by Terry Spear
“When it comes to helping our kind, you know my feelings on the subject,” Holly said.
Her dad didn’t look up from his magazine and sighed. “You know that wild look in Holly’s eyes means she’s going after what she wants.”
“Is he what you want?” her mom asked.
“Mom, Dad, I’m thirty, for heaven’s sake. I don’t want to cause trouble for the pack, but you know I’ll be looking outside the pack for a mate.” When both her parents opened their mouths to say something, she held up her hand to stop them. “It doesn’t mean Aidan and I have any common interests, except we’re both doctors, we both care about Nick, and we want to help the wolves out in any way that we can. Beyond that? Who knows.”
“It’s Christmas. Miracles can happen.” Her dad flipped to another page in his magazine. His comment was in reference to her losing out on settling down with Jared. Since he was the pack leader’s brother, that would have given her better standing in the pack. As if she would have lost out.
“Have you ever felt the compulsion to do something you know is right, despite the obstacles?” Holly asked her dad.
He smiled. “Yeah, I mated your mom.”
That wasn’t what Holly was thinking of, but it fit. Her mom’s parents hadn’t thought her dad had enough drive to provide for their daughter. Holly liked that her dad was so laid-back, but for herself, she’d prefer someone who was more of a go-getter. “Okay, right. And that’s how I feel.”
“Dr. Denali might not want your help beyond giving blood,” her dad said.
“Which is fine. I at least want to offer my assistance. By examining my blood, maybe he can see why our longevity hasn’t changed, or maybe he can tell if it will. Sticking our heads in the sand won’t make the problem go away.”
Her dad looked up from his magazine. “I agree.”
“But you didn’t before.”
“Ronald has us believing that if we associated with anyone in other packs, we might become affected. If they discover you’ve gone to see Denali, they may kick us out of the pack.”
“If you want me to stay—”
“No, but we may have to leave the pack.”
Holly guessed she should have already talked with her parents about this. Not about Aidan, because he was still an unknown quantity, but about her leaving the pack to find a mate and how it would affect them. “Are you okay with that?”
Her dad nodded. “We’ve all discussed it, and the way we’re being treated now, yes. Besides, your mother and I have talked about the issue of never allowing fresh blood into the pack. It needs new blood before we begin to create brand-new issues.”
Which was what Holly had been saying all along. “I agree. All right. I’m leaving now. I’ll try to return as soon as I can.”
“Are you going as a wolf?”
“Yes. I can move faster, closer to the ground, quieter. I love you and Mom.” She hugged her dad.
Her mother shook her head. “Just be careful. If he breaks your heart, I’ll send your dad to take care of him.”
Holly smiled and hugged her mom, and her dad winked at her.
“I might not return tonight, if it’s a long way off and might be better just to stay there overnight. He’s got two bodyguards, so it’s not like I’ll be alone with him. Not that I need a chaperone or anything,” Holly quickly said.
“You told Greg he could go with you tomorrow morning to look for Nick,” her mom reminded her. “You know he’ll be hurt if you don’t take him with you.”
“He’ll go with us. We’ll meet up at six, same place that we already agreed on. Instead of the two of us meeting Aidan and his men, I’ll be with them already, and Greg can join us. I can call him in the morning to wake him, but he might need a firmer touch. Someone prodding him in person.”
“You don’t want Greg to go with you tonight?” her mom asked.
“No. You know how much he hates giving blood, and if we go over there, he’ll feel like he should too. He’d never wake up in time to go in the morning if I dragged him out of bed now. That’s saying Aidan offers for me to stay the night. I’m just winging this as I go. I’ve got to leave, or Aidan and the others will think something prevented me from going.”
“Be safe,” her dad said. “And have a good time.”
“Be careful,” her mom said.
“I will be. Thanks.” Holly went to her bedroom, yanked off her pj’s, and shifted, then ran out of the bedroom.
Her mother opened the front door for her. It was still snowing. Holly hoped it would settle tomorrow. They might not be able to go in search of Nick if it was too bad.
“Love you,” her mom said, and Holly licked her mother’s hand.
Then she ran into the woods and headed for the path she’d taken before, hoping no one would catch her out in the whiteout, smelling for the signs that she’d come this way earlier. The snow had half buried their tracks already, though she used the same ones as before, passing the five snowmen and continuing to the rendezvous point. She thought back to her parents’ comments. She wasn’t going to see Aidan because she thought he was mate material, was she?
Of course, she was. Why go tonight of all times? In the middle of a snowstorm? Sure, Aidan didn’t want to lose the opportunity to sample her blood. And neither did she. Still, she wanted to see him again, and not just in her wolf coat. And not just for giving blood.
She heard something coming and hid in the woods until she saw three wolves: Aidan and his men. She barked a joyful bark and hurried out to join them. She nuzzled Aidan, who greeted her in kind, and then Ted ran off, Aidan and Holly in the center running side by side, and Mike bringing up the rear. Trying to convince herself the only reason she was doing this was for the sake of their wolf-kind, she couldn’t quite contain the excitement she felt at being with other wolves. Males. Bachelors. Not of her pack. She suspected her wolf’s biological need was pushing her for more where Aidan was concerned.
She didn’t even know if Aidan would want her to stay the night, she reminded herself. Maybe they didn’t have enough room for another body. She’d play it by ear. She wouldn’t suggest it. She had her pride, after all.
He gave her a wolfish smile.
Okay, so maybe if he didn’t suggest it, she would. To hell with pride.
Chapter 9
When they finally reached the cabin, Holly expected it to look similar to their rental cabins: front deck, boxy building, maybe high vaulted ceilings, fireplace, and skylights.
Instead, Aidan’s place was a mansion of a log cabin with a covered wrap-around deck on the two-story structure, big windows all across the back of the place with a view of the mountains, three natural stone chimneys, and she suspected enough bedrooms so she could have her very own.
When Ted stopped at a wolf door to let her go in first, she sighed. A wolf door too. Of course. The place was owned by wolves, unlike the rental cabins they were staying in.
She entered the house and was wowed all over again. All the floors, walls, and ceilings were covered in honey-oak paneling, making the cabin warm and inviting. A large stone fireplace was situated on one wall, and comfy beige sofas—enough for about a dozen guests—were placed around it. A large Turkish tapestry rug of navy and beiges covered the center of the living area, and she could see a full-size kitchen and dining room that seated a dozen nearby. The flow of the floor plan was open, making the cabin appear spacious and even larger than it was.
Aidan woofed at her to let her know to stay in the living room and he’d return in a moment. He ran off to his bedroom, but she stuck with him. She assumed he was going to get her something to wear, but being a doctor and a wolf, she wasn’t modest. She just wanted to get on with business, give him a sample of her blood, and hopefully find a bedroom to sleep in before they had to get up so early.
He smiled at her and shifted, then dug around in a couple of drawers
. He was so hot: tight ass, well-developed leg muscles, arm muscles, whole body muscles. He was a hot, hot specimen of a wolf doctor. Who would have ever thought?
He tossed a pair of light-gray sweats on the bed and smiled at her because she was gawking at him while she licked her lips. She couldn’t help it. He was total mate material. Physically, at least. His abdomen perfectly sculpted. His legs and arms beautifully muscled. His package oversized. Yeah, he looked like one hunk of a mate prospect.
She shifted and grabbed the sweatpants, then pulled them on. When she was slipping the sweatshirt over her head, he tossed a pair of socks on the bed.
Then he began getting dressed too, pulling up boxer briefs that cupped his nice, full package in a formfitting, ultra-sexy way…like she wanted to.
Mike and Ted had retired to other rooms, and she heard them opening drawers.
“It’s hard to believe your pack’s longevity hasn’t changed at all.” Aidan pulled on a dark-gray sweatshirt, hiding his beautiful chest.
She sighed. Here she was, thinking about how sexy he was, and he was still thinking of her as a blood source. “I was surprised to learn the other packs were having trouble over this, because we weren’t. Our pack leader doesn’t want us to be ‘infected’ with the longevity problem, like the other wolves have been. Which means our pack members keep to themselves. The problem with that notion is that some of the younger wolves will have trouble mating wolves who aren’t related to them…in the near future! Idiot pack leader!”
“Hell, if you’re not worried about me infecting you, I’m certainly eligible and would be great for the gene pool. Top of my class at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.”
She chuckled. “And you’re completely modest.” Was he serious about being eligible to court her?
He smiled.
Then she frowned, hating what Ronald was doing to the pack. “It’s an intolerable situation. The pack doesn’t want to lose my skills, so they keep an eye on me. I want to find a way to protect my family, ignore the dictates of the pack leader, and aid the other wolves at the same time.”
She’d always wanted to reach out to other packs, learn about them, and befriend them—and she did whenever she could. Jared, who was supposed to have mated her, had dumped her faster than an eyeblink as soon as he knew her views on helping Aidan. He and his brother’s version of Big Brother, Big Wolf, were keeping an eye on her.
“Let’s get this done quickly so I can return home and get some sleep, or I’ll never make it to the rendezvous point tomorrow.”
Aidan studied her for a moment. Yeah, she’d chickened out about suggesting she should stay here for the night. If all he really wanted was her blood, it was probably best to end this fascination for him right now. Though his eligibility and gene pool comment made her think he was interested in more. And she loved his sense of humor.
“I was hoping you would stay the night,” he said as he led her out of the bedroom.
Yes! She wanted to pump her fist in victory.
When she didn’t jump at the chance to agree with him, he continued, “You can sleep longer, and we’ll have breakfast early and head out.” Maybe he was afraid she thought he sounded too eager to get to know her better, and she was backing off in a hurry.
“My brother will still meet us at the rendezvous place.” She wanted him to know that right away in case he had any trouble with it.
“Sure, that would work. It would be better if you stayed the night.”
She frowned at him. “You’re not really feeling bad, are you?” The hospital had kept him overnight for observation, she’d learned. Maybe he was afraid he couldn’t handle returning her home and then coming back here after all the running they’d done.
He smiled. “Come on.” He escorted her the rest of the way down the hall to another room. “I told you I was fine. If you really prefer returning to your cabin after I take your blood, we could do that, but you’ll probably need to rest up a little. You’ll also be more tired when we start out so early in the morning.”
“Not you though.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, me too. And the guys after escorting you back. I wouldn’t think of letting you go alone. Though I haven’t given up on convincing you to stay here either.”
That was more like it. When he opened the door to the room, her lower jaw dropped. “Holy cow. You have a whole lab set up here?” What a setup. She would love to have one as nice as this at her clinic.
“Yeah, it was the only way Rafe could get me out of my house. We set one of these labs up at each of the places we own, so when I stay at them, I can work on my research and visit with the family too.”
“What a wonderful brother.” She sat down on a chair and rolled up her sleeve. “But you do other stuff besides work, right? When you’re visiting with family, for instance.” She couldn’t imagine anything duller than a mate who was such a workaholic. She tended to be rather a workaholic too, but she wanted more out of life than that. And if she had a mate, she had plans to do all kinds of fun things with him.
“Sure. All guy things. Until Rafe found his mate. She already had a son who wasn’t a wolf.”
“How did that happen?” Holly was genuinely surprised and hadn’t ever heard of a wolf who had a human son. Unless she’d adopted him. But she’d never heard of a wolf doing that either. Unless she’d been turned and her son hadn’t been.
“She had a child by a human, and then the child was turned by another child in the pack.”
“Oh, okay. I hadn’t heard of any wolf having a child by a human.”
“It’s rare, but it does happen. The father also had some wolf roots. At three years of age, Toby is a lupus garou, but he doesn’t have control over his shifting like the rest of us do. We’re all royals.”
“Wow, he must require a lot of supervision. Everyone in our pack is a royal. In my family, we had hardly any human roots for centuries.”
“Okay, good to know. I’m trying to determine any common denominator in the longevity stats. As to Toby, the official paperwork shows he is Rafe’s son, so no one knows otherwise.”
“That’s really good of Rafe. I imagine that was an adjustment, from bachelor wolf to the dad of a newly turned wolf child, especially when you don’t have anything but bachelors in your group, right?”
“Right. It’s been a life-changer, but Rafe slipped into the role without a hitch, and he adores Toby. We all do.”
She really admired Rafe for taking a mate who had a son so newly turned and calling him his own flesh and blood. The boy would need that kind of support system, especially to get him through the early years. “That’s who you were shopping for at the mall when you rescued Joey.”
“Yeah. Toby’s a cute kid, and he’s got several more protectors: Rafe’s assistant manager, our best friend who’s another billionaire, and Rafe’s bodyguards. When I’m with them, I spend a lot of my time playing with Toby. I don’t even think about working. I’m dedicated to finding the solution to the problem, but not to the exclusion of having some fun,” Aidan hastily added.
He was good with kids. Aidan sounded like he was offering his résumé, and at face value, he seemed like he might make the perfect wolf mate. “That’s good to know. Sometimes when I’m trying to figure something out, I just have to get out of my usual surroundings, and then it comes to me. Taking a break can be a good thing. I love to do all kinds of outdoor activities—camping, hiking, running as a wolf. That helps to ground me.”
“I agree, and I’m into nature too. I don’t see how a lupus garou couldn’t be. I also have an interest in herbs for medicinal purposes, jigsaw puzzles for stress relief, rock climbing, skiing…”
“Snowball fights, snowman building…”
Aidan chuckled. “Snow forts…”
“Snow castles, snowshoeing, ice skating.”
“Everything but the ice skates for me. No wolf guy
would be caught dead in a pair of skates.”
She laughed. And she loved a challenge. “Then I’ll have to show you how much fun it can be.”
“Snow biking.” Aidan took a sample of her blood. He was so gentle that she didn’t even felt the prick of the needle, and then he bandaged her arm.
“Snow biking?”
“Yeah, with chains on the tires or fat tires. They even have the Iditarod Trail Invitational, a race in Alaska for snow bikers.”
“Do you ride in it?”
“Nah. Most of us don’t like to be in human competitions. Besides, we just enjoy the ride.”
“Sounds like fun. I didn’t notice any Christmas decorations here,” she said. Their rental cabins weren’t decorated either because they weren’t staying for the holidays. She was wondering if he planned to leave before then too. She thought how much fun it would be to spend Christmas here at his cabin.
“We were just here to look for Nick for the next couple of weeks. I’m going to my brother’s and my chalet in Colorado for the holidays. Jade, Rafe’s wife, will make sure the place is decorated to the rafters. What about you?”
“I’ll be home with the family. We do it every year. Nothing wildly exciting.”
“Do you wanna come with me? We could make it wildly exciting.”
He looked so eager for her to agree that she wondered what he had in mind. She could imagine quite a bit: skiing, snowman building, snowmobiling, and ice skating on a frozen lake, since he was going somewhere nice and snowy. And that would mean her getting him in a pair of skates to ice skate with her. She could imagine going with him to California, running on the beaches, building sand castles, and running through the surf, and that all appealed to her too.
“Mike and Ted are going home to their families. It would just be Rafe, Jade, Toby, two of Rafe’s bodyguards, and me. Jade would love to have another woman there so she doesn’t feel all the men will gang up on her.”
Jade would love to have her there? What about Aidan? Holly wasn’t interested in joining them just so she could give Jade company, though she’d enjoy talking to her, sure. But she wanted to get to know Aidan better.
