A Wolf's Fate (A BBW Shapeshifter Romance): The Holiday Ball (2 page)

Drawing on some of her peace making abilities for herself, she said, “You all look very beautiful tonight.” She included Starlight and Willow, Trixie’s two younger sisters in her comment. They were not nearly as snippety and uppity as their older sister.

Trixie tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder, preening under the praise. Just like a damn pixie. “Oh, this old thing? Just something I had in the back of my closet.”

Autumn snorted the champagne up her nose drawing a glare from her cousin. She knew for a fact that Trixie had ordered the dress three months ago. It was made from imported silk and lace rumored to have been handspun by a direct descendent of Rapunzel.

Grabbing a napkin, she dabbed at her face, continuing down her throat to the exposed skin of her chest. Her dress hadn’t been special ordered, but it had been a special gift from her fairy godmother—yes, they did exist, along with the pixies, witches, incubi, and demons. And wolves, her inner voice reminded her. Yummy, panty-wetting wolves.

Autumn force her gaze not to stray from her cousins to the dark shadows at the back of the room and the wolf she had seen steal away earlier.

She was saved from any more cruel comments by a group of wolves walking and giving the three sisters more than one hungry look. Thanks to her witch’s blood, Autumn knew right off these were not the intended mates of the pixies. They were after a good time, and from the flirting going on, the Yarrow sisters were looking for the same.

Autumn sighed, watching the women walk away. As she finished her drink, she couldn’t help herself and turned her gaze to the back of the room. The man’s features were obscured by the shadows, but she could tell he stood well over six feet, his shoulders broad and massive beneath the dark blue tailored tux he wore. The jacket fell open and the rich fabric of the dark slacks cupped his crotch, clinging to the wide muscular thighs. His air of raw sexuality made her nipples tingle and her pussy dampen. For one brief moment, she felt a flash of heat and her heart raced, thinking maybe…

She turned and placed the empty glass on the bar. It was time she went to work. Mingled. All she needed to do was walk among the crowd. Without even touching another being, her peaceful aura could make even the meanest of wolves or demons or most any other supernaturals dial back any anger they might be experiencing.

Her attention was still so focused on the man in the shadows, she almost missed her fairy godmother lingering on the edge of the crowd.

“Poppy, what are you doing here?” Autumn hugged the other woman, immediately feeling better about herself and her appearance. That’s what fairy godmothers did. Helped a woman be the best that she could be.

“Hello, dear, are you having a good time?” Poppy twittered, hovering by Autumn’s side, her small feet several inches off the ground. If one looked closely, one could see her fairy wings fluttering behind her.

“I was until Trixie.”

The other woman patted Autumn on her shoulder. “There, there now dear, don’t let her get the best of you.”

Thankfully, Poppy wasn’t overly found of Trixie either. What was the saying—you couldn’t choose your family?

“Do you like your dress?”

“The dress is gorgeous, Poppy. As always.” Autumn smiled, smoothing her hands down the sides of her emerald green dress. It was a much brighter green than she would have chosen for herself but it matched her coloring beautifully. Her skin held a naturally olive hue—another reason her cousin didn’t like her since a full-blooded pixie couldn’t tan. Trixie called Autumn’s hair brown, but it was more than that. It was brown, and gold, and red, a mixture of colors that made her hair seem alive.

The dress and matching shoes had been delivered to Autumn’s house the night before. All of her fancy dresses had come from Poppy over the years. One for her eighth grade graduation, her junior and senior high school proms and a cotillion she’d attended when she was in college.

Every time she received a dress, it made Autumn feel desirable and beautiful. This dress had too—until she’d started comparing herself to Trixie and her two sisters.

“Such negative thoughts, dear,” Poppy scolded her gently, “Are not good for you or those around you.”

“I know.” Autumn grimaced and leaned over for another kiss. “I need to mingle. Do you see anyone that needs anything?” Fairy godmothers were assigned to more than one person at a time. They were, however, limited to helping females. Again, Autumn’s attention turned to the wolf in the shadows. Was it his dark, brooding aura that was drawing her to him? Knowing she might be able to help him if she got close enough? Autumn was certain it couldn’t be anything else. There was no way someone like him would ever look at someone like her. Definitely no way fate would make such a mismatched pair.

Autumn didn’t notice the other woman looking in the same direction, a soft, secretive smile on her happy face. “No, dear. Not yet. Soon though. Very soon.”

“What?” When Autumn turned back around, her fairy godmother was gone, disappearing in a burst of red sparkles. Autumn frowned. She’d never seen red sparkles before.

It was an annoying habit the way her godmother would simply vanish into thin air, but Autumn had gotten use to it over the years. Just like in the Cinderella stories, fairy godmothers performed their magic and disappeared without another mention in the story.

The question was what had Poppy been doing here in the first place?

“Well, hello there.”

Autumn let out a small squeak of surprise as a deep, masculine voice sounded behind her. Sparkles of pink flew from her fingertips. The sparkles were harmless—this time. Last year one of her male cousins had tried to frighten her and she’d turned him into a dragonfly—and he’d been stuck that way for the whole day. It wasn’t wise to sneak up on a pixie. Especially one who was part witch and had not quite gained full control of her witchy powers.

“Don’t do that!” she ordered, turning around to see a tall, dark wolf looking down at her. He raised one hand and casually brushed the pink flecks from his black tuxedo jacket. Sweet heavens, was the room filled with wolves who had been touched with the pretty wand?

“I beg your pardon. I did not mean to frighten you.”

“Well, what did you mean to do?”

He grinned. “Just trying to make the night more interesting.” His smile faded as he looked over her shoulder. “And to repay a debt,” he murmured quietly.

Autumn blinked in confusion. Was he flirting with her? Or trying to make another woman jealous? She smothered a snort. If that had been his intention, he should have picked someone besides Autumn. He should have picked someone pretty. And thin.

Dang it, why was she letting her cousin’s comments get to her tonight? Yeah, she was different from almost every other female supernatural at the party. She was curvy, voluptuous, a big girl. Whatever you wanted to call it, she had more stuffing than most. And most days she was quite alright with the way she looked. But some days…she refused to allow her attention to wander back to the wolf tucked away in the shadows. Some days it really bothered her.

“Look, if you’re hiding from someone I’m not sure I’m the best person to help you.” Sometimes other supernaturals sensed her witch blood more than others. And assumed she was indeed a practicing witch. There was little she could do to help this man. She didn’t know any invisibility spells or how to make cloaking potions. Because of her mixed heritage, her abilities from both sides of her family were watered down. And sometimes dangerous.

Again, he looked over her shoulder. She turned her head, trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe she could help him. If he’d pissed off someone’s boyfriend or flirted with a potential mate, she could no doubt alleviate some of the, umm, testosterone that had been fired up. Hadn’t she been hired to diffuse arrogant wolves?

“Don’t,” he ordered, refusing to allow her to turn around completely. His hand cupped her shoulder and for a moment, she felt something stir inside her. Maybe her witchy side did have a connection with wolves.

Or at least she thought he was a wolf. Her eyes narrowed trying to take a read on the big man. As he stepped closer, she realized he reminded her of a cat.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

“Are you a cat shifter?”

“What? No, what gave you that idea?”

She almost laughed at his affronted expression. “The way you moved.”

“Well, darling, I don’t know if I should be insulted or not. I am very much a wolf. Would you care to take a closer look to confirm that?” He licked his lips and suddenly Autumn felt like the Little Red Riding Hood character come to life. He looked like he wanted to eat her up.

“No, that won’t be necessary.” She used the prim and proper voice her godmother had taught her to ward off unwanted advances. To date, she hadn’t had much opportunity to try it out and seeing the flare of appreciation in the wolf’s eyes, she wondered if she should be using it now. When was the last time she’d been the object of a man’s desire?

“Shall we dance?”

While they had been talking, the big wolf had steered her onto the dance floor. Before she could protest or agree, he swept her into his arms, one of her small hands held gently in his while the other provided rigid support across her back. The pose was technically perfect for a waltz—if their lower bodies hadn’t been so close together. With each step, she felt his powerful thighs brushing against hers.

“So, why is such a beautiful woman still unattached and attending this ball?”

Autumn sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. His posture and manner just seemed to invite it. Disappointingly, his presence didn’t elicit any other feelings except what one might feel for a mischievous best friend.

Feeling the brush of his hard thigh against her again, she amended the thought to friends with benefits. There was something innately sensuous about the man. Still feeling the hard press of his cock against her belly, she pushed at his shoulders until he eased his hold.

He looked down at her, his brown eyes regarding her green ones. “Perhaps another wolf shifter has caught your eye?”

Thinking of the wolf who had captured her interest, her pussy flooded with arousal and she hoped he couldn’t tell. Wolves had a keen sense of smell. To be on the safe side, she mumbled a few words, hoping that little touch of magic didn’t back fire on her.

“Maybe.” She shrugged and the movement caused the neckline of her dress to slip to the side just a little, revealing the rounded smoothness of her shoulder. The hand holding hers moved until he could brush his fingertips across the exposed skin.

Her head popped up. “What was that for?”

“Oh, just a little teasing.”

“Well, don’t.” She gave him her fiercest glare, and then lowered her head again. For some reason, it now seemed wrong to have this man—wolf—touch her.

They danced for a few minutes without talking. “Your fairy godmother would be very disappointed in you.”

Autumn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. No doubt, he was referring to her refusal to take him up on his unspoken offer. Well, not completely unspoken. He was still partially aroused. Did all men picture themselves as a shiny Christmas present a woman couldn’t wait to unwrap?

He twirled her around, making her dizzy. As the song the small orchestra was playing came to an end, he dipped her over his arm as she’d seen other men do during the night. “Remember little pixie, some men refuse to see what’s right under their noses. They refuse to see until it’s nearly taken away.”

“What?” Her head was spinning rapidly right along with the skirt of her dress. The fabric swirled around her legs and she prayed it would land in a modest way.

“Tell me your name.”

“Why?”

“Because I’d like to know the name of the woman I’m about to get slammed in the face for.”

He straightened abruptly, guiding their steps into the flow of the music with effortless form and style until they reached the edge of the dance floor. Her hands clenched at the lapels of his tuxedo jacket at the dizzying moves.

“That’s enough, Townsend.”

Autumn gasped as the rough voice sounded behind her. That was twice in one night a wolf had managed to sneak up on her. This time every nerve in her body snapped to attention. Excitement pumped through her, followed by a bolt of desire that gripped every inch of her body and stalled the air in her lungs.

Her diluted witchy radar tried to warn her. Warn her who stood behind her. Her wolf. This was her wolf.

“Enough what, Barringer?” Her dance partner nudged her to the side, pushing her slightly behind him.

“Let her go.”

The wolf holding her laughed. The sudden change in his demeanor frightened her. The almost sinister sound of his laughter traveled down Autumn’s spine causing her to step away. His arm tightened around her and all she managed to do was put a small amount of room between them. Her startled gaze flew to his and he gave her a barely perceptible wink.

“Oh, but she is just such a delicious little morsel. I can’t wait to gobble her up.”

Autumn squeaked for the second time that night as rough hands took her away from her dance partner. She wasn’t certain how he did it, but her dark wolf jerked her from the man’s arms with so much powerful grace that it didn’t hurt. Those same hands crushed her against a hot body, held rigid by anger. Immediately, her natural instincts kicked into high gear and she started sending out soothing thoughts.