Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

B olt opened the door to the restaurant and, with a hand on her lower back, guided Regie inside. Filled with dark wood furniture and warmly glowing light sources, the place looked cozy and classy at the same time. Nora, the pack's lawyer, had picked the restaurant after Bolt suggested they meet at a place down by Pier 39. Apparently, she deemed that area of town "too touristy" and "not where you went to impress a woman."

Since Bolt knew fuck all about restaurants in San Francisco—he preferred to do takeout from his favorite Thai and Chinese places close to the Pack House in Marine—and had never gone out of his way to impress a woman, he went with Nora's recommendation. Actually, it had been more of a demand. Her exact words had been, "As her fake friend, I can't allow her to be seen eating over-priced seafood among tourists wearing cargo shorts and tennis shoes. "

Keeping his hand on Regie's lower back, he steered her toward the booth where Nora sat with her fiancé, Ulf. Bolt still didn't know what to make of the huge blond Viking. He'd moved into the Pack House and caused some friction, mostly because he kept challenging the wolves to play Call of Duty and Street Fighter and usually won. And that made the pack members challenge him to spar, which then turned out to be a little rougher than usual. The Viking gave as good as he took, so there were an unusual number of limping wolves sporting bruises around the Pack House. So far, Bolt and Ulf were in a tie when it came to sparring, but the Viking was ahead in gaming by a lot.

Nora waved enthusiastically as they approached the table. The redhead's genuine smile made Bolt's own lips stretch in response.

Ulf stood, placed his hands on Regie's shoulders, and kissed both of her cheeks as if the fucker were French or something.

"Regie," he murmured, "so good to see you." He pulled out a chair for her.

Bolt's wolf growled quietly.

Nora shot him an amused look as she shot out of her chair and embraced Regie as enthusiastically as she'd waved. "It's been forever since I saw you."

Regie looked a little shell-shocked as she sank into the chair Ulf still held for her. Bolt deliberately stepped into the Viking's space, forcing him to step back, and pushed Regie's chair closer to the table. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "This is Ulf and Nora, good friends of ours that we've known for a long time." He purposely exhaled so his hot breath would caress her ear and smiled inwardly when she shivered in response.

But then she turned and gave Ulf a brilliant smile. "I'm so glad we took the time to do this." She included Nora in her smile. "It has been since forever." Apparently, the Ice Queen caught on fast and could also act. Although, the more time he spent with her, the less his initial nickname fit her. Watching her warm relationship with her assistant earlier had made it clear she cared about the vivacious young woman.

Bolt sat and picked up the menu that lay on top of the plate in front of him. He scanned the list of dishes quickly and then put down the sheet of paper.

"You already know what you want?" Regie looked at him over the top of her menu.

"Steak," he replied. He always chose steak, if available, and ordered it as close to raw as he could get it.

Ulf shook his head. "Always with the steak." He turned to face Nora. "Let me guess, that's what you're having, too, isn't it?"

"Of course. Very rare." Nora smiled at him. "And what are you having, honey?"

"Salmon," Ulf replied with a grin on his face .

Nora grabbed his hand. "Always with the fish."

Regie's head swiveled back and forth as the couple bantered, a puzzled expression on her face.

Bolt grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Don't try to make sense of their inside jokes," he told her in a low voice. "It will only make your head hurt." The wolves had decided not to throw the Viking out on his ass only because the pack lawyer loved him, and he made her very happy. The blond giant described the scar that ran from the corner of her right brow, across her eye, and down to the top of her lip as a "warrior mark" that made her more attractive than if her skin had been unmarked.

Nora giggled, a sound Bolt had never heard from her before she'd met the Viking. "Our apologies." She lowered her voice as well. "We're newly engaged and sometimes forget ourselves in public."

"More than sometimes," Bolt muttered.

"Don't pay attention to his sour disposition. He's just jealous." Ulf said and turned toward Regie. "But now that he has you to distract him, he should get in a better mood soon."

Regie's gaze flickered toward Bolt and then Nora before she looked down at the menu again. She frowned briefly. "I don't want to be a distraction," she said in a small voice. "And I don't like this situation. It's hard to figure out what's real and what's pretend. "

Bolt's wolf growled at Ulf, pissed off that the Viking had upset Regie. He rubbed his chest, ordering the beast to stand down. Before he had a chance to say anything, Nora interjected.

"Hey." She leaned across the table. "This is hard, and we get that. We may be joking around, but we take this situation very seriously."

Ulf nodded. "I'm sorry if I came across glib. I didn't intend to."

Regie shook her head. "No, I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"It's okay to be angry at this situation," Nora said. "What's happening to you right now is shitty and shouldn't happen to anyone. Just know that we're here to help you."

Bolt grabbed Regie's hand. The same spark that happened when he touched his shoulder sizzled again, but he'd expected it and held on as Regie jerked. Nora made a startled sound, but Bolt kept his gaze on Regie. "We're your support. You can lean on us when things get confusing or hard."

Her blue eyes glittered. "I know you're here to catch the stalker. And I appreciate it. But I'm not sure I'm going to be able to sell that we're in a relationship convincingly." She laughed, but the sound contained no mirth. "I can't handle real relationships, never mind a fake one." She pulled her hand from Bolt's .

Before anyone could respond, a server came to take their orders. All of them declined drinks and said they'd stick with the water already placed on the table. The two wolves asked for steaks, rare, and Ulf put in his salmon order. Regie asked for a salad with tofu. Bolt cringed inwardly.

As the server left, Nora leaned forward again. "The easiest way to sell a ruse is to stay as close to the truth as possible. Instead of viewing us as strangers that you have to pretend you are friends with, look at us as new friends." She gestured to Bolt. "And he's also a new friend. It's just that when you're in public, you are a little over the top with the PDA?"

"PDA?" Ulf asked.

Nora grabbed his hand and kissed it. "Public Display of Affection."

"Ah." Ulf leaned toward her, kissing her cheek. "I can definitely get behind that."

Bolt rolled his eyes. "Not you, idiot. Regie and me." Warmth spread inside his chest when he said those last three words, making his wolf hum. He ignored it and the strange feeling.

"I know," Ulf said. "But Nora and I can demonstrate." He shot a gleaming smile at Regie while still holding Nora's hand. Both women giggled, making Bolt roll his eyes again.

"Thanks," Regie said to Nora. "I'll try that. "

"And when you struggle, let one of us know that you need a small time out, and we'll make that happen," the red-head responded. "You and I can take a quick bathroom break. Or one of us can walk outside with you for a quick breath of air. The important thing is that you're not alone. We'll work with you and you let us know how much of this you can handle and what you need."

Regie nodded, but still looked worried. Bolt wolf whined, and he wished he could take away her stress. Startled, he checked himself.

Since when did he care about the emotional well-being of a client? He avoided being a jerk when he protected someone, but the work came first. His job did not include emotional support.

The server returned with their plates, and he frowned down at his food as thoughts swirled in his head.

"Something wrong with your steak?" Nora asked.

He looked up and then bit the inside of his cheek when he saw the teasing glint in her eyes. "No," he hissed. "Everything is fine."

"Are you sure? You seem preoccupied with something." She tilted her head.

"Just wondering if the steak is cooked correctly," Bolt shot back, narrowing his eyes. Nora's inner wolf must have picked up on Bolt's animal reacting funny .

"You mean, not cooked," Ulf said, turning to Regie. "If you are sensitive about eating meat, don't look when they cut into their food."

Regie giggled again, causing a rumble in Bolt's chest. This time, he couldn't tell if the animal or human side of him growled. The Viking needed to stop charming Bolt's fiancée.

Fake fiancée.

Whatever. Ulf needed to stop his flirting.

"I eat mostly vegetarian, but it's hard to get enough protein that way, so occasionally I eat meat," Regie said.

They made small talk for the rest of the meal. Mostly discussing the schedule of Regie's public events and how either Bolt or someone else would always be with her at those. They also explained how she had to be escorted at all times when traveling between the office and home.

Regie sighed, but promised to stick to the plan.

They finished up their meals, and Ulf paid the bill. As they left the restaurant, the Viking put his hand on Bolt's shoulder. "Let me have a word in private."

Nora heard him and raised her eyebrows in a question.

"You walk ahead," Ulf said. "Bolt and I will catch up."

"Sure," Nora said with a smile and turned toward Regie. "We could use some woman-to-woman conversation, anyway." The two of them walked toward the Lofn Wellness offices.

Watching Regie walk away without them made Bolt's wolf unhappy, but he knew she would be safe with Nora. The female wolf fought and protected fiercely. "What do you need to talk about? The meeting between the pack and your tribe?" Arek had set up a conference call with the king of the group of immortal Viking warriors that Ulf belonged for the next day.

Ulf grinned. "That's going to be a cluster fuck of testosterone chaos and so much fun to watch, but that's not what I want to talk about."

"Okay." Bolt waited.

"When I touched Regie, I got a strange feeling."

What the fuck? The Viking shouldn't have any feelings when touching Regie. "What do you mean?" he growled.

Ulf grinned. "Dial down the testosterone there, friend." He patted Bolt on the shoulder. "Odin's balls. You wolves and your quick temper." The Viking turned serious. "I'm not an expert in figuring out if people have powers, but when I greeted Regie, I felt a small echo of how I feel when I touch the Viking healer. She's a medical doctor, but also what you in English would call a witch."

Bolt frowned. "Impossible. I can sense witches. Regie is not one. "

Ulf held up his hands, palms facing forward. "I'm just telling you what happened. Maybe have Laney evaluate Regie. I think she's something more than merely a regular mortal."

Bolt made a noncommittal sound. He would have noticed if Regie had magical powers, wouldn't he?

There had only been one other time when he'd missed noticing someone's magical powers. That miss had cost him his twin brother.

He made a mental note to have Laney meet Regie soon.