Wolfe's Mate (6 page)

“Excellent.”

“You haven’t told the patients
, have you … ” Norris said.

“They were told
the treatment might have some side effects, and if it worked, they would be cured of cancer. We didn’t lie to them.”

“What exactly do you want
the five of them to do once they are cured?”

“
What they were doing before, serve in the military as an elite group of soldiers,” the nurse said.

“Except instead of the government giving them orders
, it will be Doctors for a Better Humanity.”

“We
’re fighting a battle here, Doctor. If we are going to change the future of the human race, we need an army to do so. Most of the world’s governments may not agree with our methods. However, once we’re finished with our research, we’ll have a human population immune to disease. Just think of it. No more cancer, no more AIDS, no more disease of any kind.”

“Who will decide these things? Will you offer to turn the whole population into wolves?” With this kind of thinking
, they could control world populations or destroy them.

“Of course not. As we study their DNA and learn the secrets of their blood
, we will be able to make a serum that will allow for healing and not shifting. The shifter class will be our soldiers and police force. We will take the best qualities of their DNA for our future race.”

Norris shook his head. These people were as mad as Hitler, trying to make a super race. Didn’t they know they would end up destroying diversity? He’d have to be careful not to let
the fanatical doctors know he doubted their grand plan. At least, they didn’t know that Esme was a lycan, or they would have kidnapped her as well.

“Let’s get started.”

§

“Jared, we have a problem. The sedan has been stolen.” Granger
stood in the doorway to the adjoining rooms. “This morning, I went downstairs to go to the train station and pick up our bags, and the car was gone. I sniffed around and thought I caught Pierre’s scent, but that could be because he’d been in the car. Do you want me to contact the police?”

Jared frowned and glanced toward the bathroom where Esme
finished her morning shower. They both had been out of control last night, their wolves taking over to assure the mating bond was complete. After making love to her several times, he figured she was sore. He put temptation aside and sent her in to shower alone. Something he regretted as he pictured water running down her delectable form. “Can you call the English Alpha and tell him? It’s his car. I don’t know if he wants us to call attention to him and his pack. We’ll have to see if there is a place we can rent a car. Maybe the hotel staff can help us. I heard planes coming in last night. I don’t think we are far from a small airport. If we can’t get a car, maybe we can catch a flight to Aberdeen.”

“Al
l right, I’ll speak with the staff and see what I can figure out. Do you want me to order breakfast or will we eat in the dining room downstairs?”

“I think Esme would like to go downstairs. She made a remark about m
y keeping her locked away. She needs to eat before we continue our trip. Last night exhausted both of us.”

“I’ll meet you downstairs
, then. Does the T-shirt I bought for you fit okay?”

“Yes, thanks
for getting me something clean to wear, and thanks for the toiletries too.”

“Well, you
’ve been locked in your room since yesterday afternoon. I figured I’d better do something about our clothes situation. Now, if we can get to the train station and pick up our bags, we can at least have clean underwear.”

“I thought you went commando
,” Jared said.

“I do
. I meant for you.”

“Now, you’re being mean. Go on
. Esme and I will catch up with you in the lobby.”

Granger smiled and headed for the door. Jared shook his head at his best friend.

Now, what would he tell Esme about the car? Everything seemed to be conspiring against them finding her brother. If only Jared could convince her to let her brother go and come to Quebec with him. Granger could find out what was going on and report back to them.

It looked
as though Norris didn’t want his sister coming with him to Scotland. He might have had a very good reason to leave her behind. Unfortunately, Esme wouldn’t stop looking until she discovered what was happening with Norris. Whether he wanted to or not, Jared would have to take Esme to find her brother. He hoped he could keep her safe while he did so.

“Did I hear Granger?” Esme asked as she walked out of the bathroom
with a towel wrapped around her head. She wore a pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt. Her feet were bare, and Jared remembered how he’d kissed and teased her toes a few hours ago.

“He’s going to meet us downstairs. Here
, let me help you with your hair.” Jared reached for the comb sitting on the side table. “Sit down, and I’ll comb it out for you.”

“Jared, you don’t have to
…”

“I want to. I love your hair. Come here,
ma petit louve
.”

Esme sat down on the end of the bed.

“Turn around,” Jared directed before he took the towel in his hands and finished squeezing water from her hair. She smelled of lemons, like the soap in the bathroom. He picked up one strand of her dark hair and slowly worked the comb down to the ends before he picked up another lock and repeated the process. He loved the softness. Her hair felt like the finest silk against his skin. Everything about his mate was sensual. He wanted to forget the missing car, and Norris, and take her to bed for a week. Sighing, he worked the comb through the last few strands before laying the final lock on her shoulder.

“Is something the matter?”
she asked, looking back at him.

Jared leaned down and kissed her neck near the mark he
’d left on her skin. She trembled. “The car is missing. Granger thinks it was stolen last night.”

“
What? Stolen? Who would want an old sedan like that?”

“I don’t know,
mon coeur
. But we won’t be able to get to Aberdeen without some kind of transportation.”

“Oh, dear
…”

“Precisely.
Come put on your shoes, and let’s go down to eat. You said you wanted to get out of the room. Hopefully, Granger will have some answers for us by the time we arrive.”

Esme held Jared’s hand as they entered the hotel restaurant. She couldn’t believe he’d finally made love to her in reality, not in a dream. She blushed, and glanced around the hotel. Could the people around them know?

Jared gave her hand a little squeeze. She didn’t know how to act. Part of her wanted to shout
for joy. After all, Jared was a wonderful lover and was now hers. Another part wanted to run away and hide. Her wolf seemed content, and Esme wasn’t experiencing that driven feeling anymore. She signed in relief. Maybe things would be okay after all.

Esme and Jared
picked Granger out of the crowd and joined him at a table. “Breakfast is buffet style. Go help yourselves,” he suggested while biting into a sausage. “The Canadian bacon is great. They have lots of pastries to choose from, Esme, and plenty of fried eggs and meat for you, Jared.”

Fried eggs?
In Paris, Esme normally ate a light breakfast. She looked at the plates around her, and her stomach lurched. There was no way her stomach would handle a heavy breakfast. She hadn’t realized that Norris always made sure there was light fare in the house.

Jared tugged her toward the buffet line and handed her a plate. While he started loading his
plate with meat, she wandered down to the end of the buffet and found some small chocolate croissants and bread rolls with butter. She picked up two croissants and poured herself a glass of juice before heading back to the table.

Jared sat beside her. He glanced at her plate and frowned. “Esme
, that isn’t enough to feed a bird. Lycans need to eat more. We have a higher metabolism. You should have some meat or eggs, some kind of protein.”

“I never eat a heavy breakfast, Jared. Wait
. What are you doing?” Jared forked up one of his eggs and several sausages and put them on her plate.

“You need to eat more
. Now you can.” He took a bite of egg as if the discussion was over.

Esme sighed. She noticed Granger watching the interaction. This was embarrassing. “Jared, you aren’t listening to me. I don’t want sausages or eggs.” She picked up
a croissant and took a bite, chewing slowly. A waitress walked by, and Esme asked for a cup of tea. Café au lait would be too much to expect.

Jared and Granger ate with gusto, both going back for seconds. Esme continued to sip her tea and nibble on the croissants. When she finished, she pushed
her plate away, leaving the food Jared had given her untouched. He glanced over and opened his mouth, but Granger interrupted whatever Jared intended to say.

“
I contacted the local car rental establishment, and they won’t have a car available until this afternoon. They suggested we take a train either to London or Aberdeen. However, the English Alpha can have a car here in two hours. If you still want to drive to Aberdeen, we can do that. Pierre escaped from Donny and Adam’s car when they stopped to get fuel. Pierre may be the person behind the theft of the car though I’m not sure why.”

“Two hours?” Jared asked
, glancing at Esme.

Esme didn’t feel the urgency to
find Norris that she’d experienced before. Could cementing the mating bond have something to do with that? She cleared her throat. “I guess the logical thing to do is wait for Grigori to send up a car. Returning to London to rent a car would probably take just as long. There are some interesting sights here in Luton. We could visit the Mossman Carriage collection, or the Luton museum, or a casino.” Why not do something fun while they waited?

“A casino? That might be fun. I have a few dollars to lose in the slots.”
Granger winked at Esme.

“I’ve never been to a casino.”
Esme shifted in her chair. It sounded exciting.

“Would you like to go?” Jared asked her.

“I’d love to see the inside of one. I’ve seen them only on television,” Esme admitted.

“Well
, let’s lose some money then.” Jared pushed back his chair.

“I’ll
make arrangements for the car, get Esme’s bag and check us out of our rooms,” Granger said, rising.

“Are you ready to see your first casino?
” Jared asked, holding out his hand to her.

“Of course
. It sounds like fun.”

§

Clouds rolled in and the skies darkened as rain began falling. Esme flitted around Jared in the lobby, almost dancing in excitement. Nothing seemed to keep her down long. She picked up several travel brochures and quickly read them as they waited for Granger to finish.

Granger turned at the front desk and smiled as Esme rushed to pick up a blanket a child dropped from his stroller.
He caught Jared’s eye and sent him a telepathic message.

“Go on, if you like. I can catch up as soon as I’m done here.”

Jared nodded and walked over to Esme, who spoke with the child’s mother. “Are you ready,
ma petit louve
? Granger says he’ll meet us there.”

After a quick goodbye, Jared
escorted Esme out of the lobby. He frowned when he saw how hard it rained. “Would you like me to call a cab?”

“Oh, no. I love
walking in the rain. The brochure says the casino is only three blocks away on Park Street West. Come on. It’ll be fun.” They were under a fabric awning at the hotel entrance. Esme grabbed Jared’s hand and pulled him into the rain.

They stopped and waited for the light to change before
crossing the street. Esme kept lifting her face up to the rain. Once Jared saw her tongue peek out. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to catch rain on my tongue. Did
n’t you do things like that while growing up?” Esme looked at him with concern. For the first time, Jared didn’t know what to say.

How could he explain that his
Alpha training started at birth? He’d never considered trying anything so frivolous.

“It’s al
l right. I can tell you never have. Catching snowflakes on your tongue is much more exciting. The snow is cold, and you feel it as it melts. I’ll have to teach you how to have fun, Jared.”

Fun? Did she think he was unable to have fun? He was having “
fun” right now, watching his crazy mate playing as rain darkened her hair and plastered it to her face.

The light turned green
, and Jared stepped off the sidewalk. A sudden roaring filled the air. Esme screamed his name and yanked him back. He fell to the sidewalk. A rush of air told him how close he’d been to the speeding car.

“Oh, my god
. Jared, are you all right? Did I hurt you? That car almost hit you.” Esme ran her hands over his body.

Jared shook his head
, trying to clear it, as he sat up. He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips. “I’m fine, Esme. Your quick thinking saved me. Thank you. I never saw the car coming. He must have missed the light change.”

Strong arm
s slipped under Jared and lifted him up.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that, Jared,” Granger said
, setting him on his feet. “I saw the whole thing from the hotel entrance. The car looked a lot like the sedan the English Alpha lent us.”

Esme gasped, rising to her feet. “Do you think someone did this on purpose? Should we call the police?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Jared said. “I’m fine, as you can see, and we have no proof this wasn’t just an unfortunate accident.” He adjusted his clothes before reaching for Esme’s hand. “We’ve missed the light.”

“Let’s get a cab, Jared. Walking in the rain isn’t fun anymore.”

“Don’t let this rob you of your joy, Esme. Walking in the rain can be fun if you let it.” Jared squeezed her hand, wanting to reassure her. Nothing should be allowed to steal the smile from her face.

“I know, Jared
. Let’s take a cab anyway. That way we can get to the casino sooner. Besides, the rental car will be here before we know it, and the search for Norris will continue.”

Norris, it always came back to Norris. Jared would be glad when Esme’s every thought wasn’t about her brother. He nodded
, and Granger hailed a cab. After a moment, they climbed in and told the driver their destination. As Jared settled in the seat, Esme leaned against him, her arm around his waist. He decided to try to have fun at the casino. Not for his sake, but for Esme’s. He could give her that much.

§

Esme held tight to Jared’s hand as they walked into the casino. The noise hit her first, then the smells. Bells rang, lights flashed, music played from speakers. It was a little intimidating, but also exciting. Many different smells touched her nose—perfume, deodorant, sweat, machine oil and food from the dining room. They went up and registered at the desk. Jared took one of the plastic cards they gave them and Granger took the other.

Jared turned and looked at her
. “Would you like to try the slots or play poker?”

“I don’t know how to play poker
,” Esme admitted.

“Then
, perhaps the slots would be best,” Jared said.

“I’m going to hit a poker table,” Granger said with a wink. “I’m feeling lucky.”

With a little wave, Granger headed toward the tables. Jared directed Esme to the side of the room where there were rows of machines with flashing lights. Several women were laughing and joking with each other near the end of one row.

“Have a seat,
ma petit louve.
” Jared inserted the plastic card given to them at the front desk into a slot on the machine. “You push this button here. The wheels spin, and if they line up correctly, you win.”

Eager to give it a try, Esme sat down and pushed the button. The wheels turned and the lights flashed,
and the symbols didn’t line up. She glanced up at Jared.

“Try it again. It may take a while to actually win something.” Jared squeezed her shoulders
.

Esme nodded and pushed the button again. The wheels turned and the lights flashed and this time a bell rang. Esme bounced in her seat. “What did I win? What did I win?”

Jared chuckled. “You won a pound. Try again, push the button.”

“Oh.” Esme pushed the button. More lights flashed and the wheels turned. This time not
hing. Esme continued playing.

She glanced at the women
at the end of the row. They were still laughing and chatting with each other as they used the machines. One of the younger ones kept looking at Jared. Although, when Esme glanced at him, he didn’t appear to have noticed the woman’s attention. He smiled down at Esme.

“Are you having fun, sweetheart?” He rubbed her shoulder before
running his hand up to the nape of her neck.

His warm fingers on her cool skin
made her shiver. It was suddenly hard to think of anything except the feeling of his skin on hers. “Yes, this is very exciting. Can we walk around? I want to see everything.”

“Of course
. Anytime you’re ready.” Jared showed her how to cash out her winnings, then leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

Esme felt warm all over. She patted his hand
, which still rested on her shoulder, before Jared wrapped his arm around her waist as they strolled toward the back of the building.

Loud music started,
coming from one side of the establishment, and they wandered in that direction. They walked into a lounge. A bar covered with pink lights stood at one end. Up on a raised dais a band played.

Esme recognized the song they were
performing, and soon her foot tapped along with the beat. An older couple got up from one of the tables and began to dance. Esme watched in fascination as the older man twirled his partner. They were very good. It was apparent they’d danced together for many years.

“Do you dance, Jared?” Esme held her breath, waiting for his answer.
Would he think her silly?

“I’ve been known to, on occasion. Would you like to?”

Esme nodded. Her voice caught in her throat. Jared took her by the arm and led her onto the wood dance floor. She was surprised by how much she wanted to dance with him, even though she’d never danced with a man. He pulled her into his arms, and they began to move together.

Esme took a step and tripped, accidently stepping on Jared’s foot. He grabbed her around the waist to steady her.

“I’m sorry. Did I hurt you? I’ve never danced,” Esme said. Her face warmed, and she lowered her eyes.

Jared put his hand to her chin and lifted her head to look at him. “You’ve never danced?” He frowned.

“Not with a partner. I’ve watched it on television. They always make it look easy. The cancer came along about the time my parents were willing to allow me to go to a school dance. Being sick, I never had the opportunity.”

“You are a natural,
ma petit
. Just let me lead you.”

§