by Spear, Terry
Paul snorted. “You don’t even believe in animal spirit guides.”
“Hey, when it comes to the two of you, I do. How many wolves can say that a cougar saved his butt when he was a kid? Cougars fight over the same territory as wolves. A lone wolf cub would have been dead meat at the claws of an angry cougar. Instead, she protected and took care of you until you found your way back to our pack. Not to mention that years later, after you were a full-grown wolf, you came across a cougar, and he watched you but didn’t make any attempt to attack you. Didn’t chase you off. Didn’t run away. Face it, the cougars have your back.”
Paul shook his head.
“Well, it’s all true, isn’t it? You smelled like a cougar when you found your way back to us. So we knew you weren’t just telling tall tales. As to Lori’s spirit guide, she’s always been the most intuitive of all of us. I used to tease her that she was Lady Hawk because when she was around, red-tailed hawks were too. Besides, she’d sort of outgrown her original name of Little Hawk.”
“The hawk led her to her grandma when the rabid wolf pack struck. And Lori saved her grandma,” Paul said. That had made him believe there was something to it where Lori was concerned.
“Right. That was the first time we knew something was going on with it. It was like that day when we were in such a panic, fleeing for our lives, and each of us—you, me, Lori, and Rose—found our animal spirit guide to lead us out of danger.”
“That would have meant a wolf helped you.” Paul knew Allan had been on his own during the killings. Allan would never admit to believing in a spirit guide.
“It did. It was me. I used my nose to find my mother and Emma, and I outwitted the two rabid wolves that tried to kill me.”
“True enough.”
“And Rose’s is the dragonfly. She loves the water. She was disappointed that the family cabin wasn’t closer to the lake because she’s always in the water whenever she has a chance to be. She’s better at seeing things from a different angle than the rest of us. If she hadn’t been down by the lake chasing after dragonflies, the rabid wolves would have found her. She pursued a dragonfly that flew low enough to keep her attention for three miles until she reached Lori’s grandma and forgot all about the dragonfly.
“Emma said that Rose’s spirit guide led her to safety.” Allan shrugged. “What do I know? Except I do know you’re interested in Lori, more than you try to let on. You’re afraid that running the pack will end your life of adventure. But maybe it’s time to settle down. We’ve lost two of our SEAL team to matings and also our shadow SEAL. Maybe that’s our cue to make a home here for ourselves for good.”
“So who do you have in mind to mate and settle down with?” Paul asked.
Allan didn’t say.
Paul thought of one of their salvaging assignments and the wolf Allan had gotten interested in. “Wait, you’re not thinking of that cute diver we met off Grand Cayman Island, are you?”
“We had something in common. And she’s a wolf.”
“And has a wolf father who’s damned protective. And he wouldn’t want her to leave the area.”
Allan laughed. “There is that. I don’t know. Every time I come home and see our sad pack with no leadership, I realize…you need to do something about it.”
Smiling, Paul shook his head. “If I did…”
“Hot damn!”
“No, wait. I’m just considering this, but if I did, would you be my second-in-command?”
“Hell, yeah. You know I would.”
“No chasing after a wolf in the islands?”
“I’m not sure she even took notice of me.” Allan shrugged. “But yeah. My home is here with the rest of the pack. So, will you do it?”
When Paul didn’t answer fast enough, Allan added, “Okay, look at it this way. If any male wolf came here and tried to mate with either my sister or Lori and wanted to take over the pack, we wouldn’t like it, would we?”
“Hell, no.”
“Even if he was a good mate for one of them, right?”
“Yeah.” Paul had to agree to that.
“So that means either Rose and Lori can’t have mates in this area, or one of us mates one of the ladies. You have been raised alongside my sister and she’s too much like a sister to you. That leaves only Lori and—”
“And she’d have our balls for lunch if she knew we were talking about one of us mating her and taking over the pack as if she was just part of the deal.”
Allan laughed. “Yeah. Speaking of balls, what did she mean before we went into the Den of Inequity?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Okay, so you’ve got to be persuasive and convince her that this is the right thing to do. Did you kiss her again?”
Paul smiled. He couldn’t help it. Allan would know anyway, one way or another. “She kissed me. For rescuing her necklace from the lake.”
“Ah,” Allan said, sounding like he didn’t believe that was all there was to it.
Which there wasn’t. But Paul was trying not to let on.
“Hey, I was thinking about diving around Lake McDonald. About the time the wolves killed our pack, the water level was low enough that a forest grew near Sprague Creek. Do you remember it?”
“Vaguely. We got chased by a momma grizzly through those woods, if it’s the same place I’m thinking of.”
“It is. Six years ago, divers found a forest in the lake. And it’s that same forest. I was thinking we might go diving and see it for ourselves.”
“That would be weird. Everyone else who goes there is a present-day visitor to the area and would see it as a waterlogged forest a couple of centuries old. For us? We ran through those woods as wolves.”
“Yeah. Now, at about fifty feet deep in the greenish-blue water, the trees would still tower way above us, stretching toward the sun. And instead of birds flitting about the trees, schools of kokanee salmon swim through the branches. We could sit atop a branch high above when we sorely wished we could have climbed when that grizzly was chasing us.”
At the time, he and Allan had been scared witless. “We had a bad drought back then. I remember my dad saying that he’d thought of trying farming, but he stuck to hunting and created just a small garden for Mom.”
“Yeah. So what do you really think about setting down roots? Viable option?”
Paul stared at him for a moment, surprised that Allan would really be serious about this. They’d been like brothers growing up, and Allan hadn’t once said he wanted to settle down. “Is this because of the rest of the SEAL team is mating?”
“That and I worry about our family.” Allan always talked of his mother and sister as though they were truly Paul’s mother and sister, and Paul appreciated it. “And Lori and her grandma. Hell, while we were gone, Lori and Rose could have gotten into some real trouble with the Cooper brothers. I don’t like that those troublesome wolves are in the area now. Do you?”
“Agreed. So that’s what this is all about.”
“Some of it. Plus this business with us no longer aging like shifters, and from what we’ve been hearing from Hunter and other wolf packs, it’s permanent unless that scientist can figure out how to change it back to the way we were. That means you don’t have forever to figure this out. Besides, don’t you want to have a house that’s a home? A lovely wolf to come home to? Something more permanent?”
“How long have you been thinking of this?”
Allan sighed. “I have to admit that when Hunter got mated, I was a little bit envious. I knew Finn had a thing for Hunter’s sister, but I never thought he’d mate her.”
He had always wondered what took Finn so long. Paul finished sealing his half of the deck.
“Then Bjornolf mated our own female operative in the group. And he was a real ghost on operations. No way did I think he’d ever settle down. Nor did I th
ink Anna would. So it got me to thinking of what was really important.”
“Family.”
“Right.”
“Why didn’t you say so before?” Paul had thought of it, but he wouldn’t have let Allan go on a dangerous mission without watching his back, and vice versa.
“So you’ll do it?”
“If I did, it would have to be something that everyone wants.”
“That’s a given. Hey, are you about done?”
“Yeah, finished here. It’s about time for me to pick up Lori and bring her home.”
Allan smiled a little.
Paul shook his head. Yeah, he knew how that sounded. Like he and Lori were together in a permanent way. But he knew it would be a quiet night, a time of reflection after the funeral.
They finished the job and returned to Emma’s place.
When Paul picked Lori up to take her home, she was quiet.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. But the lady who takes over when I can’t be at the dojo has to take off tomorrow. I need to be there for the day. And truly, it will feel good to teach some classes.”
“That’s fine. I’ll take care of whatever is next on the list. And then we go to the movie in the evening with Allan and his sister.”
“Yeah, you can come by and pick me up.”
When they arrived home, they watched the sunset and he kissed her, but he could feel the tension between them and said good night, hoping tomorrow would be better for her.
* * *
When Paul heard Lori leave in the morning, he got up to start his workday, not believing he’d missed seeing her off. He was glad she’d made the coffee for him before she left, but he wished he’d had breakfast with her. He wondered if she felt she needed to pull back from him a bit. He understood, though he had every intention of proving he wanted more with her and that she needed the same with him.
He worked all day, grabbed a tuna-fish sandwich, and picked up Lori at the dojo. She was all smiles and gave him a big hug and kiss.
“Hmm, this is better. I missed you early this morning,” Paul said, not letting her go.
“I had to get to an early-morning class for those who work during the day. Did you get a lot of work done?”
“Yeah. But I missed the distraction.”
“Me?”
He chuckled. “Ready for the movie?”
As soon as they arrived and got out of their vehicle, Allan and Rose met up with them, and Allan said to Paul in a rush, “We’re switching dates.”
“What?” Paul asked, not getting what Allan was up to.
“You’re with Rose and I’m with Lori.”
“We’re not exactly on a date,” Paul reminded him.
Lori was smiling.
Rose whispered just for their ears only, “Allan just spied Widow Baxter’s daughter, Tara, headed this way. If Allan’s with his sister, she’s bound to try to sit with him in the movie theater. But if he’s dating Lori, and you’re here with me, problem solved.”
Lori laughed. “You’re a SEAL, for heaven’s sake, Allan.”
“I am, and when it comes to taking out the bad guys, no problem.” Allan moved around and took Lori’s hand.
Allan had the appearance of being a really sweet guy, with his round face and jovial features. And he was a really good guy. But put him in a firefight, and he was just as lethal as any of the SEAL team members. Paul hadn’t expected him to be a marshmallow when it came to a woman.
“Yeah, but you’re like a sister to me,” Paul said to Rose as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the concession stand inside.
“Tara has only lived here five months. She doesn’t know anything about our family dynamics because you’re rarely around.” Rose switched her focus to the concession stand. “Okay, for getting me in trouble over the Cooper-brother fiasco, I want a large popcorn, bottled water, and a package of red licorice.”
“What would you like, Lori?” Allan asked as Paul paid for his “date’s” order.
“I’m good. We just ate.”
Allan looked amused. “I got the cheap date.”
“On second thought, get me everything Rose wanted, but instead of licorice, make it something chocolate. Call me a cheap date.” Lori cast Allan a look.
Paul smiled at Allan. “The chocolate will cost you more than the licorice cost me.” He was glad that Allan had suggested the movies for tonight. Paul hadn’t been to them in ages. Though he’d rather be on a date with Lori than pretending to be on one with Rose.
Still, when they sat in their seats way up above, he made sure he was seated between Rose and Lori. Allan missed the opportunity and Tara came to join them but was polite enough to ask, “Is this seat already saved for someone?”
She was a quiet, blue-eyed blond and always seemed serious.
“No. You’re welcome to it.” Allan was his typical nice-guy self, and Paul was glad that he wasn’t gruff with Tara, even though he didn’t want to date her.
Allan was more into women who were vivacious and not pushovers in the least. Paul could understand Tara’s desire to mingle with them though, since she was a wolf too. Yet, he was surprised she’d joined with them, since she tended to be more of a rabbit and kept a low profile. No one knew exactly why the mother and daughter had settled in this area. They were rather secretive, Paul thought. He wondered if they’d had trouble at their last residence. Something to do with their wolf halves? Or something else?
If he took over the pack and invited them to join, he would have to learn what their story was.
“So what are you and Paul doing while you’re here?” Tara asked.
“Vacationing.” Allan was watching the advertisements on the movie screen.
“Did you finish your work already for Martha?”
“Uh, yeah,” Allan said. “And now we’re vacationing.”
Paul stifled a laugh.
“So when are you leaving again on one of your SEAL assignments?” Tara asked.
Lori was smiling. So was Rose. Poor Allan.
The movie credits began and Allan relaxed in his seat as Tara turned to watch the movie.
The place was packed that night. Paul settled down in his seat and shared popcorn with Rose. Though she suddenly didn’t seem to want to eat anything.
At one point, Rose leaned over to whisper, “Emma was grateful you found Lee and helped to bury him yesterday.”
“It took us too long to locate him, but I’m glad we finally did and now he’s with the family.” It might be weird to consider it, but Paul thought Lori’s grandfather would also be more content to be with the rest of their fallen pack members.
He thought it was odd that Rose would bring that up now when she was normally really quiet and just as engrossed as Allan during a movie. Lori and Paul tended to privately share comments during movies.
He realized Rose was still leaning toward him, but not because she had any intention of pretending she was his girlfriend, he didn’t think. He suspected she wanted to tell him something privately. She was tense, not eating or drinking anything. She looked down at her lap and wasn’t watching the movie either. He knew her well enough to know something was the matter. She must have felt this was the first time she had him to herself where she could talk to him. The shooting and shouting in the movie—which for wolves was a little too much—continued to hide their voices, and the theater was nice, cozy, and dark like a wolves’ den.
He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer and whispered to her, “What’s wrong, Rose?”
She didn’t say anything, just leaned her head against his shoulder. That really worried him.
Lori glanced at them and he wondered if she knew what the matter was. Allan was too busy getting into the alien cowboy movie to notice.
“You’ll tell Mom and you’ll tell
Allan. And Lori.” Rose looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
His stomach tightened with concern. He couldn’t fathom what kind of trouble she might be in that she didn’t want the rest of the family to know about.
“You have to be our pack leader.”
He frowned at her. “What brought all this on?”
This was certainly not the time to talk about that. But her concern over the others finding out her secret made his heart pick up the pace a bit.
She looked to the side and brushed away the tears suddenly trailing down her cheeks.
“Rose…” He caressed her shoulder. What was she so concerned about that she wanted him here, watching the pack? Instantly, he thought of Howard Cooper and the trouble she could have gotten into with him at the Greypaws’ place. Had he bothered her further and she was afraid to tell anyone about it? Hell, if the bastard had hurt her…
Then she let out her breath and whispered, “I’m pregnant.”
Chapter 14
With the alien movie making so much noise, Lori couldn’t hear what was being said between Rose and Paul, but she highly suspected it had to do with what she’d been worried about—that Rose was concerned about something and needed help dealing with it, despite Rose’s denial that anything was wrong.
Lori was glad Rose was finally telling Paul, and she knew he would help her to see that the pack would back her up, no matter what the problem was. When she heard Rose sniffling, Lori wanted to give her a hug and wished Rose had felt comfortable enough to talk with her about it before this.
But Rose, like the others, saw Paul as the leader and was inclined to talk to him about issues that would affect the pack. Lori suspected it was something really important. Not just some frivolous concern.
She knew she’d learn soon enough, though she had her suspicions. She tried to watch the movie and let Rose and Paul have their privacy, but she couldn’t help straining to catch any words that would confirm that what she was worried about had happened.
