Wolf Hills

by Bianca D'Arc

  “You’re kidding.” Sally was shocked by the idea and jealous as hell.

  “Afraid not. They hold these parties called howls and sometimes host mate hunts that spill over into my back pasture. That’s why Jason came here that first day. He wanted to warn Dmitri that they were holding a hunt that night and some of his Pack members might stray onto our land. When Dmitri introduced me as his mate, Jason extended the hospitality of his Pack to me and invited us to the after party at the Pack house. That’s when I met Amy and a lot of the other programmers who now work for me.”

  “Pack house?” Sally asked, trying to sidetrack herself from the almost unreasonable fury of jealousy that rose in her at the mention of the other woman’s name. Why she was so possessive of Jason after a single kiss, she had no idea, but if she’d had hackles, they’d have risen in irritation.

  “It’s sort of the communal building where they all gather and a few of them live. There’s a patch of land out back that they farm for vegetables, though I have the impression their diet consists mostly of meat. Wolves are carnivores, after all.” Carly paused to chuckle. “The parties all sort of begin and end there. It seems to be their gathering place. The house certainly is big enough. It’s really pretty. Maybe Jason will show it to you—if you decide to take him up on his offer of being a tour guide.”

  Sally thought about it. “I plan to. There’s something about him…”

  “Yeah, I can see by that faraway look in your eye that he’s gotten to you. Just promise me you won’t roll over and play dead when he snaps his fingers. At least put up a little fight.” Carly’s cajoling words made Sally laugh.

  “Yes, ma’am, Mistress, ma’am.” Sally saluted her, going along with the joke. “I’ll do my best.”

  But as Sally said good night and went down the hall to the guest room she’d been given, she wondered if she had enough strength of will to hold out for long. Jason was potent. Even that one small kiss had set her senses reeling. And they’d been in the middle of a crowded room. She could only wonder what he’d be like when they were alone. Would she be able to hold out against his charm? She had the sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t.

  And did she care? No, not really. She wanted to know what it was like to be the center of that man’s attention. She wanted to take a walk on the wild side. She’d tread the straight and narrow all her life. Wasn’t it about time she let her hair down and learned what it felt like to be daring and bold? Wasn’t it about time she let herself have a vacation fling?

  She was only going to be here for two weeks. The fling—if fling there was—had a built-in expiration date, after which she would return to her nice, comfortable life. She’d go back to hunting bad guys and Jason could go back to his horny Pack bitches.

  But she could have him for a couple of weeks, maybe. She almost feared those two weeks could change her outlook forever. Did she dare try?

  Even if it meant heartache, she couldn’t pass up her chance to be with a guy who made her mouth water. She’d never been so attracted to a man before and somehow, she doubted she ever would be again. If not now, then when? Time to let her hair down and be wild. Just once.

  Well, more than once, she amended her thoughts. She’d let him get wild with her as many times as she could manage in the two weeks allotted. That ought to be enough to tide her over…for the rest of her depressing, lonely life.

  Sally determined not to think about the future now. It would come when it did. All she could do was live each day, one at a time. Her job and her past had taught her that. She couldn’t help it if there was a little spring in her step knowing that the next few days would hopefully be spent with a gorgeous man who seemed to genuinely be attracted to her. And here she’d thought there’d be nothing to do in the country during her vacation. Boy, had she been wrong. Not only was there something to do—there was someone to do—and she hadn’t had that kind of fun in much too long.

  Chapter Three

  Good as his word, Jason pulled up around noon the next day. Sally had woken early, her internal clock still a little off due to jetlag. She’d followed the scent of brewing coffee not to the kitchen, but rather to the office wing that had been added on to the main house. How she’d smelled the coffee through three closed doors she didn’t know, but she’d done things like that often enough in the past.

  Maybe her heightened senses were because she had a werewolf in the family. She hadn’t questioned it before, though it had been clear she could smell things other cops couldn’t. Like the life-giving brown juice of the coffee bean that began flowing into her system, waking her up.

  The majority of the office staff had gotten in around ten a.m. and one or two rolled in around eleven. By then, Sally had chugged her usual two cups of black coffee and nibbled on a croissant one of the wolves had brought with them. Apparently it was their habit to bring a tray of pastries with them each morning.

  Sally renewed acquaintances from the party the night before. She even saw Seth and thanked him for showing her how he could become a wolf. She asked a few questions, but she got the distinct impression that they were all a little nervous around her. She wasn’t sure why.

  Sally was used to either respect or outright challenge from the people she met on the job, but these folks didn’t see her as a police detective. At least they shouldn’t. Maybe it was her bearing. She’d been told a few times that she was kind of imposing, but she’d attributed that to her height. Five foot eight was a little taller than average, but these men all had at least half a foot on her and even the women were a couple of inches taller than her.

  When Jason arrived, she saw the same wary respect in their eyes, tempered with genuine affection. They loved him and followed his lead in all things, it was easy to see. She liked that. It said good things about him. She thought she could read these people well enough to know that they wouldn’t follow just anyone blindly. Jason had earned their respect and their love. That meant a great deal.

  When he’d walked in, Sally had registered his presence immediately. A tingle of energy brushed across her skin and she’d turned to find him strolling in, his gaze meeting hers with heated intensity. For a moment, the rest of the room faded around them. Damn. He really was as good-looking as she remembered.

  Overnight, she’d almost convinced herself that maybe she’d been glamorizing him in her mind, but no. He was lickably handsome and built for sin. And Sally, the good girl turned upholder of the law, suddenly wanted to sin like never before.

  “Are you up for a little sightseeing? I think I promised you a tour.” He stopped a few feet shy of her, perching one hip on the corner of someone’s desk. Sally had been standing in the office area, chatting, when he’d come in. Suddenly she remembered they had an audience and time started up again.

  “Sure. I do have one request though. I’d like to stop at a garden center or someplace I can buy plant seeds.”

  His head cocked at a questioning angle for a moment, then he shrugged. “Sure. I know a few places we could try. But if you want to buy plants, I’ll have to borrow a car. I drove my Harley today. Are you okay with riding behind me on the motorcycle?”

  Hoo boy, was she ever! Her palms tingled at the idea of holding onto his muscular torso.

  “That’s fine. I just want seeds. They’ll fit in my pocket. We don’t need the car and I’m okay with motorcycles. I own one myself, in fact.”

  “Really?” He stood, leading the way out of the office by the main office door that Sally hadn’t yet seen. Last night she’d used the house entrance on the other side of the building. “What kind of ride do you favor?”

  “A Harley Sportster, actually. I got a new model Nightster just last year.”

  “A girl after my own heart.” He clutched his chest theatrically as he ushered her out the door and into the light. There, in all its flame-painted glory, was a giant Harley Dyna model. It was one of the largest of the newer models, built like the man who rode it—tough, sleek and on the large side.

  “
Wow. I saw some of these in the showroom but they’re too big for me. Impressive.”

  “Thanks. It fits me pretty well. Plenty of room for you on the back though. And I don’t let just any girl ride bitch on my saddle.” He winked, probably waiting for her to react to that word again. She didn’t like it, but she knew it probably had other connotations when talking in terms of a wolf Pack, so she let it go. Wouldn’t do to be too predictable now, would it?

  He went ahead to reach around the other side of the bike and came up with two helmets. Good. He was safety conscious. Too many guys cracked their skulls riding without a helmet. She’d seen enough bike-meets-car wrecks when she’d first joined the force to know that the bike rider seldom won that kind of duel.

  He handed her the smaller of the two helmets. “Hope it fits. I borrowed it from one of the female Pack members who looked about your size.”

  She looked at the clean, practically new helmet in surprise. The name Heidi was stenciled on it in pink at the base of the neck. If he’d had to borrow the girl’s helmet, maybe he was telling the truth about not letting a lot of women ride behind him. She didn’t know why it mattered. She knew he was a stud of some kind among his Pack. Carly had seen it firsthand, for goodness’ sake.

  All Sally wanted was a fling. She had to keep that in mind and tamp down the possessive streak that suddenly reared its ugly head where this man was concerned. He wasn’t hers. He couldn’t be hers. Not long term. He was a werewolf, for cripes sake!

  Get a grip, Sal, she counseled herself. All she wanted was to jump his bones a few times before she had to go back home to her nice, normal life. Was that too much to ask? The man practically oozed sex appeal and he didn’t seem to have trouble spreading it around among his harem of werewolf girls. If she was lucky, he wouldn’t mind giving a little to a human. She could be a curiosity—no matter that he seemed to think she was some kind of long-lost relative. She knew for a fact that she’d never turned furry on the night of the full moon.

  She pulled on the helmet and tested it for size. “It fits well,” she told him, carefully keeping her more lascivious thoughts to herself. There’d be time for that later this afternoon, she hoped.

  “Great, then let’s saddle up. I know a garden place on the edge of town that we’ll go to first. If they don’t have what you want there are a few other places we can try. We can get some lunch near there, then I want to show you around Pack territory a bit, if you like.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’m on vacation, after all. Nowhere else I need to be, except back here by nightfall when Carly comes out to play.”

  It felt weird to acknowledge her friend’s new state, but Jason seemed to understand. He winked at her while he adjusted his helmet and watched to make sure hers was fastened tightly, then he threw his leg over the metal beast and waited while she did the same, snuggling up behind him.

  When she would have held on to the edge of the seat, he stopped her, taking her hands in his and tucking her arms around his torso.

  “Hold on to me, sweetheart. I won’t let you fall off.”

  She wanted to come up with a witty reply, but her mouth had gone so dry, she couldn’t speak. Damn, the man was built. His body was warm under her hands, and hard. She could feel the muscles shifting under her touch and it made her breath catch. This was a male animal in his prime.

  Between his heat and the thrum of the machine between her legs, Sally was in a state when he finally throttled back as they neared the edges of town. She saw his destination, a sprawling lawn and garden place that even had some small animals for sale. Bunnies, chicks and such. It was a mom and pop operation—a charming change from the giant chain stores that dominated where she lived.

  She got off the bike and her legs still vibrated for the first few steps. She’d felt safe with Jason driving, even when he pushed the speed limit a bit.

  “Think they’ll have what you need?” he asked as he took her helmet and stowed it on the bike.

  “Probably. This place is so cute. Do you think they’ll let me pet the bunnies before we leave?”

  Jason laughed at the question. She looked at him with as innocent an expression as she could manage.

  “What? I don’t look like the cute, fuzzy animal type?” She gestured to her jeans-clad body and well-worn boots.

  “Honey, you have no idea how much I’m hoping you’re the animal type. I just didn’t expect a city-hardened detective to have a soft spot for prey.”

  Her eyes widened, realizing he was a wolf. And wolves ate bunnies. At least she thought they did.

  “Maybe we’ll skip the bunnies.”

  He laughed outright at the look on her face and she decided retreat was the better part of valor. Sally headed toward the store, leaving him to follow behind. A quick scan of the layout told her where everything was. She walked over to the seed racks, quickly locating what she had in mind.

  Within ten minutes they were out of the garden shop and on their way again. Jason took her on a short ride farther into town. He stopped in front of a restaurant that had a neon sign, unlit at this hour of the day, proclaiming it to be Wild Bob’s Steakhouse. She should have known a wolf would want meat for lunch.

  “You’re not a vegetarian or anything?” Jason asked belatedly as he stowed their helmets for a second time.

  “Nope. I like a good steak as much as the next carnivore.” She smiled as he opened the door for her to precede him into the restaurant. It was busy, filled with bustling noise that died down perceptibly as Jason walked in behind her.

  He nodded to a few people and the noise resumed its normal level. The small pause told her a few things. For one, Jason was known here. She suspected more than a few of the patrons were shifters who knew damn well that Jason was the Alpha of the local wolf Pack. Some of them were probably part of his Pack.

  She thought it significant that he’d taken her someplace where his people would see them together. She wasn’t sure what that meant in shifter circles, but she knew what it meant when a human man wanted his friends and colleagues to see you together. He was staking a claim.

  Warmth flooded her at the thought. Even if it was only temporary, it was a nice, pseudo-Neanderthal touch. Sally was strong enough to admit there was a little bit of the cavewoman in her that enjoyed such a public declaration.

  They were seated in a prime location near the rear of the restaurant, not too close to the kitchen, but along a wall where they had a view of almost the entire dining room. Judging by the clothing of the patrons, there was a sort of loose hierarchical order to the way they were seated. The men and a few women seated near their table all had a polished look about them. Many were visibly older than Jason, though still in good shape with the tall, lithe form she’d come to expect from the wolves she’d met the night before.

  “Welcome, Mr. Moore,” said the hostess. She hesitated long enough before using Jason’s name that Sally would bet the girl had been about to call him Alpha—before Sally’s presence made her rethink which title to use.

  “It’s okay, Cindy. This is Mistress Belakov’s friend from California. She knows about us.”

  “Oh.” The girl’s face lit up as she smiled at Sally. “Welcome, Detective. My sister works for the Mistress. She told me about the party last night. Said the Mistress was really looking forward to your visit.”

  Sally was surprised by the girl’s candor, but Jason’s indulgent smile set her at ease. Still, it wasn’t quite normal for Sally to have everyone know her business. As a police detective, she usually kept a much lower profile.

  “Thanks,” Sally answered as Jason politely held her chair.

  “Can I put in your drink order?” Cindy was all smiles for the Alpha as Jason seated himself. She handed each of them a menu. They ordered soft drinks and Cindy left.

  Sally noted that Jason didn’t even glance at his menu before pushing it to the side of the table. Sally looked through hers, surprised to see there were no prices next to the selections. Unsurprisingly, almost every c
hoice was meat of some kind. Chicken, veal, mutton, even buffalo and ostrich meat was listed in various dishes.

  “I had a buffalo burger once. They say the meat is leaner than beef and therefore better for you,” she observed, trying to make conversation. Jason was staring at her. She could feel it. Along with half of the other patrons of the restaurant.

  “Do you like steak? How about filet mignon? Bob wraps it in bacon. Very tasty.”

  “Sounds good, but…” She closed the menu and placed it on the table. “…there are no prices on this menu. And I know filet mignon is expensive in any restaurant.”

  “Don’t worry. I invited you out, I chose the place. I’m paying for lunch. Have what you like. I can afford it.” She didn’t know what to say to that. “Besides, a Pack member owns this place. I eat here all the time. You won’t find a better filet mignon this side of the Mississippi.”

  Outmaneuvered, she gave in. “All right. You’ve convinced me.”

  “How do you want it cooked?” he asked, placing her menu atop his.

  “Would it be rude to ask for well done?”

  He laughed, catching her wry tone. “Not at all. Just because we’re wolves doesn’t mean we always eat our food raw. There are some compensations to this form. Opposable thumbs and the ability to manipulate a spatula are among them.” He opened and closed his hand, staring at it with humor before he turned that mischievous gaze back to her. “And we may have better senses of smell and hearing in our fur, but human taste buds are a bit different.”

  When the waiter arrived, Jason placed their order. Sally marveled at the respect Jason commanded and his easy acceptance of the way the other Pack members treated him. Because she was with him, and the odd human in the place, she was getting some strange looks herself. She tried to ignore it, but the sense of being watched never quite faded all through their meal.