Snow Wolf (9 page)

Liam climbed out of the rental he’d
gotten at the auto body shop and hurried to the front door where he banged
loudly and impatiently. A woman answered but she wasn’t Amy. She scented like
family, a sister perhaps. Amy never mentioned one but they’d never talked much
about that kind of thing. “You’re Liam.” She finally said after gazing at him
then smiling. He nodded. His throat was suddenly dry. “Stay here.” She said
ushering him into the foyer. “I’ll go get Amy.” He nodded again and looked around.
It was neat and tidy. He would expect that from her. Then he locked eyes with
her as she rounded the corner from what appeared to be a hall.

“Liam. I was just looking for you.”
She said softly. He stepped forward and crushed her to him. She was in a
bathrobe and smelled medicinal. His mate didn’t scent like this, like a
hospital. She was spring flowers and honey.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?” She
shook her head. His mouth trailed hot kisses over her cheek to her mouth. Then
he stopped and looked down into her face to study her. She looked exhausted.
Her eyes were hollowed and had dark circles. Liam lifted her and carried her to
the couch. “What’s wrong then?” Setting her down, he caught another scent and
lifted his face to inhale the air. “Where are they?” Liam growled. He felt his
eyes go full amber. His wolf was pushing at him. It was too much. His mate, the
drive, and now he scented pups. “Where are my children?” He was careful to use
human terminology.

“Liam. Please listen to me.” Amy
begged and he bolted to his feet. “Liam?” She asked again,” grabbing for his
hand. He looked down at her. “They’re here and they are safe but you and I need
to talk first.”

A little girl ran from the back of
the house giggling then skidded to a halt when she spotted him. Liam swallowed.
A she-wolf, they were rare in his family. Most pups in his family were boys.
“Hi. You’re my daddy.” She approached carefully and put her arms up to him. He
lifted her easily and she kissed his cheek. “Mommy showed me your picture on
the internet yesterday. We’ve been trying to find you. I’m Olivia.” He recoiled
and Amy tilted her head to watch him. Olivia’s arms were around his neck and
she was chattering away.

“That was your grandmother’s name
too.” His smiled softened and he felt the moisture in his eyes. He missed his
mother. Olivia patted his cheek with her small hand and Liam put his over it.

“Cool. Um, Aunt Krista said that I
could have a cookie, can I go?” Liam chuckled and put her down. “Thank you.
I’ll come back after I get my cookie. I have to hurry just in case she changes
her mind.” Liam chuckled again and nodded. Olivia sprinted from the room.

“You kept them from me.” He turned
and glared at Amy now. She shook her head.

“At first.” She conceded and
nibbled her lip. “I was so angry.”

“What do you mean at first, she’s
what? How long has it been since the glacier, five years? There’s another, a
male isn’t there? How old is he? A month?”

“Four days. I just came home from
the hospital last night. His name is Brandon. I didn’t mean to keep them from
you. I just didn’t know how to get a hold of you.”

“Bullshit Amy. You saw me the day
we made him and you didn’t say a fucking word.” He knew his eyes were flashing
but he couldn’t stop them. He took deep breaths trying to still the beast.

“I meant to, we just didn’t…talk.”
She looked up at him now and he wondered why she didn’t notice his lack of
control. Were humans oblivious? Not Amy. She noticed everything but why not
this?

“No and then you ran off like a
thief in the night as soon as I got in the shower.” He was losing as much
ground as he was gaining control wise. He had to get a handle on this. His
heart was starting to pound and the beast was gaining control.

“I couldn’t help that. I ran, I had
to, Krista was going to be late and I promised that I would come home right
after the conference then you…and…When she texted I just ran. I was so late. I
didn’t want her to lose her job, she likes this one. I called the hotel as soon
as I got home but you had already checked out. I missed you by twenty minutes.”
She sighed. “Then I had to go to Norway because I’d signed that damned contract
with Gunnar. We were on the internet when you came here trying to track you
down. I swear. I’ve been telling Krista during this whole pregnancy that you
should know your children. I know I should’ve made more of an effort once we
were home from Norway, I was just so tired all of the time. I still am. This
pregnancy took a lot more out of me than Olivia. It takes me all day to get
motivated just to eat breakfast.” She took his hand again. “I am sorry. I
should’ve tried harder.” Liam’s knees finally unlocked and he sat beside her on
the couch.

“I’m going to handcuff you to me so
that you can’t escape this time, you know that right?” She leaned into him and
he wrapped an arm around her. “Boys take more out of you than girls.” Amy’s
eyes slid closed as she nodded and sighed. “Have you eaten today?” She nodded.
“I want to see him.” She nodded again. “Now.” Amy sat up and looked panicked.

“You won’t take them from me.” His
eyes found hers and he shook his head.

“No. I wouldn’t do that to you.” He
raised an eyebrow and stood. “This way?” Liam headed down the hall and Amy
clambered after him.

“Liam wait.” He looked over his
shoulder at her and continued. The hall was dim but the rooms were bright with
light from outside. He found the crib and went to it. Krista was at a small
desk working on a laptop. Liam went to the side of the white crib beside what
he assumed was Amy’s bed. The room smelled like her and the pup. “His name is
Brandon.” The baby’s eyes found hers and he whimpered. Liam reached into the
crib for him.

“Hi there little man.” Liam cuddled
him close and went to the side of the bed to sit.

“He seems very
cautious
.”
Amy finished softly. “He isn’t a typical baby, I mean. I don’t know what I
mean.” She huffed out a breath. “He’s very different than his sister.”

“Oh?” Liam glanced at her. Brandon
seemed normal to him. He nuzzled Liam and closed his eyes. Amy made a face and
studied him.

“He never does that with me. It
always seems like he’s suspicious or something. I know that’s crazy, he’s an
infant.” Liam nodded and looked over at Krista who was still working. “Kris can
you take the laptop to your room? I’d like to speak to Liam privately.” She
pulled its cord free and carried it from the room smiling at them. She closed
the door softly behind her. A few seconds later, they heard her and Olivia.

“I told you one cookie. That’s
three cookies…Olivia.” Olivia was giggling and from the sound of it running.
Amy chuckled.

“It’s probably six cookies by now.”
She’s sneaky. Amy grinned at him.

“He’s different than other babies.”
She nodded. “He is different.” How was he supposed to tell her this? Talk about
dropping a bomb. She nodded again.

“Yes I know. He’s like you.” Liam’s
brow knitted. “I know what you are Liam.” His eyes slid up to hers. He wouldn’t
give it away before she said the word because wolves were tricked before and
they’d all been trained since birth to protect themselves from humans. One
wasn’t dangerous but a bunch of them were lethal. “I know you’re wolf, Krista
knows too.” Liam let out the breath that he’d been holding. “Don’t worry, your
secret is safe. I think I’ve always known, it’s why your eyes don’t scare me
like you want them to.” She smoothed her hand over Brandon’s hair.

“How do you know?” The corners of
her mouth lifted.

“My step father was wolf. He loved
my mother. He was a great man and we loved him fiercely. He told us all about
the wolves, the traditions, the customs, and the legends. They were our bedtime
stories.” She chuckled. “I miss him.” Amy sniffled.

“What happened to him?” Liam asked
gently.

“He left. I don’t know what
happened. When my mother passed, he just left. He came back for the funeral but
he didn’t look like himself. He was gaunt and he looked sick, terrible really.
He hugged us both afterwards and told us to look out for each other, then he
said goodbye and we never saw him again.”

“Mourning. He’s probably dead.”
Amy’s head snapped up. “Sorry. It sounds like they were mates and if they were,
and he looked like that, it sounds like he grieved himself to death. It’s
common with wolves. When one mate passes, the other will soon follow. Where’s
your father?”

“When mom died and Brandon left we went
to live with him. We never spent much time with him after the divorce. We were
getting to know him and he told us that he had cancer when we’d been there
almost six months. Then he died the next week.” She let out a pent up breath
and gazed up at him. “Krista and I didn’t want to be put in the system or
separated so we settled his bills and had the funeral then we left. We’ve moved
around a lot. I was almost eighteen when it happened and she was sixteen. We
lived on what our parents left us for a while until Krista graduated then she
went to work and I went to school. So there’s my life history in a nutshell.”
Liam put an arm around her and pulled her close. “He’s beautiful isn’t he?”
Liam nodded.

“He’s alpha. He’ll need to be
around other wolves to socialize properly. His wolf will be strong and he’ll
need to learn control. He’ll need strong role models.”

“You aren’t taking him away Liam.”
She was on her feet and gloriously angry now. He smiled. He loved it when she
was passionate. “I will disappear with them and you’ll never see them again.
They are my children. Wolves or not.”

“Calm down.” Brandon whimpered.
“Sit.” She dropped back to the side of the bed, hard. “He needs to be around
other wolves. It’s what he needs. He needs his father, he’s suspicious because
you aren’t wolf and his beast wants to be with his own kind. It’s why he’s so
calm right now, he knows.” She swallowed. “I won’t take him away Amy but he
needs me.”

“What are you saying? That you’ll
stay here with me? Take care of him?”

“If you’ll let me, I’d like to take
you all home with me. I have a house big enough for all of you, Krista too.
He’ll have cousins to play with that will be his pack someday.”

“So you’re in a pack? Brandon
didn’t have a pack that he mentioned. He told us about them though.” He
grimaced and shrugged. He’d never actively participated in pack activities,
he’d run on occasion but not much more. Liam was a lone wolf mostly because he
was never able to control it.

“I live where there is a pack. I
don’t hang out with them as much as I should. I’ve only recently gotten control
over my own beast, which is why I say he needs to be around wolves, not just
me. I have brothers, they have pups, and I have cousins who have pups. They
would all be nearby. There are others of course and they aren’t all family.
You’d be welcomed. There are other humans there too. Some wolves have mated
with them. You’ll be a novelty in my family Amy. Olivia is the first she-wolf
born to an Anderson in over a hundred years. We only have boys for some reason.
So you and Olivia can expect a lot of attention.” He leaned over and kissed her
cheek.

“Maybe it was the glacier.” She
laughed but he looked at her seriously. “Stop.”

“I think it’s worth studying. You
and I should plan a trip in a year or so and see if your hypothesis  proves
correct, is temperature a factor in the resulting sex of a werewolf.” Amy
laughed heartily and he found that he enjoyed the sound.

“I think you just want a repeat
performance.” Amy touched his thigh.

“Absolutely. I’m also asking you to
be mine.” His face grew serious now. “Be
mine
Amy.” His eyes flashed.

“You’re serious? You want me to be
your mate? What about the sticks with boobs?” He looked confused. “The sticks
that you normally date? What about them? If you hadn’t been prancing around
with one the day I left the institute you would probably have known your
daughter all of this time.”

“I’m lost. I don’t know who you
mean. I haven’t been with anyone since you at the glacier except you at the
hotel.”

“I saw you Liam, she was blonde…”
Amy tipped her head with her brow arched up. “Tall, willowy, hanging off your
arm while she gave you that ‘Ooooh Liam’ look?” Amy cooed sexily.

“Sharon? Jim’s secretary?” Amy
shrugged. She wasn’t sure. “I remember helping Sharon that day, her oil light
was on in her car and she wanted me to look at it. She just needed a quart
because of a leak. I sent her to my mechanic to get it fixed.”

“Of course, maybe check her with
your dipstick.” Amy pouted.

“You’re jealous.” Liam burst out
laughing.

“Of course I’m jealous. I don’t
look like those girls that you go with, there was a different one every few days,
and none of them resembled me.”

“That’s for sure.” He shifted
Brandon when he squirmed and she scoffed. Amy got up and moved to leave. “Amy
none of them looked like you. There was a new one every few days until you.
Make the connection. It’s you that I want, not a stick with boobs as you put
it. Just you. Your brilliant mind, your quick temper, your sharp tongue, your
soft eyes and the heat you make me feel. There have been lots of women, some I
slept with some I didn’t but I never felt anything until you.” Her back was
still to him and he stood to put Brandon down. When he’d made sure the baby was
comfortable and warm, he raised up and she was looking at him.

“Do you mean that?” She nibbled her
lip.

“Of course I mean it. My brother
and I have been chasing you all over the world. I’ve gone nearly crazy trying
to find you. My wolf needs you, I need you, and I can’t live without you. Can
you understand that? My whole body and soul crave you.”

“Are you trying to get laid Liam
because I can’t for a few weeks.” She said acidly.