Every inhale brought more of his scent into her lungs. Not just his, but the sex smell and scents of other women. Three other women. How do I know that?
Morgan shook her head and sneezed again.
“Damn it.” Cal wiped his face again, hearing her growl resume. He glanced at Thane, but the were-liger was focused on Morgan. Lucas raised his hands and backed farther away when Cal switched his attention to the smaller man.
“Do not look at me. It was one thing when I thought she was beating the hell out of Thane. You’re on your own now, boss.”
“Remind me to demote you.” Cal scowled when Lucas laughed, but met Morgan’s glare with one of his own. “Listen ...”
If not for Thane’s quick action, her jaws would’ve closed on Cal’s throat as she lunged forward. Cal fell on his ass, jerking away from her, and blinked while the were-liger stood, holding her draped over one arm. Morgan dangled like a puppy, her eyes mere slits and ears pinned flat.
She should not have been able to throw off his command to be still. What the hell is going on here?
Without a word, as usual, Thane ambled down the corridor. Morgan twisted in his hold, to keep Cal in sight as long as possible.
“Where is he taking her?” Lucas offered him a hand up.
Cal took it. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
They both followed at a distance, until Thane entered an elevator. After trading a look, the two slid into the elevator and kept to the side. Morgan’s growl filled the small space as the doors closed, her eyes fixed to Cal’s. Down they went. Cal checked the control panel to find the were-liger had chosen the lowest level.
The level the few unstable Weres were kept.
Does he think she’s lost to us? Cal checked Thane’s profile, but couldn’t tell if that were the force driving his actions. Maybe he just wants to show her what will happen if she doesn’t settle into her new self.
As ideas went, it wasn’t a bad one. Thane had spent a few years down there, right after he’d physically recovered enough to be dangerous. Not that he’d been dangerous; the were-liger had required a gradual introduction to everything. No one had figured out how long Thane had been imprisoned and he didn’t have any memories of his life before. His memories of his imprisonment weren’t exactly coherent.
It was a mystery Cal wasn’t sure would ever be solved.
Chapter Twelve
Morgan wasn’t struggling because she couldn’t. Her thwarted attempt to attack Calhoun had sapped the small amount of defiance she’d gathered, leaving her nothing but the ability to glare at him now. Even so, she realized that his scent overpowered the other two men’s in the confined space.
Something about it hurt and she rejected the thought that it was because he smelled of other women. Why should that hurt her? Piss her off, sure, but not hurt. Calhoun was nothing to her, except a temporary sex partner, oh, and of course, her current jailer.
Hatred felt better. She glared at him. I fucking hate you and will find a way to make you pay for this shit.
The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened. Curiosity proved stronger than her need to keep her eyes glued to Calhoun’s and Morgan turned her head. The corridor outside was rock.
What the hell?
Thane carried her out. She understood what the place was in short order. There were animals down here, imprisoned behind clear walls in caves. Halting before one, he let her have a good, long look at the beast behind it: a lion who seemed to have gone insane. The lion threw itself at the wall, snarling, spraying saliva everywhere as it clawed and pounded.
Morgan whimpered in horror, unable to look away or close her eyes. Thane reacted by adjusting his hold, gathering her in both arms. He’d stopped purring when the elevator doors had opened, but began again. After a few moments, he moved to another viewing window and she saw a wolf.
The wolf didn’t attack the window. It wasn’t doing anything except sitting in the center of its cave, staring off into space. For some reason, that seemed worse to Morgan than the lion’s mindless attack.
Movement called her attention back to Calhoun, who walked up to the window and put his hand on it, staring at the wolf. She felt a surge of something unexplainable, instinctively knew it came from Calhoun, but whatever it was had no effect on the staring wolf.
The next area was empty and a chill made her shiver. Are they going to leave me down here?
Being stuck in Thane’s apartment and being trained didn’t seem so bad now. In fact, it was probably the only way she’d ever have a chance to escape this place. Morgan closed her eyes and turned her head to rest her muzzle on Thane’s shoulder. He responded with a gentle squeeze and turned to walk back to the elevator.
Right now, the were-liger felt like her only friend. Not that he actually was, but that could change. She could see to it that it did.
Cal kept his eye on Morgan on the elevator ride up. She’d gone boneless, her eyes closed, head resting on Thane’s shoulder. The were-liger’s show and tell effort had apparently borne fruit. Relieved, he decided Thane should continue to be her caretaker, since he seemed to understand how best to handle Morgan.
By the time the elevator stopped, Cal was already rearranging who’d train her in his mind. No women—there was no way to guarantee Morgan wouldn’t flip the fuck out if another woman were placed over her even temporarily. It’d been a long time since he’d had to deal with a Were as dominant as Morgan seemed to be. I’m rusty. That’s why she was able to ignore my command for a minute.
Looking from her to Thane, he didn’t think the were-liger would mind. Thane was softly purring, his expression content as he held her limp body. In fact, it might be as good for him as it will be for her.
Even better if they developed a strong attachment, because that would remove the potential headache Morgan could be for him. Cal smiled for a second, imagining her running wild among the men. He didn’t think Morgan would ever prove easy, as far as fitting in, especially being strongly dominant, but surely having someone like Thane completely to herself would work out.
And the were-liger certainly wouldn’t mind that aspect. Thane hadn’t had many playmates; lion and tiger females tended to feel a slight aversion to him. His lack of speech intrigued the odd human woman, but few humans could be trusted with the truth and eventually, Thane’s silence began to creep them out. Only a few of his female wolves had proven willing to occasionally keep the were-liger company.
Of course, it would mean doing without Thane on missions for a while, but Cal thought that was just as well. For all his size and ferocity in battle, the were-liger was a gentle soul who didn’t enjoy violence or killing. He was loyal and Cal didn’t want to trade on that loyalty constantly. There were plenty of other Weres better suited, mentally and emotionally, to hunt and fight.
They reached Thane’s apartment and waited outside while he carried Morgan in. Lucas raised his eyebrows. “I’d better call housekeeping, get people in there to clean up and replace stuff.”
“Yeah, do that. Tell them to be quiet and not to send any women.”
“She’s going to be a lot of trouble, boss.”
Cal shook his head. “I think she got the point about what being a lot of trouble will mean. Thane seems to have a grasp on how to handle her. He’s in charge.” He immediately filled Lucas in on the changes to be made on her training roster. “And I’ll be around, if she goes ballistic again.”
“You’re supposed to be on vacation.”
He shrugged. “I was, but since I’m back here, may as well see what’s going on.”
Thane joined them, and Cal smiled. “You’ll stay in charge of her until further notice, unless you have any objections.”
The were-liger shook his head.
“Okay. All of her trainers are going to be men. If she’s dominant enough to terrify Jana, Morgan would make most of the other women here piss their pants, wolves or otherwise. I’ll be on base, in case you need help with her, but I think it’s b
est I stay out of the way unless absolutely necessary.”
A nod from Thane and Lucas moved down the corridor a few steps to make the call to housekeeping. “The cleaning crew will take care of the mess she made. You just do whatever you think you should and let me know if you have any trouble.”
Cal felt a faint surge of energy from inside the apartment; Morgan had regained human shape. He wondered if she’d come out to confront him while he was passing on the names of her new trainers to Thane, but she didn’t.
For some reason, that bothered him. He couldn’t pinpoint why and stopped himself before throwing out any possibilities. He’d obviously screwed things up enough where she was concerned. It was best to steer clear of her until Morgan was comfortable with all the changes. Even then, Cal thought the less contact between them, the better for them both.
In spite of all the problems, he continued to be strongly attracted to her and Cal wasn’t going to give into that attraction again. It would fade—previous attractions had always dulled with time—more quickly if Morgan and Thane ended up involved.
The sounds of activity in the living room roused Morgan, but she stayed in bed. She had more important things to worry about, such as why she’d gone on a destructive rampage, and how the hell she was going to get out of this place.
Once out, she could disappear. It would take most of the money she had left, if not all, but she knew where to find people who could provide her with a new identity. She’d been toying with the idea since leaving California. Staying herself, after stealing from a drug dealer and possibly killing one of his goons, hadn’t been the best idea in the world.
Then again, as long as she was here, Pudgy and his goons wouldn’t be able to get to her. Morgan sighed. What’s my plan?
Not having a plan led always led to trouble. Witness the past few days. She preferred to be as prepared as possible. It was the main reason she’d only done real jail time once. Just my luck, getting a woman judge that time.
Male judges and lawyers, were easier. Some could be swayed by sob stories; being truthful about her life worked fine from that perspective. Others were susceptible to sexual favors, which she’d scrupulously kept. Some cops were suckers for a damsel in distress, especially if the damsel offered a quick fuck or blow job as payment for not being arrested.
She wrinkled her nose, remembering some of the things she’d done to stay out of jail and promptly dismissed the memories. Now is what’s important.
Calhoun was a lost cause. As caring and interested as he’d appeared at first, it was now clear he didn’t give a rat’s ass about her. Morgan silently snarled at the ceiling. She’d like to take him down, but was realistic enough to know it wouldn’t happen. Since she couldn’t, the best thing to do would be to avoid him as much as possible.
Thane... she mulled over thoughts of him for several minutes. His silence was unnerving, but he hadn’t done anything terrible to her. Okay, sure, maybe taking her down to see the crazy, imprisoned Weres could be considered awful, but Morgan thought she understood why he’d done it: to warn her that Calhoun wouldn’t hesitate to throw her down there with them.
A shudder wracked her, and she rolled onto her side to pull the covers up to her chin. It didn’t matter how much she hated Calhoun, ending up down there wasn’t worth it.
Which meant going along to get along, until she could make tracks. She’d heard Calhoun tell Thane he was in charge of her before she’d dozed off. Changing shapes was exhausting. Is it supposed to be?
That was one of the many things she didn’t know, and needed to learn.
Fine, I’ll go along for now. Morgan realized the noises from the living room had stopped. She sat up to stare at the bedroom door. I need Thane on my side.
The best way to get a man on her side had always proven to be sex. She doubted this time would be any different. But I need to be smart about it. Can’t just hop in the sack with him.
Time to work the damsel in distress bit for all it was worth. With a smile, Morgan left the bed to peek out into the living room. Her target wasn’t in sight, but a clink from the kitchen indicated his whereabouts. About to walk out, she realized she was nude.
She went to the dresser to retrieve panties and a tee. After pulling them on, Morgan went to the kitchen, noting in passing that the destruction she’d caused had been cleared, and new furniture was in place. These people are rich as fuck.
Thane was chopping vegetables, but paused as she walked in to look at her.
Morgan dropped her eyes and clasped her hands together. “I’m really sorry about tearing up your living room. It’s not an excuse, but I’m having a hard time with all of this.”
She didn’t even hear him move, startling as his feet appeared in her field of view. Lifting her head, Morgan hoped her expression conveyed the appropriate contriteness while studying his face. Thane held his arms up and out, his head slightly tilted. Offering a hug. Morgan stepped into it, sliding her arms around his sides and hid a smile when she felt him kiss the top of her head.
This is going to be easier than I thought.
Chapter Thirteen
A week had passed since Cal had seen Morgan. It was time to check on her progress. Care had been taken to ensure she didn’t cross paths with any of the other women—he thought maybe Jana’s appearance and attempt to take charge was what had triggered Morgan’s rampage.
The training areas were on a lower level. Cal found himself impatiently tapping his thigh on the elevator ride down, and forced himself to stop. One of the downsides to being at headquarters was the lack of female company. He didn’t care about fraternization when it came to the others, but as the First, he had to be careful. There was a hierarchy in place, with him at the top, and Cal didn’t trade on that position to scratch his sexual itches within the ranks.
With fewer female Weres than males, encouraging pairings was both necessary and a problem. There just weren’t enough women to go around, leaving a lot of men to do without the companionship of a woman they could be completely honest with. Weres had high sex drives, which was another issue, because it could cause tensions to rise. Fortunately, Were women typically weren’t averse to having multiple “friends with benefits” arrangements, at least not until they’d chosen a mate—and they had all the time they wanted to do that, with plenty of eager men vying to be chosen.
Opening the club had helped, though they needed to get busy opening more near the various field offices spread worldwide. The rules were simple: No forced interactions with humans, no sex without precautions.
A pregnancy meant bringing unknown factors into play, because Weres were extremely possessive when it came to children. They wanted them near, and safe. The tiny twist of extra DNA given by the Guardians had spread fast and far in the early centuries, leaving no reason to pursue a crossbreeding program.
Of course, not all humans were Sleepers. They’d never been able to accurately guesstimate how many were, though Cal knew for a fact not all Sleepers would Awaken. Being nudged into Awakening depended on a number of things and the Founts hadn’t been told what all those triggers were.
Not even all Were-bred children turned out to be Sleepers, but the numbers held true: more boys than girls were born.
The elevator stopped, and Cal grinned, pleased at how neatly he’d avoided thinking about Morgan in particular. He left it with a jaunty step, convinced checking in on her wasn’t going to be a problem. The corridor from the elevator had six doors on either side, and a seventh at its end. Cal headed for Door Number Seven, climbing the steps behind it to an identical corridor located above the other. He peeked in two doors before spotting Morgan onscreen in the next room, and slipped inside.
She was in the middle of a gun training class, learning to load a clip. Cal sat down in a chair, nodding to Brian, the attendant on duty. “How’s she doing?”
“Not bad.” Brian was a slender, short man with an interest in psychology. He was a leopard and had only been in the ranks for a few decades.
Cal preferred to promote newer Weres of the other species. Some of the older ones hadn’t forgiven him for killing their Founts, leaving him unable to fully trust them. Newer ones didn’t have that history affecting their dealings with him. “I mean, she doesn’t know much about weapons or anything, but we’re all satisfied with her progress. It’s not exactly slow.”
Onscreen, Morgan finished loading the clip and glanced at Thane, who stood beside her. The were-liger gave her an approving nod and put his hand to the small of her back. Cal fought a frown the gesture caused. “Looks like having Thane in charge of her is working out.”
Brian nodded. “I think it’s good for him, and she appears to have decided he’s a friend. She does get irritated with the others on a regular basis. Morgan doesn’t like being ordered around.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“What’s interesting is that she’s particularly offended by Lance and Sean.” Brian cast a faint smile at him and Cal let his frown show. Lance and Sean were wolves.
“Any idea why?”
“Yeah. You.”
“Why do I always get the blame?”
Brian shrugged. “You’re the boss. Interested in my theory about it?”
“Go ahead.” Boss or not, Cal encouraged his people to speak openly to him. It bred a familiarity that led to them treating him like one of the guys much of the time, but that was fine. Playing the high and mighty king hadn’t done him any favors in the past.
“You took intent interest in her when she appeared, helped her through Awakening, and uh, controlled her first change.” Brian made his disapproval on the mishandling of that clear with a flat look. “Then you jumped on her for reacting to her new instincts concerning vampires, threw her out, and put her on lock down.”
“Yes, I screwed up. I know that. But why...”
The Wolf Fount Page 10