Her Wanted Wolf (26 page)

“I’d feel better if you said
were-
like reflexes. I’d place my
trust in those more.” Sabine relaxed a little and eased her claws out from the
cushioning beneath her. She bent down to inspect the slits they’d left in the
upholstery. They didn’t appear too bad if you didn’t take a close look.

“Come on, slide onto my lap, and let me teach you how to drive. It’ll
help you get over your fears. There’s nothing to it.” Drew patted his thigh
invitingly.

Tempted as she was to sit on his lap, Sabine wasn’t about to take control
of several tons of metal.

“I’d rather face a pack of rabid wolves. Whenever it’s necessary to
travel, I’d prefer to morph and use my four perfectly good legs. This is a
disaster waiting to happen,” she moaned. Her breakfast or was it late lunch,
was going to come back up, she just knew it.

“People have been driving for more than a century. On a whole, it’s
pretty safe. You’re looking a little green there, honey.” He tried to stifle
his snicker, but she heard it and shot him a fulminating glare.

“I feel sick. Why couldn’t we have taken a run like normal weres?” She
moaned and shut her eyes. It was better not to see her death racing at her.

“Hmmm. I figured it’d be easier to haul up all the stuff the pack will be
gifting us with later. There’s hardly any food at the house. We need to get
supplies. The can of corned beef we wolfed down, no pun intended, hardly filled
the hollow in my stomach.”

“I’m sorry I ate a portion. It’s turned into a greasy indigestible ball
in my belly.” It felt more like a boulder, but who was measuring?

“You going to be okay?”

“I think I’ll survive.”

“I should have heated it up, but I was starving and we’re running late.”
Drew shot her a concerned gaze. “We also need to get you some street clothes,
never thought to add that to the list I sent to Hanni. You seem to hate those
grey sweats you are wearing.”

“Sweats, how fitting? I’m sweating like a pig in them.”

“Yep, but they are an essential in every wardrobe.”

“Weres marking time, our ancestors would be embarrassed by that.” She
tapped the door beside her. “Attached to things. Pitiful.” Sabine hid her
discomfort under sarcasm and frowned. Well, for Heaven’s sake, she sounded
exactly like her father.

Drew spared her a sly glance. “I seem to remember how happy a mouthy
little were was when I hoisted up her treasures from her hidey-hole.”

Sabine scoffed. It’d pleased her to no end that he’d thought to collect
her things. They weren’t much, but they were hers.

“Anyway, can you give me an idea what I’m to expect tonight. We haven’t
observed a welcoming ritual as far as I can remember.”

Drew glanced over at her briefly, but she didn’t miss the taunt dancing
in his eyes. “Changing the subject?”

“I would if you’d allow me to,” Sabine complained and slumped back
against the seat.

“As the lady wishes.” He reached over and tugged her to his side. “The
entire pack will gather and bare their necks to show their allegiance to you as
my mate. They’ll send up a howl to welcome you. Then there’ll be food and some
socializing.” A frown creased his brow. “Brace yourself. You’re going to be
bombarded by the women.”

Sabine angled her head to the side. “Could I at least know what you’re
talking about? I’d hate to start off with the she-wolves in your family
believing you do my thinking for me.”

Drew let out a grunt. “Jeeze, for a moment there, I thought you’d
mellowed a little. I almost took off my protective cup. You’re back to busting
my balls aren’t you?”

“You are a very confusing man. What are you mumbling about now?”

“Nothing, nothing. Anyway, back to our discussion.” He looked pointedly
at her. “No female Lunedare goes beyond our borders without an escort led by a
fore-fighter.”

Sabine couldn’t imagine any of her pack sisters adhering to such a
confining edict. Freedom to roam at will was as essential to a were as
breathing.

“Really? Are your women weak and spineless? Were they born without a
werekin’s innate abilities to smell the presence of another wolf?” she asked,
as if she didn’t already know the answer. The she-wolves were chafing under
these new restrictions. They’d be rebelling soon.

“Of course not. They are true weres.” Drew’s brows lowered at the slur
against the women in his clan.

Sabine smiled to herself, glad he was offended at the suggestion that the
women of his pack couldn’t defend themselves. Good.

“Oh, so they’re stupid then. Knowing they are in all probability,
targeted, they’d take unnecessary risks. Or are they helpless? Don’t they have
the skills to defend themselves?” she countered. On hearing her bland
intonation, he slid her a narrow-eyed look.

“Every female in my clan has had basic defense training. Since the
troubles began, I’ve instituted a program to tighten their skills. They’ve
excelled.” Drew’s pride in his pack was evident in his voice.

“Then you insult them,” Sabine said. “With your lack of faith in them and
by taking away their right to assist in the defense of their pack.”

Drew’s brows lowered as he considered her words for a second before he
answered. “I’ve done no such thing. Every precaution I’ve taken is for their
protection.”

“For your protection. I’m really beginning to resent those words. My
father isolated us to protect us and look what happen to my family. We are a
dying pack. Now, because of his reasoning, here I am thrust into an alien
environment. I feel like a girl who’s shown up late for the ball, who’ll never
to learn the steps to the dance to catch up.” Sabine peeked at his face. Drew’s
fingers tapped the wheel. Seeing the rigid set of his jaw, Sabine let out a
sigh. “Women aren’t children to be coddled, Drew. They’ll be just as passionate
about righting that wrong as the men are.”

“Don’t you think I know that? I struggled with the decision, but male
weres outnumber our women three to one. We won’t put a single she-wolf in
jeopardy. It’s not open for discussion.”

Oh but it was. She prodded gently, “If you’re so inflexible on this
matter, how are you going to reconcile the fact that you’re going to have to
take the Silverwolf women into battle? Or are your safeguards reserved for your
blood kin.”

“I’m working on that. I figured you’d do your thing and step back.”

Did he now? She’d soon disabuse him of that little idea. Silverwolves did
not step back. “You never did tell me how they managed to get their hands on
your sister.”

“We believe they drugged Aimee with something to incapacitate her in
order to abduct her. Aimee is small, but she would’ve fought. She is sneaky and
mean when riled. Like another she-wolf I know.” He shot her a reproving glare.
Sabine studiously ignored it.

“Yet she was taken, and that is a blow to your pack’s self-esteem. And
I’d like to say, as a representative for the females of our species, we’re not
sneakier or meaner, just more inventive.”

“Yeah, like I said, sneakier and meaner.” His empathic assertion had her
sending him an exasperated glower.

“If it were up to me, I’d use that deviousness to get back at the
Redmavens. Or would that be another blow to your manly pride?” Sabine intoned
casually.

“Not happening.” His words cut through her thoughts. “I’m beginning to
recognize that reckless gleam in your eyes. Don’t you even think of pulling a
stunt like you did in the gully.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She looked at him with what
she hoped was bland innocence.

Drew pursed his lips. “Hmm, right. You’re a lousy liar. Don’t go playing
poker with the boys, or you’d lose your shirt.”

“I should be so lucky, and Saffa said I had a good face for poker.”
Sabine looked down at the dull gray clothing she wore and thought fleetingly of
the silky luxuriousness of her robe with longing.

Drew reduced his speed, and Sabine studied the Lunedare central den
bathed in the waning afternoon sun. She hadn’t paid much attention to it the
night before.

The large settlement was perched on a bluff. It was constructed with
weathered pine logs thick as a man’s waist, bleached grey by time and the
elements. The first set of buildings wrapped around the base of the hill. They
had no visible openings on the lower floors, but shutters were open on the
upper level. Logs lashed together blocked the narrow passages between each
house.

Sabine got the impression they stood as the first line of defense. They
drove through an imposing metal-banded gate and up a winding pathway, working
their way up levels. Each circle of buildings acted as a bulwark to protect the
next level up. Every platform had a reinforced door set in place to close off
each section from the lower level if needed. Whoever tried to attack the heart
of the den would have to work their way through each bastion. She figured
they’d never make it. The Lunedares would drop from above, giving them the
advantage in a fight. Very clever.

Drew would have considered the Silverwolf den indefensible. Had it been
located, her home would have been easy pickings for any aggressor.

“Who built this den? Its positioning is brilliant.” The architecture
reminded her of a medieval village she’d seen in one of the dusty pages in the
tome her father carted from den to den.

“My great grandfather started it. We’ve added levels to accommodate our
growing pack. Next spring we’ll add the next ring.” He pointed to the logs
stacked like pyramids. “We’re going to have a rash of births over the summer
and autumn. We’ll need the space. The unmated male weres reside in the outer
circles. Single women in the next, families with young, and the elderly occupy
the inner rings. The den can house the entire pack if necessary.”

“Does the rest of the pack have dens away from the central den?” She’d
lived in close proximity to her family all her life, and though she missed
them, Sabine had to admit, there were times she’d craved moments of solitude
and thought herself selfish for wanting it.

“The majority of us have an abode tucked away somewhere on Lunedare land.
Some have multi-roomed houses, others not more than a one-roomed cabin. It
depends on the individual’s preference. We all know the den is here and my pack
mates come and go as the mood strikes. That’s the way it’s always been.” Drew
returned the waves of family members he drove past. “It looks like the entire
pack has come out for the welcoming tonight. Are you ready to turn tail and
head out yet?”

“More and more with each passing moment,” Sabine murmured, to herself.
The rat jumping from the proverbial sinking ship feeling crept through her. The
number of people occupying the pathways seemed to multiply the higher they
went.

Finally, Drew pulled to a smooth stop in an expansive central courtyard before
a brick house. Some of the blocks had paled, from ruddy red to pale pinks. A
small lawn, dotted with fanciful topiaries in clay post fronted the building.
It stood out like an elegant lady amongst the burly log cabins.

Sabine’s mouth dropped open.

“Ridiculous, isn’t it? But we love it. My mother was British, and wanted
a replica of the house she grew up in, so my father indulged her. One of
Gustav’s experiments damaged the original homestead.”

“Experiments?” Sabine lifted a brow in question.

“Oh, didn’t I mention my uncle’s little hobby. He likes to distill strong
spirits. I believe at the time he was trying to replicate a good Scotch whisky
when he took off the roof.”

“A wildfire would decimate this place. Does he still do that here? It
would be pity to damage your den.”

“Nope, my mother banished him to a stone and mortar building the pack
built for him five miles from here on a stony cliff near a stream. Sybil wasn’t
having his distillery anywhere near us. We have precautions built in, fire
breaks, dammed water, and we clear the underbrush regularly.”

The carefree laughter of children pulled Sabine’s attention to a grassy
patch beyond Drew which had been transformed into a children’s play area. It
was furnished with swings and a huge twisty metal structure painted in primary
colors which was the focal point of the playground. Lunedare young dangled from
it like agile monkeys. Others lithely scrambled up to the top and dived off,
doing acrobatic back-flips in mid air to land on their feet.

Taking into account the number of young weres on the playground and the
pregnant women keeping a lazy eye on them, the Lunedares were a fertile pack.
That boded well for her conceiving a cub.

Drew opened his door and slid out of the cab. Not wanting to be confined
in the truck any longer than necessary, Sabine scrambled after him.

“Unca Dew.” A tiny redheaded cherub, with a pair of plump cubs hot on her
heels, darted in Drew’s direction. She crouched low and used her legs to launch
herself at him.

He caught the child with a skill that came from practice and grinned down
into her pretty face. Her companions vied for his attention by sinking their
tiny teeth into the hems of Drew’s pants and tugged. Wagging their heads and
snarling, they simulated a mock attack. He shook his leg, but not hard enough
to dislodge them.

“Where you been?” the little girl demanded.

Drew rubbed his noble nose against the much smaller one, which was
scrunched up at him in reprimand.

“Hiding from you three little heathens.” He nuzzled the child’s neck,
making piggish snorts, causing her to squirm and giggle. “Give me some sugar.”

Sabine watched them from the sidelines, fascinated by this side of Drew.
The formidable alpha had transformed. The taut lines on his face eased and the
watchful guarded gleam in his eyes gave way to loving amusement. It gave her a
glimpse of the man he had been before the grief and anger hardened him.

He looked at her over the baby’s head. “Look at the women, Sabine; they
carry the future of our race. If we lose even one woman, we lessen our chances
of survival. Nothing touches that.”