by Vivian Arend
“Other than you swapped spit?”
Gah. “You are so annoying at times.”
He grinned. “You love me, you know you do.”
In her way, she did. “Tyler shared information last night that made me think he’s one of the good guys. Does what you know line up with my instant appraisal?”
Evan leaned forward, his expression sharpening. “I checked out all the clans before conclave moved. He’s clean from what I could find. Hard working and runs a fair company. Head of his family. No shifter issues in his territory, unlike the reports from a few others. This might be your decision, but you are not getting involved with Clan Ainsworth or Lucerne. I won’t allow it.”
Well. “You won’t allow it. Really.”
He rose to tower over her. “You might not be in my bed anymore, but you’re still mine. I forbid you to get involved with anyone I suspect cares less for your survival than what they can squeeze from you in short-term benefits.”
As a human, his shifter power didn’t hit her the same way it would affect a fellow wolf. Didn’t mean she couldn’t feel the effects, especially when like now, he had his dominance cranked on full blast.
To a human who’d never experienced it before, even a gentle touch could make them uncomfortable. Perhaps have them running from the room as if they’d felt a ghost. Caroline stiffened her spine. She raised an arm to admire the way her hair stood straight on end. “Whoa, you’re like a twelve on the Richter scale with that order.”
“I don’t want you dead.”
Whoa again. She laid her hand on his and tried to soothe him. “Hey, this is me. You don’t need to get all growly so I’ll listen to reason. Don’t make the situation bigger and scarier than it has to be for shock value.”
He shook his head. “You’re not getting it. If anything, I’m playing down the dangers. Yes, I’d love to have you as a fly on the wall to keep things safe for Takhini, but these are bears, Caroline. For all my and Shaun’s joking about the ‘wimpy bears voting instead of ripping out throats like us macho wolves’, there’s a reason they moved to this method. It saves a fuck-ton of lives. This won’t be a walk in the park. You will be vulnerable, and if something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
Caroline nodded slowly. She touched his face. “I’ll be careful, and I’ll take this seriously. And if I feel as if it’s getting too much for me at anytime, I’ll step aside, okay?”
“Promise me.”
Evan turned down the Alpha vibes and her body stopped pulsating.
She raised her hand in the air, palm forward. “I solemnly swear I will protect my ass at all times.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Well…maybe that will do.”
She flipped her hand around and turned the vow into one, lone finger.
“Don’t push me, Evan. I’ve had a seriously weird twenty-four hours.” He raised a brow, all Spock-like and she snorted. “Okay, fine, you’re in the same boat, and you don’t even have a paddle.”
He laid his arm around her shoulders and tugged her in, resting his chin on her head. “We’ll get through this, you and I. We’re strong, we’re smart.”
“And we don’t take shit from anyone.” Caroline squeezed him tight. The path had turned the corner, and she was almost at the point she’d be able to spot the coming obstacles.
Because if she’d learned anything, obstacles went with the territory.
Evan pushed her toward the computer. “You’re going to accept Tyler’s offer, I presume.”
She glanced down the list of names, shocked to see them all. “If we eliminate the ones you know are rotters, should I do more research before accepting anyone?”
He paused. “What’s your gut telling you?”
Tyler’s deep rumbled words about instincts flashed through her brain, bringing the smooth slide of sexual anticipation along for the ride. “You don’t want to know my gut right now.”
“I love it,” Evan chortled. “You are such a weird human.”
“Enough.” Caroline dragged her hands through her hair—one of the fidgets of frustration she’d learned from Evan. “Who am I kidding, though? What Tyler said to me last night regarding power seemed completely honourable. The fact he’s attractive isn’t a hardship.” She glanced at Evan. “I’m not trying to replace you. I hope you know that.”
He seemed lost for a moment before his face brightened with comprehension. “Oh, Caro, you don’t have to explain away animal attraction or justify getting involved with another guy. There’s no statute of limitations that wolves adhere to.”
“I don’t need to go through a period of mourning before hopping into another man’s bed?”
He laughed. “I’m not dead, and neither are you. Stop worrying about if you and Mr. Teddybear are going to fuck around. Worry about how to survive whatever weird things bears do.”
His phone went off, and Evan answered it, swearing starting shortly after he lifted it to his ear.
“One second.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I gotta run. Someone mucked up the kitchen orders and the chef is getting spirited.”
“Spirited?”
“Literally. He’s drinking already, and if we want to survive the lunch rush, I need to go coddle him.”
She nodded. “I’ll find out what’s involved in the bear deal and get as much done of my job in advance as I can.”
He waved from the door. “Give it a break. You’re indispensible, but we’ll manage.”
Caroline waited until he was gone, rising and double-checking the office door was locked before returning to the computer and pausing.
Yes, Tyler’s invite was there, with an eight p.m. appointment time. Hmm. An evening meeting?
She pushed aside her curiosity to deal with other issues first. She flipped through the hotel to-do list, delegating items for the coming week to others.
There was one thing she couldn’t delegate. She opened Skype and checked for the green light to see if her contact was on.
Who was she kidding, though—Amy was always online.
Got a minute?
A pause, then Amy’s response. Yeah
Can we talk?
The video part of the program rang, and Caroline stabbed at the volume button. She answered, then held a finger to her lips as she scrambled to plug in her headset.
“I need to touch base with you, and I can talk faster than I can type.”
The woman on the screen nodded. Her short hair spiked upward, dark against the plain white background behind her. “I have to take a call in a minute. What’s up?”
Caroline struggled for inspiration. How was she supposed to walk the line here between helping Evan and revealing too much? “Amy, when we first got in contact, I promised I’d keep your identity a secret. I’m not breaking that vow, but I need you to consider adding one more person to your trust list.”
Amy’s mouth tightened. “You want to tell someone else in the Takhini pack about me?”
Caroline nodded slowly. “I’ll be busy for a week with some new developments and might not be around a lot. I figured if you needed to talk to anyone, in an emergency, you should have someone else you’re okay with.”
The wolf fidgeted with her hair. “I don’t know…”
“You want to help amalgamate the packs, right? That’s what we’ve been talking about for the past month.”
“Yes. There really is room for only one pack in Whitehorse.”
Caroline nodded. “That’s what Evan says as well, so why not talk directly to him if you need anything? Or if there’s anything you want to give him a heads-up about.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “You plan to tell the Takhini Alpha you’ve been talking to a mole in the Canyon pack? He’s the person you want me to contact? Are you nuts?”
Another email pinged into her box from yet another bear clan, and Caroline’s frustration level rose to near breaking. “Not completely nuts, not yet. Who else would be better, Amy? Evan’s got the best interests of all
local wolves at heart. I’m not passing you over to the Beta, because while Shaun is a great wolf he’s not…as diplomatic. He’d probably order you to give up names and places and stuff. I understand you’ve got to be careful.”
“And Evan’s not going to simply order me to spill all the Canyon secrets?” Amy shook her head. “I don’t mind talking to you, but you’re a human.”
“Then don’t talk. Text only, if you’re afraid of shifter hierarchy kicking in. I’d hate to see the motion we’ve made toward unification come apart because I’m tied up.”
A phone rang in the background, and Amy jerked upright. “I have to go. But…fine. Give me his email, and tell Evan he can contact me.”
“Thanks. And don’t worry—Evan is a great guy. You can trust him.”
Amy wrinkled her nose. “We’ll see.”
The Skype screen went black as Amy hung up. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief, even though she had one more issue to deal with before turning herself over to Tyler for the duration of conclave. She wondered what Evan would think of her little secret-sharing undercover wolf from the Canyon pack.
Amy was so sweet. Caroline hoped Evan would be able to help ease the girl’s fears while he kept the integration of the packs headed the right direction.
The list of emails from the bear clans distracted her from focusing too hard on that mystery. Now she had to find out exactly what an assistant to a bear did.
Anticipation danced inside. She was somewhere between being disgruntled that she was good for Tyler politically and fascinated with the chance to be involved with something brand new. Whatever happened in the next while was sure to be a lot different than emergency room cleaning for the hotel.
She clicked open Tyler’s email to formulate an acceptance.
Part Two
Ye who know the Lone Trail fain would follow it,
Though it lead to glory or the darkness of the pit.
Ye who take the Lone Trail, bid your love good-by;
The Lone Trail, the Lone Trail follow till you die.
Bid good-by to sweetheart, bid good-by to friend;
The Lone Trail, the Lone Trail follow to the end.
Tarry not, and fear not, chosen of the true;
Lover of the Lone Trail, the Lone Trail waits for you.
“The Lone Trail”—Robert Service
Chapter Eight
The hushed voices around them were a good thing. Tyler sat in his appointed section, high along one side of the room, Justin at his right. All around the perimeter were special seats for the nominees to use as they observed the proceedings. The rest of the space was filled with a mass of bears sauntering in to disappear behind the screen and mark their choices in this round of the elections.
“Everyone’s behaving so far,” Justin noted, moving his gaze around the room, keeping alert for any surprises.
“There’s no need to make a fuss at this point. We’re still using approval voting. Out of the eight clans left, there are clearly four who have the power to not be eliminated.”
“Agreed. After this vote is complete, the real juggling begins.” Justin turned to face him fully, his voice lowered. “You done being distracted? Ready to get your mind on the task of winning this thing?”
“Shut up. I’m not distracted.”
Justin snorted, then went back to sweeping the room for trouble. “Sure, that’s why you were singing in the shower this morning. I kept waiting for you to break out into Julie Andrews or something.”
No one was supposed to have heard that. “Mention it again and I’ll shove a spoonful of sugar down your throat until you choke.”
His friend chuckled, but Tyler didn’t bother to correct his manners. He was too busy being distracted by the phone vibrating in his pocket. He whipped it out and snapped to messages.
Oh, yes. Finally, Caroline’s response.
“Does that ‘fuck, yeah’ you just muttered mean you got an answer from the elusive human?” Justin asked.
“She’s on board.” His bear did the equivalent of a fist pump. Tyler glanced around the room. “How much longer do you estimate?”
Justin scratched his side. “An hour until they close the poll. Another thirty until they lock down the official counters in the safe room, and we can leave. Why?”
“She wants to know our plans for the evening.”
Justin whipped out a plain black book. “You are so lucky you hired me. Here. Everything you need to keep you far too occupied until we’re set free.”
“I didn’t hire you, my father hired your father. I inherited you, like the family estate, so don’t blame me. And a black book? How is that—?”
Holy fuck.
Tyler had slipped open the notebook, not expecting the lacy underwear and skimpy bras that assaulted his eyes. He slammed the cover tight and glanced around the room to see if anyone seated near them had noticed.
Good so far. Clan Fairmont on their right were busy chatting, and Clan Riondel on the left were busy moping, utter dejection in their body language and faces. They were certain to be eliminated this round.
Tyler had other issues to deal with. He leaned closer to his friend. “What the hell did you hand me? A Victoria’s Secret catalog or something?”
Justin grinned. “Well, you have a couple of hours to waste. I figured you might want to get started on that ‘sharing the plan for the evening’ thing with your woman.”
“You’re going to get me killed.” Still, Tyler cautiously opened the pages, this time realizing there was a fake cover over the official sale catalog. “Oh, mercy…”
Justin tapped the pages, seemingly uncaring his fingers were covering a mostly naked woman. “Local shop. You can order things, or text in your favourites, and send Caroline to get fitted. Unless you think you know her size well enough to order for her?”
Right. He wished he had more than a rough estimate of her size. Wished he had a much more intimate knowledge of exactly how those breasts of hers looked without any layers between them, even soaking-wet ones.
Holding out his hands at approximately the shape of her ass wouldn’t help her fit into a formal outfit, though. “I should probably warn her it’s a social event tonight.”
He turned the page, and his tongue got stuck to the roof of his mouth. The lingerie bursting from this page included a corset. One piece, barely there, hot pink. All thoughts of warning Caroline about anything fled as he held his phone to Justin. “Take notes for me.”
“Nothing doing. You be distracted, I have to stay alert to keep your ass intact.”
Fine. Tyler felt a touch of guilt at not giving the proceedings his full attention, but this was important as well.
Strange how his conscience was far too easy to appease.
He settled in, his big thumbs hovering over the tiny keyboard as he prepped a greeting message to the shop. Then he flipped through page after page, slightly incredulous at the variety of garments available for a remote location. “We don’t have a shop like this in Yellowknife, do we?”
“No.”
“Look into sponsoring some eager entrepreneur. This could end up as lucrative as the family business.” He spotted the prices discreetly written in full numbers at the base of each garment’s description. “Correction, they could end up richer than me.”
He fell silent for a few minutes, adding page numbers to the email before sending it off, along with a message to his limo driver.
He’d just tapped out Caroline’s phone number when a rumble began in the line. A bit of push and shove. Justin stood immediately, stepping forward.
“Hello?” Caroline’s sweet voice sent a shiver down Tyler’s spine.
Someone swung a fist, and Tyler swore. “Sorry to call and run, but there’s a fight starting. I can’t explain. Limo will pick you up at the hotel at five.”
A loud clatter rang out as one of those lined up tackled the two bears in front of him, and the entire group crashed into a set of decorative tables at the edge of the room.
<
br /> “Shifters. Stay safe—I’ll meet you later.” The call ended, and Tyler was so stunned he almost forgot to duck, snapping his head to the side at the last moment as a vase flew past him.
She’d hung up without asking any further questions regarding the time change. Obviously, she did know shifters.
He tucked away his phone and waded forward to help bring order back. “Ten minutes left, you think?”
“Yeah, about the right timing.” Justin slammed a fist into a shifter’s face, and the man teetered on his feet before folding to the floor.
“I’ll take care of these, you make sure the rest of the line gets to the voting booth before it closes.” Tyler didn’t wait for his friend to acknowledge him. Justin would obey. At times like this, the situation wasn’t about protocol and prestige, it was doing the job you were trained to do.
Tyler might look pretty in a suit, but he had a whole lot more to him than a head full of numbers.
He caught one fighter under the ribs with a jab, hard enough to bend the man over and make it simple to grab him by the hair and toss him to one side. An elbow to a chest, a strategically placed foot followed by a sharp uppercut. In only seconds, the troublemakers who’d snuck in to disrupt the final votes were either groaning on the floor or backing away from Tyler, far more wary than they’d arrived.
A shifter stepped down from the opposite side of the room, his expensive business suit perfectly in position as he avoided participating in any of the fighting. Threads of grey in his hair, a sneer on his face, Todd Ainsworth looked as if he’d smelt something foul. “Tyler. Once again your low-bred roots come to the foreground at the most inopportune moments.”
“Ainsworth. You pay these men to come get their asses kicked?”
The bastard shrugged. “Riffraff. Never sure what they’ll get up to next.” He kicked one of the fallen aside. The man groaned and crawled out of reach of the perfectly polished black leather shoes.
Ainsworth stopped directly in front of Tyler, his smaller body made up for with his arrogance.
