanie wanted to hear.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” she angrily erupted in front of him. “You’re supposed to be in charge of the food, remember?”

“That doesn’t mean I have to think of every meal,” he shot back. “How about you do something around here.”

“Without me, there wouldn’t be a here!” she argued. She gestured around at all the fine furniture and spacious living areas. “My business pays for all of this. Don’t you remember anything?”

“I think you’re making a big deal out of nothing,” Bob argued. He was evidently trying hard not to lose his own temper. “So I don’t have anything for dinner tonight. So what?”

“So I just got back from a really long drive at a conference where I nearly got mauled to death by an animal!” she pointed out. “That’s so what.”

Bob’s ears perked up at the mention of the attempted mauling. He finally turned his eyes away from the tv and looked her over.

“You don’t look like you’ve been mauled,” he dryly commented.

“Then what are these? Love scratches?” Stephanie countered as she shoved her arm into his face. They had slightly scabbed over again, but were still very visible.

Her husband firmly grabbed her arm and looked over the wounds. He frowned, but there was a strange glint in his eyes.

“You sure you don’t need to have those looked at?” he wondered. Stephanie was almost relieved to hear that. It showed he cared a little. Then again, she didn’t want to hear somebody else suggest a doctor.

“They’re fine, just a little itchy,” she pointed out as she pulled her arm back. “I keep cleaning them, so they should be healed in a few days.”

“All right,” he conceded. He sank back into the couch and picked up the remote control. “Just don’t come crying to me when they get worse.”

“I won’t,” she bluntly promised. She scowled as he started to flip through channels. “So you’re not going to fix any food, are you?”

“Not tonight,” he admitted. “Maybe I’ll think of something tomorrow.”

Stephanie was so mad her hands balled into fists and her whole body shook. For the first time in their marriage, she honestly wanted to knock his head off his shoulders. He evidently wasn’t using it as he stared at the screen and flipped through the mindless, countless channels.

She didn’t do anything, though, at least not to him. Instead she grabbed her wallet off the kitchen counter and stomped out to the garage. When she slammed the connecting door behind herself, then did Bob turn away from his tv and look at where she’d gone. There was a deep frown of worry, but not because she was mad.

Meanwhile Stephanie slid into the driver’s seat of her red convertible jeep. She clasped the wheel and paused for a moment with a heavy sigh. She had no idea what had come over her just then. It wasn’t like her to be so confrontational. She figured if she went back in there now, though, she’d probably just blow up on him again. Instead she opened the garage doors, started the car, and drove out onto the street. She didn’t look back as she made straight for her destination.

Stephanie’s advertising business was a little off the beaten commercial path. It was actually located close to the river between some warehouses. The business building itself resembled those large storage warehouses, complete with plain white molding on the outside, but was much smaller. More like normal office size except with a backroom that opened up into a twenty foot tall ceiling with high, drafty windows. She’d chosen that site for two reasons, and one included the price. The place was so cheap she couldn’t pass it up, especially after getting sticker shock from looking at rented buildings along the main street. This she could actually buy outright, land, building and all. The second was the relative seclusion. She understood from the beginning a lot of the clients wouldn’t be close to the area, so it wasn’t a drawback to be far away from any distractions and nosy people.

To this small, indiscreet building did she drive her vehicle. She was surprised to find the lights on and someone moving about the office. She slowed the car down in front of the business and glanced through the large windows. There was the danger of surprising an intruder and getting herself hurt. Inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was only Chuck doing some work. She parked her car and stepped inside the office. He noticed her entrance when the bell above the door rang.

“Isn’t it a little late to be working?” she asked him. He smiled.

“Never too late to crunch some numbers and make some calls,” he pointed out. He looked her up and down. “You look a little better than earlier.”

“Yeah, I had a good nap,” she commented. She stepped over to her official desk and grabbed some designs she’d been working on. “Now I feel good enough to work all night.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be having some nice meal with Bob?” Chuck pointed out.

“Yeah, well, we kinda had a fight about that,” she sighed. She wasn’t sure her bachelor partner wanted to listen to her marriage woes. Besides, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to talk about it. “But that just means I can get some work done here.”

Stephanie was just about to go into the tall room in the back when her stomach suddenly grumbled. She blushed a deep red and Chuck smirked.

“You sure you shouldn’t be taking care of that?” he argued. “I can order us some Chinese if you’re up for it.”

“To be honest, I’m up for anything,” Stephanie laughed. “Even if I have to chase it.”

“Well, I don’t think the wild noodles or rice need chasing, so you’re in luck there,” Chuck smirked. He pulled out his cell. “Now what else do you want besides meat?”