by Lexi Blake
He shrugged a little. “There are worse things to be. You have no idea how far she’ll go for someone she cares about. She’s a fierce little thing. She loves that wolf. You better get them to back down or she’ll rain down hell on your head and I swear to god, I’ll help her.”
Wyatt was still shaking with anger. He pointed down at Neil, revulsion in his eyes. “This is my brother. She can’t have a bigger claim on him than that. He is a perversion. He’s queer and an embarrassment to my father. He won’t take a female to mate. He serves no purpose. I have the right to put him out of his misery.”
“He has a mate, you piece of crap. I really can’t wait to introduce you to him. Let me tell you something, Wyatt. He’s going to have a few things to say to you, and I don’t think you’ll like how he says them.” I firmly intended to let Chad know exactly how Neil had been treated. It was his responsibility to beat the crap out of the whole Roberts family if necessary.
McKenzie sighed impatiently. “So you take in gay wolves and loners. Would you like me to round up some runts for your collection, Your Grace?”
“If you’re going to treat them like Neil, then bring ‘em on, McKenzie.”
McKenzie swore under his breath and shook his head. “Take him away from here, Owens. Take them both out of here. I can’t vouch for their safety for long.”
Lee walked over and picked up Neil, lifting him easily. I ceded my position to let him carry the white wolf in his arms. I stroked his head and assured him it was all right.
I glanced at McKenzie, who I was feeling magnanimous toward now. “Thank you.”
He shook his head. “Why do you care about a sick-ass wolf? You have no ties to us. Why were you willing to risk your life for an outsider?”
It was an easy question to answer. “I love him. He’s my friend. I would risk everything for him.”
McKenzie appeared to think on this for a moment. He nodded gravely as he replied, “I think it might be a great thing to be your friend, Your Grace. I didn’t expect you to care for one of us the way you do that wolf.”
“I don’t care that he’s a wolf. He’s Neil,” I responded honestly. “I would do the same for Lee. I would do the same for any friend no matter what species they happen to be.”
“Take your wolf home. Let me know if he needs anything. I’ll make sure this one no longer troubles him.” McKenzie stared pointedly at Wyatt, and I knew he was in for a bad hour or so. “And Mrs. Donovan, tell your husband I’ll call together the alphas tonight. He has his meeting. Tell him to be at the big house at ten thirty this evening.”
Lee started down the mountain, carrying his precious burden. I smiled back at the alpha. I was content with his judgment because everyone I loved was walking away healthy and whole.
I followed Lee and Neil down the mountain, trying not to stare at Lee’s backside. I heard the howls of the wolves, marking the end of the hunt.
My hunt was over as well. Neil was coming home.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It’s a testament to the tolerance of werewolf society that absolutely no one paid any attention to a naked man carrying an obviously wounded hundred and thirty-five pound wolf down the mountain. No one, that is, except Sarah, who had been pacing outside the tent, watching the tree line. The minute Lee and I walked into the valley, Sarah began sprinting toward us, her face a mixture of concern and joy. Other than Sarah, no one gave us a second glance, and I wondered if these hunts often resulted in injured hunters.
“Is he all right?” she asked as we headed into the tent.
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “We have to get him to change forms. I don’t know how to do that, Sarah.”
Lee walked straight into the living area. Albert stood up, a duster in his hands. He’d been making his daily rounds, giving everything a thorough cleaning. His dark eyes went right to Neil.
“Is that Master Neil?” Albert had never seen Neil’s wolf, but his senses were sharp.
“Yes. He’ll need food,” Lee told the butler. “And a lot of it. I know Zoey is supposed to be some damn rabbit right now, but he needs meat. None of that spinach and riswhato crap.”
Albert looked down at the wolf in Lee’s arms, and his blue eyes held a wealth of compassion. “I’ll find what he needs. Does my master…”
“He knows.” I was able to answer honestly. “Dev knows I was looking for Neil. I told him this morning I’d found him. He said Neil was welcome here.”
Albert nodded and went off to procure the much-needed food. I was glad he hadn’t asked whether or not Daniel knew. I wouldn’t have been able to be so honest with him on that question. I still wasn’t sure how Daniel would react, but we had other problems, my vampire and me. Neil’s presence was the least of my worries.
“Where do you want me to put him, Zoey?” Lee didn’t show any signs that the heavy wolf was taxing his strength in the slightest. Neil had been unconscious since McKenzie had first appeared and the wolves had been contained. The minute he’d realized he was safe, he allowed himself the comfort of oblivion. Unfortunately, I couldn’t let him stay there.
“Take him to the big bed.” What Neil really needed was human contact. It would be hard to give him that in the smaller beds. Neil needed to be surrounded by people who loved him. He needed warmth and love and, yes, likely he needed a big hunk of beef—but first the love.
Lee hurried past Daniel’s room and into the room Dev and I shared. Laying Neil down on the quilt in the center of the bed, Lee turned back to me and Sarah. “You need to talk to him. He needs to change form and he needs to do it now. Some of those injuries are serious, and the best way to start the healing process is to change.”
There’s something about the process of changing from human form to wolf form and back that aids in the healing process. Staying in wolf form as long as Neil had was one of the reasons he was in the state he was in. It would have been harder to stay human. When the moon was full, the urge to change was almost impossible to resist. I’d never known Neil to miss a full moon change, but there was no lunar cycle that told the wolf it was time to take human form again and watch some TV with friends. The wolf had to will the change from wolf to human. When Neil was upset or threatened, he tended to revert to wolf form. He felt stronger and more in control when furry. I had to convince him it was all right to be human again.
I sat on the bed beside the white wolf and Sarah took the other side. We both started to stroke his fur. We stroked firmly to let him know that we were there.
“Neil,” I said in a no-nonsense tone. “It’s time for you to change.”
“Neil,” Sarah added, her voice just as firm as mine. “You’re home now. It’s all right. You can change.”
The white wolf opened his eyes slowly, as though even that small action cost him immeasurably. He shifted his eyes from me to Sarah and back again, stopping briefly on Lee to contemplate the stranger who was looking through drawers and pulling out a pair of Dev’s sweats. They were a little long but covered up what needed covering.
“His name is Lee and he carried you here,” I explained, bending down and putting my head to his, wrapping my arms around his body. “He’s a friend, Neil. You’re in Colorado. We came looking for you, Sarah and I. Remember the nice lady wolf who found you? I hired her. I’ve been looking for you since the minute you left. I wanted you to come home because I love you, Neil. I missed you.”
“Please come back,” Sarah begged quietly.
Lee watched in silence, waiting to see if our pleading worked. I didn’t really want to know what he would try if it failed. It didn’t matter because I felt the change start under my fingertips, a little sizzle that let me know Neil was trying. It was slow and painful, utterly different from what usually happened. Normally Neil just was. One minute he was Neil and the next he was the beautiful snow-white wolf I’d seen so often at my side. On the flip side, he changed as quickly from that wolf to my little club boy with curly blonde hair and a male-model body to die for. Now the tra
nsition was hesitant. He seemed to get stuck in places, and Sarah and I were both terrified at what would happen if he couldn’t get back to the boy we knew and loved. If he was incapable of returning to form, he would fade and die and there was nothing we could do about it.
“Neil Roberts, you change now!” Lee’s voice boomed through the space, filling it with his will. He crossed his arms over his burly chest and yelled in his best drill sergeant voice. “Get up off your fucking lazy ass and change.”
Sarah turned on the lone wolf, fury plain in her eyes. “Don’t you talk to him like that!”
Lee growled at her, either not caring or completely ignorant that she could hex his privates. “Talking sweet ain’t working, darling. He needs to follow orders. It’s in his blood.” He focused his attention back on the wolf. “You’ll change or I’ll take you right back out to those woods and give you back to that brother of yours. I’ll let him put you out of your misery if you don’t have the guts to change now. That girl risked everything for your sorry ass and you can’t be bothered to change form? Hell, I’ll take you out myself. Change!”
That last bit was said in a roar that might have blown my hair back if I’d been in front of Lee. It startled me, and I was just about to have it out with my bodyguard when Neil growled stubbornly and forced himself into human form.
I sighed as I looked over his body. If I thought his wolf was thin, the gaunt human who lay miserable and shaking in the middle of the big, comfy bed shocked me. His whole body shook, and his eyes were pale and sunken as they stared up at me, pleading.
Lee sighed, satisfied he’d been able to get him to this point. His gaze went from me to Sarah. “He needs contact even more than he needs food.”
Lee walked toward the door. Sarah and I knew exactly what Neil needed and we didn’t hesitate. We shucked our clothes off as quickly as possible. I kicked off my sneakers, dropped my shorts, tossed my T-shirt aside and unclasped my bra because warm, naked skin was needed. Sarah did the same. In quick time we were down to nothing but warm skin.
Lee turned, speaking again. “I’ll go and find some wolves who won’t mind getting naked with…whoa!” Lee turned quickly, startled at the sight of Sarah and me naked and starting to pull back the covers. “I did not need to see that, Zoey. You are two married ladies. You shouldn’t be all undressed and stuff.”
I was slightly amused because I’d never known a wolf to be hesitant when it came to nudity. It was normal and natural for the wolf. In most cases, they didn’t even see it as sexual. Lee was prudish for a wolf.
“I saw you naked. Well, I saw your butt,” I pointed out as I climbed into bed with Neil and Sarah.
“That was different.” Lee didn’t turn around, probably because he was afraid he would catch a glimpse of something he didn’t want to see. “I don’t have boobs. I can see the two of you have the body-contact thing down, so I’ll go help the big red guy hustle up some grub. Please don’t get naked around me again.”
Lee left the room and Sarah and I shook our heads. It was a little insulting, but I would make sure I was always covered around Lee. I pulled the quilt over us and sank down beside Neil.
“How long?” Neil’s voice came out in a little croak as he shivered and shifted toward me. The wolf sometimes lost track of time, especially when in animal form for long periods. He’d wandered, not caring about the turning of the clock or paying attention to what month it was.
I opened my arms to him and pulled him into the heat of my body. Sarah wrapped herself around his back, and I felt a great shudder of relief go through him. He buried his head against my chest and we held him close.
“It’s been seven months,” I replied, letting him nuzzle my neck affectionately.
He nodded. “Is that all? It felt like longer. It felt like forever.”
Sarah rested her head against the back of his neck. “You’ve been gone too long. You missed a lot. I got married.”
“Really? To the hot angel guy?” Neil asked, though his throat sounded like he had gravel in it.
“Yep,” Sarah replied.
“That’s good.” Neil took a deep inhale through his nose, letting the scents of the place wash over him. “Zoey’s still having sex with Dev. I can smell him all over you. It’s good to know some things never change.” Neil laughed a little, and there was that light in his eyes he always had when he teased me.
Sarah chuckled. “He doesn’t know about that, Z. He really is out of the loop.”
“Well, for god’s sake, Sarah, fill him in. It might give him the will to live knowing he can watch the strange soap opera that is my life,” I replied good-naturedly because I’d been waiting to fill him in on my love life for seven long months.
“Z’s living with Dev and Daniel,” Sarah said, her voice taking on the tone of salacious gossip.
Neil managed to lift his head to show me his shocked face. “Like Vegas living together?”
Neil had been the first one to find out the boys and I had been experimenting sexually.
“I’m afraid so but it’s kind of going to hell,” I admitted. “Danny’s going to leave us.”
Neil’s face fell, and he sank his head back to my heart, placing his ear right over the sound of it beating. “Like I said, some things never change.” He was quiet now. “Is he still mad at me?”
“I don’t know.” I lied just a little. “I didn’t ask him his opinion.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here?”
I petted his curly head, trying to calm him. “It doesn’t matter. Devinshea knows and while I think he’s planning on giving you a stern talking to, he also said it would be good to have you home. Crap, we don’t have a home anymore.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Neil had lived with me in my house in the country before I moved to the penthouse with the boys.
Sarah answered for me. “Her house got blown up. Halfer torched the place, and Daniel lost one of his baby vamps. Zoey was busy hijacking a truck.”
I frowned. “Halfer showed up there, too. He took my prize and shoved me out of a car going seventy miles an hour. I broke three bones. Dev had to set them. It was really heinous. Don’t worry about it. There’s plenty of room in the penthouse.”
Neil shook his head. “No wonder you came looking for me, honey. You’ve been working with amateurs. Well, I’m back now. You just set up some jobs. I think I’ll like living in the penthouse. It’ll look good on me. God, I want to go shopping. I missed seven months of TV.”
Albert walked in, a plate filled with a savory brisket balanced in his hands. It made my mouth water. Neil sat straight up in bed, and I could hear his tummy rumbling.
“I had been preparing this for our non-vegetarian friends, but I can always find another. It’s not as done as I believe it should be,” Albert said with the frown of a chef who likes things to be perfect.
“Oh, it’s fine, Al.” Neil’s eyes glazed a little as Albert passed the plate to him. “Hello, meat I didn’t have to hunt down. I missed you. I missed you so much.” Neil turned his light eyes back up to the butler. “This is a good start. If you have anything sweet, I would be so grateful. They don’t have cupcakes you can chase down and eat in the woods. It’s a real oversight.”
Albert nodded and went off to round up some sweets. Neil was downing the meat quickly when Zack entered the room. He had a gun in his hand, and I realized we hadn’t informed the bodyguard of our guest.
Zack took in the sight and quickly lowered his gun. He rolled his eyes and his sigh was one of great impatience. “Do you ever just sleep by yourself? Most of us just sleep alone or with a single partner but no, Zoey’s got to have a cast of rotating players. Lee’s going to be disappointed. Hell, I have to go find my boss and tell him his precious goddess is shacked up with some random dude and her best friend. How do I explain that to him? He’s out there making himself pretty for you and you just jump into bed with the first wolf you see.”
“Who the hell is he?” Neil asked, forgetting his m
anners as he talked around a mouthful of beef.
This was going to be awkward. I hadn’t even considered the fact that I would have to introduce Neil to the man who had effectively replaced him. “Well, he’s Dev’s bodyguard.”
Zack couldn’t let it sit. He stared down at me, letting me feel the full weight of his disapproval. He holstered the weapon and shook a finger at me. “What am I supposed to tell my master, Zoey? If you felt the need to cheat, why couldn’t you have at least had the decency to hide it from me? Now I have to get involved and I don’t want to be. And you.” He pointed at Sarah. “How could you after everything Felix gave up for you?”
Sarah’s eyes lit with mischief. “Couldn’t help it, Zack. Have you seen her boobs?”
Neil picked up on the one thing I was hoping he’d miss. “Master?”
The question was asked with that controlled voice one tends to get just before one blows one’s top.
Zack sneered at him. “Yes, my master. Daniel Donovan is my master, and I’m not ashamed of it. Look down your nose at me all you like, but he’s a great man. He’s trying to save all of us. You should be so lucky to call him master.” Zack was used to wolves not approving of his job and had started to confront the prejudice head on. Of course, he had no way of knowing Neil wouldn’t be judging him for serving Daniel. He would be upset for other reasons.
“Daniel took another servant?” Neil growled out the question.
“Sweetie, you need to eat and concentrate on feeling better,” Sarah said, hugging him from behind.
Understanding lit Zack’s brown eyes. “Oh, this is the first wolf. The one who ran away from his duties.” Zack nodded, finally satisfied I wasn’t doing something dirty that would break his precious boss’s tender heart. “He was gay. Carry on then, Zoey. He probably needs body contact.”
“Nice to know you approve, Zack,” I muttered because I could feel Neil’s tension.
“Ran away from my duties?” Neil spat the question. “It was pretty hard to run away from my duties when Daniel decided to take over my freaking body. Did you know he can do that, Zack?”
