Werewolf in Denver

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  She surveyed him from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. Too bad you don’t dress like this more often, Woofer. It suits you.

  I could say the same about you, lass.

  How are your…important parts?

  The shift seems to have settled me down some.

  Good. She glanced toward the elevator. Shall we?

  I’d be honored to share an elevator with the next Stillman pack alpha. After you.

  She walked ahead of him, her head high. Although she was a large wolf, as all Weres tended to be, he was larger. As a human he’d schooled himself not to care about such things, but as a wolf, he liked knowing that he stood a good five inches taller at the shoulder.

  Once they were both inside the elevator, he noticed the control mounted near the floor had two touch pads.

  Does this elevator stop at other floors?

  That would defeat the purpose of making it exclusive, wouldn’t it? This is an express elevator. She placed her paw firmly on the top touch pad, and the bookcase wall swung closed and latched with a soft click. When she pressed the bottom one, the elevator started down.

  He’d never imagined what it would be like to be an angel descending from heaven, but he’d be willing to believe this was a close approximation. The glass cubicle glided with a smoothness that told him the mechanism was flawless and probably worth a small fortune. He thought of a love so deep that it would inspire a Were to pay for such an elevator so that his beloved mate could ride from her third-floor suite in luxury.

  Duncan wished for a love that deep, but he hadn’t found anyone who seemed capable of sharing such an intense emotion. Honesty made him amend that. Kate had that ability, but thinking of her in those terms was laughable. They couldn’t even seem to write a short mission statement together.

  The elevator came to a graceful stop and a different side of it slid open. When it did, a section of the dark wall in front of them swiveled, letting in a blast of frigid air.

  Duncan had second thoughts. Her suite was cozy and warm. They’d let the fire die down, but they could easily build it up again. A wrought-iron log holder by the hearth contained a good supply of firewood.

  He nudged her shoulder. It’s cold out there. Maybe this is a bad idea.

  We’ve come this far. We’re going out there. In one bound, she cleared the elevator and leaped through the opening.

  He had no choice but to follow. As he sucked in a lungful of cold air, he wondered what he’d been thinking. Fresh air was one thing. But this air was the equivalent of a stroll through a meat locker.

  You’re lagging behind, Woofer!

  One thing about Kate, she knew how to taunt him. Bracing himself against the bite of the wind and the chill of the snow under his paws, he gathered his haunches under him. Race you to the ski slope! And he started running through the snow.

  He threw up plumes of the white stuff each time his paws touched down, dug in, and launched him forward again. About ten seconds into that exercise, he began to have the time of his life. Shifting was a magical experience, but this, this was what wolves were meant to do. He couldn’t believe he’d let so much time go by without racing across the open countryside, his cares forgotten as he abandoned himself to being a wild creature again.

  A spray of snow hit him in the nose and he turned to find her running beside him. She kept up with his furious pace with ease. He put on a burst of speed that should have left her well behind him, but no, she was still there, matching him stride for stride.

  He shot her a challenging glance as he started uphill along the row of lights on the ski slope. A climb like this should slow her down. But it didn’t. If anything, she was pulling ahead of him.

  His male pride was in serious danger of being damaged at this rate. Lungs burning, he ran faster. She kept up, and she was barely panting. But his tongue hung out like a wet pink dishrag.

  Fortunately he didn’t need breath to send her a telepathic message. What are you, an Olympic medalist?

  No, I’m a Were who lives above five thousand feet. You, on the other hand, live at sea level, or near to it, I’m guessing. My endurance is bound to be better.

  I should have remembered that. I didn’t realize I was in a losing battle.

  Is this a race, Duncan?

  You know it is, lass. You and I, we’ve been battling for months. It’s become a habit for us. He veered off the slope and into the tall pines lining the ski run. But I’m throwing up the white flag. You bested me, and I’m willing to admit that you have. He glanced over his shoulder to see if she followed, and to offer a silent invitation.

  She swerved, cutting a new path through the snow parallel with his. You had a good time, though. Don’t tell me you didn’t.

  I would have had a better time if I’d been able to show off my athletic prowess like the mighty Scotsman that I am. He was poking fun at himself, and he thought she knew him well enough to realize that. But so soon into their relationship, he wasn’t quite sure.

  Just keeping up with me and my superior lung power proves that you are indeed a mighty Scotsman. I can alert Angela Sapworthy to that fact if you like.

  He snorted. So she’d taken his little joke and turned it back on him. I don’t think we want Angela to know about our midnight run, do you? He sank into deeper snowdrifts, too deep for what he had in mind. He required firmer footing, but the ski run wouldn’t work. Far too bright.

  The less Angela knows about anything, the better, she agreed.

  Aye. Then he spotted it, a small shelter under the overhanging branches of a giant evergreen. The branches had caught the bulk of the snow, which meant the area under them had gathered only a few inches. Let’s rest over here. There’s shelter from the wind.

  And shelter from prying eyes? But she followed him, ducking under the branches as he did.

  That little problem I had before we shifted hasn’t entirely disappeared. He walked in a tight circle, trampling the snow a little more.

  I didn’t expect it would. As I recall, it was more than a little problem. It looked like a rather large problem to me.

  That’s nice of you to say. He faced her and stretched his front legs in a playful bow. I’m hoping for your assistance in taking care of that problem. He suspected that Were sex would fall right in with her plans. She’d want him to reacquaint himself with that, too.

  As it happened, he was willing to fall in with her plans. He had a strong urge to do so, in fact. One could even say he had a compelling urge that made him circle her as he drew in her musky scent.

  But being Kate, she wasn’t going to make this easy for him. She bounded to the edge of the snowy enclosure. Why should I?

  Because you want it as much as I do.

  Maybe I do and maybe I don’t. She pranced to the other side of the clearing, flaunting herself. Maybe I’m too tired after that long run.

  Tired? You were barely panting. I’m the one who should be ready to drop.

  Poor Duncan. You need to go back inside and recover.

  Not yet. He edged closer.

  She danced away.

  You’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?

  Have you forgotten? It’s more fun that way.

  He circled her again as his blood ran hotter. She was right. It was more fun this way. He feinted left and she leaped right, whirling to put herself out of position.

  With a low growl, he stalked her, and she backed up, eyes glowing in the faint light from the ski slope that filtered through the branches.

  Come and get me, big boy.

  I can’t believe you said that.

  Always wanted to.

  I will get you. It’s only a matter of time. He dashed to the right and then whirled back, startling her. With a lightning move he didn’t know he had, he mounted her in one swift lunge. Now.

  I let you catch me.

  Liar. He thrust deep and she shuddered with pleasure. Maybe she had let him catch her, after all. And then all thought disappeared as he lost hims
elf in a wild surge of primitive lust. Needs that hadn’t driven him in years consumed him now.

  He took her again and again and again. Her soft whimper inflamed him even more, and he thrust harder until he felt her close around him, felt her spasms of release. At last he poured himself into her with a ferocity that left him panting.

  He’d forgotten. Oh, yes, he’d forgotten. But he would never forget again. And the truth shattered all his carefully laid plans. This was how male and female Weres were meant to connect, and he’d been fooling himself to think he could live without it.

  Chapter 14

  Sniffer Update: @newshound—Two wolves, one blond as morning, one black as night, glimpsed running ski slope after hours. Guess who? #hankypanky

  Kate didn’t use her telepathic powers as she rode up in the elevator with Duncan, and neither did he. She didn’t need to read his mind to know what he was thinking. He’d immersed himself in the experience, and so had she. And he’d loved it, which created a problem for him. She knew that, too.

  But he wasn’t the only one with a problem. She’d achieved her goal of reminding him of his Wereness and the joys that sprang from that. She’d also reminded herself of her own Wereness and how little she’d been celebrating that recently. Maybe that would explain why this experience with Duncan had been so incredible.

  That would be nice, because otherwise she might have to face the fact that he was the best thing she’d come across in her entire life. If that turned out to be true, they’d created quite a dilemma for themselves. The leader of the Howlers couldn’t very well be sweet on the leader of the Woofers and vice versa.

  Once back in her suite, they stretched out in the same spot behind the sofa where they’d shifted earlier. Their wolf bodies glowed with blue fire as they slowly transformed again. They lay there, not moving, not touching. But their gazes met. And held.

  At last Duncan took a breath that came from deep in his chest and shook his entire body. “Thank you, lass.”

  “I’m not sure that you should thank me.”

  “I should.” His mouth curved in a soft smile. “We’re in a hell of a spot, you and I, but I can’t bring myself to regret a minute of my time with you.”

  “Nor I with you.”

  He reached out and took her hand. “We’re a couple of smart Weres, aren’t we?”

  “I used to think I was. But I might have outsmarted myself.”

  “Aye. I know the feeling.” He brushed her palm with his thumb. “But I also know our personal complications have to take a backseat to that mission statement. Howard’s counting on us.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  Duncan raised her hand to his lips and kissed each of her fingers in turn. “So let’s do that job, and then…we’ll talk.” He placed a final kiss against her palm.

  She shivered, in reaction to both his kisses and the prospect of what they would say to each other once they’d set aside their public duties. Would they agree to give up this special connection, or find a way to continue it? She had no answers and she doubted that he did, either.

  “Time to get dressed.” Rising to his feet, he helped her up, too. “I have no chance of concentrating with you looking all rosy and well loved. Makes me want to do it again.”

  “I know. Me, too.” Holding both of his hands, she stood on tiptoe to give him one gentle kiss. “And thank you for loving me so well.” Then she squeezed his hands and let go.

  Gathering her clothes, she turned away and quickly put them on. She didn’t glance over at him as they both dressed, much as she would have liked to. She heard the rustling of denim as he put on his jeans, and ignored the mental image that brought up. They had a job to do, and time was running out.

  “I’ve had a thought about this mission statement,” he said.

  She shoved both arms into the sleeves of her sweatshirt and popped it over her head. “What’s that?”

  “We’ve both approached it with our own agendas.” He pulled on his sweatshirt, too, and looked at her. “What if we each put those aside? Let’s think of what we would write if we weren’t trying to insert our personal philosophy into it.”

  “You mean lay down our weapons?”

  “Aye, something like that.”

  “But our constituents are counting on us to defend our respective positions in this mission statement.” Kate thought of Heidi, Jake, and especially Sally with her stealth support.

  “I know, but the entire Were world isn’t divided into Woofers and Howlers, much as it seems that way right now. What about the ones who want to drop the secrecy but still think Weres should only mate with Weres? What about those who want to keep the secrecy but allow Were-human mating under special circumstances? Don’t we owe them a mission statement they can be happy with, too?”

  She thought about that. “You have a point. Let me put on some more coffee to wake us up.” She walked over to the kitchen, where the bare soles of her feet met cool tile. Even the smell of the coffee beans as she ground them helped her focus. She dumped the ground coffee in the basket, filled the reservoir with water, and turned on the switch.

  “Got anything sweet to go with it?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him.

  “I wasn’t trying to be cute. I’m looking for cookies, cake, pie….”

  “Brownies?”

  “That’d be perfect, lass.”

  She dug around in the refrigerator and came up with a tin of brownies she kept on hand for long nights at the computer. She was ridiculously pleased by his happy smile as she opened the tin and set it on the counter where he could reach it. She liked seeing that smile.

  He reached for a brownie and rebooted his laptop. “Let’s take a look at each of our mission statements again. There have to be core elements that aren’t weighed down by our agendas.” He gazed at the screen. “So here’s how you start out, nice and neutral—To support the werewolf culture worldwide. I’m okay with starting that way.”

  “Obviously I am, since I wrote it.”

  Walking around the end of the counter, she stood beside his stool and looked at the two statements, his above hers.

  “Then let’s take that part and start over.” He copied her opening words down below. “What else is important?”

  “Individuals,” she said. “How about, and the interests of each individual?”

  He glanced over at her. “That’s bloody brilliant. It leaves room for Weres to choose their own path instead of dictating one. I’m going to move the placement of worldwide. So we have—To support the werewolf culture and the interests of each individual worldwide.”

  “Throughout the world. I like that better than worldwide. The coffee’s done. I’ll get us each a cup.” When she returned, he’d typed in the change and was looking at the statement. He held out his hand and she put the cup into it. He sipped his coffee without taking his eyes from the screen.

  “What comes next?” She snagged a brownie from the tin and took a bite.

  “I’m not sure anything comes next.” He looked over at her. “I think that might be it.”

  She read the sentence aloud. “To support the werewolf culture and the interests of each individual throughout the world. It’s very simple. Is it too simple?” She fought the urge to try and insert some of her other wording. But then he’d want to insert his.

  “It’s not too simple. That’s the beauty of it. It allows for protection if that’s needed, and for change if that’s needed. Everything this organization decides to do can be held up against this statement. Does it support the werewolf culture and the interests of each individual throughout the world? If it does, great. If it doesn’t, then back to the drawing board.”

  She drank her coffee and studied the wording. “After all this, can it be so easy?”

  “It can once we each stop trying to push our particular program.”

  “I wonder if the Woofers and Howlers will be disappointed in it.”

  He shook his head. “They can’t be. As I said, it leaves t
he door open for more protection and isolation, or for more openness and change. But it addresses the most important consideration, to support the culture and each other. Nobody can argue against that.”

  She laughed. “Oh, I’m sure someone will.”

  “Maybe not if we sell it right. You and I don’t have to give up campaigning for what we believe. In fact, we can campaign even harder to try to prove that our particular belief system fits the mission statement.”

  “Howard doesn’t want the Howlers and Woofers to be divisive forces.”

  Duncan took another brownie. “That’s where you and I come in. We tell our followers that we support the mission statement, which we came up with together, and we intend to hold all our actions, Woofers’ and Howlers’ alike, up to that yardstick. If the debate gets too negative, then it won’t support the werewolf culture or the individuals in it, right?”

  She smiled. “Right. You really are smart, Woofer.”

  “Not so smart.” He looked into her eyes. “I still haven’t any idea what we’re going to do about us.”

  She glanced at the time showing in the bottom right of his screen. “I don’t have a long-term solution, but I have a short-term one.”

  Heat flickered in his gray eyes. “Is that so?”

  “We finished before dawn.” She walked back around the counter and turned off the coffeepot. “And between the night we’ve had and the coffee I just drank, I’m too wired to sleep.”

  “I like where this is going.”

  She chuckled. “I was pretty sure you would. Don’t forget to save that document before you come to bed.” With that, she winked at him and began flicking off the lights. They’d worked hard and they’d worked well. They deserved a reward.

  Despite the anticipation zinging through his system, Duncan carefully saved their mission statement in a new document. Then he even went to his briefcase, took out a flash drive, and backed it up. All of that was probably unnecessary, and the wording should stay in his head, anyway, but he wanted to be sure nothing got lost in the shuffle.

  Light from her bedroom beckoned him, and he pulled off his sweatshirt as he walked toward it. “We don’t have the authority to release the mission statement yet, but I’m going to write a quick blog before I go down to the conference in the morning to say I support it and the work we did tonight.” He expected some response, and got none. “Kate? Would you rather I didn’t? If so, then…” The rest of his sentence went unsaid as he stood in the doorway and stared.