by Bianca D’Arc
Joe made the call.
“Hey, Joe,” the other Alpha answered on the third ring. “What can I do for you?”
“Got a woman here named Enid Meriwether. Claims to be a priestess. Said she’s met you a couple of times. Can you confirm?” Joe didn’t waste time on pleasantries. Not when it came to the safety of his Pack. The other Alpha understood.
“It’s been a while,” Nigel replied at once, “but I see her mother from time to time. She’s working with a group of coyotes just north of my territory, if you can believe it. Very patient woman. The daughter retired from the Air Force a few years back, she told me. Flew fighter jets.”
Joe’s eyebrows rose. “She’s not as young as she looks, then?”
“Neither is the mother. I suspect she’s got a bit of fey blood, though she’s never confirmed or denied. Or it could be Goddess magic at work. Ol’ Pen has been around since my father’s time, at least,” Nigel went on. Joe knew that would put the woman’s mother into the late 1800’s. “Want me to talk to your guest?”
“I’d be much obliged. She knows too much already for someone who’s just passing through,” Joe told the other man.
“Understood.” Joe knew Nigel comprehended the problem. Maintaining secrecy was paramount, especially in these dangerous times, but somehow, it was getting harder and harder with each passing day to keep everyone safe.
“Talk to him for a minute,” Joe said, handing Enid his phone.
She took it, and he watched as she greeted the other Alpha. She answered his questions without hesitation, and Joe could hear no lies in her voice. When she handed the phone back to him after a few minutes, he figured he already knew what Nigel would say.
“That’s definitely her.” Joe felt a moment’s relief at Nigel’s words. “I don’t know what she’s doing in your neck of the woods, but I know Pen said her daughter was moving around, looking for her place in the world. She’s an ace pilot, so it’s not surprising she ended up at your airport, I guess.”
“She made an emergency landing here,” Joe told the other man.
“You don’t say?” Nigel’s tone became more speculative. “They say the Goddess works in strange ways. Maybe it was Fate that brought a priestess to your door.”
“Maybe,” Joe agreed, watching the woman as he ended the call. “Thanks for your help, Nigel. I appreciate the confirmation.”
“Anytime, Joe. Anytime.”
Joe put his phone away and walked closer to the woman. “You check out,” he said, “but you knew that already. So. How can we help you get where you’re going?”
“I need another plane,” she said at once.
“We have a few to choose from, but I don’t feel comfortable sending you out in this,” Joe told her, gesturing toward the open hangar door, outside of which, the storm still raged.
“But I have to go. A life hangs in the balance,” she replied, standing firm. Joe admired her pluck, standing up to an Alpha of his stature, in his own territory. She had guts. He’d give her that.
Joe sized her up again, impressed by the big spirit in such a short body. She was probably average height for a human, but compared to the shifter women of Joe’s Pack, she was downright petite. No way could he just send her out into the storm. Something inside him rebelled at the thought.
“Tell you what,” he said, not even sure why he was doing this. “I’ll take you in my plane.”
“What?” she asked, clearly surprised.
“What?” echoed Kevin, who’d been quiet up to this point. He was looking at Joe with wide, incredulous eyes.
“You heard me. Kev, you let everyone know I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’m taking the Lear out.”
Joe knew his pride and joy, the newest jet he owned, would be the safest for this particular joyride. It was gassed up and ready to go since Joe had wanted to take it out first thing in the morning, anyway. He liked to take off right before dawn and watch the sun rise over the edge of the world. At least, that’s how it felt from up in the sky.
“Just like that?” Kevin asked, looking from his father to the human woman and back again.
“Just like that,” Joe agreed, then relented, going over and putting a fatherly arm around his youngest son’s shoulders. “It’ll be all right,” he told Kevin. “I can’t just let her go off in this on her own. You understand, right?”
“I guess,” Kevin admitted, looking down at the toes of his sneakers. “I just want you to be careful.”
There. Kevin was coming ‘round. He was growing up so fast, and at times like this, when the little boy gave way to the adult he was becoming, it made Joe so damned proud.
“I will, son. Promise.” Joe squeezed his son close for a moment, then let go.
Soon, he wouldn’t be able to do this with his boy, who was growing all the time. He was still shorter than Joe, but he suspected that wouldn’t last. Kevin was going to be a big fellow—and a very dominant wolf.
“If it’s any help, I’m a former fighter pilot,” Enid put in unexpectedly, talking directly to Kevin. The look on her face was kind. “I’ve flown just about every kind of aircraft, in all kinds of weather. I’ve even had people shooting at me, which is something we won’t have to deal with this time, right? It’ll be okay. I won’t let any harm come to your dad.”
The words were ludicrous. And yet… Spoken by a priestess of the Lady and a badass combat pilot, somehow, even though she was a small little thing, her words held weight. Kevin seemed to take heart from them, at least, which was all to the good. Joe didn’t want to leave his youngest in a state of anxiety, but he felt down deep in his bones that he had to see this mission through. For some reason, the Mother of All had landed this little human woman in Joe’s territory, and it was like a duty, somehow, to see her safely to her destination.
“Have Gilbert look at the Cessna’s engine in the morning,” Joe reminded Kevin. “And lock up for the night, then go home. I’ll call Shane and let him know he’s in charge for the time being.” Joe rattled off his to do list as he headed toward the back of the hangar where his beloved new jet was waiting.
Joe didn’t say anything as his new companion stowed the cooler and her gear in the passenger compartment, then squeezed into the narrow cockpit to take the co-pilot’s seat. He really hadn’t expected anything less, knowing that the petite woman had been a fighter pilot. She wouldn’t want to sit back and ride any more than he would.
“Nice jet,” Enid commented as Joe went through the preflight. “Anything I can do?”
“Have you flown this model before?” Joe asked, not pausing in his run through the checklist. Safety came first, last, and always, for him.
“Once,” she surprised him by saying. “Last year, I was flying charters out of Teterboro in New Jersey, and the guy who owned the charter company had just bought one of these. He let me fly it, just the one time, but it was a really nice ride. Maneuverable. Fast and sleek.” Joe could hear her remembered joy in flying the machine. He recognized it. He felt it himself whenever he took this new plane out for a spin.
“I noticed you did a walk-around before you came on board,” Joe said approvingly. “I’d already done mine before you landed.”
“Planning ahead?” she asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Keeping my options open,” he replied. “We have a small fleet of planes that could have taken you to your destination, but for the weather conditions, this baby has the engines to muscle through the wind. I’d had her fueled up earlier because I like to go out before dawn, and I didn’t want to mess with it in the dark. I wanted to just climb in and go.”
She nodded. “Sounds nice. I love watching the sun rise over the curvature of the earth. That never gets old.”
Joe was surprised by her words. They were so close to how he felt, he was thrown for a moment. He went back to his checklist, glad to see he was almost done. He finished up and stowed the document, preparing to taxi the plane out of the hangar. There was just enough room to get a
round the plane that had brought this unique female here.
Joe saw Kevin watching and waiting to close up the hangar for the night. He was on the phone, but he waved to Joe as they passed. Joe knew he’d surprised his youngest by this impulsive decision to fly off suddenly, away from his Pack and all that he’d built here. He didn’t know why he’d decided on this course, but it felt right.
Part of being Alpha was following his instincts, and right now, every last one of them was telling him to leave his hard-won territory and help this woman with her mission. He was committed now, to saving the life of whoever it was who was waiting for that kidney. He didn’t know why. He didn’t know what was so all-fired important about what they were doing. He had no clue as to how it would all end, but he knew, deep down in his Alpha heart-of-hearts, that what they were doing was important. Vital, even.
Something about this woman, and this situation, called to his deepest instincts. He had to help her. There was simply no other way to go.
Joe was pleasantly surprised by how well they worked together in the cockpit as the flight went on. The takeoff was a bit challenging with the crosswinds, but before too long, they’d climbed out of the weather and were up above the clouds.
“I love it up here.” Enid’s voice came to him over the headsets they were both wearing.
“I know what you mean,” he told her. While below, a tempest raged, above the clouds, they were bathed in starlight. He looked over at her in the darkened cockpit and saw her gaze out at the constellations, her eyes filled with wonder.
“I always feel a little closer to Her up here, you know?” Enid said, her voice low with reverence. She looked out at the stars for a moment longer before shaking off her wonder and refocusing on the chart she held in her lap. “We don’t have far to go, actually. In my little plane, it would’ve taken longer, but this jet will get us there in no time.”
“Well, you said time was of the essence,” Joe reminded her. “This is the newest craft in the Big Wolf fleet and the most powerful. Nothing but the best for a priestess of the Lady.”
“Much obliged, Alpha. Much obliged. And the recipient of our cargo will be much better off the faster we get this to her.” Enid glanced in back, checking on the cooler with the organ in it that she’d strapped down in visual range of her seat.
“Who is it going to?” Joe asked.
Enid looked at him, meeting his gaze in the darkened cockpit. “There’s a very small, newly formed wolf Pack in St. Christopher. The Alpha is a good guy, and he only just found his mate. She’s human and only just learning our ways. The kidney is for her.”
An Alpha’s mate? Joe should have asked more questions before jumping into action. He almost shook his head. Normally, he was known as a cautious Alpha, who thought everything through. Tonight, he was acting out of character. What was it about this woman—this priestess—that made him act before thinking?
“There may be a little friction when we land,” Joe said, thinking through the likely outcomes of his presence in another Alpha’s territory.
“I thought about that,” Enid replied. “He’s going to be at the airport, waiting for us. I could call ahead and ask to speak with him. Give him a bit of warning.”
“Over the radio?” Joe shook his head. “That won’t do. Even speaking vaguely, anyone might hear and interpret what you’re saying. No. We’ll just have to brazen this out. You said he was a good guy. I suspect he’s just about flipping out with worry for his mate, right? That adds a variable to the equation, but if he recognizes me as dominant or even just as an equal, we should be all right.”
“I’m going down the steps first, regardless,” Enid insisted. “They’re expecting me. I can always take him aside and try to explain how much help you’ve been.”
“That could work,” Joe said, but he didn’t like it. He didn’t like sending this frail human woman down the stairs first, into possible confrontation. It went against everything he stood for as Alpha. As protector.
But she wasn’t Pack. Why did he feel so strongly protective over a woman who wasn’t even part of his Pack? A human, no less. Joe didn’t understand his own instincts on this one.
Their course was a simple one. Basically a straight line once they got around the weather. In fact, they were already beginning their descent. Thankfully, the storm system had already cleared the area of Louisiana they were heading toward, and aside from some residual winds, they would come down to dry weather.
Joe asked Enid to handle communications with the tower while he piloted the craft downward. After all, they had been expecting her, and she knew some of the folks waiting on the ground. She handled herself as the trained professional he’d been led to expect, and he could just imagine her flying a fighter jet, nerves cool as steel.
She was an impressive woman. For the first time in a very long time, Joe found himself fascinated by a female. Since his mate had died in a tragic accident, he hadn’t been interested in any women. Not shifter women. Not human women. Nobody had roused his interest in any way.
Furthermore, this female roused the interest of his wolf. Something that shouldn’t be able to happen. A shifter got one mate, and that was it. One shot at happiness, granted by the Goddess. If a mate died, often the other would follow, but Joe had stayed. For his children. For his Pack. He’d stayed because he’d been needed, but his heart had been forever shattered.
Or so he’d thought.
Why, then, was he finding the human woman so attractive? He’d not found any female attractive in this way since his mate. It shouldn’t be possible, but yet… The longer he was around Enid, the more he wanted to be around her. Something strange was happening, and he was at a loss to explain it.
Chapter Three
As planned, Enid was first off the jet. The tarmac was wet, and there was a dampness in the air, but it wasn’t raining here. The storm had passed. She could see lights glistening through the trees—Christmas lights on houses in the area, twinkling white, gold and all colors of the rainbow, depending on the taste of those that had strung them. The young Alpha wolf whose mate was so ill met her at the bottom of the steps.
“The Alpha from Big Wolf is right behind me,” she warned the younger man in a voice barely above a whisper. “He’s a good guy, and this is his jet. Play nice with him. He’s here to help.”
A low growl came from the younger man, but he tamped it down as Joe appeared on the top step of the small jet. The two dominant wolves sized each other up as Joe ambled down the steps to the ground, but it was Joe who held out his hand first, clearly the elder and more dominant of the two strong wolves. But he wasn’t playing his dominance card. No, there was true compassion in his eyes, if Enid was any judge, and he was treating the other Alpha as an equal—or, at least, as someone worthy of respect.
Enid was impressed. Joe had to have an amazing relationship with his inner wolf to be so at peace within himself. In situations like these, often the wild side would take over and cause all sorts of havoc, but Joe was more in control than any dominant shifter she’d ever seen.
“Joe Villalobos. I’m here to help,” Joe told the other man.
“Henri LaCroix,” the younger man returned, shaking Joe’s hand. “Thank you for bringing Enid back.” Enid breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good. You could never quite predict how meetings among dominant shifters would go. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have an escort set up to get this precious cargo to the hospital.”
“By all means,” Joe said. “Goddess go with you and your mate,” he added quietly, a benediction for the safety of the young Alpha and the woman who shared his heart.
The other people who had been waiting to greet them came closer, including a doctor who was on the transplant team, and Enid handed over the cooler. She told them what the doctors on the other end had told her. “Everything’s on the chart, secured to the inside of the lid. I didn’t open it once it was handed over, and though we hit some turbulence, the doctors assured me everything was as secure
d as they could make it.”
“We’ve got it from here,” the doctor told her with a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
With that, the cooler was whisked into the back of a waiting police car, along with the doctor and Henri. The flashing lights came on as the engine started, and they were away.
Enid breathed a sigh of relief. Her part in this little drama was mostly over. For now, at least. The human doctors would do their thing to save Lucinda’s life, then Enid would check on her and see if there was anything she could do, from her standpoint, to help things along.
“What now?” Joe asked as he stood next to Enid on the airstrip, watching the police car speed away.
Enid turned to look at him. He really was the most handsome man she’d ever met. He had dark hair, but there was a maturity on his face that in a human would probably have accompanied a threading of silver through his locks. On a shifter, of course, time settled differently. Joe might well have more than a century behind him, but he would look like a middle-aged man for another hundred years, at least.
The fact that he was much, much older than her didn’t detract from his allure. He had that basic animal attraction that most shifters boasted, but there was more to him than met the eye. There was a depth to his character that she had never encountered before. Not like this. Not in such a devastatingly handsome package, and certainly never in a shifter.
But he was taken. He had children. She’d met one of them. That meant he had a mate. Enid knew that mating was for life among shifters. So, Joe’s heart was well and truly taken.
Something bothered her, though. He hadn’t once mentioned his mate. Surely, he would’ve told his son to pass on the message that he wouldn’t be home that night? He should probably be on the phone, even now, checking in with his mate. Yet, he wasn’t.
Enid began to suspect something truly tragic, and her heart broke a little as she looked deep into Joe’s laser blue eyes. Was that pain there? Pain that would never be eased? She thought maybe it was, and worse, she felt that zinging attraction that pushed her closer to this man she’d only just met.