Wolf Fever

Chapter 7

RUSHING THROUGH THE GREAT ROOM, CAROL HURRIED off toward the stairs to her bedroom before she did the unthinkable—got naked and shape-shifted in front of Mervin. Heaven forbid! If he grabbed her again, she wouldn’t be responsible for her actions.

“You can’t leave the gathering,” Mervin said, half angrily, half pleading as he stalked after her.

Without giving him a backward glance, she ran up the stairs two at a time, praying she’d make it to her room and could concentrate on stopping the shift before it caught hold. And that Mervin wouldn’t follow her.

As if instinct moved her, she tackled the buttons on her sweater before she reached the top of the stairs. Her heart was pounding so hard that the sound of Niagara Falls rushed in her ears, but at least Mervin must have paused at the foot of the stairs and didn’t follow her up them. She imagined if it had been Ryan, he wouldn’t have let her go. Then again, she didn’t think he would have accosted her the way Mervin had, triggering the damnable shift in the first place.

“Carol!” Lelandi called out from the great room.

Hell. Carol raced to her room, sweater unbuttoned, her fingers struggling to undo her belt. Now she knew why more of their kind didn’t wear accessories. Or blouses or sweaters with buttons, either.

She dove into her bedroom, slammed the door, and locked it.

Lelandi’s frenzied footsteps grew closer down the carpeted hallway, or at least Carol assumed that’s who was coming after her.

Carol squeezed her eyes shut and stood still, hoping her second sight wouldn’t fail her now. Anything that would thwart shifting.

“Carol?” Lelandi tapped lightly on the door, her voice soothing.

She tried to ignore Lelandi’s entreaty, the heat still coursing through every muscle, through every vein.

“Carol, open up so we can talk.” This time Lelandi used a little more force in her words. A command, not a suggestion.

Go away, Carol wanted to shout. She had to concentrate.

“Did Mervin upset you? Darien wants to know. And Mervin’s going to be ostracized from the whole pack if he did.”

“No, Lelandi, I’m fine. Just… I’ll be down in a second.” Gritting her teeth, she stripped down to her bra and panties.

Then the room blurred into oblivion as a window into the future filled her mind.

“Come in, Carol,” Lelandi said, her voice tinged with dread as she hurriedly motioned for Carol to enter her bedroom. Lelandi wrung her hands as she watched Darien in his wolf form pace back and forth. “What’s happening? I don’t understand what’s happening. How can we stop this?” Her green eyes turned to Carol, and tears filled them. “He can’t change back.”

Darien. First the doc, now their pack leader? But what could Carol do? What could she ever do in a situation initially conjured up in her mind’s eye? It was too late for Darien. Too late for the doc.

“Carol, you have to do something!” Lelandi pleaded, her voice strained, choked with emotion.

The feelings of inadequacy swamped Carol, as they often did when she had no control over future events. The fear of what could happen to her increased her resolve never to shift.

The door lock clicked open, instantly shattering Carol’s vision. Lelandi had to have used a hairpin to unlock the bedroom door, damn it.

Her lips parted, Lelandi stared at Carol wearing only her peach lace bra and panties. “Oh, Carol.” She quickly shut the door as more footsteps tromped their way down the hall. “Don’t fight the change. It’ll only make things worse.”

How did Lelandi know?

A knock sounded, heavier, more masculine.

“We’re all right,” Lelandi called out in her most assertive way.

“Did Mervin upset Carol? I’ve got an outsider gray who’s ready to tear him apart, not that I sure as hell won’t take Mervin to task,” Darien growled through the door.

Lelandi raised her brows at Carol.

She shook her head. “No.” Although she thought Mervin’s grabbing her arm had resulted in the urge to change, he really hadn’t done anything to her to warrant all the fuss. Oh hell, she had to find a way to control the compulsion to shift in case something like this happened again.

“Are you certain?” Darien asked, his control slipping.

Lelandi studied Carol, but she shook her head and frowned again.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she whispered.

Lelandi didn’t look like she believed her. “I’ll speak to you later, honey,” Lelandi said to Darien, “but she says no.”

“All right. But I want her returned to the party posthaste.” Darien stomped off.

Carol was sure he didn’t believe her, either.

“What happened to trigger the need to shift?” Lelandi asked in a soothing way, as if Carol was fragile and would break if Lelandi wasn’t gentle.

Carol clenched her teeth. If there was one thing she wasn’t—fragile was it. “I wasn’t getting ready to shape-shift.” She went to her closet and yanked out a sparkling peach dress with a low neckline and a gored skirt that caressed her legs when she walked. She slipped it on. “I just didn’t feel dressy enough.”

Lelandi gave her a slight smile. “The other women are not any real competition, you know. The men are much more intrigued with you, especially after you played so aggressively on the field this afternoon. And taking Darien’s ribbon?” Lelandi gave a bright laugh. “They loved it.”

“Everyone was shocked into silence.”

“Well, all right. At first, sure. But once they saw how good-naturedly Darien took it, they loved how you stood up to him. No one would have dared. Although Silva does from time to time. As to the men, they still don’t know about the other women. You’re more of a known commodity.”

“They don’t like it that I haven’t shifted.” Suddenly a thought occurred to Carol. Why couldn’t she just pretend that she had shifted when she was alone? Then they’d quit worrying about her. “Not that I haven’t shifted when no one is around to see it.”

Lelandi tilted her head to the side and gave her a look that said: Get real. “I know you haven’t shifted. If Darien learns you were having trouble with it tonight, he’ll want to know what brought it about and how you managed to stop it.”

Carol was dying to know how Lelandi suspected she had never shifted. Must have been a werewolf thing. She zipped the low-cut back of her dress and slipped into a pair of slinky heels, still feeling underdressed but like she was on a manhunt.

“I love the dress, Carol. You should wear clothes like that more often.”

“I bought it to go to a party held by one of the student nurses in one of my biology classes. Sat like a wallflower during the whole affair when I discovered the male medical staff in attendance had significant others, who were not at the party, but were looking for some extra nighttime entertainment. I didn’t have a ride home or money to call a cab, so I stuck it out.

“But I loved the color.” She ran her hand over the silky fabric. And the cut looked good on her, so she hadn’t had the heart to get rid of the dress. Now she felt way overexposed for the current event, like she was trying to prove something to the other women or to the men, when she had no intention of doing so.

“Are you going to be all right?” Lelandi asked, as Carol disappeared into the adjoining bathroom.

Carol touched up her lips with a shimmering peach gloss. “Yep, as right as can be.” Under the circumstances.

“When you went into the woods with Ryan last night, did you see any sign of a red wolf?”

Frowning, Carol walked out of the bathroom. “No, why?”

“Have you had any premonitions that we’ve had trouble with a red wolf?”

“No.” Lelandi’s worried voice concerned Carol. What was up now?

Lelandi crossed the room to the door and opened it. “Ryan claims the wolf was skulking around the woods surrounding our home. Since there are only the two of us reds here, other than Doc…” Lelandi shrugged, but Carol could tell she was trying to hide her apprehension.

“Would it have been your cousin, Ural?”

“No, I called him, and he’s still in my uncle’s pack. Whoever it was, he was wearing some kind of hunter’s spray,” Lelandi said.

If it wasn’t Ural, was it someone else from Lelandi’s old pack? Someone who had survived the battle?

Carol opened her mouth to speak, but remembering how those who had attempted to kill Lelandi had worn hunter concealment sprays brought back a horrible flash of memory. She clamped her lips and eyes shut, the terror of the night she’d been bitten coming back to her in an instant. The red wolf’s wicked canines primed to bite her, lips curled back, nose wrinkled, the growl, the sharp teeth sinking in, the stabbing pain, the numbing cold, and then blackness.

“Carol?”

Attempting to hide a shudder, Carol opened her eyes and gave a wan smile.

“What were you thinking of?”

“Being bitten.”

Lelandi gave her a heartfelt hug and then pulled her to the door and into the hallway. “That’s what I thought. But Deputy Peter Jorgenson killed the wolf that bit you.”

A deep frown marred Lelandi’s forehead, and Carol got the impression she knew something else. “Was there someone from your old pack who was at the battle and survived?”

Lelandi stopped halfway down the hall and took a deep breath.

“Connor. Darien killed his twin brother. Connor appeared harmless enough to the others when he quit fighting to watch Darien battle with my former pack leader, so they let him go. But later, we had word that during the battle another was downstairs called North, cousin of the one who bit you. Like Connor, he gave up the fight and Jake let him leave.”

A chill spiked up Carol’s spine. “Would either of them want revenge for their kin’s death?”

“Possibly.”

But the way Lelandi said it as she headed down the stairs sounded more like she thought the red had some other agenda.

“What’s another possibility?”

Lelandi looked over her shoulder at Carol, her expression worried. “Connor’s brother turned you, but he died. Now either of the men, the brother or the cousin, might want to claim you, partly because you’re a red and partly because in the old days when a man needed a woman, and sometimes a woman wanted a particular man, they bit and changed them. Then they took the newly turned werewolf as a mate.

“In this case, their kin changed you, but you still don’t have a mate, so Connor or North may feel you belong to the family. But also, they might want you for revenge. Of course, I’m just guessing here. I have no idea if any of this is true.”

Carol swallowed hard as uneasiness swept over her.

“Another possibility is that it’s just a red wolf who smelled you or me in a gray territory and was curious about the two of us.”

“Unlikely, right?” Carol asked. Just the inflection in Lelandi’s voice told her Lelandi didn’t believe it.

“You’re right. The whole area is filled with gray lupus garous, which should be enough of a deterrent.” Lelandi clasped Carol’s hand and squeezed reassuringly. “Darien’s put out the word you’re to have a bodyguard at all times. The bachelor males have all eagerly signed up to take turns.”

How could things get any worse?

Carol hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. Returning to the sunroom after her flight from the great room was a major feat. She wasn’t shy, but she wasn’t a stage personality, either. She was sure she would be the center of attention when she returned, while she would have much rather blended in.

When they entered the great room, all eyes were upon them. Brows and lips lifted as the bachelors’ interest was piqued by the sight of Carol in the dress. Ryan seemed to be grilling Mervin in a corner of the room, the poor barber’s back to the wall and Ryan nearly nose to nose with him. Ryan’s jaw dropped when he caught sight of Carol out of the corner of his eye, his fearsome expression instantly vaporizing. Now she wished she hadn’t changed out of her more casual, conservative clothing to something that really got the guys’ attention.

She stiffened her back and glanced at the two women, who were staring at her and exchanging words with one another, both of them giving her a chilly look. Hell, Carol wasn’t going to be a wallflower any longer. The guys were single, and while she didn’t think she’d really get interested enough in any of them to mate, she had to remind herself that if she just got to know one of them, she might find he truly was someone she could care for. Still for now, all she intended to do was have fun.

“Can we have some music?” she whispered to Lelandi.

Lelandi smiled back. “Silva, want to get the music going? Let’s dance!”

That was all it took. One of the men hurried forth to grab Carol’s arm, and she tried to tell herself she wanted this—Do not shift!

When he grasped her arm, she took a deep calming breath and concentrated on his flyaway dark brown hair and intense air, his chocolate suit and matching tie at odds with his wild look, and attempted not to think of the force of his enthusiastic touch, which might trigger the shift.

“My name is Christian, and I couldn’t have been more proud of you for stealing Darien’s ribbon during the game today.”

“Really,” she said, holding him at arm’s length as he moved her across the tile floor to dance. His darkened eyes looked at her as if he was fascinated with her, but his voice was a little too high pitched to make her feel anything serious about him. “Everyone seemed shocked into silence.”

He grinned. “Only until we saw how Darien would take it. I realize you don’t understand everything about pack politics yet, but Darien’s the pack leader so what he says is the law. Not that we don’t disagree with him sometimes, but we keep it to ourselves.”

Betas. “And Lelandi?”

“She’s the pack leader’s mate, so sure, she has a lot of say. But ultimately, it falls on Darien’s shoulders to make sure that everyone follows the rules. His brothers help to enforce them also. So when someone does something that’s contrary to those guidelines, there’s a wait-and-see attitude. Does Darien find it acceptable or not? You might not think so, but the way he’s taken you into his household means you’re his ward, and no one wants to do anything to upset him concerning you.”

She snorted. “Darien is protective. I’ll give him that. But he’s more annoyed with me than anything.”

“That’s because you’re fighting the shift. It sets you apart from the rest of us, but worse than that, one of these days you won’t be able to control it. And you’ll put us all in a bind.”

Not liking the way he frowned at her and the sudden edge to his voice, she meant to pull away, but Christian tightened his hold. She was afraid that if she fought him, she might trigger the compulsion to shift again.

She could see it now—pulling her dress straps down, exposing her bra, yanking her dress the rest of the way off as fast as she could. Then before she knew it, she’d be standing naked in front of a crowd that was shocked or amused or interested. Definitely the entertainment for the night. And the talk for years of Carol’s coming out. She stifled a laugh. Yeah, coming out, all right.

Christian didn’t seem to notice the tension in her body and continued to speak as if he hadn’t upset her. “I’m your first bodyguard. And I’ll take the job seriously. Anyone who tries to get to you will have to deal with me.”

“Anyone?” she asked, curious if this meant he didn’t intend to let any of the other bachelors get close to her, either.

“Any red males,” he said, smiling. “I’d keep any male away, but not for that reason. Darien has sent some of the mated males out into the woods again tonight, looking for him. He won’t get a chance to get near you. Ever.”

Not wanting to think about being stalked, Carol switched topics. “What do you think of Marilee and Becky?”

Christian glanced at Becky, who was dancing with Mervin. Carol almost laughed when she saw them together. Becky was keeping her distance, and Mervin was watching Carol. Another bachelor clung to Marilee.

His expression fierce, Ryan was standing alone, arms crossed, watching Carol. She wondered why he looked so angry, so dangerous. Maybe because he was irritated that another bachelor male had stolen Marilee from him.

“Cute girls,” Christian said. “They’ll make some guys good mates.”

Cute girls? Sexy as all get out maybe, but cute? Not in this lifetime.

What she really wanted to hear was that Christian didn’t think the women were worthy of consideration. Not that she was interested in him, especially the way he’d come across concerning her fighting the shift, but…

The music ended, and before he could dance with her again, Tom butted in. “Mind, Christian?”

Even if Christian had minded, and she was sure he did by the disgruntled look on his face, Darien’s brothers had priority as sub-leaders in having their wishes met.

His mouth curved down, Christian bowed politely and then stepped away. She couldn’t believe Tom had even asked her. He kept her separated from his body, very dignified, very respectful, but when he spoke, she knew Darien had prompted him to dance with her.

“Did Mervin upset you in any way?” Tom began.

She loved the way he was always protective of her. She wished he felt something romantic for her, but she assumed his feelings were more brotherly love for a sister who needed protection. “No, Tom. I just decided to change clothes.”

Tom glanced down at her dress and smiled. “A different look for you. That’s what the guys like so much about you. You’re so… unpredictable.”

“It also bothers them.”

Tom, being the typical peacemaker, immediately changed the subject. “Did you see any red in the woods when you talked to McKinley there?”

“No. Lelandi already asked.” She was surprised Lelandi wouldn’t have already told Darien and his brothers.

“Are you sure?”

Carol frowned up at Tom. “I said I didn’t see anyone. Just Ryan. Why do you think I would lie?”

Tom cleared his throat, his cheeks faintly flushing. “Darien’s just… well, worried you’d had contact with a red male from another pack. Believe me, Darien wants the best for you. If there is something you’re not telling us… we don’t want to kill someone we think is stalking you when he’s truly a love interest.”

“Tom,” Carol said, unable to hide her exasperation, “if someone’s stalking me, I haven’t encouraged it. First of all, none of you let me out of your sight long enough for me to have contact with anyone else. And second, if by some miracle I did have an encounter with someone outside the pack, don’t you think that if I liked him, I’d tell you so you wouldn’t terminate him?”

Tom didn’t say anything right away, and as the music stopped, he glided to a halt. “No. I think you’d be afraid to tell Darien if you were interested in leaving the pack. Look at what happened last night. You were with McKinley alone in the dark woods. Not a word to any of us. We didn’t learn of it until we arrived home and Jake checked on you, finding your bedroom door wide open and no sign of you in the house. I found the back door unlocked, and you’d taken off into the forest.”

He had her there. “Fair enough. Now that this has come up, I assure you I have no interest in any red male. No gray either.” She smiled sweetly.

“All right.” Tom released her to another man and gave him a look that meant he’d better keep his distance. Then he headed to speak to Darien.

“Name’s Avery,” the man said to Carol, taking her arm. His light amber eyes matched his pale brown suit and compared to Christian, he had a much tamer look. His actions mirrored that, as his touch was light, not the least bit invasive.

“I’ve heard McKinley wants to talk to you later tonight about the investigation. Darien’s not happy about it.”

She shrugged. She wasn’t happy about it, either.

“And now McKinley seems to be targeting Marilee, like he can’t make up his mind which of you he wants.”

Carol looked around at the dancing couples and saw Ryan dancing with the masseuse. He was back for a return engagement. Carol attempted to hide a scowl. Ryan kept his distance with Marilee, but the woman attempted to snuggle closer. Wanting the alpha male? Had she learned he was an unmated pack leader? Or did returning to her show he truly was interested in her?

“Have you danced with her?” Carol tried for cheerful, not annoyed, when she shouldn’t have cared in the least.

Avery stiffened. “She seems intent on making the move on McKinley more than she does with any of the rest of us.”

Just as Carol suspected. Either she truly did find Ryan more appealing than the other men, or she was targeting him because of his position.

Becky was still dancing with Mervin, but he kept casting glances in Carol’s direction. Poor Becky. Carol knew the feeling, having dated a guy on a blind date who had eyes only for the girlfriend who had double-dated with another man.

“So what do you think of Becky?” she asked Avery.

“I haven’t had the opportunity to meet her. What happened between you and Mervin?”

“Nothing.” Brother, she didn’t think this was going to be so blown out of proportion. But then again, packs were close knit, she was learning, much more so than a human community, although juicy gossip often spread from social group to social group, no matter whether they were human or otherwise. She just hadn’t expected all the questioning.

The song ended, and out of nowhere, Ryan stepped in to dance with Carol, like a silent predatory wolf closing in on its prey. She wasn’t sure if that meant he wanted to dance with her or to rip Avery to shreds.

Instantly, everything changed between them. Avery scowled and hesitated to step aside. Ryan didn’t let that stop him. He slid his hand around Carol’s back and pulled her close and away from Avery. She couldn’t quash the annoyance she felt toward Ryan not only because he planned to interrogate her later to try and prove her a fraud, but also because he seemed so eager to get to know the masseuse better. That shouldn’t have mattered, but irritatingly it did.

She pushed away from him and held him apart, like she’d danced with the others, not wanting to go so far as to deny him a dance and then have to explain to Darien, his brothers, and Lelandi, why she had said “no” to a dance. She was sure they’d all think he’d done something horribly scandalous. And then they’d send him away. Which bothered her more than she should have allowed.

Except for the music, everyone was quiet, and she feared they were watching every move she and Ryan made.

In perfect gentlemanly form, he moved with her across the floor, not saying a word, not pressing the issue. Then when she thought she couldn’t stand the raw tension between them any longer, Ryan lowered his head and whispered in her ear, sending warm tendrils of fission cascading through her: “Want to leave?”