Belle nodded. “I know, but it was signed with his alias. It wasn’t handwritten. It was a copy, but he was warning other Rogues that there’d been disappearances among our kind. To watch our backs, to stay vigilant. Maybe the Pact couldn’t find any packmembers missing because their targets weren’t packmembers at all.”
Colt clutched his chin, staring down at his boots. “It’s possible,” he muttered.
Belle nodded. “If you tell the Seven Range Pact, maybe they’ll reconsider. Maybe they’ll—”
Colt raised a hand to stop her. “No, Belle. They won’t.”
She gaped at him. “Why not? If Rogues are going missing, then—?”
“Because no packleader keeps a roster on Rogues.” Colt was still shaking his head. “They’re not…”
Packmembers, she mentally finished.
She stiffened. Which meant not only could they not go missing, as far as the Pact was concerned, but they didn’t exist at all. Her stomach churned. Most Rogues were that way by choice, but what about shifters like her who’d been born that way? What about them?
She didn’t care what a dark, violent, and dangerous vigilante the Rogue was. At least he recognized what the Grey Wolves and other packs failed to see. Shifters like her existed, and their lives mattered.
Colt was still shaking his head. “I know it’s not right, but they won’t see it the way you do, Belle. I can’t change centuries of prejudice toward your kind in a single meeting. Their decision is final, and even if they hadn’t voted against it, placing you right under Maverick and the Pact’s noses wouldn’t be a logical decision.”
“I see.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Well, my mother always told me never to linger where I wasn’t wanted.” She reached the door handle in several strides. She needed out of here.
Colt’s hand slammed against the frame. “You can’t walk out of here.”
“Why not? I’m not your prisoner. Not this time.” First he pushed her away, and now he told her she couldn’t leave? The man was more up and down than a roller coaster.
Don’t pretend the unpredictability doesn’t thrill you, Belle. She never knew what was coming next with him, the next emotion, the next touch, the next line of banter. It was mesmerizing, thrilling, and terrifying all at once.
“We lied to Maverick,” he said, holding the door closed with massive weight. “We told him you’re a Grey Wolf. He wasn’t convinced.”
She snorted. “That’s an understatement.”
“So if you jet out of here now,” Colt continued, “before you’ve barely even stayed a few hours, he’ll know you’re not a pack wolf. Any Grey Wolf who’d been even a month without their packmates would be itching to be among them. Stay less than a week, and he’ll know you’re not one of us.”
She tried the handle again, but the pressure he exerted on the door threatened to break the frame—and he was barely trying. “What does it matter? You killed me off.”
“And Maverick is the only man who has the power to resurrect you.” His gaze fell to her, frustratingly distant. “Nothing fully disappears from our databases, Belle. You heard him. After that little stunt you pulled, you’ll need to go through a security clearance. I can take care of that. It’s my usual duty anyway, but if Maverick gets suspicious, if he decides to dig deeper and goes looking for your information himself, not only will he find you, but he’ll know I lied from the start, and then…”
“Then you’ll never get revenge on the vampires,” she finished.
“It’s more than revenge. I need to protect my pack. I owe it to them. The Seven Range Pact may have voted against it, but I have other plans.” The seriousness of his tone made it feel as if the situation meant life or death. She supposed in some ways it did. Other plans? Why wasn’t she surprised? When this man set his mind to something, nothing stood in his way. Not mountains or packmasters or Pacts. Not even hotheaded she-wolves.
“One week?” she asked.
He nodded. “One week. You lie low. Keep your head down while I take care of your security clearance. Don’t draw attention to yourself, and when the time has passed—”
“I leave and don’t look back.” She may not have understood why he was pushing her away. It may have hurt that he clearly didn’t want her, but she cared for him all the same, and she wouldn’t endanger his entire pack for the sake of her pride.
“One week,” she agreed. “Only until the clearance goes through. You’ll barely know I’m here.”
Her vision blurred, and she retreated to the couch again, resting on the cushions. She needed a moment to process this.
Colt didn’t spare her such mercy. “I’ll send someone in to show you around.” He wrenched open the door. He was halfway through it before he paused. “Oh. And, Belle?” he threw back over her shoulder. His tone was frustrated.
And sexy as all hell.
Those golden wolf eyes burned hot over her skin. Her breasts grew heavy with need. A heavy ache curled low in her belly, and she felt herself slicken. She half expected him to prowl across the room toward her, to finish the heat he’d started between them moments ago.
“Yes, Colt?” she breathed.
He knew exactly what he was doing to her, and he was enjoying it. Damn him.
He flashed her a wicked grin. “It’s Commander to you now.”
Her eyes narrowed, and he closed the door, leaving her as spitting mad as she was aroused.
Chapter 12
Belle rested on Colt’s couch, fuming for what felt like hours. With each passing minute, her frustration with her current situation mounted. Why had she ever thought it would be a good idea to come here? It had been an ill-planned choice.
Like some other ill-planned choices. Her hand drifted to her belly.
No use crying over spilled milk now. There wasn’t much she could do about the pregnancy other than take care of herself, because she had no intention of ending it. This was her chance to have a family of her own—with or without Colt.
She leaned into the sofa cushions with a sigh.
He’d changed. The man who had shown her mercy on the mountainside was no more, or at least he was buried deeper under the hardened exterior of a cowboy turned warrior. But how could he not be? After what they’d done to him.
I did die. Twice. His words tore through her.
She shuddered at the thought.
The door to his apartment burst open, and she grumbled her displeasure, expecting the “Commander.” She snarled at the thought of calling him that. Instead, a young woman, a female Grey Wolf who by appearance was a handful of years her junior, stood in the doorway.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were…” Belle’s voice trailed off. Best not to announce that she’d been growling at the mere thought of the Grey Wolf high commander.
The she-wolf slipped through the door. She pushed it shut behind her, and the latch closed with a click as she leaned against the frame. Her eyes, large and green, fell on Belle and stayed there. “You thought I was my brother?”
Could this be Colt’s younger sister? Belle didn’t think so. They didn’t look anything alike. Whoever she was, she was a spritely little thing. Slightly upturned nose, large eyes, and delicate bone structure. She was small in stature with an almost boyish figure, despite the feminine features of her face.
“Elizabeth, right?” the she-wolf asked.
Belle watched as the little sprite of a she-wolf made her way closer to the couch. She walked right up, seeming unconcerned that Belle could be a potential threat.
She supposed this woman thought her to be a Grey Wolf, which meant she had to play the part.
The young she-wolf reached for Belle’s hand, offering to help her up, but Belle shrank back from her touch. The look in the she-wolf’s eyes softened. “Someone’s hurt you before.” She said it with absolute certainty, as if she saw straight into Bell
e’s soul. “I hope it wasn’t my brother. Maverick and his friends are too harsh, if you ask me.”
“Maverick.” Belle’s eyes widened. She saw it now. They had the same green eyes, like jade with flecks of emerald. She hadn’t recognized it at first, but she did now. The intensity was the same, too, only on Maverick’s little sister, the gaze was full of kindness, a wise sort of knowing that would look out of place on the hardened packmaster.
“The one and only.” She reached for Belle’s hand again.
This time, Belle didn’t shrink away.
The young she-wolf helped her to her feet.
The warm feeling of another wolf’s touch gave instant and immediate relief. She was almost disappointed when the contact between them broke.
You just have to pretend to be a pack wolf. Not actually act like one, she chided herself.
For Colt’s sake. One week, and then she was done.
“Thank you.” She gave a smile to the woman, which was instantly returned.
“My name’s Maeve,” the she-wolf introduced herself.
“Maeve Gray?” Belle raised an eyebrow. She recognized the name. How could she not? The she-wolf had been born into the original Grey Wolf bloodline. Maverick wasn’t yet mated. As his sister, that made Maeve one powerful and influential female. Despite that fact, Belle felt instantly affectionate toward her—Maverick’s little sister or not.
“Nice to meet you, Maeve.”
“Likewise.” Maeve headed for the door. Halfway there, she glanced back. “Are you coming?”
Belle stared at the woman with wide eyes. “You mean I’m really free to go? Shouldn’t I stay here?” Colt had told her to lie low.
“Boy, my brother really did a number on you with his scare tactics, didn’t he?” Maeve’s slender brows scrunched down in a look of concern. “Or was it Colt? We’re not actually related, but he might as well be my brother, too. I grew up chasing his and Maverick’s coattails, and I’ll have his ass if he hurt you.”
Belle didn’t answer. Maverick was far from the worst of it, but she didn’t say as much, and Colt may have hurt her, but she wasn’t about to share the intimate details.
Maeve waved a hand in dismissal. “Don’t concern yourself with them. Come with me. I’m going to give you a tour around the ranch.”
A tour? As if she were a guest, not a prisoner or a pariah who their packmaster might recognize. Maybe she was such a minuscule blip on his radar that he would never know. Either way, she was here for now, and she might as well enjoy the freedom while it lasted.
Hooking her arm through Belle’s as if they were instant friends, Maeve led Belle out of the apartment, tugging her along with surprising strength, considering Maeve’s minuscule size. Somehow, Belle knew without a doubt that given time, if Maeve had her way, they would be friends. And if she could win over the packmaster’s little sister, how hard would it be to earn the packmaster’s mercy?
Maybe she had made the right decision coming here after all.
An hour later, Belle still wasn’t regretting her decision.
“Was it your brother who stuck you with the job of showing the new girl around?” Belle asked as Maeve led her out of the infirmary. Belle had spotted the still-under-construction building off in the distance, and Maeve had offered to show it to her.
As they’d wandered through the small center, Belle had marveled at the stunning new equipment. Brand-new CT and EKG machines and even a portable in-office arthroscopy system gleamed shiny and new as if the plastic wrapping had only recently been removed. Her fingers had itched to take the new orthotic 3-D printer technology for a test run. Everything appeared pristine. Maeve had explained that the facility was newly expanded. Apparently, Maverick had thought it pertinent to increase their medical facilities in preparation for the bloodshed of war, though doctors of their kind were hard to find. As their medic, Austin would get a boost from having up-to-the-minute equipment, and in a pinch, others could be trained to assist him.
As a physician, she knew firsthand that wolves with medical training were few and far between, considering the training required attending medical school alongside a bunch of humans, a risky move. But as a Rogue, Belle had lived among humans long enough to know their minds would substitute any excuse before they accepted the reality that something other lived among them.
Belle had been the other her whole life, whether among werewolves or humans.
“He didn’t make me give you a tour.” Maeve’s answer brought Belle back from her own thoughts. “I volunteered. I need to find things to keep myself busy around here. He means well, but my brother practically keeps me under lock and key. He was already ten years old when I was born. He helped change my diapers, so he’s always been fiercely protective. He treats me like a delicate flower.”
“That must be nice.” As an only child, Belle would have given her left arm to have a sibling. Even an overprotective elder brother. The ranch where she grew up, though small, had been lonely with just her and her mother.
They reached the exit door.
Maeve shook her head. “It’s miserable. I want something exciting in my life—wonder, hope, adventure.”
She hit the metal bar on the double doors and pushed it open. They stepped outside, the sprawling acres and hills of Grey Wolf ranchlands spread before them. They stood at the edge of a veritable village of buildings and homes, all centered around one massive major compound complex. In the distance, the ranchlands stretched as far as the eye could see. They had to be sitting on more than one hundred thousand acres of land. Belle’s cowgirl heart ached with desire.
A state-of-the-art hospital on acres of sprawling Montana ranchland. Man, what she wouldn’t give to work in a facility like this. On the Grey Wolf ranch with fellow wolves, a place where she could both use her skills and make a life for herself without being in hiding. A place where she could have friends like Maeve. Create a home on the ranch, among the pack.
A place to belong.
Her thoughts immediately turned to Colt and the little spark in her belly, and she blushed before the thought soured.
She’d never have anything like this.
“Miserable?” she asked Maeve, pushing the ache in her chest aside. She couldn’t imagine much on this gorgeous ranchland being miserable.
“You have no idea how much it sucks to be treated like you’re some princess.” Maeve unlaced her arm from Belle’s, beckoning for her to follow as they walked toward the other buildings. The bustle of pack life up ahead was already apparent. Male and female packmembers going about their day-to-day activities shot curious glances their way.
Somehow Belle’s feet managed to follow Maeve, despite her brain’s growing anxiety and need to retreat from those prying stares. She wasn’t exactly comfortable around packs, having always been the outsider. “Well, aren’t you?”
Maeve shot her a confused glance.
“Like a princess?” Belle elaborated. “I mean, you’re the sister of Maverick Grey, the Grey Wolf packmaster, the strongest and most powerful wolf in North America. You were born into the original line of Grey Wolves. Doesn’t that make you a little something like royalty?”
Maeve rolled her eyes, but a smile quirked at her lips. “Sure it does, but who wants to be a princess when she can be a cowgirl?” she quipped.
They continued in this companionable manner for the better part of another hour, Maeve wandering around Wolf Pack Run and showing Belle all their facilities. Aside from the small, newly built hospital, the Grey Wolves also boasted a massive compound that housed their elite warriors, their central command, and Maverick’s private offices, as well as a plethora of scattered cottages that housed the families and single wolves who made up the rest of the pack, plus a dozen or so guest cottages perched up within the mountains.
A kitchen the size of a small stadium was attached to a mess hall that kept the hung
ry wolves well fed, and both an open-air training field and an underground training center for the fighters, along with the daily activities of ranch living, kept them in peak physical condition.
And Maeve hadn’t even begun to show her any of the actual ranch operation yet. According to the spritely she-wolf, they were primarily a cow-calf operation, but they also raised yearlings and cared for some of the state’s wild horses.
In the midst of their ongoing conversation, when Belle confessed that she’d grown up on a ranch and had a fierce love of horses, Maeve promptly announced that she absolutely needed to see the Grey Wolf stables. Belle gathered the impression that the Grey Wolf female would take any excuse for something to do, and if she was reading her right, Maeve enjoyed their fast and easy friendship as much as Belle did.
This is only temporary, Belle.
They rode out over the pastures on one of the pack’s ATVs, past an enormous barn and acres used for crops and vegetation in the warmer weather, until they reached the stables. If by stables, one meant massive, equine care center.
Belle’s jaw dropped as they stepped inside. What the Grey Wolves called a simple stable housed over fifty horses. “This is incredible.”
Maeve smiled, following Belle’s gaze. “I suppose it is.”
They walked through the building, the stable hands casting occasional glances their way, but not questioning their presence. Belle petted several of the horses, stroking their manes as Maeve outlined the details of the Grey Wolves’ ranching practices to her. They largely worked the same as any other major Montana operation. Unless someone dared to venture out onto the huge expanse of their private lands—and she’d seen firsthand how far that had gotten her—no human would ever be the wiser to their true nature. They hid in plain sight.
Belle was listening intently until she spotted a familiar equine face.
“Silver.” She smiled.
The horse flicked his tail excitedly at the sight of her and let out a joyful whinny. Immediately, she crossed over to his stall and stroked a hand through his pale mane. The horse nuzzled into her shoulder affectionately as if they were old friends.
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