by Kate Douglas
Standing on the deck in the last rays of the setting sun were four tall figures, two men and two women. The Montana pack Luc had heard of but never met. Luc glanced at Tia and then back at the four, immediately identifying Anton Cheval by his commanding presence. The man beside him would be the once famous magician, Stefan Aragat, the auburn-haired beauty his mate, Alexandria Olanet.
The woman standing beside Anton Cheval stole the breath from Luc’s lungs. It wasn’t her beauty or her regal bearing that shocked him to the core.
No. It was the fact she could have been Camille Mason’s twin. She was an exact match to Tia’s mother. The family resemblance was so strong, it made Luc’s heart clench. He took a deep breath, tried to ignore the butterflies zinging through his gut. He had to put Camille’s death out of his mind, for Tia’s sake as well as his own.
If Keisha knew about Luc’s role in her aunt’s death, it could affect her desire to help, could affect the entire operation. Recovering Ulrich depended on their ability to work together, two autonomous Chanku packs, each unused to cooperating with strangers.
Luc hadn’t let any of his packmates know of his fears, that alphas fought much easier than they cooperated. Keisha’s resemblance to Tia’s mother complicated things even more.
As the three of them piled out of the vehicle, Luc’s gaze shifted to Tia and then back to Cheval. The look of speculation in the other man’s eyes raised the nonexistent hackles along Luc’s neck.
Another complication he hadn’t thought of. Just because Cheval and Aragat were already mated didn’t mean they wouldn’t want to add another woman to their pack. With that thought uppermost in his mind, Luc headed up the steps to the deck.
Tia crawled out of the backseat and stretched. Her gaze slid from Luc—and the narrowed cast to his eyes—to the four strangers standing on the deck above them.
Sudden recognition swamped her, stopped the breath in her lungs, choked back the words she wanted to say. Keisha? The beautiful African-American woman standing proudly beside the tallest of the four reminded Tia so much of her mother, she felt faint. Oh, my God! Keisha! Dropping her bag, Tia raced up the steps into the woman’s welcoming embrace.
Look at you! Keisha Rialto’s familiar voice settled in Tia’s mind like a warm, comforting blanket. The arms wrapping tightly around Tia’s waist were the embrace of the mother she’d lost so long ago.
Without warning, Tia burst into tears.
Tia? Luc stood beside her, holding her bag in his hand. Tinker hovered right beside him, radiating anxiety and worry.
I’m okay. Don’t worry. It’s just… Tia covered her eyes with her hand, struggling for control.
Keisha gave her another tight squeeze. It’s been a long time, sweetie. A very long time. C’mon. You can meet the rest of the guys later.
Embarrassed, overjoyed, and exhausted, Tia allowed Keisha to lead her into the house, away from the others. She cast one quick glance at Luc and Tinker, silently assuring them she would be okay, and then entered the house with her cousin.
Luc’s heart rate slowed imperceptibly with Tia’s reassuring thought. Tinker waited on the step just behind him, a solid presence of support. Luc and Anton Cheval faced off across the deck while Cheval’s two remaining pack mates stood silently to one side. The air practically hummed with tension. Luc’s chest felt tight; his heart thundered.
He’d never faced another true alpha before, the leader of a separate pack with all its inherent rules and taboos…rules Luc wasn’t even sure he understood.
Though Ulrich remained their leader, Luc had long held the role of Pack Dynamics’ functioning alpha. Looking at the powerful Chanku facing him, Luc wondered which one of them would rise victorious, should there be an actual battle between them.
He really, really didn’t want to have to find out.
After a long, taut moment, Cheval nodded his head. The man standing beside him, so similar to Cheval’s tall, lean build and dramatic coloring that they might have been brothers, took a step back. His arm remained wrapped possessively around the waist of the auburn-haired beauty at his side.
Cheval’s amber eyes glittered as he held out his hand. “Lucien Stone? I am Anton Cheval.” He took Luc’s hand in a firm grip. “I’ve looked forward to meeting all of you, but certainly not under such trying circumstances.”
Though every word was civil, Luc recognized the danger lurking just beneath Cheval’s skin. When Cheval turned and acknowledged the man and woman standing beside him, there was pride as well as a warning in his voice. “My packmates, Stefan Aragat, his mate, Alexandria Olanet. I’ll introduce you to Keisha, my mate, when she and her cousin return.”
Luc silently acknowledged Cheval’s emphasis on the word mate. With Tinker standing huge and menacing behind him, Luc appreciated the alpha’s obvious concern. He’d had a moment of major unease when Tia left with her cousin. How would he have felt if another male outside his pack had shown such interest?
Luc introduced Tinker, smiling inwardly at the stiff formality from his normally affable friend. Necessary, given their protective, possessive natures, but almost comical, considering the situation facing them. Luc’s voice was serious when he added, “I appreciate your willingness to help.”
Cheval nodded, then led them inside the house, where a spacious room with couches and chairs made a comfortable sitting area. “Oliver will take your bags to your rooms. I’ve given you a connecting suite at the back of the residence. You’ll have privacy and access outside, should you wish to run. You’ll also have complete access to one another’s rooms.”
Left unspoken was the fact that any other bedroom in the house would remain off-limits. Grinning to himself, Luc took a seat near the large window overlooking the drive they’d just traveled. There obviously was a lot he needed to learn about pack interaction. For now, though, he had to focus on the issue at hand. “I don’t even know where to begin. We have so little to go on.”
“Actually, we have more than you realize.” Without asking their preference, Cheval poured brandy, offered a goblet to each of the men.
Luc gratefully accepted his. Stefan Aragat took the seat next to him. That’s when Luc noticed Aragat’s woman had not joined them, and wondered if they were just being cautious. Did Luc and his men represent a threat to this tight-knit pack?
Luc took a sip of the brandy. For some reason, memories of that night so long ago when Ulrich first told him about the Chanku came to mind.
Something in Cheval’s arrogant posture, his supreme self-confidence, reminded Luc of his mentor. Given the faith he’d always had in Ulrich, it gave him a sense of hope that this might turn out well after all. “Mason’s been missing for less than twelve hours,” Luc said. “According to the note the kidnappers left, we’re to be contacted tomorrow. Two of our pack mates have remained at Ulrich’s home to take the call. We checked for clues. I have whatever scents and other information the two gathered. Unfortunately, I didn’t gather clues on my own.”
“No problem.” Cheval took a sip of his brandy. “Actually, I’ve already scanned your thoughts and have the information from…” He paused a moment. “Ah, Mik and AJ?”
Already scanned? Luc glanced from Cheval to Aragat and back again to Cheval. “I don’t understand? Why didn’t I sense an intrusion? I should have felt you in my mind.”
Cheval shook his head. “Actually, no. You would have if I’d used my Chanku skills to read your thoughts. Mason may have told you I was a wizard long before I was even aware of my Chanku heritage. The skills I learned studying the magical arts give me a certain edge, something I hope will come in handy when we rescue your mentor.”
“Amazing.” Luc took a sip of his brandy. He should have felt violated by the intrusion, but curiosity and respect won out. He felt as if their odds of a successful rescue had just gone up a few notches, now that they had Cheval helping. “When can we get started? Do you have any ideas where to begin? We’ve not had any contact with Mason’s kidnappers, other than the note say
ing when they’d contact us. You’re our only hope at this point.”
Cheval held up one hand. “Obviously, you’re in a hurry to find your alpha. I would propose, however, that before we begin, we consider two things. One, there’s not much we can do until the kidnappers make contact with your pack mates. They could have Mason anywhere, and we can be assured they will call. I can’t imagine anyone going to the trouble of kidnapping your leader and then not asking for something. Two, we shift and run. As Chanku, many of the clues you’ve gathered will make more sense than what we perceive when human. Nuances our human minds are unable to process will become clear as Chanku. Plus, one avenue I am considering is a tight mental bond among all of us. It’s only effective if we’re truly at ease with one another, something that occurs much easier in our feral state. Are you willing?” In what obviously was meant to sound as an afterthought, Cheval added, “The women will remain behind.” Then he smiled, an expression that changed his entire presence. “They might prove a distraction we don’t need.”
Luc returned his grin. Like Cheval, he’d noticed the way Tinker had watched both women, but especially Anton’s mate. With a quick glance at Tinker, he agreed. “I think that’s an excellent idea.” Luc set down his brandy and stood at the same time as Cheval. Sending a quick mental message to Tia, so she’d know where they’d gone, Luc followed the others back out to the deck.
They disrobed quickly and shifted, four powerful wolves slipping free of their human shells in a heartbeat. Luc shouldn’t have been surprised at the instinctual posturing that followed. The four stalked in tight circles, bodies tense, legs stiff, sniffing one another, testing the inherent threat between unfamiliar wild creatures.
Without hesitation, Luc deferred to Cheval as the leader—for now. Once leadership was established, Cheval took off. Luc followed Anton Cheval as the huge wolf—powerful and agile here in his element—leapt over the deck railing and sped into the dark forest.
Racing through unfamiliar woods, Tinker at his shoulder, Luc felt his tension ebb with each stretch of his legs. His mind felt sharper, his thoughts more cohesive. Cheval had been right. They needed to return to their Chanku roots, look deep within their minds with the ability to focus at a cellular level on the few sensory clues they had.
Cheval led; Aragat brought up the rear. Without any rancor or pretense, they quickly found a speed and rhythm, found a perfect synchronicity that allowed them to share their thoughts, their ideas, their individual theories about Ulrich Mason’s disappearance.
Yet, while Luc felt a bond with the two from Montana, a sense of family only those of the same species might share, he recognized the generosity of the Montana pack…and its limits. Though they were more than willing to share their expertise and their strength, there would most definitely be no sharing of mates.
Outnumbered, should AJ, Mik, and even Jake eventually join the search, Cheval and Aragat had still willingly accepted a plea for help, though it meant risking the stability of their own closed pack.
Grinning to himself, accepting how close to the beast each man truly was, Luc turned his thoughts to the communal discussion. Ulrich Mason’s life was at risk…as was Luc’s future with Tia.
With the combined force of the Montana pack and the men from Pack Dynamics, Luc had no doubt his mentor would soon be free.
He wished he could feel as certain about the woman he already loved.
Tia waited impatiently with Keisha and Alexandria—Xandi—for the men to return. It was well past three in the morning, her eyes felt as if they were filled with broken glass, and she’d forgotten what sleep felt like.
Keisha covered Tia’s hand with hers. “When Anton has a problem, he runs. It clears his head, helps him think.”
Xandi nodded in agreement. “He and Stefan are like two halves of a whole. They work well together because they love one another. Are your men lovers as well as pack mates?”
Tia nodded. “We all are, but things are messed up right now. Luc and I are not…well.” She shrugged. “Sexually we’re fine. There’s a lot of other stuff we need to work on. I’m wondering what will happen when they return.” Tia flashed a tired grin at the other women. “I imagine all Chanku return from a run with their libidos in high gear.”
“Oh, yeah.” Keisha waggled her eyebrows. “Don’t you love it? I hate to disappoint you, though, but in this case I imagine Anton intends to take that sexual energy and channel it.”
“Channel it? I don’t understand.” Tia set down her empty wineglass and frowned at Keisha.
“Anton is a wizard with powers well beyond those of the typical Chanku. He’s learned to tap into the energy of others in order to boost his own abilities. That’s what he hopes to do tonight.”
“They’ll all have to link,” Xandi added. “It’s a total subjugation of self. Simple enough within a single united pack, but it may be difficult for your men to link with ours. From what Stefan said, it can be very frightening and requires a lot of trust. They don’t all know each other that well, though the run should help.”
“I linked with you and Keisha.” Tia looked from one woman to the other. It had been such a simple thing, the sharing of comfort through a three-way link. She’d never once thought of it as invasive or uncomfortable. Just the opposite, with the added benefit of being able to catch up on years of separation from her cousin in a very short time.
She realized, though, that she’d kept Luc’s secret to herself, the bit of knowledge she’d gleaned about her mother’s death locked away where Keisha would never find it. At least not yet. Until Tia knew more….
Keisha laughed. “We’re female. We think with our brains, not our balls. Act on our need to nurture, not fight. Hopefully, they’ll work out a lot of that necessary my-dick’s-bigger-than-yours stuff before they get home.”
Xandi turned to Tia. “Trust me, we know what we’re talking about. You should have seen Stefan and Anton when they first got together.”
She shared a mental image with Tia, a visual that could only be described as a violent, bestial rape of one wolf over the other.
“Oh, my.” Tia blinked. She cleared the image from her mind and noticed that both women were grinning. “May I ask who was on top?”
Keisha snorted. “Depends. According to Xandi, they took turns until she finally convinced them they didn’t need the excuse of establishing dominance to fuck one another. Like I said, women think with their brains, not their gonads.”
They shared a quiet laugh. Tia leaned forward on the deck railing and sighed. “I just wish they would hurry. I’m worried about my father, and they’re taking so long.”
Xandi slipped an arm around Tia’s waist. “I know it’s hard to wait, but it’s necessary. They’ll either learn to work together, or they won’t. Hopefully, they’ll be able to. It’ll make Anton’s attempts to contact your father that much more effective.”
Tia’s head snapped up. “Contact him? Not mentally…. We have no idea where in the world he’s being held. He could be hundreds, even thousands of miles away by now. It’s impossible!”
Keisha and Xandi both smiled. “Just be patient,” Keisha said. “Anton is a man with many skills.”
From the look that passed between the two women, Tia could only assume those skills translated into the bedroom as well. She might have pursued with questions at another time. Not now. Anxious, exhausted, she turned away and stared at the dark wall of forest, waiting impatiently for the men to return.
Chapter 15
Dawn had barely broken over the towering peaks when four wolves came plodding slowly into the yard. Tia waited. She’d dozed off and on for the past few hours, wrapped in a heavy quilt Keisha had given her, curled up in the shadows on one of the comfortable deck chairs.
She watched the once sleek bodies, now covered in mud and burrs, as they trotted slowly into the grassy area just below the deck. Their tongues and tails were hanging, and she knew they’d run hard and fast through the night. Tia recognized Luc and Tinker at
once. It took her a moment to figure out that Stefan was the wolf with silver-tipped fur, Anton the larger, darker one. As large as he was, as commanding, he still lacked Tinker’s bulk or Luc’s beauty.
Anton Cheval shifted first, his lean, muscular body morphing so quickly from wolf to man, Tia would have missed it if she’d blinked. Black hair covered his chest and arrowed down over his washboard belly. Mud, twigs, and burrs fell away, leaving smooth olive skin bathed in a light sheen of sweat. His erect cock jutted proudly out of the thick tangle of dark hair covering his groin.
Stefan Aragat shifted at the same time as Tinker and Luc. He rose gracefully erect, revealing a lean, muscular chest covered in silver-tipped hair, a perfect match to the long, black and silver hair that hung past his shoulders. Like Tinker, Luc, and Anton, Stefan was beautifully, massively aroused, his long, thick cock standing hard against his taut belly.
Tia’s mouth went dry and her hands curled into tightly clenched fists. Desire lanced, sharp and furious through her body. She felt a thick rush of cream between her legs as her vaginal muscles tightened, the response as automatic as breathing…except, for one heart-stopping moment, she seemed to have forgotten how to breath.
What a view to start her morning! Four of the sexiest men she’d ever seen in her life, standing mere yards away, their bodies gleaming beneath pale sunlight, their cocks standing hard and proud and so inviting Tia’s mouth actually watered. It felt terribly illicit and doubly arousing, sitting here in the shadows, staring at Stefan and Anton, reacting so powerfully to their nudity. She felt wonderfully wicked, as if she were cheating and getting away with it. Tia knew she would never consider acting on her desire, but it was fun to look and so overwhelmingly exciting, all the same.
Especially when none of them knew she watched.
As if he’d heard her thought, Anton’s head jerked around. Tia didn’t even breath, but she knew he saw her. She wanted to crawl into a hole. She’d thought herself well hidden, never dreamed any of them could see her, but it was even more embarrassing to be caught by the Montana alpha.