“Then I accept your concession,” Kate said. “Any Howlers who care to come are invited up to my suite for a victory celebration.” She gathered up her notes and started down the aisle trailed by Heidi and a group of Weres in purple shirts.
Elizabeth stood. At first Duncan thought she might go with Kate, but instead she walked up the side of the room toward the front row and took a seat. A few other delegates left, but most of the Woofers stayed in the room. Duncan didn’t have a suite to invite them to, so he was about to suggest buying a round of drinks in the bar.
Before he did that, the Wallace contingent arrived through a door at the front of the room, the same one where Duncan had intercepted Kate earlier when he’d hoped to have her listen to his story. Howard led his two sons, Aidan and Roarke, and their mates, Emma and Abby, inside.
The cavalry had arrived, but they were too late, at least for this round. Kate and her followers were on their way upstairs, and he wasn’t going to chase them down, especially when he didn’t know what Howard had to say. He and Aidan might have found nothing at all.
Elizabeth came to join the group at the front of the room, too. “What’s going on, Howard?” she said. “Looks like you have the whole family here.” She smiled at Roarke and Abby. “Good to see you two. I’ve been so busy we’ve barely talked.”
Abby smiled back. “No worries. We’ve been well taken care of.”
Howard gestured to Aidan. “My son did most of the work on this, but we all did some digging, background checks, Internet searches, anything we thought would help. As you can imagine, this issue is dear to our hearts, and we didn’t like the ugliness that developed today.”
Aidan stepped forward. “First of all, Duncan, your blog is ridiculously easy to hack. I could have put up anything I wanted in a matter of seconds. You need to fix that, and I’ll give you some suggestions about it later.”
“Thanks.” Duncan wished to hell Kate could be here for this, but surely she’d get the information eventually.
“Anyway, the short answer is yes, someone hijacked your site and posted that unauthorized blog. With a little more time, I should be able to identify the hacker or hackers, depending on how well they covered their tracks.”
“I’d be very interested to know that information,” Duncan said.
“I’d say it’s likely to be one or more of the Howlers,” Neil said.
Duncan himself had suspected Jake, but something in Neil’s attitude made him study the blond Were more closely. “Why would you think that?”
“Makes sense. Howard was elected president and the mission statement leaves plenty of room for the Woofer agenda. The pendulum’s swinging that way. I even wondered if my cousin might have done it.”
Duncan’s instincts sharpened. “You think Kate would post up a picture of herself in bed with a human?” That was so far removed from the Kate he knew as to be laughable. Yet Neil was offering the possibility with a straight face.
“Why not? She looks like an innocent victim and you look like a jerk. Great for her, lousy for you.”
Except that Duncan knew that Kate didn’t play the game that way. She wasn’t a double-dealer. Neil was, though. He wouldn’t trust Neil further than he could throw him, which wouldn’t be far, because the guy was packed with muscle.
Then everything clicked into place, and he felt like an idiot for not seeing it before. Neil, who wanted to steal the pack alpha position from Kate, would do whatever it took to rattle her this weekend and make her look bad. Neil surely knew about her favorite TV actor. And he had all the information on Penny, too.
“It was you, wasn’t it? Or you and some tech-savvy delegates, because I doubt you have the brains to pull off something like that without help.” Rage began to bubble deep in his gut.
Neil gave him a wary look. “That’s ridiculous. Of course it wasn’t me.”
“That’s a strong accusation, Duncan,” Howard said. “You might want to retract it until Aidan does some more sleuthing.”
“I don’t care to retract it.” Duncan held Neil’s gaze and he could see guilt lurking there. “I know who it was sure as I’m a Scotsman.” The rage filled his chest now, demanding release. He swore he could hear the pipes playing.
Neil sneered. “You don’t know a damned thing, MacDowell. You’re bluffing.”
“Nay, I’m not bluffing. And to prove it, I challenge you to settle this the traditional way, as Weres.”
Elizabeth sucked in a breath. “Let’s not be hasty.”
“She’s right, MacDowell. Don’t be hasty. You’d have no chance against me. I outweigh you, and I can outfight you.”
He was probably right. Duncan was a lover, not a fighter, and he could well get beaten to a pulp. But although the MacDowells lived at sea level these days, the blood of brave Highlanders ran hot in his veins. By all that was holy, he would be Kate’s champion and defend her honor. Whether she wanted him to or not.
He faced Neil and imagined all those ancestors standing behind him, urging him on. “Meet me outside in fifteen minutes.”
Chapter 18
WERECON2012:
WOLF FIGHT!!
Exclusive report for Wereworld Celebrity Watch
by Angela Sapworthy
DENVER—A stunning development took place Sunday afternoon following the scheduled debate between HOWL leader Kate Stillman and WOOF leader Duncan MacDowell. MacDowell accused Kate’s cousin Neil of hijacking his blog and posting the incriminating picture of Kate in bed with a well-known TV actor!
Neil, great-nephew of pack alpha Elizabeth Stillman, denies the charge. Security expert and certified hunk Aidan Wallace is hot on the trail of the culprit, but MacDowell refuses to wait for confirmation. He’s challenged Neil to a traditional battle, Were to Were!
This reporter expected philosophical battles this weekend, but she had no idea that the fight would become physical! Pack alpha Elizabeth is understandably concerned about potential bloodshed and the effect on WereCon2012’s reputation as a peaceful venue. “I’ve known Neil all his life,” she said. “And he’s been a fighter all his life. He’s big, and he’s brutal. I think Duncan MacDowell made a tactical error. He should have engaged Neil in a battle of wits.”
For another viewpoint, this reporter caught up with Nadia Henderson, a young but confident leader for the Henderson pack in Chicago and Duncan’s fellow council member. “I haven’t known Duncan MacDowell long, but while serving with him on the council I’ve been impressed with his intelligence and creativity. I never did believe he was responsible for that terrible blog. But I can’t speak to his fighting skills. I hope he uses his intelligence out there, because Neil looks as if he could make mincemeat of Duncan.”
Dear reader, don’t make the mistake of thinking Duncan MacDowell is small. He weighs in at 210, according to his profile on the Were Web. But Neil Stillman is listed at 250! His profile names more than twenty Weres he’s defeated in wolf-to-wolf combat. Duncan MacDowell has no list at all! Will he survive? Follow me on Sniffer @newshound to find out!
Kate submerged herself in the welcome chatter of Howlers enjoying one another’s company. None of the male Howlers had shown up, as if they’d known this would be a female-centered event in Kate’s suite.
She had considered making a special point to personally invite Jake Hunter as a goodwill gesture, but he’d slipped out of the ballroom before she could do that. And frankly, she was too exhausted to care. If the mission statement was adopted when the votes were counted and posted at five this afternoon, which was only thirty minutes away, Jake would abandon ship anyway.
Heidi raised her wineglass. “Down with Woofers!”
Someone else raised hers. “Up with Howlers!”
A chorus of loud howling followed, and Kate joined in. She’d had one crappy day, and she was ready to unwind with her supporters. She wanted to forget about mission statements, Photoshopped pictures, lectures from her grandmother, surprise visits from her sister, and, most of all, Duncan MacDowell.
Of course he realized now that he should never have posted that blog, and he was trying to get back in her good graces by handing her the victory in the debate. No matter what he said, he’d done it to try to mend the rift between them. Howard must have told him he had to because they were both on the council and needed to work together.
She would work with him, though, despite hating his guts. That’s what a leader had to do, and she understood that far better after this weekend. She’d had a real object lesson in leadership. Yes, she’d made a couple of mistakes, maybe more than a couple, but she’d learn from them and go on.
She’d have a chance to demonstrate her new understanding tonight at the gala ball to mark the end of the conference. In an hour or so she’d leave this private party and go check on the preparations for that. Once she knew everything was going according to plan, she’d come back upstairs and get into her red sequined dress.
She’d rather not go at all, but a leader didn’t sit up in her room because she didn’t feel like making an appearance at the final event of a conference she’d helped organize. A leader put on her big-girl panties along with her sparkly clothes and attended with a smile.
“How do Woofers get human females into bed?” shouted someone on the far side of the suite.
“I don’t know,” someone called back. “How do they get them into bed?”
“They spike their drink with woofies!” That was greeted with more enthusiastic howls.
The noise became so deafening that Kate didn’t hear the doorbell until whoever was out there leaned on it for several seconds. She raised her voice. “Hey, everyone! Pipe down a minute! Someone’s at the door.”
Carrying her wineglass, she went to the door still laughing about the woofies joke. Maybe this was just a late-arriving Howler who’d decided to join the party. She opened the door, and her smile of welcome faded.
Her grandmother stood on the other side looking upset. She wore a coat and boots over her elegant conference outfit. “I called your cell, but you didn’t answer.”
“Sorry, Grandma.” She stepped into the hall so she could hear. “What’s wrong?”
“You have to get downstairs. Duncan’s going to fight Neil, Were to Were.”
“What? Why would he do that?” She tried to make sense of her grandmother’s hurried explanation. It seemed that the Wallaces had confirmed that Duncan’s blog had been hijacked, and Duncan was convinced Neil was the culprit.
The moment her grandmother said it, Kate saw the situation clearly at last. Neil would have known about the TV actor, and he certainly knew about Penny. Neil wanted to throw her off her game and the blog was one more way to do it.
“Go get your boots and coat,” Elizabeth said. “We’ll take your elevator.”
“Right. Open the bookcase. I’ll be right there.” Kate turned and ran back into her suite. “Everyone! Duncan and Neil are going to fight. I want everyone down there so we can stop it.”
“Why stop it?” Heidi sounded mystified. “We hate Duncan, and we don’t much like Neil, either. Sounds like a great fight to me. I’ll bring popcorn!”
Kate raced into her bedroom, yelling over her shoulder, “Duncan didn’t put up that blog! Neil did!” Throwing open her closet door, she pulled out her coat and a pair of short boots without laces. Carrying them, she ran back into the living room and over to the corner where the bookcase stood open, revealing the elevator behind it.
All the Howlers stared at the elevator except Heidi, who had seen it in operation. Kate clutched her coat and boots and followed her grandmother inside the etched glass cubicle.
“I’ll lead the charge down the stairs,” Heidi said. “Meet you there, Kate.”
“Thanks, Heidi.” Kate leaned against the glass and pulled on her boot as the elevator started down.
“He cares for you, Kate.” Elizabeth buttoned her coat.
“That doesn’t mean he should make this kind of sacrifice.” She pulled on the other boot. “It’s ridiculous!”
“Apparently he doesn’t think so.”
“Well, I do. Neil will crush him.” She shoved her arms into her coat sleeves. Riding in the elevator brought back memories of the late-night run with Duncan. “He’s not used to the altitude and Neil is. Besides being lighter, he’ll get winded faster.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Well, he should have. He found out when we raced last night. And I thought he was so smart. But he’s stupid, stupid, stupid! He should never have challenged Neil to a Were fight.”
“Maybe we’ll make it in time.”
“I hope to hell we do.” Her chest tightened with fear at the thought of Duncan ending up bloody…or worse. “What if Neil cripples him? He’s capable of that. He fights hard and he fights dirty. I should know.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I remember those days. You two fought all the time.”
“And he didn’t fight fair, either. If the fight wasn’t going his way, he’d grab a stick, or throw a rock, or pretend to give up and then turn around and slug me. I know his tricks, but Duncan doesn’t.”
The elevator slid to a stop. Opening the door, she glanced back at her grandmother with a silent question.
“Go ahead. Go! You can move faster than I can. I’ll be right behind you.”
Kate didn’t need any more urging. She pushed through the revolving exit door, and emerged into the sharp cold of late afternoon. To her right, a crowd formed a circle around a small clearing behind the lodge. She ran toward that crowd.
The site had been used for such challenges in the past, but Kate had never seen that happen. She knew the spot only as a place for playing lawn games in the summer and having snowshoe races in the winter. She did not want to remember it as the field upon which Duncan MacDowell spilled his precious blood.
It was precious, especially to her. As she pushed her way through the circle to the front, she admitted just how precious. The apparent betrayal of his blog wouldn’t have hit her so hard if she hadn’t already begun to care for him.
She would stop this fight. She had to. But the sight that greeted her when she was finally able to see what was happening inside the circle turned her blood to ice.
She hadn’t seen Neil in Were form in a long time, and he looked even bigger than she remembered. Even his blond fur puffed out and seemed to add to his bulk. Nothing about him was small—not his massive chest, his broad head, his powerful jaws, or his immense paws.
Yet Duncan faced him without apparent fear, his head held high, confidence shining in his gray eyes. His lustrous fur gleamed like polished ebony against the white snow. Kate imagined that white snow flecked with blood and shuddered.
“Stop it!” She walked toward the two wolves, her boots crunching on the snow. “I forbid this!” She wasn’t sure she had that authority, but it was worth a try. She stepped between the wolves, but she faced Duncan and looked into his eyes.
“I don’t want you to do this.” She knew he could understand her spoken words, even though he couldn’t respond. Telepathy worked only between Weres in wolf form. No doubt he was exchanging heated messages with Neil. “Please, Duncan. It’s not worth fighting over. Let Howard and the council decide what sort of punishment Neil deserves. It’s not up to you.”
Behind her, Neil snarled.
She glanced over her shoulder and her temper flared. “Don’t you dare snarl at me, you bastard.”
Neil snarled again and bared his teeth.
A low, rumbling growl told her that Duncan was ready to answer that snarl. She turned back to him. “Do not fight him, do you hear me?”
He met her gaze, and she thought she saw a twinkle of amusement in those gray wolf eyes.
“Elizabeth thinks you’re doing this because of me. That better not be true.”
He simply stared at her.
“So help me, Duncan MacDowell, if you challenged Neil because of some stupid Scottish code that says you have to defend my honor, forget about it!”
H
e backed up a few paces.
“Good. You’re rethinking this. That’s good. Just keep backing up and leave the circle. Physical violence solves nothing. It—No!” Too late she realized he’d backed away only so that he could dodge around her.
Turning quickly, she watched in horror as he launched himself at Neil. “Damn you, Duncan! I’ll never forgive you for this!”
He gave no sign that he’d heard her. The battle was on. Snarling, tumbling, struggling to use his sharp teeth, Duncan knocked his opponent down in a spray of white.
Hands pulled her away from the arena and into the protection of the crowd. She didn’t bother to find out who had done that. All her attention was locked on the blond and black wolves as she began pleading silently for Duncan to find the strength and the stamina to survive this fight.
No, she wanted more than survival for him. If she couldn’t stop him from fighting, then he had to win. Balling her hands into fists, she sent every bit of energy she possessed hurtling toward the black wolf with a heart bigger than she’d ever given him credit for.
But after that first lunge when he’d been lucky enough to catch Neil slightly off-balance, the fight went all Neil’s way. The blond wolf surged to his feet and threw all his weight at Duncan, who went sprawling. He bounced back up, but Neil hit him again, this time pinning him to the ground.
Kate’s nails dug into her palms as Neil strained his neck to reach a tendon in Duncan’s back leg. Woofers yelled encouragement to their leader, begging him to throw off his attacker and escape those powerful jaws. Even a few Howlers joined in.
Instead Duncan went limp.
Kate cried out, begging him to fight back.
Neil momentarily lost his balance when Duncan stopped resisting him, and in a lightning move, Duncan scrambled out from under the big wolf and leaped on his back, his jaws clamping down on his neck.
Yes! Use your brains, not your brawn! Kate’s pulse hammered as she recognized that Duncan was doing exactly that.
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