Dreaming of the Wolf (23 page)

Jake pulled out a pair of panties. “To match the bra.” He slid the robe out and put his hand underneath the fabric, smiling when he could see his skin through the sheer material. He could just imagine what she would look like in the robe. “Do you like it?”

She shook her head. He couldn’t tell if she was smiling or shaking her head in disbelief. But he didn’t think she was unhappy with his selection. Tom pulled into the parking area of the casual-clothes shop, and Jake didn’t take long to pick out two T-shirts, a sweatshirt, and a pair of jeans. He got her some flip-flops, too, not knowing her shoe size but guessing.

Then Tom drove them to Darien’s home out in the country. Trying not to show how apprehensive he felt about her shifting when they got there and learning everything about her in front of his family, Jake caressed her back, which helped both of them to relax.

He just hoped the hell he’d learn she wasn’t already mated.

As soon as they arrived at Darien’s home, Lelandi and Darien greeted Alicia as if she were a long-lost pack member. She remained glued to Jake’s side, however, and he recognized that she was feeling anxious.

“Come with me,” Lelandi coaxed, “and I’ll show you the guest room.” She smiled brightly. Jake didn’t think he’d seen Lelandi this excited in weeks. She fairly glowed, and he was glad she was so thrilled to see Alicia. That would make it easier for her to fit into the pack. Although Alicia didn’t seem any less anxious.

At least when they’d had a newly turned wolf before, Carol had been from the town, had had psychic visions of what werewolves were beforehand, had been resigned to the fact she’d be turned, and had had a pack to teach her the ways once she’d been turned. Alicia didn’t know anyone here and might not know a lot about being a wolf if a pack hadn’t been watching over her. And he didn’t think one had.

Alicia glanced up at Jake, and his heart went out to her. If he didn’t think it would upset Lelandi, and if he didn’t think Alicia might still feel unsure of herself as far as shifting into a naked woman in front of him, he would have insisted on going with her instead.

What the hell. He crouched in front of her and stroked her underneath the chin. “Alicia, did you want me to go with you?”

Her large brown eyes studied him for what seemed an eternity. Tom and Peter were standing behind them, waiting for her response. Darien and Lelandi were just as quiet. Alicia shook her head.

Jake smiled. “All right.” Then he handed the two sacks of clothes to Lelandi and rubbed Alicia’s head between her ears. “Go with Lelandi then. I’ll wait for you down here.”

She nudged his thigh in an intimate agreement, then went with Lelandi. He knew Lelandi would be good for Alicia, no matter how apprehensive she might be feeling right now.

When she’d disappeared up the stairs with Lelandi, Darien said to Jake, “We have to talk.”

Tom looked halfway glad he wasn’t needed for the lecture Jake was sure his brother planned to give him. When Jake and Darien entered his office, Darien took his seat on the couch, rather than behind the desk. It was a way of saying,
This
isn’t pack business as much as it is family business.

Jake sat on a chair nearby and waited for what Darien had to say, already feeling defensive.

“All right, you don’t know for sure if she’s mated, do you, Jake?”

“She came to me in my dreams.”

“Jake.”

“No, not for sure.”

“And you don’t know if she’s pregnant or not.”

As much as he hated to admit he truly wasn’t one hundred percent sure, Jake shook his head.

“Why are these men after her?”

Jake leaned back in the chair and explained as much as he knew from the time he’d met her to what Peter was sure to have passed along to Darien from the sheriff who oversaw Crestview.

Then women’s laughter drifted to them all the way from the upstairs guest bedroom.

Darien raised his brows, questioning Jake as if
he
had a clue what the women thought was so funny.

***

“Oh, you poor thing,” Lelandi said, holding her belly, tears in her eyes because she was laughing so hard as Alicia chuckled again in the guest room where she would be staying. Lelandi’s red curls clashed with her red cheeks as Lelandi ran her finger over the “barely there” crotch of one of the red thongs. “I never liked wearing anything this skimpy. Jake must really have it bad for you.”

Alicia smiled. “I should buy him one and see how much he likes wearing it.”

Lelandi laughed, her green eyes smiling. “He might just like one. You never know. As soon as it’s feasible for you to go shopping, I’ll take you. Lisa, who owns the lingerie shop, must have been shocked to pieces to see Jake buying for a wolf no one knows.”

“Does she know what we are?” Alicia asked, incredulous. She couldn’t believe she was in a house full of wolves—Darien, Jake, Lelandi, Tom, and Peter, but that there could be more in the town seemed surreal.

Somehow she had to ask Lelandi about Jake’s ties to Ferdinand Massaro, though. She wondered if maybe he alone was tied in with them. That maybe the rest of Jake’s family was clueless about his association with the criminals.

“Oh, yes. Of course.” Lelandi reached out and squeezed Alicia’s hand. “We run the town.”

“Run the town? Jake said Darien did. But—”

“Our
pack
does. As far as I know, it’s pretty rare for a pack to run a whole town. Most packs just infiltrate towns, work at jobs among the humans, live among them, and have their getaway spots when they have to take a run on the wild side. But they don’t decide who works in all the key positions. We only allow wolves to run the hospital, in case we have an emergency. And the vet clinic is werewolf run, too. So are the bank, the bed and breakfast, the florist shop, and most other businesses. But we’ll explain all that later.” Lelandi lifted the nearly sheer robe and raised her brows. “This barely covers anything lengthwise, and it’s practically see-through. I’ve got an extra robe if you need one. Do you like red?”

Alicia frowned at the push-up bra. “It’s all right. I would never have worn red lingerie, though, if Jake hadn’t bought it for me.” She pulled on the T-shirt and jeans.

“I have to ask you,” Lelandi said, growing serious. “Are you mated?”

Lelandi seemed so concerned that Alicia paused at zipping up the jeans. “I heard Jake talking about it to Darien. Does it mean my having had sex with a man?”

Lelandi’s eyes widened marginally. “Only if he was a werewolf.”

“No. Not with a man, either, since I was turned.” Except for her dreams with Jake, and she didn’t figure that counted.

“Good. And you’re not pregnant?”

“Oh. No. I’m so sorry about that. I’m afraid I got poor Jake into a lot of trouble over that. I didn’t know what else to say when I shape-shifted so all of a sudden at the art gallery. No one saw me, but I had to give a reason for not answering them when it was closing time and I wouldn’t leave the restroom stall.”

“That must have been horrible for you, Alicia. You’re too newly turned to be out in public. I don’t want you to worry about it. But the pack is your family, and we take care of our own.”

Alicia was so overcome that she gave a hug to Lelandi, who returned the gesture with heartfelt sincerity. Alicia had been so worried about how others would view her that she couldn’t believe how welcoming they were. But she had to know if any of them were connected to Massaro and his cohorts. “When are you due?” Alicia asked.

“A month. Triplets are on the way.”

“Triplets? Oh, my. And…” Alicia’s eyes widened. “Jake is a triplet?”

Lelandi smiled. “Hmm-hm.”

“Oh.” The idea was finally sinking in that if she’d ever had a child with Jake, it could very well be three at once. The worrisome thought suddenly struck her—would they be werewolves, too?

“Where’s your family?” Lelandi asked, quickly changing the subject, and Alicia wondered if Lelandi could read the worry in her expression.

“I don’t have any.” Alicia thought Lelandi gave a slight sigh of relief. “My dad ran off when I was two, and my mother and grandmother raised me. But they’re both dead now.”

“I’m sorry to hear this,” Lelandi said with genuine feeling. “But in a way it makes it easier because keeping your
lupus
garou
genetics secret from them could be a trial.” She shifted on the chair and rubbed her lower back. “Darien said you are a bounty hunter. But until you’re sure you’ve got the shifting under control, you’ll have to put your job on hold.”

Alicia relaxed a little. “I was rethinking whether I should stay in that job anyway after what had happened this last time. Although I often go after women so that we don’t have cases of some woman screaming that there was sexual misconduct.”

“Something we can talk about later.” Lelandi took a deep breath. “Where’s the man who turned you?”

Good. The opening Alicia needed. “Dead. And the man who turned him is dead also. Ferdinand Massaro was the name of the one who turned me.” Lelandi showed no recognition of the name whatsoever. Alicia tried again. “I thought you might know him since he was one of you.”

“Oh, my goodness, no,” Lelandi said thoughtfully. “Given our uniqueness, our secret is well guarded. Certainly we run into each other in communities beyond our own, but that’s the only way we learn others exist.”

Alicia sighed with relief. At least Lelandi didn’t seem to know this man. “But Jake must have known him then.”

A faint look of wariness appeared in Lelandi’s eyes, but she quickly changed her expression and gave Alicia a faked smile. “You’ll have to ask Jake. Although I have to tell you that when we locate other werewolves in other locations, or when they stray into our own territory, we share that knowledge with our pack. It’s instinctive. As co-pack leader with Darien, I would have been made aware of this discovery. In that light, I don’t believe Jake knew the man who bit you.”

Alicia didn’t know what to think. On the one hand, she got the distinct impression Lelandi was defending Jake—that the coolness or hint of condemnation Alicia had tried to keep out of her voice when she mentioned Jake knowing Ferdinand had put Lelandi on the defensive. Alicia had to remember she was dealing with a family—one that seemed cohesive and all supporting. And
she
was the outsider, no matter how happy they seemed to be that she was now among them.

“Then if none of you knew Ferdinand Massaro, the knowledge he is dead is of no great importance to you,” Alicia said coolly, watching for a reaction.

“We would only be concerned if he had done something to gather the attention of humans, revealing what he truly was either in life or death.” Lelandi rubbed her belly and frowned at Alicia. “Was he…” She hesitated.

“Was he what?” Alicia had the impression Lelandi was about to ask if the creep had been her lover. But how could Lelandi think that when she could see how much Jake wanted Alicia and how she felt about him?

“I’m sorry. I meant to ask—did he force himself on you? Did he turn you against your will?” Lelandi’s questions were spoken in a manner that showed concern mixed with controlled anger.

Her reaction took Alicia by surprise. She hadn’t thought anyone would ask her the question, let alone be upset about it. Except maybe Jake. She suspected if he’d known Ferdinand had planned to do this to her, he would have killed him. Yet wouldn’t Jake have wanted to do the same thing to her? Turn her so they would live together as werewolves and have… werewolf kids?

“Alicia?”

Alicia looked up from her hands, not even realizing she’d been wringing them. Tears filled her eyes as she recalled what had happened to her that night. Thinking about Ferdinand stripping her of her clothes. Fearing that he intended to rape her, torture her, and kill her. Recalling the bite on her arm and the men who had come to murder him and who had searched for her while she’d hidden from them in abject terror. How she’d turned into the wolf and felt she’d become some alien being—all alone to face her uncertainties.

Lelandi took her hand and squeezed. “It’s all right. You can talk to me about it later when you feel more like it. I’m sure the men are waiting for us to return to them downstairs. There are tons of things we’ll need to discuss with you so you’ll understand what we’re all about. But I don’t want to overwhelm you.”

Alicia sighed, having to get this off her chest. “Ferdinand declared I would be his, knocked me out, and when I came to, I’d already been bitten. Men were with him in another room. They murdered him, and I must have passed out from the earlier blows to the head. Anyway, when I came to, I found I was a wolf. I couldn’t shape-shift back for some time, but I left his place as soon as I was able.”

“Where were you when they killed him?”

More than idle curiosity was backing Lelandi’s question, Alicia thought. Did she wonder if Alicia had watched the murder take place and then walked out of there on her own? That she was in on this whole mess? One of the bad guys?

“I was half-groggy from being knocked unconscious the two times,” Alicia said quietly. “Somehow, I managed to pull my clothes off the bed and slide underneath it.”

“You were naked?” Lelandi’s brows were arched in surprise.