Ca.s.sie stroked the back of the next pup, also a male.

"Keith, next in charge. And the other female is Pamela, and she's a real fighter. No bossy brother is going to steal her place at her mother's teat at feeding time."

Ca.s.sie smiled. She'd heard that's exactly the way she was when she was a young wolf pup. "They're beautiful," Ca.s.sie told the mother, and she swore the wolf breathed a sigh of relief.

The wolf's gaze shifted toward the door, and Ca.s.sie turned to see what caught her attention. Leidolf stood in the doorway watching Ca.s.sie. Not what she wanted to see. All at once she felt maneuvered into the matchmaking bit again. Come see what you can have if you give Leidolf a chance. Her face felt hot first and then the uncomfortable sensation spread all over her body.

Despite not wanting to feed into Leidolf's delusions, Ca.s.sie didn't want to hurt Felicity's feelings, so she said, "If I ever settle down for good, I'll be lucky to have offspring as beautiful as yours."

Felicity gave her a wolf smile. Even though Ca.s.sie had never had children of her own, she still always felt connected to mothers. Maybe because she had a caregiver personality. Or maybe because she had always loved pups and kids, and they seemed to adore her just as much.

When she turned around, Leidolf was still waiting for her. She got the distinct impression he wanted her company again.

She sighed. No way to avoid the issue.

Chapter 14.

Ca.s.sie joined Leidolf and he walked her down the hall, not leaving an inch of free s.p.a.ce between them, just like wolves who were courting or mated would stick close together. Trying to ignore their close proximity, she peeked into five more bedrooms, all well furnished, each having sitting areas and patio doors. The ranch must have cost a fortune.

When they reached the living room, the place was just as elegant with leather couches, Persian rugs, crystal chandeliers, and oil paintings of the Oregon coastline. All around the room, bra.s.s wolf sculptures were displayed in various poses--from resting in packs to nuzzling each other or snarling at one another.

Why then was Leidolf's bedroom so austere? It almost seemed he preferred to live in the most primitive of settings. A cave if he could have managed, she imagined. Ah, a loner, the girls had said. Kind of like Ca.s.sie, living out of a suitcase half of the time or out of a backpack. No place was home anymore.

"We didn't want to be real formal," Laney said, motioning to a table set up as a buffet with tons of food--beef tenderloin, chicken, ham slices, mashed potatoes, and chunks of cheese, as well as tomatoes, salad, melons, and grapes.

Leidolf stood apart from Ca.s.sie, giving her some room to maneuver around the table. She didn't notice the spread of food as much as she did the way Leidolf watched her in the crowd of people, probably twenty to thirty pack members. He stood out among them, his shoulders straight, his dark gaze fixed on hers, his head lifted high, in charge, the dominant male. No matter that the room was filled with tension as everyone watched them, his gaze was steady and unaffected.

He was a calming presence, although she had never felt as self-conscious when she was speaking to an auditorium full of people as she did now. Maybe because that was impersonal. She lectured, answered questions, then disappeared again into the wilderness, looking for another wolf pack to observe and grow attached to.

This was different. These people expected her to stay. And they expected Leidolf to make it happen. Every eye was on her, and she figured they all had every intention of making her welcome and would aid Leidolf in any way to ensure she stayed.

Except for one of the men. He was blonder than the rest of the people and skulking on the outskirts. He appeared sullen and unhappy to be here. The two men standing on either side of him looked like twin brothers and appeared to be guarding him.

Newly turned... Sarge? The Dark Angel? Had to be him the way no one else stood near him. He steadily observed her, and she didn't like the calculating look in his expression.

Leidolf stole her attention again, the way he watched her, his gaze finally taking in her appearance, the short cropped top, the low-slung pants, and his belt.

He offered a small smile and motioned to the table. "Ca.s.sie."

Everyone waited for her to do something, anything. She was the honored guest. She sighed. This might be the last good meal she had in a while. Might as well make the most of it before she took off.

When she reached for a plate, Laney hurried to get her one. "Rest your shoulder, dear. I'll carry it to where you decide to sit afterward."

"Thank you, but I really can manage."

"The honor is all mine," Laney said, smiling.

They were treating her like a long-lost princess of the realm--which again stirred her longing to belong to a pack. Well, not any pack. If she'd been a different woman, someone who needed a man, Leidolf and his pack might have done nicely.

Ca.s.sie filled her plate with slices of ham and roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and spinach salad and tomatoes, topped with blue-cheese dressing. All of it looked scrumptious and smelled heavenly. Her stomach grumbled, and she was sure the whole group heard it.

Leidolf raised his brows a little. Yeah, he had heard. She couldn't seem to keep much secret from him.

Then a couple of men pa.s.sed out gla.s.ses of wine while the pack members began filling their plates full of food. Everyone drifted to chairs and couches, finding a spot to perch while they ate and conversed. Leidolf extended his hand and pressed it against the small of her back, guiding Ca.s.sie to a conspicuously empty velour couch. His hand on her skin stirred all over again the craving for something more than the life she had. She tried to ignore what his touch did to her until his hand shifted around her hip, pulling her close as he moved her around a couple of his men. His action was loving and gentle and possessive. Some part of her liked that possessiveness, as if she belonged with him and with this pack.

Even so, her whole body heated several degrees while everyone watched their progression, and she didn't remember a time when she had felt this exposed. When they reached the couch, Leidolf motioned with his free hand for her to sit, still possessively embracing her hip. As soon as she sat, she missed the warmth of his touch, which was plain crazy.

Laney handed Ca.s.sie's plate to her, and raising a gla.s.s, Leidolf said, "I propose a toast for our pack members returning safely."

She drank some of her wine, delighted in the rich bouquet, and felt a buzz right away, probably because she hadn't had anything alcoholic to drink since the previous Christmas when she had joined some fellow researchers in a little holiday cheer. And got blitzed. Luckily, she had managed to slip away before she did anything really stupid.

Leidolf sat down beside her, way too close, way too possessively, when the couch had ample room for them to spread out. On the one hand, the way his leg touched hers annoyed her. He was in her s.p.a.ce, and she fought moving away from him. Again the issue of running away made her stand her ground. On the other hand, some part of her wanted more of his touch. Craved it, as if she were a wolf in heat. Which technically, d.a.m.n it, she was. And he was making all the right moves on her, which she was having a d.a.m.n hard time ignoring.

Until now, her wolf urges had never troubled her. d.a.m.n, if his pheromones weren't triggering hers again.

If she could just have her way with him, would that resolve the craving she had for him? Then she'd be mated with him for life, and she didn't want anything permanent with a guy. Any guy. Not when she knew just where it would lead. No more running off to study wolves. Not without her mate's permission. And she a.s.sumed a pack leader wouldn't give it. Not when he wanted her with him to run a pack. And not when he would worry about her being alone in the wilderness facing who knew what. Maybe another naked man in a lake somewhere. Or maybe another hunter.

He reached across her leg to grab a saltshaker off the coffee table, his arm brushing the borrowed silky, floral pants against her skin, heating her to the core all over again. When she shot him a look to cool it, his eyes sparkled with mischief. Even if she at first thought he had touched her innocently, his expression said otherwise. She figured Leidolf was the kind of man who was always in control of his actions. Planning, making every move count for something, leaving nothing to chance.

As he returned the salt to the very same spot on the table, instead of just leaving it on his side, his arm rested unnecessarily against her thigh. She shoved his arm off her leg and smiled when he raised his brows at her, while he wore a devilish smile of his own. She had every intention of proving the point she wasn't his. Which was what this was all about. The mating game. Werewolf style.

The great room grew completely silent, and she looked up and found every eye on them.

One of the men, tall like Leidolf, broke the silence. "My girls say you weren't the one roaming through Forest Park."

Responding before Ca.s.sie could, Leidolf shook his head and lifted his gla.s.s of wine. "No, Carver. The wolf had a different scent. Not the same one at all."

Ca.s.sie figured Carver had to know that, since his daughters said he'd been searching for the other wolf. So what was this really all about?

Several of the men stood a little taller, interest reflected in their intrigued expressions. If the wolf Carver and Leidolf had smelled was the mother with the pups, the bachelors were sure to be disappointed. Ca.s.sie wasn't about to mention the she-wolf had pups. She probably had made a big mistake mentioning to Laney that she intended to return to the forest at all.

"Is she related to you?" Carver asked, his voice serious, as if he were already letting the other men know his interest in the woman, but a hint of hopefulness made her sympathize with him.

"No," Ca.s.sie said, hating to disappoint him, but she wouldn't expound on the wolf any further than that. Not that she knew any more about the wolf in Forest Park than what she suspected.

Carver didn't look dissuaded. He stuck fairly close to the couch and her while he sipped a gla.s.s of wine and watched her. Did he think that if the wolf was related to Ca.s.sie, she would put in a good word with her? She would, if it meant the twin girls would have a mother.

She glanced over at Alice and... she and her sister, Sarah, weren't together as she expected. Ca.s.sie surveyed the room full of people and saw Alice inching her way over to a boy around her age, tall with sparkling amber eyes and lifted lips as he watched the girl slip closer to him. He had the devil in his expression, every bit as enticing as Leidolf himself. No wonder Carver didn't want his daughters near the boy. It had to be Evan, the boy they had described as a real alpha. She sighed. The girls needed a mother to ensure boys like him didn't get the best of them and that a father like Carver didn't kill the boy in the interim if he went a little too far.

While she attempted to ignore everyone around her, Ca.s.sie enthusiastically forked up some more gravy and mashed potatoes but flinched when a twinge of pain spiraled through her shoulder. She breathed through the pain and then ate the bite of potatoes. She hadn't had a home-cooked meal like this in ages, and it sure was good. Although the dinner she shared with Leidolf at the Forest Club sure had been delicious. Eating freeze-dried stuff on the trail got really tiresome after a while. And she had every intention of getting another plateful of the home cooking as soon as she was done with this one.

Conversations renewed in hushed voices, too many of them were speaking for her to catch any one topic in particular, although she heard snippets of conversation--She's perfect... right for him... have to keep her... won't be easy.

She tried to ignore them and enjoy the food instead. Leidolf stuck close to her, his leg pressed against hers, showing her just how much he wanted her, which was triggering her own cravings. No man had ever turned her on with such a gentle, unimposing touch. She still wondered what it would be like to experience his kisses.

Her gaze wandered to his lips as he spoke to Elgin. Leidolf had manly lips that she imagined would be darned pleasurable pressed against her own. Elgin glanced at her, which triggered Leidolf to look also. Her face heated, and she looked back at her food, the remainder almost gone.

She clenched her hands, trying to stop the tingling in her nipples. "You could give me a little more room," she said to Leidolf. She spoke in her normal voice, which shouldn't have garnered any notice.

It did. Every conversation in the room instantly died.

Some out and out watched for Leidolf's reaction. Others just smiled and were less obvious about it.

"I could," Leidolf said, smoothly. He didn't move. His steady gaze challenged her to do something about it.

She let out a heavy breath in exasperation. Choose your battles wisely, her father had always warned her when she was a kid and wouldn't take any guff from others in the nearby town.

Was it worth it to take the alpha leader down a notch or two?

She wouldn't have hesitated if they'd been alone. Every pack member watched to see how she would react to the leader's challenge. Fine. She drew close to Leidolf, pressing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against his shoulder, tilting her chin up to speak with him privately. He leaned over so she could whisper into his ear.

"Give me some breathing s.p.a.ce, or you can wear the rest of my gla.s.s of wine." She tilted the gla.s.s a little from side to side, warning him, her expression deadly serious.

He tsked and leaned down to whisper in her ear, which felt way too sensuous. "What a waste that would be." His warm breath and silky words did a number on her already heightened senses.

She leaned away from him, waiting for him to comply, armed and ready if he didn't.

His eyes focused on hers, Leidolf smiled broadly and then slapped his thighs. "Ca.s.sie's getting a little too hot."

She could kill him! And gave him a look that showed him so. She swore a couple of m.u.f.fled chuckles erupted deeper in the crowd.

He slid a few inches away from her and continued to speak to Elgin as if nothing had happened.

Her face still flushed, she was hot all right. Stirred up in the beginning, embarra.s.sed in the end. She couldn't tell from the pack members' smiling faces if they thought she had won the confrontation or Leidolf had.

She shook her head at herself. No sense in rationalizing the outcome. Leidolf had won, hands down. Although she should have been irritated, she couldn't help but admire the crafty wolf. Never had anyone bested her in a situation like this. He definitely was her match.

Nearly finished with her meal, she set her fork on the plate. Leidolf motioned for a bottle of wine, and when Fergus brought it to him, he poured Ca.s.sie another gla.s.s. Alice and Sarah hurried over to the couch, eager to please her, too.

Sarah stretched out her hands. "Would you like some more of anything to eat? We'll get it for you."

The two girls reminded her of herself and her twin sister when they'd been about their age. Nearly always together, except for when Ca.s.sie visited the wolf pack a few times. Recalling the last time she'd been with her sister and cousin while they were still alive, swimming in the river near their cabin one hot summer day, she blinked away the mist of tears forming in her eyes. "Mashed potatoes and gravy and another slice of beef. Thanks, girls."

The girls were too eager. Everyone smiled a little too much. The room seemed to tilt some. Leidolf still talked to Elgin, something about getting a nurse and an accountant in their pack. He'd seen the tears form in her eyes, probably heard the slight hitch in her voice when she spoke to the girls. He seemed more aware of her struggle to keep her emotions in check than anyone else she'd ever known. More than that, he appeared concerned. No one had ever worried about how she felt, and his expression disconcerted her. Much easier to deal with her past regrets when no one else cared a whit about what she was feeling.

He watched her now, and she worried he'd put his arm around her shoulder and pull her close. She didn't need his comfort or his strength. She could deal with her issues on her own just fine, like she'd always done.

Her strength sliding away, she couldn't seem to garner the strength to do much of anything. Against her will, her body leaned back into the couch cushions, her head dropping onto them. The cushions were soft, like pillows filled with fairy dust. Leidolf and Elgin looked at her. And smiled.

Calculating smiles. Traitorous smiles.

The girls returned with another plate full of food, but Ca.s.sie couldn't seem to lift her head and sit up, or raise her hands to take the plate. And sometime or another, the refilled winegla.s.s had disappeared from her grasp.

She wasn't hungry, either, anymore. Rather, she felt like her whole being was slipping, slipping, slipping away.

Leidolf's words were m.u.f.fled as he spoke about all that Ca.s.sie had been through and how she couldn't eat any more right now. The girls looked disappointed, but then their sweet expressions faded away.

"She's tired," Leidolf said close to her ear, his words faint, the world swirling in her head, the darkness descending. "The wound, the tranquilizer, the run, the fear of being hunted... she needs to rest."

The wine... too... much... wine... to... drink... or...

She narrowed her eyes at Leidolf, his steady gaze focused on her.

... the... wine... was... drugged.

Chapter 15.

Leidolf slipped his arms underneath Ca.s.sie's legs and back, and lifted her. Deja vu, just like earlier in the day. Except she was dressed this time in silk, her belly and back exposed.

The minx was hurting more than she was letting on. Laney had warned him earlier, and he'd seen the way Ca.s.sie had winced a number of times, subtly a couple of times, not so subtly once, even when they were eating and drinking. In part, that's why he was sitting so close to her, to sense the way her body tightened when she was trying to control her pain.

He knew she wouldn't agree to any painkiller, not when Laney had said Ca.s.sie wanted to leave p.r.o.nto to return to the forest. As agitated as Ca.s.sie had been, she meant business. Which was the reason Alice and Sarah had kept her "company" until Laney had returned with a set of clothes. He had meant to have Fergus or Elgin keep an eye on her. The girls were so crestfallen that he figured they wouldn't let Ca.s.sie escape under their watch. It had worked out well for all concerned.

No matter what, he wasn't going to allow Ca.s.sie to suffer through the pain all night.

"Will she sleep through the night?" Elgin asked Leidolf as he carried her back to his bedroom.

"Hopefully."

"You want me to post a guard?"

Leidolf glanced back at Elgin as he tightened his hold on Ca.s.sie. "It won't be necessary."

Elgin raised his brows a bit and smiled a little. "Will you be needing me for anything else tonight?"

"I didn't see any sign of Irving or Tynan at the meal. Did they leave again?"

Elgin shook his head in an annoyed way. "No one's seen them since you spoke to them earlier. When they return, they'll be placed under house arrest for disobeying you without notifying anyone where they're off to again. In the meantime, we've got a couple of men searching for clues of what they've been up to. One thing, Fergus said he had a man check the bunkhouse and their rifles are gone. Maybe they went hunting again for the cougar?"

Leidolf didn't like the news, worried that the two of them might get into some real trouble with all the hunters most likely searching for the red wolves. Leaving the pack behind without any word to the others and neglecting their ranching duties wouldn't be tolerated, though.

"All right. Take Laney home. If Felicity needs anything, her mate can take care of it. Everyone else can retire for the night. I've got everything here under control."

"Will do." Elgin gave him a knowing half smile, turned around, and headed back to the great room. Leidolf knew Elgin would clear the place out in an hour or two so he could have peace and quiet. Although for now, Fergus was staying with Sarge in one of the guest rooms and Pierce and Quincy in another until they learned to behave.

He imagined pack conversations would center on Ca.s.sie and Leidolf, while others would speculate about the other mystery female red wolf. If he didn't have some planned hunts to try and locate her soon, he knew his bachelor males would do so without him. Which could turn into fights between them or unsafe, frantic searches. So first thing in the morning, he'd schedule the searches and hoped they'd locate the other wolf without further incident. A hunt for the cougar was also in order. And for Irving and Tynan, if they didn't show up soon.