Summit of the Wolf (6 page)

Marissa spoke up for the first time since they had left the cabin. “No, it was because of you. Your big mouth about Morgan started rumors that brought three packs down on us at once. They tried to kill every one of us to get to her and Lana. Brandon died honorably, but if anyone is to blame for his death, it’s you.”

Jonathan put an arm around Alexis’s waist. “I think I’m partly to blame, also. When Alexis came to me with this information, I didn’t know what it meant to have a white wolf. I called around asking if other people had ever heard of one, and it didn’t take long for someone to research it and figure out what she was. By then, it was too late. The information had already spread through the packs.” His earnest eyes fell on Morgan. “I’m sorry.” He seemed to be apologizing for more than just his part in what had happened.

“Forget it,” she said generously. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Regardless of how everyone found out, it doesn’t change what I am. We would probably have had to deal with the backlash sooner or later.” She could be civil about it, but in truth, the betrayal still rubbed her fur the wrong way.

A loud rap on a podium settled everyone down and focused their attention up to the front of the room.

An older man with a cane stood at the front tapping on a microphone attached to the podium where he was standing. “Welcome to this year’s Summit. My name is Marcus Whitten, and I will be your host this year. If anyone has problems or questions, you may come to me. Some of you are new to our community or have never been here before, and I want to extend a special welcome to you. We have these gatherings every year to gain friendships, to tighten our community, to gather important information, and to address concerns. We also hold them to integrate fun and competition to break down the barriers of the pack lines. If you picked up the itinerary when you came in, you can see the pack hike and scavenger hunt will be set for tomorrow morning directly after breakfast. Each pack will be paired with another, and the challenge will be to learn to work together. A premium-cut steak package will go to each of the winners as a prize.”

A rumble erupted into the room as the excitement grew over hundreds of dollars of the finest cuts of steak money could buy.

“A bonfire will be held tomorrow night where dominance and strength challenges will be made, first for males, and then for females, if any of our lovely ladies want to sign up this year. Afterward, anyone who would like to is welcome to Change and run together. Keep the fighting to a minimum please. Punishment will be quick, so don’t test us.” The man took a deep breath and swung his gaze to their table. “Alphas will be omitted from this function as we will be holding a mandatory meeting about a new development in our community. I think everyone can guess who I am talking about.”

Dean stood, and the man pointed to him with a gavel.

“I move that alpha’s mates also be admitted to this meeting. I think with this delicate situation, the female’s opinions could prove to be invaluable.”

The old werewolf nodded. “Well said. Does anyone second this motion?”

Grey raised his hand along with a few other wolves throughout the room.

“All right, alpha’s mates will also be expected to attend the meeting. Before I let you get back to visiting, I would like to bring Morgan Crawford up to the front so she can have a formal introduction into our community.”

He held his aged hand out as if she could take it from where she sat.

What Morgan wanted to do was slump in her chair and cross her fingers that everyone would look around, fail to see her, and give up on her parading in front of the room. Luck like that didn’t exist for her, not since she had been Turned. Instead, she stood, set Lana gently in Marissa’s outstretched arms, straightened her spine, and headed for the front of the room. A couple hundred pairs of eyes followed her in a slow arc as she made her way through the crowd and up the stairs to the stage. Her bond caressed her as Grey followed right behind. He didn’t have to touch her physically for her to know he was there. When she turned to face the crowd, the looks on their faces ranged from outraged, to curious, to calculating—each terrifying in its own way. An awkward silence filled the room until it was hard to breathe.

Public speaking hadn’t exactly been her bright and shining moment in school. In fact, on two different occasions when it had been her turn to speak, she had simply frozen and looked blankly at her notecards whose words had suddenly seemed to be written in an incomprehensible language.

Was she supposed to say something? And if so, what was she supposed to talk about?

Marcus leaned kindly into the microphone. “Apparently this year’s crop of newcomers has turned up a silver wolf, which was thought to be extinct.”

“How do we know she is a silver wolf?” someone jeered from the crowd.

“Yeah, we want to see her Changed!”

The room exploded with demands. The man with the gavel looked questioningly at Morgan, and she nodded. Changing for a demanding crowd? It was official. She was a freak show.

A man at the front of the crowd spoke. “Of course she is Silver Wolf! Can’t you smell her?” He drew a long exaggerated breath and stared at her with predatory eyes. “Like a bitch in heat.”

He reached for her leg, but before he could touch her, Grey’s Wolf exploded from him in an instant, and his black-furred muzzle clamped down on the man’s arm. He bit hard enough to puncture skin, and then let him go. The man scurried backward through several rows of people, knocking chairs over and pushing into others. The stink of fear was thick and pungent in the air.

“No one is to touch her,” Grey snarled out in a voice more growling beast than human. The crowd gasped in unison, and then started their whispered chatter again. He stood protectively in front of her, but her mate had managed to stun even her. No way could she ever speak human words when she was Changed into a wolf. Several wolves in the front whispered, “Demon Wolf,” and a few even made the sign of the cross, as if they were warding off evil. None of this seemed to bother Grey, who sat down beside her and narrowed his glorious yellow eyes at the audience.

She turned on her heel and left through a door at the back of the room in search of somewhere more private to Change. Grey followed and guarded the door of the room until she was finished. Their bond was slack, like he was close. Even though her pained whimpers embarrassed her, she was relieved he was near. She clawed the cracked door open with her paw and came face to chest with him. He ran his muzzle down the side of her face and gave a short whine. She sent him pictures of them holding hands on the plane, and of him throwing Lana up in the air and catching her in front of the cabin. She was fine. She just wanted to get back to normal. Whatever that was. Grey rubbed his body down the side of hers and led her back out to meet the crowd.

She and Grey walked side by side as they came back out onto the stage. When she stopped and sat down, Grey sat close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body emanating from him. The chatter had escalated when she first appeared in all of her white wolf grandeur and had morphed into a constant and excited buzz when she sat down.

More men in the room were taking on predatory stares, and Grey was getting agitated. He stood and paced back and forth, growling constantly. The pictures that came across the bond were of fighting and blood and creative ways Wolf was coming up with to kill anyone who dared touch her. She’d done what they had asked, and it was time to find her human skin again. Much more of this and Wolf would override Grey’s warning against a killing spree.

She hopped off the side of the stage and found the room with her clothes and Changed back. Fully dressed once again, she leaned against the sink of the tiny restroom and dragged her eyes up to the mirror. Brilliant purple against the dark shadow she had chosen. The tingles in her skin from two consecutive changes were uncomfortable. Like invisible fur all over her body had been rubbed the wrong way and there was no way to right it. She flexed her arms as she gripped the sink even tighter.

“You okay?” Grey asked from the doorway.

She jerked her head in a nod. “Sorry. The Change back took me a pretty long time.”

“I know. It’s okay. Can I do anything?”

“No. If you touch my skin, it will hurt.”

He shut the door behind him and leaned against the wall as if he didn’t have anywhere in the world to be but there. She approached him slowly and ran her fingertips up the side of his cotton shirt.

“Why are your Changes so different?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t know. The pain is blinding but short-lived. If I could take the hurt from your Changes away, I would do it.” He reached up, and his hand hovered just above the still sensitive skin of her cheek. If I could take all of your hurt away,” he whispered, “I’d do it.”

She sighed and leaned into his palm. The price of the pain was fair to gain the warmth of his touch. “I feel too far away from Lana.”

Back at the table, with Lana snuggled tightly in her arms, introductions began and promised never to end. Most wolves she met were kind and curious. A few of the females from other packs even stayed longer to talk to Rachel and Marissa. A smaller number, however, weren’t kind at all. These wolves obviously didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of women and said the most inappropriate things she had ever heard. She hadn’t a guess if they said such things to shock her or to get a rise out of Grey, or if they were actually hoping she would like the filthy talk. By the last group, she tried not to cringe while waiting to hear what was going to come out of their mouths. Perhaps if there were more female werewolves, they would know how to talk to ladies better. She enjoyed a good dirty joke more often than most, but not when they were directed at her by complete strangers.

The other females were quite interesting, and she found a bond with them she hadn’t expected. She was lucky to have Marissa in her pack and Rachel as a close friend in the pack next door, but other females weren’t so lucky, and Summit was their only chance to find camaraderie with others. Sure, some of the females were quick to make snide remarks, acting jealous about the boys paying attention to a new plaything, but Morgan waved them off. Even as a human, she had never had any inclination to make friends with women who acted like that. Others were perfectly friendly with a hint of desperation to connect. Rachel knew most of the females who sat around their table at the end of the night to talk. Lana had played thumb war with Grey until she relaxed and eventually fell asleep in his arms, and he smiled and left with her to give her time with the other females.

“What happened to your arms?” a pretty blond wolf beside her asked.

She pursed her lips, unsure of how to answer. How much detail did she go into? What if one of these females came from a pack they had fought? She didn’t want to bring tension into the group.

Rachel spoke up. “Our packs were attacked last week, and Morgan avenged one of our fallen brothers in her human form. She was a warrior. I haven’t ever seen anything like her.”

“You were there, too?” the woman asked.

“Marissa and I both were. Our pack was greatly outnumbered, and we wanted to help.”

“Has this happened before?” Another woman asked. “I mean, have you had to fight because you are Silver Wolf?”

“We had several formal challenges made at our house before that.” Morgan looked down to hide the heat in her cheeks. “The last one wasn’t accepted because I had already been claimed.”

“That big black wolf…you are his then? Officially?” the brown-haired girl to her left asked, disappointment tingeing her voice.

Morgan laughed. “Sorry ladies, he’s spoken for.”

Grey talked with a group of men a ways off. His shoulders were tense, but he patted Lana’s sleeping back absently and seemed comfortable enough. His gaze collided with hers, as if he could feel her attention, and the corner of his mouth curled up in an irresistible half smile. He winked, and she tried her best to stifle her hammering heart before the others heard it.

“Hubba hubba, now that’s a werewolf!” the blond woman said to the laughter of the table. Morgan thought her name was Sarah, if she remembered correctly.

“They were married last Saturday,” Marissa chimed in.

“You guys are married?” A younger woman, probably in her early twenties, all but squealed.

“Yeah,” Morgan admitted happily. “I don’t wear my rings unless I know I’m probably not going to Change that day.”

“You could do what some married females do and have their husbands brand their ring finger. You could brand him, too. Then there is never a question of whether you are married. I mean, males can smell that you are claimed anyway, but I think it is kind of romantic to get your ring finger branded.”

Morgan leaned back in her chair in surprise. “I’ve never thought about that. I might actually consider it.”

“So, what is the best part of being Silver Wolf?” another asked.

Morgan laughed, thinking. “I don’t think there is any benefit to being Silver Wolf thus far, but the biggest benefit to being a werewolf would be…oh, after I was Turned, I figured out I can eat as much as I want and not gain weight. I almost gave myself theobromine poisoning from eating three giant Hershey kisses to see if I could gain any weight. That experiment isn’t recommended, ladies. Chocolate really does hurt.”

“I save a ton of money because I don’t have to buy wrinkle cream,” an older woman, Doris, offered.

“There is never a lack of horny male attention,” Sarah said.

Marissa snorted. “Who wants that?”

A couple of the other women nodded in agreement with her. The laughter died down and Sarah spoke up again. “I know this is personal, but I think everyone is wondering. Wolves have been talking, and they say you are able to have babies. Are you?”

“I don’t know,” Morgan replied honestly. “It’s something I always think about, but all of the history we’ve been able to find says only some of the Silver Wolves were breeders. I don’t know if I am a breeder or not. I’ve only had two cycles since I was Changed, and they were both unpredictable.”