Wolf Fever

Chapter 6

NORTH HAD AVOIDED BEING ANYWHERE NEAR THE TWO women, both gray wolves from another pack and both newly sick from the bioengineered plague that Miller had concocted for them. The lure of money had worked. So from a distance, North observed the way Marilee and Becky looked. Sexy, he thought. Like sending the Trojan horse as a gift to Troy during the Trojan War, the women would attend the gathering and infect as many of Darien’s damn people, and Darien himself, as they could. Payback was hell.

The only drawback was if Carol got sick. She was the one he wanted. A red, turned by his own cousin. She would be his, and being a nurse, she could counter the effects of the sickness, if Miller was lying about his intentions.

The women entered the house, and he briefly saw Lelandi smile and motion for them to follow her. Carol could also take care of Lelandi, in the event she got sick. It wasn’t Lelandi’s fault she’d left their red pack. Damn their previous pack leader and his brutish ways.

North took a deep breath and slunk into the woods. The package had arrived.

His next mission was grabbing Carol before it was too late.

Normally, Ryan would dress casually on a fact-finding mission—in jeans and turtleneck or T-shirt, depending on the weather. So why the hell was he dressing up for this “affair?” He scoffed at himself for making such a big deal of this as he peered into the bathroom mirror of his room at the bed and breakfast. He ran his hand over the five-o’clock shadow that gave him more of a wolfish look and considered whether to shave again or not.

Hell, the first date he ever had, he took the girl to a swimming hole. It was an impromptu situation, and neither cared about what they were wearing—or not wearing as the night wore on. Of course, she’d been human and his and her hormones had been running high. Over the years, he’d been just as spontaneous. He’d take a liking to a human girl, make it known and, if she was of like mind, have a one-night stand.

But with Carol, he knew deep down it wasn’t the same. That she needed a mate. That one-night stands were out, and although he kept telling himself he had nothing to prove, damn if he couldn’t shake loose of the need to show up the other males, if she was even interested in anyone else.

He pulled on his sports jacket, hoping to convince Darien that he needed to speak to Carol pronto so he could quit interfering in Darien’s pack business and return home. At least that’s what he told himself.

As soon as he reached the cozy sitting area for guests at the inn, Bertha Hastings greeted him with a smile and twinkle in her eye. “Your sister, Rosalind, called. Asked if you were all right because you wouldn’t answer your cell phone. I told her you were watching the games earlier and were going to the gathering tonight.

“She asked if you were seeing Carol. Since I hadn’t been at the earlier event, I couldn’t say. I did mention you were taking Carol on a date tonight. Your sister was real quiet after that, and then she quickly thanked me and said good-bye. But I must say you’re looking really spiffy. Enjoy the gathering.”

“Thanks. I’ll be asking Carol a few questions and be on my way.” And have a word with Rosalind again. Hell, by the time he was finished with his business here, Rosalind would have everyone thinking he was chasing after Carol and soon would be mating her.

“Only one question is worth asking.” Bertha grinned even broader and made her way to the kitchen. “If you young folk want something to snack on later, bring her here after your date. Plenty of food for everyone.”

“Thanks.” It wouldn’t be necessary. As soon as he spoke with Carol, he was returning ASAP to Green Valley and the business he should have been conducting.

Shoulders straight, he stalked outside to his truck and took a deep breath of the chilly night air. He was ready to try to persuade Darien to allow him to see Carol one last time. And to end this obsession he had to set the record straight with Carol.

When Carol came down from her bedroom before the gathering, men and women were already settling in the sunroom. She was wearing jeans, boots, and a soft pink cardigan, trying to look cool and casual instead of more nervous than she’d like to admit.

She’d been planning to go to the kitchen for a glass of wine to soothe her nerves when Ryan walked in the front door with Sam and Silva. Carol’s heart skipped a beat.

Ryan was wearing a steel blue sports coat and a pinstriped blue and silver shirt. He had left three of the buttons open from the collar down, giving the appearance he was ready to unfasten the others in a hurry in the call of duty. She couldn’t decide if that meant shape-shifting or sex, but he definitely looked ready for either.

Jeans gave his look more of a dressy casual, which she totally approved of, but then her gaze riveted to his face to see his expression. A shadow of a beard graced his angular face, roughening it a bit and making him appear more like an outdoorsman than someone who sat around an office all day.

He was studying her face, just like a wary investigator would, and observing her reaction to his being here. Instead of smiling, he raised a brow as if to say he was here at her request. Let’s get this over with. She couldn’t believe it. But promptly at six, here he was. Maybe Lelandi was right. When Ryan got something in his mind to do, he wouldn’t be stopped. Wouldn’t he be surprised if he stayed around long enough to discover she truly was psychic!

That could take a really long time, considering that her visions were so unpredictable and that he probably was quite stubborn about refusing to believe in the paranormal.

She let out her breath. She assumed Darien would be pissed that Ryan was here. Jake also, because he’d made all the arrangements for the gathering. And because this was her coming-out.

Darien and his brothers stalked into the foyer to meet Ryan, all of them looking stern and with firm resolve. “Your date will have to wait until after the gathering. Where do you plan to take Carol?” Darien asked.

Her heart thumped harder. Darien was allowing it?

But her second thought was that this was so much like when she was sixteen, going on her first real date with a boy and her dad had read him the riot act first! No riding in vans, on motorcycles, or visiting homes when parents aren’t there. That was the only time her father had acted really alpha. She’d always suspected her mother had counseled him first as to what to say.

Carol was twenty-six now, for heaven’s sake, and beyond needing fatherly lectures before a date!

Ryan smiled a little. “The movies.”

Darien’s response was terse. “We don’t have a movie theater here.”

Ryan had to have known that. Cad. Yet she loved his sense of humor and the way he challenged Darien. Darien’s brothers supported him in just about every situation that arose. None of his people disagreed with Darien. She enjoyed seeing someone who would test him in a lighthearted way.

“We’ll grab takeout and return to my room at the inn to watch something on TV then.” Ryan gave Carol an elusive smile and winked.

Pure macho man and a lady-killer all rolled up in that one faint smile and sexy wink that promised a night of pure heated pleasure. After the way they’d kissed with an audience, being alone in his room didn’t sound like a safe bet at all. She was certain Darien wouldn’t think so, either.

Every inch of her skin flushed with warmth, and if she hadn’t known any better, she might have worried that the shift was coming. But the heat that signaled the impending transformation went much deeper, Lelandi had explained to her, as if it settled into the marrow of the bones and melted them. And she supposed it did since the bones reshaped into a wolf’s skeletal form or back again into a human’s. What she was experiencing now was more of a surface heat, triggered by pure embarrassment.

Darien shook his head at Ryan’s suggestion of taking a meal to his room and watching TV there. Darien tried to conceal the expression, but Carol had lived with him long enough to recognize he was fighting a smile. He admired alpha males, and she could tell that while it stuck in his craw that Ryan was an outsider intruding on his pack business, the gray was a challenge. And Darien enjoyed the game when someone had the audacity to oppose him in a non-threatening way from time to time. She wondered if Ryan reminded him of himself.

In good humor, Ryan folded his arms. “All right. What do you suggest?”

“The tavern. Have a couple of drinks. They’re serving roast beef sandwiches tonight. You can enjoy the music. Best place in town for a date.”

Also crowded with tons of pack members ready to observe their every move.

“All right. Agreeable, Carol?” Ryan asked, with one raised brow.

“Sure, after the gathering,” she grumbled. So much for getting out of that affair, although she appreciated that Ryan had asked if she was okay with the setup and hadn’t just made the decision without her say.

“You’ll bring her home by midnight,” Darien added. Then he gave Jake and Tom a look.

Which meant they’d be Darien’s eyes and ears at the tavern, along with everyone else’s there.

Darien motioned to the sunroom. “Shall we?”

Carol wished she could have skipped the gathering altogether, dealt with Ryan, and settled this matter in private without delay. But as usual, Darien would have his way.

Lelandi came out of the kitchen and wrapped her arm around Carol’s waist. “I should have told you earlier that the pack gathering is a throwback from ancient times and that even some humans adopted the notion after they learned our people were doing this. Although they hadn’t a clue what we were. It then became fashionable in England and other locales to present women to society as acceptable to marry.”

“Werewolves started the trend?”

Lelandi smiled. “Yes. Only we stick to our traditions longer than most.”

Carol envisioned the women’s long gowns and other more restrictive articles of clothing and wondered how in the world they could have removed all those garments if the urge to turn hit them. Living back then would surely have been a disaster for her. For one, she’d have been considered a witch if she’d revealed her paranormal secrets. And a werewolf on top of that? She would have been bonfire kindling for sure.

She glanced back to see where Ryan was, but he’d vanished. Had Darien or his brothers kicked him out of the house until he could return to pick her up for their date? She shouldn’t have been disappointed that he was gone, considering the reason he wanted to see her further.

Still, she believed she’d prefer his company to that of the beta males in Darien’s pack. She sighed and asked Lelandi, “Are drinks being served?”

Lelandi only smiled and guided her into the sunroom.

The room was bathed in warm lights, with the spring floral decorations giving off the sweetest scent of jasmine and roses. As soon as she walked in, Carol saw the two women from the other pack. Both were stunning, and Carol shriveled a little, feeling plain and unnoticeable. Yet something about the women gave her pause. She was awful about remembering names, but faces, especially as striking as those of the two women, stood out in her mind. She hadn’t met these women, except maybe in passing. But where had she seen them before?

“Becky’s the black-haired one, the librarian, over there by the leather sofa. And Marilee’s the brunette, the masseuse, next to the fireplace,” Lelandi whispered to Carol.

Both women looked to see who the new arrival was. Frowning, they didn’t appear pleased, but Carol wondered why they were bothered. Becky was a black-haired and black-eyed beauty, her thick curls cascading over her shoulders. She was sophisticated and sultry looking, particularly wearing a shocking-pink sweater that dipped low at the bodice. Not at all how Carol pictured a librarian looking. The ones at the college where she went? Business suits, glasses, and buns. This babe didn’t look like she read anything literary. Maybe she liked historical romances, too.

Carol gave her a quick smile. The woman gave her a guarded smile back.

Marilee was a brunette with the same kind of luxuriously thick hair that caressed her shoulders, dark brown eyes, and a plunging, silky orange neckline that also showed off ample cleavage.

Both wore black jeans and spiky black heels, and looked dressed to kill. And both towered over Carol by a good four inches. Which made her feel inadequately short—from her bobbed haircut to her petite height— and not half as sophisticatedly dressed or sexy. She’d describe herself as more casual sporty. Not a siren at all.

She glanced at Darien and his brothers, expecting someone to make a formal announcement, but no one did. The event appeared to be just a meet-and-greet affair where the guys would eventually garner the courage to speak to the women looking for mates. Although Carol was not in that category willingly.

None of the men were very alpha, and neither of the two women appeared to be, so no one made an effort to speak to anyone else.

Lelandi and Darien and the other mated couples talked freely among themselves about general news, but Carol felt that was more of a ploy to set everyone at ease. To make it appear that they were not chaperoning the women.

Dressed in a fresh red-and-white-striped jacket, no grass stains evident, Mervin walked across the room, headed in her direction, and gave someone a chilling glare. Carol turned to see who. Ryan. Where had he come from? But where he was going bothered her even more. He was headed straight for Marilee. Of course. The sexy masseuse.

“Sorry about earlier today,” Mervin said, getting close—too close—to Carol and pulling her attention away from Ryan.

If her back hadn’t already been up against a wall in a defensive wallflower mode, she would have stepped away from Mervin.

A cloying cologne clung to him like a cloud of heavy allspice, when normally their kind didn’t bother with heavy human fragrances.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Thinking of the way he’d pinned her to the ground during the game and wouldn’t let her up, Carol gave him a scornful look.

“It was supposed to be a game of tag, not a wrestling match.”

She wouldn’t let him get away with believing she thought his behavior acceptable. If she did, she was sure he’d continue to behave that way.

He didn’t seem in the least bit remorseful and glanced at Ryan. “I don’t know what he sees in Marilee.”

Carol didn’t mean to, but she nearly growled when she spoke. “Maybe he needs a good back rub.”

Mervin snorted. “He shouldn’t be here. This is a gathering for our pack, not for outsiders like him.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t have any intention of going after any of the women here tonight.” Or maybe he did. What did she know?

Mervin gave Carol a look like she couldn’t be serious. “He’s an alpha male. They always go after available women and take their pick. I hear you have a date with him. Break it.”

A short laugh tumbled from her lips. She doubted he’d say anything like that to Ryan, but he thought he could order her about, and she’d wilt and agree? “Why?”

“He’s trying to make you jealous by talking to Marilee. But we all know you’re the one he wants. Why else would he have sneaked around Darien’s place last night? Why else would he have kissed you the way he did outside the house?”

She dismissed Mervin’s concern and folded her arms in an annoyed fashion. Not for an instant did she think Ryan was talking to Marilee because he wanted to make Carol jealous. And he had only kissed Carol because he was trying to prove something to Mervin and the others who had been watching their interaction. She still wondered why Ryan had been sneaking around Darien’s house.

She considered Ryan, who was standing relaxed and casual with Marilee. The woman’s eyes flashed with intrigue. Her lips curved up in a smile. She might not be an alpha, but she had seduction down to an art. Hell, whatever he was saying to her, he’d sure got her number. She reached over and slid her hands over his shoulders. Instantly, Carol wanted to jerk her hands off him, as if he was hers. Where that unwelcome notion came from, she hadn’t a clue.

Marilee fluttered her long lashes.

Which was another of Carol’s shortcomings. Both of the women had thick, long lashes that fluttered beautifully. Carol’s were pale blonde and short. Even with mascara that claimed to make lashes longer and more noticeable, hers were not meant to flicker in a provocative way.

The woman was now looking adoringly into Ryan’s eyes, her tongue sweeping over her already shimmering lips, which were coated in dusky pink gloss. If the lout kissed her, the date was off.

Everyone seemed rabidly entranced with Ryan and Marilee’s actions. Some of the bachelors appeared annoyed, frowns creasing their temples, arms folded or hands shoved in pockets. Some seemed in awe as they watched Ryan, small smiles on their faces. Maybe making mental notes of what worked when attempting to get a woman’s attention?

“Let’s go to the tavern and get a drink, Mervin.” Carol had had enough of this fiasco. Even though she’d rather be anywhere with anyone else, at least Mervin had the guts to pursue her.

Mervin played with his bowtie and looked at Darien.

Oh, for heaven’s sake. Did he have to get permission from Darien?

She headed for the great room, figuring everyone was so intrigued with Ryan and his conquest that no one would notice she’d left. As soon as she exited the sunroom, Mervin hurried after her. “We can’t leave the gathering. Not without Darien’s permission.”

Grow some balls, she wanted to say. That was one thing she liked about Ryan. He stood up to Darien, no matter what the circumstances.

She strode through the great room toward the stairs.

Mervin hurried after her and roughly seized her arm. She clenched her teeth, her whole body taut with raw irritation.

Whipping around, she yanked her arm free. “Do not grab me like that again,” she growled low, unable to curb her anger. Partly at being accosted and partly because the masseuse was fawning over Ryan—and he seemed to like it. With Carol, he was strictly business. Psychic business, and what she could do with it, was his only interest in her.

As soon as the fury at being waylaid had washed over her, heat swept through her, and she cringed. Oh hell… not… the… change.