To Tempt the Wolf hotw-3

by Terry Spear

  Tessa took a deep breath and her shoulders relaxed a little.

  "I would have gone to see your brother, Tessa, but thought you might like to spend the time with him alone. With Hunter, of course. Are you any closer to solving the murder mystery?"

  "The two who were in the house when you and Hunter came home after cutting up the tree had done some work on our circuit breaker. And Michael said that the guy called Jessup had been driving the truck, and he'd seen him at a number of his art exhibits." Tessa looked over at Hunter. "When Jessup said they'd been casing Bethany's house for valuables, I didn't think they were really thieves, but maybe they were. And maybe they were planning on ripping off the art gallery, but it had too much security so they hoped to find some of Michael's paintings in the house. Easier to break into. Butch was at Michael's trial. Why? To see if he really got time or if he was going to be released? If Michael had been found not guilty, we would have been home and it would have been harder for them to steal anything from the house."

  "Or," Leidolf said, "he was calling ahead to the others, who were breaking into your house while you were at the trial. Once you left, he would warn them you were on the way home."

  "Was anything missing from your house besides the gun?" Hunter asked.

  "I didn't look. I figured Yoloff had only stolen the gun. I never thought anyone would be running around in that weather stealing paintings."

  "Do you have anything else of value?" Hunter asked.

  "Computers, electronics. My photographs. But again, I would doubt they'd be interested in any of that because of the weather. The ice storm hadn't started yet, but it was on its way."

  "Searching for evidence of wrongdoing? Maybe they'd been involved in Bethany's murder, and they were afraid Michael had some proof against them that he didn't know about," Leidolf said.

  "Michael mentioned the sheriff could have been covering up for his son, Ashton, also," Tessa mentioned.

  Leidolf shook his head. "I'm glad all I have is a simple case of knocking some sense into a red's head if he thinks he's taking over my pack. Keep in touch, and I'll help any way I can if you need me. Your new cops won't be returning with you for a couple of weeks until they settle their affairs here. Your widow is staying with the one cop, but the rest are taking the Ford Escape, making it kind of crowded. I'm gifting you my Humvee, travels in any kind of weather."

  "But--" Tessa said.

  Leidolf held up his hand. "I've got another back at the ranch. I'll ride home with my people. Maybe Hunter won't hold a grudge against me about the jail situation for too long then." He grinned. "The last time I had to deal with a gray pack leader, Devlyn Greystoke had targeted a red he mated who reminded me of you. She was a redhead also. Bella was her name."

  "Devlyn changed a human, too?" Tessa asked.

  "No." Leidolf looked at the table for a second, then back up at them. "I was too late for her. She should have mated a red." He shrugged.

  "Only a lupus garou would do, isn't that right, Leidolf?" Hunter asked.

  Leidolf managed a smile. "Sure, that's right, Hunter."

  But Hunter suspected it wasn't so. If he had given Leidolf the chance, he might have claimed Tessa for his own, especially since she reminded him of the last one he'd lost.

  They finished their meals in silence, and then Leidolf paid the bill. Hunter kissed Tessa's cheek. "Are you ready to meet the rest of my pack?"

  No, not now. But that wouldn't be very alpha of her. Yet, Tessa shivered internally anyway. What if they put her to the test? Tried to prove to her that she couldn't be their pack leader's mate? She didn't have a clue what she was supposed to do.

  She stiffened her spine as she walked between Leidolf and Hunter. At least while she was wedged between the two alphas, she almost felt alpha herself.

  Caruthers and a pretty brunette on his arm Tessa figured was Greta, both in their midforties, were sitting at a long table with several others. Allan, the other cop, and the woman he was interested in, a woman with chestnut hair curled on top of her head in swirls with a quick smile and sparkle in her amber eyes, sat next to them. And three other males, maybe in their late twenties, early thirties, all tall. one with black hair and eyes, who seemed too interested in Tessa, but quickly changed his posture to a contrite expression when Hunter gave him a quelling look. The other two had light brown hair cut short, dark brown eyes and appeared to be twins, except the one was slightly taller.

  "Kenneth," Hunter said, motioning to one of the twins, "and Kensington." He waved at the black-haired man. "Adam." He smiled at the woman. "This is Genevieve who seems to have found her new mate. Everyone, this is Tessa, my mate."

  All bowed their heads slightly.

  "About time," Genevieve said, and hurried forth to give her a hug.

  Greta did the same. The men didn't dare.

  Hunter shook Leidolf's hand. "Thanks for the Humvee and the offer to help. We'll keep in touch. If you need any of my aid, likewise, give me a call. We have a long drive ahead of us, and I don't want to leave my sister in charge of a couple of new lupus garous much longer, so we'll be on our way."

  Hunter shook hands with the police officers who would join them in a couple of weeks. Greta whispered to Tessa, "I've been where you are, honey. I'll show you the ropes."

  "It's not exactly the same." Caruthers kissed his mate on the cheek. "She's an alpha leader's mate."

  Greta grinned. "Like I said, Tessa, I'll help you all I can."

  Caruthers shook his head, and Tessa gave Greta and Genevieve a hug, already feeling like one of the pack and it was a damned good feeling, too, but for her brother's continued incarceration. "I look forward to seeing you both soon."

  Once Hunter's people were packed into the Escort, Hunter led them in the Humvee.

  "I thought they might want to eat me alive, but they were really nice," Tessa told Hunter as he drove out of town.

  "A couple of my males would have eaten you all up, but not the way you mean." He gripped the steering wheel tighter, then released it, but still seemed as tense as before. "What do you know about your great-grandfather?"

  Here they went around about the gold again. "He was from Colorado originally, but got the gold fever. First he went to California and made it big, then came here. He met my great-grandmother who was working for her father's mercantile. Supposedly, he found a lot of gold here, too. Just had a real nose for it. But all the money in the world wouldn't buy him happiness. Shortly after finding the gold, my great-grandmother died of a fever, and he returned to Colorado. I couldn't find out what happened to him after that."

  "What about your grandmother?"

  "She was just an infant when her mother died. Her father couldn't take care of her. She went to live with her mother's brother and wife. But my grandmother said her father was generous and had left her aunt and uncle all the gold, enough to make them wealthy. Much of it was put into the bank later on, but some of it was hidden. They never had any children, and Grandmother eventually inherited it all and married a wealthy merchant. They settled where the house is now, where my great-grandparents had once lived in a shack. What happened to Seth?"

  "He was killed in a rock slide. Apparently, he must have left your great-grandmother, returned to Colorado, but then rejoined my great-grandfather in California. Three of them died. My great-grandfather, Seth, and my father's twin brother. A fourth man, Caleb McKnight, was the only one who survived."

  "The one in the news clippings."

  "Right. Did your grandmother have any special abilities?"

  "Like you do? Everyone used to tease her that there was no sneaking around Grandmother because she heard everything. She knew things, too. Like when the weather was changing. She explained it was due to her arthritis. As for her sense of smell? She definitely smelled things more acutely than we did. She seemed to always sense people's emotions also, whether they were scared or angry, even when they were hiding their feelings."

  "She could smell their fear."

  "Yeah,
although I thought it was because she was super-observant."

  "What about the gold?"

  Tessa frowned at him. "There is no gold on the property."

  "Seth told my father he'd stockpiled it somewhere in Oregon for people who needed it more than he did. Never in a million years would we have thought Seth had a child by a human. Did you ever find a marriage certificate?"

  "No. Lots of records are pretty difficult to locate. No birth record for my grandmother either."

  "Apparently in rare cases a human can conceive a child with a lupus garou. But in all the years I've lived, I've never met anyone like that, and Leidolf had only met one during his lifetime."

  But what if her line had an affinity for getting pregnant by a lupus garou?

  Hunter must have realized what she was thinking because he smiled at her and patted her leg. "Seth must not have changed your great-grandmother and that's why she died of a fever. Maybe she didn't want to be changed, or maybe he couldn't do it. But you're already one of us, and the babies you have will fully be lupus garous."

  She'd never thought about that. How was she to deal with being a lupus garou and raising offspring like that when she was totally clueless about herself still? Tessa sighed.

  Hunter slowed down as wrecking crews waved them past a rock slide. Tessa glanced back to see if the red Escort was behind them.

  "Heavy traffic. About five vehicles slipped in between us, but I've given my pack directions if we get separated." He pulled back into their lane past the rock slide. "So what else do we know about Bethany's murder? How come the sheriff found her? Was there a 911 call made?"

  "Bethany had made a call to the sheriff, stating that Michael had become violent and she was worried he might return. She said she was taking a walk along the trail by the cliff. The sheriff stopped by to check on her, but when he couldn't find her at the house, he went down the trail and discovered her body at the bottom of the cliff."

  "Phone records verified the call was made?"

  "Yes."

  "What if Ashton had made the call from Bethany's house, told his father he'd killed her by accident, and his father covered up for him?"

  "Truthfully, I don't think Ashton killed her." Tessa rubbed her clammy hands on her jeans. "Gut instinct.

  I think he really cared for her and if he murdered her in a fit of passion, I don't think he'd let Michael go to prison for it."

  "Yet, he let him take the rap for minor crimes he was responsible for. On the other hand, what if your brother really did it?"

  Tessa glowered at Hunter.

  "What if he did? We can't discount that he might be guilty."

  "He isn't! What if it's one of your kind?" Tessa choked on the thought. "You... you couldn't have a lupus garou convicted, could you? Once the moon appeared, he'd change and you can't have one incarcerated, can you?" Hell, even Ashton was one now.

  "If we find one of them is guilty, we'll figure out a way."

  She'd figure out a way. If she could just turn into a wolf and bite her brother in prison, the judge would have to have him released.

  When they finally reached Hunter's house, Tessa figured someone would greet them, but nobody did and her heart began to race.

  "Stay in the Humvee. Do not leave until I say so," Hunter ordered, his face dark and threatening.

  Before she could respond, he slammed the door shut and strode to the front porch, then disappeared inside. She concentrated on the front door standing wide open and wanted to join him rather than worry about what was happening.

  And then his face stormy, he stalked out to the Humvee and jumped in. "Jessup and his pack have taken them."

  She hoped Hunter couldn't smell her fear, but she couldn't hide how she was feeling.

  "We're to meet them at that burned out pine tree. I'm to hand you over to Yoloff and they'll release my sister and the rest."

  Tessa looked behind them, but still didn't see any sign of the Escort.

  "I left directions." Hunter pulled out of the drive and headed south on the coastal road.

  "You can't face all five of them, Hunter. We should wait."

  "They want us alone. I'll do what I can."

  Stubborn damn alpha male. He was going to get himself killed and then where would she be? Just when she'd found the man she wanted to love forever. And what about Michael also?

  Her skin crawling with anxiety, she looked into the backseat. No weapons. "What about the rifles at the house?"

  "They must have taken them. None were there."

  The closer they got to where the pine tree was, the more Tessa felt she could lose Hunter for good. She looked into the backseat again. Nothing. Leidolf was a neat freak. Not even a hint of dust. But what about the trunk? A tire iron?

  "No matter what, you're staying in the vehicle. If they get the best of me, you leave."

  "But your sister, and the others?"

  "They won't harm them until they're assured they have you. You return to my place, gather the forces, call Leidolf. Hell, have him notify Devlyn of the problem. These guys won't be able to handle all that heat."

  "But you can't charge in there and kill them all. Why can't you wait for the others?" She studied the tension in his face and frowned. "You don't think Jessup and the others will wait, do you? You think they'll kill some of them. Rourke and Ashton."

  "I would have left you at my place, but I was afraid that they'd be watching and take you. So do as I say, Tessa. You're no match for any of them without having a gun."

  They drove the rest of the way in silence and when they reached the designated place, Tessa couldn't stop shivering. She wasn't being an alpha, but she couldn't change into a wolf, which even if she could probably wouldn't have helped much against them. And without a gun, she was totally defenseless and useless.

  Hunter pulled up and stopped. Yoloff and his brother stood as wolves near the burned up pine, watching them, waiting. Jessup stood farther away as a human, unable to shapeshift. He didn't have a weapon that she could see. Where were Redmond and Butch? Probably guarding Meara and the others somewhere else.

  Hunter squeezed Tessa's hand. "Stay."

  "Who are you targeting first? Jessup? He's their leader. If you take him out, maybe the others will tuck tail and run."

  "Yoloff and his brother. They're the most dangerous in their wolf forms." Hunter opened the door. "Lock it after me."

  Tessa climbed into the driver's seat and locked the door. Jessup motioned to her to come out of the vehicle, but she ignored him and watched Hunter strip off his clothes, sure of himself, muscular, ready.

  Even though Yoloff and his brother stood their ground, she thought they looked a little nervous, their ears flattening and their tails drooping slightly. Hunter didn't take his eyes off Yoloff the whole time while he removed his clothes. Yoloff would die. She knew Hunter wouldn't allow him to live this time. Maybe his brother, too. But she was certain Jessup didn't intend to let Hunter rip him to shreds, if Hunter managed to best the brothers.

  And then she saw the rifle leaning against one of the trees. Damn him. What if she could get to it while Jessup watched Hunter's fight?

  Hunter shapeshifted, but no one moved until he targeted Yoloff. Then Jessup made a move toward the Humvee. He motioned for her to get out. Like she'd listen to him. Then she had another idea. Could she run any of them over? Probably not because of all the trees. Jessup could easily duck out of her path, she'd ruin the Humvee, and be stuck.

  The tire iron. Surely, Leidolf would have one to use in case he got a flat and had to change a tire. Had to be in the trunk.

  Hunter ran at Yoloff and Jessup's attention switched to the fight. Typical male. Forget the girl when there's a good fight going on.

  She didn't want to take her eyes off the fight either, but she climbed into the backseat and looked into the trunk. Hell, if there was a tire iron, it must be hidden. She glanced back at the windshield.

  Hunter and Yoloff clashed, their teeth bared and connecting, the growls rev
erberating through the woods. They fell to their pads and separated. Her skin prickled with anxiousness, her heart racing. She thought Yoloff's brother might attack next, but he seemed to be waiting for the fight to be decided first. He was probably thinking he wouldn't have to participate if Yoloff killed Hunter first.

  But then Hunter did the unexpected. He whipped around and attacked Yoloff's brother, startling him so badly, he dashed off in the wrong direction, close to the edge of the cliff with nowhere to back up, nowhere to run. Hunter rose on his hind legs, his teeth snapping at the gray and with no room to maneuver, the brother slipped off the cliff with a yelp.

  Shocked, Tessa stared out the window. Everyone else seemed as stunned. Yoloff didn't make a move toward Hunter and Jessup stood frozen in place. Yeah, bastard. After Hunter finishes off Yoloff, you're next.

  She climbed into the trunk and began lifting the carpet, looking for the tire iron she hoped was here.

  But then Hunter targeted Yoloff, and Jessup went for the gun. Oh, hell. Not finding a tire iron, Tessa scrambled over the backseat and then into the front and started the Humvee.

  As soon as Hunter bit Yoloff in the face, Jessup aimed the rifle. Tessa couldn't reach him with the Humvee the way he was standing protected between the trees, but if she rammed the pines, she might be able to distract him enough. She threw the vehicle in drive and roared toward Jessup. He swung around and for a moment, she thought he might shoot her. But instead he jumped back, realizing he was protected by the trees, and turned the weapon on Hunter.

  "No!" she screamed, and ran the Humvee into the pine. Because of the constant rain in the area, the roots were shallow enough that when she hit the tree, it toppled, but Jessup got off a round right before it fell.

  Hunter yelped this time and she saw the blood on his hip. Ohmigod, no, Hunter. If nothing else, she'd wrestle with Jessup until Hunter destroyed-- Yoloff bit at Hunter and he retaliated, but they were too close to the cliff's edge. Back up, back up!

  Jessup aimed the rifle again, and Tessa jerked the door open and lunged at him, throwing her body at him, trying to knock him off balance to give Hunter time to take care of Yoloff.