by Dena Garson
“It’s what I do. I study wolves and their habitat and the correlation between them. One of the ways we do that is to follow their movements. Later, after running a few blood tests, I realized the wolf I’d saved wasn’t an ordinary wolf.”
He tensed again. “What did you find?”
“It’s a marker of some kind at a DNA level that I think all shifters have.”
He sat up and leaned on his elbow, his eyes narrowed.
She continued. “I have it, my brother has it, and so do my mom and dad and many of my pack mates.”
“Your parents are both shifters?”
She nodded.
“Your brother, too?”
“Of course. Why do you seem surprised by that?”
He clamped his lips shut then shuffled out from underneath the sheet.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“We need to find Drew.”
“Drew? Why?”
“I can only tell you that I cannot answer any of your questions until I’ve talked with Drew.”
“He’s your Alpha, isn’t he?”
A voice called from outside her trailer. “Yes, he is, and he would like to speak with you. Both of you.”
Wyatt grabbed his jeans, pulling them on while Isabelle wrapped the sheet around herself. He strode to the door and stuck his head out.
“Hotah. I understand you had a rather”—the man paused—“engaging evening last night.”
“Drew.” He stepped out but blocked the doorway with his broad frame. “I expected you sooner.”
“There were a few things to take care of on the home front first. I assume you’ll introduce me to your friend?”
Wyatt blocked Isabelle’s view out of the narrow closure. “She isn’t dressed for visitors.”
“I suggest that she do it quickly,” Drew said. “We have things to discuss.”
“Yes, we do, but I had hoped to arrange a meeting time,” he suggested.
Drew’s voice dropped. “There are a handful of unmated pack mates tracking her scent as we speak. I also have a few angry Sentries who want to know how she got so close to pack land without them knowing about it. Right now, the only thing keeping all of them from barging in here is the fact you were seen with her last night and this morning.”
Wyatt growled.
Isabelle pushed Wyatt out of the way so she could see Drew’s face. Wyatt tried to block her once again, but she smacked his arm and pushed him to the side. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. Why do your pack mates care that I’m here, and what do they have to be angry about?”
Drew’s brow arched, and he looked from Wyatt to Isabelle and back again. “How much does she know about us?”
“Nothing,” Isabelle answered at the same time as Wyatt.
“You’ll recall I’m under oath to not disclose anything about the pack to outsiders,” he reminded Drew.
“And you stuck to that oath?” He clapped Wyatt on the shoulder. “Good job. No one else does.”
“I don’t take oaths lightly,” Wyatt said without a smile or any hint of amusement.
“Not everyone feels the same way you do,” Drew pointed out. To Isabelle he ordered, “Get dressed.”
Her brows rose. “Excuse me?” She looked at Wyatt. “Is he ordering me around?”
A rumble sounded in Drew’s chest. Wyatt stepped between them.
“She is not rogue. She has an Alpha.” He looked to Isabelle for confirmation. “Your father, I’m guessing?”
“Yes,” she answered curter than she intended.
A tall, curvy redheaded woman stepped out of the trees and into the clearing. She called out, “Ignore his bad manners. He had to get up a little earlier than he wanted this morning, and that always makes him cranky.”
Drew’s face softened when he looked at the woman. The redhead must be someone special to him. “I am not cranky,” he protested.
“Yes, you are and don’t bother denying it.” The woman smiled at Isabelle. “Hi. I’m Betty, Drew’s mate.” She offered her hand in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Isabelle pulled the sheet tighter then shook hands with Betty. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m Isabelle.”
“Isabelle. What a pretty name.” She elbowed Drew in the side. “Isn’t that a pretty name?”
Drew grunted. “Yeah, uh-huh.”
Betty’s gaze flitted around the campsite then settled on Isabelle and Wyatt. “You interrupted them, didn’t you, Drew?”
Isabelle answered for him. “Yes. He did.”
She shook her head then linked an arm through Drew’s. “Come on. Let’s go make everyone some coffee and give them a chance to get dressed.”
Drew gestured to the trees around them. “Did you not see half the pack circling the area? We have a potential riot on our hands. We need to figure out what to do about it.”
“And we will. But it can wait until they’ve had a chance to get dressed and maybe eat a bite. Actually, I have a better idea.” To Isabelle and Wyatt she suggested, “Why don’t the two of you come out to the house and have lunch with us?”
“Er….” Isabelle looked to Wyatt for his reaction.
He tipped his head to Betty. “That’s most generous of you.”
They agreed on a time, and then Betty tugged on Drew’s arm. “Let’s go see what those guard dogs of yours are carrying on about.”
“Guard dogs?” Drew asked in disbelief. He sighed then followed Betty.
“He’s a different person when he’s around Betty,” Wyatt mumbled as he watched the departing couple.
“People say the same thing about my dad,” Isabelle said as she entered the trailer.
He grunted then went in search of his shirt.
“I need a bath. Do you want to join me?” She raised her brow in question and let the sheet fall to the ground.
He raked his gaze over her naked form.
That rumbling sound he made when he became aroused sent goose bumps down both arms and made warmth pool between her legs. It took no time for him to shed his jeans and tumble her onto the bed.
It took a full half hour to gather their clothes and head to Wyatt’s place for a shower.
Chapter Eleven
Isabelle and Wyatt arrived at Drew’s place with only minutes to spare. They’d been together twice today, yet he wanted nothing more than to pull the truck over and drag her across the console.
He’d been told sex was different between mates. It was hotter and eased the loneliness they all carried deep within. If there were any doubts of Isabelle being his mate, that fact alone erased them.
“Are you okay? You’re awfully quiet.” Isabelle frowned with concern.
“Sorry. I’m fine. Just a lot on my mind.”
“Are you worried about meeting with Drew? Is there something I should know ahead of time?”
“No.” He patted her leg. “I’m sure lunch will be fine. Betty will ensure that.”
They pulled into the drive and parked. On the way up to the house, she slipped her hand into his. A warm feeling spread through his chest and made him smile.
Drew greeted them at the door. “Ah. Good.” He gestured for them to enter. “I’m starved.”
Betty was drying her hands on a towel when she entered the room. “Great timing. I just finished the potato salad. Come on in.” She tugged Isabelle toward the hallway. “I hope you like hamburgers. If not, we have turkey patties we can grill.”
“Hamburgers are fine with me.”
Their voices trailed off as they went farther down the hall.
Drew pulled Wyatt to a stop. “All right, before we go in, tell me the truth. What’s going on between the two of you?”
“With all due respect, that’s none of your business.”
“That is where you’re wrong. You spent the better part of a week in her company but didn’t say anything about her being a shifter. Either you didn’t know or weren’t saying for some reason. So, before there is any discussion of the pack, I n
eed to know if you’re willing to claim her and take full responsibility for her.”
That was what he’d been asking himself all day.
“You realize you’re asking me a question that I haven’t discussed with her yet, don’t you?”
“Not my problem. The pack is. And I need to know. Because if you don’t want her, I’m sure one of the others—”
“Yes,” Wyatt growled and puffed his chest. “Yes. I am willing. If anyone else so much as looks at her the wrong way, they will have to face me.”
Drew smiled. “Okay. Just checking.” He clasped Wyatt on the shoulder. “Now, let’s eat.”
Instead of the dining room, Drew led him to the kitchen where he found an informal spread of hamburgers and toppings for them, some fruit, and a couple of sides.
“There you two are. I was beginning to think you’d taken off,” Betty said.
“Are you kidding? I’m starving after slaving over the grill for the last hour,” Drew grumbled.
“So you’ve been reminding me for the last fifteen minutes,” Betty said under her breath. “Grab a plate and dig in.”
Isabelle and Wyatt exchanged glances. He gave her a nod to reassure her everything was fine. He handed a plate to her then proceeded to fill his own, stopping occasionally to help Isabelle.
Once they sat down, it didn’t take Drew long to turn the conversation to the topic he wanted to discuss.
“So, Isabelle, tell us where you’re from.”
She repeated the same information she had already given Wyatt about her home in Georgia and her family.
“And your pack?” Drew prompted.
“Last count we were almost five hundred strong.”
Drew’s brow rose in surprise.
“Wow,” Betty exclaimed. “I didn’t realize there were so many in the state much less in one area. What’d your dad do, take over the four closest packs?”
“Not exactly. But he did incorporate the business about ten years ago after he bought out his biggest competitor, and it’s been growing ever since. All of his seconds work there along with a great many members of the pack in some capacity or another. Pack members are always the preferred hire, so we draw them from the entire area. Between the contracts they’ve landed in the last two years, the spin-off companies he’s created, and the income the corporation has reinvested, Dad figures we could be self-sustaining for several years even if Wall Street crashed and burned.”
Drew’s fork stalled halfway to his mouth. “Truly self-sustaining?”
“Seriously?” Betty asked at the same time.
“Uh-huh,” Isabelle said then took another bite. “Betty this is great potato salad. You need to send me your recipe.”
“Okay, so what I want to know is why didn’t we smell your Wolf on you?” Wyatt pushed his plate aside. “I didn’t detect it at all,” he grumbled.
“Good question,” Drew said.
“Oh, that’s Mom’s doing,” Isabelle said as if that explained everything. Instead, she had three sets of blank looks. “Mom is a biophysicist. She’s been working on something to tone down the natural pheromones we produce. Originally, she made it to mitigate the aggressive subconscious response humans have to our race. Her theory is that humans, whenever they are around our kind, whether or not they realize it, have hostile tendencies toward us. She speculates it’s because they fear us on a primal level.”
“Go on,” Drew encouraged.
“She thought if she could find a way to mask our natural predatory scent, we would have better chances in the business world. They may still be seen as a corporation to be feared but not because of any wild pheromones we’re emitting.”
“Well, didn’t you pick up on Wyatt’s natural scent?”
“No, I didn’t.” She grimaced. “That was the side effect of Mom’s first formula. Not only is my scent neutralized, but my sense of smell is greatly diminished.”
“That kinda sucks,” Betty murmured.
“I figure it’s a small price to pay in return for being able to be out in the wilds and not have all the animals I study smell me coming and run away.”
“Oh, my God, I didn’t think of that. That would make it hard to be a wildlife biologist, wouldn’t it?” Betty guessed.
“Yes, it did.” Isabelle sat back in her chair. “My first year doing field work was frustrating. It was rare that I was able to find families to study. My professors didn’t believe I was doing my research when I repeatedly returned with no results. My second year was spent working in groups and even then it was with little results.” She took a sip of her tea. “I spent the summer crying on my mother’s shoulders about my grades and how I was going to get thrown out of the program all because of a stupid gene that I didn’t ask for. So my mom took it upon herself to speed up research she was already working on and developed a product to help me.”
Drew and Wyatt exchanged looks.
“And obviously it works,” Betty pointed out.
“Yes, it does. It’s not perfect, there are a couple of side effects she’s still working through, but all in all, those of us who have tried it have been happy with it.”
“You were one of your mother’s test subjects?” Wyatt’s voice rumbled when he spoke.
“Of course. Who else better to test it?”
“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps lab rats? Or maybe prisoners who have been convicted of raping and killing children? But not you. Her own daughter.” The more Wyatt thought of Isabelle being forced to submit to a product test galled him.
Betty and Drew watched their interaction.
“Why not? Do you think I should have waited until it was being sold over the counter at the local Walmart?”
“Yes.”
Isabelle crossed her arms over her chest. “God, you sound like Dad.”
Wyatt blinked in surprise.
“And Lewis.”
Wyatt growled, “Who is Lewis?”
She narrowed her eyes in warning. “You can tuck that macho-male attitude away. What difference does it make who Lewis is?”
“Answer me.”
“Do we need to leave the two of you alone?” Betty grinned.
“No.” Isabelle and Wyatt both answered at the same time.
“Okay good. So, when was your last heat?” Betty pressed.
“B, that’s not polite dinner conversation,” Drew pointed out.
“Why not?” she protested. “This morning, I had to threaten to drag two of the younger males home by their ears. All because they thought there was an unmated female within pissing distance. They’re not usually that annoying.”
Wyatt growled again. Their questioning was getting way too personal. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take.
Isabelle’s eyes widened. “You mean me?”
“I’m afraid so,” Betty confirmed.
Drew shook his head in dismay.
“Don’t worry.” Betty waved a hand in Isabelle’s direction. “Once word spreads that you’re with Wyatt, they’ll leave you alone.”
“But I….” Isabelle looked at Wyatt, her eyes wide with concern. “But we haven’t….” She bit her lip.
Wyatt stifled his impulse to pull Isabelle into his lap. “We have a lot of things to discuss.”
“Oh.” Betty looked to Drew then at Isabelle and Wyatt. “Sorry. I just assumed….”
Wyatt held Isabelle’s gaze. “Who is Lewis?”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. “My brother.”
Pacified by her answer, he relaxed once again. “So this formula of your mother’s, does it work on all shifters?”
“She hasn’t tested it on other breeds of shifters yet, like bear or panther shifters, but she thinks it would work the same. It’s been a matter of not having a volunteer from either of those packs step up.”
Wyatt nudged her arm. “Do you think it would work on me?”
Isabelle frowned. “Most likely, but why would you need it?”
Drew and Betty wore similar expressions of confusion.
He smiled. “Did you not wonder why we rode four-wheelers at George’s place instead of horses? Like most tourists?”
“No. Well, after seeing all of the beautiful horses I did. But that thought only lasted about a second.”
“All the years I worked for George I was never able to ride a horse without either wearing myself and the horse out in a struggle for control or I would get bucked off. I always suspected my Wolf half made the horses nervous.”
“You sure it’s not because you’re a lousy cowboy?” Drew smarted off.
Wyatt shook his head, refusing to rise to the bait. “Even the most docile of horses wanted nothing to do with me.”
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on you. We can ask Mother.” She tipped her head. “She’d want to check you over first, though. Which would require you to go to Georgia.”
“I’ve never been to Georgia. I think I’d like to see it.”
Something passed between them. Something unspoken. A promise of sorts, perhaps.
But there would be time later to figure it out.
Chapter Twelve
Betty cleared her throat. “Speaking of Georgia. What brought you all the way out here?”
“I tracked a wolf I encountered earlier this year to this area,” Isabelle said.
“Wyatt told us what you said when you arrived. But I want to know the real reason you came,” Drew said bluntly.
“Er….” Isabelle looked to Wyatt with a question in her eye. He nodded for her to continue.
She played with the water droplets on the outside of her glass as she told them about the young wolf she had helped.
“You said you found this wolf caught in a trap?” Drew cocked his head to the side. “Was it a coyote trap?”
“It was one of those horrible things with two jaws that snaps shut around the animal’s paws.” Isabelle motioned with her hands how the thing closed.
Betty cringed. “Did the wolf you freed have a diamond-shaped mark around her right eye?”
Isabelle sat up straighter in her seat. “Yes, she did.”
“And did she injure her”-Drew paused and looked to Betty for confirmation but she only gave him a blank stare in return-“left front paw?”
