by Jenny Frame
Caden felt bad for walking out on this human, and that made no sense. “Let me know how she is tomorrow, Doctor, and please don’t tell her who brought her here.”
“Of course, Second.”
Caden walked out of the hospital into the night and had no idea why she felt guilty. She’d done more than enough for the human. Yet her comforting scent lingered.
CHAPTER FOUR
A week later there had been no sign of Leroux, but the Wolfgang territory was large, and the Alpha still had her wolves searching and patrolling the area. Caden had stationed guards around the Alpha’s den to protect her family, but so far everything had been quiet.
Caden hadn’t been in the best of moods lately. The threat from the Lupas lay heavily on her shoulders, and the arrival of a new human had stirred up a lot of old emotions—and today she was called to the conference room to meet her. Dante walked into the Venator conference room for the twice-weekly board meeting. Her PA Marcy followed behind.
Caden rose at the Alpha’s entrance, and everyone followed her lead.
The Alpha took her place and said, “You may sit.” One chair remained notably empty. “Marcy? Where is our new employee?”
“She must be running late, Alpha. I emailed her the meeting details, so she does know.”
“Hmm.” Dante shook her head. “Well, it gives us a chance to speak in private.” She turned to Caden. “Thank you for joining us, Second. I want to introduce you all to our new member of staff, if she ever gets here. As you are all aware, we have recently changed accounting firms, and they have sent one of their best people to audit our business, so they can give us a clear picture of how we’re doing. Caden, I asked you to join us because she’s going to be starting with the ranch.”
Caden felt anger bubble in her stomach. She knew this was a mistake but would never question her Alpha in front of the other wolves. She had very little tolerance for pen pushers and paperwork, and even less for humans, but she would do as she asked, without question.
“I know it’s not ideal, Caden, but you’re my Second, and you know every inch of our business, so if you could, make sure she has everything she needs and doesn’t see or hear anything we wouldn’t like discussed outside the pack.”
“Of course, Alpha. I’ll see to it.”
Dante looked at her watch and growled. “I hope this isn’t an indication of Ms. Miller’s timekeeping.”
At that moment, everyone’s attention was drawn to the glass conference room doors as a woman hurried toward them, carrying files and a laptop case. Several wolves snorted with laughter as she struggled with the glass doors, expecting them to open inward, but Dante just raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“It looks like Ms. Miller has arrived.”
*
Selena’s first morning at Venator had been a complete disaster so far, but that was nothing unusual in her life.
She could hear her father’s voice as if he was right next to her. Selena, you’re a clumsy fool. Stand up straight, shoulders back.
Walking into a packed conference room was her worst nightmare, especially after making a fool of herself, but there was no turning back now.
Selena eventually managed to navigate the apparently difficult doors and rushed into the room like a whirlwind. “I’m really sorry I’m late. I was going to be early, but then I couldn’t find the room, and then…” She hesitated when she realized the rest of the room was looking at her in stunned silence. “Well…anyway, I’m sorry I’m late.” She felt a burning heat flash up her neck and face.
The commanding woman at the head of the table, her new boss, Dante Wolfgang, gave her a smile and indicated the empty chair waiting for her. “I think we can forgive you this first morning, Ms. Miller. Please sit down.”
Her head down, Lena hurried toward the safety of the empty chair, grateful as ever that her long, wavy hair covered her face like a blanket of protection. Her foot caught the leg of the chair and then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The files she was carrying and the laptop went up into the air.
She waited for the pain of hitting the floor, but it never came. Instead, she fell into a pair of strong, reassuring arms. When she looked up into the eyes of her rescuer, she saw a flash of gray and yellow in her mind, but the memories were gone as soon as they arrived.
“Are you okay, Ms. Miller?”
“It’s Selena…um, Lena.”
“I’m Caden.” The way this woman said her name made her shiver.
She looked silently into Caden’s eyes. I know her.
Lena’s heart raced, and she reached out her fingers to touch Caden’s face with curiosity but was interrupted by Dante clearing her throat.
“Is everything all right? Are you hurt, Ms. Miller?”
“I’m okay, Ms. Wolfgang, thank you.” As she realized the room was watching them, she saw Caden become conscious of their predicament. Caden pulled her back to her feet and gathered up the files for her.
“Thank you, Caden.”
“No problem,” Caden said gruffly and quickly handed the files back to Lena and hurried off back to her seat.
When Lena realized her rescuer’s chair was way over on the other side of the table, she couldn’t imagine how she had gotten to her in time.
Her boss interrupted her thoughts. “If everyone is okay, perhaps we could get on?”
Lena took her seat but still had her eyes locked on Caden. There was something about her that seemed familiar, and she stood out because she wasn’t dressed for the office like everyone else in the meeting—she had on jeans, a checked shirt, and cowboy boots, and a Stetson sat on the table in front of her.
She felt a nudge from someone beside her. The woman next to her whispered, “Hi, I caught your laptop. It’s good as new.”
“Thank you.”
“Now if we could get to business,” Dante Wolfgang boomed.
*
Caden drove Lena over to the farm office in silence. She had been shaken up by her reaction to seeing the woman she rescued again.
She had just acted on instinct when she’d seen the woman falling and couldn’t understand it. She could have risked the pack’s secrets by showing how fast she could move and remembered the hard stare Dante gave her.
When she had taken her to the county hospital, she never imagined she would see the woman again. Then this morning, the same woman had fallen into her arms. She looked a little different though. Her long hair was not tied up—it hung long, wavy—and she wore a pair of black-framed glasses.
It had thrown her completely when she looked into her eyes. She had felt something, a stirring recognition within her, that she didn’t understand. She concluded it was a mixture of annoyance and anger.
Caden stopped her truck outside her office, which was a timber-framed building overlooking the livestock fields. Around the office was a busy barn and stable area, where all the horses and equipment were kept and lots of pack members went about their business, mucking out stalls, looking after the equipment, and tending the animals.
She opened the truck door and saw Lena trying to gather her things together. “Leave your things and I’ll lift you out.” She didn’t hesitate to reach in and lift Lena up in one movement.
“What do you think you’re doing? Put me down,” Lena snapped.
Caden was taken aback at the quiet young woman’s sudden anger. “What? I’m trying to help you.” Lena wriggled in her arms and Caden couldn’t help but notice how her short business skirt rode up, revealing a fleshy thigh. She ran her tongue over her fangs as she was hit with an image of her biting into that thigh.
“Put me down,” Lena repeated, rousing Caden from her lustful thoughts.
“Huh?”
“You can’t just pick someone up that you barely know and lift them out of a truck like a child. Put me down this minute.”
Caden was not used to being spoken to like that. All but Dante and Eden followed her instructions. This was the type of insubordination and anarchy humans b
rought to the pack, and she didn’t like it one bit.
“If that’s what you want, Ms. Miller.” Caden let Lena’s legs and feet drop into the muddy puddle beneath them with a splash.
Lena let out a shriek as her shoes submerged in the cold muddy water. “What did you do that for?”
Caden gave Lena a serious look. “If we are going to work together, you’ll need to learn that when I give a command, it is always for a purpose, and advisable for you to follow it.”
Lena was clearly fuming. “Of all the arrogant—”
Caden adjusted her Stetson. “Oh, and wear more suitable footwear from now on.” With that, she marched off toward the farm office, leaving a mucky and furious Lena behind her.
When Lena made it to the office, Caden informed her that the spare desk and computer across from her own would be hers, before walking out with no further explanation. After setting out her pens and equipment exactly how she wanted them, Lena should have started to work, but she couldn’t get rid of the anger swirling around inside her.
What had she done?
She had given up the safety of her former apartment to start a new independent life, away from the suffocating scrutiny of her parents, all to come and work with the most domineering and arrogant person she had ever met.
When she had fallen into her arms, she had felt safe there. They had looked at each other and connected somehow, but Caden had changed completely on the drive over to the farm.
Lena felt a sense of steely determination rise inside her. She might not be able to stand up to her family, but there was no way she was going to let someone she didn’t even know subjugate her. Lena determined that her new life in Wolfgang County would be different. It had to be different.
*
Caden found her thoughts troubled for the rest of the day. At night her dreams were filled with old memories and hurts that she tried to keep buried, deep down where no one else could see.
“No, no! They can’t be gone,” Caden screamed.
Dante’s father kneeled and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Caden. No matter how strong your parents were, they had no chance when the car was engulfed in flames. The pack will take care of you. Pack always takes care of its own.”
Caden pushed the Alpha away angrily. “I want that human’s throat. Please, Alpha? Take a hunting party and make the human pay. Kill him.”
Dante’s mother, Iris, walked closer and said, “The human police have arrested him, and he’s most likely going to jail. We can’t interfere now. Come with us, cub. We will take care of you.” Iris opened her arms expecting Caden to fall into them.
Caden howled and kicked the table and some chairs over. “I swear I will make humans pay for what they have done. They are evil creatures who deserve to die.”
The dream suddenly changed, and now she was in pelt, a full-grown adult. She was standing over the unconscious form of Lena, in the forest. Blood dripped from her fangs, and Lena lay dead with her throat ripped out. What had she done?
Caden awoke from her sleep, gasping. “It’s just a dream,” she repeated over and over like a mantra. “You could never hurt her.” Could she?
*
The next day, Lena was just finding her feet in the office and going through the computer system for the files she would need. After their altercation yesterday, she was glad that Caden was barely in the office today. When she did come in, she was even more dismissive and arrogant than the previous day.
Lena watched her look manically through the paper files on her desk, and grumble and growl when she couldn’t find what she was looking for. Caden thumped her fist on her desk and cursed. “Damn order sheet.”
Uh-oh, Lena said to herself. She had that document right in front of her. She had picked it up by accident, with some of the other files she needed for her work this morning, and had forgotten to put it back.
Her heart thudded with anxiety as she plucked up the courage to say something. “Um, Caden?”
“What?” Caden barked.
She held out the order form and said, “Is this what you were looking for?”
Caden took one look at the document and snatched it from her hands. “Why do you have this? Have you been snooping around my desk? You are to ask permission for anything you need here.”
After years of her father’s temper, Lena felt shell-shocked. An angry Caden was the most fearsome thing she had ever seen, but strangely she didn’t bury her own feelings deep down inside and say nothing as she usually did.
She felt an unusual burst of confidence as she sprang from her chair with fury. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that. I am not one of your farmhands who you bark orders at all day—I am a professional doing a professional job. I have the perfect right to look at any documents I feel are applicable to my job.” Lena was shocked at herself. She never talked back to anyone.
Caden took a step toward her and snarled, “You don’t just walk into my territory and take my things.”
They were so close to each other and pulling closer. She watched as Caden ran her tongue over her teeth and exhaled a low breath. Lena’s heart hammered hard in her chest.
This was the first time in her life that she’d had the courage to stand up for herself and she wasn’t stopping now. “This isn’t about a stupid document. You have had a problem with me ever since I arrived yesterday. Do I offend you so much?”
“Yes, humans like you, from outside the county, and your way of life offend me. If you want to come into my territory, then you play by my rules. Just like everyone else.”
Lena’s righteous anger was fading fast, and in its place was a sadness that again she was being dictated to. In a small, sad voice she asked, “Why do I make you so angry?”
The tone of Lena’s voice seemed to stop Caden in her tracks. She was silent for what seemed like forever. Her breathing was heavy, and Lena noticed her eyes fixed on her neck. The look in Caden’s eyes made her shiver.
Caden turned away and stomped out of the office, slamming the door after her. Lena sat back down at her desk and tried to calm herself and her shaking hands.
CHAPTER FIVE
For the first two weeks of working alongside Lena, Caden tried to keep out of the office as much as possible. She wasn’t used to sharing her personal space with someone—especially a human someone, who did not take her instructions.
She thought back to the fight they had in her office. She had been so angry at the human encroaching on her territory, but when Lena had stood up to her, all she could think of was sinking her fangs into her elegant neck and sucking on its throbbing pulse point. She had felt the saliva fill her mouth in preparation, and her sex burned for her.
She had never found a human attractive before and she was furious with herself every time the memory of it popped into her head. She had tried to console herself with the fact it was probably just a need for sex, but the feverish need she had felt was more than she had ever felt for an attractive wolf.
After those tense few weeks, she found herself spending a bit more time each day in the office with Lena. She told herself it was simply so she could keep a close eye on this potential threat to the pack, but deep down there was more. They never mentioned the argument and hardly ever spoke to one another unless it was a question about work, and even those questions were frosty. For some reason it troubled her that the human didn’t like her, and she couldn’t work out why.
This morning, Caden actually whistled as she arrived for work, something her wolves didn’t often see from the serious lone wolf. She walked into the ranch office and threw her Stetson onto the coat hook without even looking and sat at her desk.
She turned her gaze over to Lena, who was looking at her in a somewhat surprised and impressed manner.
“Hi, that flip took years of practice,” Caden said, trying to cover for her physical abilities.
Lena gave her a shy smile and put her head back down again. That one shy smile caused a thaw in the atmosphere and in Caden’s heart
. She sat at her desk and watched the quiet young woman with fascination. Although they had spoken rarely to each other over the weeks, Caden had spent the past several days studying Lena, and in that time she noticed a lot of her idiosyncrasies.
It was the little things that had struck her, little things that a wolf could see that maybe a human wouldn’t notice. Caden had purposely not spent a lot of time with humans before, but she didn’t think Lena was typical of their type. She saw that Lena was obsessed with order and neatness. Her pens, pencils, and stationery were set out on the desk in order of size and color, and she seemed insistent about keeping them in the prescribed order and took time to make sure they were as she wanted them. She noticed the way Lena would push her hair behind her ear and bite her lip when she was thinking hard, but would pull her hair down to cover her face if anyone came in the office. And the way she would tap her nails on the desktop for five minutes before asking Caden a question, as if she had to build up her courage to do it. The scent of anxiety poured off Lena and it made her sad that another creature felt like that, even if it was a human.
One thing that was strange: no matter how quiet things were in the office, she didn’t feel the silence was awkward between them. In fact, she felt very comfortable just sitting quietly.
Her contemplation was interrupted by one of the staff from the ranch cookhouse coming in for her lunch order. He came to a stop in front of her desk and started to salute, but Caden quickly shook her head.
“Caden, what can I get you for lunch?”
“I think I’ll have the T-bone steak with an extra-large portion of fries on the side, and a large slice of apple pie with ice cream. Thanks, Avery.”
Avery smiled. He pulled out his notebook to write the order down and grabbed a pen from Lena’s neat lineup of pens and pencils, knocking the rest out of order. Caden saw the look of panic and horror on Lena’s face and immediately felt bad for her.
“I think we should ask before we borrow, shouldn’t we, Avery?”
