Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply (12 page)

“Someone set fire to three buildings in Silver Town. Darien and Jake are returning with some of our men. The women and children and the rest of our men are staying here. Including me. Until everyone's ready to end the party.”

“You don't think this has to do with Waldron, do you?”

“Yeah, I do. But we're not discounting anything. The fires are contained, but Darien and Jake want to get back there in case any more are set, or if they can help catch the culprits.” Eric finished his barbecued beef and corn on the cob.

“If they're human arsonists, you can catch them. But if they're wolves—”

“They'll be covering up their scent.”

“I can't believe this.” She finished her food and they dumped their trash.

“Well, the good news is we investigated the place where Waldron and his pack came from. Idaho. CJ is checking out there to learn what he can about their old pack.”

“How did you learn that much?”

“The Fairhaven twins. When we told them they could be locked up for a very long time—considering we're wolves and run our own town, have a judge, the works—they decided to talk.”

“Wow. Okay, so what have you discovered?”

“Nothing yet. They gave the name of the pack leader in Idaho. We thought that it was important to remind the boys that if they lied, it would go worse for them.”

“But they still might have lied.”

“We've located the pack and should have news soon about what went on. Darien hasn't been able to get hold of the pack leader yet. The boys were released late that afternoon the day after they were arrested. I'm thinking their incarceration—and possibly the boys spilling the information about their prior pack—caused Waldron to retaliate. I gave the boys a good talking-to that day, told them if they wanted to switch packs, we had a lot to offer them—stability, other teens to socialize with, job opportunities. Some of ours help run ski programs during the day and want to be on ski patrol during the ski season when they're older. During the summer, they help with the silver mine tours.”

“I would have jumped at the chance if I were them.” Pepper dug another couple of bottles of water out of the cooler and gave one to Eric.

“Thanks. It would be a great opportunity to steer them down the right path. I talked with your teens about the possibility too. They seemed to hit it off with ours. Anyway, as far as the Fairhaven boys go, they'd have to talk it over with their parents, who we said would be welcome to join us too. They're both teachers—one teaches English, and the other history. We homeschool all our kids, so the parents would be a great asset. We share duties on who has the most knowledge on certain subjects and teach the kids that way.” He glanced down at the cooler. “Looks like it might need more ice.”

“I'll send you in by yourself this time,” Pepper said. “I could just see Richard watching us and making some excuse to visit the house if we both went inside. He's been like a father to me.”

“Ahh, so then we'd have the shotgun scenario anyway. Truly, I think he wished he
hadn't
intruded,” Eric said and walked her back to the picnic tables.

“About the Fairhaven twins… Your pack taking them in sounds like a great idea. But the parents would have to deal with Waldron too.”

“Right. But it's a great opportunity for them, and wolves can leave packs at any time. So hopefully they'll consider it favorably.”

“What will you do now about the arsonists if they turn out to be Waldron and his pack members? If Waldron doesn't own anything, you can't confiscate it.”

“We can let Waldron know his actions won't go unpunished. We just have to prove he had a hand in it. If he didn't, but his people did, they'll be punished. They will pay for the destruction and be incarcerated for a time, the stiffest punishment we can give.”

“I'm so sorry. This could all have been because of me.”

“Nonsense. It's because of Waldron, if he's done this. And I can't imagine who else would be responsible.”

Although everyone still there was eating and talking, Pepper sensed that the overall mood had darkened. The adults were much more wary, not sure what was going on, but they appeared to understand that some trouble had befallen the Silver pack.

“Do you want me to stay the night?” Eric asked, and he seemed so sincere, Pepper scolded herself when she told him “no” vehemently.

“We'll be fine,” she said, softening her tone. She didn't want him to think she was annoyed by his suggestion. But she didn't want him to believe she suddenly needed anyone from the Silver pack to watch their backs. Sure, some of it was fear of losing control of her pack. Was it that without her position as a leader, she felt she had no worth? She hoped that wasn't the reason she was so against mating another wolf. It seemed so materialistic, so driven for power.

Thankfully, Eric cast her an elusive smile, not bothered by her response. “You've got my number. Just call me if you need anyone's help.”

She realized what he was saying. Not
his
help particularly. But that anyone would come to her aid. And at that moment, she thought she'd sounded afraid of him. Which she wasn't. Really.

“Thanks.” The thing was, they lived four hours apart, so if she needed his help, or that of anyone from his pack, it would take some time for them to get here. Even so, she wasn't having him stay with her or with anyone else in the pack. That was plain silly and totally unnecessary.

The music started up again, and Susan began getting couples together to dance. When she came over to see Eric, Pepper gave her a stern pack-leader look that said she had better not suggest Pepper dance with Eric.

Instead, Susan grabbed his hand and tugged at him. “Do you know how to dance? If not, I'll teach you.”

He laughed. “Guess I don't have a choice.”

“Nope.” Susan took him off to the grassy area where the others were dancing.

He smiled back at Pepper and said, “Talk to you later.”

“Sure thing.” Pepper didn't want to feel anything but happy that Susan was having fun, so why did it bug her that
she
wasn't dancing with him instead?

* * *

Eric had really wanted to dance with Pepper, but she had given Susan such lethal looks—like she wasn't supposed to broach the subject—that Susan had taken Eric for a dance instead. The way Susan had been eyeing Pepper's reaction, he suspected she had thought of trying to push Pepper into dancing with him.

“How is your leg? It appears it's not giving you any more trouble,” he asked.

Susan smiled brightly at him, and he thought that when she smiled, she looked a lot like Pepper. “It was a hairline fracture and seems to be perfectly healed now. But that's the trouble with seeing a human doctor. We can't do follow-up appointments because he'd realize something was wrong with us healing so quickly.”

“Maybe you could see Dr. Weber, get another X-ray, and make sure it's perfectly healed.”

“I think I will. He isn't at the party, is he?”

“No. He had a couple of babies to deliver, so he and his nurses are still at the clinic.”

“I wondered about that. He must stay busy.”

“Especially in the winter when the ski resort is open.”

“Don't tell me you run your own ski resort.”

“We sure do.”

“Well, it sounds like I might need to take up skiing. I wanted to thank you for carrying me back to the cabin and offering to take me to your pack doctor. You were so gallant.”

He could tell Susan liked him, but she also knew Pepper and he liked each other. He appreciated that Susan didn't try to come on to him. After the kiss he had shared with Pepper, he knew that was just the tip of the iceberg he meant to melt, and he didn't want to ruin things by showing anything but friendship toward Susan. “Just doing my job.”

She shook her head. “You went
way
beyond the call of duty.” Then she lowered her voice. “Pepper appreciated your help too, though she was trying hard not to show it that night. I heard what she said about you not staying to offer some protection to the pack. She has her reasons for worrying about…well, a man trying to take over. It's happened to her four times since she inherited the pack. And in every case, it got ugly. So she tries to avoid any entanglements in the first place.”

“What about her first mate?”

“She knew him from childhood, and just so you know, he was a beta wolf.”

Eric hadn't expected to hear that. He had thought she would want to be mated to a wolf who could share the responsibilities equally with her. Was she a control freak and didn't want an alpha mate making some of the decisions?

“So you see the problem? Even though
I
don't see you in any way but good and helpful, she sees you as a threat to her leadership.” Susan sighed. “Even so, I want you to stay with me for the night. After what happened in Silver Town, I don't trust that Waldron wouldn't come here and make threats against Pepper. We don't have any real alpha males in the pack. They'd stand up to him, but he knows they don't have the bite to back their words.”

Eric looked down at Susan, wondering if that was all she had in mind. He wasn't interested in courting her. Maybe she had only been sweet toward him while Pepper was watching.

Was his disinterest in Susan because she was only a sub-leader, and he was in denial that some of the reason he was so attracted to Pepper was her pack leader status? He didn't believe so, but even if he didn't have an underlying motive, Pepper was sure to think it was the basis of his interest in her.

“Won't she be upset with you when she said no to me staying?” Eric didn't want to cause friction between Pepper and Susan, or for Pepper to be angry with him. But he did want to stay to ensure Waldron didn't cause any trouble for Pepper's pack during the night.

“Not when I have the pack's best interests in mind. You'd stay at my house, and she has no say in it.”

“I'd want her to know that I'm doing it.” No way was he going to be sneaky about it. That was certainly not the way to build on a relationship with Pepper.

Susan smiled as she danced with him. “You're a nice guy, you know? You tell her, but it's still my house and anyone of my choosing can stay there. If she gives you guff, you just tell her I said so.”

“You don't think she'll really mind?”

“Oh, she'll mind. But she also knows I would never do anything to intentionally hurt our friendship or our pack.”

“What is Pepper so afraid of, if you don't mind my asking?”

“Falling in love again and losing the man she loves. That's the plain truth of it, but she'll never admit it. She cloaks her concern, saying she's afraid an alpha male will leave her out of the decision making, and she'll lose control of her pack. But if she was being honest with herself, she'd realize she's just afraid of falling in love again.”

“What if she thinks me staying with you means a plot to take over her pack?”

Susan laughed. “I seriously doubt it.”

“Well, just to be on the safe side, I don't want her to feel we're going behind her back on this. I want to make sure she's all right with it.”

“I totally agree with you, but I know my cousin and she knows me, so she wouldn't think that of me. Are you going to tell Pepper about what happened tonight in Silver Town?”

“You heard?”

“I overheard Sarandon talking to one of your other pack members.”

“I hadn't planned to.” He shrugged. “We'll take care of it.” He didn't want Pepper's sympathy, if she thought to give it.

Eric finished the dance with Susan and had every intention of dancing with Pepper while asking her if she minded if he stayed at Susan's place. He handed Susan off to one of his pack members, then headed to where Pepper was talking to a couple in her pack. He figured it was past time to do something about his interest in her, under the guise that they needed to talk about Susan's offer.

“I just want you to spread the word to be extra vigilant,” Pepper said to the couple.

“We'll be that,” the man said. They bowed their heads a little to Eric in greeting and then left Pepper alone to speak with him.

“I suppose you have to leave now,” she said, and he swore she sounded a tad disappointed.

“You don't want to dance?” He hadn't meant it as a question, afraid she'd turn him down. He really wanted to dance with her, to get close and personal again. To show her in front of others that he was safe to be with. Though she had sure seemed all right with him when they were kissing earlier.

She hesitated.

He didn't. He took her hand with a warm grip and led her to where the others were dancing. He assumed her silence meant she was trying to quickly come up with an excuse. But he was going to try to talk her into dancing with him no matter what.

“Everyone's watching us,” Pepper said, feeling so demure against him, so sweet and shy, that he thought Susan's words had merit.

He hadn't been sure that was the problem. He had suspected it had more to do with her worry about losing control of her pack. But now he wasn't so sure. And he was glad he'd brought her over to dance.

“Everyone's watching because you're their pack leader. It's probably been a while since you danced with anyone.”

“Never.”

He pulled her closer and they moved to the music—not as intimately as he would have liked, but it was a start. Though many of the wolves didn't wear much cologne or perfume, Pepper was wearing a subtle flower fragrance that made him lean down and nuzzle his nose behind her ear.

She chuckled a little, and he figured he'd tickled her. He breathed in deeply of her scent, of the wild wolf and woman. Before he realized what he was doing, he pulled her snug against his body and was moving with her to the strumming of the guitar, basking in the feel of her soft curves and the heat of her body setting his blood on fire. He would have to take a cold shower after this.