by Kate Douglas
She’d noticed another change as well. This job she normally hated, driving along the road looking for animals that hadn’t survived the journey across the asphalt, no longer seemed as onerous. In the past it had disgusted and saddened her. Now she saw herself as the one who fed the pack, the strongest, most capable, able to bring fresh meat to the rest.
She was Chanku. As much wolf as woman. Lisa turned and flashed a big smile at Tia. It still felt like a dream, but what an amazing trip it was.
The work was mundane enough that it gave him time to think. Tinker had to agree with Lisa. He still felt uneasy about Hal Anderson, but he couldn’t put his finger on the reason. Other than the fact the man was a total loser, he hadn’t been involved in Dunlop’s plan.
So what kind of crap was he up to? Tinker’s feelings were too intense to be wrong. He’d bet the farm Anderson was up to his scrawny little neck in something illegal, but what? All those nighttime forays into the woods had more to them than simple surveillance of the sanctuary.
Plus, he’d watched Anderson when the authorities pulled into the sanctuary parking lot. The man had looked like he might pass out. Once he realized they were here about the missing wolves, he’d gone back to his typical bravado.
Luc leaned on his shovel and stared at Tinker. “How long before the girls get back?”
“An hour. Maybe longer. Why?”
“I wish we could take a little run through the sanctuary. Maybe a new set of eyes will provide a different perspective. There’s something else going on here.”
Tinker nodded. “You and I are on the same wavelength. I’ve been thinking the same damned thing…but we can’t do it.”
Luc frowned at him, obviously confused. “And why the fuck not?”
Tinker smiled, though he didn’t feel much humor about the situation. “This is Lisa’s quest, her problem to solve. The last thing I want to do is push her aside and do anything without checking with her first. It’s too important to her. I realized that when she insisted on going back in the cage. She was scared spitless at being locked up in there, but she still did it. I can’t do anything that will take the lead out of her hands.”
Luc laughed and grabbed Tinker’s hand in a firm handshake. “Welcome to the club, bro. You’re figuring this out a lot faster than I did. You already realize if we go searching without her and find anything exciting, she’d kill us both without remorse. We’d probably end up with the roadkill.”
“There is that.” Chuckling to himself, unbelievably pleased with Luc’s confirmation of his decision, Tinker finished up the last of the pens.
Lisa grabbed a couple of cold beers for the guys and sodas for herself and Tia, and walked outside to join them on the back deck. “Okay, everyone’s had a shower and a change of clothes. No more excuses. What the hell were you guys laughing about when we got back?”
Tinker chuckled. “See? What did I tell you? If we’d followed up on any of our ideas, she would have been one pissed Chanku bitch.”
“I still might be. Spill it.” Lisa ruined the effect by sitting on the swing next to Tinker and kissing his chin.
Luc answered. “We talked about checking out the empty pens, the larger ones in the hills, trying to find out what keeps drawing your scrawny little boss out to that area in the dark of night.”
“And?”
“We decided to wait on you. You know the area better than we do, obviously. Besides, like Tinker said, it’s your case.”
Lisa blinked. Had she heard him right? Luc, the leader of the team, deferring to her? She glanced at Tinker, saw the full smile on his face, and knew he’d been the one to hold Luc back. She felt a blossoming of warmth that started somewhere suspiciously near her heart and ended in whatever part of her brain was in charge of tears. Her eyes burned. She had to get away—now—or she’d make an absolute fool of herself in front of them all.
“Thanks.” She barely choked the word out, her throat felt so tight. “Just a minute.” She practically ran from the room. As she turned to close the door, Lisa caught Tinker watching her. He looked confused, even troubled. She felt him touching her mind, but she slammed her thoughts down as best she could and closed the door behind herself.
It took Lisa a moment in the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face, to regain her composure. They’d waited on her. They hadn’t gone off on their own, intent on finding answers without her. Tinker had wanted to wait. He actually understood!
She opened her closet door and dug through the stacks of books and papers on the floor, found what she was looking for, and headed back out to the others. “I’ve got this. It might help.” She unrolled a large map, hand-drawn on butcher paper, and spread it out on the picnic table.
“I made this last year when the second wolf disappeared. I was trying to figure out if there was some way for them to escape, some sort of pattern to their disappearance. I’m not sure if it’s much use, but it might help us figure out what Anderson is up to. See anything?”
Lisa had carefully drawn a map of the entire sanctuary, including all the larger, fenced enclosures. She grabbed a handful of pebbles out of a potted plant and placed one in the center of each of the inhabited paddocks.
Luc studied the map. “What’s this little squiggly thing?”
Lisa bit back a laugh. “Are you insulting my artwork? That’s a creek. This is a spring, these are rocky outcroppings, and these lines denote canyons.”
“These are the service roads?” Luc tapped the red lines running between the enclosures. Lisa nodded.
Tia leaned over the map. “It looks like they all have creeks or springs.”
Again, Lisa nodded. “All the enclosures have year-round water supplies. We check them regularly, but there has to be a natural source of water for the wolves in case the pumps fail.”
“This is terrific. You’ve done a beautiful job.” Tinker brushed Lisa’s hair back from her forehead and planted a kiss on her temple. “Okay, we’ve got at least half a dozen uninhabited enclosures ranging in size from ten to twenty acres, fenced, with easy access, but secluded from the general public. Is there power?”
Lisa shook her head. “No. No need for power. There’s a pump closer to headquarters that provides the supplemental water supply, and the entire area is plumbed, but it’s run off the main power near the office buildings.”
Tinker nodded. “Luc and I both agreed there’s more to your slimy little boss than a personality disorder, and it’s got to be connected with his late-night forays into this area.” He pointed at the more isolated pens where Lisa had spotted Hal Anderson on more than one occasion. “I think we need to slip in and take a look. First, though, we need a meal and some rest.”
“I agree. It shouldn’t be too hard to get inside.” Lisa sat back on the swing with Tinker. He wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned against his chest. He felt warm and good and so right in her life. Every one of them had so quickly become important to Lisa.
Unfortunately, it scared the crap out of her. When had she let them into her life? How could it have happened so quickly, and how would she survive when they left her?
Tinker turned and gave her a long, pensive look. “You’re broadcasting angst again, sweetie. It’s not becoming—and it’s not fair. We’re not leaving. None of us would dream of turning you loose.”
“How the hell do you do that?” How could he just wander through her thoughts like that? It wasn’t fair! Lisa tried to pull out of Tinker’s embrace, but he held her tightly against him.
“Let me go, damn it!”
“Not gonna happen.” Tinker leaned close and kissed her.
Lisa ground her teeth in frustration.
They wouldn’t stay. No one ever stayed, and it was going to hurt so badly when they left! Her thoughts weren’t even her own. She couldn’t even be miserable without broadcasting everything that went on in her head. It wasn’t fair!
Tia came over and knelt in front of Lisa; she took one of her hands and cradled it in both of hers. “Ho
ney, it’s okay. You’ve got to remember, you might be a grown woman, but you’re just a baby Chanku. You have so much to learn, so many things yet to experience. Tinker said you’ve never even mated as wolves, which means your bond might not have given you a lot of the lessons we share so easily—like blocking your thoughts. Give it time. Accept your heritage, the love of your mate, and the love of your packmates. Don’t be afraid it won’t last. That’s one thing I can promise. The love of a Chanku man for his woman is to the death. It’s solid gold. So is the loyalty and love of the pack.”
Lisa looked into Tia’s amber eyes, so filled with love and hope, and did the unthinkable.
She burst into tears.
Tia scooted up on the swing next to Lisa and wrapped her arms around her. “You. Men. Leave now.” Tinker and Luc grabbed their beers and headed for the smaller deck at the front of the house. Lisa might have laughed if she wasn’t crying so hard.
“It’s okay, sweetie. You’ve had a shitty week, and they haven’t got a clue.” Tia brushed Lisa’s hair back from her forehead and held her in a loving hug. “When guys first shift, they just learn to go from man to wolf. It’s really cool, but no big deal in the scheme of things. Guys are horny all the time, anyway, so the nutty libido doesn’t seem like a problem. I think they love it. When a woman makes the change, everything is different. It affects our menstrual cycle, our ability to conceive, our sexuality. Most important, it affects the way we perceive other people.”
Lisa struggled for control while she listened to what Tia had to say. “What do you mean? The way we perceive…”
“I bet you’ve always been a good girl, right? Rarely stood up for yourself, let people push you around because you’re a woman? When the guys refer to us as Chanku bitches, it’s a term of respect. Somehow, when you’re taking the supplement and able to shift, it’s like you’re stronger. More determined, more self-assured. Not really a bitch, but not a pushover either. I think of it more as setting our inner bitch free.”
Lisa found a tissue in her pocket and blew her nose. “My inner bitch probably needs therapy.”
“Nah. She’s doing just fine. Believe me, I was a wreck when I first made the shift, but there was so much crap going on in my life. Did you see my background when you bonded with Tinker?”
Lisa had, but she’d hesitated to say anything. “Luc killed your mother. I saw that in Tinker’s memories.”
Tia nodded. “Yeah. It was pretty bad. He shot her when he was just a rookie cop, and she was a young mother out doing her wolf thing in a public park during the day. Not a smart move on her part. Luc lived with that guilt for twenty years, even though he was just doing his job when he shot her. He still lives with it, though he wants me to think he’s past it. The point is, by the time we learn we’re Chanku, we’ve usually managed to totally fuck up our lives. I’m hoping the children we raise will have a better start than we did.”
“Children? Are there any?”
Tia laughed. “Not yet, but soon. Anton Cheval, that wizard we keep calling on? He’s mated to my cousin, and Keisha’s pregnant. So is their packmate Xandi. She’s Stefan Aragat’s mate. They’re both due around the same time, in June, I think. It’s a beginning, actually. An entirely new generation of Chanku, but they’ll grow up with parents who understand the way of the pack, who can teach them the way we were never taught.”
Lisa leaned back against the swing. “I hope I get to meet this infamous wizard someday.”
“Oh, you will. Luc and I are actually getting married in a fairly traditional wedding next month. Everyone’s invited. Your brother and sister are coming, and I certainly expect you and Tinker to be there.”
Lisa thought of all the others she’d finally meet, including Tia’s father, the leader and founder of Pack Dynamics. “Your mother and father were both Chanku. How come you didn’t know?”
“That’s another story altogether. When my mom died, my father went into total denial. Chanku children don’t make the change until they hit puberty, and I was only six when she died. Plus, it only happens if they’re getting the nutrients. I wasn’t given the supplement and didn’t have a clue about my heritage. It wasn’t until I came back to teach in San Francisco and got involved with Luc. It was actually planned by my father, that Luc would be the one to tell me. Essentially, my father chose my mate for me.”
Lisa laughed at the thought of someone choosing her lifetime companion for her, then realized someone had—Luc was the one who sent Tinker to her. Thank goodness the match worked.
“I just realized Luc chose my mate for me.”
Tia squeezed her hand. “He couldn’t have chosen better. Neither could you. Wait until you see your sister and her guys! Of course, now we need to find someone for your brother.”
Lisa sat on the swing with Tia next to her, listening to stories of her own family, of Tia’s family. A sense of warmth settled in her soul. The belief that maybe Tia was right. Maybe she really did belong to a most amazing family.
For keeps.
Packmates. Lisa rolled that one around on her tongue for a while. It was definitely going to take some getting used to. She’d dried her eyes, felt as if she’d regained at least marginal control of her wayward emotions, when Tinker wandered back out onto the deck.
He knelt between the two women. Patted Tia on the knee with loving familiarity and took Lisa’s hand in his. “Sweetie, are you okay?”
Not quite sure if she could talk without bawling again, Lisa nodded.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” he said. “Trust me on that one. In the meantime, Luc and I thought we’d help take your mind of all the crap that’s been happening. We’ve got hours before we can check on Anderson. C’mon.”
Lisa flashed a questioning look at Tia. Tia shrugged and the two of them followed Tinker inside. The guys had been busy. One of her favorite CDs played quietly. The gentle woodwinds and classical guitar reminded Lisa of the sound of wind in the trees. It was one of the CDs she liked to listen to when stuff bothered her. Had Tinker learned what music soothed her when they linked?
Lisa put that thought aside and simply stared at her once simple front room. The guys had taken the mattress off her bed as well as the one from the guestroom. It was only a double, but with her queen, the entire front room floor was covered with mattress.
For one ridiculous moment, Lisa wasn’t sure if she was going to do her watering can routine again or break out in giggles. Only a guy would think of solving her angst with sex.
Chapter 14
“Is this where we’re supposed to ask exactly what it is you have in mind?” Lisa glanced to her left, at Tia standing beside her with twinkling eyes.
Tia turned to Lisa and said with great seriousness, “I think they expect us to have figured it out. Let’s see…does it perhaps require getting naked?”
Tinker didn’t say a word, but he grabbed both women by the hands, waited while they kicked their sandals off, and walked them across the navy blue sheets covering the tops of the mattresses to the couch on the far side of the room. “No. It merely requires that you two sit and get comfortable while Luc and I get naked.”
Tia sat down and glanced up at Luc. “What? No popcorn?”
Luc shot a dramatic glare at Tinker. “You forgot the popcorn? Martin, how could you?”
Tinker shrugged his shoulders. “I have other things I prefer to put in my mouth. Sorry.”
Lisa felt as if she’d stepped into some sort of alternate universe. Tia grabbed her hand and tugged her down to sit beside her on the couch. “You mean they’re just going to…?”
“Fuck like bunnies? I hope so.” Tia curled up in the corner of the couch. “They do it so well.”
“That’s a phrase I’ve heard before.” She thought back to that first day, to Tinker’s outrageous suggestion they fuck like bunnies when they’d known each other for less than an hour. Thought also of her outrageous action in agreeing. She glanced up and realized Tinker watched her with a tender smile on his face
. Was he remembering the same thing? Still not quite sure what to expect, Lisa slid to the opposite end of the couch and tucked her feet under her.
Tinker pulled the shades closed, and the room fell into almost total darkness. Luc turned on a low-wattage floor lamp and tilted the shade, throwing a beam into the center of the larger mattress like a pale golden spotlight. The music played quietly in the background, and both men stood in the shadows.
In a matter of a few seconds and a few simple alterations, Lisa’s simple cabin had become an eerily seductive stage. She glanced at Tia, who focused all her attention on the spot of light at the center of the room. As if waiting for a movie to begin, Lisa turned and made herself comfortable. She whispered to Tia, “What are they doing now?”
Tia laughed quietly. “Probably making sure they’ve got enough lube where it’s needed.”
“Oh.” Her mind spinning with possibilities and her sex growing dangerously wet, Lisa turned back around. She heard a quiet rustle of clothing, saw the corner of the mattress dip as Luc and Tinker approached the center from opposite sides. As if they choreographed every step, the two men met in the middle and stood facing each other, not more than four feet from where Lisa and Tia sat.
They were entirely out of reach but close enough to see every bit of their perfect bodies in stark relief under the golden ribbon of light.
Neither man moved. Like statues of living marble, they held their position, facing each other, mere inches apart. Almost equal in stature, they could have been cut from the same mold.
Even their cocks appeared similar in size. Neither was totally erect, but neither were they flaccid. The crowns of their cocks touched, the only connection between them. Their beautiful bodies were a contrast of dark and fair. Caught from the chest down in the beam of light, they appeared an almost perfect match in every other way than color.