Her Wanted Wolf

by Renee Michaels

Rafe got to his feet. “I’ll go find out from Rick what our ETA is.” His eyes flicked over the women. “You do know that once word gets out, every alpha is going to do their level best to acquire a Silverwolf for their pack, by fair means or foul.”

  “Staying with us or joining another pack will be up to the individual women. We will protect and provide a safe haven for them as long as they want one. I gave my word to Balthazar.”

  Rafe looked over at her. “How is your father doing?”

  “Better, thanks for asking. He spends most of his time in human form. Greta is hoping that the nutrients and the accelerated healing attributes of our were heritage will bring him back to health.”

  “If he’s as strong-willed as you are, I’m sure he will.” His eyes strayed over to Ishbel.

  Drew grinned. “Who do you think they got their cussed contrariness from?”

  Sabine swung her arm back to jab her elbow into his belly, but he caught it before she could do any damage.

  “We are not contentious.” Sabine defended her pack. Rafe snorted before ambled off.

  “Of course not, you’re a fine example of sweetness and docility.” With a sardonic smirk on his face, Drew pulled her onto his lap.

  “Yes, we are,” Sabine agreed, knowing he didn’t mean a word of it. She snuggled up against him.

  “Tell me about this new alpha I’m about to meet.” Sabine placed her head on his chest and sighed.

  “Royal Sinclair, alpha to the Sinclair pack. He’s a little flexible with pack laws, unless he can work them to suit his purposes. A good man to have at your back.” Drew chuckled.

  “You speak of him as if he’s a friend.”

  “Yeah, you can call him that. We have a lot in common. The Redmavens took his sister too. We used that transgression to enter the unsanctioned den Bardo’s father set up in the city to retrieve her. It was there we found out how far the Redmavens would go to empower their pack.”

  The barely perceptible change in the engines alerted her to their descent. Sabine scrambled off Drew’s lap, fastened her seatbelt, grabbed his hand, and shut her eyes again.

  “You know shutting your eyes won’t make a bit of difference,” Drew informed her, as if she wasn’t aware of that salient fact. His hand tightened around her sweaty one, giving her something tangible to hold onto.

  “I don’t want to see the ground rushing up at me,” she explained. It was perfectly obvious to her why she’d need to blank out the image.

  “Then why shut them when we’re going up?” Drew asked, a hint of something close to laughter in his voice.

  The man was beginning to annoy her with all these questions. “I don’t want to see us shooting up into the air.” She could feel the faint waft of air displacement as he shook his head.

  “You could avoid looking through the window instead of shutting your eyes.”

  Exasperated, she spat out, “I could develop a headache every night to avoid making love to you too, but I don’t, do I?” Sabine braced for the expected impact. Here they were, diving toward the ground, and he was talking up a storm.

  Drew pressed his lips to hers and bit her bottom lip. The slight, but sharp ache pulled her focus from her fears. His tongue swiped over her sore spot, before it slipped into her mouth. Their tongues tangled, the taste of him jumbled her thoughts, as always. His hand found her breast under her shirt, pulled her from the state of hazy confusion and sent a spike of mind-blanking sexual need. The taste of Drew was all that she thought about.

  The plane set down with a bump and Drew broke their kiss.

  He tweaked her nipple and released her. “See, nothing to worry about.”

  Her eyes flew open. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

  “What?” He raised his brow, pretending ignorance.

  “Kiss me stupid, so I’d forget.” She looked him through narrowed eyes.

  “Did it work?”

  She grinned at him, a little shamefaced at her fears. “I don’t know whether to hug you for it, or strangle you for putting me on another plane.”

  “I’ll settle for the hug, can’t have too many of those.” He brushed his lips across hers, unclipped his seatbelt, and hauled her up onto her feet. “Now, let’s go kick some Redmaven ass, get my sister.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Sabine stepped from the aircraft into a cloud of liquid heat. She took a tentative sniff. The moisture-laden air was very different from the drier atmosphere in the mountains. The scents were different too, no tangy pine in the air.

  Drew ran down the short flight of stairs and she followed in his wake. The spoor of unknown werekin peppered the air. Instinct kicked in and she shed pheromones to mask their presence.

  “Who sucked away all the air?” Sabine took stock of the rusted metal shack listing to one side. A motor’s congestive sputter whined from its confines adding a discordant rattle to the din.

  “Welcome to the south,” Drew drawled and turned his nose to the sky to test the wind. “Did you obscure our presence?”

  “Already done,” Sabine murmured. She wasn’t a total novice.

  Drew swung his head from side to side. His fore-fighters exited the plane and took up their places on either side of him. Sabine and her pack mates slid into position by the men they’d been paired with, prepared to defend their backs.

  Drew spread arms his into an aggressor’s stance, unsheathed his claws, and let out a low challenging growl.

  Hearing the menace in the answering howl raked over her nerves like a dull knife and lifted the hair on Sabine’s body.

  Weres approached, but she couldn’t pinpoint the direction they came from, which meant they were surrounded. She inched closer to Drew’s side. The bulbs from the strings of lights running down the pavement pointed to them a like an arrow. They were sitting ducks.

  Sabine’s head jerked up at the thuds of paws hitting the ground. It gave her a hint at the speed at which the wolves ran and their weight. They were fast and they were big. She squinted and peered into the dense darkness beyond the artificial illumination. She picked out dozens of disembodied feral yellow eyes, above a multitude of lethally bared fangs gleaming with nightmarish malevolence.

  A massive black wolf separated from the shadows and barreled toward them at a dead run.

  She looked to Drew, expecting him to change into were form to meet the hostile lupine’s challenge, but he stood firm. Why didn’t he shift? She braced her legs apart, preparing to morph. Their first trial as a fighting unit, outnumbered, and Drew stood perfectly still making no move to fend off the aggressor.

  The were in her rose and her fangs lengthened in response to the oncoming threat, but that didn’t prevent a film of sweat from coating her skin.

  The wolf began his transformation, in mid-stride. He shimmied into a combination of wolf and man, and then finally morphed into a man. Swift as Mercury’s, his feet flashed as he charged at Drew. Bulky muscles bulged and flexed over a long ebony body. His hair floated back from his face in a leonine mass of dancing braids.

  He bared his teeth, stooped slightly, and used his legs to launch himself at Drew who was already springing forward. Their chests slammed together with a loud hollow thud, and the two men fell to the ground. Rolling and wrestling, there was an inexplicable restraint in their confrontation. Neither man used claws or fangs against his opponent.

  Sabine took a swift glace at an immobile Rafe. Why the hell didn’t he go to his alpha’s aid?

  Sabine gripped the delicate material on the hem of her shirt to pull it over her head, preparing to shift unhindered. She froze when the two grappling weres fell onto their backs, laughing like hyenas.

  Sabine’s shock turned into irritation, and she gritted her teeth to prevent herself from spewing invectives at them. It was conclusive. Men were idiots.

  Drew rose to his feet and pulled the other fool up with him. The two alphas hugged each other and pounded the other’s back.

  “You’re losing your edge, pal. You cam
e barreling off the jet like a neophyte,” the were who she assumed was Royal Sinclair taunted with a brilliant flash of white teeth, which was more of a sneer than a smile.

  “Bullshit, I caught your scent the moment I stepped off the plane,” Drew shot back.

  Were insults the normal greeting between alphas?

  “That’s a crock. You didn’t sniff for us until you had moved away from the safety of the craft. I had the drop on you.”

  “Like hell you did. I’m not the fool that came barreling through the dark without getting a whiff of us,” Drew mocked.

  Sabine watched the were’s face go blank with surprise before he lifted his head and inhaled deeply. His nose twitched and his eyes grew wary.

  Over Drew’s shoulder, Sabine’s eyes met the tawny gem-hard stare. His nostrils flared and his eyes sharpened to a guarded suspicion. He dragged in air, repeated the action.

  “You’ve been holding out on me, brother. Why can’t I catch the scent of her spoor, or any of you for that matter?”

  “Sabine, my mate and her sisters are the last of the Silverwolves.”

  Royal’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

  “I shit you not.”

  Royal studied Sabine until she wanted to squirm under his scrutiny.

  “I heard you took a mate, but there was no mention of her gifts. Kinda selfish of you to scoop her up before she realized that she could do so much better. With a Sinclair, for example.”

  “I already told him he was a greedy bastard,” Rick interjected coming up behind her tapping on a sleek device.

  Sabine tensed when eight wolves trotted forward, shedding their were-forms and lining up behind Royal like a muscle-bound bulwark. To Sabine surprise, there were two women amongst them.

  “How the hell could she find a better pack than the Lunedares? We protect our women. They aren’t put in danger,” Rafe defended his pack, his disapproval apparent in his dark scowl.

  “The Sinclairs are a small clan. We use the best of our best, regardless of sex, for our fighting force. Now you Lunedares have to make do with the pitiful male pups you’ve got.” A sly smirk spread across Royal’s face. “Hey Rafe, if you want to go one-on-one with my primo, Sirah, feel free. We won’t think less of you if she kicks your ass.”

  “Shiiet, next thing you know we’ll be having a female alpha,” Rafe groused sourly.

  “Now there’s an idea worth exploring,” Sabine mumbled.

  Drew spared Sabine a laughing glance. “Don’t give my mate any ideas, please.”

  Royal looked at her, speculation and a blatant invitation in his expression. “You’d fit nicely with the women in my family.” His face sobered, suddenly all business. “Speaking of women, we’ve scouted the area the Redmavens are fouling. Aimee’s spoor is heavy around a warehouse, down on Savannah’s waterfront.”

  “Where are we exactly?”

  Yes, that was something she’d like to know too, she had no sense of where she was. It was bit disorienting.

  “You’ve landed at a private airstrip outside of Atlanta.”

  “Private airstrip?”

  “Yeah, belongs to a human I do some ahh…security work for.”

  “Is that what you’re calling it now?”

  Royal shrugged. “Hey, you know how it is. Humans, they have to put a PC title on everything. They never say what it really is.”

  “And what would that be exactly?” Sabine’s curiosity got the better of her as she asked.

  “Hmmm, I would have called it a little retrieval and retribution.” Royal beamed at her; the contrast between his teeth and his smooth ebony skin was mesmerizing. His smile was full of charm and allure, but there was a hint of lethality behind it that put her on her guard.

  “I see,” Sabine murmured, though she really didn’t, and pressed her body into Drew’s.

  “How far are we from Savannah?” Drew looked up at the moon. “We only have a few more hours of darkness.”

  “About three hours hard driving, but I don’t suppose you want to draw any attention, so four tops. I’ve arranged accommodations. Another client paid for a job with a sweet plantation house on the outskirts of the city.”

  Drew’s brow quirked up in question. “An entire plantation? How lucrative is this security work? Maybe we ought to get into the business.”

  “Hey, a man has to feed his family. Besides, it was a big favor and I don’t work cheap. It ain’t Tara but I figured you could’ve used it to lay low, keep your scent out of the mix for as long as possible.” Royal flicked a speculative glance at Sabine. “Guess you have that covered though, huh.”

  “I certainly do.” Drew slid his arm around her shoulder. “We’ll travel to Savannah while it’s still dark. If you and your personal guard will join us. I’d be grateful if you sent in your men to surround the city, spread your spoor thick and wide. Not too close to the spot where the Redmavens are holed up, but near enough to make them twitchy. I want them penned. No Redmaven gets out.”

  “That we can do. Won’t give us a head count though. Be stupid to go in without one. Those jacked-up weres can put a real hurt on you.”

  “Yeah, while you’ve being visible, we’ll be taking a look-see to get an idea of what we’re up against.” Drew looked over at Rick. “I want the rest of my fighters brought directly to this plantation of Royal’s, quietly. Sabine’s sisters will conceal the Lunedare forces until we decide when to move on the Redmavens.”

  Rick nodded in agreement and pulled out his phone.

  “The docks are a busy commercial zone during the day. Here in the south, every mother’s son has a gun rack in his pick-up truck. You might get your ass full of buckshot if you and the Redmavens kick it off,” Royal cautioned, with a grimace. “You should wait until tomorrow night to do your reconnaissance.”

  Drew’s eyes narrowed as he considered his suggestion. He shook his head. “They’d be more vigilant at night believing that’s when we’d stage an attack. We’ll go take a look in the afternoon, in human form. With the Silverwolves’ help, we can slip in and out without a were noticing.” He looked to Sabine, and she nodded her acquiescence.

  Royal frowned as he looked over the Silverwolves. “Great, but these women would be conspicuous because of their rare coloring. I’ll have Sirah arrange appropriate clothing to ugly them up a bit.” He lifted his dinner plate-sized hand and made a come-on gesture.

  The menacing rumble of several engines starting up silenced the chirps and clicks of the nocturnal birds and insects. Several husky vehicles drove onto the pavement, black, with shaded windows, metal guards wrapped around the bumpers with a howling wolf emblem fixed in the center of the chrome metalwork.

  Drew nodded to Rafe and the rest of their party climbed into the transportation to begin what Sabine hoped was the last leg of their journey.

  “I thought you said you didn’t want to draw any attention to us. We’ll look like a bunch of drug dealers heading for the coast. Sure as hell we’re going to get pulled over.”

  Not sharing Drew’s concern, Royal smirked confidently. “Hasn’t happened yet. No lone traffic cop is going to pull us over on the back roads we’ll be using.”

  “You just like begging for trouble don’t you?”

  “Hey, I’m in good company. You glide along the edge of danger as much as I do.”

  “Yeah, but I’m an old married man now. I’m not free to do as I please anymore.” Drew tilted his head in her direction.

  Sabine snorted. “You’re a were, and no mate can tie you down.”

  “You can tie me down anytime, babe.” He looked at her. The wicked gleam in his warm brown eyes made her lips soften into a smile as she remembered what he did to her while her hands were bound.

  There was no mistaking the carnality in his expression, and as always it tugged at her emotions and the were within her. The hot feminine need of a mated she-wolf attuned to her man’s desires spread through her.

  Royal’s amused voice intruded. �
�Ahmm, you two want to stand here all night and have eye-sex, or can we head on down to Savannah where a Tester bed is waiting for you? I’d suggest the latter. The scent of your woman’s spoor is slipping through whatever shield she erected, and it’s getting a rise out of the rest of us. Literally.” He walked off chuckling and got into the passenger seat of the truck at the head of the line.

  Sabine blushed and masked her scent. She couldn’t believe Drew affected her to the point she’d dropped her guard. It was dangerous and irresponsible.

  Shamefaced, she looked up at Drew. “It won’t happen again.”

  “You wouldn’t have let it happen in a threatening situation, Sabine.” Drew took her hand and pulled her toward the trucks. “Glad to know you have a weakness for me. Come on, you’re all but drooping.”

  Drew opened the door for her and Sabine slid across the seat. “No more sex while we’re hunting for your sister. You make me careless.”

  Royal’s belly laugh from the front seat made her want to pull her head in like a turtle.

  “Then we’d better find my sister fast.” Drew slid in and nestled her by his side. “Because I don’t know how long you can go without a taste of me.”

  Sabine shook her head and let out a sigh. “I can’t wait for all this to be over so I can stay in one place.” Sabine rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. The anxiety of flying had worn her out. She and Drew were going to discuss the mode of their transportation on their journey back. Flying was for the birds.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  The pearl grey dawn was diluting the inky blackness of the night when they pulled onto a long, tree-lined, unpaved driveway. The moss clinging to the trees rippled gently in the soft breeze ushering them up to a gem of an antebellum mini-mansion at the end the road. Its six columns stood like sentries guarding the front porch littered with paint buckets, drop cloths, and white-painted tubs overflowing with oversized pink hydrangeas. A garden spread out from either side of the building in a cheerful, disorganized, colorful jumble.

  Like Royal had said, it wasn’t Scarlet O’Hara’s Tara, but it was its prettier, less imposing little sister. Whatever the hell he’d done to earn this small slice of Heaven on earth must have been a doozy.