Katey’s wolf came awake and immediately picked up on the subtle dominance and gave her the sensation of humility before him. Without even knowing who he was, Katey somehow knew this man was important. She supposed the man was also an alpha in his pack. She could find no other explanation, but how far was he amongst other alphas?
When he came over, he embraced Darren like he was an equal, which left her nonplussed.
“Good to see you, too, John. You brought the usual motley crew with you, I see,” Darren replied, motioning to a few people still sitting around the fireplace.
Logan gradually began to herd Katey toward the stairs, but she didn’t want to leave just yet. She was too intrigued by who John and the others were, but Logan seemed less than interested, as if he didn’t want them to notice her at all. Or perhaps he was giving her a taste of his territorial nature.
“Yes, yes. All the women are in bed right now. Toby has been recently married, so his wife is here as well. But Bobby had just been graced with a son so we urged him to stay home this year... I see you have a new member.”
Katey turned at the foot of the stairs at the mention of her, Logan’s fingers pressed into her ribs a little tighter as if she would blow away any moment.
John had pinned her with an intrigued, but peculiar gaze that made her stomach flip. Logan stepped protectively in front of her.
“She’s... Ummm... She’s different,” John finally said, looking her over from head to toe.
Logan grew tense and she saw a muscle jump in his jaw at John’s words.
“This is Katey... She’s been loup-garou since Tuesday,” Darren announced to those listening in the common room. “We felt it best she came with us so she wouldn’t be home by herself.”
Everyone’s faces lit up with excitement that electrified the room.
“How is that possible?” one man asked from the couch. “Did you change her, Darren?”
Darren shook his head and motioned his hand to present Logan. “No. Logan did. Not exactly how we would have wanted, but he did.”
“You’re kidding? A kid? I don’t believe it,” one man stated bitterly from his armchair with a flippant gesture.
“Oh, believe it,” Dustin interjected as he leaned casually against the breakfast bar in the kitchenette. “She’s one of us. She nearly wolfed-out the day after when she refused to eat. And she’s got all the perks, too.”
It wasn’t the complete truth, but perhaps hyping her up in front of their friends would set a good first impression for her.
“She’s quite tired right now,” Logan said, a strand of resentment. “If you’ll excuse us... She can prove herself tomorrow once she’s had more rest.”
Darren nodded in approval and they continued their way upstairs as the others discussed matters about the meeting, charity luncheon, and of course, Katey.
Logan ushered her down the loft above the common room to a door on the far end, marked room 410D, which was reserved for Logan and Dustin. He let her in first and followed with their luggage.
It resembled a hotel room in nearly every way. There were two queen-sized beds with crimson spreads and a small wooden end table between them where an alarm clock sat, blinking the time in bright red digital letters. To the left of the entrance was an open closet and to the right was the door that led to a standard bathroom. The beds were facing a desk and a tall cabinet that housed a television set with a small selection of movies below it and a channel guide brochure.
Logan dropped their luggage to the floor in front of the beds as Katey let herself collapse onto one of the plush mattresses. The pillows were filled with downy feathers and extremely soft as she hugged one tightly to her chest. But no matter how deeply she breathed, she couldn’t will away the persistent restlessness that gripped her chest.
She remembered the way the other loups-garous looked at her and their whispered comments and questions echoed in her ears. There was no telling what they thought of her. Perhaps they thought it was a joke, but if they could sense what she was as easily as she could them, then they must have known that she was the genuine article. She was truly the oddity and she wondered how long it would take for the excitement to wear down.
Logan sat down on the edge of the bed just in front of her, helped her to shed her thick jacket that was now unnecessary, and began gently petting back her hair from her face. “How are you holding up so far?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Katey replied softly. “It feels so weird for everyone to be staring at me like that. Makes me feel like I have green skin and horns or something.”
Logan chuckled. “Don’t worry, you don’t have horns.”
She allowed herself to smile, comforted by the sound of his laugh. “It’s just so intimidating... I wish I could have stayed home,” she muttered.
“It won’t be like this for long. Everyone will find out about you and they won’t act that way anymore. It’ll just take some time.”
“It’s like I’m a freak or something.”
Logan leaned down and hugged her tightly. “We’re all freaks here, Katey,” he whispered to her.
He held her close for a few long moments until he could feel her anxiety ebb away. “If there was any way I could make this easier, you know I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Katey tilted up and kissed his lips with an urgency. When she pulled away, she nodded. “I know. Just you being here helps.”
Logan nuzzled his head against hers, then pulled away to sit up on the bed. “I bet you’re hungry.”
She nodded and gave him a faint smile. She really wasn’t, but she wanted to be for his sake. The way he got defensive at the airport made her want to make him believe that everything was fine and going just the way that it should be. Deep down, Katey began to worry if something was going terribly wrong with her transition from human to loup-garou.
“Okay. Let me go grab you something to eat and I’ll bring it right back up, okay? You just rest a bit.” Logan leaned down to kiss her lips once more, then stood up to leave.
When he shut the door, Katey sighed and snuggled into the covers, sliding off her shoes before slipping her feet under the comforter.
Logan bounded down the stairs toward his pack members, his face twisted into a scowl and his hands balled into fists. Dustin was the first to notice, then John who had been casually talking with Darren up until this point. Ben was sitting on the couch with the other loups-garous.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“You’re all making her nervous,” Logan growled.
One of the loups-garous who was leaning against the fireplace mantel looked up. “She has a right to be nervous.”
“No,” Logan barked. “She needs to feel welcomed and she doesn’t. She already has self-esteem problems and none of you are helping.”
Darren glowered at the boy. “Mind your tongue, Logan,” he snarled, embarrassed that one of his pack members was getting an attitude in front of his elder mentor.
“No, he’s right, Darren,” John said, stepping forward to face Logan. “I admit we didn’t give her the warmest greeting. And I didn’t help the situation by calling her ‘different’.” John placed his hand upon his chest and respectfully bowed his head to Logan. “I apologize, Logan. We will do better to make her more comfortable.”
Logan gave him an angry snort and stormed out of the room to find food for Katey. He had expected much more from the loups-garous he had grown to trust over the years. When Darren told him that they would be bringing Katey along for the trip, he was thrilled to get the chance to introduce her to his world. Now, he wanted her to be as far away from Alaska as possible, simply so she would be spared from such humiliation.
When he slammed the door, Darren rubbed at his face. “Sometimes, I don’t know what to do with that boy,” he mumbled.
John chuckled and slapped Dustin on the back heartily. “He takes after his grandfather,” he said with a toothy grin.
“Hey, I don’t remember being that rebellious.�
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“Not rebellious. Spirited,” John corrected good-naturedly.
“But he had no right to speak to you in that way,” Darren contested.
John shook his head, his smile unwavering. “He’s only defending her. I would do the same for any of my own pack.”
Darren sighed. “You’re just saying that because you don’t have to live with him.”
John erupted with a hearty, boisterous laugh. Darren was glad for John’s understanding. His many years of training other loups-garous had turned him into an understanding alpha who tolerated the quirks of his pupils. Yet, he remembered many times when he had ignited his mentor’s temper and paid the price. John, jovial as he was, was not the loup-garou to cross. Yet, he was the wisest of them all with a couple of centuries more experience than himself.
“What I don’t understand, Darren,” John’s eldest son, Noah, said, “is why you didn’t warn us sooner about Katey.”
Darren looked to the blonde loup-garou who was close to Dustin’s age. “I wasn’t sure what to make of Katey at first,” he replied, traveling back to the blazing fire where the others had congregated. “She shows all the signs of being loup-garou, but I didn’t know if it would hold.”
“Sure looks like it took to me,” Aiden remarked, John’s second youngest and the wiliest of the four men who had come along with the old loup-garou.
“Don’t cross Logan, Aiden,” Dustin warned. “Logan nearly beat a rougarou into the mat last night for taking a shot at his girl.”
“His girl?” John questioned. “Do they have an understanding?”
All eyes turned on the Crestucky alpha as the graver offense was made known.
Darren combed his fingers through his hair, feeling the long day of travel begin to catch up with him. “It’s not as clean cut as you’d believe.” He looked to John’s intense gaze and felt like a newly turned pup again. “No, sir. I don’t believe they do. If they do, they haven’t told me.”
John gave a heavy sigh and looked away to his four sons. “Until this can be verified, no attempt will be made at Katey. Do you understand?”
Liam, the second oldest and the epitome of beta with his broad chest and mountain-of-a-man frame, laughed. “You don’t have to worry about me, father. My tastes don’t run that young.”
All the while, Darren inwardly scolded himself for not making his wards aware of the dangers in their casual affair.
There was a reason that no loup-garou brought girlfriends or lovers to these gatherings. Women who were not formally claimed were up for grabs by any wolf who did not sense the mating bond in them. He knew he would have to talk to them first thing in the morning. They were all too tired from their journey to bother with it now. John would pass the word onto his pack, so Katey was safe within her room.
A little later, Katey awoke to the bedroom door opening. Logan and Dustin silently walked in carrying three plates of food with them.
“She’s asleep,” Dustin observed in a whisper.
Logan peered over at Katey, her body turned away from them. He could see her body slowly rise and fall with her steady breaths and smiled. “Yeah,” he replied.
“Does that mean I can have her food?” Dustin jested.
“No,” Logan said, snatching Katey’s plate away from Dustin’s hands.
At the mention of food, Katey stiffly rolled over and looked to them. Logan came to her bedside as Dustin jumped onto his own bed and leaned his back against the headboard.
Logan handed her one of the plates that was piled with all sorts of seasoned meats. She groggily thanked him and began eating as Dustin turned on the television to surf the channels.
“What time is it?” Katey asked through bites.
“Close to midnight,” Logan replied glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand between the beds.
All three of them ate their meals as Dustin flipped through channel after channel finding nothing but local news and reality television. When Katey was giving up hope that anything good was on, she spotted a familiar scene of two animated dogs in a Victorian neighborhood setting and she cried out excitedly.
“Oh! Stop there! It’s Lady and the Tramp!” she exclaimed. Though not one for cartoons, Katey hadn’t seen the Disney movie in years. Back then, before she had sworn off romance, it was her favorite out of the classic collection.
Dustin paused and slowly turned to Katey with an eyebrow cocked high. Logan laughed wildly at Dustin’s priceless expression and Katey stifled a giggle.
“I’m surrounded by children,” he groaned as he dropped the remote onto his mattress and retreated into the bathroom.
When Dustin shut the door, Logan halfway tackled Katey to the bed. “Well, that’s one way to get rid of him,” he remarked before giving her a passionate kiss. Katey could taste the mingling flavors of the meats on his lips.
“I can still hear you,” Dustin called from the bathroom as he started the bathwater to take a shower instead of watching the movie with them.
Katey snickered. Logan pulled away, much against her wishes, and snuggled under the comforter with her, their plates sitting atop the comforter in their laps.
It didn’t take long before Katey fell back asleep, her plate half empty and the movie nowhere near over.
It took a while for Logan to notice she was no longer watching the film. He pulled the blankets up under her chin and set their plates on the nightstand.
Dustin emerged from the bathroom to dress for bed shortly after Katey had dozed off. He glanced over and saw Logan’s droopy eyes gazing longingly at Katey’s sleeping face. He knew that look all too well.
“Do I have to stay awake all night to make sure you two don’t get nasty?” Dustin asked as he was pulling on his sleeping pants.
“No... Just let me enjoy this,” Logan whispered, brushing a strand of hair away from Katey’s cheek. He marveled at how perfect she was, how beautiful in both body and soul. How did Logan ever get this lucky?
Shortly after Dustin turned off the lights and television, since neither of them were interested in finishing the movie, Logan lowered himself down and engulfed Katey in his thick arms. He never wanted to let go, but to hold her like this for forever and a day. He didn’t care what John, Darren, or even Dustin thought of them. She was his and his alone.
16
“Why in hell’s blazes would you ask Gregory to join us at the charity luncheon?” Darren fumed as he gripped the pool stick between his powerful hands and gave a stern look to his former mentor.
It was late morning and everyone in the suite but Katey was awake, most of them already dressed in their suits and formal wear for the charity luncheon. Dustin, Darren, John, and Noah stood around the billiard table, their two teams in the middle of the second game that morning. John was the loup-garou who advised Darren on the usefulness of the game to destress his pack and hone their finer motor skills.
Aiden and Liam, two of John’s other sons, would not be attending the luncheon and were spending their day out on the town. Only Blake remained, sitting with Ben on the other side of the room and in the heat of a vicious chess game that began the night before and looked like it would continue well into the afternoon at their rate.
Blake, the youngest of John’s sons, was similar to Ben in his quiet demeanor and brilliant mind for strategy. But, Darren was confident that Ben would defeat him in the end. Ben never lost a chess game.
Logan stood off to the side, the odd man out, watching the game in his white button down shirt that he had neglected to tuck into his black slacks. All the others had their ties pinned down and suit jackets draped over the backs of barstools against the wall. To wear anything less formal would have been an insult to the loup-garou who founded The Global Association for the Conservation of Wolves.
“I didn’t invite him, Darren,” John replied as he watched his son take a shot at a solid. “He is coming of his own free will and asked to sit with me at my table. Naturally, I accepted.”
“I can’t believ
e after all this time,” Dustin remarked, “the rougarou wants to have anything to do with you.”
It was common knowledge to all of them that Gregory, the alpha of the rougarou pack in the southern part of the country, was once part of John’s pack. At the time, he hadn’t turned rougarou, but after a differing of morals, Gregory broke away from the pack and set out on his own. As far as Darren knew, John and the rougarou were still on bad terms and refused to associate with one another.
John took a deep breath, his barrel chest rising. “Gregory and I have been in contact for some time now. I believe he’s grown wiser in his old age, now that his son is starting to follow in his misplaced footsteps.”
Noah knocked his target into a corner pocket and straightened to allow Darren to make his shot.
“Will Erik be with him?” Logan asked with his arms crossed and hands balled into tight fists.
John nodded an affirmative and propped out his pool stick as if it were a proud weapon. “Yes, Gregory’s son is coming. I trust that won’t be a problem for you or Forrest?”
Logan remained silent and averted his eyes, sure that the elder alpha in the room would demand his vow of peace that he was not inclined to give. What was also well known, was the falling out between Erik and other loups-garous. Outside of his own pack, he was not well liked one way or another because of his cocky attitude and ruthless actions.
“Where is Forrest, anyway?” Ben asked from his seat, his eyes focused on the chessboard as Blake finally moved his rook. “I imagined that all of your kin would be staying with you in the same suite.”
“Forrest is with his pack in another wing,” Noah replied. “We met with him yesterday for lunch and he’ll be joining us at the table as well.”
Becoming the Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 2) Page 22