Charles lifted her hand and turned her wrist until he could see her watch which was the only thing she still wore from the night before. "We better get back into the house and into our bed before the rest of them are up. We wouldn't want to be caught playing naked in the barn."
He arose in one fluid motion and pulled her up with him though she didn't have his animal grace. He grabbed his jeans up from the floor and slid them on.
"Uh, beastie boy? I think we have a problem." Kat rubbed her arms as stamped her feet all too aware of the chilly air now that Charles' body heat was gone. "My clothes are all outside and probably soaked with dew."
"I can fix that," Charles said, already shaking off bits of straw from the blanket.
He placed it over her shoulders and wrapped it tightly around her and then bent at the waist. One arm beneath her arms and one beneath her knees, he lifted her to his chest where she wrapped her arms around his neck.
It was a good solution and as it turned out, the only solution. As he carried her back to the house they found that every stitch of her clothing was gone. They were giggling and laughing like silly fools by the time they reached the back door. Charles kept trying to uncover her breasts as he trotted across the dew damp yard and Kat kept fighting him off.
She slapped his hand and shushed him one last time as she reached down and turned the knob. "If we get caught," she hissed, "I'll never…"
"I think we already are," he whispered and in a louder voice, "Good morning, Mrs. Martin. Up early I see."
"I like to get an early jump on the day," the housekeeper said conversationally as if it was perfectly normal for her half-naked employer to be passing through her kitchen with a fully naked woman in his arms. "Good morning, Kat. Your clothes are in the wash. I was just about to start breakfast. I'll have it ready by the time you're showered and back in bed if that's all right with you."
"Yes, thank you," Kat squeaked into Charles' chest where she'd buried her red face.
"That will be fine, Mrs. Martin," Charles told her sounding once again like the Lord of his Domain. "We'll be ready for it. It's been a, um, a strenuous night."
"Hmph," the housekeeper snorted, "Well, before you begin anything else that might be strenuous, be sure to check your bed. I think you might find an unwanted critter in it."
"Thank you, Mrs. Martin, we will."
They were at the foot of the stairs before their laughter sputtered forth, hissing and giggling like a couple of kids.
"Strenuous? Is that what you call it, a strenuous night?"
"Well what would you want me to say?" Charles screwed up his face and said in a dorky voice, "Gee thanks, Mrs. M. We were in the barn fucking our brains out all night and we're really, really hungry."
"Would you be quiet!" she giggled a whisper, "Keep it up and everyone will be awake. Bad enough Tilda saw me like this. I don't need half the house witnessing it."
Unfortunately, half the house did see her, obviously naked and wrapped in an old blanket with bits of straw sticking out of her hair. They all came running when Charles dropped Kat to her feet in the hallway when he opened the bedroom door and bellowed loud enough to rattle the windows.
"Get the fuck out of my bed!"
Fortunately, half of them weren't dressed much better or more completely than she. The next door down flew open and Ryker came charging out into the hall in a pair of olive drab boxers followed closely by Jo wearing Ryker's gray tee which was barely long enough to give modesty inches to spare.
Hyatt came barreling through the door to the back stairway like a caped Crusader with his flannel robe flying out behind him. Interestingly, or so Kat thought, his PJs looked like they might be silk. Once he saw the Alpha was unharmed, he turned his attentions to his sister who he tried to chase back into her bedroom with a flutter of his hands.
Tanner and Rhonda, who looked like two people who'd worn out the sheets, came running after Hyatt, Tanner looking ready for battle, Rhonda looking frightened. Rawley was there with his arm around the shoulders of the little freckled redhead. His face looked angry and hard and his free hand was clenched in a fist.
Two other young men, Kat couldn't remember their names, came bursting out of another door on the second floor. The lighter skinned of the two was completely naked and the other wore a shiny black thong that was so tiny it was obscene.
"What the fuck is going on out here?" Ryker growled, but Charles ignored him. He was too busy shouting into his room.
"Did you not hear me? Get the fuck out of my bed. Now!"
Stephanie came sauntering out of the room. "You needn't yell, Charles dear. I only came to keep you company after the hunt. We all know how you get after an evening in the wild. I must have fallen asleep."
She was wearing a black peignoir so sheer the dark silhouette of her perfect body was clearly defined. She stopped, just outside the door, to inspect Kat from head to toe.
"But I see you've expended your energies on the hired help."
Kat's fist clenched beneath her rough wool covering and she took a step toward the woman. "Bitch," she said clearly.
Stephanie's laugh was derisive. "As a matter of fact, I am, sometimes quite literally. I don't know who you think you are, but you're nothing to me."
"She's something to me," Charles snarled, "And that's all that counts."
"What is she, Charles? Tell us all. Please. Tell us all what she is to you." The woman's smirk turned her beautiful face ugly.
Charles put his arm around Kat and pulled her close. "Suffice it to say she's mine."
"But who is she, Charles? Where did she come from? What does she want? This isn't the time. Don't go all Alpha on us now. She isn't worth it. She may be a Mate, but that doesn't mean she isn't trash."
Charles took a step towards Stephanie, leaving Kat behind. He drew himself up as Kat had seen him do before when looming over Mrs. Martin. He suddenly appeared larger-than-life. Kat could hear the collective intake of breath and even the bold Stephanie stepped back and lowered her eyes.
Charles' voice was deadly calm. "You have one hour to pack your things and get out, Stephanie. You are no longer welcome here."
Stephanie looked up and her eyes flashed with surprise and anger. "You can't do that. I'm a member of the Council."
"Yes, I can. You may be a member of my Council, but I am the Alpha."
Charles seemed to grow even more in stature. His power seemed to swell the walls outward and when he turned that power upon Stephanie, she cringed.
"You breathe by my will and word. You have one hour to get out or I will throw you out and you'll be grateful that's all I do," Charles told her. Then he turned and addressed those standing in the hall after nodding to each, in turn. "Anyone else have anything to say? Good. Then thank you. Thank you all. I'm sorry you were disturbed. We'll meet tomorrow to go over my plans."
Alex, whose door had remained closed during the shouting, now opened it and took in the situation at a glance. Unlike the others, he was fully dressed.
Stephanie, finding no sympathy or support from anyone else, looked to him. "I've been banished, Alex. Would you come help me pack my things."
"Of course, Stephanie. Let's get your things together and I'll pull your car around."
He led her down the hallway to the stairs to her room.
Jo laughed and put her fists on her hips. "Bitch," she mocked, "Kitty Kat. Honey. Stephanie could tear you to shreds."
"I'd like to see her try," Kat challenged and said to the others. "I'm small, but I can take care of myself. I could have taken her." She shouted after the retreating Stephanie. "Even if she does outweigh me by thirty pounds."
"Ooo, low blow," Jo laughed. "Now tell her you're smarter than her, too."
"I probably am," Kat agreed and gathered her breath to shout again.
"Katarina! That's enough. It's over. Come to bed." Charles held the door and motioned with his hand. His power rippled over her and she felt the infuriating compulsion to obey. This was different from h
is commands during sex. Those she obeyed because she chose to.
She fought the compulsion and hesitated just long enough to let him know it and then she issued a "Hmph" Mrs. Martin would be proud of and ducked under his arm. As soon as the door was closed, she flung off her blanket and turned on Charles.
Hands on hips, she hissed at him. "Did you hear her? This isn't the time. Don't go all Alpha on us now," she mimicked viciously. "You can't do that," she continued. "Who in the hell does she think she is talking to you that way. You're the Big Bad. You can do anything you want. I could claw the bitch's eyes out."
Charles started to laugh. "I didn't know my kitten had claws."
"Well, now you know and it's not funny, Wolfman. She has no right to talk to you that way, the fancy-assed bitch, waltzing around in her sexy nightie, making herself at home in your bed." Kat was fuming and Charles laughing at her wasn't helping.
He was still laughing. "She has no right to talk to me that way and yet you call me Wolfman and Beasty Boy."
"That's different. Those are terms of… of affection. That bitch has no right to call you anything but Sir."
"I think you're jealous," he laughed.
"You're damn right I am."
Stephanie was everything she wasn't. She was those girls in high school who always made the cheerleading squad. She was those girls in college who never had to roll out of bed and run to class looking like death warmed over because they'd worked late the night before. She was those women who look down their noses at Kat when they picked their children up from school in their brand-new Volvo's wearing outfits that cost one of Kat's paychecks.
"She was in your bed! She was wearing that peignoir that would probably feel like silk in your hands. Her hands probably feel like silk, too. She's smart, she's rich, and she's beautiful, damn her. She's everything I ever wanted to be and couldn't. And now she wants you, too." Kat stamped her foot in an attempt to keep the water from filling her eyes.
Charles wasn't laughing now. He held out his arms to her, but Kat refused his invitation. She felt stupid and foolish for blurting out what she hadn't meant to say.
"Katarina. Come here."
The power and compulsion was still there and this time she reluctantly obeyed. Forehead resting on his chest she stood before him, ashamed of her confession.
Charles enveloped her in his arms. "Stephanie is all those things and yet, I would choose you. Do you think Stephanie would have played with me outdoors tonight? Do you think Stephanie would have made love on the floor of the barn? Do you think Stephanie would be angry on my behalf when the attack was against her? I like you, Katarina Bennett, and I think you may be the best thing that's happened to me in a long, long time."
Kat looked up at him, needing to see his eyes when he answered. "Do you really mean that?"
"Yes, I really mean that," he told her, but she'd already read the answer in his eyes and then those eyes took on the same sparkle they'd held just a little while ago. "You need to go get your shower, kitten, before I refuse to take no for an answer." His hands slid down her back to her rear where he gave her cheeks a light pat to send her on her way. "And kitten?" he laughed as he turned her around and gave her another playful swat on the rear, "Stephanie could never be as cute as you are naked and angry."
Chapter 18
"What's a mate?"
Kat was alone in the kitchen with Tilda making preparations for a late lunch. Buddy was out in the yard stacking wood from the fallen maple tree, the same tree that Charles had used for first base the night before. The others, all except Stephanie who'd managed to pack can be gone in one hour as directed, were in the dining room sitting around the long walnut table with Charles at its head.
He'd invited her to sit in on the meeting with his Council, but Kat had refused. Being his girlfriend wasn't the same as being a member of the pack or the Council and she wasn't the only one who thought so.
Earlier, on her way to the kitchen, she'd passed Charles' office door which was open a crack. She couldn't help overhearing him arguing with his Second, Alex. She'd paused just past the door to listen, knowing full well that this time, she was guilty as charged.
"I'm not saying you were wrong," Alex was explaining, "I'm only saying that perhaps you were a bit hasty in sending her away. Stephanie has an important role in our operation, Charles."
"And she can play that important role back in the city with the others."
"She's the one who came up with the idea of negotiating with the men who're using your land for their business. She should have been allowed to present her case."
"It's a dog fighting ring! And I can guaran-damn-tee whatever else they have going in there isn't legal either, so there is no case to present. I want them gone and Stephanie is off the Council. It's too damn big to begin with."
"I agree, but if you want to reduce the size, there are others we could probably do better without. Hyatt, for instance or Jo who does little but wisecrack her way through the meetings. Ryker is another we can do without. He's security. He knows his job, but has nothing to contribute to the running of the business."
"But he has a lot of ideas about the running of the pack and that's what we seem to forget, Alex. The Wolf's Head Pack should come before Wolf's Head Enterprises."
"They are one in the same."
"No. They're not and I'm coming to realize that more and more. We need to change. As a business, were flourishing. As a pack, we're falling apart," Charles said using the same words as Jo.
"Does this have something to do with Kat? I know you're enamored him with the girl, but…"
"Katarina has nothing to do with this. This has been coming for a long time."
"Forgive me, Alpha, but I beg to differ. I think she has everything to do with this and the pack has a right to know. I fully agree that Stephanie chose the wrong venue to voice her concerns, but that doesn't negate the fact that her concerns are real and shared. What do you know about this girl? Only that Eugene Begley found her at the instigation of your brother's Mate. A brother, I might add, with whom you've had a contentious relationship. Who knows…"
Charles had slammed his hand down on the desk and Kat was so startled she jumped. It was a good thing, too. She'd been so intent on listening, she'd failed pay attention to what was going on around her. Others were entering the hallway and she had just enough time to scurry into the kitchen before she was caught.
She didn't want to cause any further bad feelings between Charles and his Council, so instead of accepting his invitation, she'd helped Mrs. Martin straighten the rooms and make the beds and wipe down the bathrooms. She was, after all, an experienced hotel worker and she knew a lot more about that end of the business than what was going on in the dining room.
Now, she was helping the housekeeper prepare the massive lunch these wolvers required and since they were alone, Kat decided to use the opportunity to seek some answers to her questions.
Tilda didn't hesitate to answer. "A mate is a spouse. A mating is like a marriage."
"So it's nothing special?"
"Ah, well, I suppose it's special to the two doing the mating and if you want children it must be done. Unmated pairs can't breed. Why do you ask?" she asked cautiously.
"Is it forever?" Kat had read somewhere that wolves mate for life and she wondered if that was true for wolvers, too.
"For life, you mean? For most it is, I suppose, but what you're talking about is a true mating. That's when you meet the one you're meant to be with. That one lasts for a lifetime because the bonds are stronger."
Kat laid down the knife she was using to slice the tomatoes and frowned. Tilda's answer was closer to what she was looking for, but there was something else that Kat couldn't define. It was, she thought, another one of the codes she couldn't break.
"Sometimes, when I hear them talk about a mate, I get the impression it starts with a little 'm' but other times it seems to start with a capital. Like saying many wolvers are alphas, but only one in the pack is
the Alpha. Lowercase, uppercase. You see what I mean? I'm asking because I think it has something to do with me."
Tilda turned off the three frying pans she had working on the stove and came to stand by Kat.
"What has the Alpha said about it?" she asked quietly.
"Nothing. I haven't asked him. But Jo hinted that she thought I might be special and Stephanie acted like I was threat. I'm neither one."
"And the Alpha said nothing?"
Kat blushed, knowing that the housekeeper already knew what she and Charles had been up to. "He hasn't said anything about a mate. He wouldn't would he? We haven't known each other that long," and then she blurted, "Mrs. Martin, I don't usually act that way around a man I just met. Usually? I've never acted with like that with any man. I haven't been with that many…"
"Hush, child. You couldn't help yourself. It's the way of the Alpha when he's searching for his Mate. Stronger women then you have fallen to it." Her consoling pat was awkward. She wasn't a woman who showed physical affection easily. "Are you sure he's not mentioned it?"
"No, but he did say… Kat hesitated. "He said he was convinced that I was the one," she said in a rush.
Tilda's comment wasn't what Kat expected. "Hmph. Fool man," she said, clearly irritated. She cocked her head in that way they all had when they were listening. "They're all arguing in there. We won't be overheard."
Kat almost laughed, remembering that she'd been 'punished' for eavesdropping when, with their hearing, these wolvers could listen to conversations that would be impossible for her to hear.
Tilda placed her hand over Kat's on the counter, a good indication what she had to say was important. "It isn't my place to tell you this, but them that should, haven't and that ain't right. Poor Emily didn't know neither and that's how she ended up locked in the bathroom. You're a bit ahead of her on that score. You, at least, know what we are and I must say I'm proud of the way you're taking to it."
The Alpha's Choice Page 14