All the questions that kept circling in her mind gave her a headache on top of the lingering uneasiness and anger over Con's reckless behavior.
She wasn't taking the blame for that, though! She'd done her part and she hadn't been cleared headed at all.
She sat down at her computer after a while and tried to compose her thoughts and sort through the chaotic impressions of the night before. Deciding after a while that she just hadn't gotten enough sleep to think clearly, she lay down for a nap, hoping the headache would pass and she'd find answers to some of her questions.
* * * *
"What happened to him?"
Balin didn't have to follow the direction of the man's gaze to know who he was referring to. Instead of feeling any satisfaction at all that Con looked the worse for his punishment the night before, he felt a fresh wave of rage surge through him.
Dani was at the peak of her cycle and he didn't have to guess what Con had been doing all night—and
that
after swearing he had no interest in anything but assuaging his lust.
The fucking prick!
It still baffled him. None of them should've been affected by it, should've even noticed it. There was no such thing as
not
noticing when a wolfen female, or a werefemale, went into heat. They were wild to get their itch scratched and the chemical change in them affected every wolfen, or weremale within their vicinity. It was a dangerous time within even a well established pack because however strong the alpha was, however much control he exerted over his pack ordinarily, the female's condition affected all of them and they began to fight among themselves to breed her.
By and large he made it a point to steer clear of human females as much as possible, but it wasn't possible to avoid all contact with them in their day to day lives. The very fact that he'd never had a problem ignoring any enticements that came his way was proof enough that he'd never encountered one that effected him as Danika had.
He wasn't certain what to make of it. Either Danika was different in some indefinable way, or his attraction to her was a combination of her current condition compounded by a completely natural, if unprecedented, chemical compatibility.
He wondered if there was any possibility at all that Danika had latent wolfen genes. It didn't seem likely. Council laws precluded intimate associations with humans, ostensibly because of a lack of compatibility but mostly to preserve the peace only complete secrecy afforded them. Historically speaking, humans had never reacted well to the discovery of wolfen among them and allowing intimacy, even brief affairs, was a risk to that secret. Not that there weren't plenty of
weres
that ignored that, and wolfen, too, when the mood struck them, but fucking was one thing—mating another entirely. That didn't mean it had never happened that a wolfen had taken a human woman as mate, of course. It only meant they'd carefully concealed the fact to keep the council from coming down on them. He was almost certain there was no record of anyone having been caught breaking that particular law, though. His family's position in the wolfen community guaranteed that they were privy to all matters involving the wolfen.
So, it
was
possible that, somewhere in her past, Danika had an ancestor of wolfen blood—a grandfather or great grandfather—but not likely, he thought wryly. Even if it was true, it certainly couldn't be much of a connection or he would have sensed it in her immediately. Since he hadn't it was hard to consider the possibility as having anything to do with his current predicament.
He wasn't certain it mattered a hell of a lot one way or another. Reason wasn't going to get him out of his quandary. On a rational level, he knew what he owed his lineage. He should, he thought wryly. He'd had it drummed into his head since as far back as he could remember. He was a prince of the wolfen. He was duty bound to protect that sacred blood and take a suitable princess as mate when the time came.
Well the time had come and fucking gone! He'd dutifully looked over his perspective mates and hadn't managed to summon any interest in choosing one among them—not even a tiny spark of the ‘knowing’ he was supposed to feel instantly, the ‘this is the one'. He'd decided that somewhere along the line he'd inherited a defective gene regarding the process of choosing a mate. It wasn't just that he hadn't found one among the ‘acceptable'. He hadn't found one even among the ‘lesser’ wolfen females. He'd found plenty he was interested in fucking but none he'd felt a driving need to mate with and produce off-spring.
If he did what he wanted to with Dani, it was going to rock the entire wolfen community.
The question was, even knowing that, could he resist the temptation?
Shaking off the thoughts when he noticed William was studying him with a strange look on his face, he tried to pick up the threads of the conversation he'd been in the middle of and discovered he couldn't remember what the man had said that had set his thoughts off at a tangent. “Where were we?” he asked uncomfortably.
William looked taken aback. “I just asked what happened to the guy over there."
Balin swiveled around to look at Con that time. Anger descended over him all over again. “We had a disagreement,” he muttered after a long moment.
William looked surprised, then angry. “You and him?"
Balin shook his head. “It had nothing to do with the mission.” He paused, struggling to gather his thoughts. “All I need you men to do until and unless I tell you differently is to sit tight and make sure none the rogues take it into their heads to flee in this direction. We had a minor skirmish with the band last night—killed five. I doubt it was enough to deter them from their goal, but you need to keep your eyes open just in case. I don't want the bastards slipping through our net."
Xavier looked Balin over as they pulled away from the outpost that had been set up by the men Balin had summoned from his own pack. “You alright cuz?"
Balin glanced over at him. It was rare that Xavier pointed out their family connection. The fact that he had now was either an indication of actual concern, or uneasiness about approaching him. He didn't particularly welcome either at the moment. “Don't I fucking look alright?” he growled.
Xavier thought it over and finally shrugged. “No."
Balin sent him a narrowed eyed, assessing look. “What about you? You alright with the way things are going?” he asked irritably.
Xavier shrugged again. “I can wait my turn—as long as I get one,” he added, glaring at Balin now. “I'm going to be pissed if I don't. I'll tell you that right now."
Balin scowled at him in dawning outrage and disbelief. “Your turn?"
Xavier gave him a look. “You know—Dani?"
Balin pulled over to the side of the road and brought his bike to a halt. “What are you babbling about?” he demanded.
Xavier's face hardened. “I don't have to take that shit from you, Balin, even if we are cousins!"
Balin ground his teeth. “We're not taking turns with Dani,” he said coldly.
Xavier's jaw dropped. He glanced around at the others, who'd pulled their bikes over, as well. “What the fuck does he mean by that?” he demanded. “Didn't we agree we were going to take turns?"
"Where the fuck did you get that idea?” Con growled.
Xavier scowled at him and turned to look at Jared and Dakota. “What the hell was that all about in the damned clearing if it wasn't to determine fucking order, damn it?"
"Jesus Christ!” Jared snarled. “I knew you were nearly fucking deaf in one ear, Xavier, but where the hell did you get that idea?"
Xavier's lips tightened. “Balin pointed out that she was human and this didn't have anything to do with mating. All of you agreed with that, damn it! I know I didn't imagine hearing it. What was the fight for then, damn it?"
Con gave him a look. “To decide who gets her."
"First?"
"No. Who gets her."
"Well that's just fucking bullshit!” Xavier ground out. “If we're not mating, why the fuck don't we all get a turn? Somebody should've told me it was to be a fight to settle who was getting her, damn it!"
Jared, Dakota, and Con exchanged a long look. Balin studiously ignored all of them, glaring balefully into the distance.
"Well! I demand a rematch!” Xavier said angrily. “I didn't even participate."
"It wasn't settled,” Balin ground out, turning to glare furiously at Con. “Con just decided to ignore protocol and take."
Con reddened, partly with anger and partly with discomfort. “I didn't
decide
, gods damn it! I told you how it happened. I don't know why the fuck you're spouting protocol any damned way. She isn't wolfen! Our laws don't apply to her and I don't see how it can apply to relations with her."
Balin narrowed his eyes at him. “Our laws apply to us—whatever the situation."
"Well, if you're going to be spouting laws,” Xavier pointed out, “we're not supposed to mess with her at all."
"Shut up, Xavier!” Jared snarled. “We know it's hedging...."
"Make me!” Xavier growled back at him. “And it ain't hedging. It's breaking ... not that I mind, but damn it I
do
mind if you're all determined to play it by the book ... which don't apply in this case anyway! If we're going to do ‘off the record’ anyway, I like the idea of sharing better. It's not as if any of us can keep her, after all."
"That's because you know Balin will kick your ass!” Dakota snapped. “And then I will, and Jared, and Con."
"You seriously underestimate Xavier if you believe that,” Balin drawled. “There's nothing wrong with his hearing beyond the fact that he just doesn't fucking listen. Give it a rest, Xavier. We have work to do. We'll settle our personal business tonight—assuming, of course, that Dani doesn't decide to join us again.” He looked at Con pointedly. “Anyone Dani shoots in the ass tonight is automatically out of the running."
Con scowled at him indignantly. “Where does that fall in the damned bylaws? Because I sure as hell don't remember running across it!"
"Because you haven't,” Balin retorted coolly. “As Xavier pointed out, we're outside council law on this one. New rules. I'm making them up as I go along."
Con glared at him, but Balin missed it since he revved his engine and took off. He turned to look at Xavier as the other man pulled alongside him. Mollified by the fact that Xavier was obviously as pissed off as he was since he'd also caught a dart in the ass, he grinned abruptly. “You hear that, Xavier? If you see her coming, take care to tuck your ass and run!"
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Chapter Seven
"No. It's not a pack of dogs, wild or otherwise. It's definitely wolves. I've had the chance to get a very good look at them. It's an unusually large pack, which probably explains their aggressive behavior,” Danika informed her boss.
The report was greeted with silence and Danika began to wonder if she'd lost the connection.
"Then it's definitely our ballgame,” he responded, making it clear he'd hoped otherwise. “Any more reports of attacks against any of the locals?"