Turning to face the Lunedares, she suppressed the scent of her trepidation. Her eyes met Gustav’s, and he flashed her the patented Lunedare grin. The tension holding Sabine in its brutal grip eased a little.
He separated himself from the milling pack, dropped to his knees and shifted. Winding his body around her thighs, the bulk of Gustav’s body pushed her nearer to Drew. Gustav slid past her and circled Drew’s legs as well, doing figures of eight around them, symbolizing a union where there was no beginning and no end. Finally he loped away and joined the rest of the waiting Lunedares.
Drew’s uncle pointed his muzzle to the sky and bayed, welcoming her to the pack. His joyful wail triggered a wave of transformations by the Lunedares who joined him in song. Drew’s pack added her name to their pack’s anthem. Another tie to the Lunedares, the worrying thought niggled at her. Feeling like a fraud, she looked away and fixed her eyes on the tree line above the howling wolves.
Sabine noticed a lone were standing half-hidden in the brush. She recognized him as the were who’d watched from the sidelines when she first arrived.
Who was he, and why hadn’t he changed? Their eyes met across the moonlit sea of lupine bodies. Sabine shivered at the malice reflected in his.
He looked beyond her shoulder and stiffened visibly.
She glanced over at Drew to see that he’d shifted. His lips curled, and a low reprimand rattled from his throat.
With obvious reluctance, the were took on his wolf form and added his voice to the song. The were’s participation lacked the passion and sincerity with which the other Lunedares howled.
Drew nudged her thigh with his nose and she changed, and at his urging ran with him through the circular maze formed by his pack. Every were in Drew’s pack bared their teeth to her as Sabine raced by them.
The Lunedare young were shy or curious, the she-wolves cautious but accepting. The older male weres were more reserved. The younger male weres were playfully flirtatious. They sniffed and nuzzled her flanks longer than necessary, and shot Drew taunting smirks. Drew played along and growled mock threats.
The long line of Lunedare tapered out, and Sabine sagged with relief. Would she be able to place the scents to all the faces of the weres she’d met tonight?
One of the last few Lunedares yet to welcome her to the pack trotted forward. Something was off about him. He reeked of discontent, and a scent, muted by time and indirect contact, which pricked at her olfactory memory. Sabine couldn’t quite place it, yet, but it was enough to lift the hair on her ruff.
He touched his nose to hers with an unwelcome familiarity. Sabine reared back.
Purposefully, the were crowded her, sliding the sleek glossy fur of his head against her face, and angled his head to brush his neck over hers.
Offended by the uninvited intimacy, she snapped her fangs at him, and raked her claws across his sensitive muzzle. The wolf rose up on his hind legs to subdue her.
Sabine didn’t get a chance to respond to the affront; a blur flew by her, displacing her. Drew sank his fangs into the wolf’s ruff and shook him like a limp rabbit. He tossed him aside and issued a sharp bark, fur bristling, muscles bunched, and his lips pulled back over his bared fangs.
The were changed into his man-form, and Sabine recognized him as the man who’d stood in the outer rim of the circles. At close range, she saw a slight resemblance to Drew and Gustav. Fair-haired unlike most of his kin; his honey-colored hair glinted in the moonlight. He was a handsome man, with a wide brow and a strong jaw. Unfortunately, the sulky petulance of his mouth ruined the masculine beauty of his face. His lanky body, while symmetrically perfect, had a softness to it, in comparison to the Lunedare fore-fighters forming a tight ring around him and their alpha.
Drew circled the defiant man several times, snarling out his displeasure, before he transformed and rose to his feet.
“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 becom
ing 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 f
illed, 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.
The unmated males began wooing the she-wolves to secure a lover for the night. Their methods ran the gamut from playful enticement to blatant intense stalking. Some women responded to their pursuit with coyness, staying just beyond the men’s reach, and casting taunting glances over their shoulders. In other cases, their advances were accepted with open arms. A few women brazenly took matters into their hands and propositioned the men of their choice.
Her Wanted Wolf Page 21