Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply (24 page)

Except he half suspected these wolves wouldn't take her back with them because she knew too much. Eric had been at all the sites where their marijuana had been growing. Pepper was his mate. And, he'd been the one to take Turbo's brother down. So Eric knew if they caught up to him, he'd be a dead wolf.

The only advantage they had was that he'd been coming to these woods since November—both as a park ranger and a wolf. He had ventured over miles and miles of acreage. He just had to get her closer to the edge of the forest and Silver Town. If they could reach his pack, like he'd tried so fervently to do the last time he'd lost his mate, he and his pack could take Waldron and his men down permanently.

He had to ensure that he kept Pepper and himself out of Waldron and his men's range. Wolves could run after their quarry for long distances over even the roughest terrain. They could easily travel over fifty miles a day in search of food. So he and Pepper could continue to run. But they had to do more than that. They had to truly evade Waldron and his men until Pepper and he could howl for help. Even so, in the woods, their howl couldn't travel as far as it could over an open plain where it could be heard for ten miles. The other problem was that if they howled here, the killer wolves on their tails could also pinpoint their location.

Thankfully, creeks crisscrossed all over the mountains, so whenever forks in the creek appeared, Eric led Pepper in a new direction. Sometimes that meant leading them both away from their destination for a half a mile or so, but only so they could lose the wolves tracking them.

They were going to have to rest for a while in just a little bit. He wished now he'd let everyone know where he and Pepper were going to be. Not that anyone would bother them if they thought they were having a “wedding night” of sorts. He didn't think anyone would be checking up on them unless the Park Service called his brother and told him Eric's vehicle was at the cabin Pepper had rented, and their clothes and ID were there, but both of them had disappeared. Then, everyone would be searching for them. But by then it could be too late.

Instead of sitting out on dry land, Pepper found a pool of water that had warmed during the day, much like the one that she and her she-wolves had been playing in the day that Susan had been injured.

For fifteen minutes, they rested, nuzzling each other every once in a while to show their affection, but listening for any sounds that could indicate wolves had tracked them here.

Then Pepper indicated she was ready to run again. Eric moved with her until he saw the wolf targeting them. The same wolf who had bitten him in the shoulder. Waldron. They couldn't outrun him now and lose the tail. Eric wanted Pepper to run off and hide, but he didn't want the other wolves to catch her. He saw no sign of the other wolves and thought they'd split up to search for Pepper and him. Before Waldron could howl and let his pack know he'd caught his prey, Eric lunged for him.

The wolf would never have a chance to tell his friends his location. He would never bite Eric without his retaliation. And he would never threaten Pepper or her pack again.

What Eric hadn't expected—and Waldron hadn't either, apparently—was to have Pepper dash in to bite his back leg, while Eric concentrated on going for his throat. The wolf wasn't going down easily, but Eric suspected Pepper was worried the others would show up, so he and Pepper had to take Waldron down quickly.

All three of them snarled and growled, and Eric hoped none of Waldron's pack members were close by and could hear them. The moving water and the trees hugging the bank of the creek would help to muffle the sounds. If the others had taken off on other forks, they could be miles away, still searching for Pepper and Eric.

Killing Waldron here could create problems though. Not that they could worry about that now.

He and Waldron kept tackling each other head on. Pepper kept aiming for Waldron's back leg. And then she managed to get it, and with a chomp, she bit down hard. Eric heard the telltale crack of a bone just as Waldron yelped, then swung around to tackle her. His move left him open to Eric's lunge and fatal bite. Eric tore into the wolf, taking him down and mortally wounding him before he could touch Pepper.

Eric grabbed the wolf's body by the neck before Waldron expired and pulled him out of the water, then hid him in some brush. He or some of the Silver pack would have to come here and retrieve the body and bury it. No roads or trails existed anywhere nearby. Even so, they couldn't leave a human body here in case it was discovered.

Pepper was watching for any further wolf attacks, and then she waded into the water, as if to say she was ready to continue on their way. They still had a long way to go. But if Waldron's men hadn't come across them yet, they had to be a long distance off, making Eric feel as though they might make it out of the park and get some much-needed help.

Pepper assumed Eric was trying to get closer to his pack's territory so they could get help if the other wolves continued to follow them. At least at night they could remain undetected by humans. They certainly didn't need that additional trouble.

She wasn't sure how Eric felt about her helping tackle Waldron, but she couldn't let her mate do all the work. She had to help him take the wolf down, and quickly, in case the other wolves suddenly showed up. Tackling one wolf at a time was about all they could manage. She didn't know about the other wolves, but Turbo was a fast runner, and she could envision him going the wrong way, then turning and starting in a different direction, and still not be too far behind.

Pepper had hoped they'd lost the wolves, but on the other hand, she had been glad to end this tonight with Waldron. It had stopped raining about an hour ago, so her coat had dried.

She wasn't certain where they were going exactly or how close they were to Silver Town. Eric led her across a road to a river, and they ran in the shallow water at the river's edge. Then Eric woofed at her and she stopped to see what he wanted of her. She was dead tired, but she would forge on until they were safe.

Eric nuzzled her, then lifted his chin and howled. She frowned at him and then smelled the air. She didn't think they were in his pack territory yet. He nudged her and they kept running.

Again, he stopped and howled. She turned to look at him. They had to be within hearing distance. Ohmigod, this must be the pack leader's land. Or close to it. Darien and Lelandi lived quite a ways out of town so they could have pack gatherings without anyone getting curious about all the wolves!

But then they saw a wolf race out of the woods, and she recognized him at once. Turbo. She growled a warning before he went after Eric, a bigger wolf than Pepper and infinitely more dangerous.

Eric whipped around and did a frontal assault. Pepper did her maneuver like before, rushing around to Turbo's backside, ducking down, and biting at his leg.

Turbo growled at her, but she didn't get a good enough grip and tried again. He was jumping around so much, trying to avoid Eric's lethal canines and attempting to bite him with his own, that she was having a devil of a time grabbing hold of him. Just as she clamped her teeth down on his left rear leg, she heard another wolf racing to join them. She ignored him and bit Turbo hard.

He snarled at her from a sitting position and then a wolf howled. And another. Then a whole chorus of wolves' sweet symphony filled the air.

The other wolf stopped and hesitated, unsure whether to stay and fight or tuck tail and save his hide. He looked like it killed him to run off, but he did. Several wolves she didn't know by sight rushed off to take down the departing wolf. By the scent, they were Darien and two others.

Turbo looked resigned to paying the consequences for his actions. He would end up in jail with his brother, no doubt. Both of them with broken legs. Served them right. At least they weren't dead wolves, but they'd pay their time for the dangerous illegal business they'd been in. Hopefully, Darien and the rest of the men could track down the remainder of the pack and end this now.

* * *

Eric and Pepper stayed at Darien and Lelandi's house, showered, and borrowed some of their clothes, then Sarandon drove them to Eric's home at their request. Pepper and Eric planned to stay at his home for the rest of the night. Thank heavens he didn't have to go into work until the late shift. All that was left to take care of after the fire damage was painting, so Eric's home was perfectly livable for the night. A hint of smoke could still be smelled in the den. Pepper was glad they could be alone but in pack territory.

Darien and several members of the pack had left to deal with the rest of this business—retrieving Waldron's body, setting and casting Turbo's leg, and locking him in a cell near his brother. They'd caught the other wolf without a fight and learned the location of the last wolf. CJ and Trevor were on their way to arrest him. Tom and Brett had taken care of the cabin, bringing Eric and Pepper's still-wet clothes, Eric's gun, their phones, her vehicle, and the ranger truck to Eric's home so they'd have them when they needed to leave. Pepper had updated Richard and Susan about everything that had happened and where they would be before she and Eric retired for what was left of the night.

“Can we try this again?” Eric asked, carrying her across the threshold to his bedroom.

She smiled up at him. “Anywhere and anyplace.”

Eric quickly dispensed with his clothes and hers, and like a wolf on the prowl, he joined her on the bed, covering her body with his and plying her lips with kisses. His kisses were different from before, more possessive, cherishing her just as much as she cherished him. She thought it was because they had been running for their lives. She realized then that this could have been very much like the time he had lost his first mate. Her heart reached out to him, and she pulled him closer, devouring his lips, trying to prove that she was real, that they were safe.

He smiled a little at her passionate response and then poked his tongue into her mouth right before he began to stroke her nub. When he touched her like that, he was her master and she was his to command. She couldn't love him enough.

Her fingers swept over his skin, her hips moving with his strokes, her body screaming for more.

“Hurry,” she said, wanting to have him inside her and to hold him as close as she could. She was so relieved they could enjoy a moment together like this now.

He rubbed her until she was arching her back, feeling the climax so close to coming. She felt herself being drawn up, hitting the peak and falling, loving the way he could make her somersault to the moon and back.

Without hesitation, he drove into her, pulling her legs around his hips and seating himself deep inside her. Nothing could be better than this.

He was kissing her, running his hand over her skin, pumping into her with love and affection. And she was burning up. She breathed in his masculine wolf scent and soaked up the feel of his mouth on hers and his body rubbing against hers. She could never get enough of him. Never.

He loved the way Pepper arched up to meet his thrusts, her body undulating with a sweet, soft rhythm. Every time he made love to her, he knew he'd want to again. She was a drug to his senses. A balm to his concerns.

He felt the end coming, held on, and felt the surge of need hitting him just as he plunged into her and found his release. He continued to pump into her until he felt her trying to reach that pinnacle again, and he helped her to the top. Then she swore in a loving way and he smiled. He captured her mouth in one long, last kiss before he pulled her against his body and re-situated the sheets over them.

“Silk,” she murmured as her body rested against his, the top sheet caressing her back.

“As soft and luxurious as you.”

“Hmm, you know all the right words…and all the right moves.”

* * *

Two weeks later, Pepper was overwhelmed with the way her pack and the Silvers' had gone all out for the wedding celebration of the century. Instead of wearing a flouncy wedding gown, she wore what Eric had wanted her to wear—a simple white dress, reminiscent of the pale-blue one she'd worn in the creek when he first saw her. She knew then that he hadn't been teasing about how much she had caught his eye. Her “handmaidens,” as he continued to call them, all wore pastel colors. Pepper had asked the unmated MacTyre sisters from the Silver pack to join the wedding party, and Eric had asked his brothers and cousins to be groomsmen. Richard gave her away, and when Eric kissed her, heart and soul, she was his forevermore.

She loved that he wasn't afraid to show his love for her and that she wasn't afraid of showing it back. What really impressed her was the way the others treated this wedding. This was a joining of two packs in brotherhood. Eric was no longer just one of the followers, but a pack leader in his own right. It suited him. He deserved it. She knew they'd have differences of opinion about how to manage things, but she looked forward to the challenge.

The Fairhaven boys were showing their interest in one of the Silver teens, but she already had two suitors, so Pepper hoped that wouldn't cause trouble. Pauline was visiting with one of the ski instructors. Pepper was glad to observe it.

She was also glad Pauline had only seen Turbo twice before she realized she really hadn't liked him. They'd met for lunch at a couple of restaurants, so she had never gone any further than that with him. She hadn't known about their drug operation. Pepper was glad to learn that from Turbo and grateful to him for telling the truth.

Most of all, Pepper was glad she'd opened her heart to Eric and let him in. Though Susan, who was smiling brightly at Sarandon, probably would never quit saying she told her so.

Eric watched as Richard danced with Pepper and thought he'd never seen such a beautiful she-wolf.

“And she's all yours,” Lelandi said, joining him. “Good thing you had no interest in mating a she-wolf.”

He chuckled and looked down at his mischievous cousin by marriage. “I suppose you want credit for making this happen.”

Lelandi patted him on the chest. “Only you and she could have made it happen.”

Then Darien came to take Lelandi for a dance. “You can still take advice from me, you know,” he said to Eric.

Eric smiled at him. “Hell yeah, and I can still give you advice.”

They both laughed and Darien led Lelandi away to dance.

Brett and CJ joined Eric and just stood there, arms folded across their chests as they watched Pepper dance with Richard.

Neither said a word. No one had to. The family was back home where they belonged, except now they had two packs and Eric had two families that loved him and that he loved back.

Richard returned Pepper to Eric like a proud papa wolf. Eric knew he should allow his brothers a dance. Instead, he only smiled and held her in his arms the rest of the night—his mate, the wolf goddess of his dreams, his lover for all time.

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in the Billionaire Wolf series

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