Oath Sworn - K.N. Banet Page 0,89

game.

“Texas Hold ‘Em. We’re in the right state for it and it’s in vogue,” I said, smirking. “I’ll deal, and then pass counterclockwise.”

“All right then.” Heath waved a hand, welcoming the cards.

The game kicked off. None of the wolves really spoke to me, but it wasn’t cold or rude either. Heath continued to strike up conversation, talking to others to put everyone off his own actions. I knew the strategy, keeping others distracted and hiding tells easier. I’d seen some blustery men try it more times than I could count.

About an hour in, I had won every other hand, grinning as I won another.

“Well, another game for me,” I purred.

“I think one of us should shuffle the deck,” a wolf muttered.

“I’m not cheating. Just practiced,” I said softly.

“Sure.” He took the deck anyway and began to shuffle. I shrugged when Heath stiffened up. It was rude to accuse a guest of cheating, but I wasn’t going to take it seriously. I was a cat. For all they knew, I could very well cheat and have no problem with it because most of them had never met one of my kind.

So when I won the next hand, especially since four of them folded, it was no surprise when the wolf who had taken the deck from me jumped up. “This is ridiculous. Are we really going to let her play us like this, Heath?”

“She’s not cheating. I’ve been watching her. Don’t be a sore loser.” The Alpha pointed the wolf to sit back down before settling those grey-blue eyes on me. “Professional?”

“No. Just a lot of practice against amateurs at my bar,” I answered. “Everyone here except you has really obvious tells. If there was money involved, you would be the person with the most money because you play safe and keep everyone distracted. I would just clean out the fools.”

“Fools?” the wolf snapped.

“You. The customers at my bar. Most people who get mad at poker with no money…” I raised an eyebrow, daring him to question my logic. “Don’t make this a big deal. Just trying to kill time.”

“Maybe, you should walk away,” Heath warned his wolf.

“No! She’s cheating, I know it.”

“Let him,” I ordered the Alpha, who tried to stand up to stop his wolf. I rose out of my chair, sighing. It would have annoyed me, but I had dealt with drunk men, angry men, and confused men. Kick Shot was quiet until the cards came out.

I spread my hands, let him check my seat—which was absurd— and even my pockets. When he touched my ass, probably an accident, I grabbed his wrist, spun him and pinned his arm behind his back.

“Happy now?” I asked softly. “I’m not cheating. Werecats are quite honorable. We know we have advantages. We don’t need to cheat. My sense of smell isn’t as good as yours, but it’s still very good. You get upset over a bad hand, and it comes through in how you smell. Learn to control your reactions more and take the game less seriously.” I released him, letting him step away from me.

“That was fast,” he noted.

“I’m faster than your kind,” I informed him, smiling.

“All right. Everyone sit back down or leave the table if you can’t play nice.” Heath sounded like he was done with the antics. I retook my seat politely and so did the other wolf, who was nodding to himself, mumbling about his scent. Heath leaned over to me. “We normally don’t use our supernatural gifts for card games.”

“I use every legal advantage I have,” I told him. “How do you think my kind stays alive when we’re loners?”

“Fair point.”

We went back to the cards, and no one tried to accuse me of cheating anymore. Instead, when a guy lost to me, he leaned over. “How did you catch my bluff?”

“You tap the table once, softly, when you have a good hand. It’s hard when you have a bad hand. A small act of aggression.” I grinned as he groaned, leaning back. “I can hear the subtle difference.”

“Don’t turn my pack into professional poker players, please,” Heath pleaded from his seat.

“I make no promises. If you got a pool table—”

“BOSS!” someone yelled. “Boss, they’ve contacted you!”

The cards were forgotten in an instant. Heath and I were both out of our seats at the same time. It was a race I won to the back office, and I leaned over the werewolf at the laptop, who made a disgusted noise as my scent must have