Her Wanted Wolf (7 page)

Stooping down, Sabine propped up her father. “Come on, Balthazar, you
said if we found you an alpha you’d eat something,” she coaxed, holding the
spoon to his lips.

What was he? A pet she’d fetched to please her father.

Drew looked over the rim of the bowl to meet another one of the cool
assessing glances she shot him between spooning broth into her father’s mouth.

“Are you going to help us, wolf?” Sabine asked baldly. The generic form
of address rankled but he let it go. At the moment, he was too damned weary and
grateful for the food to allow the slight to rile him.

“I’ll see that your family is taken to safety.” His brusque reply raised
her brows.

“But not Balthazar’s way, right? Why not? Are you afraid to take a
Silverwolf as a mate?” Her frown suggested Balthazar had handed him a great
honor, but he was too dense to recognize or appreciate it.

Balthazar choked on a spoonful of soup. “You masked your presence and
eavesdropped?”

“I did.” Her unrepentant reply earned her a frown from her father. “How
was I going to find out what you two are plotting? Bring you an alpha wolf, you
ordered. If I’d known I’d be a part of the bargain, I wouldn’t have done it.
But it’s done now, isn’t it?” She shifted her attention back to Drew. “I am
sorry you’ve lost your mate, but she is gone. We need your help, if you can
manage that without falling into a trap.”

“Deplorable. Insulting our rescuer’s abilities is no way to secure his
help.” Balthazar’s admonishment preceded his grimace of distaste as he pushed
the spoon away from his mouth. “No more of this pap. I want meat.”

“Not till you drink this.” She flicked Drew a glance. He caught the
wiliness in her expression before she assumed a bland expression and continued
in an overly reasonable tone.

“He might not be the wolf we need.” Drew shot her a stony glare at the
gleam of pseudo-innocence in her laughing eyes. “All he’s shown me is that he’s
easily distracted.”

“No manners.” Balthazar tapped his daughter on the chin in an absent but
loving gesture.

Sabine grinned at her father. Her face took on a luminous beauty. Her
eyes darkened to an unusual navy blue, and dimples flashed in her cheeks.

Drew caught a glimpse of the warm woman beneath the cool, determined façade
he mistook for iciness. He had to shift the position of his legs to conceal his
hardening, unruly body parts.

The radiance of Sabine’s smile made him want to bask in its warmth, to
melt the coldness inside of him. Discomfited by the path his mind took, Drew
quashed the emerging feelings ruthlessly.

Lust was one thing. He could handle that. Deeper emotions weren’t
something he was willing to delve into right now.

“Papa, you’ve drummed into our heads that manners are the shackles of
civilization. Something only housebroken pets worry about, you declared,”
Sabine teased her father. At the same time, she flashed Drew a pointed glance.
“Now you want me to follow the petty protocols set down by man? You raised me
to be pure wolf.”

“You’ve paid too much attention to the ramblings of an old man who has
lived so long he’s become an anachronism,” Balthazar groused. “And don’t try to
soften me up by calling me papa.”

The byplay between father and daughter held no heat, only affection. Drew
watched them share a grin of perfect understanding.

Balthazar’s smile faded, and he took Sabine’s small hand in his bony
palm. His eyes were filled with a fanatic zeal as he stared into his daughter’s
face.

“Remember the vow you made to me. Secure his agreement, Sabine. Save
what’s left of us.” He sank back, worn out. “I’m tired. Let me sleep.” The old
man slid into his base form and drifted off into a light doze.

Sabine set the bowl aside and contemplated her sleeping father for a long
time. She looked up to catch Drew watching her. A sigh slipped from her lips as
she straightened her shoulders. If he read her right, she’d come a decision.

Rising to her feet, she motioned with a flutter of her fingers for him to
follow her out of the hut. They stepped out into the night and moved away from
the cluster of huts.

Head bowed, she started to pace in tight circles. “What is the one thing
you want above anything else?”

“To find Aimee, my sister. The were I tracked carried the essence of her
on his fur. I hoped he’d lead me to her.” Drew watched her prowl like a
caged wolf.

“How long have you been searching for her?” The softly worded question
held no curiosity.

She’d baited a hook. No doubt she was working her way around to offer him
something he wanted in exchange for his help. Drew knew it, but he bit anyway.

“Several weeks.” For what seemed like an eternity, and he’d been aware of
every second ticking by in slow increments. Sabine stopped her restless march
to face him with a ‘cat who just ate a bowl of cream’ grin on her face.
“Pitiful.”

“Pitiful? The best trackers in several packs hunted for her. I figure if
the Redmavens hadn’t lucked out and wandered into the area you covered we might
have found them sooner. You inadvertently protected the very weres who threaten
you now.”

Sabine shot him a frowning glare. “It wasn’t intentional. If a Silverwolf
searched for your sister, she’d have been found already. I can find her for
you,” Sabine declared. Her eyes gleamed with a fervor similar to what he had
seen in Balthazar’s earlier.

“Don’t hold back on touting your abilities. I might think you lacked
confidence,” Drew said dryly. His lips twitched when she shot him a withering
look of impatience.

“Do you have any idea what my clan can do for you? Once we have the
personal scent of a wolf imprinted on our olfactory memories, we can identify
his blood-kin, track him longer and farther than any other were. Silverwolves
can mask their scent and walk in silence. You need such skills if your hunt is
to succeed. Your sister’s been gone a long time, so it won’t be easy for you to
pick up her trail.” She gulped like someone about to take a leap off a cliff.
“If you do as my father asks and save my family, the eight of us who are young
and healthy will help you find your Aimee. That way you can cover more ground.
I think that’s a fair bargain.” Her face was tight with determination, and he
could feel the tension humming in her. He could smell her desperation and
something more. Was it guilt?

“We don’t use our women to barter for alliances anymore. That’s one of
the things we discarded, thank God.” He wasn’t dragging a bunch of women into his
fight with the Redmavens. “Your family is secure whether you help me or not.”

Sabine stood on her toes and sniffed the sensitive spot behind his ear
lobe. The soft whoosh of air expelled through her lips brushed down the length
of his neck.

An involuntary shiver skittered over his skin, transmitted sensation to
his nerves, and spiked his need for sex. He clenched his hands into fists to
prevent himself from grabbing her. He wanted to hike her legs up over his hips
and lower her onto his shaft. Standing would suit him fine.

Drew bit back a groan, and forced himself not to step back. Though it was
torture, her slightest touch stoked his cravings.

Sabine closed her eyes. “The familial spoor you share with your sister
was very faint on the were I killed. It didn’t have the depth of recent
contact. I can also tell you that she was there. In that cave they’ve made
their den. She’s gone now, though, along with the other women who were there at
one time, and not all of them were she-wolves.” Her nose twitched as her head
moved around. Her nostrils flared, seeming to seek a particular odor.

Her eyelids eased open, and she gazed at him lazily from under them.
“Want to know what else I read in the scent clinging to him?”

At Drew’s curt nod she continued.

“Your sister was very much alive when they brushed up against each other
a few weeks ago. She drew blood.” Sabine smirked up at him. “The potency of her
anger, fear, and confusion clung to him after all that time.”

Drew’s heart slowed to painful pulses. Aimee was still alive and fighting
not too long ago. He knew his sister. She’d definitely give Bardo the finger
regardless of the consequences. The pride of the Lunedares could be a handicap
at times, but it was something tangible to hold onto that his sister still had
the will to fight. She was not broken, yet, but she would wonder why he hadn’t
come for her.

The short demonstration of Sabine’s skills awed him, though he’d never
tell her. She was too cocky, and cockiness got you killed.

Sabine could help him find his sister.

They could live as man and wife. Yes, the man would happily claim her,
but given his attraction to her, he could predict that the were in him would
want more. With time and proximity, they’d be driven to take that final step to
become were and mate. It was primal and the possessive sense of ownership a
wolf had toward his mate would come into play. As long as she acknowledged him
as her chosen wolf, she’d be his. To take, teach, and explore the depths of her
sexuality. Drew sensed Sabine would be wild and uninhibited in his arms. She
didn’t strike him as a woman who was lukewarm about anything.

Drew reached out and brushed his knuckles over Sabine’s cheek. She stared
to pull back, but she caught herself and stood still.

“Let me get this straight. You’re willing to do anything to get my help?”

She dipped her head in a jerky nod of agreement. “Yes, but with a few
conditions of my own. I know you don’t want a mate, and neither do I.”

Inexplicably offended by her words, Drew lifted his brows.

“Nothing personal, but I have dreams and plans of my own. There is no
room for a wolf in my life. You alphas tend to get a little inflexible on
certain matters. I want my freedom. Our arrangement would be temporary, of
course. I’d prefer if no one else knew that. In the end, you’ll get what you
need and I’ll get what I want.”

“You won’t have a problem having sex with me?”

“No, you are an attractive man. I don’t see that as a hardship.”

“I’m not really into duty sex.” Oh, yes, he was. He’d take it anyway,
anyhow, with her. His mind sang with the possibility of having her in his bed.
“Temporary arrangement or not, my people, our people, would smell the lie if we
were not totally immersed with each other’s scent.” He trailed his forefinger
down between her breasts, the erratic beat of her heart vibrating against his
single digit. Her back arched to his light caress as if he were stroking a cat.

The carnal heat flashing in her eyes belied her show of indifference to
his presence. The little she-wolf wasn’t as unaware of him as she pretended.

There was more, much more, than attraction between them, there was
recognition. If or when they took that final step to a mating, it would be for
more than mere practicality.

She licked her lips. “I’ve never had sex with a man. I’m inexperienced,
not ignorant. I’ve seen the humans mating when they camp in the hills.”

There was a subtle shift in her scent. The memory of what she’d witnessed
aroused her, and her arousal made him even more erect. Yes, she was
adventurous, open to experiencing everything he offered.

She looked him up and down, and his cock jumped under her eyes. “You
wouldn’t have a problem copulating with me. Will you?”

Ignorant, no. Naive, yes. For her brazen words, the scent of her
innocence filtered through. It was all so simple to her. As her mate, he’d have
certain rights. That she understood.

His preferences demanded more than mating for the sole purpose of
procreation. His tastes were more sophisticated. She might be shocked to know
what he could do to her with his mouth, hands, and body. Drew truly enjoyed the
sweet salty taste of his lover on his tongue, the feel of a woman’s body
quivering under his hands. There’d be no swift race to completion between them
when they had sex.

Drew’s eyes narrowed when his gaze met Sabine’s.

She chewed on her lip anxiously. Disappointment and confusion clouded her
eyes. She had no idea how close she came to being put on her knees and taken.

There was nothing civilized about the way he and his were wanted her.

She shook her head, gathered herself, and said in a crisp, businesslike
manner, “Think about it. I’d pick up her scent from any wolf she had contact
with. I can tell you if it was a month ago they brushed up against each other,
or a day ago. Imagine the time and effort you’d save. At the same time, you’d
find the wolves who’d insulted your pack. Two things you want badly for the
price of a temporary arrangement. It’s a good bargain.”

“Weres should mate for life.” If the thought of being tied to him for a
couple of centuries didn’t get her to give up her mad plan, nothing would.

“I know for a fact when our numbers started to wane, the council
sanctioned short-term marriages. It’s one of the reasons my father broke away
from pack society. It’s all I’m offering. I’d think the loophole I’m providing
would suit your purposes.”

She said it with a sly persuasiveness. At first glance, it was a win-win
situation. He’d get to have sex with her, and he wouldn’t be tied permanently
to a mate.

If he took her as his mate, it would cost him. Drew had no doubt about
that. The wolf in him was already felt an unusual possessiveness toward her.
Besides, no Lunedare ever had a temporary mating. In that one instance, they
clung to the old ways.

Sabine was right. It wasn’t the first time the Redmavens captured mortal
women for breeding. Justice had rescued several women from an unsanctioned den
a couple years ago. They used the fact that the Redmavens drugged the
traumatized women to plant the idea that they’d hallucinated. It was easier for
them to accept they imagined it than to believe that the men who held them
captive morphed into wolves.

He had to get a look into that den, and he needed Sabine to get him down
there.