Larry lifted his chin at Katarina and Heidi sighed about what she had to do.
“Who’s your new friend, Heidi? She’s awfully cute too. How about Erwin and I buy you two a drink? We can talk about old times. Maybe have a little fun after. What do you say?”
The bell above the store door rang as it opened again. This time her wolf howled in welcome to the man who entered. She looked up and met Ryan’s gaze across the room. “No, no, no,” she said. But shaking her head did not slow Ryan’s momentum as he wove through the growing evening crowd who’d come looking for dinner.
Knowing she had little time left before things got ugly, Heidi stepped close to the two men and put a shaking hand on each of their exposed throats as if caressing them. Her voice was urgent and insistent.
“Listen to my words. I’m not the woman you think I am. I just look like someone you used to know. My husband is coming over to us and you’re going to apologize to him for harassing me.”
Hoping there’d been enough time for the suggestion to take effect, Heidi dropped her quivering hands and stepped back just as Ryan appeared at her side.
“These guys giving you grief?” Ryan asked calmly, glaring at the two smaller men in front of him.
Heidi swallowed nervously as Erwin and Larry held up their hands to Ryan. They both laughed nervously.
“Man, I’m sorry. Your wife looks like a woman we used to know. We didn’t mean any harm,” Erwin said.
“No, man. We didn’t do nothing to her, just embarrassed all of us,” Larry added.
Ryan’s brow furrowed at their profuse, overdone apologies. “Fine. Get your business done and get lost.”
Heidi swallowed nervously when they laughed at his orders to leave, but was glad they also scrambled to do as he said. She could see why Ryan would make Matt a good second when Gareth stepped down. Ryan was a lot like his father, and Jesse Calder was not the kind of man many dared to cross.
Sighing internally, she kept her face stoic as her possessive werewolf lover turned to study her.
“What did those guys say to you?” he asked.
“Nothing important enough to share. I was the one who lied and told them you were my husband, but don’t read too much into that part of my story. You were just a quick excuse to get rid of their unwanted attention.”
Ryan snorted, but a grin crept across his face. “The husband part is more truth than fiction. I hope one day you see that.”
“Don’t start,” Heidi ordered.
Then she turned and met Katarina’s puzzled gaze. She turned back to Ryan with a flushed face. Katarina’s kidnapping was being kept quiet for now. She saw no reason to tell Ryan and worry him more.
“Uh… Ryan? I don’t think you’ve officially met Katarina Volkov. She’s a visiting Alpha from Russia. Someone she knows joined Reed’s pack. He’s coming down tomorrow to collect her. I’m keeping her company in the meantime.”
Ryan nodded and spoke to Katarina in a stilted version of what Heidi could only assume was grade school level Russian. Katarina seemed to understand him though. She spoke slowly back to Ryan in her language, but her curious gaze kept returning to Heidi.
When Ryan’s gaze drifted to Erwin and Larry checking out, Heidi lifted a finger to her lips, hoping to gain Katarina’s cooperation. Katarina’s head nod relieved her, but she had to work hard to emotionally ignore the giant questions lighting the Alpha’s eyes. In her panic to stop Ryan from attacking the men to defend her, she’d forgotten all about Katarina watching her every move.
Ryan’s gaze finally came back to her. She smiled softly at him, reaching for the kind of calm she used when healing. She needed it quite often when dealing with her demanding werewolf lover.
“Gareth was looking for you. Eva said you went shopping with a friend. I told him I’d find you and bring you out to his house. Can I buy you and Katarina some dinner first?”
Sighing, Heidi nodded. “Sure. That would be great, Ryan. Thank you. Katarina is staying at the inn while she’s in town. I gave her my old room.”
Katarina’s gaze bounced between the two of them. To her credit, the intense, talkative Alpha somehow kept from blurting out what Heidi had managed to completely hide from everyone in her new life.
But now she had to confess her special skills to her Alpha before Katarina confronted her about what she’d seen her do.
5
Brandi walked out of Matt’s house with two blankets in her hands. Gareth and Matt looked at her guiltily. She narrowed her eyes. “What are you two gawking at? I know you’ve seen plenty of werewolves shift and lose their clothes before.”
Matt nodded. “Yes, but we’ve never seen two beautiful females keep only their boots. Usually it’s an all or nothing deal. I thought Ariel was strange, but now there’s two of her. You’ve got to admit that’s something worth checking out.”
“Good thing they did keep their boots. Ground’s colder than a witch’s tit today. I feel a freeze coming,” Gareth declared.
Brandi stopped and glared at Gareth. “Witch’s tit? Have you felt up any naked witches lately?”
Gareth tried not to laugh and failed miserably. “Nope. Just my nano wolf.”
Brandi snorted at the nickname Matt had given them all. “Shut it with the nano wolf crap, Longfeather. And will you please stop staring at their naked bodies before I have to kick some leering Beta ass?”
She huffed as she headed down the stairs. Behind her both men laughed at her threats.
“Can’t a man be curious without making his mate jealous?” Gareth teased.
“Maybe… but you’re not a man,” Brandi said sharply, fighting back her jealous growl.
She stomped the rest of the way to the women. “Here,” she said, pushing one of the blankets into Heidi’s hands. “Put this around Ariel. The Alpha naked show is over.”
Heidi grinned as she wrapped hers around a frustrated, shivering Ariel. Brandi wrapped the other around a fuming Katarina who was still swearing in Russian.
Heidi rolled her eyes behind both Alpha’s backs.
It wasn’t like she and Brandi hadn’t tried to explain their process. They’d explained it a million times. She looked at the magic of keeping her clothes on during shifting the same way she looked at the other unexpected gifts she possessed. Shifting might have given more power to them becoming the best of themselves, but what mattered in the long run was what they did with what they had.
Ariel stomped one booted foot. “I’m a frigging scientist. Figuring things out is what I do. I will not accept this failure as a permanent condition.”
Katarina stopped swearing and met Ariel’s determined gaze. “Good. You learn and then teach me, yes?”
“Damn straight, I will,” Ariel promised. She pulled the blanket tighter. “I’m freezing my ass off out here. It wasn’t this cold yesterday.”
Katarina’s head snapped up. She held out a hand to instantly quiet them all. “Shhh… I hear bear coming.” Her gaze went to the woods just as a large black wolf emerged from it. “Nyet. Just giant wolf. My mind… suka, blyad.”
Brandi stepped to the side of Katarina. “It’s okay. That’s just Reed.”
Katarina put her nose in the air and sniffed. Then she growled. “I know this wolf. I know that smell.”
Heidi got nervous about Katarina’s aggressive reaction and moved to the Alpha’s other side. “You’ve got no reason to be concerned. Everything is okay,” she said, trying to soothe her.
“Reed would never hurt you,” Brandi said firmly.
Katarina growled again, louder this time. She mumbled under her breath in Russian.
They all watched as Reed shifted gracefully, changing into his handsome seven foot tall self with ease. His ready smile took in all of them until his gaze rested on Katarina’s glaring face.
“Bastard found me,” Katarina spat, throwing off her blanket.
Heidi watched in shock as Katarina sprang across the distance in two leaps, not even bothering to change to her wolf.
The full on impact of her hitting him took Reed to the ground, even though he was a good deal bigger than Katarina.
“Katarina, no!” Brandi called out. “Shit… Reed, don’t hurt her.”
Reed grabbed the woman’s shoulders and held her now elongating teeth away from his neck.
“Hello, pretty lady. Do I know you?” he asked calmly, staring up into a pair of brown eyes lit with blazing anger.
“Bastard,” Katarina said more fiercely, her canines lengthening until they split her upper lip.
Heidi’s eyes were wide when two sets of strong hands reached down and pulled Katarina off Reed. They easily held her still straining human form in the air as Katarina screamed and growled. The Russian Alpha looked stunned when she stopped and stared up into the determined faces of the Gray Wolf Alpha mates.
“He took me from my home. He is the one.”
“Travis,” Brandi and Gareth both said at once, smirking at each other as they rushed past their Alphas to pull a still stunned Reed to his feet.
Reed sighed as he looked at the angry woman and then at his girls. “What did my grandson do this time?” He turned his gaze and stared with new eyes at the still snarling and yet utterly beautiful Russian Alpha. Her pink nipples were hardened by the cold, but he doubted the woman was even aware of her body’s condition. She was a wintery beauty. It was too bad she’d hated him on sight.
Brandi looked at Katarina, spoke to her in Russian, and waved a hand at Reed while shaking her head.
Gareth shook his head, amazed at her talent. “You’re incredible. You drive boats and you speak Russian.”
“Along with seven other languages,” Brandi bragged. She turned and spoke more loudly as she gestured first to Reed and then to her pack mates.
Matt and Ariel looked at each other, then slowly lowered the Russian Alpha to the ground.
Outnumbered, Katarina reigned in her rage and settled for snarling. “He is one who took me. You must believe.”
“Nyet,” Brandi said firmly. “This is Reed. The man who took you—he may have looked and smelled a little like Reed—but it was his grandson, Travis. It was not Reed.”
Katarina narrowed her eyes. “Why you lie? This man not old. He is young. He is handsome. He smell tempting… just like stealing bastard did.” She ended her argument with an indignant screech.
Brandi looked at Reed. “Yeah, okay. I guess he doesn’t exactly look like your average werewolf grandpa. But it’s still true. Reed’s not the one who kidnapped you.”
“Cut the crap here, Katarina. Reed is not Travis,” Ariel said sharply, wrapping the blanket around her shivering form again. “Calm yourself enough to use your mind. Reed’s at least six inches taller than Travis. Stop being angry for a minute and go smell him again. Reed would never in a million years abduct you.”
Reed shrugged. “Well, I might if she keeps throwing her naked body at me that way. In my experience, that usually means a female wants you.”
“Yeah—wants to kill you,” Heidi said dryly. She rolled her eyes when Reed laughed at her comment and continued to stare at a still naked Katarina.
Ariel glared at her creator. “Stop teasing her, Reed. I’m trying to keep Katarina from ripping out your damn throat.”
Reed tried to smother his laughter by rubbing a hand over his face. “Sorry, Ariel. I like fierce women and she’s very sexy.”
Katarina yanked free of Matt’s hold and stomped back to Reed. She leaned in and took a big sniff while Reed looked down at his rising interest in her. He raised an eyebrow daring her to comment about his reaction. Suddenly glad her nemesis had shifted with clothes still on, Katarina frowned up at him and repeated her sniff test.
“Fuck me. Is true. There is difference. Apologies, Temptation,” she said, stomping off to collect her blanket.
“Now that we’re all of one mind, maybe we can focus on the real problem here. Why did Travis kidnap Katarina? Better yet, where the hell is Travis now?” Matt demanded.
Reed looked at Katarina who was bundled into her blanket once more. “Maybe he has good taste in females. I know I’m impressed. Not that I approve of what Travis did…”
“Reed—stop. You’re being a jackwagon,” Brandi declared.
Heidi giggled at the name-calling, then covered her mouth when all of them turned to glare at her, except Brandi who winked and grinned. She promptly decided she was tired of not being her true self with these people.
“Oh come on,” Heidi exclaimed. “That was funny. Reed’s so not a jackwagon, but he is acting like one right now.”
Katarina rolled her eyes. “Not be so funny if I kill him.”
“Oh myshka, that was never a possibility,” Reed said firmly.
“Little mouse?” Brandi declared. “I may help her kill you for that comment.”
Heidi laughed when Katarina glared at Reed while he smiled at her. It was like watching your parents fight. No… it was like watching Matt and Ariel fight, which was usually about sex.
Sighing, Brandi looked at Gareth. “Are you calling Shitty Sheldon about Travis or am I? You’re better at knowing when the conniving Dr. Crane is lying to us.”
“Crane? Sheldon Crane?” Katarina said. “I meet Professor by such name.” She studied the ground while she thought. “Man wear sandals in middle of Moscow winter. First, I think him idiot, but he had great brain. Good lecture on future evolution.”
Brandi and Gareth both sighed. “I’ll call him,” Gareth said, pulling his phone out as he headed toward Matt’s porch and some relative privacy.
Heidi bit her lip. “Do you think Sheldon Crane sent Travis to collect Katarina?”
Brandi shrugged. “I don’t know why he would. She’s not a hybrid or like us. She’s a natural werewolf. You confirmed that, right?”
Heidi shrugged. “Not completely. We didn’t draw blood to heal her. It wasn’t necessary.”
Ariel looked at Katarina. “Can I take a blood sample from you? I’d like to test it.”
Heidi watched Katarina’s gaze seek out hers. Apparently the Russian Alpha considered her the best ally of the group. If they wanted Katarina’s full cooperation, the female Alpha needed to know the truth. For once, she didn’t ask Ariel or Brandi what to do. She followed her gut.
“Let Ariel check your blood. If you were in contact with Sheldon Crane, he might have done something to you without you knowing it. His brother, Randall Crane, scientifically turned the three of us into werewolves using Reed’s blood. Ariel turned into a large Alpha wolf and killed the scientist who made us, so we could escape. We’ve been werewolves for less than a year. Brandi and Gareth work for our government in exchange for them not doing worse things to us.”
Katarina looked at Ariel—then at Brandi—then back to her. “Russians are such skeptics. Our humans do not believe in werewolves like me. I think… What is science, but magic? Explains your trick with rude men yesterday, yes?”
Heidi wilted a little when multiple sets of curious eyes turned her way. She swallowed. “Sort of,” she said to Katarina, hedging her answer as Ariel narrowed her gaze.
“Heidi? Is there something you need to tell us?” Ariel asked.
“Yebat. Exciting day, eh Heidi? We need vodka for story,” Katarina declared.
“Alcohol doesn’t work on werewolves,” Heidi recited, repeating what Eva had taught her.
“Werewolf vodka work,” Katarina said wistfully, sighing large. “I miss homeland now. Okay—hot tea. Maybe it warm my tits.”
They traipsed through the yard and shuffled into the house. Ariel and Katarina disappeared to find clothes. Katarina’s were totally missing, so she ended up wearing some of Ariel’s again. The pants were too long and the shirts too big, but Heidi thought they made the Russian Alpha appear a bit less intimidating. She also didn’t miss the lustful glances Reed continued to send Katarina’s way.
Heidi sighed at her distracting thoughts. The Alpha energy in Matt’s kitchen was stifling now that Reed was here too. Confessing anything was g
oing to be hell on her nerves—if she could even manage to talk.
“Dig deep and spit it out, Heidi. You’re not in trouble,” Ariel said.
“Not yet anyway,” Brandi added, winking again.
“Bah—leave her be. She not want sexy Ryan to know. He fear too much for her already. She hate that,” Katarina informed the group.
Heidi sighed as she glared at Katarina. “I don’t hate Ryan caring about me. I just hate his constant hovering.” She took a sip of the tea Matt had made for them. “Okay. Here’s the bottom line… even before we were turned into werewolves, I sort of had these special things I could do.”
“Do these things have a scientific name? Or maybe a medical one?” Ariel asked.
Heidi shook her head and lifted her cup. Her hand was all but shaking. Reed walked to her and pulled a chair close. He sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.
“I promise our intent is not to scare you. We just want to make sure you stay safe. Let me see if I can help you find the words to explain to your Alpha. You could sometimes see the future enough to predict outcomes. Maybe you could even change what you wanted to change about it. The Healers in my pack developed many such gifts of influence.”
Heidi set down her teacup and nodded. She laid her head against Reed’s shoulder and felt immediately better. Sighing, she continued her confession.
“It sounds like silly woo-woo stuff when I talk about it, but that’s what I can do. I can make people do things I want… or talk them out of doing them. It used to take a long time, like a half hour or so in their company. Now it’s… well, it’s instant since I’ve become a werewolf. I’ve sometimes used it at the Healing Center to get werewolves to do what they needed to do to heal, but I swear I’m very careful about who I use the power on.”
Reed nodded and kissed the top of her head. “Your pure heart wouldn’t let you hurt anyone intentionally. We all believe this about you. There is no shame in using any gift the Great Spirits have sent.”
Heidi: Nano Wolves 3 Page 4