The Mating

by Nicky Charles

  Elise felt herself getting all misty. There was so much feeling evident Kane’s gaze and tone of voice. He might not be saying the exact words that she wanted to hear, but she was sure the emotion was there, just unspoken. With his upbringing, he’d probably learned to never get too attached, to keep a wall of reserve around his heart and to never say how he really felt. But he was trying now, in his own way. “I want ‘us’ to work, too.” She whispered back, pressing a soft kiss to his hand, before wrapping her other arm around him and resting her cheek on his chest.

  *****

  Elise skipped down the stairs the next morning. It was a beautiful day, even if the sky was grey and overcast. Last night had been incredible and its afterglow was transferring to her whole day. Kane had made love to her, not just had sex. It had been slow and sweet, everything she had ever imagined. Skilfully, he’d made her come over and over, gently stroking and caressing every inch of her, all the while whispering tender words into her ear. While he hadn’t initiated a blood bond, she was sure he was close. His teeth had grazed her neck several times and he’d seemed on the verge of saying something, only to draw back. At one point, she’d considered mentioning it, but then he’d used his wickedly talented fingers to distract her…

  Never mind, it would be soon, she consoled herself. She could just tell. Besides, a secret smile played over her lips, her heat would likely start tomorrow or the next day. Surely then, Kane would lose his reserve. Already she was feeling so much closer to him. What would it be like to be blood bonded and to be privileged to have a sense of his actual thoughts and feelings? An excited shiver ran through her at the very idea.

  Impulsively, she turned towards his office instead the kitchen, which had been her original destination. She rapped lightly on the door and popped her head in. He was just hanging up the phone and looked more than a little frustrated. The smile left her face and she walked over resting her hands on his shoulders. “You look like you lost your last best friend. What’s wrong?”

  He leaned back against her and sighed. “You know the environmental report I was telling you about? The one I thought I’d misplaced yesterday? Well, I found it this morning and read it over, but it’s not nearly as positive as I’d been led to believe it would be.”

  “You mean the land isn’t environmentally significant?”

  “No—the report doesn’t negate the fact the area is of interest, but it doesn’t say anything about it being endangered if the oil drilling were to occur.” Kane rubbed his eyes. “I just don’t get it. Chloe, and the people at the university, knew what we needed in the report and had sounded so positive when we’d met, but this reads like a whole section has been left out.”

  “Could someone have forgotten to print out part of the report?”

  “I suppose it’s possible. Maybe I’ll give Chloe a call and ask her about it.” He shrugged his shoulders as if trying to ease the tension and she began to gently knead the tight muscles. “To top things off, I just got off the phone with our lawyers. Apparently, Northern Oil has already gotten wind of our having a study done. Now they want their own people to do another assessment because they question the validity of our experts.”

  “But how did they find out so fast?”

  “I don’t know. Only a few of us knew about it: Zack, Ryne, and myself—people in the Alpha house basically. Maybe someone at the university let it slip.”

  “Does it really matter? I mean won’t another assessment just show the same thing? It could even help if their own people come up with similar findings.”

  “That’s not how these companies work. Their ‘experts’ will make sure the report is favourable to the company that hired them. Studies and statistics can always be reworded and twisted around so they seem to support whatever point of view you want.”

  “So it basically comes down to our word against theirs.”

  “Pretty much—the courts will have to look at the qualifications of the ‘experts,’ check previous work done by them, their educational background, even how much they will profit by the report… It’s a long drawn out process and can get really petty.” Kane turned in his chair and pulled her down into his lap, nuzzling her neck. “But enough of that. Your incredibly talented fingers have managed to transfer the tension in my shoulders to an entirely different location.”

  “After last night, I don’t know how you could possibly need—”

  “Elise, when I’m around you, I always need.” He laughed seductively and his hands crept up from her hips to cup her breasts, caressing the soft flesh until her nipples peaked. She could feel his desire pressing against her through the denim material of his pants and wiggled slightly, eliciting a low growl from him. He picked her up and moved her so that she was straddling him and his hands pushed their way under her shirt, while his mouth locked onto hers. Their tongues battled for dominance as Elise raked her fingers across his scalp. How could he make her so hot, so fast? Finally, she had to pull back, gasping for air and that was when she realised the phone was ringing.

  “We should answer that,” she panted.

  “No, let the machine take it. I’m too busy.” Kane was kissing her breasts through her shirt, tugging at her nipples causing reciprocal twinges down low in her belly. The answer machine came on and then a crackly male voice spoke. “Hey, this is Marty’s Auto calling. The part for the sensor in your car is in. If you can have it here before noon, I can get it installed today.”

  Elise groaned and regretfully pulled away from Kane. “As much as I hate to stop, I really should go, if I want to get the car taken care of today. The mechanic could be fixing it while I’m at work…”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Kane had a slight pout of on his face, as he slid his hands out from under her clothing.

  Giving him a quick peck, she climbed off his lap. “We can finish this tonight, I promise.”

  “I’m holding you to that.”

  Smiling Elise started to leave, then paused in the door way. “That voice didn’t sound at all like the mechanic I talked to. I think you need to get a new answering machine.”

  “It is getting old, and the tape is probably worn out too. I’m actually thinking of just going with an automated voice mail through the phone company.”

  “Might be an idea.” With a wave, Elise headed for the stairs to change. There was a distinct wet spot on the front of her shirt from Kane’s mouth and she needed to put on a fresh top before leaving.

  *****

  After changing her clothes, she grabbed her coat and purse, then headed for the door, intent on getting her car to the shop and still making it to work on time. Opening the back door, she walked right into Marla

  “Oh, sorry Marla. I wasn’t expecting you.” Looking at the other woman, Elise frowned at her appearance. She’d never seen Marla dishevelled before—the woman always seemed to have just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Today, her hair was windblown and her hands were dirty. Even a few of her manicured nails appeared to be broken. Glancing down, Elise noted that mud still clung to her shoes and pant legs. “What happened to you?”

  Brushing at her clothing, Marla gave a nervous laugh. “Oh darn, you caught me. Don’t tell the others—I have to keep up my image of being a total sloth, you know—but I was out for a run and went farther than I’d planned. Excuse me.” She pushed past Elise and hurried inside, her head down.

  That was strange, Elise mused as she walked to her car. From all reports, Marla hardly ever did the wolf thing, being more in touch with her human side. She wondered why she’d suddenly changed her habits and where she had been running in order to have gotten so muddy—there hadn’t been any rain for almost a week.

  Shrugging, she pushed the matter from her mind and headed to the car, only to come up short as she started to open the door. Darn! She’d forgotten about Bryan. Kane still didn’t know. She nibbled her lip and considered running in to tell him, but then thought about the time. She only had a few minutes to spare and if it took longer at the g
arage… Well, the fact that she’d met with Bryan wasn’t that earth shattering of an event, was it? Last night had shown her that she and Kane were building a good relationship and something as minor as seeing Bryan wasn’t really a problem. Yesterday, she’d just allowed Marla to get her all worked up over nothing.

  Climbing into the car, she pushed the matter aside. Tonight would be soon enough to let Kane know.

  Chapter 24

  It was ten-thirty when Elise arrived at Marty’s Auto Repair. She hoped he had a car he could loan her. It was quite a walk to the Grey Goose, and phasing into wolf and running down the street really wasn’t a good idea. If need be, she’d have to hire a cab. When she asked, Marty looked her up and down, then smiled. “For a pretty girl like you, anything.” Expansively he waved his hand towards the rows of cars that were for sale. “Take your pick.”

  Elise forced herself not to roll her eyes at the mechanic, who obviously saw himself as something of a ladies’ man. He wasn’t that bad looking with short brown hair and a pleasant smile, but compared to Kane, definitely fell into the ‘average’ category. Ignoring his flirting, she glanced over the line up, then impulsively pointed to the end of the row. “That red one, the sports car.”

  “Ah! You’re a lady of discriminating taste, I can see.” Marty nodded at her knowingly. “Marlene, my girl friend, has a fondness for that one too. Always wants to borrow it rather than a nice conservative grey sedan.” Marty stepped a bit closer. “A hot sports car always looks good on a hot lady.”

  Elise stepped back and folded her arms. “I have to get to work.” She looked pointedly at the rack were the keys hung.

  Marty gave her a wink and then strolled over to get the keys.

  “Have your girlfriend and you been together long?” Elise asked idly while waiting for Marty to get the key. Honestly, the man already had a girlfriend! Why was he acting this way towards her?

  “Oh, we’re on and off. She was really keen about six months ago, and even wanted to help me around the shop just so we could spend more time together. Marlene looks like one of those runway models, but she doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty. Why, she even asked me to teach her about how the brakes and steering worked, and everything. I was real disappointed when she dropped me sudden like, but now she’s back again and I ain’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, I’m getting smart. If she can have someone on the side, then so can I.” Once again, Marty winked at her.

  Elise frowned. Marty and Marlene sounded like they deserved each other and she didn’t really want to know any more details about their relationship, but Marty wasn’t done. “Marlene thinks I don’t know that she’s seeing other guys, but I found some man’s clothes in the trunk of that car one time. I figure if she’s going to pull one over on me, I can do it back.”

  They’d almost reached the car by that time, when Marty suddenly exclaimed. “Damn! I’ve got the wrong keys. Just wait by the car and I’ll be right back.”

  Anxious to be on her way and away from Marty, Elise stood impatiently tapping her foot and checking her watch. She looked around without really noticing anything in particular until her gaze landed on a large truck and two men, who were busily loading a collection of steel drums onto the back of the vehicle. A sign on the side indicated it was a waste disposal company that recycled used motor oil. There were probably almost a dozen containers sitting there awaiting pickup. The men worked from the front of the clustered containers towards the back, their muscles flexing as they heaved each metal drum up onto the truck.

  For some reason, Elise studied how the barrels had been arranged, and realised that there were three empty spots near the rear. Circular marks in the soil, and the compressed weeds, showed where the barrels had sat, while scraped lines on the ground showed how they’d been dragged away. That’s unusual, she thought. Why would they load those barrels first or…could someone have taken those other barrels? But who would want used motor oil? And—she looked up to see Marty approaching with the keys—why did she even care?

  She took the keys and started the vehicle, anxious to get to work. Mr. Mancini hadn’t been too pleased with her when she’d been talking to Bryan yesterday, and she didn’t want to give him any cause for complaint today.

  As she backed the car out of its parking spot, she frowned. Hadn’t the car been facing forward yesterday? She remembered that she’d seen the front fender, not the rear taillights. Not really sure why it should matter, she quickly rolled down the window, calling over to Marty who was now watching the oil drums being loaded. “Hey, Marty! Did anyone take this car for a test drive yesterday?”

  “Nope. It hasn’t moved this week. Why? Is there a problem?” He leaned on the window and surveyed the interior.

  “No, I was just…er…wondering how long it’s been since it was driven.”

  “Well, like I said, about a week, but it should still be running fine.” Marty stood up and tapped the hood of the car. “You have a good day and I’ll have your car ready for you by two o’clock at the latest.”

  With a nod, Elise rolled up the window and drove off. Turning to the right, she headed towards the Grey Goose, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. Something was bothering her, but what? Thoughtfully, she sniffed the air that surrounded her. The faint scent of perfume—Marla’s perfume—hung in the air and underlying it was the barely detectable scent of another werewolf.

  Had Marla been in this car yesterday with another were? But when and why? And why had Marty lied about it? Or did Marty even know? Could it be Ryne who’d been in the car, using Marla’s perfume to hide his presence? That would explain the clothes that Marty had found in the trunk. Ryne might still have a set of keys for the vehicle, so he could sneak it out, use it, and then return the car with no one being any the wiser.

  Stopping for a red light, Elise glanced around the interior looking for any clues that might prove Ryne had been in the vehicle. Nothing jumped out at her, just some dried mud on the floor. Hmm… Marla had muddy shoes this morning, but would Marla have keys to the car? Possibly, or—it hadn’t been locked yesterday—would Marla know how to hotwire a vehicle? It didn’t seem like the sort of skill the fashionable she-wolf would cultivate but…wasn’t Marty’s girlfriend supposedly interested in cars? And her name was Marlene. Marla, Marlene…? It seemed quite a coincidence. But why would Marla be moonlighting as someone else?

  Marty said he and Marlene had been together six months ago. Would Marla want to date a mechanic while she was still seeing Ryne? If Ryne was anything like Kane for looks, then Marty would come in a poor second and really didn’t seem Marla’s type. That meant that Marla must have been trying to get something from Marty, but what? And what was Marla doing out at night getting all muddy?

  Elise rubbed her temple, trying to figure this out. Someone had moved the car and Marty claimed he wasn’t aware of it. The car smelled like the perfume that Marla used, and there was dirt that could have come from Marla’s shoes. There was another unidentified scent in the car, and Elise made a stab in the dark and decided it could be Ryne’s even though she didn’t know him. After all, she’d met most of the pack so far, his was one of the few remaining unknown scents. Were Marla and Ryne still together? But what about the fight? She’d treated Marla’s injuries; surely the woman wouldn’t fall back in with someone who had abused her?

  As the light changed to green, Elise decided she’d have to tell Kane about her suspicions. She’d forgotten to mention seeing this car yesterday, but now with possible evidence that Ryne and Marla had used it last night, he had to know. If Ryne was sneaking around town in this car, then they could lie in wait and capture him when he came for the vehicle, next time he felt the need of a ride. And Marla? Well, she’d broach that subject carefully. Kane still had a bit of a blind spot when it came to the woman.

  *****

  Elise made it to work with a few minutes to spare. It was another busy day, so there wasn’t much down time, but she did notice Mr. Mancini staring specul
atively at her a few times. She smiled at him and he nodded in acknowledgment, but there was no return smile. Surely, he wasn’t still upset about Bryan? When she’d been hired there’d been nothing said about not meeting friends on the premises and it had been after her official work hours. Chewing her lip, she decided to let it pass for today. If he still seemed upset with her tomorrow, she’d ask him what the problem was.