Right Wolf, Right Time by Marie Harte Page B

murmured, but then Monty was there, sheltering her in his strong arms.
    She felt like an idiot for being afraid. Julia was her best friend, Gabby too. These cats and foxes and bears were Monty’s family. But she’d never liked being crowded, and she still couldn’t be around too many men at one time without tensing.
    The things her cousins and their friends had liked to do when her uncle was away… She’d never been a fan of sex before Monty, and she had plenty of reason to dislike what she’d witnessed.
    Burke shoved the others out of the way and smiled wide. “Well, now. Sophie. How are you?” He pulled her with him toward the center couch and took the glass of wine Rachel handed him without breaking stride. “This is for you. Julia said you like a good Zinfandel.”
    She blinked. “Um, thanks.” She glanced around and saw Monty trying to push his way past the congratulations of Joel, Grady and Dean.
    Monty forcibly shoved Dean aside and glared. But when his gaze met hers, he rolled his eyes. “Welcome to the nuthouse. Hey Gabby, grab me a beer, would you? A large one.”

Chapter Six
    Monty did his best not to growl every time one of his dickhead pridemates touched his mate. The cats had become touchy-feely all of a sudden, and the females acted no better. The cats questioned her like it was the inquisition, although he now knew a helluva lot more about his pretty little mate than he had before. The important things he’d always known, but the minutiae had escaped him.
    They sat around the large dining table, feasting on chicken. Yard bird. Eh. He preferred a good rare steak. He smiled, realizing Sophie did too. He knew enough about her, and he liked their similarities. Hell, right now he could tell she’d rather be anywhere but here. Just like him. Yet another thing they had in common.
    “I still don’t understand how you can live in that great big house. You say your alpha’s brother owns it?” Stacey had no problem asking nosy questions.
    Dean winked at him.
    “Um, yeah.” Sophie snuck a glance at him before turning her attention back to Stacey. “Theo kind of introduced me to Cougar Falls. He actually owns the grocery store, but he’s never in town, so he told me I could run it if I wanted.” She shrugged and stuck her fork into a hunk of chicken. “I like it.”
    Stacey raised a perfect blond brow. “Really? The local grocery store?”
    Monty didn’t like her tone, and then Gabby stepped in. “I like it too. It has a homey, small-town feel, and if you think about it, without the town store, we’d have to shop in Whitefish for supplies.”
    The women shivered.
    “What’s wrong with Whitefish?” Burke sounded offended. “Chastell Tours is there.”
    “Yes, dear, it is.” Rachel’s wifely tone made Sophie smile.
    Monty smiled with her.
    “Rachel…” Burke frowned at her. “You can’t use being pregnant as an excuse to be snarky forever.”
    Ty leaned toward Sophie and whispered in a loud voice, “ Snarky . I taught him that. Big word for a little brain, you know.”
     
    Sophie enjoyed the interplay until Burke shot Ty a glare, and she automatically tensed when the pride leader growled, “Keep it up and I’ll use your bones for toothpicks, fox.” Burke’s scowl unnerved her, but she felt Monty’s hand on her leg under the table and eased.
    God, I am such a moron. Relax, damn it!
    The others didn’t seem to notice her distress, and the remainder of the dinner focused on the other members of the pride, enough that she finally felt like one of the crowd instead of the main attraction. Quiet Joel started talking about his vegetables and didn’t stop. He’d just gathered beets, broccoli and cabbage and anticipated a heaping of carrots in another week or so. The man had shoulders as big as a football field, but whenever he glanced at his wife, his entire mien softened.
    Sophie liked him instinctively. Though she’d been to the pride often enough, she normally spent her time with