Tempering Steel

by Lea Barrymire

  Connor respected her as well. She was strong, brave, fierce and had the heart of a lioness when it came to those she cared for. The memory of her trying to get to Cammie when Ron had been about to fire his pistol still stole the breath from his lungs. Margie would easily have sacrificed her life for that of her friend without a blink of her pretty green eyes.

  Pulling into his Alpha’s driveway shook Connor from his thoughts. Once again he hadn’t come to an agreement between his head and heart about the only woman he craved. Snorting at his own thoughts, he parked his truck next to Ian’s.

  “Great, the newlyweds are here. Like I want to see all that googly-eyed crap now,” he muttered.

  “What’d you say?”

  The quiet, feminine voice had him spinning on the gravel. Behind his tailgate stood Libby, the pack’s financial whiz. She always reminded him of a mouse. Short brown hair bobbed around a pixie face dominated by soft brown eyes. Libby was timid around everyone, but nearly became mute in large groups. Connor knew some of her background, and nothing he’d learned was good. The woman had barely survived an attack by her fiancé after running away from an abusive father. The fact she’d stopped to speak to gave him some hope she’d come out of her shell a little.

  “Hey, Libs. How are you?” Connor softened his voice. He hated scaring the woman.

  “I’m fine, thank you for asking. Alpha sent me out here to get you when you arrived.” She ducked her head and kept her eyes averted. “They are in the barn.”

  “Thanks, hon.” He felt as if he should say something else to make her comfortable around him, but she’d lived in town for three years. Nothing ever seemed to make her relax around other shifters. And men really made her uncomfortable. If he could track down the asshole who had hurt her, he would. Show the man a little shifter justice and revenge the loss of Libby’s freedom.

  The thing that struck him as ironic was the size of her cougar. She ran every month with the pack of coyotes and could easily take on every single one of their animals without a thought. A strike from her powerful paw would knock the toughest of their males on his ass, but her animal seemed to be as submissive and timid as her human side.

  Libby nodded quickly at his words and turned, walking silently toward the big red barn behind the farmhouse. The building worked as the normal pack meeting location. Challenges were given and fought within the space, along with more festive gatherings. It was where Cammie and Ian’s mating ceremony would take place.

  Connor loved the Alpha’s property. The house was an old plantation-style farmhouse complete with a whitewashed wraparound porch. The land was bordered by woods and backed onto a large pond. The man who led the pack had made a home out of the old place. The entire pack had gathered earlier in the year to repaint the house and barns. All had matching red siding with white trim.

  The only thing the place seemed to be missing was a female’s touch. Everything about the farm screamed family until you wandered into the main building. Then you realized the only person living there was a single man. Electronics, bare walls and cases of beer were the decorations throughout the lower level. Connor hadn’t been on the upper floors, but he assumed the same type of stark decor could be found up there as well.

  “Connor, hurry the fuck up. We’re waiting on you.”

  Skip’s strong voice pulled Connor into a jog. He could ignore most people, but when the Alpha bellowed for someone it made good sense to get moving. Confusion sped him as he covered the rest of the yard at a quick lope.

  “Yeah, what? I’m here.”

  “We’ve had a report come in about a wounded animal, something big and pissed off, up on the mountain. A couple human hikers heard it off in the distance and called 911. The call got routed to me because dispatch couldn’t reach you.”

  Connor’s eyes adjusted quickly to the dim light within the barn. His nose told him that Ian, Cammie, Skip, Amie and a few other pack members were already inside. After blinking a few times, he found everyone standing around a large table strewn with topographical maps.

  “Fill me in. When did the call come in?” Connor cringed inside. He’d probably broken another phone when he’d thrown it into the seat after talking to Zeke. Damn, technology needs to get sturdier.

  Skip stood and the men gripped hands. Connor tilted his head and gave his Alpha his neck. It wasn’t a hardship to show deference to the man. Skip was a great leader and had proved time and again that he was the strongest shifter around.

  “Actually, I just hung up. It sounds like a bear or something has gotten caught in a trap up past Billy’s place on the mountain. A couple of hikers heard what they called a ‘pained animal cry’ before turning tail and heading back down to the trailhead.”

  “Why didn’t you call—” Before Connor could finish his question, the sound of a familiar vehicle caught his attention. Margie. He sighed. “You did call her.”

  Skip smiled and winked. “Of course. Someone needs to take a ride up and wander through the woods. If we’re looking at trappers working this close to us, we need to know. If it’s a wounded animal, we’ll need her there to help with injuries. And I didn’t think you’d let one of us go with her alone into the woods.”

  Great. Even his Alpha was giving him shit. Instead of growling and flashing teeth at the man, he nodded and swallowed his irritation. Skip would accept a little disrespect, but Connor knew he’d be treading on thin ice if he showed too much ire.

  His anger with the Alpha slid away and was replaced by anticipation as the indications of Margie’s arrival became clearer. She threw her little pickup truck in park before climbing out and slamming her door. He could hear her grumbling to herself, and his lips twitched with the urge to smile. She really was adorable when she was angry. Like a ruffled lion cub, all growls and tiny claws.

  As a chuckle rumbled in his chest, the woman came striding around the barn door. She’d changed after he’d left her house. She was adorable in the jeans and hooded sweatshirt she called her uniform. Denim hugged her legs and ass so well that he was jealous of the material. The sweatshirt, though, was many sizes too large, hanging loosely from her shoulders. She rolled the sleeves until they were mid-forearm and left the hood down.

  She looked soft and comfortable in the outfit, perfect for cuddling in front of a fire. Her skin would be all warm under her shirt. Connor could pull her into his arms and snuggle her deep into his embrace. Her hair would tickle his neck as she wiggled to be closer to him. And her scent would be heavy with arousal.

  A fist slammed into Connor’s upper arm, breaking his line of thought.

  “What the fuck?” He rubbed his arm and turned to find Ian silently laughing at him. “What?”

  “You were growling, all sexy-like.” The other man chuckled and leaned closer to Connor. “And your eyes were starting to change. Whatever you were thinking, you need to stow it.”

  “Fuck you.” Connor could feel the heat of a blush creeping up his neck. Had he lost it so much that his eyes were starting to shift around Margie?

  Ian laughed. “I’m not the one you were thinking about there, man. And I’m perfectly happy with Cammie.”

  Connor couldn’t help but laugh with his friend. “Shut up, ass.”

  Chapter Two

  “I grabbed my kit and other stuff. Are we all driving up or going in one vehicle?” Margie was in work mode. Knowing an animal was wounded and had been suffering someplace up on the mountain for who knew how long had her ready to go. A niggle of worry skated over her spine, making her shiver. If the animal was really a shifter, it meant someone she probably knew was trapped, hurt and scared up there. If Skip hadn’t made her promise to stop at the farm first, she’d be trekking through the woods already.

  Glancing around the barn showed her all the normal faces she’d expect to see at something like this. Be it a rescue mission or an investigation into trapping, the Alpha would’ve called the same crew. Skip stood at one end of the table, looking like a burly biker general watching over his u
nderlings through intense eyes. Ian and Cammie were both there, and from the clenched jaw Ian was sporting it looked as if Cammie wouldn’t stay home like a good little wife.

  Margie swallowed a snort. Yeah, Cammie the housewife was an image she had a tough time seeing. The woman was spunkiness personified, and now that she and Ian were tying the shifter-knot, the woman was going to only get more interested in the town’s goings-on.

  The hairs on her arms rose as goose bumps made her shiver. Swinging her gaze around the rest of the people, she slammed into Connor’s stare. God, that man could pack a wallop with his eyes. Margie warmed under the intensity of his regard, and if she’d been weaker she’d have been fanning her face and swooning. Damn.

  Skip saved her from acting all girly by clearing his throat, nudging Connor with a shoulder and getting the group focused. “We’ve identified the location we think the hikers were in when they heard the animal.” He pointed to the map on the table and tapped it for emphasis. “Billy’s property line is close to there. We can park at his place and venture in from there. I’m going to have Connor and Margie head up the normal trail. Might as well have the town’s sheriff and vet making it look like a routine investigation. That should give the rest of us time to scout around and verify if we’re looking at poachers, a wounded animal, or a shifter trapped somehow.”

  Everyone nodded, even if Connor added a scowl and lifted lip to his affirmation. Margie grunted under her breath. Once again the man didn’t want to be with her. How many times would she let her heart squeeze and ache over his blatant disrespect?

  When no one said anything, Skip continued with his own nod. “Good. Roll out. Everyone keep their cells handy and call me if you see or hear anything. Connor and Margie, give me a few minutes before you leave, please.”

  She nodded and moved aside so her friends could slide past her and out of the barn. The roar of multiple vehicles was the background noise to her slight feeling of being cornered. Nothing like being asked to stay and talk to the leader. It felt as if she’d been called to the principal’s office or something. Not that she’d done anything to warrant that feeling, but being a ‘good girl’ came with immediate guilt, imagined or not, when superiors wanted to chat out of earshot of the rest of the group.

  Margie looked around the barn while she waited. She’d been in the building numerous times before, fixing up animals and checking on Skip’s horses, but it never quite looked the same each time. The table they’d stood around hadn’t been there before, nor had the circle on the dusty ground. For a moment her mind flashed to a pentagram and candles, but then she really looked around the walls and shook her head at her own thoughts. Right, like paranormals needed to be involved in the occult too.

  Someone, she assumed Cammie, had been busy. White and green garlands hung along the rustic barn’s interior, adding a touch of femininity and beauty. The scent of carnations had been tickling her senses from the moment she entered the structure, but the knowledge of it didn’t surface until she noticed the vases, all filled to the brim with colorful bouquets. They sat on an old blanket, which she assumed covered a few bales of hay or a low table off in the corner. More details of the impending ceremony showed up in the clean windows and piles of soft white cloth stacked neatly next to the vases.

  Skip cleared his throat again. “I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but will you be able to attend to this matter with the animal without it creating friction? I can either accompany you or call back someone to go with you if needed.”

  Margie whipped her gaze back to the Alpha. Friction? What the hell was he talking about?

  Her confusion must have been clearly evident on her face, because the big man’s eyes softened and his smile shone brightly. “Ah, I see. Connor, this is on you. If you haven’t explained to her what’s going on, then I’ll leave it be.”

  Cryptic much?

  She hated and loved mysteries with equal zeal and would be grilling Connor the minute they were alone. The dark scowl he shot at his Alpha said it all. He knew the tantalizing thought of something going on would drive her insane and had just sealed his day with a whole lot of nagging questions.

  Margie turned back to Skip to ask him about the comment but was caught off guard by a wink. She responded with a quick scowl and a miniscule nod. Fine. If the man was starting shit and stirring up Connor’s already surly attitude, there had to be a reason behind it. But if it all exploded on her, she’d be taking it out on the Alpha. Tranquilizers and a laxative would work wonders.

  She must have grinned or something, because the big, bad coyote Alpha blanched slightly and visibly gulped. Good. They all needed to remember she wasn’t some pushover. Sure, she was short and a woman, but she was also one of the best shots in the county with a rifle, carried a tranquilizer gun everywhere and could really fuck with someone if she wanted to. No one pissed her off and made it unscathed. Learning from her mistakes was something Margie prided herself on, and she’d made enough of them. She wouldn’t allow anyone to use her or abuse her. Period.

  Connor’s growled response made her jump. “Fuck. Fine.”

  He turned a darkening look on her and she barely kept from cringing. Holy shit. He was pissed with a capital P.

  “I didn’t do anything to you, Connor, so dial down the attitude. We have an animal to find. Stow the issues.”

  Margie wanted to laugh at the fast blinking and look of pure surprise on the man’s face. He looked as if someone had just spat in his soup or something.

  Yep. I don’t take shit, remember?

  She snorted and turned on her heel, heading toward her truck. Damned if she’d ride shotgun with him. If he wanted to go together, it’d be with her driving. Just so he knew and there wasn’t any question about it, she threw a comment over her shoulder as she stalked out. “Come on Mr. Grumps-a-Lot. I’m driving or you’re driving yourself.”

  The all-too-familiar sound of Connor grumbling under his breath had her smiling. The practice had almost become a comfort to her. Even when everything else seemed to fall apart, stoic, dependable Connor would be saying shit under his breath. World War III? There’s Connor saying crap about the soup being too cold. Zombies taking over and eating the neighbors? He’d be pissed about the blood getting on his shoes.

  *****

  Sometimes Connor disliked his Alpha. At the moment it bordered on hatred. If the man wasn’t so good at being their leader, he’d just about be ready to challenge him. And wasn’t that just fucked up? Taking on his Alpha because of a woman? Because Connor couldn’t keep his shit private around people? And the blasted name-calling? What the fuck was up with that?

  The tempting sound of Margie’s chuckle pulled him from his thoughts. “What?”

  She turned to him just before opening the driver’s side door of her vehicle. “You grumble all the time under your breath and I just find it cute.”

  With that, the minx climbed into her truck and motioned at him through the glass to get in the passenger side. Cute? Fuck, he wanted to be mad but it made him fight a smile. As if he were some teenage boy, his chest warmed and he felt the telltale signs of a blush. She thinks I’m cute?

  All his boyish thoughts went out the door the minute he climbed in next to Margie. In her house or in the barn her scent was strong, but nothing had prepared him for what hit him square in the face. The inside of her little truck was saturated. He filled his lungs and his soul with the very essence of Margie. She smelled like warmth, soft and comforting with an edge of spice. Like pumpkin pie or gingerbread. His mouth watered enough that he was forced to swallow a few times before he could speak.

  “I’d like to stop a few times before we get to the trailhead, if that’s okay with you. With the breeze blowing from the west, I might be able to pick up the animal’s scent if we stop on Warner Road by the bridge.”

  Margie turned and gave him an odd look but nodded before cranking the ignition. He sat back and breathed her in, letting his eyes close and his body relax into th
e seat. Since the attacks on Cammie, the shooting and all the chaos, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep. The exhaustion was catching up with him. The comfortable silence dragged a sigh of contentment from his lips. Warmth and the slight movement of the truck pulled him into the blissful darkness of sleep.

  *****

  The soft snoring nearly had Margie laughing out loud, but knowing Connor wouldn’t normally let his guard down meant he needed the sleep more than she needed to rib him over being a snorer. Driving through the countryside with him asleep felt so domestic. As if they’d done this same thing a hundred times—her driving while he napped, taking rest where he could.

  Pulling to the side of the road near their first stop gave her a moment to gather herself and to check out her passenger without the likelihood of being caught. She grinned and glanced at him, gasping quietly at the vision of a relaxed Connor. His face had smoothed out, including the stress lines around his mouth and eyes. He looked so much younger and so much more handsome. Her body clenched with need as she took a moment to scan his body. Hard muscle, even while relaxed, bulged under the ever-present short-sleeved T-shirt. Denim hugged his thighs like a second skin. His jeans were worn and well-used, adding a soft look to his legs.

  “Looked your fill yet?”

  Connor’s gravelly voice made her jump and squeak. Caught red handed, damn. She scowled at him and noticed he’d slit one eye open enough to peek at her. “What? I was waiting for you to wake up. And, really what do you care? You’re hot. You know as much. I like looking at you when you aren’t all growly and pissy.”

  The wrinkles returned with a vengeance as he glared at her. “I don’t growl or get pissy. Women are pissy. Men get irritated.”

  She laughed and didn’t try to stifle it. “Whatever. We’re here for your first sniffing.”