Her Wanted Wolf (28 page)

“You try my patience, Adrian.” The simmering rage in Drew’s voice wasn’t
lost on the assembled pack. The atmosphere changed from celebration to tense
expectancy. Adrian dipped his head and bared his neck in a placatory gesture.
It belied the unrepentant way he held his body, shoulders back, chest out,
arrogance in every line of his body.

Drew needs to take that mutt down a peg or twenty,
Sabine thought,
still bristling with outrage.

“I was merely welcoming my new cousin to the family.” Adrian dipped his
head in her direction, and smiled sweetly at her. It was a caricature smile,
and it chilled her to the core. With his pupils fully dilated, his eyes seemed
like icy gems gleaming lifelessly in the moonshine. There was nothing friendly
in his expression.

And she thought she might know why, he’d had second or third hand contact
with a Redmaven. It didn’t necessarily make him a traitor, but it raised her
suspicions.

Sabine sat back on her haunches, giving him a disdainful glance before
she turned her head in Drew’s direction. She kept her eyes on him through her
lowered lashes. At her silent dismissal, his face tightened with anger.

An impatient growl rumbled out from Drew’s throat. He lunged at Adrian
and kicked him behind the knees, sending him to the ground. He grabbed a
handful of his hair and pulled his head back, exposing his neck.

“There’s a rumor floating around that you don’t think I’m fit to lead our
pack anymore,” Drew drawled. The amusement in his tone surprised Sabine.

If this were true, Drew had every right to put this Adrian down.

Adrian didn’t respond, but the rancid reek of his panic drifted on the
air.

“If that is true, my alpha, he should be culled from the pack.” Gustav’s
gravelly bass rang out through the sudden fraught silence.

A bitter grimace flitted across Adrian’s face.

“Well, I don’t know, Gustav. My cousin wouldn’t undermine me like that.
Would you, Adrian?” Drew speared Adrian with a cold look and waited for his
response. If Adrian admitted to his disloyalty, it was tantamount to a
challenge, which could lead to his death.

Adrian lips tightened into a thin mean line. “Lies, all lies. All I said
was,” he gulped loudly, “that the pack needed your attention. We are thousands
and it was only one wolf that was taken.”

Disgust hardened Drew’s face.

A falsehood carried a stench to it, oily and cloying, and its stink
emanated from Adrian like a rotten egg. Having denied the rumor publicly with a
lie, his grouses lost all credence. Masterfully, Drew had dulled Adrian’s fangs
and put an end to any dissent he might be stirring amongst the Lunedares.

“The she-wolf taken is my blood sister. If they had taken even you, I’d
have sniffed under every rock and rooted in every bush to bring you home,” Drew
declared with conviction as he released Adrian and stepped away from him.
“Don’t mistake caring for weakness. You’re becoming a particularly prickly burr
in my fur. Fuck up again, and I’ll personally hand you over to the Redmavens
for tracking practice.”

Adrian dropped his eyes. Sabine supposed it could be shame, but you had
to have a conscience for that. He’d shown no compassion for his missing cousin.

Turning his attention to Rafe, his lead fighter, a sly grin spread across
Drew’s face. “Rafe, I think that a pack of this size needs more than eight
fore-fighters.”

Rafe studied at his leader warily. “More?”

Sabine almost snorted at Rafe’s cautious question. Whatever Drew had in
mind was going to singe Adrian’s fur. The were had a plan.

“Yes, I think we should triple the number. We’ll need them to lead our
forces if we have to wage a full-scale battle with the Redmavens. It’s time my
cousin joined that elite group and contributed to the safety of our pack. I
know he’ll be happy to take on the responsibilities.”

Adrian obviously didn’t share his sentiment. Slack-jawed, Adrian shot
Drew a horrified glare.

“Adrian?” The dubious shock in Rafe’s voice sent a wave of snickers
through the avidly attentive Lunedares.

“Yes, Adrian. He’ll need to sharpen his skills. Gather the weres who are
interested in becoming fore-fighters. When you think they’re ready, we’ll test
them.”

Understanding dawned over Rafe’s face and he squinted at Adrian. His face
relaxed and he grinned, seeming to lick his chops in anticipation. “I don’t
know, Drew. I’ll have to keep them close, and they’ll have to train long and
hard.”

“Yes they will, with an emphasis on the
hard
.” He sent his cousin
a toothy smile.

“I don’t want to join the fore-fighters.” Adrian’s protest came out almost
as a whine.

“Are you declining the honor, boy?” Gustav bit out, red-faced with anger.

“He can’t refuse, Gustav. It wasn’t a request,” Drew declared. Any hint
of amusement in his voice was gone. He sent Adrian a steely stare. The message
was clear,
do as ordered
or face the consequences.
“If necessary
I’ll haul him by the ruff to practice myself.”

Drew turned his back on Adrian, as if he was bored with subject.

Facing his pack, he addressed them. “My mate and her pack sisters are of
the Silverwolf line. Yes, the myth holds true. They can mask our spoor from our
enemies.”

Soft murmurs rose and fell.

Drew waited for the whispers to subside. “They’ve agreed to help us
locate Aimee.”

The volume of noise increased, Drew raised his arms and the people fell
silent. “Justice has sent word that Saffa delivered a son.” Cheers rang out,
and Drew shouted over the din. “Let’s celebrate the birth of our supreme
alpha’s heir, and welcome my mate.”

Drew’s words had barely crossed his lips when a she-wolf flashed into
human form and planted her fist on her sturdy hips. “Just one damned minute,
Drew.”

Beside Sabine, Drew let out a groan but shot the woman an engaging grin.
A blast of sunshine couldn’t have been warmer. “Hey, Hanni, what’s up?” he
answered with feigned surprise.

“Don’t you ‘what’s up’ me, Drew Lunedare. You can save your hundred-watt
smile for somebody it’ll have an effect on. I bandaged your skinned knees and
wiped snot from your nose. I’m immune.” Nodding her head for emphasis, her grey
curls bounced around her head with her agitation. “I’m tired of being penned up
on the mountain. I’ve missed weeks of bingo nights down at the Y because of the
restrictions you’ve imposed on us.”

“Everything will be resolved soon. In the meantime, you can organize bingo
meetings, or whatever you call them, in the central den.”

“It’s not the same. Don’t you think you’ll box me in as neatly as you did
Gustav’s whelp.” Around her, other female weres popped into human form and
buzzed in agreement like a bristly indignant swarm.

Drew shook his head. “You can’t go gallivanting all over creation as you
please.”

“I don’t want all of creation. I want Bingo at the Y.” Hanni ground out
one word at a time, frustration rife in every word.

“What you need is another mate to keep you occupied, Hanni. You wouldn’t
want bingo then and it might sweeten your disposition.” The laughing comment
came from back of the throng.

Hanni pinpointed the impertinent man through the darkness and seared him
with a glare. “Shut your trap, Louie Lunedare, the last thing I need is another
were sniffing at me Or fouling my den by missing the commode, though God in his
infinite wisdom gave you all a directional spout and you men still wet the
seat.” She turned back to Drew. “I gamble. I’m long overdue for my yearly trip to
Tahoe. Besides, I need to replenish my stock, you depleted it and I don’t
conjure merchandise out of thin air. We want trips out to the city, bookstores,
girls’ nights out, and movies-in-the-theater fixes. The men come and go as they
please, and we want the same freedoms.”

“You’re free to head into the city in small groups with fore-fighters
monitoring the area for our enemies. If that doesn’t suit you, buy books and
DVDs online, meet in your homes or in the den,” Drew leaned forward until his
nose almost touched Hanni’s, daring her to proffer any additional objections.

Hanni slid her eyes over to Sabine. The calculating gleam in them alerted
Sabine that she was about be dragged into the battle of wills between Drew and
the women of his pack. They’d judge her worthiness by how she handled the
situation.

“What does your mate think of all this?”

“Oh no you don’t, Hanni, you’re a rabble rouser in the guise of a sweet
granny. Leave Sabine out of this. She already thinks I’m being a pain in the
ass for insisting the moratorium on travel remains in place.”

A smug smile replaced the frown on Hanni face. “She does? Well, in that
case we’re petitioning her to intervene on our behalf. We want our fundamental
rights restored, with our alpha’s permission, of course.”

Drew’s snorted. “Oh, now I’m your alpha. I’d have preferred you remember
that before you made your demands.”

“Then you shouldn’t have encouraged us to speak our minds when you
claimed leadership of the pack,” Hanni shot back and turned to fix her
attention on Sabine. “Are you going to help us?”

Voicing her opinions to Drew was one thing, but having to air them in
front of his family was another. She wanted to hide in her wolf form, but duty
called. She allowed her human half to take control and rose to her feet.

Sabine faced the Lunedare women. They had a confidence that could only
come from a sense of security, of knowing their worth. The Redmaven women she’d
spied on in the cave didn’t have that.

Sabine understood what Drew did was for their safety. However, a
restraining hand, no matter how loving, was a yoke around the neck to any were.

“Drew and I are newly-mated, and I’ve realized he considers the women of
his pack its greatest resource, and he feels they must be safeguarded at all
costs. And I agree with him.” The women’s shoulders slumped, and they glared at
her as if she’d betrayed them. “What I don’t agree with is not using those
resources properly.” Sabine now had every she-wolf’s rapt attention.

She turned to face her mate.

“Sabine…” Drew’s brows lowered, Sabine held up her hand, to delay his
objections. She had to talk fast.

“From what I’ve heard, you’ve changed the way you live your lives, and
allowed the Redmavens to more or less corral the Lunedares. I say use the women
of your pack, let them fight for their family, but subtly.” Drew opened his
mouth, but before he said anything, she rushed on. “A lone she-wolf is easy to
capture. So why not allow larger groups of them, with one or two fore-fighters.
He has to have someone watching your movements. If Bardo’s allies are stupid
enough to attempt another kidnapping, your women will tear them apart.” Sabine
shifted her eyes to meet Hanni’s. They exchanged a look of perfect
understanding. “You told me earlier that your women are able fighters. The women
will get what they want, and you’ll thumb your nose at your foes. They’ll be
distracted by the sudden change in your day-to-day activity. It would take a
farsighted alpha to look ahead and see the sense in this strategy.”

“Don’t butter me up,” Drew complained but Sabine saw he was considering
her suggestions.

“That’s so sneaky, and worthy of a Lunedare. You picked a good mate here,
Drew.” Hanni chuckled and beamed approvingly at Sabine. “I love it! I wouldn’t
mind kneeing a Redmaven where it’d hurt most, to get a little of our own back.”
She turned to Drew, brows lifted, waiting for his decision.

Drew sighed and shook his head, exasperation stamped on his face. “I
don’t like it, but I can see the logic it in. Sabine will work out the details,
since it’s her idea. Coordinate with Rafe, and let me how you’re going to go
about it. If the final plan doesn’t feel right, I’ll put a kibosh on the whole
thing.”

Hanni let out a whoop. “Good enough for me.” She spared Sabine a final
glance, filled with acceptance and warm regard. Hanni tilted her head to the
side baring her neck once more to her alpha’s mate.

Sabine dipped her head to acknowledge Hanni’s respectful gesture.

Hanni turned to the crowd. “Let’s show our sisters under the fur how the
Lunedares celebrate. Ahoooyahhh! We dance until we’re breathless. We eat until
we’re filled, because weres live each moment to the fullest.”

Hanni skipped lightly off into the crowd. The Lunedares surged forward
and pulled Sabine into the mass of gamboling bodies. Sabine lost sight of Drew,
as she was spun and whirled around. Soon she was caught up in the celebratory
mood and she let it carry her away.

Ala and her partner, Tija, danced by and she glimpsed her other pack
sisters laughing, enjoying the carefree moment.

Drew found her, gripped her waist, and pulled her to a stop in the midst
of the whirling bodies.

He held out a container to her. “Take a sip of this.”

Taking it hesitantly, she sniffed it. “This is not one of your uncle’s
experiments, is it?” She looked into the liquid and saw the lines of bubbles
doing a dance of their own. “This is Champagne? I read about it.”

“No, it’s Moscato Spumante, an Italian sparkling wine, it’s sweeter than Champagne,
not as dry. I thought it’d suit your palate better.”

Sabine took a tentative sip. It was like drinking a starburst. “Good.
What else do you have for me?”

Drew expressive brows wiggled at her. “Lots, but we should take it slow.”

“No, I’ve got a lot to catch up on. Give me everything.” Yes, she wanted
everything. Sabine wanted to make memories that would last her a lifetime.
Maybe she was a throwback; like her ancestors she mated for life. And Drew was
that mate. He’d be her first and her last.

Chapter Twenty-one

The atmosphere shifted from a convivial family occasion to a gathering of
weres, humming with a barely contained sexuality, which was on the threshold of
bursting free. People with young, interpreting the mood change, collected their
sleepy cubs, and made their way their dens. Prepubescent Lunedares, given a
chance for a loosely supervised run, took off to race through the forest at
will, leaving behind the adults, still caught in the euphoria of a homecoming
ceremony.