Wolf Flight

Chapter 3

Tad raced back into the shop area, scrambling to finish rigging the webbing for the afternoon flight. It was hard to fit the snaps together with visions of Missy flitting through his brain.

Missy. He’d been totally in love with her from the first minute he’d seen her, all blonde, blue-eyed and mischievous. He’d wanted to scoop her up and eat her in one bite, but in high school he’d been even shier with girls than he was now.

What he’d told Shaun was true. He didn’t feel right fooling around with Missy since there wasn’t going to be a future for them. But, holy crap, did she turn his crank. Something about her made him burn inside, and she wasn’t even trying.

He had almost finished his tasks when the door chime ran again.

“I’ll be with you in a minute,” he shouted toward the front office. “Grab a coffee if you’d like.” He hurried to tighten the last few straps.

“I don’t drink coffee.”

Tad swung around. The pale pink down-filled coat, the skintight leggings and the beautiful long blonde hair that hung in fat ringlets were all gone. In their place Missy wore a shapeless woolen toque complete with large earflaps and a generic one-piece blue jumpsuit with a stylized badge on her chest stating “LRG” in bold yellow letters.

“Missy?”

She held up a hand to silence him, then rotated. On the back of her suit the bright yellow words “Lauren Research Group” jumped out at Tad.

Oh shit.

She finished her spin and stared at him, face blank and unreadable.

Tad swallowed hard. He’d really put his foot in it this time.

She crossed her arms and leaned back as she glared up at him. “Hi, I’m Ms. Leason. I’m the representative from LRG you agreed to fly to the set-up site this afternoon, and I’d like your permission to prepack the boxes.”

“I’m sorry. I was so distracted by seeing you earlier it never occurred to me you could be from LRG. Not that there’s any reason why you couldn’t be from LRG.” He wasn’t sure where to look because even in that damn coverall she made his body twitch. And wasn’t that just what he needed, to have his mouth full of feet and his balls in a knot.

She held up her hand again, tilting her head to the side as she raised one eyebrow. “This means you volunteer to help me pack and you’re buying me dinner. Right?” She smirked at him as she pulled off the toque and the riot of hair fell around her. “Holy cow, you should see your face. I thought you might pass out there for a minute.”

Tad swept his hand through his hair and pulled his jaw off the floor. “You, oh man. Yeah, you’re right. I almost lost it. Missy, I’m sorry I cut you off.”

Missy waved a hand in the air. “It’s okay. It wasn’t fair of me to let you assume I’d simply dropped by to see you. I thought I’d mentioned working for LRG in our emails but I guess not. No harm done, but I’m serious about needing help with the gear.”

Tad shook his finger at her, taking in her bright expression. “You always were a bad one for teasing.” He turned away to swing open the doors of the four-seater plane and rolled the portable steps into place. “What are you transporting that’s so delicate?”

“They’re not delicate but my job will be easier if they get packed in order. The relays for the weather sensors need to be set in sequence. I’d prefer not to have to spend hours sorting while we’re on the mountainside. Everything is in the transport trailer outside.”

Tad pulled open the overhead hangar doors and let out a long whistle. Missy drove a brand-new long-box Toyota extra-crew cab with matching canopy. “Sweet wheels.”

He peeked in the window of the passenger door to admire the interior. Behind him Missy released a big sigh. “Boys and their toys. Yes, it’s a nice truck. It starts when I turn the key, and both the radio and CD player work so I’m happy. Oh, and it’s bright red. Makes it easy to spot in the parking lot.”

They grinned at each other. Damn, he loved a girl with a sense of humour. Tad raised his eyebrows, flashing her the best puppy-dog eyes he could. “You want me to move it?” Backing the attached twenty-five-foot trailer into the open space in the hangar would be a hellish task.

“No, I’ll drive. Should I park next to the plane?”

Tad opened his mouth to protest but managed to stop himself in time. He prided himself on being a quick learner. He wouldn’t assume anything about the golden goddess in front of him from this point on because apparently Missy was a woman of many talents.

“By the plane is fine. I’ll get the steps out of your way.”

He strolled back to the plane, watching Missy over his shoulder as she crawled up into the cab. She did a funny little hop to get in the seat and he wondered how she reached the gas pedal and still saw out the window.

She pulled the truck and trailer out of his line of vision into the main parking lot and then in one smooth move reversed in. Tad shook his head. He would have needed at least three attempts to get that monster of a rig to back into the tight space.

He’d spent years adoring Missy-the-girl in high school. Missy-the-woman got more and more interesting by the minute.

Missy jumped down and rubbed her hands together briskly, her delighted smile showing she’d noticed his admiration. “How do you want to do this? The boxes are all lined up and just need to be kept in order.”

Tad opened the side doors of the trailer. “You crawl in the plane and place them where you want them. I’ll be your Sherpa.” A faint scent tickled his nose and his heartbeat sped up. She must be wearing a killer perfume for him to be able to smell it. He tried to ignore his body’s response because he needed to keep this professional. Businesslike. Her long hair brushed his skin as he helped her into the storage section of the plane, and his cock leapt to attention.

So much for keeping things calm.

He hurried to fetch the first load of boxes, trying to pretend there wasn’t a baseball bat stuck in his pants.

They chatted easily as they worked, picking up their online conversation from the previous week. It was incredible to be with Missy after all these years and hear her laugh, watch her face light up as she spoke. She’d changed so little. She still looked like the sweet girl of sixteen that he’d fallen for, but there was a shadow that passed over her eyes now and then. Was it the loss of her husband that put the darkness into her sparkling personality?

Physically she knocked his knees out from under him. Mentally and emotionally, she tied him in knots. Memories had poured through his brain since the first second he’d recognized her. Memories and longings he’d put aside in his quest to become a wolf. He had to be careful not to let his physical attraction make him do anything he’d regret. This was one woman he refused to hurt above all others.

“Do you like Whistler?” he asked, trying to head the conversation back into neutral territory. His erection eased as they worked, the returning blood flow to his brain making it easier to concentrate. “I have some friends who go skiing there every year, but I haven’t heard much about the community.”

She hesitated for a surprisingly long time before answering. “The mountains are glorious and I enjoy being in a small town again after living in Vancouver. It’s not the Yukon though. There’s something special about the north I’ve missed.”

Tad reached to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. The touch of skin on skin was like grabbing a live wire. Energy flowed between them sending small shocks up his arm. He jerked his fingers away. “Shoot. The static electricity is crazy in here.”

Missy had the strangest expression on her face. She held a hand to Tad. “Try again.”

Tad hesitated and then clasped fingers. This time the energy didn’t snap but it was there, a low buzz of tingles spreading over him.

It felt good.

Too good. Tad pulled away before parts of his anatomy he didn’t want to reawaken heard the alarm ringing through him. “What’s that all about?” he asked in confusion.

Missy shook her head. “I’m not sure. Maybe like you said—static electricity. Some people are better conductors than others.”

“Weird.” Tad turned away to get the next set of boxes. His whole body was hot, and he had the strange desire to pick Missy up and carry her back to his apartment and ravish her until they were both so sated neither of them could move. Well, okay, it wasn’t a completely unexpected emotion since she was pretty easy on the eyes, and he’d always had a huge crush on her. Yet he’d never had an attack of the hormone kind this hard before. It was unsettling, especially when he wanted to impress Missy, not come across like some northern Neanderthal.

Gotta stay calm. Cool.

“How’s your sister?” Missy asked.

Tad leapt at the change in topic. “She’s gone bush this week for a getaway. I was supposed to go with her but had to cancel. Shaun, my business partner, insists she’ll be just fine but I’m still concerned. I know she’s strong but since I found out…” Tad coughed suddenly, frantic to cover up that he had nearly told Missy about being a wolf. He must be tired because he had never slipped like that before.

It was Shaun’s fault for getting him thinking about having sex with a human woman right before the biggest wet dream of his life walked through the door. He glanced at where she sat in the open storage compartment of the plane, her feet dangling in midair. Curls draped over her shoulders, the ugly coverall unable to hide the curves of her petite frame. A shot of lust raced through him. Damn, he couldn’t blame this on Shaun. It was his own body jerking him around. He was horny and a total bastard all on his own.

Missy seemed deep in thought and Tad fought a case of wandering hands. The need to touch her was so bad it made his whole body hurt. Missy gave him one of her shy smiles. “I’m sure Robyn will be fine. She always was extremely independent.”

He hurried to reassure her. “I know, I just like to worry. It comes with the territory.”

They stared at each other.

Missy looked away first, biting her lower lip. Tad shut his mouth tight so the groan that wanted to escape was locked away. Everything about Missy called for him to step forward and—

She grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged until he stood between her legs, their torsos nestled together. Lips, soft and warm, brushed his, that strange electric sensation enveloping his body at the same time. Tad pulled Missy closer and kissed back, nibbling her lips, caressing the curve of her cheek with small touches. He snuck a hand into her curls and cupped her head to direct her mouth to the right angle to enjoy her fully.

She opened her lips and he tasted her for the first time. Sweet and spicy, intoxicating.

Addictive.

His tongue made a tentative dip into her mouth, a brief stroke against hers, then retreated as they explored the newness of the kiss. What he’d imagined as a teenager was nothing like the experience as an adult.

Heat rose between them as his body reacted to Missy’s softness. Tad fought to keep his hands loose around her instead of trapping her against the plane like he wanted to. He forced himself to kiss her instead of feasting on her lips, forced himself to let the sweetness of the experience flow over them like a fine wine.

They separated at the same moment, fingers linked together even as their lips parted. Tad stared into Missy’s eyes and saw his need reflected back.

Sweet mercy, she wanted him too.

Tad leaned forward, ready to recapture her lips when she pressed a hand against his chest.

“We need to finish. The others could be here anytime.”

Deep breath.

Tad nodded. He dropped one final kiss on her mouth, a fleeting brush of lips, the promise of more. Simply touching her made his body ache. There was no way he could deny the attraction between them. It was time he made up his mind, and right now his wolf side was losing the battle. Waiting to find forever with a wolf mate was one choice, but perhaps he could find forever in a different direction.

Alone in her hotel room that night Missy paced, unable to sit still with the energy surging through her. The day had turned out nothing like she expected. She still felt Tad’s mouth on hers, the caress of his hands on her body. Never before had she experienced such a strong attraction. The connection with Tad was overpowering, a little frightening and divinely potent. Was it what she wanted?

Was it what she needed?

After fleeing Whistler she had worked days and researched at night until nearly a month later she found a possible solution to her problem.

Wolf hormones.

The genetic differences between werewolves and humans were small but profound. It was the presence of unique chemicals that made possible the physical transformation between forms. Those same compounds caused the incredible bond between wolf couples to occur. The creation of lifetime mates was a blessing, but there was a hidden curse. Male wolves built up an excess supply of the hormones during adolescence.

While wolves and humans could have sex, the chemicals were only released during intimacy with a female wolf. A cousin once told Missy guys jokingly called the situation “double virginity”. No matter how active their sex life with humans, males still had to lose their wolf virginity with a female more powerful than them or the huge amount of hormones released could backfire, creating a pheromone overload.

The female would become hopelessly obsessed with her partner due to nothing more than a chemical chain reaction. A false mate, with the lifetime connection on only one side.

That was how her brother-in-law had hoped to gain control over her. Doug thought compelling Missy into marriage with his inexperienced brother would trap her.

Missy opened the window to let in the cold night air, the room suddenly close and unbearable. She leaned her head against the windowsill, fighting down the shudders that threatened to overtake her as she remembered her wedding night. It wasn’t the sex that had scared her, but she hadn’t been in love and her terror of becoming trapped had made the experience hell. Missy had always considered it a miracle she was a stronger wolf than anyone expected.

And now she discovered an overload would not only have forced a false mate, the destructive chemical reaction would have also eliminated her latent Omega talents.

She resumed pacing, the small space of the hotel room like a cage around her. The solution had been there all the time. Wolf society knew about false mates and had guidelines in the code to help prevent it. They had even developed the ritual of FirstMate once it was discovered that if a male’s first experience was with a wolf who was already mated, the chemicals had no effect.

If she could provide FirstMate to a powerful wolf, it could destroy her talents and she would be free. Doug would have no use for her without intact Omega abilities. Giving up a part of herself to avoid being used as a tool seemed an acceptable sacrifice. Even if it meant she would forever love someone who didn’t love her back.

But who should she approach to offer FirstMate? Only strong wolves or mated females with their husband’s approval could offer to act as a guide. In her case it would be assumed as a widow she would be safe from the hormone backlash. If the attempt failed she had decided she would shift into her wolf and disappear from human society forever. The Yukon was a logical safe haven. Her time was running out and if FirstMate didn’t work, going feral seemed the only choice left.

And Tad was in the north. Missy had always remembered him and his face was the first to rush to her mind, perhaps for a good reason. They had only kept their hands off each other during the afternoon’s work because the crew from LRG joined them. Was it possible that she was already reacting to a false mating? Just from a kiss?

Did Tad know he had wolf genes? She couldn’t let him make love to her and then leave him to face a world for which he wasn’t prepared. Because he was a half-blood, having sex with her would trigger his wolf, and by the next full moon he would be able to shift. He needed to be warned, trained, and she wouldn’t be here after their rendezvous. She would either return to Whistler to prove her skills were gone or she would disappear into the wilderness.

Missy forced herself to stop daydreaming about Tad. There were other goals yet to accomplish. Opening her laptop she logged into the first stage of the Whistler-wolf-pack website. Maggie was still online. Her sister’s habitual evening online chat was their prearranged set-up. It gave Missy information she would never be able to access otherwise. When Maggie signed out at nine p.m., Missy entered her sister’s pass code with a false ISP number and snuck into the system while the time clock stayed motionless. Missy took a big breath and blew it out in a slow stream. The records would continue to show her sister’s presence until the mandatory one-hour system shutdown occurred. Missy checked her watch and set to work.

Accessing Doug’s daily email records and his private message box was a piece of cake with her computer skills. She was relieved to see that while her brother-in-law continued to track her, he hadn’t put out a call to make her return before her time was up and there were no plans in place to harass her sister.

Missy snooped around to gather more information on the pack’s illegal activities to use as ammunition to challenge Doug. Perhaps she could leak the information to the authorities and get him arrested by the human system if the wolf council was unable to help. She did a little archive research on Omega wolf characteristics and one hour later, Missy logged out. She was still safe.

For now.