by Treva Harte
“Arlin.” She curled her lip at him. “Answer me.”
“Come on. Do I ever tell anyone? We promised each other to never do that years ago. But don’t they find out when we fuck up anyhow?”
“Yeah.” Tala tried not to laugh. “But don’t tell them even so.”
“I’ve been thinking.” Arlin tapped his chin thoughtfully.
“You mean your brains didn’t get fucked out last night?”
Arlin gave her a look. Awareness bells clanged in Tala’s head. Something must have happened. Now might not be the time, but she’d get it out of him later.
Arlin ignored her to ask his own questions. “Why did your Alpha mate want me to watch last night?”
“I don’t know. Because he’s really kinky?”
“It didn’t make sense, kink or not. I’m not from your pack. I should be a threat.” Arlin looked as if he didn’t like the idea of not being a threat. “He shouldn’t want me around at all, especially when you have sex. I have a feeling he had more in mind when he invited me.”
Arlin had a point. It was weird to want someone outside the pack around for bonding. Alphas were vulnerable to attack when they mated. Everyone knew that.
“I don’t know. I’m in lust with Hunt and I even kind of like him by now, but I don’t get the guy at all. We’ve just met. That’s why I’m so confused, remember?”
“You’re kind of cute when you’re stupid.” Arlin smiled at her again but she saw the bite to it this time. “Do you think you can you regenerate a few brain cells between now and when we meet the rest of your new pack family? If I don’t want to be eaten for dinner, I could use some backup.”
“Sorry. I don’t know why he wanted you to be there, unless he wants you to be considered part of his pack. But he told me he had been getting rid of pack members up until now, so that makes even less sense. And who would want to add another Alpha to the mix? That’s looking for trouble.”
“Hmmm.” Arlin pulled on his ear. “Speaking of trouble, Dad called early this morning. Woke us—me—up.”
“Is he mad?” Tala tried not to sound worried. She loved Lowell. She loved Arlin’s pack almost as much as she did her own…no, not her own…she loved her parents’ pack, the one that used to be hers. It was unusual for two packs to live so close together and to maintain such tight ties through kinship and friendship. And it made her care too much about the weres outside her immediate pack.
Now she had two packs she loved that weren’t hers. Darn it.
“Maybe. But that’s not why he called.” Arlin went back to tapping his chin. When he started fingering too many body parts, she knew there was a problem. “He told me to send on the word that a new pack was in your mate’s locality.”
“Crap. A turf war hasn’t happened in my lifetime.”
“Correction. It hasn’t happened to your pack or mine in your lifetime. Hunt knows all about pack fights. Dunne too.”
Tala remembered the long, evil scar on Hunt’s skin and frowned.
“I don’t want him hurt. I don’t want anyone hurt.” And she wanted her almost-cousin safe before anything did start.
Arlin shrugged again. “We’ve lived a pretty soft life by were standards, Tala. Our luck can’t hold forever.”
“It’s not luck. It’s being smart.” Tala turned as the door opened. “Dunne! You’re one of the people I wanted to see.”
She realized it was true. She looked him over as she walked to him and took both his hands. He was dressed in the clothes he had on last night, but they looked clean and pressed, and he looked better. A lot better.
She squeezed both hands, suddenly realizing she was more enthusiastic about his arrival than either of them were prepared for. He smiled, a flicker of an uncertain smile, and didn’t flinch at her touch.
They might get used to each other yet.
“What do you need?” he asked.
“Why do you ask? Maybe I just like your company,” Tala said, suddenly meaning it.
He frowned, flicked a glance over toward Arlin, and then focused back on her. “Why?”
“Because I’m stupid today. That’s what Arlin tells me.” Tala stepped back. “I do need to talk to you. We might have a problem. But I want Hunt here so we can all discuss it.”
Dunne glanced over at Arlin again. “Is it pack business?”
“I hope not—Sort of. But we need Arlin around. He’s the one with the news.”
“You’re the boss.” Dunne sat down with the morning paper and began reading. “And here comes room service. Shall I order some more breakfast steak?”
It was that easy? She was the boss?
Damn. She had things all wrong. It was that hard. Dunne wasn’t going to worry until she told him to. She was the one in charge of worrying.
As if he read her mind, Arlin gave her one of those shit-eating grins of his. She scowled at him.
“Tala.” Hunt came in, dressed for success yet again. He bent to kiss her, as if they’d kissed good morning just that way for the last decade.
The kiss and the almost-routine that went with it felt good. In fact, in a weird way, the whole domestic scene with her new family felt absolutely right.
“Sweetie.” She kissed him back, harder than a pleasant hello. Just when he seemed ready to take it up a notch more, she pulled away. “Arlin says there is another pack sniffing around, probably looking for trouble.”
Dunne stopped reading the paper. Hunt didn’t look perturbed.
“It would be more surprising if there wasn’t. You’re here. I’d say you’re very worth a sniff or two.” Hunt nipped her ear.
“But when I promised I’d be trouble, I didn’t mean this kind.”
“Don’t worry, Tala.” Hunt grabbed another section of the newspaper. “This one I can handle with my eyes shut.”
Dunne went back to reading. Arlin grabbed another slice of bacon.
She looked at the three males lounging around the breakfast table. “I need to go out. I’ll go running to clear my head.” Tala suddenly knew that would help. “When I get back, Hunt, let me tell you about what I have planned.”
“Dunne will go with you.” Hunt looked up and smiled pleasantly, but she knew an order when she heard it.
“I won’t be too stupid and say no, despite what Arlin says about me. I can understand someone might need to stand guard. But, Hunt, I don’t plan to live this way forever.”
Hunt looked up at her and said nothing. Tala let out a short, sharp breath and wondered if he really thought she would put up with a bodyguard for the rest of her life.
Crap. If he did guard her, was it for her protection or to keep her from running?
“I hope my head gets very clear after my run. I need some clear thoughts around now.” Tala flicked a nail, almost gently but not quite, against her Alpha mate’s cheek.
He turned his head into her palm and bit. Not gently at all. “Enjoy yourself.”
Dunne stood up, towering over her. “Where do you want to go?”
“Someplace where a wolf won’t be noticed.”
“Could be a bit of a drive. Boss—” Dunne looked at Hunt “—anything you need?”
“Not now.”
“I’m going too.” Arlin stood, looming up on Tala’s other side. “I could use some head clearing myself.”
Chapter Five
The scent of rabbit was somewhere in the distance, tantalizing. Dry wind whipped through her fur. Hot gravel burned beneath her paws.
Wind. Wolf. All one. Wild.
She almost understood what was nagging at her, could almost accept what she was. If she just ran a little faster—
Damn.
She was beginning to think again and still had neither lost nor found what she needed in the Change. Panting, she stopped and began the almost familiar return to human form.
The prickling skin told her she was back. Tala pulled the hair from her eyes and shook her head to clear it. The Spring Mountains were there in her range of sight, imposing and b
eautiful and stark.
“If I decide to do this again, remind me that a run when it’s almost noon in the desert is not smart.”
The half-were, half-human form next to her crouched and shifted fully. Arlin’s body looked good all glistening with sweat.
“We already established that this isn’t one of your brightest days, sweetheart.”
Dunne was the only one who didn’t shift back immediately. Tala looked at the toughened wolf before her and fought an urge to hug him…then wrestle him to the ground to show her domination. He was going to stay stubborn. And she was going to stay Alpha. She was starting to like the idea that he might be a bit of a challenge. And she liked even more that she was sure she’d win in the end.
“Sand in my butt isn’t smart, either, as long as we’re cataloging how dumb I am. Of course you followed me right along, Arlin. What does that make you?”
“Weak. You smell too damn good not to follow.”
She snorted. The wolf in front of her dropped his jaw open in a grin.
She felt better. She hadn’t managed to come up with answers yet, but she did feel better in her new role. Something about going native did that.
“I need to ask—”
The ping in the sand next to her made her blink. She stared down, taking a split second to realize what it was. She hit the ground before the next second arrived, Arlin’s body knocking her over.
One second more and a large, furry, hot wolf body covered them both.
“Let me go!” Tala said. “We need shelter fast. Let’s get out of here!”
None of the idiot, testosterone-laden bodies above her budged. She heard another ping and someone above her flinched.
“Damn it! Which one of you is hurt?”
“Quiet, Tala.” Hunt’s voice was distant but it carried. “I believe I’ve taken care of things, but I just want to be sure.”
There was a long, hideous silence while Tala thought about the heat of the sun, the wetness soaking her clothing and how long was too long to stay quiet.
“Do you think we can move it along? We have blood here.”
More silence. She had to be able to talk to Hunt in her head. Didn’t she? If not, who the hell had she been starting to mindtalk to back during their bonding? It was supposed to be her mate.
Still more silence.
Footsteps crunched beside her. Hunt said, “All’s clear. Let’s see what the problem is…Dunne?”
For just a minute sheer panic cracked through Hunt’s voice.
Tala began to struggle again. This time Arlin moved away and gave her a tiny space to breathe. But Dunne didn’t. He remained a dead weight—no, not dead!—on top of her. She stopped wiggling to get free, suddenly afraid she was making it—whatever it was—worse.
Both Hunt and Arlin bent over her, not speaking, totally concentrated on the were above her. She tried to relax, tried to feel if the wolf body still had lungs and heart pumping above her.
“Please.”
She began to ease, very carefully, from underneath Dunne. She thought she felt him twitch once, in protest, but wasn’t sure.
“Oh, please. Please.”
No one answered her.
He could die out here, with all of them staring down at him, unsure what to do next.
“My grandmother could help,” Arlin said.
Yes. Of course. Leila had made a life study of how to treat were diseases and injuries. Tala caressed the fur below her and nodded. “Arlin, call. Whatever we have to do.”
Arlin grabbed his cell phone.
Hunt stared down, motionless, his hands staunching the blood from Dunne’s wound. Tala wasn’t sure if he wanted her support right now or not. She gripped his shoulder hard because she needed to touch and reassure. He didn’t acknowledge her gesture. “She’s very good, Hunt. And what she doesn’t know, she finds out.”
“He might need better than very good.” Hunt kept his hand tight on the still seeping wound. “I can pay for the best but—”
“There is no one I know other than Leila.” Tala kept hold on Hunt. “If we got the wrong person to help, it could be a disaster. That’s why Leila started her work all those years ago. There is no one else.”
Once Hunt saw the matriarch of the Kinkaid pack, he’d understand. Leila was very much the grande dame—she refused the title of Alpha bitch—of all the generations of weres below her. She deserved the title.
But Hunt didn’t know and had no reason to trust outsiders. For years the only one he’d had was Dunne. Right now Kinkaids, including Tala, were strangers.
A strange were was an enemy were.
“She’s willing to fly out here on the next plane but since we can’t wait that long, I asked her to come up with something else.” Arlin put the cell phone down. “She knows a vet in Vegas she thinks is reliable. We just have to hope Dunne doesn’t change in the middle of things.”
“Think? Hope?” Hunt asked, his voice rising a little.
“Thinking and hoping couldn’t hurt.” Tala squatted on her haunches, closer to Dunne. “Do you have any better ideas? We’ll at least be here if he changes or if he needs something unusual…”
“Understood.” Hunt scowled. “What should we tell this possibly reliable vet?”
Arlin shrugged. “Damned if I know. Grandma said she can be trusted but Grandma doesn’t know how much the vet really knows about us. But she wouldn’t have told us to use the woman if she didn’t think it would be safe. If anything happens we can’t have a non-were talking.”
“I can take care of that part. No one will know anything.” Hunt’s voice was cold.
Hunt had taken care of whoever had shot them too. Tala swallowed. She looked down at her Beta, who was maybe dying in front of them.
“You followed us because you thought this might happen, Hunt. We all know that. Who was it? Who did this?” She realized her voice had roughened to a growl.
“It was a sudden hunch. I wouldn’t have risked any of you if I’d known. And I know who did it. He was nothing. Not even were and willing to not ask questions if he was paid. I don’t know who ordered him to try to kill you. Yet.”
“Later.”
“Oh yes. Definitely later.”
Arlin put down the cell phone. “All right. Dr. Laurenstein will be here within a half hour. All it took to get her here was mentioning Leila Kinkaid. She said to keep pressure on the wound. She’ll try a blood transfusion if she can find a match of some sort.”
“I think that means we better hope at least one of the three of us matches. Were blood isn’t quite non-were.” Tala looked at the other two. “I hope this doctor is very understanding. And closemouthed.”
* * * *
“Your…companion…is resting a little better. His problem was mostly loss of blood. I’m hoping to God that the matches in blood type I made actually work properly. The conditions for testing were slightly unusual.” The tall woman in front of them almost smiled. “But since there haven’t been any complications yet, I can only assume that Mr. Winters’s blood was close enough to work.”
Leila had been right. The veterinarian hadn’t turned a tendril of her carefully pinned up hair at the events of the day, starting with the cell phoned instructions to get her battered Subaru out into the Vegas desert with no landmarks in sight. It continued with her working for hours on someone they had to explain wasn’t quite what he seemed. Hopefully her announcement was the end of her part in the drama and she wouldn’t have to rush back to Dunne. Tala figured the vet had done more than enough already.
“That’s only fair. He’s given enough of his blood for me over the years.” Hunt stood up. “Can I see him?”
“We need to be careful. He could be running an infection—”
“No antibiotics unless you have to. And no tetanus shots. Ever.” Hunt gripped her wrist.
“Mr. Winters, I understand your concern, although I’m not sure why you are adamantly against shots, and I won’t give your companion any medicine unless I absolu
tely must. I realize that we don’t know how someone like him might react to what we might give either wolves or humans.”
“Right. Tetanus shots aren’t good for our kind.”
“At any rate, right now he doesn’t seem to have any fever, so we can hope nothing else will be required.”
“Can all of us see him? If we’re very careful?” Tala asked.
“He’s not awake. I want him to stay in the shape he is for as long as possible. I’m afraid any change might be too much for him right now.”
She looked at the trio of set faces and shrugged. “I see. All right, if you can make sure you’re quiet enough to not waken him, yes.” Dr. Laurenstein rubbed the back her neck. “It was hard enough work to get this far the first time. I don’t want any redos.”
“No one will do anything to harm him or delay his recovery.” Hunt glanced impatiently at the office door. “I want him out of here as soon as possible.”
“A girl could be hurt at your attitude toward my clinic.” The doctor almost smiled this time. “It’s not quite a private hospital but it’s very functional and the equipment is state of the art. Lucky for your friend.”
“This isn’t his place. I know it’s the best and safest one for now, but—” Hunt stopped and smiled suddenly. It was his most charming smile. “Forgive me. I do thank you for all you’ve done. My gratitude is…beyond words. I’ll make sure you don’t regret this.”
Tala felt an unfamiliar pang of—annoyance? Anger? Pure jealousy?—when Hunt stared at the other female, smiling the way she had thought was how he smiled only at the people he loved.
Mine.
She stared down at her fingers, suddenly curved into claws. Well, that was an inconvenient possessiveness display. Of course Hunt needed to charm the outsider. They needed the doctor.
“But if you smile at her like that one more time, I promise that the moment Dunne is better, I’ll rip your head off right after I rip her hide open.”
Hunt looked over at Tala. Without any more words, he headed toward the room where Dunne was resting.
Damn it. Was he able to hear her or not?
She followed him.
“I’ll be there in a minute if you want me,” Arlin murmured after them.