by Cara Adams
“Of course not. It’ll only take me a moment of extra cooking, and it’ll take Jaz longer than that to come join us.”
“But first, you need to tell your brothers where you are so they don’t worry about you,” said Forest sternly.
Her blue eyes sparkled, and her grin was even brighter as she shook her blonde head vigorously. “Hell no. They won’t even notice I’m not there for hours yet. I don’t want them tracking me. There’s no need. I’m already here and perfectly safe with you now. I’ll tell them when it starts to get dark. That’s when they’ll all be going back to the house, and then they’ll ask Mom where I am.”
“Oh, well, if your mom knows you’re here, that’s fine,” said Forest.
There was the faintest blush of pink across Chloe’s cheeks, and Ny knew her mother didn’t know where she was. Or maybe she did, but not the full story. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to interfere, even if Forest’s dominating nature wanted to control Chloe. She was here, she was safe, and Ny desperately needed to get to know her better. He was certain Jaz had said she wasn’t mated, and Chloe hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend, just her brothers. But before he made a move on her, he needed to be sure she was available because he was sure as hell free, available, and extremely ready to get to know her. Damn she was cute. All bright and sparkly and fast moving, like a firework in the night sky.
Ny hurried back into the house to prepare four more steaks and extra rice and beans.
“Who’s the blonde chick? Is she staying the night?” asked Yuchi, coming into the kitchen.
“Mine,” snarled Ny.
“Fuck, Nyander, put your claws away. You’re not even a wolf. I wasn’t asking to mate her, just what her name is.”
Ny was embarrassed at his response. He wasn’t usually so bad mannered, and he hadn’t even exchanged more than a handful of words with her.
“Sorry. She’s Chloe Jenner, a friend of Jaz’s come to visit. They’re all coming for super.”
“In that case I’d better prepare some rooms. Likely they’ll all remain here overnight as well. If we all stay up late talking, it’d be silly for them to travel home and come back the next morning.” Yuchi hurried away, and Ny breathed deeply, steadying his reflexes as he cooked.
Damn, he’d never snarled before. Hanging around with all these wolves must have altered his behavior. The urge to possess her had roared through him the moment Yuchi spoke. He needed to get his shit together fast. And to talk to Forest alone. If Forest didn’t like her, he really had a problem because they’d agreed to share a woman. And already he knew that he wanted her and was determined to win her.
Chapter Two
Chloe parked her SUV in the garage as Damien had suggested and then followed him and Hunter into the store. They walked through the store and out a side door into a glassed-in sunroom-cum-passageway and on into a house.
“That’s clever. You don’t have to actually go outside to get from one to the other. That’d be awesome at night.”
“It discourages insects and rattlesnakes from coming inside as well,” said Hunter.
“I like rattlesnake. It’s always delicious when one of my brothers brings one home for supper.”
They were wolves who’d lived here for generations. She couldn’t imagine them not eating desert food.
“Ny makes a great rattler chili,” said Damien.
Good. Her mother had warned her about speaking too freely outside the family. That was the problem of living so isolated. Any social skills she’d learned at school she’d long since forgotten. Even though Damien and Jaz were human, they lived with wolves, so hopefully she wouldn’t need to watch her mouth among them. The same at the masquerade ball. They’d all be wolves there, or those who lived and worked with wolves, like Ny, as well.
They sat at a long trestle table in the kitchen, and Ny turned from the cooktop and asked her, “Would you like coffee or a cold drink, Chloe?”
She realized she was quite thirsty, so she said, “Just water, please. I’ll save my caffeine allowance for supper.”
Two more Wishrams, both with black hair and black eyes as Jaz had warned her, arrived and were introduced as Hawk and Yuchi. She counted them up mentally and knew there was still one more of them to come. Actually, so far she liked Ny the best, and he wasn’t even a wolf or a Wishram. But he was fun and friendly and made her feel welcome, as if she belonged here.
Finally she stood up. “I’d better turn my cell phone back on and tell my brothers I’m here.” She looked out a big window to a deck. “Is it okay if I go out there?”
“Sure.” Two or three voices answered her, but she was planning what to say instead of concentrating on who replied to her.
From the deck she stepped down onto a large area of beaten dirt. A little way to her left was a large barn, but mostly, as far as the eye could see, was the desert. She breathed in the unique hot, clean, dry air and knew she could never live anywhere else than the desert. It was a harsh and unforgiving land, but it was the most beautiful place in the world.
Chloe turned to her right and her left, noticing the way the colors of the soil changed subtly in the light. Here it was more brown, there more sandy, and in the distance was the ocher and almost orange of partly buried rocks. Dotted around were low, scrubby bushes and odd splashes of color as desert plants pushed their way up through the soil to make the land bloom.
Sighing, she pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. As she’d expected, a few moments later, it started beeping with missed messages. She wondered how long her mom had held her brothers back from calling her. Well, it was all good. She hadn’t experienced even the slightest hint of a problem on the journey, and she was here now, safe as houses.
She scrolled through the messages. Tekoa, Gideon, Reuben, Tekoa, Gideon, Tekoa, Tekoa, Reuben, Tekoa, her mom. Tekoa was her oldest brother. Trust him to be overwhelming her with demands for her to reply to him. Well, she wasn’t going to listen to any of the messages. She was safe. End of story. She swiped the number for her mom.
“Chloe? Honey? Where are you? Tekoa expected you to be at Indigo’s place hours ago, but Indigo said she wasn’t expecting you.”
“Hi, Mom. That’s because I’m visiting Jasmine, not Indigo. We’re just about to eat supper now.” That wasn’t completely true. Jaz wasn’t even here yet. But it was close enough.
“Oh, that’s all right then.”
For half a second Chloe thought she was clear and could say good-bye.
“Wait a minute, Chloe. You’re with Jasmine? Jasmine lives over the other side of the desert. Jaz lives with the Wishrams at Junctionville. Are you at Junctionville?”
“Yes, Mom. I’m visiting with Jaz at Junctionville. I can’t talk for much longer. We’re about to eat.”
“You really should have taken one of your brothers with you. That’s a long journey to make alone.”
“Mom, you know they wouldn’t want to be here listening to girl talk. Besides, I traveled along the highway, which was perfectly safe.”
That wasn’t totally true either. She hadn’t driven the old Towler-Wetherby Track where Jaz had been abducted. She wasn’t stupid. But she had driven straight across the desert from her home until she’d hit the highway instead of going all the way around by the road. But still, what she’d said was close enough to accurate for now. Her main job was to allay her mom’s fears so one of her brothers wasn’t sent racing after her.
“Oh, all right. I suppose that’s okay.”
“Thank you, Mom. I didn’t have a moment’s trouble.”
That was the first completely true sentence she’d said so far, but the next one was true as well. “I love you, Mom. I’ll let you know when I’m coming home.”
“Of course, honey. Bye.”
“Bye, Mom.”
She switched her cell phone off and tucked it back in her pocket. Chloe turned and looked out at the desert again. Damn, it was beautiful.
She swiveled around to go back into the house and saw one o
f the Wishrams standing on the deck. It was the one from the store, Forest. They were all very similar, but all different as well. This one tended to frown more and to act bossy, likely because he was the eldest. Her own eldest brother, Tekoa, was like that, too.
“You came across the desert from Wetherby? Alone? Despite what happened to Jaz?” he asked her, clearly horrified.
Yep. Just like Tekoa. “As Dolly Parton once said, ‘Crawl down off the cross, honey. Somebody might need the wood.’ I’m an adult, born and bred in the desert. Yes, I came here alone, and as you can see, I’m perfectly safe and well.” She pushed past him and went back into the house.
It’s such a shame he’s a bossy boots like Tekoa. He’s so dark and delicious to look at. I’ll talk to Ny. He’s sweet.
* * * *
Forest just stared at the cheeky little blonde disappearing back into the house. Dolly Parton? She must be, like, seventy years old by now and much more their parents’ generation than theirs. Although he had a vague idea she’d won more awards for something or other than any other country singer. He shrugged. He had no idea what movie or song that line came from, but Chloe sure as hell had a lot of sass to quote it at him. He grinned. He liked a woman with a bit of feistiness in her.
But she wouldn’t be driving alone across the desert again. He’d be going with her, even if he had to bribe one of his brothers to follow them so he’d be able to get back to Junctionville after returning her to her home.
He followed her inside and was just in time to see Chloe launch herself into Jaz’s arms as they did the whole girly yell-hug-pat-kiss thing.
If he held her, he’d be pressing his dick into her soft flesh so she knew how long and hard he was. And if she was in his arms, she wouldn’t be kissing his cheek. He’d be teaching her a much more carnal type of kissing.
Phideaux followed Jaz into the kitchen barking madly and raced straight across to Ny. Ny was still behind the counter, organizing supper, and his dark brown gaze was completely focused on Chloe to the total exclusion of everything else. Including their meal and the huge mutt barking up a storm at his feet.
Forest walked quietly over to the counter and nudged his friend. “The smoke alarm will go off any moment now if you don’t lift that pot of rice off the burner.”
“What? Oh, yes, thanks.”
Ny rescued the rice and then bent to pat the dog.
Forest stayed to help Ny finish preparing their meal, but he was thoughtful. Already he liked the few tiny facts he knew about Chloe, and apparently so did Ny. There was a scarcity of women living in the desert, so having one arrive on their doorstep was like the Fates offering them a birthday gift. And Chloe was not the kind of gift to be ignored.
Maybe she wasn’t a perfect match, but hell, she was pretty, sassy, smart, and brave. That was close enough for him. Even better she was a wolf, so the fact that he was one as well wouldn’t be a barrier to any relationship. She knew Jaz was mated into a triad, so hopefully she was not worried about a ménage either. Forest was a Dom, but she’d get used to obeying him once she knew him and learned he’d never do anything to hurt her. So, it was all good. She was theirs. His and Nyander’s. Problem solved. Deal done.
The decision made, he settled down to enjoy the mealtime and the wide-ranging conversation around the table.
There was only six years age difference between him and his youngest brother, Yuchi, so Forest could never remember a time when the meal table hadn’t been the center of loud conversation, lots of laughs, disagreements, arguments and even occasional fights, but, overall, mostly a lot of brotherly bonding and overwhelming love.
He looked back with amazement at how his parents had managed the house, the store, and the gas station by themselves for years. Sure, he and his brothers had always been given chores to do, from the time they were big enough to carry their own empty mug across to the kitchen counter or a bucket half-filled with water over to one of his momma’s precious fruit trees. And these days the store carried a hell of a lot more items than when he was a child, as well. But even so, his folks had basically done it all for years and years.
Meal times had always been like this, noisy and fun-filled, a special time of family togetherness. With Damien, Hunter, and Jaz joining them tonight, and Chloe as well, Forest was surprised just how happy he felt. This was the future he wanted. A time when they all gradually found their mates and the family expanded to include friends and women, as well as just him and his brothers.
After they’d all finished eating and were sitting sipping coffee and nibbling on cinnamon sticks, Forest asked Chloe, “How long are you visiting with us? What would you like to see and do while you’re here?”
“You don’t need to entertain me. I know you all work, and I’ll be perfectly happy just amusing myself wandering around the desert near Damien’s house or Junctionville itself. My main aim is to brainstorm with Jaz about hosting a masquerade ball. When our parents were young, the Nevada Pack used to have an annual masquerade ball so all the desert wolves had an opportunity to meet up and party together. That hasn’t happened for many years, and I’d like to resurrect it.”
Forest just stared at her. “Why on earth would anyone want to go to a ball? To get all dressed up in ridiculous costumes and prance around in the heat? We can have fun just fine in our own homes. We do have television and the Internet you know.”
What was the point of buying or making a costume and traveling for hours to wear it? He’d much rather be in his own home at night.
Chloe spoke to him quite gently, but her voice was also firm. “I guess it’s not so obvious to you because you have the store here and see people every day. Others of us don’t meet other wolves outside our families very often. My brothers are much the same age as your brothers. Yet, until recently, you’d never met each other, even though you’re all members of the same pack. That might be normal in a big city, but for a wolfpack of around two hundred people, it’s not good at all. How can you work cooperatively with someone you’ve never met?”
“Maybe we should have a teleconference then. But not a ball. That’s just a total waste of time and money.”
“No one is going to force you to attend, Forest. You asked me why I’m here, and I answered you.”
“The whole concept is pointless and unnecessary,” he said. Then realizing she might turn around and go straight home tomorrow, he added, “But of course you’re more than welcome to stay and visit with us for a while.”
He wondered if she’d just wanted to come for a visit and that was the only idea she’d been able to come up with to explain her trip. Perhaps she wasn’t interested in a ball at all. It sounded completely last century to him. Back before the Internet and television perhaps people did enjoy such stupid, old-fashioned behavior. But not these days.
“I think it’s a good idea. It might be fun to get together for a huge party. If Hawk, Yuchi, and I are ever to find our mates, we need to get out more and meet people. And I don’t mean people just stopping for gas. I mean meet people, as in get to know them and have a real conversation with them,” said Stone.
Forest stared at his second youngest brother. He hadn’t even thought Stone was interested in finding a mate yet.
“I agree. I sometimes think about people I haven’t seen since school. I mean, I’m Facebook friends with a lot of them, but it’d be nice to actually talk. Some of them I can’t even remember their surnames now or whether they’re wolves or not. A meeting of the entire pack would be great,” said Hawk.
“Organizing such an event, for, what did you say, two hundred people, will be huge though. I’m more than happy to help you. But is there a venue around here capable of holding that big a crowd? I haven’t seen Burton, although I did drive through Towler, and I didn’t notice a community center at all,” said Jaz.
“I was thinking of having it midsummer so we don’t need a venue. It can be out of doors on the Alpha’s land. He lives quite a few miles outside Towler, and I’m sure he’d host the
party. We might need to rent a party tent for the food, and we’d have to hire some porta-potties for such a large crowd. I’d like to get the plan outlined before I contact Alpha Wolfric, though, so I can lay it out before him with all the details,” said Chloe.
“I’ve been to his home. It’d be perfect. His house backs onto the desert, and he doesn’t have anyone living near him,” said Stone.
“I’ll be more than happy to help you organize the ball. I think a ball is a good idea because it’s something special. People will be attracted to the idea of doing something new and different. That’ll make them more likely to come,” said Ny.
Forest just stared at Ny, as all around the table his brothers chimed in with ideas and suggestions. They were all supportive of Chloe’s crazy idea and ready to help her. Forest didn’t understand them at all. No one would attend a masquerade ball, especially in the middle of summer. This was the Nevada desert. Summer was hot here. To gallivant around in a costume in the heat was beyond stupid. Even driving long distances across the desert in midsummer wasn’t very smart. Could none of them think straight anymore? Had Chloe wound the entire family around her little finger already?
* * * *
Ny was fascinated by the concept of a masquerade ball. It was a bit last century, but it was also sufficiently different and intriguing that he was sure people would be willing to make the effort to attend. And yes, summer was fucking hot out here, but most desert people were used to it and knew how to cope with extreme heat. If necessary they traveled at night and slept in the hottest part of the day. There was no reason why that pattern needed to change. They could travel the night before the party, nap during the day, party that night, sleep the next day, and then travel home at night.
Or maybe the Alpha would expand the idea to include some meetings or other social events. Most people would be able to spend a few days in Towler catching up with old friends and making new ones. It was almost exactly what the unmated men and women needed, so they could look for potential partners. Meanwhile, it was the perfect opportunity for the Alpha to do some business.