“I said get out of here, before you can’t walk.” Nik reached for Matthew.
But the lunewulf had enough sense to open the door and hurry out into the front yard. Nik followed him to his car.
“I’m right about this. Don’t think that I’m not. We didn’t have enough bitches before last night—not young, single bitches. And now we’ve lost thirty-six of them. There are way too many males in this pack as it is. Those bitches will go fast. If you’re going to mate with her, you have today. After that, she’s fair game.” Matthew jumped into his car before Nik could grab him again.
He stood in the street, growling as the pack doctor quickly took off. So much for his shower. Hurrying to his truck, he grabbed his cell phone, punching in Sophie’s number while he stood outside, scowling at the gray sky.
“Hello.” The soft female voice purred into his ear.
“Let me talk to Sophie.”
“Who is this?”
“Nik.”
“Oh.” There was silence on the other end, and his ears tickled when he heard females talking quietly in the background. He strained to hear what they said but couldn’t. The same bitch came back to the phone. “She would like to call you back.”
Nick scratched his head, squeezing his eyes closed while fighting the urge to demand she be put on the phone immediately. He didn’t have that right. Although he’d be damned if another lunewulf would ever have the right to demand anything of her.
“Who is this?” he asked, keeping his tone calm.
“Nik, this is Gertrude. I promise I’ll have her call you back.”
He believed the bitch. Gertrude was his age, and a good female. Although not as pretty as Sophie, she would fall close to the top of the list if the males in the pack started scrambling for mates.
“Tell her I’ll be there in half an hour. I’ll talk to her in person.”
“I’m not sure Grandmother will allow us visitors right now.” Gertrude didn’t sound pleased.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Grandmother Rousseau.” Even an old bitch could be charmed.
Nik took time for a shower. It proved a damned good idea. When he pulled up in front of the large country home less than an hour later, a fair amount of the pack was already there. Matthew might have been right. He recognized every car and decided an unannounced entrance might be to his advantage before he made his presence known.
Nik trotted around the side of the den, glancing at the outbuildings that possibly had been used for horses decades ago when humans still owned this land. Werewolves and livestock didn’t often get along. He smelled and heard lunewulfs and slowed his pace.
Derek Rousseau, Sophie’s uncle and the oldest and only remaining son of Grandmother Rousseau, stood talking to Benjamin Tooley, one of the oldest males in their pack. Old Ben walked with a limp and had more scars on his body than any lunewulf Nik had ever known.
The two males sniffed the air at the same time and Nik hesitated only for a second before making his presence known. Sneaking around to get answers wasn’t his style.
“Are you lost?” Derek asked, his usual snotty attitude making the air stink around him.
“Nope. Just looks like a three-ring circus up front. Figured I’d come back here.” Nik strolled over to the two males, keeping his tone and mood as relaxed as he could. No use baring his claws before he knew he had to.
“How are you doing, Nik?” Old Ben grinned broadly, rocking up on his feet while giving Derek a side glance and then turning his attention to Nik. “Sophie is inside. She’ll be happy to see you.”
“Benjamin,” Derek hissed.
Nik hid his smile but enjoyed the hell out of the innocent look Old Ben gave Derek.
“I’ll head inside in a minute and pay her a visit,” Nik told him, ignoring Derek and wishing he could ignore his stale smell. “The pack is a mess today and I knew if I wanted the facts about anything, this was the place to come.”
Old Ben smelled pleased as punch at the compliment.
“I would think if you wanted facts, you’d address your pack leader.” Derek raised a bushy eyebrow, straightening and almost standing as tall as Nik.
“Is she available?” Nik stepped toward the back door. “I do have a few things to discuss with her. Of course, when I’m done, you must tell me what to do about the madness attacking this pack.” He squeezed Old Ben’s shoulder.
“It’s going to get a hell of a lot more insane from the smell of things.” Old Ben shoved dirt around with his worn-looking boot. “Since you’re asking me—”
“No one is asking you anything,” Derek scolded, frowning at Old Ben. “Don’t you have inventory to count or something?”
“Nope. Everything’s in order.” Old Ben’s watery blue eyes glowed with amusement. “Which is more than what I can say for the goings on inside. Maybe you should head back in there and take care of things.”
Even Old Ben, who had to be pushing sixty, had more muscle on him than Derek. Truth be told, Derek probably wasn’t a lot younger than Benjamin. Where Ben had eagerly taken on any fight that came his way like a proud lunewulf would, Derek tested the speed of his breeding by turning tail and running whenever things got rough. History repeated itself when Derek turned to the door, making a ridiculous snorting sound.
“Mother has everything under control. If lunewulfs like you were in charge, we’d kill ourselves off.” He pulled open the screen door and let it slam shut behind him, disappearing into the house.
“And we wouldn’t have bitches like you pretending they were males,” Old Ben muttered under his breath.
Nik laughed easily. “It would be a hell of a show watching you knock that jerk down a few notches.”
Old Ben shook his head, his smile slowly fading. When he looked at Nik, the two small scars alongside his mouth added to the wrinkles on his face. Suddenly he smelled very serious.
“Forcing him to belly up won’t fix what they are about to do.” He grabbed Nik’s arm, his bony fingers still having a decent grip. “The chill in the air gets to me more than it used to. A hot cup of coffee is in order. Head on into the kitchen with me. Your scent will bring your bitch running.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Nik opened the door, holding it for the old lunewulf, and followed him into the spacious kitchen. “Tell me what you’ve heard,” he prompted, once he’d sniffed out the room and made sure they were alone.
A heated conversation was going on somewhere in the house. And there were males in the large meeting room carrying on like they would break out in their fur any minute. From what Nik could overhear, every male there seemed adamant about claiming a mate. Things were possibly worse than what he’d feared. Their females wouldn’t be safe at this rate.
“You’re hearing part of it right now.” Ben grabbed a couple of mugs out of the cabinet and handed one to Nik.
Caffeine was probably the last thing he needed in his system right now. Just hearing the bickering going on in other parts of the house, smelling the tense emotions, had Nik’s blood racing in his veins. He picked up the pot of coffee, sniffing it for freshness, then poured Old Ben a cup.
“I can’t believe the death of thirty-six females would send all these males toward a bloodbath. We won’t have to worry about outnumbering them if they kill each other fighting for mates.”
Ben took his time sipping the coffee. Twice he looked past Nik, cocking his head and listening then sniffing the air. Finally he put his cup on the counter, either not noticing that Nik hadn’t poured himself a cup or not caring. He crooked his finger, and Nik lowered his head so that Ben could whisper what he had to say.
“Grandmother Rousseau will destroy this pack faster than our lack of females could,” he said, his breath rich with the smell of coffee. “What I just heard a bit ago is insane.”
“What did you hear?” Nik didn’t take his attention from the old lunewulf but listened to all the sounds surrounding him. Ben’s expression made it clear enough he was about to share something he probabl
y shouldn’t know.
“Tonight at the pack meeting, she’s making an announcement. From this point forward, Grandmother Rousseau will arrange all matings. Those lunewulfs out there are making a lot of demands on deaf ears.”
“Arrange our matings?” Nik hissed, more than shocked. He looked behind him quickly, his heart suddenly pounding so loud in his chest he wouldn’t trust any sounds he heard. “What the hell are you talking about, old man? Pack leaders haven’t arranged matings for decades.”
“I hear there is a list.” Old Ben grabbed his arm. “But it’s worse than you think. You’re going to have to share your mate with another lunewulf male.”
“Like fucking hell,” Nik hissed.
The old lunewulf squeezed his arm, shaking him. Nik fought the urge to send Old Ben flying. His anger almost got the better of him and he backed up, breathing hard until he found control of his emotions. More than likely aware that he’d tripped Nik’s temper and that he wouldn’t stand a chance in hell against him, Old Ben backed away too, giving Nik a moment to calm down.
“Just remember, you didn’t hear it from me.” Old Ben refilled his cup and then headed toward the back door. He turned and wagged his finger at Nik. “If it were me, I’d grab my bitch and run like hell from this pack.”
Chapter Three
Nik was in the house. Sophie smelled his scent. She sat in the window seat, staring outside while her sisters paced and griped behind her.
“God. I just love being a caged animal.” Elsa plopped down on Gertrude’s bed.
“It’s going nuts down there.” Gertrude had her ear pressed to her bedroom door, where the three of them had congregated when it became apparent that they weren’t going to be allowed downstairs. “They are fighting over all of us and I can’t tell who is saying what.”
“I’ll be damned if I’m going to be sold like chattel.” Elsa kicked her shoes off, sending one flying so that it hit the wall.
“What are you doing?” Sophie turned from the view and her memories of being with Nik the other night and frowned at her youngest littermate.
“I know what I’m not doing.” Elsa glared at both of them and then walked to one of the other windows. “I’m not sitting here while they argue my future downstairs. You two are nuts, you know that? You sit up here acting all horny and shit because a bunch of lame-ass males have their claws out downstairs. No one mates with me unless they win my heart first.”
“That will happen,” Sophie assured her. “And when it does, you will be as thrilled as I am. I promise.”
Elsa rolled her eyes. She turned her back on them and fidgeted with the window.
“Oh no you don’t.” Gertrude jumped at Elsa when she slid open the window. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
“Try to stop me and I swear I’ll run from this pack and never once look over my shoulder,” Elsa hissed, her anger filling the room. “I’m fucking out of here.”
“Elsa!” Sophie leapt over the bed when Elsa shoved Gertrude hard enough to knock her backward.
She reached the window as her little sister ripped the screen with her extended claw and then turned a wild look on Sophie. Her teeth pressed against her lower lip, longer than they should be, and her blonde hair flew wildly around her face.
“Leave me alone,” she growled, her words garbled from her partially changed body.
“Elsa. Think of the pack. No one will make you mate with someone you don’t want to mate with. Everyone’s worked up from the death of those bitches last night.” Gertrude tried grabbing Elsa, who’d already shoved the screen out of the way and climbed into the open window.
“And if you take off running, you could be another dead bitch,” Sophie told her. “God, Elsa. I know I give you shit, but I would want to die too if something happened to you.”
“I just need to run.” Elsa wouldn’t listen to reason.
She jumped out of the window, leaping to the ground. If she’d been completely in her human form, she would have broken a few bones. They were on the second floor. But partially changed, she landed on all fours, her long hair flowing down her back and making her look more animal than human. Sophie and Gertrude watched her run toward the nearest outbuilding.
“Shit.” Sophie hurried to the bedroom door.
“Stupid bitch.” Gertrude quickly kicked off her shoes. “I’m going after her. See if you can go find Johann.”
“What?” Sophie turned in time to see her littermate leap out the window. “Good grief.”
She’d been trying to figure out a valid reason to go downstairs without immediately being stopped by Grandmother or her uncle. At least now she had a damned good one. But she still would have to avoid either of them. Elsa didn’t need the wrath of Grandmother on her shoulders. Grandmother didn’t understand Elsa’s wild nature.
Opening the bedroom door slowly, she sniffed the air before stepping out in the hallway. The strong scent of angry males downstairs hit her almost as quickly as their loud arguing. Gertrude had been right. She heard her name, as well as her sisters’, mentioned several times. Maybe they were all so worked up fighting with each other they wouldn’t smell her if she crept down the back stairwell.
And maybe they were so riled that the scent of a female would make them all attack.
Nik was here somewhere. She couldn’t imagine him in the large meeting room with the others howling like a fool. If he had been in there, they would all have their asses kicked. Nik didn’t waste time whining or complaining about anything. He was an action kind of lunewulf. One of the many things about him that turned her on.
She slipped down the hallway and tiptoed down the back staircase toward the kitchen. As she turned in the stairwell, holding her breath and listening to hear if anyone was in the kitchen, Nik appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
“Going somewhere?” he whispered, glancing around him before stepping onto the first step.
His scent filled the space around them. Her legs were suddenly wobbly when she cleared the distance between them. Even standing on the step below her, he still stood tall enough to stare her in the eye. His intense blue eyes devoured her, looking very pleased that he cornered her in such a private location. Sophie was thrilled too. And for a moment she entertained the thought of her own private run, one with her and Nik.
Loyalty to her den came first though. Elsa wasn’t thinking straight, which only put her in more danger.
“Elsa just jumped out the window and headed for a run. She’s pissed that we were kept trapped upstairs all morning.” She kept her voice quiet, itching to run her fingers over the blond hair that fell over part of his forehead.
Nik raised an eyebrow, his expression turning serious. “How long ago did she run?”
“Just now. If I could find Johann, he could go after her quietly. He always did seem able to talk sense into her.”
Nik nodded, then pulled her down the stairs. For the briefest moment she pressed against his hard, muscular chest. When he pushed her toward the kitchen, her flesh still tingled where he’d touched her.
“I’ll find him. Go to the barn. Old Ben might be out there, but just tell him I sent you. He’ll understand. I’ll be there soon.” He gave her a quick shove, growling to emphasize the importance of his instructions, and then let go of her and disappeared down the hallway toward where the other males were.
Sophie trembled when she slipped out the back door. Nik’s rich male scent fogged her brain. She shook her head, squeezing her eyes closed for a minute to regain control of her senses.
Glancing around her, she didn’t smell any other lunewulfs. The backyard was quiet. Her sisters must have bolted quickly. She studied the grass, the side of the house and the outbuildings. It was almost too quiet.
The large door leading into the old barn stood open and she walked in, immediately feeling the chill from the darkness surrounding her. Pack supplies filled the huge wooden structure—tools and machinery that anyone who needed them could use. The place smelled of sawdust and oil
.
Sophie turned around, remaining in the shadows but standing so she had her eye on the back door of the house. She would see, or smell, anyone before they saw her.
A hand touched her shoulder. Well, maybe unless they walked up behind her.
“What?” Sophie turned around quickly.
“Steady, girl.” Old Ben grinned.
“Damn it, Ben.” Sophie pressed her hand to her heart, feeling how hard it thumped in her chest. “Nik told me you might be out here. I guess I’m more nervous than a whelping bitch.”
Old Ben’s laugh had always made her smile. “So he sent you out here for me to watch over, did he? You got yourself a smart lunewulf, Sophie.”
“Have you seen my littermates?” she asked, deciding not to burst the old lunewulf’s bubble by telling him that wasn’t exactly the case.
“Nope. All three of you come out here and you might be missed. Are you two going to run?” His watery blue eyes flashed with excitement.
“Run?” Sophie shook her head. “I don’t think so. He said he’d meet me out here.”
“The way this pack is headed, I’d take off faster than you can make your claws appear if I had a pretty bitch like you. No way would I share what is mine.”
“What are you talking about?” She turned quickly toward the open door when she thought she heard something. There was no one in the yard.
“Nik didn’t tell you?” Old Ben could be impossible when it came to sharing gossip. He took her by the arm, pulling her deeper into the shadows of the barn. “Well I told him myself, so I know that he knows. And I heard it with my own ears. This isn’t news sniffed out or anything. It’s from the source—the old bitch herself.”
If she interrupted, he would never get to the point.
Lunewulf Law Page 3
