Dark Wolf: 1 (Spirit Wild) (10 page)

“You don’t know him well enough to say that.”
“Possibly true. But I’ve never doubted my instincts, and my original response was to trust him. And, Dad, he didn’t mount me.”
Anton nodded. “I’ll accept that. What stopped him?”
She was pretty impressed. Anton Cheval could be rather hotheaded at times, and he was controlling himself admirably, though she wondered if she should mention that he’d just bent one of her mom’s best sterling serving spoons into a perfect
U
.
“That’s another thing I want you to check on. Remember those tests the army was doing, trying to find Chanku among the troops to create a shapeshifting force?”
“Of course I remember. It was an abject failure. Chanku are killers by nature, but they won’t follow a leader merely because of his rank. The military couldn’t seem to understand that the number of stars on a helmet doesn’t always equate with pack alpha standing. They had no control over the few troops they found.”
“Exactly. But what happened to those Chanku the military discovered? Were they assimilated back into the general military population?”
The silence was telling. Frowning, Anton finally said, “I don’t know. I think a few of them have registered with the pack, but I have no idea how many eventually were turned and what became of them. I should. I generally don’t let things like that slip.”
“You’ve had a few other things on your mind.” Like the expansion of Cheval International and the various other companies within Chanku Global Industries including Pack Dynamics, their search and rescue team. And the pack, which had grown slowly but steadily over the years. It was almost as if her father had taken on the role as monarch of his small country of Chanku, with the vast majority of his subjects living on the extensive holdings he had in Montana, not far from the town of Kalispell.
He hadn’t asked for the role, but it had found him.
And of course, the deadly attacks on so many young women, presumably by wolves and men . . . or wolves who became men.
“Dad, what saved me last night, when Sebastian was chasing me across the flank of Mount Tam with sex controlling his wolven brain, was an attack by more wolves. Big wolves. A third again larger than Tinker.”
Anton stared at her for a long, silent moment. Then he nodded and carefully set the bent spoon on his desk. “What happened ?”
Now he sounded way too calm. “When I first realized that Sebastian was chasing me with more than a romp across the mountains on his mind, I took off and found a bolt hole in a small cave between tumbled boulders. He caught up to me; we were facing off, and I was trying to get him to respond to me as a thinking creature when I scented strange wolves.”
“You didn’t recognize them?”
“Actually, Dad, I did. There were two of them, and I recognized their scent from the place where that girl was killed last week, the one near Mom’s garden in Golden Gate Park.”
“How did Sebastian react?”
“My first thought was that the whole evening was a setup, that he was with them, but it didn’t fit with the way my wolf had so quickly responded to his. Mindspeaking, I told him we were about to be attacked. Finally, something broke through, and he responded to me. I honestly didn’t know if they were friends of his or not. I mean, what a perfect way to kill me—get me cornered in the boonies and call in his buddies, but he turned on them. Snapped the closest one’s front leg while I went after the second wolf. I nailed his nose and then got him by the throat. He was big, but I’m faster. Still, I’m not sure what would have happened, except Sebastian finished with the first one and took out the second one as well. His jaws are powerful. Broke the bastard’s hind leg.”
“Good. That’s good that he recognized the difference between right and wrong. Did he realize what happened?”
“Yeah. Later, he was embarrassed. Devastated, really.” She chuckled. “When he took me home and I invited him in, he was honestly shocked.”
“I don’t think I need any more of the details.” Anton’s dry comment was pure father.
“Good.” She laughed. “ ’Cause you’re not getting them. The thing is, we both knew we needed to talk about everything, and I thought he’d be there when I woke up. He was gone.”
“Have you spoken with him since?”
“No. I called you first.”
“I should hope so.” He laughed. “I’m glad you’re still keeping your priorities straight.”
“There’s more, Dad. I hope you’re taking notes.”
“I’m assuming you’re referring to the murder this morning. It was just a few blocks from your house.”
“I know. And Sebastian wasn’t with me when it happened. I’m worried, Dad. What if he’s involved? What if he really is guilty? I didn’t pick up his scent at the other murder site, but maybe I just missed it. He doesn’t strike me as a killer, but there’s darkness in him. It doesn’t fit with his actions or his personality or even his aura.”
“What, exactly, do you want me to do?”
So simple, really, to ask her father for help. She knew he was worried, knew he had a million questions, but he focused on what she wanted, what she needed.
Not on his own needs or wants, which, she imagined, included shooting Sebastian Xenakis between the eyes. Or maybe just ripping out his throat. She almost laughed, imagining what Anton Cheval was thinking behind that placid exterior.
Even though her father trusted her intelligence and her ability to think logically, he would always be her father, and it was his very nature to protect her. She laid out her requests as succinctly as she could. “I want to know if Aldo Xenakis is working magic beyond what’s considered normal for practitioners, even those who touch the dark arts. Is he delving into something we’re missing, doing something that would give him enough power to affect his son’s actions?”
“That’s a pretty big stretch, sweetheart. He’s not Chanku. Telepathy and some minor mind control is natural for us.”
Lily chuckled. “It’s a good thing the humans haven’t figured that out yet.”
“Here’s hoping they don’t. We’ve already got enough trouble. Besides, Aldo would have to be working death magic for the kind of power it would take to control his son. Sebastian’s not weak.”
“No. Sebastian is definitely not weak. And he is telepathic. We linked at the reception. Clearly.” Lily focused on her father’s eyes. “As far as Aldo’s power, there have been a lot of dead women, and their numbers are growing. Plus, the killings are coming closer together now.”
Anton’s silence was telling. Then, as if speaking to himself, he said, “Aldo Xenakis is awfully high profile for murder.”
“I know. But he’s also one of our staunchest detractors. He’d like to see all of us reclassified as animals, not humans. He has an agenda, and he’s been very open about it. He wants all Chanku banned from commerce, from voting, from all rights as citizens. He maintains a respectable public demeanor, but the man is a complete fanatic. I wonder if he might be insane.”
Her father nodded. “I’ll find out what I can. What else?”
“See what you can learn about the military program to create a Chanku army. I want to know what happened to those Chanku that were discovered. For all we know, the military could still be using them, but under top secret conditions. Or they could have destroyed them, or maybe they just went back into the general population. Battle trained wolves could create a lot of trouble set loose on society. Or with the wrong alpha.”
“You’re really making me nervous now, Lily.” He scribbled something on a tablet she’d not noticed. “Anything else?”
“Sebastian’s mother. She died a couple of years ago, but he claims he’s not Chanku. I’d bet good money that he is. My wolf says he is. Maybe she just never found out. I told you he shifts using magic. He draws it from the trees, from the mountain. Draws it out, but gives nothing back. Could this be the source of his darkness? I don’t know, but I think his mother is the key.”
“He hasn’t taken the nutrients?”
“I asked him, and he said he hadn’t, but he also said if I gave them to him, he’d give it a shot. But he was gone this morning, before I could give him any.”
She had plenty of the capsules with her. Every once in a while she’d sense her own need for the nutrients or someone would ask for them. So many people wanted to be Chanku, but so far they’d found very few. Not nearly as many as they’d expected.
The Tibetan grasses their race had once relied on were the one way to guarantee whether someone was Chanku. Ingesting the right combination of nutrients was usually all anyone needed if they had the right genetics.
Lily was almost positive Sebastian fit the profile.
“Another thing, Dad. I need to visit Eve. I haven’t been on the astral in ages, and I’ve missed her. Maybe she’ll know something about Sebastian’s mother. Plus, I want to ask her if she’s sensed the military Chanku. Have you spoken with her?”
“Not recently, but Alex has. Last week.”
“Alex?” Alex never walked the astral. At least not if he could avoid it. “Whatever for?”
“He’s frantic, Lily. The killings are getting to him. He’s catching flak from a few locals who are trying to stir up trouble in town, and he’s worried about the young women he knows.”
“And goddess knows, Alex knows more young women than most.”
He slanted a rare, disapproving glare her way. “So true, but it’s not a joking matter. Kalispell has always been very open to us, very welcoming, but the killings have all the hallmarks of a wolf and human combination, plus they’re occurring in areas where Chanku populations are largest, in the Bay Area and here in Montana. People are scared. They have a right to be, but it’s affecting our relationship with people we’ve known and trusted for years. People who have trusted us.”
Before Lily could apologize for her flip comment, her dad paused and glanced over his shoulder. Lily saw her mom in the background and waved. Keisha moved close to the screen. “Hi, sweetheart. I hope you don’t mind. I’ve been listening to your conversation. Be careful, but trust your instincts and listen to what your wolf says about your man.”
“I will, Mom. But he’s not my man. Yet.”
Her mother’s soft laughter had Lily grinning. “Why do I hear a very loud
but
at the end of that?”
“Probably because he’s what I want. But not until I’m sure. There is so much circumstantial crap pointing toward him, that it’s almost too much.”
“What do you mean? What do you suspect?” Her dad studied her in that way he had, forcing her to work through various scenarios in her head to learn what her instincts were trying to tell her.
“Flat out? I think Aldo Xenakis is involved. I think he’s somehow controlling his son, and I also believe he’s setting him up to take the blame for the murders. I have no idea why, but I fully intend to find out.”
She heard a knock on her parents’ door. Keisha blew a kiss at the phone. “Bye, sweetie. I love you, but that’s Xandi, and grocery shopping awaits. I gotta go.”
“Bye, Mom.” She blinked back unexpected tears. “I love you, too. And thanks.”
“You okay, sweetheart?”
She grinned at her father. “You I can talk to all day and I’m fine. I see Mom, and I immediately want to come home so she can hug me and make cookies for me.”
“Your mother spoils you outrageously.”
“Not nearly as much as she spoils you.”
Her father didn’t even attempt to deny it, which made Lily even more homesick. She wanted what her mother and father had, the connection that only mated Chanku could ever feel. That sense of homecoming whether the two of them were together or apart.
She’d sensed that with Sebastian. Just a hint of the potential, and it had been so seductive. Damn it all, she wanted him to be innocent. She didn’t want to think she’d fallen for a killer, but even more important, she wanted him to be the man he seemed to be. The Sebastian Xenakis she’d made love with last night had been special. He’d been honorable and brave, and he’d shown her the stars. For that alone she would fight to prove his innocence, to know his true character.
She chatted with her dad a while longer. She missed her twin brothers and younger sister, and she really missed Alex and Uncle Stefan and Aunt Xandi. She was a pack animal. Most of the time there was no pack close by. The ones living and working in the Bay Area had lives as busy as hers—it was rare for them to get together.
She really needed to see Eve. If nothing else, connecting with the goddess who had once walked among them would ground her. It always had.
And dear goddess, but Lily needed grounding now. She looked into her father’s eyes—eyes so much like her own—and realized what she really wanted. The decision was a no-brainer. She could access the astral from just about anywhere, but it was easiest through the gateway in the cavern beneath her parents’ home.
Montana was only a short flight away. The company jet was available any time she wanted. “Dad? Are you and Mom going to be home this weekend?”
Anton’s eyes lit up. “Are you thinking of a trip home? I realize you never take vacations, but this is business, right?” He chuckled softly.
“Yeah. I need a personal chat with the chairman of the board.” She laughed, suddenly feeling freer, more grounded than she had in days. “I’ve got some things to take care of at the office, but I’ll call and have them get the small jet ready. I should be out of here before lunch.”
“I’ve missed you, Lily.”
“I miss you, too, Dad. Tell Mom I expect cookies at some point during the weekend.”
They closed the connection. Lily threw a few things in her overnight bag. She kept plenty of clothes at the house in Montana—clothing much more comfortable than the designer suits she wore each day to the office.
Throwing on a pair of jeans and a knit top, and choosing hiking boots rather than heels, she dressed for home. Her driver was waiting as she stepped through the door, but her mind wasn’t on the few things she needed to do before she could leave. No, she was already caught up in thoughts of heading home.

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