Revocation (The Canyon Wolves) (6 page)

Chapter
5

Harper
felt completely amazing from her good night’s sleep. She refused to open her
eyes, not wanting to break the blissful spell. To her bewilderment, her cheek
was pressed against a pillow. Harper cracked open one eye. Axel’s face was
inches from hers, and his body was most definitely invading her personal
bubble.

He
was sprawled out, one arm across her chest and one leg intertwined with hers.
What should she do? It was then that she saw, or rather didn't see, his
clothing.
 She should have known he would not simply take yesterday’s
kiss in the office as payment for her misconduct.

"Whoa!
No!" She leapt out of bed after throwing his heavy arm off her chest.
“What the heck? Where are your clothes?” she whispered loudly.

Axel
stirred and slowly opened his eyes. When he saw her he raked a slow eye down
her body and grinned. “Get back in bed, baby. It’s a Saturday.” His voice was
gruff with sleep and at any other moment she would have found it sexy.

Harper
glanced down and realized she had on nothing but a pair of panties. She
screeched, ripped the bedspread off, and threw it around her body.

“Where
are my clothes?” she panted, enraged.

“I’ll
get them,” he offered.

Axel
stood and stretched while watching her surprised expression with amusement.

"Oh!
Umm..." Wow, he was
really
big. Her wolf awoke at the sight of her
mate and was eager to play. Oh no, Harper thought. No, no, no. She covered her
burning face with a pillow to hide him from her wolf's eager eyes. “Yeah,
clothes. Do I need to ask why both you and I are naked?”

“Well,
the obvious answer would be-”

“Axel,”
she growled in warning. “Did we somehow…?”

“No,
dear Harper. Nothing like that.”

She
breathed a sigh of relief. “Then why did I wake up this morning naked?”

He
laughed and said, “Oh, after that blow to my ego in the office yesterday, my
wolf needed some reassuring that you were still mine.”

“And
is he properly reassured?” Harper ground out while trying to understand how she
had been undressed and didn’t awake.

“Very,”
Axel murmured from directly in front of her.

“You
just wanted to punish me,” she accused, refusing to be phased by the knowledge
the behind her shielded eyes stood a stark naked man.

I
hope you’ve learned your lesson.
His
voice was like a caress, and she knew she needed to get out of that situation
fast.

Harper
peeked out from behind her blanket and snatched the clothing from Axel’s hands.
She saw that…
thing
again and had to rip her eyes away in order to run
to the bathroom. How completely humiliating. She had obviously slept with him
before, but it was still like her body was as useless as her memories.

Harper
slammed the bathroom door and glanced in the mirror. Yep, she was most
definitely blushing like crazy. It took her seconds to change, but she still needed
a few minutes alone to calm her racing heart.

We
didn’t do anything,
she thought to
herself.
He was just a naked man. You’ve seen other naked bodies in your
anatomy book, so don’t freak.
No biggie. She was okay.

“Do
you, um, are you decent?” she asked cautiously before opening the door.

Yes,
Harper, I am clothed.

Wolf,
disappointed at the lack of action, settled down for a nap. Harper padded out
of the bathroom awkwardly. “I’m angry at you, just so we’re clear.”

He
was buttoning his shirt, and she unconsciously walked over to help. Harper
could feel his chest rumble as he said, “I can feel your anger as clear as a
bell.”

She
wondered what other emotions of hers he could feel, and she blushed at the
thought. If her lust was half as strong as his right now, he would be able to
tell.

She
cleared her throat and asked, “What’s the agenda for today?”

“We
are having an emergency pack meeting at five, and I need to contact the other
state alphas to figure out whether or not going public is commonly desired.”

“So
it’s going to be a ‘relax and watch TV’ day?”

“For
you, yes.” He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.

“Excellent,”
she whispered, not sure whether she was referring to the contact or the movie
day.

Harper’s
stomach twisted with nerves because of the upcoming pack meeting, but she
ignored it. She was the alpha’s mate. If anything, they should be nervous about
being around her.

Axel
retired to his office again, and Harper flipped through the channels. Most of
the shows she remembered had been cancelled, so she settled on an action-packed
thriller movie.

Her
thoughts kept wandering back to the upcoming meeting. She needed to do
something other than sit there and become a nervous mess, so she wandered into
the kitchen to cook lunch. Scrounging up what she could, Harper threw together
two delectable-looking club sandwiches.

Baby,
I made lunch,
Harper announced.

Moments
later, Axel appeared in the kitchen. “Amazing timing; I’m starving.”

She
laughed and sat the plate down in front of him. “I didn’t know what you like,
but here you go.”

“It’s
perfect.”

They
ate in companionable silence until Axel said, “We’ll need to be at the meeting
early to make sure everything starts smoothly.”

“Sounds
good,” she replied over a mouthful of food.

“We
can leave in an hour.”

As
soon as Harper finished her sandwich, she eagerly hopped in the shower. Her
outfit of choice was a pair of dark jeans and a black tight sweater. Even
though she wanted to wear heals or boots, she went with the practical choice
and grabbed the sneakers.

“Ready?”
Axel asked from the closet door, startling her.

“Yeah.”
She followed him to the car and checked out his butt while he couldn’t notice.

When
Axel opened the car door for her, he whispered, “You’re not as sneaky as you
think.”

She
grinned guiltily and ignored his comment. “It’s so cold!” Harper turned on the
heater and snuggled down into her warm coat.

“Just
shift. The seat leans back,” Axel told her.

“What?”

“It’ll
keep you warm. You have your own fur coat, you know.” He smiled at her
bewilderment.

“Oh!
Yeah, it’s getting warmer now,” she muttered. Change into a wolf? She didn’t
even know how to start. “Doesn’t the change rip your clothes?”

“You’d
have to undress first,” he said with a straight face.

“And
here I was, thinking you were actually concerned about my comfort.”

“I
am; undressing is just a pleasant by-product.”

“You’re
a tramp. You know that?”

“Baby,
don’t insult me like that. I’m a wolf.” Axel winked at her.

She
couldn’t back her snicker and eye roll. “So, where are we going for the
meeting?”

“It’ll
be held at the warehouse about two miles from here.”

“A
meeting in a warehouse? That sounds kind of creepy.” Harper could imagine a
bunch of shady-looking men gathering after dark like a cult.

“We
usually have it at the field, but it’s too cold this time of year.”

She
was thankful for that; her fingers were still numb from the brief walk to the
car. Harper stared out the window and tried to figure out how she should act.
She assumed everyone already knew about her amnesia, so hopefully they would
all understand her abnormal behavior. She was probably kind to everyone. Harper
still remembered how it felt to be bullied, and she would never want someone
else to go through that pain.

“I
need to run by the office to grab something. Do you want to go in with me or
stay in the car?” Axel asked, breaking her thoughts.

“I
guess I’ll stay in the car.” Harper didn’t want to see anyone until it was
necessary. Besides, she wasn’t eager to brave the cold wind again.

Axel
parked by the entrance and disappeared inside the dark building. Everyone must
have had Saturday off, because no one else’s car was in the parking lot. Harper
turned the heater higher to banish the chill left in his wake.

A
side door opened, but it instead of Axel, a tall man emerged. She squinted and
could barely make out Conner’s large form. He must have been working overtime.
When he spotted Harper sitting in the car, he came striding to her. Wolf gave a
warning growl, apparently not wanting to be alone with a male who wasn’t her
mate. Harper rolled down the window and cursed the cold air.

“Hey,
Conner,” she said politely.

“Harper,”
he replied. “How are your memories?”

“Still
absent, I’m afraid. They’ll return soon, so no worries.” She smiled at him, but
it wasn’t returned.

“Are
you going to the meeting?” He looked anxious about something, and Harper could
only assume it had to do with being around the pack.

“Yeah,
I’ll be there.”

“Okay,
then. See you soon.” He turned and disappeared behind the building. Conner’s
car must have been parked in the back lot.

Her
window had just rolled up when Axel came out carrying a stack of papers in one
hand and holding his phone in the other.

Harper
heard his muffled voice from inside, “No, I didn’t. We have two, and they’re
trying to pin blame on a bear. The rest of the group won’t listen.”

She
reached across the driver’s seat to open the door for him, and he sent ‘
thanks’
through the bond.

“They’ve
been on the force for over ten years, but it’s hard to convince the rest of the
team that those murders were caused by animals.”

Axel
placed the papers in the back and then pulled out of the parking lot. “I’ll
have pictures sent. If one more murder like that happens, we will be discovered
and hunted like animals.”

He
hung up the phone and sighed.

Harper
said, “I guess it’s getting harder and harder to keep the werewolves hidden.”

Axel
nodded. “I don’t understand why the murderer doesn’t take a video or a picture
and send it to the press. Then, after the public is notified of our existence,
he could just go kill people and strike fear into their hearts. There must be
another reason for these carefully staged kills.”

“It
sounds like they are trying to frame a specific person, not just the werewolf
group in general. Could someone want to take over your position as alpha?”

He
snorted. “Every wolf wants to be alpha.”

“Well,
that sure does narrow it down,” I commented sarcastically.

Axel’s
hand was warm against my freezing fingers. “Let me worry about it, little
wolf.”

“Okay,”
Harper said, not meaning it at all. They both knew she would help by whatever
means necessary.

It
was almost four by the time they arrived at the warehouse. It was old and
weathered, but still stood strong. Axel took her inside and flicked on the
lights. The warehouse looked smaller on the outside, not to mention warmer.
Harper shivered, and Axel hugged her close.

“Want
to stay in the car?”

“No,
I’m fine,” she replied, shivering again.

The
door flew open, and Gabby walked inside.

“Gabby!”
Harper yelled, running to her friend.

They
hugged and laughed like they hadn’t seen each other in years. Gabby wore a fur
coat to keep the chilly air at bay, and Harper thought she looked odd. The
Gabby from high school would have never agreed with killing animals for their
fur.

Harper
decided that it shouldn’t have been strange for her friend’s taste to change.
It had been over two years, and a lot could happen during that time. Harper
asked, “What are you doing here? I thought this was a pack meeting.”

“Oh,
I come to all of them. Can’t miss out on watching a bunch of hot posturing
men.”  Her wink made Harper laugh.

“Well,
I’m glad you’re here,” she admitted.

The
door opened again and Gabby’s husband entered. Harper’s eyebrows shot up in
surprise. Gregory had changed drastically since his years in high school; he
had grown at least a foot and was packed with muscle. She still remembered him
being short and slight. He had been above average in intelligence, so he was
always seen as the ‘nerdy kid’.

Harper
let out an appreciative whistle and felt Axel’s wolf growl. “Gabby, you didn’t
tell me what a looker your husband had grown to be,” she whispered loudly to
her friend.

Gregory
gave her a smile and she grinned back at him. It was always nice to see someone
she knew before the accident. After glancing at his alpha for permission, he
walked over to them and said, “You’re looking chipper than usual, Harper.”