* * * *
Remus took Maddie by the arm and led her away. Once they were out of hearing range, Ethan turned to Ariane.
“Well, Miss Ariane, what can I do for you today?”
“Latan asked me to keep tabs on Nanita today, but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to do it for you. She became suspicious of me a couple of weeks ago when you had me staying close to her. This morning when I asked her if we could spend the day together, she got very angry and told me that if she wanted the Alpha’s family to know what she’s doing every moment of the day, she’d tell them herself. Then she informed me that she’d remember my loyalty when she became Alpha Femm.”
Ethan gave a long, low whistle. “Oh boy, I guess she’s definitely planning something, and I’m pretty sure we won’t like what she’s up to.”
“I would say that’s the biggest understatement I’ve ever had the honor of hearing.” Ariane gave him a very dry, amused look along with her statement.
“All right, Miss Smarty Pants, I get the message. Do you have any suggestions on how to spoil whatever plans she has?”
“Sorry, I can’t think of anything unless you have some other person who can keep tabs on her, somebody she’s not suspicious of.”
“No, I can’t think of anyone else. She’s not friendly with the women of the pack. The only reason we thought you could do it was because you’re new and you hadn’t bonded with anyone else yet. I’m sorry we had to use you that way, but your help was greatly appreciated. Plus, you had results. Thanks to you warning us, we were able to prevent her from getting to Maddie’s cabin while Remus was away.”
“I was happy to help. I’d like to offer a suggestion, but I’m not sure it would work.”
“Please, I’m desperate. I’m willing to listen to anything you have to say.”
“Don’t send a woman to keep tabs on her. Isn’t there one of the unmated males who’d be willing to give her a little extra attention for a while? Someone who knows the score and wouldn’t be trapped into some permanent relationship with her?” Ariane looked embarrassed by her suggestion.
“Interesting idea, Ariane. It just might work if I can find someone who isn’t intimidated by her. There’s a reason you always see her out alone. It’s because very few of the unmated males have been willing to even be alone in a room with her. Of course, now that she’s determined to become Alpha Femm, I can think of a few bad boys who might want to give her a tumble.”
At Ariane’s giggle, Ethan became embarrassed. He’d forgotten he was talking out loud and talking to an unmated female at that.
“Sorry, I’m just thinking out loud, Ariane. I appreciate the input, and I’ll give it some more thought. In the meantime, don’t worry about Nanita. We’ll figure out a way to keep Maddie safe from her. You go on to the party and have a good time.”
“Thanks, Ethan, I’ll see you later.”
Ethan watched Ariane walk away and wondered why none of the males had made a claim on her yet. He knew she wasn’t his mate, but he thought for sure she’d match with someone from the pack. Oh well, he had other things to worry about today. Glancing toward the Elders’ office, he wondered why they wanted to see Remus and Maddie before the introductions. He sure hoped it wasn’t something that was going to cause them more trouble.
* * * *
Remus was extremely nervous as they walked toward the pack’s meetinghouse. Except he wasn’t nervous. He glanced down at his mate. She was projecting anxiety and fear so strongly it was a wonder he could even walk. He’d done what he could to alleviate her fears, but obviously he’d done a poor job, and this meeting wasn’t helping matters. He didn’t have any clue what they wanted to talk about. He only knew they couldn’t have picked a worse day for a talk.
“Remus, how can you be so damn calm? I hate the way you’re always so in control and I’m always falling apart. It makes me want to hit you upside the head with something,” Maddie said grumpily.
Remus glanced down at his mate and snickered. She’d been unusually quiet this morning, and now she was in a regular little snit. It was beginning to worry him. He wished she’d just tell him what was bothering her now instead of waiting until it got so big in her mind that she couldn’t handle it anymore. He was fairly certain it was nothing major and that he could probably ease her mind if she’d just talk to him. Sighing, he realized he was only dreaming. If there was anything at all he’d learned it was that Maddie didn’t share her thoughts easily. She’d spent so many years locked away in that clinic she’d forgotten how to share herself. Well, he was going to make it his purpose in life to make her relax and to trust him enough to tell him anything.
As they neared the Elders’ house, he felt Maddie slow down dramatically. Worried, he studied her closely.
“You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. What do you think they want with us, Remus? They’ve already accepted our mating, haven’t they?”
So that’s what she’s worried about.
Well, he could fix that right now.
“I don’t know what they want this morning, but I can guarantee that it’s not about accepting or not accepting our mating. They already knew I’d chosen you as my life mate, and they had no objections back when I first told them. Besides, Maddie, even if they’d objected back then, it wouldn’t have stopped me from mating with you. I love you, and nothing’s gonna change that.” He gave her an encouraging smile. “Now, are we ready to go in and kick some Elder butt?”
Just as he hoped they would, Remus’s words made Maddie laugh out loud.
“Okay, Mr. Alpha. Let’s go kick some butt.”
Chapter 9
Together they climbed the steps and went inside to search for the Elders. They had to walk through almost every one of the downstairs rooms before they found the five men sitting in one of the dens. They were all dressed casually and appeared to be in a good mood. Remus breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been a little afraid Maddie might be correct in her worries, but now, with their casual appearance, he knew that whatever they wanted, it wasn’t bad.
“Remus, it’s good to see you and your mate this morning. We’ve been waiting for you to join us.”
Maddie looked at the man who’d spoken up. He seemed nice enough and was fairly good looking. Nowhere near as handsome as Remus, but for an older man he wasn’t bad to look at. She waited patiently for Remus to introduce her.
“My apologies, Remus, but I’m going to take over the introductions if you don’t mind.”
He continued right on with his introductions, clearly showing he didn’t care whether Remus minded or not. Maddie was amused by his attitude but decided it would be better not to show it.
“Maddie, if you don’t mind me calling you Maddie, I’d like to introduce the Council of Elders of the Wind River Pack to you. This is Taynor Wind River. He’s responsible for the finances of our pack.” He didn’t wait for them to acknowledge the introduction, just pointed to another gentleman standing in the room. “This wooly gentleman is Lanicor Wind River. He’s an attorney and handles all of our legal matters.”
As the Elder continued the introductions, Maddie couldn’t help but wonder why they all had the same last name. Were they all from the same family? His next introduction interrupted her thoughts.
“This serious looking gentleman is Brenner Wind River, and this frowning man is Koril Wind River. Together they’re in charge of the security for Wind River Pack. And last, but certainly not least, is me. I’m Vanard Wind River. I’m sort of in charge of everyone else here, except, of course, for your mate. It’s our very great pleasure to meet you and to welcome you to the Wind River Pack.”
At this, each of the Elders stood and bowed their head once in a sign of respect. Before she could even think about it, Maddie returned the gesture and nodded once. Then she could hear Remus’s voice in her head, giving her the correct words to say.
“It’s my pleasure to meet all of you as well. I’m honored to have become a member of your pack, and I h
ope I can meet your expectations of me and prove to be a contributing member.”
“Maddie, we can’t tell you how sorry we are at the events of two weeks ago. It was most unfortunate that things were allowed to develop where we nearly lost you. I hope you’ll feel safe in the future and know that this council and this pack will do whatever is necessary to ensure your continued good health and safety. Our Alpha is everything to us, and it will be our great honor, as well as our duty, to make sure that his family is safe at all times.”
Maddie was beginning to feel like she’d stepped into the rabbit hole. She looked back at Remus when he spoke.
“Sir, I’m honored at your official greeting of my mate and by your personal vow to keep her safe. My mate and I will lead and serve this pack to the best of our abilities.” With his formal words, Remus bowed his head. Then, to Maddie’s astonishment, he leaned back his head and laughed heartily. “Okay, guys, you have properly scared the stuffing out of my mate. Can we get on to the party now?”
Maddie was further shocked by the laughter from the Elders and by them all heading for the door. Apparently, the formal meeting was over. She sure wished all their pack business could be this easy. She’d stop dreading it if that were the case.
Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Remus and smiled her first genuine smile of the day.
“Well, my love, it looks like they approve of me, so I guess you’re stuck with me now.” She batted her eyes at him provocatively.
Remus growled and bent down to lift her in his arms. Covering her lips with his, he pressed his tongue against the seam of her closed lips. When she opened her lips slightly to sigh, he took advantage and thrust his tongue deeply. For several long minutes, he ravaged her mouth with his tongue, running it over every surface inside. By the time he lowered her back to the floor, she was breathless and wanting to skip the party and head to the nearest bedroom. Remus chuckled as he removed her hands from his belt and began to lead her from the room.
“Hold that thought, baby. It’s something we’ll definitely get back to when we get home.”
Remus stared down at her for a moment.
“Maddie, I’m sorry I didn’t make time to go over pack protocol with you. I don’t really have an excuse except to say I’ve been so wrapped up in having you home and making you feel safe. Do you forgive me?”
Maddie laughed. “Of course I forgive you. I’m just glad you thought fast enough to send me a message about what to say. But let’s not do that again, okay? We need to spend some time going over things like this. I have to depend on you to tell me stuff, Remus. I don’t really know what to ask you.”
“I promise we’ll spend some time this weekend going over all the formalities you will need to know in the future, but I have to tell you, I’m so proud of you I could just bust. You handled everything and everyone perfectly. You showed just the proper amount of respect that would guarantee to have them eating out of your hand. I only gave you the right words. That show of respect came from your heart.”
“I’m glad I made you happy and proud, Remus.”
“No, baby, it’s not about making me happy. Don’t you get it?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Maddie, you were perfect. You didn’t make any mistakes even though you hadn’t been briefed about what to expect. It means it came naturally. There’s a lot more wolf in you than we originally thought.”
She looked up at him in shock.
“Come on, let’s get the hell out of here and have some fun.” Remus urged her forward.
Sighing, Maddie allowed him to lead her out the door, now anxious to get to the party so they could get it over with and head back home for some real fun.
* * * *
Maddie looked around the table while Remus spoke with one of the pack members. It had been an interesting afternoon and not nearly as bad as she imagined. She’d been introduced to so many people her head was positively spinning. Everyone had been so friendly and welcoming to her. They seemed to genuinely be happy that she and Remus were together now.
Even though she was relieved about the day being almost over, Maddie was still experiencing all the nervous symptoms she started her day with. At this point, she was just hoping Remus would be ready to leave for home soon.
Once again, she gazed down the long banquet table, trying to match faces with names she could remember, when her eyes connected with a fiercely hostile gaze. Studying the woman carefully, she couldn’t remember being introduced to her.
What could make her look so angry? Oh hell, now I remember. She was in the grocery store the first time I went out with Remus.
Glancing back at Remus, she saw he was still caught up in his conversation, and she wouldn’t interrupt him just to find out who the woman was. She began scanning the crowd for her brothers-in-law, who seemed to have been close to her for most of the day, to see if they could tell her who the woman was. They were frustratingly absent when she actually needed them. Smiling, she shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was upset because they weren’t hanging around when only this morning she was wishing she didn’t see quite so much of them. Smiling, she looked back at the woman and was annoyed to see she was still getting the hostile looks. Well, there was nothing she could do about it right now, so she’d just do her best to ignore her and ask Remus if he knew what her problem was.
* * * *
Nanita was finally beginning to enjoy the pack party. She carefully avoided being introduced to Remus’s little human mate all day, and now she was really enjoying making the insecure female nervous. She carefully watched her and managed to catch her eyes at every opportunity. Her plan had been to make her nervous and put her on edge, and it looked like she succeeded.
Nanita spotted Ariane talking with Latan. They thought she was stupid and wouldn’t know Ariane was being friendly to her in order to keep the Alpha’s family updated on her plans. She’d fooled them all, though she used Ariane to pass on information that she wanted them to have, and made sure she didn’t know anything of importance. Even today, they tried to keep her occupied so she wouldn’t have an opportunity to be around Remus or his mate. Males who had never even spoken to her before were suddenly asking to spend time with her.
They could try all they wanted, but they wouldn’t keep her from confronting the human female today. She was just waiting for the right moment. She knew if she remained patient there’d be a chance to be alone with her without worrying about Remus or anyone else interfering.
Nanita became elated when she saw Remus rise from his chair, bend to whisper to the female, and then walk away with one of the Elders. Watching carefully, she got her wish when the human female got up and walked away from the table, heading for the path through the woods. Now she could take care of her and have Remus all to herself.
* * * *
Maddie was beginning to wonder if Remus would ever be able to talk with her again. He’d been caught up in pack business for the better part of an hour, and she was getting awfully tired of sitting here. Everyone was still a little in awe of her, and nobody was willing to just sit and talk. She was so caught up in her thoughts she was startled to hear Remus’s voice.
“Maddie, are you okay?”
“Of course, Remus, I’m fine. Why would you ask me that?”
“I’ve been talking to you, and you didn’t even blink an eye. Where’s your mind? What has your thoughts so occupied?”
Maddie blushed. “I’m sorry, Remus, I’m not thinking of anything in particular, more like lots of things in general. It’s nothing for you to be worried about. What were you trying to say?”
“Okay, if you’re sure you’re okay. I’m sorry, baby, but I’ve got to leave you for just a bit. The Elders want to have a meeting before we leave, and it’s something I can’t get out of. I can have one of my brothers walk you home if you don’t wanna wait, or if you don’t mind waiting, we can take a nice walk along the river when my meeting’s over.”
Maddie noticed the h
opeful tone in his voice, so she decided to make her new husband happy.
“Okay, my love. I’ll hang around and wait for you. I think I’m gonna take a short walk to work off that last dessert you put in front of me. Hopefully that’ll give you time to finish your business.”
“I’m not sure about that, Maddie. Why don’t I get one of my brothers to walk with you?”
“No, Remus, you’ve got to be more trusting than that. I promise I won’t go far from the clearing, and you have to trust that I won’t take chances. I love you, but I need to feel like I’m not watched all the time, even if I am.”
Remus laughed. “Okay, we’ll do it your way this time. If you have any problems just call for me in your mind, and I’ll hear you with the mate bond.”
“Okay, that I can promise. Go to your meeting, Remus. The faster you go, the faster you’ll come back.”
Remus leaned over to give her a loving kiss then got up and walked back toward the Elders’ house. Uncomfortable with sitting at the table alone, Maddie got up and walked toward the path through the woods. She could walk a short distance and still be able to call out if she had any trouble.
Maddie walked down the path, heading away from the noise of the party. Taking a deep breath, she began to feel a little better and wondered how long it would be before she was comfortable around the wolf shifters. Her thoughts wandered back to her grandfather’s journal. Every single day since her mating with Remus, she’d wondered if today would be the day she’d change into some type of wolf. Part of the time she was terrified of the idea, and the rest of the time she yearned for it. It would be a way she could fit in with Remus’s people and not feel like the outsider she felt she was now.
As she walked farther away, her thoughts turned to Michael. She’d only had a brief telephone conversation with him since she asked him to go away and give her some time. She could tell he was still upset about the whole thing, even though he went out of his way to tell her how happy he was for her. She could also tell he was feeling lost and alone. How could she get him to accept her happiness with Remus? She didn’t want to have to cut him out of her life. She wanted to include him in family things with Remus, but she had to figure a way to tell him about the wolves first. She didn’t think he was ready to read grandfather’s journal yet. Remus said she’d know when it was the right time to tell him, but she had real doubts the time would ever be right.
Discovering Their Wolfen Heritage Page 20
