by Terry Spear
Holly wondered if Aidan had rejection issues and thought that if he mentioned Jade needing her, she’d be more comfortable saying she’d go. She couldn’t imagine why, as hot as he was and as considerate as he always seemed to be. At least he had been with her so far.
“I’d have to talk it over with my family.” She normally made her own decisions without consulting her family, and she thought they’d be pleased, surprised, and maybe a little envious that she would do something different for the holidays. It would be the first time she hadn’t been home with the family for Christmas. She wanted to make sure it would be fine with them and that they wouldn’t feel hurt.
At the same time, she didn’t want to appear too overeager to stay with him.
Aidan pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket, and she laughed. She hadn’t expected him to be so hopeful she’d go with him. “All right.” She never went anywhere or did anything spectacular. This could really be fun and special for her.
She took the phone from him and called her mom. “Hey, Mom, it’s me. I’m safe at Aidan’s house. I’ve given him my blood, and I’m staying the night.”
He smiled, looking pleased to hear it.
“How many bedrooms does the cabin have? Is one of his guards going to sleep on a pullout couch?” her mom asked.
“Uh, let me ask.” Holly figured they’d have enough bedrooms, but maybe other rooms were like this lab and not bedrooms. Not that she felt she should have to ask Aidan about the sleeping arrangements, but that was one of her weaknesses. Pleasing her parents to a fault, sometimes. And this was one of those times when she felt she had to satisfy them, just to make them feel comfortable about her staying with a bunch of men she didn’t know that well. They were all wolves, after all, to her mother’s way of thinking. And her parents hadn’t vetted them.
“Do you have enough bedrooms so I’ll have my own? Mom wants to know.” She smiled at Aidan, wanting him to know it was just the way her family was but that she didn’t have an issue with it, one way or another.
She’d like to sleep in Aidan’s bed with him! She couldn’t help thinking about hugging his sexy body.
“And your dad,” her mom said. After all, she was with three bachelor wolves.
“And Dad.” Her cheeks were feeling way too warm.
Crinkles appeared under Aidan’s eyes as he smiled. “We have eight bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and a half bath. You have your choice of any of the bedrooms.”
Holly closed her gaping mouth. She wanted to ask if her whole family could stay there! But then she wondered: occupied or not? Did he mean she could stay with him? Not that she’d suggest it, or do it…but moving right along. “Did you hear Aidan, Mom? I have a choice of any of the five free bedrooms. They have eight total, plus three full baths.” She wasn’t going to mention he’d offered any of the eight bedrooms.
“I was thinking it was a cozy cabin rental,” her mother said, sounding just as astonished.
“No, it’s one of the Denalis’ homes. A log cabin mansion. Aidan invited me to spend Christmas with his brother, his mate, and their son. If you think you won’t miss me too much…”
“Oh my, Holly. You know what you’re saying.”
“That I’m going to do something different for Christmas for once in my life.” With a hot male bachelor wolf who promised her it would be wildly exciting. The trip didn’t mean that she was mating him. But she knew that was what her mom would be thinking.
Her mother burst into tears.
“Mom?” Holly felt bad. “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll be home for Christmas.” She had already begun to dream about the fun time she could have at a chalet with Aidan, but not if she broke her mother’s heart. She sighed.
“Oh, no, no, that sounds like so much fun! You go, dear. Don’t mind me. If I were young and single, I’d jump at this chance.” She paused. “Yes, I said if I were single and hadn’t met you, Eddie.” Another pause. “You’ll have a great time, Holly. And I’m so excited for you. Our firstborn is finally leaving the wolf den.”
Holly laughed. She had a home of her own, so she wasn’t exactly living with her parents. She just needed to find the right mate to love and cherish. “Are you sure, Mom? You won’t miss me?”
“Of course we’ll miss you, but we’d feel terrible if you missed out on such a wonderful opportunity… Yes, yes, she’ll have her own bedroom,” her mother said to her dad.
Holly stifled a laugh. “You’re sure? I mean, about not being with all of you for Christmas?”
“Yes. I’m thrilled for you. This is a wonderful opportunity, and I’ve always hoped you’d be able to do something like this. About tonight…that sounds like a better notion than running back here and having to get up so early.”
“Okay, I know Greg has to be sound asleep, so can you tell him in the morning that we’ll just meet him at the same location where we met Aidan and the other men? Same time we planned on.”
“Yes, I’ll let him know.”
“We’re headed for bed now.” She rose from the chair. “Night, Mom, and thanks.”
“I’m thrilled for you, really. Marianne will be envious. Greg probably will be too. You deserve it. Night, honey.”
“Night.”
Things were really looking up! Hopefully, they could find Nick tomorrow and convince him to return with them to Aidan’s cabin, and he’d agree to find a home with a new pack.
But then she thought of leaving her pack doctorless and how Ronald would treat her family if she left for good. She was torn between doing what she wanted to do and what she felt she needed to do to protect her family.
Chapter 10
Holly smiled at Aidan, who was glad she was staying the night and visiting with his family for Christmas. He couldn’t have been more pleased.
“Let me show you the rooms.” Aidan first took her to a room decorated in pinks and greens because it was closest to his room.
“This is mine.” Then she moved toward him and clasped her arms around his neck and kissed him, her mouth pressing against his in a sweet way, her luscious breasts pressed against his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her tighter against his body, having wanted to do this ever since she tended to his head wound. Then he kissed her, wolf to wolf, man to woman, sweetly at first, then building the tempo. God, he’d never kissed another wolf like this, never a woman who charged his pheromones like she did.
Even now, their tongues tangled in a way that was wickedly seductive.
She finally broke free from the kiss, though she was still holding on to him, and he loved the way she molded to him. “Thanks for Joey and Nick. I hope my blood will help you in some way with your research.”
“If it doesn’t, it was still worth it.” Being with her was well worth it. “Are you sure you want to sleep here? Not in another room?” He motioned to his own bedroom. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He had to offer, even if she said no.
“I suspect we’ll both get more sleep on our own. We might talk about research all night otherwise.”
He smiled. She was probably worried about more than talking.
“Definitely my loss. I might have learned the secret to the longevity mystery. But there will always be tomorrow.” Then he frowned. “I’ve always wondered why Ronald wanted to avoid other packs. Does he worry we’d learn the truth? That your people haven’t changed?”
“Probably. Before he even knew about the problem, he worried another pack would try to take us over. Attempts have been made three times in the past. It made an impression on him—the stories retold over the years about our losses, the rival wolves’ defeat, and all.”
“Okay. I wondered what the deep, dark truth was where he was concerned. Good night, Holly. Thanks for staying the night.”
“Thanks for offering. Night, Aidan.” She gave him a brief kiss, then closed the door bef
ore they got embroiled in anything further.
He felt like he was standing at the top of Glacier Peak with the whole world at his fingertips. More than anything, he wanted to get together with her. Not just for research.
When she’d come to his room, not shy about seeing his nakedness or him seeing hers, he was glad. He swore she’d been seriously thinking of hopping right into his bed with him. She was one hot and very sexy she-wolf.
* * *
Early the next morning, Aidan dressed and headed to his lab, wanting to check Holly’s blood sample to see if he could make out anything that would indicate why hers hadn’t changed. To his surprise, Holly was already looking at a blood sample under the microscope. “See anything?”
She jumped a little, looking guilty that she was using his lab without him being there. “I would have to compare my blood cells with the blood of someone whose cells are aging faster.”
“Mine.”
“But not this minute. We need to eat and get on our way. Maybe after we search for Nick?” she asked. “I should have asked permission to use your lab.”
“You’re free to use it anytime you want.”
He was worried about the trouble she could get into with Ronald, if someone in the pack learned she was running with Aidan and his men. Maybe she hadn’t planned to search for Nick all that long today and intended to return to her pack for the rest of the time. But he planned on spending all their daylight hours looking for the older wolf. Then again, he would appreciate any time he could be with her.
“You probably have to return to your resort early today.”
“I can do what I want. And I will. Let’s see how it goes. We might find Nick early on, if he wants us to, and I’m really hoping he does.”
“I am too.” He took her place at the microscope and studied the cells. “Beautiful.”
She laughed. “Inside and out, right?”
He looked up at her. “Yeah.” And he wasn’t talking about blood cells.
“Breakfast is served,” Ted called from the kitchen.
“I’d love to work with you on this. We could do video chats to share information. If you think it won’t get you in trouble with your pack leader,” Aidan said.
“I’ve love to work with you also. I’ve got pictures of the blood samples I’ve taken of my pack members and the actual refrigerated cells,” she said as they headed downstairs to the dining room. “I’m worried we might end up having the same trouble as the other packs. I’ve wanted to see if we could work together on this, but I’ve been concerned about how Ronald will react. He could banish my family from the pack, and anyone else who agrees with me giving you the information. Even though it might help my people if I shared their blood samples with you without their knowledge, ethically I can’t.”
“I understand, and I would feel the same way. You’re sure you’re okay with coming with us today?” Aidan pulled out a chair for her to take a seat at the dining table.
“I am. Are you sure I can’t help with anything?” she asked Ted.
“Just to tell us what you want for breakfast. We’ve whipped up omelets and pancakes.”
“I’ll have an omelet, with cheese and bell peppers, if you have them.”
“I sure do. Pancakes for you, Doc?” Mike asked.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Mike served the pancakes while Ted added cheese and bell peppers to Holly’s omelet.
“In response to your question about going with you, yes. Ronald knows I’m always searching for Nick when I visit here. The part about me running with you? That’s his problem. We’re working on the same mission, so he can deal with it. My parents are all right with it. They know where this can lead if Ronald goes ballistic. Which is always a possibility.”
Ted served her omelet. “Coffee? Tea?”
“Coffee with cream and sugar, thanks,” Holly said. “I thought you said they were your bodyguards.”
“Yeah, but they like to cook. Good thing for me. I cook, but I was skipping meals all the time. They keep me on more of a schedule.”
She shook her head. “You’re a doctor. You should know better.”
“Agreed.” Ted brought over his own breakfast omelet. “That’s what we kept telling him. He gave in and started to listen to us.”
Mike sat down to eat pancakes. “Only because we’re persistent.”
Aidan chuckled. “They were hungry too and didn’t want to eat without me.”
“Maybe we should talk to your pack leader and change his mind about talking to other packs,” Ted said.
“No. He’s stuck in his ways, and if you hassle him, he’ll get ugly really fast.”
“If your family has to leave the pack, we’ll help them get resettled in California, if they’d like,” Aidan offered. He didn’t want her family to feel they’d have to abandon all they’d worked for because of their pack leader’s issues, but if it happened, he wanted them to know they had the Denalis’ help.
“Thank you. I’m sure they’d appreciate knowing that. Change is hard for everyone, which is why most of us just put up with Ronald and his crap.”
Aidan got a call on his cell and looked at the caller ID. “It’s your brother.” He answered the phone. “Hey, this is Aidan. I’ll hand the phone over to your sister.”
“Thanks. I wish I’d known she was going to stay with you last night. I could’ve gone with her and just left from there. Jared’s been prowling around the cabin, waiting to see if Holly leaves here, I suspect. I’m headed out through my window, and I’ll meet you west of where we met yesterday to throw him off my tracks if he should follow me. I don’t expect him to. He wants to check in with my sister, I figure.”
“Okay, that sounds good. Here, I’ll let you talk to your sister.” Aidan handed the phone to her.
“Hey, Greg. What’s up?”
While her brother talked to her, they finished eating and cleared away the plates.
“Are we going to have trouble?” Ted asked.
“Maybe. We’ll just have to keep an eye out for Jared. I suspect he won’t try to fight us, but he may return to the cabins to gather reinforcements if he wants to make an issue of this. Or tell Ronald,” Aidan said.
“That would be great if she could send the photographs of the pack members’ blood cells.” Ted loaded the dishes in the dishwasher. “I overheard the two of you talking when I came down to make breakfast.”
“Yeah, it would, but I’m not counting on it.” Aidan poured himself another cup of coffee.
Then Holly said to her brother, “Are you sure you want to meet with us? You could just be a decoy, if you feel the need to be adventurous.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, so you still want to go with us. We can use another pair of eyes and your nose to help us, so we’ll see you in a little bit. If Jared chases after you, go back to the cabin. I’ll return home sooner than I planned.” She paused. “Yes, I’ll be home tonight.”
Aidan was disappointed she wouldn’t return with him to the cabin. Both Ted and Mike looked at him. He told himself he’d wanted her to stay with him because of her interest in his work, but it was more than that.
“See you soon.” She ended the call and found everyone watching her. “You’re as bad as my family.”
The guys all laughed. After Ted finished putting her plate in the dishwasher, everyone stripped and shifted in their rooms, then joined one another at the wolf door.
Aidan hoped they didn’t run into any trouble with Ronald or Jared and that Greg would be all right. They headed out, but when they finally reached the rendezvous point, they didn’t see any sign of Greg. They’d had farther to run, but if he’d tried to run too far west, he might take more time to reach this spot. Still, Aidan could sense everyone’s anxiousness.
Aidan woofed at them and headed west. He hoped Greg was going to come directly east to meet up with them. H
e hoped they didn’t miss him. Ted woofed and stayed put. He was going to wait in case Greg took a different route. But Mike stayed with Aidan and Holly as their protection.
About a mile away, they smelled Greg’s scent. A trail through the snow led north. They followed it, and Aidan was glad it was just Greg’s, with no one following him. When they continued north, Aidan suspected Greg wasn’t moving back east to rejoin them. Was he trying to be a decoy, as Holly had suggested? Then again, Aidan hadn’t noticed other tracks indicating anyone was tailing Greg.
Aidan was torn. He didn’t want to continue in this direction and leave Ted behind, but he didn’t want to miss Greg if the teen ended up turning east and heading back south to meet up with them at the original location. He decided to keep moving. If they finally found Greg and he wasn’t heading in the rendezvous direction, Aidan could howl for Ted to join them.
Because of the fresh powder from last night’s snowfall, the snow in the area created a prime avalanche zone. While looking for the teen wolf, Aidan had been watching for any small slab releases as he ran through the snow. As wolves, their footprint wouldn’t be as great as the other forms of locomotion. Still, he was keeping an eye out for any movement that could indicate unstable snow and a potential slide.
A breeze picked up, sweeping the top snowflakes off the base and creating a snow fog, with clouds covering the sun above so that the snow and sky were gray, and then Aidan saw a wolf coming toward him. Greg. Relief washed over Aidan and he woofed at him.
Greg woofed back and hurried to join them. Holly nipped her brother, gently scolding him.
They were about three miles from where they’d left Ted. Aidan raised his chin and howled. He didn’t want to leave Ted in suspense, even if they were a long way off. From far away, he heard Ted howl back. He was coming.
Greg moved away from them toward the way he had come, indicating he wanted them to follow him. Holly woofed at him to tell him to stay until Ted joined them.
