Ariel (15 page)

Her ears picked up a series of soft footfalls. They grew louder as she stood by a tree and waited for the person to appear. Sniffing the air, she discovered she could tell a few things from his scent, like he was male
and
a werewolf. She wasn’t quite sure about the source of her knowledge of the second part, but she trusted it just the same.

When he first appeared in her line of sight, she saw eerily familiar, silky black hair hanging to his waist. Then she forgot he was Reed’s clone when she saw the gun over one shoulder, held there by a wide leather sling. Her low growl of warning had the man’s head snapping up and the gun coming automatically to his shoulder. It irritated her how rapidly Reed’s clone made ready to use his gun to shoot her.

She waited until he was level with her, then lunged sideways from her hiding place, knocking the gun from his hands as she landed on him. He seemed totally startled at first, but then threw up his hands as she stood over him snarling.

Boy, she wanted a bite. She wanted a bite bad. She also wanted to make sure he never brought a gun back to any area where she was living.

“I’m sorry if I frightened you. I’m not going to shoot. I use the gun for killing game when I travel. It makes it easier to blend in with humans. I’m Reed’s grandson—well, one of them.”

When he tried to rise, Ariel used her front paws and her size to push him back down. Her considerable weight in her wolf form was greater than his weight in human form. Unsure whether to believe him or not, she pushed her nose into his neck to check for adrenaline spiking, growling the whole time as she sniffed and checked him out.

His outright laughter over her actions stunned her into backing off and staring at him.

“You must be Reed’s new alpha. He told me about you when he called. Hi. I’m Travis Black Wolf.”

Huffing at hearing his name, Ariel turned and headed back to the house. So this was the other grandson. She wasn’t impressed.

On the way back, she picked up the man’s gun and carried it in her teeth, growling to make sure he didn’t try to take it from her. She heard him laughing more at her actions, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t taking any chances of getting shot in the back.

When they cleared the tree line and walked back into the yard, Matt and Reed were just coming out of the house, no doubt to check on her. She trotted over and laid the gun at Matt’s feet. Matt stooped down and smiled into her gaze, putting an arm around her for a hug.

“I don’t blame you for not letting him keep his gun. Play it safe and don’t be sorry—that’s a good rule to follow.”

Ariel whimpered at his support and nudged Matt’s hand, wanting to be petted for her good behavior. Now she understood why he had done that to her.

“Is the golden wolf your mate?” Travis asked.

Matt stood and shook his head. “No. But we are the kind of friends no one should get in the middle of right now. We have an agreement between us.”

Travis snorted. “She’s good at sneaking up on prey. I didn’t smell or hear her until I was on the ground.”

Reed chuckled. “Ariel is surprisingly talented for a newly turned werewolf.” He turned to look at her. “Why don’t you shift and I’ll introduce you to my grandson?”

Because Reed knew she’d be nearly nude when she shifted, Ariel gave him a look she reserved for the giant piles of crap she made while in her wolf form. It was disgusting to know that much poop could come out of her body, no matter which form.

Rising, she kept her back to the men as she shifted into something with hands to open doors.

The cool breeze on her bare ass told her what had not happened.

So did Reed’s laughter echoing behind her as she stomped into the house wearing nothing but her boots.

***

Travis reluctantly pulled his attention away from the amazing backside that had disappeared into the Wasilla Alpha’s house. He smiled at the older version of himself. “You’re looking well, Grandfather. Very well in fact.”

Reed nodded. “Yes. I owe it to Ariel. She saved my life twice.”

Travis rubbed his chin as he followed the two men indoors. “From her smell, I can tell Ariel came from you. Is it really true you turned three women into werewolves? Rumors about it have been coming up everywhere. They say you have gone mad in your old age and started biting people.”

“It is true my blood was used to change the three women, but I didn’t bite them. None of us were willing participants in what happened. It was done scientifically. Ariel can explain better than I can.”

Travis nodded. “Hanuk is the one spreading the rumors. Many believe him, even though he rules their judgments with fear.”

“Hanuk is most likely the reason I was captured by those who experimented on us. One of the women turned is becoming a healer. The other is a visionary. The visionary has seen someone shooting me six times with silver bullets. I nearly lost my life because of it.”

“Well, you look much better now than when you left the pack. What happened to the gray in your hair?”

“I’m not sure, but I feel like a wolf in his prime,” Reed declared.

Travis nodded. His head whipped around as the tall blonde strode into the kitchen fully clothed. She was just as magnificent in human form. “Still mad at me about the gun?” he asked.

Ariel shrugged, unwilling to admit how much the younger version of Reed irritated her. It was the same kind of nervous Matt made her feel and she didn’t like it. The last thing she needed was another alpha male wanting a piece of her. She stepped forward and held out her hand to get the introduction over with. “Dr. Ariel Jones.”

“Travis Black Wolf,” Travis replied, holding her hand until he’d earned another glare from her. She was a prickly thing. He almost choked on his coffee though when the Gray Wolf Alpha stepped to her side and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Are you sure you two are just friends?” Travis asked.

“Friends-with-benefits, not that it’s any of your business,” Ariel said sharply.

“So are you having your trial time? If so, why not just say as much?” Travis asked.

Reed laughed and coughed into his hand. “Ariel has only been a werewolf for a short while. Matt is helping her endure her burning.”

Travis felt his eyebrows go up. “I see. Lucky Matt that she chose him.”

Ariel narrowed her gaze on the kid who kept making innuendos. “This isn’t high school. I’m sleeping with Matt because I want to, not because I must. Don’t ever doubt he’s my choice.”

Travis shrugged his shoulders and grinned. “Did I wrong you in another life, Ariel Jones? Or do you just not have a sense of humor? I swear I was not trying to offend you.”

“Then stop talking about me like I’m not in the room,” Ariel said, crossing her arms.

Travis laughed again at her fierce statement. “I see you haven’t learned not to issue challenges to other alphas.”

“Oh, it wasn’t a challenge. It was merely a statement of fact. Just because I like your grandfather, doesn’t mean you get instant trust. You walked here with a gun slung over your shoulder. I’ve learned the hard way not to trust anyone with one of those. I don’t trust them around Reed either. But I do trust Brandi’s vision about who shot Reed.”

Travis nodded, sobered by her tone. “My apologies if I seemed too flip about your concerns.”

His apology made her uncomfortable, but Ariel couldn’t have said why. “It’s okay. Forget about it. I’m having a bad day. Maybe I need to stop talking.”

Ariel pulled away from Matt’s hug to get herself a cup of coffee. She needed to quit overreacting. Travis was the good grandson, not the bad one. Reed had said so. Needling Travis wasn’t going to conjure up Hanuk in his place. She frowned when she saw Reed hide his smile over their truce behind his hand.

“Hanuk will not be forced out of power easily. His death may even be necessary. Are you prepared to challenge him for alpha and end his life, Grandfather?”

Before Reed could answer, Ariel spoke up. “Reed shouldn’t have to kill his own kin. I’m more than happy enough to do his fighting for him. I want to find out what he knows about Feldspar Research. What did he have to gain by aiding Reed’s capture?”

Travis had to look away so the fierce female wouldn’t see how much admiration he had for her. The Gray Wolf Alpha was still looking at him with narrowed eyes, but he chose to ignore his glare. “So you would kill for Reed, Ariel Jones?”

Ariel snorted. “I already have once, so I don’t see myself having any problems doing it a second time.”

“Ariel is the reason we escaped our prison,” Reed explained. “She killed our captors and broke us out.”

“That sounds like something a Black Wolf Alpha would do. If Ariel has such strong bloodlust, then she’s a natural alpha,” Travis declared.

“I don’t know what any of that means,” Ariel said.

“You will in time,” Travis declared. “So when do we leave for the pack, Grandfather?”

Reed stared at a spot on the table. “We’ll wait on Brandi and Heidi and see if they want to go along. Then we’ll decide what needs to be done about Hanuk.”

Matt looked between the men. “Reed will need to produce all three women to prove he speaks truth, but they are still too new to how things work. It would not look right if I came with you, but I am unwilling for the women to go without their temporary consorts. One of the males is my second. He is a couple centuries wise. Gareth and Ryan will not get involved in your pack politics, but they will make sure the females come back to us safely.”

“Matt, I can tell you are upset, but I have to go with Reed. What if Hanuk has some crazy scheme or is in contact with the money behind Feldspar? I can’t let more of us be created. Everything in me says that’s not what nature intended to happen.”

Matt ignored the strange way Travis was staring at them as he cupped Ariel’s jaw in one hand. “I don’t want you go, but I’m not going to waste my breath begging a natural alpha not to do her duty. You must do what you feel is important and necessary, even if it means you end up running the Black Wolf pack when it’s done.”

Ariel shook her head against Matt’s hand. “I don’t think I’m cut out for the kind of ongoing leadership such a role requires, but I am determined to solve the puzzle of my creation. I can’t move forward or figure out what to do with the rest of my life until I know who was helping Crazy Crane. My instincts are saying it was a werewolf.”

***

Brandi ran a hand through her hair and stared back at the deck where all the males were standing and talking. “This shit is crazy. Reed smiles at me and I want to crawl into his lap for a hug. All I want to do with his clone is kick his ass and make him leave. Are you sure this is the good grandson? I’m not getting a good vibe off him.”

Heidi frowned. “I’m having the same reaction, which is strange, because he’s extremely good-looking. I usually don’t react so negatively to men who look that good.”

“He knows how good he looks and I’m sure he uses it every chance he gets. That doesn’t make him the bad grandson. It just makes him…
young
,” Ariel decided, stating the obvious in disgust. “You two still haven’t answered the question I dragged you out into the freezing cold to discuss. Are you willing to tag along with us to Reed’s pack or do you want to hang back here? I’m okay either way.”

“What does Matt say about it?” Heidi asked.

Ariel sighed. “Matt says Reed’s credibility will be higher if he produces all three of us. He knows I have to go no matter what. After Reed kicks Hanuk’s ass off the Black Wolf Alpha throne, I want a chance to interrogate him about what he knows about Feldspar.”

“What are we going to do if we’re traveling and need a fix of our guys?” Heidi asked.

Ariel chuckled. “Already taken care of. Matt’s sending Gareth and Ryan with us if you two go. I’m the only one with a problem. Matt can’t go at all. Apparently, that would be bad pack politics.”

Brandi snorted. “I don’t need Gareth to go. I’ll be fine.”

“Maybe I could borrow him then,” Ariel said, laughing when Brandi’s eyes flashed. “I was kidding and you can’t get by without him yet. You may still not like it, but Gareth is necessary for you, Brandi. Unless you want to do the tango with Travis or someone like him.”

“Eww…don’t even joke about that,” Heidi whispered.

Brandi snorted. “I don’t think so, Ariel. It would feel like incest or something else equally as gross. I’ll keep Gareth for now.”

“So are you two coming along?” Ariel asked.

Two heads solemnly nodding were finally her answer.

Chapter 12

They stood outside Matt’s office talking and loading the two vehicles they were going to take. Ariel headed to drop her bag of clothes into the back seat.

“Matt’s loaning me his pickup. I’m driving Reed and Gareth’s driving the four of you. Reed says it’s a four hour drive up there from Wasilla.”

She threw the bag into the truck and slammed the door. At the back of the truck, she saw six females staring non-stop at her. She walked their way and all but the prettiest one backed up. Her hair was midnight black, straighter and longer than even Reed’s. Her face was quite beautiful if you could overlook her wild-eyed, angry stare.