Behind the Eight Ball by M.A. Church Page A

Marshell was hard enough to deal with when he got upset, but Janelle? I called her Hurricane Janelle for a reason. She swept in and destroyed anything in her path that threatened the ones she loved.
    You might be able to reason with Marshell if he was in a killing mood. Janelle? Nope. She went for the jugular first. That was if she was feeling gracious. There was nothing to be done about it, so I put on coffee while I waited for them to show up.
    Time passed slowly, and I couldn’t help but keep an ear cocked for any strange sounds. So of course the house made all these odd creaking noises. I debated turning on the TV for background noise, but if sometime was going to sneak up on me, I wanted to hear it coming. I had no idea how much time passed, but finally I saw headlights in the drive. I got the coffee mugs down and got ready.
    “Lawson?” Janelle yelled as she opened the door.
    “Kitchen,” I yelled back. As it turned out, Janelle wasn’t alone.
    “Are you okay?” Janelle’s heels tapped loudly as she crossed the kitchen tile floor and hugged me quickly.
    I couldn’t help but wonder how Sam felt about that, but he’d have to get over it. She considered me a brother, even if we weren’t related by blood. Still she didn’t let the hug last long.
    “I’m in one piece.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about Sam coming with her, but as he was her mate, I shouldn’t be surprised he was here. “Please tell me you weren’t like that the whole way here.” I waved at her fangs and eyes.
    The fact she was showing the Vetala side of her nature without being attacked told me how scared she’d been for me.
    “She managed to hold out until we were in your drive,” Sam said.
    I was impressed. He didn’t seem frightened at all. He was her mate, true, but she looked intimidating.
    “Now what the devil happened?” Janelle fixed Sam a cup of coffee, then got herself one. They both sat at the table. “All Marshell said was a werewolf showed up here and stalked you.”
    “Well, that’s it in a nutshell.” I sat down at the kitchen table too. My legs were still shaking. “I was taking the trash out, and it came out of the darkness. It growled, lunged at me, and then backed off.”
    “It lunged at you?” Janelle swore softly.
    “Yeah, I wasn’t too happy with that either. I let it know I was aware it was a shifter and also told it about you two. I’m not sure what the point of the whole deal was except to scare the shit out of me. Which it succeeded at. In spades.”
    “I’m so sorry, sweetie.” Janelle’s speech was all growly and slurred thanks to the fangs. “Just as soon as Marshell gets here, we’re going out there to take a look.”
    “Are you sure there was only the one?” Sam asked.
    “That’s all I saw.”
    “It sounds like a lone wolf,” Sam said. “I mean, if this were a pack deal, there’d have been more than one wolf out there, a lot more social protocol would have taken place, and….” Sam frowned. “They wouldn’t approach a human anyway , so this makes no sense.”
    “I don’t know any wolves, so I have no reason to think I’m on the bad side of one.” I sipped the coffee, finally noticing how cold I was. I shivered and then stood to turn the heat up a bit higher.
    Sam narrowed his eyes at me then stood. “I’ll be right back.”
    “Don’t go outside until Marshell gets here,” Janelle said. “I’d feel better if all three of us went out there together.”
    “No problem. I’m just stepping into the den for a second,” Sam said.
    Janelle glanced at me after Sam left. “If I find that wolf—”
    “You’re assuming all that was directed at me. I hate to say it, Janelle, but I’m not the threat here.”
    “That’s my point,” she hissed at me. “If this is aimed at me or Marshell, going after you is a sure bet. You don’t have claws or fangs or can shift or—”
    “Hey! I’ve been with you guys for ten years. You’ve taught me how to defend myself against