Highland Wolf

by Alicia Montgomery

  Astrid lowered her voice. “Apparently Nick owes him a favor. He won’t tell me what, but he cleared it with Lucas, who agreed.”

  “Must have been a huge favor.” Still, how did Nick Vrost know this man? He was young enough to be his son. “What’s his name?”

  “Marc Delacroix.”

  As if on cue, he let out a growl and then rolled over his opponent, his bulging biceps flexing in effort.

  “Hmm. They must grow ’em big down in the bayou,” Astrid chuckled.

  Delacroix now had the other man pinned to the ground and his arms locked backwards. His opponent yelped and tapped out, then Delacroix let go. The two stood up and shook hands. A few of the female recruits were definitely checking him out, and when he turned to them, he winked before grabbing a towel from a rack to wipe his sweat. As he was heading toward the females, Nick flashed him a warning look, which made him turn in the opposite direction. Still, there was a flash of promise in his eyes, and it was obvious this was a man who knew how devastatingly attractive he was.

  “So, he’s going to be part of the training team? And the Lycan Security Force eventually?”

  “Maybe.” Astrid turned to her. “Actually, Nick was thinking of foisting—er, switching him over to special investigations.”

  “Really?” Julianna snorted. “Mika’ll shit a brick.” Her cousin, and Aunt Alynna’s oldest, was the second-in-command of the department, and though Aunt Alynna was years away from retiring, it was obvious her daughter would be the next department head. Mika did not like change and would surely resist the addition of someone new—and an outsider to boot.

  “Since you’ll be doing envoy stuff, I thought he’d be a good replacement for you. He’s also got a set of skills which might be more suited to specialized work.”

  “Really? What kind of skills?”

  But before Astrid could answer, Julianna felt a buzz in her pocket. Fishing her phone out, she checked the screen. “Lucas is back early and wants me up there. Anyway, good luck. With the baby I mean.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see you around, Julianna.”

  She waved goodbye and headed back to the elevator and made a beeline for Lucas’s office. Since he became CEO of Fenrir some months ago, her brother had moved into what used to be their father’s office. It was pretty much the same, though she could see a few things had been upgraded like the large desk in the middle and the leather sofa seats in the corner where her brother sat. To her surprise, Lucas wasn’t alone. His True Mate and wife, Sofia, was with him.

  “Julianna!” Sofia shot up from the couch despite her advanced pregnancy. “When Jared told me you were home, I knew I had to see you.” Her sister-in-law embraced her, and Julianna had to bite her lip to keep from bawling. She was home, finally, and for now, that seemed to fill the gaping hole in her chest she hadn’t even acknowledged was there.

  “I’m fine.” Sofia finally let her go, though she was once again embraced, this time by her brother’s strong arms. “Ugh, Lucas!” Though she protested, she couldn’t help but find comfort in his scent—like the ocean spray tinged with sweet fried dough, bringing back memories of childhood at the shore with her family.

  “You just about scared me half to death.” Lucas took her hands in his and sat them down. “I might have threatened Cross to make sure you got home safe,” he said sheepishly. “But I didn’t mean it quite this literally. I could have sent the jet to pick you up.”

  “It’s fine—I just wanted to come home right away.”

  “You poor thing.” Sofia reached over and squeezed her on the shoulder. “Well, I, for one, am glad you’re home now.”

  “What happened?” Lucas asked.

  And so, she told them about what happened with the mages and what she had discovered about Daly, carefully omitting the part where Duncan was involved and knew about their time traveling adventures. Cross said they could find a way. Because if he didn’t, Lucas may order him to erase Duncan’s memories. Although it was tempting—to have Duncan forget that she had lied to him and everything could go back to normal—she couldn’t do that to him. It just wasn’t right.

  A dark shadow seemed to cast over Lucas’s face. “It’s a good thing you got away and you’re home. I’m about to make some changes, and while I won’t make the formal announcement for another day or two, you should probably hear it first.”

  “What is it?”

  “Papa, Daric, and I have decided to create a task force, whose sole purpose is to fight the mages. We’re calling it the Guardian Initiative. For now, it will be loosely composed of people from the Special Investigations Division, Lone Wolf, and Sebastian Creed. As my envoy, you’ll be part of this initiative, since you’ll be traveling a lot on my behalf. Do you remember the necklace I gave you?”

  She nodded, her hand immediately going to her chest where the medallion lay between her breasts.

  “Everyone who is part of Guardian will have one. I didn’t realize that Cross could use his own magic as a tracking device, but it’ll come in handy if anyone’s in trouble.”

  Straightening her shoulders, she strengthened her resolve and realized something. This is what she was meant to do. Who she was meant to be. “I’ll do whatever you want, Lucas. Whatever you need. Tell me where you need me to go next.”

  Lucas chuckled. “Whoa, cowgirl. You were just kidnapped hours ago, then traveled across the world in the blink of an eye. I think you deserve a day off.”

  “What? No!” She didn’t want a day off. Or any time off, or else—

  “Julianna,” Sofia began. “You promised you’d throw me a baby shower, right?”

  “I did?”

  “Yes, over video chat the other day. When I told you that Isabelle forgot to do it?”

  “Oh right.” She’d forgotten about that. “I mean, of course, I’ll do it. Isabelle and I both will.” It was her flighty sister’s fault anyway that Sofia’s shower hadn’t been organized.

  “Oh, that would be great.” Sofia clapped her hands together. “Why don’t we meet tomorrow at Petite Louve to discuss it?”

  “I’ll be there.” At least she could put some of her frustration to good use by wrangling her wayward sister. “And so will Isabelle.”

  When Isabelle didn’t pick up her numerous calls or answer the dozens of text messages she sent, Julianna decided it was time to hunt her down. However, her sister wasn’t at any of her usual haunts; not Bergdorf Goodman’s, Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue, The Plaza Hotel. Julianna even staked out Blood Moon until late evening. But still, there was no sign of her sister. She asked Astrid who was assigned to guard Isabelle, but when they checked, apparently, Isabelle had asked to stop her security detail some time ago, and no one had bothered to check if Lucas or Nick knew no one was watching out for her. “Apparently, she’s not too popular with the bodyguards,” Astrid had said. “She often used them to carry her stuff while she was shopping or close down entire stores so she wouldn’t be disturbed.”

  It wasn’t until the next morning that Isabelle finally picked up after what seemed like her hundredth call.

  “Hello?” came the sleepy voice at the end.

  “Isabelle? Where in God’s name have you been? Never mind. It’s eleven o’clock! Are you still asleep?”

  There was a rustling of sheets, then a weak, “If you must know, Julianna, I’m not feeling well.”

  “Pffft. Well, go take a shower. Now. And then get dressed.”

  “I said I’m sick!” Isabelle said with a groan.

  “I don’t care if you have Ebola,” she shouted into her phone. “You’re going to get your butt over to Petite Louve by two p.m. and have tea with me and Sofia.”

  “Tea? Are you the effin’ Queen of England or something?” Isabelle growled.

  “Just do it. Or else”—she scrambled for something to blackmail her sister with, and the first thing that popped into her head was—“I’ll tell Lucas and Papa that you haven’t had a security detail in weeks. I bet they’d like to know where you’ve
been going off to, all by yourself.”

  “What?” Isabelle sounded wide-awake. “No. Please. I … fine. I’ll be there.” The line cut off.

  That afternoon, Julianna arrived at two o’clock on the dot. She’d actually asked Sofia to come thirty minutes later so that she and Isabelle could have a chat.

  Her wolf had been restless since she arrived in New York, and maybe she needed to let out some steam. Maybe it wasn’t fair to Isabelle, but her self-centered sister had had it coming for a long time.

  Isabelle arrived ten minutes late, and by the time she entered the nearly-empty restaurant, Julianna was rearing for a fight. “Look what the cat dragged in. Did you forget how to tell time?”

  Her sister scowled at her. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “You know, if you spent less time preening in front of a mirror trying to take the perfect selfie, maybe you’d actually remember there are other people living in this world aside from you.”

  “Who the hell pissed in your cornflakes this morning, Julianna?” Isabelle spat. “Oh wait, you’re always a bitch.”

  “Ha!” She leaned down and gave her a freezing stare. “That’s rich, coming from a self-centered spoiled brat.”

  “Well, we can’t all be perfect like you,” Isabelle shot back. “And—” She slapped her hand over her mouth as her body tensed and her face went pale.

  “Isabelle?” Julianna cocked her head. “Are you—”

  But she didn’t get to finish her sentence as Isabelle turned on her Louboutin heels and made a mad dash toward the bathroom. Julianna stood there for a moment, confused, then followed her into the bathroom. “Isabelle?” She winced when she heard the sounds of retching coming from the last stall.

  When the door finally opened, Isabelle stepped out, looking pale as a ghost. She walked over to the sink to wash her mouth and her hands.

  “Are you sick?” Julianna finally asked.

  Slowly, she turned to her. “No.” A single tear fell down her cheek. “Jules, I’m pregnant.”

  The single word—Isabelle’s childhood nickname for her—shattered that deep anger she had felt earlier. Rushing forward she opened her arms when her sister fell forward. “Oh, Belle. Belle. Belle,” she soothed, using her own childhood moniker for Isabelle, as her body racked with sobs. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Belle, honey.”

  Minutes passed as they stayed like that, until Isabelle’s sobs slowed to sniffs, and Julianna only let go when her sister did first. “Who’s the father?”

  Isabelle gulped hard. “It doesn’t matter. He … he left, and he’s not coming back.”

  Outrage simmered inside her, and her wolf let out a guttural cry of fury. It wanted to hunt down this spineless bastard and make him pay. “Prick. Does this motherfucker know about the baby?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t know I was pregnant until he left. We were seeing each other and then … anyway it doesn’t matter.”

  “Do you plan to keep it?”

  Isabelle growled—really growled—and her eyes flashed wolf.

  “Whoa, calm down, she-wolf.” She raised her hands in self-defense. “I wasn’t implying you do anything drastic. You know I’ll help and support you with whatever you decide.”

  Mismatched eyes rimmed with tears grew wide. “You will?”

  “Of course. You’re my sister, Belle. I love you.”

  “Oh, Jules.” Isabelle began to bawl again. “I’m so sorry I called you a bitch.”

  “I deserved it.” God, she wanted to kick herself for being so mean to Isabelle. And the truth was, she wasn’t even mad at Isabelle—she was just the closest punching bag within reach. Her sister took the brunt of her frustration because Duncan dumped her and broke her heart. “Fuck.” She was in love with the bastard and still was. And he hated her guts.

  “Julianna?”

  “It’s nothing.” She swallowed, trying to ignore the emotions threatening to burst from her chest. This was about Isabelle, she reminded herself. “What do you plan to say to everyone? I mean, this isn’t something you could just hide. It’s going to be pretty obvious in a couple of months.”

  “I don’t want to lie.” Isabelle chewed on her lip. “And, well, there’s one more complication. Something else that’s going to be obvious in a few months.”

  “Huh?” When Isabelle raised her hand and drew a nail down her arm, Julianna panicked. “What the fuck! Isabelle, don’t hurt—holy shit!”

  Her soft skin split under the force of her nail. But the blood had barely trickled down her arm before the gash sealed right up, as if it hadn’t even been there in the first place. “Isabelle … the father is …”

  “Yes,” she cried. “I didn’t know at first, I swear … I mean, I had a feeling but … Jules, despite what people think of me, I’d never been with any man before him. It wasn’t until after … that I realized he was my True Mate. And no, I don’t think he knows either.”

  Crap. This was getting more complicated. “What do you want to do?”

  A sob broke from her throat. “Jules, will you be there with me when I tell Papa and Mama?”

  “Of course.” There was no question of that. “I’ll be here for you throughout the whole thing.”

  “Thank you.” Isabelle drew her in for another hug. “I just wish … well, maybe if Mama and Papa had some good news after hearing about mine, maybe they won’t stay mad for so long.”

  Julianna didn’t know what to say, because she was pretty sure it didn’t matter and their parents, particularly their father, would blow their tops either way. But, since she was trying to be a good sister, she said, “Sounds like a plan. Maybe we could think of something. Now, why don’t you get cleaned up? Sofia’ll be here any minute.”

  Isabelle winced. “I need to make it up to her for flaking on the baby shower plans.”

  “You will.” She pointed to the sink. “Now, wash up and get pretty, okay?”

  Isabelle splashed water on her face and reapplied her lipstick. “Do you really think everything will be okay?” she asked, her voice almost childlike.

  “I have to be honest with you, I don’t know what Papa will say.”

  “He’ll be disappointed with me.” Isabelle stopped, her eyes filling with tears.

  With a sigh, she turned to her sister, placed her hands on her shoulders, and looked her square in the eye. “Yes.” She didn’t want to sugarcoat it for her, because Isabelle was going to have to grow up fast. “But he loves you.”

  “I’m not ready,” Isabelle said unhappily. “I mean, I wanted kids, but in my mind, that was far from now. I don’t even know how to change a diaper! I’m going to be a terrible mother, and I’ll be all alone.”

  “No, you won’t. I’ll be here. We all will be. And the timing sucks.” Isabelle huffed, but Julianna cupped her cheek. “Yes, the timing sucks. Especially with everything we have to worry about like the mages. But you can make it work. And anything can happen between now and that future you planned—what if there was no other chance?”

  A sudden realization made her jolt, and that longing in her chest came back. There was no other chance. Not for her.

  “I—” Isabelle’s nose wrinkled. “Excuse me, we’re trying to have a private moment here,” she said to someone behind Julianna.

  “Aye, I’m sorry, lassie, but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

  Julianna’s entire body froze. She was hallucinating. Yes, that was it. Wasn’t that what women who pined for their exes did in movies? See them in every man on the street, hear their voices everywhere?

  Slowly, deliberately, she turned her head. No, it wasn’t a hallucination or wishful thinking on her part. Duncan stood there, in the flesh. His mouth turned up in a slight smile. Her wolf yipped with happiness.

  “Hello, darlin’.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Traveling all day and night would have wiped anyone out, but seeing Julianna again made Duncan forget that he hadn’t had any sleep in the last twenty-four hours. Those brilliant mismat
ched eyes were wide with surprise, and he was glad she wasn’t tipped off that he had arrived because frankly, he didn’t know what to expect once she saw him.

  All the direct flights to New York had been sold out yesterday, and as it turned out, the fastest connection he could find was through Glasgow. He knew it was fate, so he asked his mother to meet him at the airport so she could bring him a couple of things. After his layover at Glasgow International Airport, he boarded his flight to New York and arrived at two o’clock in the afternoon, local time.

  After slogging through immigration and traffic, he quickly checked into his hotel and waited for Elise to call him back to confirm where Julianna was. Elise had told him that she was at the restaurant, and it was just his luck that he had booked his hotel in the area, so he ran all the way here. He ignored the startled maître d′, and when he didn’t find her in the near-empty dining room, made his way to the facilities, hoping that he hadn’t missed her or was at the wrong place.

  And so, here he was, and here she was. His wolf howled—that’s right, howled—with happiness now that it was near her again.

  But what to say now? He’d thought of all the things he would say to her as he traveled over the last day, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what those things were.

  Julianna, on the other hand, hadn’t spoken at all, though her mouth was open.

  “Julianna? Who is this guy?”

  Duncan turned his attention to the petite brunette, who, based on her mismatched eyes, was probably Julianna’s sister. “Would you excuse us, miss? Julianna and I need to have a talk.”

  She looked at Julianna with an expression that said she wasn’t leaving that easy. “Jules, do you know this man?”

  Duncan lifted the large package he had propped up against the wall, then tore off the brown paper that covered the front.

  She let out a gasp and pointed at the portrait. “Oh my God, Jules, that’s you!”