Wolf Claim (Wolves of Willow Bend Book 3) (7 page)

“No, he’s become a tight-lipped bastard since I told him I was granting his request.” That had put his Alpha’s mood on the edge. The warm feminine voice of his mate carried in the distance.

“Maybe because he doesn’t know himself, and you big bad boys don’t like admitting when you’re in over your head.” Then she added, “He
asked
for help. That’s big.”

True.
Mason echoed Owen’s thought aloud. “Agreed. That makes me warier, however. I get that you haven’t liked the idea from the beginning, Owen.”

“No, but I will not let anything happen to her and we will accomplish the task you set for us.” Until he’d said the words aloud, he hadn’t realized how deep his confidence in Gillian’s ability ran. She was a gifted healer. If it were within her power; she would help the Hudson River pack.
Or hurt herself in the attempt
. Scowling at the thought, he finished fueling the truck and locked up the tank.

“At this point, I want you to take a step back from her mission and focus on yours.” Mason’s words answered the visceral need plaguing Owen since he’d first heard about Hudson River’s request. “Gillian comes first. If you think the danger to her is too much, you bring her home.”

“And if she refuses to leave?” He wanted clarity on this point.

“You have my authority to act as you see fit.” Another boon, one that settled Owen’s disquiet like no other command. If Owen wanted to haul her unwilling ass out to protect her, he could.

“Thank you.” His gratitude was real, particularly in light of his earlier defiance. Mason didn’t have to forgive him or give him the answer he needed to hear.

“You’re welcome. Don’t forget for a moment you’re my wolf, too, Owen. I want both of you back.” With that, the line disconnected. After another scan of the area, he slid back into the driver’s seat. Gillian’s soft, even breaths told him she hadn’t stirred.

An hour later, he’d left the interstate and found a quiet spot to pull off. Parking near a restaurant, he reached over and brushed his knuckles along her cheek. Her lashes fluttered once, then parted to reveal the startling topaz of her eyes. Awareness flooded her sleep-rumpled expression and she sat up, stretching with a groan.

“Are we there?” Hell, even her voice possessed a husky note that went straight to his cock.

Determined to keep a lid on it, he ignored his body’s demand and gestured to the window. “Very soon, I thought you might be hungry and want to eat before we arrived.”

“Food sounds good. Coffee sounds better.”

He could fulfill both requests.

She scrubbed her hands against her face. “Do you mind if I use the facilities?” Nose wrinkling, she sniffed at herself. “I’d kill for a shower.”

Nothing about her scent was even remotely unattractive, but Owen didn’t share the inappropriate direction of his thoughts. “We’ll go in together. Afterward, we can find a hotel and rent a room. You can shower and change before we get there.”

“A hotel for an hour?” Her eyebrows raised, and she grinned. “I thought people only did that in the movies.”

He didn’t understand her objection. “You said you’d kill for a shower.”

Gillian blinked once and shook her head. “Never mind. I’d love to stop at a hotel for a shower.” Without waiting for him, she opened her door. He’d exited the truck and circled it to meet her before she’d fully stepped out.

She ran her fingers through her curls, as though trying to brush them, and glanced around the area, interest kindling in her gaze. “It’s prettier than I thought it would be.” Their exit had left them in a hilly area, populated by dense trees and the river wasn’t far. At least not based on what the breeze told him. The human population was high, though. And since entering Hudson River, he’d yet to see one wolf—so either they weren’t as spread out, or they were making damn sure he didn’t see them.

“We’re not there yet,” was all he said to Gillian, however. She didn’t need to worry about anything other than looking after herself at the moment.

Facing him, she smiled and ran her fingers down his cheek in a caress so fleeting, he wasn’t quite sure how to process it. “I think grumpy needs coffee more than I do. Will you feed me please, Owen?”

The ache to feed her while feasting on her electrified every nerve ending. But his little wolf wanted to eat, so he reached past her, closed the door, and locked their vehicle before offering his arm. “It would be my pleasure.”

And that’s a word I need to never say to her again.
Pleasure sparked way too many ideas, ones he couldn’t explore. For one second, a memory roared through him. An erotic image of a playful, half naked wolf who’d curved her fingers toward him. When he’d lowered his head to hear her, she’d whispered an invitation into his ear, which branded his soul and had him wanting to take her down in the grass.

He hadn’t and, somehow, he’d found the strength to walk away. Wanting Gillian had never been a problem for him. He was so fucking hungry for her, he couldn’t see straight, but he couldn’t take what he wanted.

No, she deserved so much better.

Inside the building, she swept her gaze over the restaurant. It seemed neat and tidy, but the cleansing solvents they’d used left a burn tickling his nose. Perhaps hers as well, because she glanced at him with pained look. “Take out?”

“Agreed. What do you want?”

“Whatever you’re having.” She rubbed her nose, and he nodded. Yeah, the longer they stayed, the more irritating the chemical scent became. Hopefully the food wouldn’t stink of it. They could choke it down, but it wouldn’t be pleasant. She gestured toward the restrooms. Studying the layout, he nodded. From his vantage, he could watch the door to the restroom and the restaurant. “I’ll be quick,” she murmured at an almost sub vocal level, addressing his concern.

“Thank you,” he murmured at the same level. When a waitress hustled over to him, he kept his attention sharp and focused on hearing even the most innocuous of sounds, something not too difficult in the sparsely populated restaurant.

He settled on ordering burgers and french fries. Hardly the healthiest of meals, but two or three each would tide them over. He made the order for an even six, and the waitress looked surprised. He had water bottles in the truck, but Gillian wanted coffee. He asked the waitress to make a fresh pot and he’d bring in a thermos. She agreed.

He checked the closed bathroom door; he could hear the sound of water running and Gillian humming. The corner of his mouth kicked up. She was humming for him, and he knew it, to let him know she was all right. Pleased beyond measure at her thoughtfulness, he kept a watchful eye on the waitress as she brewed the fresh pot of coffee. From the kitchen, the scent of burgers sizzling broke up the chemical scent.

When Gillian emerged from the bathroom, he nodded to her and went to retrieve their thermos. She took up his position near the counter and didn’t leave his line of sight. Really, she was the perfect wolf.

By the time their food and coffee was ready, they were both eager to be out of the restaurant. Back in the truck, he drove another couple of miles until he found a rest stop with open air, park benches and plenty of wide-open spaces. He could secure it easily enough.

The weather was cooler than in Willow Bend, but it was still summer, so they were very comfortable. He could have gone on to find the hotel, but that carried its own set off issues with scents, and he needed to make sure she ate.

Only after she’d demolished her first burger and was halfway through the second, did she say anything. “So, we’re a little over an hour from arriving. Where are we staying when we get there?”

He’d considered their options. “With Dalton the first night. He’ll want to make it clear to his pack that you’re his guest.”

“And the second night?” She sipped the coffee, then sighed with gusto. Good, the coffee pleased her.

“If he doesn’t provide us with a place, I’ll find one.” One night under the other Alpha’s roof was expected, but he didn’t plan to give them open door access to her.

“So we’ll be together for the whole trip?” She swiped one of his french fries, despite having three other boxes to choose from, and he nudged his container closer to her.

“You’re never to leave my side,” he agreed. “Where you go, I go. No exceptions.”

The corner of her mouth curved and she watched him as she took a bite of her burger. He couldn’t help but zero in on the way her mouth pressed against the sandwich or the way her eyes dropped to half-closed as she chewed. Need ratcheted his spine tighter.

Clearing his throat, he drained a bottle of water before saying. “I’m serious. I don’t care who they want you to examine or what the patient wants, if you’re in a room, so am I. When you go to sleep at night, I’ll be there. And when you wake up in the morning…”

“Yours will be the first face I see.” She punctuated the sentence with a wide grin. He’d expected more resistance, and the lack of her objection made him frown.

“This isn’t a game.” He plucked some of the fries from his container and added them to hers.

“Oh, Owen.” Gillian sighed and shook her head. “I won’t go anywhere without you, but I do want to make one thing very clear.”

Ah, there it is
. He nodded. “And that is?”

“I will take care of the sick and the injured, and you are not allowed to scare them.” She finished her burger. He could live with those conditions. “I won’t try to sneak away, but you have to agree to make sure I can see those who need to be seen.”

“Within reason.”

Her mouth compressed into a thin line and rebellion gleamed in her eyes. “We’re going to fight about this, aren’t we?”

“No,” he said. “We’re not.” Picking up another container of food, he set it in front of her. “You want to save them, to cure whatever it is that ails them, to isolate and defeat an enemy we know nothing about. I understand all of that.” When she reached for the third burger, he caught her hand. “I have one goal and one task, and that is to take you home safe, whole and healthy. No one will prevent me from that task. If you don’t agree, I’ll put you in that truck and we’ll go home right now.” Mason had given him the right to make the call, but if she refused to cooperate…no, it simply wasn’t an option.

“It’s all right,” she said, squeezing his hand and giving him a small smile. “I was only teasing you.”

“Oh.” Her sudden acquiescence left his anger with nowhere to go, so he nodded.

“Of course, if we’re going to be so intimate on this trip, I really hope you’re planning to share my bed as well.”

His synapses short-circuited. Before he could summon up a reply, a sound that didn’t belong scratched over his senses and he caught the hint of wolf—of several wolves—on the air. Rising, he swept the area with a glance. Theirs was the only car in the rest stop lot. The other vehicles and their human occupants had left. Across the green belt, a wolf appeared on the edge of the forest, revealing itself like a ghost before disappearing back into the foliage. A second appeared a few feet farther along, and a third.

Circling the bench, Owen took a spot between Gillian and the wolves. To her credit, she stayed where she was, but swung her legs out from under the table. She could move if she needed to. Finally, a man exited the trees and began striding toward them.

Easily Owen’s height, he was tall, dark haired and light-skinned. He wore jeans and a grey t-shirt with a leather jacket over the top. Everything in his manner said predator.

Gillian rose and moved closer to him. The weight of her hand against his back centered him. He tracked the other wolf’s progress. Even without a photo reference, he’d have recognized the energy practically crackling the air around him and the strength in his steady gaze and posture.

“That’s Brett Dalton,” he said, for Gillian’s benefit. “The Hudson River Alpha.”

“Oh.”

And he was early, meeting them not at his house as planned, but at a rest stop. Nothing about this followed protocol, which meant…

Anything could happen.

What was left of her sleepiness vanished at the arrival of the Hudson River Alpha. He was a powerful man, and the confidence in his stride demonstrated not only his awareness, but also his comfort with his power. His meeting them at the rest stop, however, threatened a danger she hadn’t expected.

First meetings between dominants in familiar territory were tricky enough. Inter-pack politics aside, protocol demanded they acknowledge Dalton as Alpha, cede to him a certain amount of authority, and gain his permission and agreement to be within in his territory. Although he’d invited them, these situations required a certain set of behaviors and interactions, almost scripted in their formality.

Which was why they were supposed to meet him at his house. There, Owen would be comfortable accepting Brett’s status because he would be firmly within Brett’s territory and home. Courtesy softened the blow of politics and dominance games. But right then? In the open? When Owen wasn’t expecting Brett and what had to be a half-dozen wolves with him? Particularly because Owen was a dominant male and the most senior member of Willow Bend—worse, she was with him.

A better recipe for danger she couldn’t imagine, unless…wait, she was
with
him. “Owen,” she fisted his shirt and kept her voice as low as possible. “I know you’ll hate this, but let me greet him. I won’t move an inch from you, but let me say hello.”

The line of Owen’s back stiffened further, if that were possible. The tension radiating off of him was a palpable force. He didn’t immediately shut down her suggestion, so she continued.

“I can afford to be pissy with him and call him on this crap.” When Owen’s chin dropped a fraction, she knew he was considering her idea. “He won’t hurt me, he can’t even afford to take offense.” Not that he would. Healers usually had a lot of leeway in packs, even with the most dominant of dominants. She’d seen Emma kick Toman out of her house before and shut him down so hard, yet the older Alpha had merely smiled and acquiesced.

“If he touches you…”

She didn’t dare let Owen go there. “He’s going to, you and I both know that. A hug. A kiss. He’ll greet me, it’s normal.”