The Alpha's Choice (22 page)

"Jo! Hyatt! My office. Now!" Charles shouted
and he pointed to Tanner. "Go find Rawley. Check the barn. He said
he was going to work on the truck. I want you two in on this,
too."

"Sure thing, Alpha!" Tanner looked like he'd
won the lottery.

* * *

They were in the Alpha's Office for most of
the afternoon and while Kat was tempted to spend the time with her
ear to the door, she knew Charles would tell her what she needed to
know later when they were alone. Besides, there were too many
people milling about for her not to get caught.

She did, however, make note of those who
lingered in the hall, writing their description when she couldn't
remember the name and adding a frowny or smiley face depending on
their reactions as they slowly passed by the office door. Damn
them! Their hearing was so much better than hers.

In between snooping on the snoopers, she
readied her classroom for her student's arrival. She finally had
names, ages and sexes and once she wrote them down, her fuzzy
memory began to clear and what she'd been told by Eugene Begley
started to return. Knowing what she did now, she wondered if Mr.
Begley's powers of persuasion weren't some kind of Wolver hoo-doo,
akin to Charles' power, but in no way as potent.

There was no doubt she would have her hands
full with her five students, none of whom were proficient for their
ages in reading or math. There were three boys ages fifteen, ten
and nine and two girls, the older being thirteen and the younger, a
tender four year old. They had all suffered the most horrible
neglect, most likely from birth if one could judge by their
names.

The oldest boy, River, was named for the
place of his birth on the bank of an unknown river, the girls,
Forest and Meadow, followed suit. The other boys were named for the
pickup trucks in which they were born, Ranger and Dakota. At least
the names weren't awful and Kat shuddered to think what names they
might have been forced to carry if they'd been born in an alley or
the back room of a bar.

No one knew their exact dates of birth or
last names, only that they'd been found on land belonging to the
Wolf's Head Pack after a band of rogues had been run off by
Charles' brother Marshall. By pack law, they were Wolf's Head's
responsibility and therefore Charles' as Alpha.

He'd funded the renovation of a small, former
school building about two miles from the house where the children
could live and learn, but Kat was convinced they would be better
served with some semblance of family life here in Hell Hall.

Around the dinner table that evening, she was
gratified to learn that most of the women agreed with her. The
first to speak up was one of Stephanie's cohorts.

"They need to learn what a real pack looks
like," Rhonda told the men. "How else will they form the bonds
they'll need in the future. They've grown up rogue. That's no way
to live."

"If Marcus isn't joking about cages," Becky
added, "They must be pretty wild. They need a strong hand and some
tough male guidance and they'll get more of that here than isolated
with Kat. No offense," she added, smiling at Kat.

"I don't think he was joking," Ryker
muttered.

Kat chose to ignore the Security Chief's
remark. "None taken," she smiled back at Becky, "But if living
rogue is what they know, I think they're going to need loving
kindness first. They need to see that life isn't all harsh and
cold."

"I think Kat's right," redheaded Becky added
with a wink at Rawley. "I think it will be good for us all to have
a few kids around and I'm sure they'll be glad to be here rather
than where they were. It must have been awful to be left alone like
that. Good food, warm beds and a gentle touch will bring them
around faster than cages."

"A wolver cub needs to know they'll get their
head cracked if they don't fly right," Jo said bluntly.

Kat thought the woman would be on her side
and was surprised when she wasn't.

"If you ask me, these kids would be better
off being locked down for a time, brought back to health and
trained physically before you inflict them on the rest of us."

"Then it's a good thing no one asked you,"
her brother interrupted. "Fortunately, our Kat has a heart, unlike
you who misplaced yours when you were twelve."

"I haven't misplaced it. I just don't let it
rule my head or in your case…" Jo paused and grinned when Charles
cleared his throat "…all right, message understood, we're at the
table." She turned back to Kat. "You're thinking in terms of
children. These are cubs. They'll be dirty and sticky and
snarly."

"In other words, like human kids who've been
neglected and allowed to run wild," Kat laughed and turned to
Charles. "Well?"

He raised his hands to fend her off. "Don't
look at me. This is your area of expertise. You were hired to do
the job and I expect, one way or another, you'll get it done. It
might be best, however, to reserve judgment until after we've met
the little critters. Don't go…"

"Borrowing trouble where there is none,"
Buddy finished for him. The yardman was clearing the table of empty
plates and loading them onto a tray for his mother.

"I don't think your Alpha needs the advice of
a…" Alex began.

"Hired hand? Maybe, maybe not, but I can
always use the advice of a trusted friend and Buddy has been my
friend since I was in diapers." Charles nodded and winked at the
man who beamed in return.

Kat silently cheered and saw Jo suck in her
cheeks to stifle a laugh. Score one for Buddy and oh, too bad, none
for Alex.

"Best friend," Buddy agreed, "Not BFFs,
though. That's for girls." He piled a few more plates on the tray.
"You going hunting tonight?" he asked hopefully.

"We are, Buddy, but it's not the kind of
hunting where I can take you. I do have a job for you. I need a man
I can trust."

"I can do it," Buddy said solemnly. "You can
always trust me."

"I know I can and that's why I'm going to
give you another chance to go over the moon."

It was Ryker who interrupted him this time.
"Alpha, are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Leave the dishes there a minute,
Buddy. I want you here, looking at me." Charles stood and waited
for the man to come to him. "I need someone to patrol the grounds
to protect Kat and your Mama and the other women. I need you to
watch and listen and smell. If you see or hear or smell anyone who
doesn't belong, you get Kat or your Mama. Don't wait until you see
who it is. You hear me? You come straight to the house."

"I can do that," Buddy said after each
sentence, "I can do that."

"Alpha?" Mrs. Martin stood in the doorway,
looking terrified.

Kat couldn't blame her after what had
happened the last time, but Charles was aware of that, too.

"Trust your Alpha," was all Kat said.

Tilda stared at her for a moment and then
went to Buddy's full tray. "I'll just clear this away," she
said.

Charles ignored the exchange, but Kat felt
his power raise up just a notch. "This is the most important thing
I've ever asked you to do, Buddy. I ask it because you are my best
friend and because I am your Alpha. You have to ignore the call of
the wild and obey me, your Alpha. It's a rule. The most important
rule. You must always obey your Alpha."

"I can do it, Alpha. I can do it."

And Kat was confident that Buddy would.

Chapter
21

The men were going on a hunt and their prey
were the men who operated the dog fights that were taking place in
an abandoned building on Wolf's Head land.

"Is it going to be dangerous?" Kat asked when
they were alone in their room after dinner. "Isn't there another
way? A safer way?" These were the questions she would have asked
earlier, but she refused to publicly cast doubt on the Alpha's
decision.

"You sound like Alex," Charles complained.
"Of course there's another way, but charging them rent is not an
option and it's likely they're already paying off the authorities
to look the other way. I know these people, Katarina, maybe not as
individuals, but I know their kind. My father had to deal with
them. My brother, Marshall, has had to deal with them. A show of
force is what they understand. Anything less is seen as a weakness.
They'll think they've won."

"Will they have guns? You can't go up against
guns, Charles."

He laughed at that. "Just because I live in a
highly secured high-rise in a low crime area of the city, doesn't
mean I'm unaware of the evils that lurk in the woods. I grew up
here, remember? You don't run an outfit like that with that much
money floating around and not be armed. So are we. We'll run as
wolves, but we'll fight as men. They won't know we're there until
we're on top of them. We'll run them off, take the place apart, and
take care of the animals."

"What will you do with them?" Realistically,
Kat knew that some of those dogs would be beyond saving, but it was
hard to envision a mass slaughter. They didn't deserve that.

"I called my brother. He knows someone who
knows someone who'll quietly move in when we've done our job. The
Rabbit Creek pack has members working all over this mountain."

"Someday Wolf's Head will, too. You'll see to
it." He'd thought of everything as she should have known he
would.

"You are so good for me, kitten." He drew her
in and kissed her forehead. "Your belief in me makes me believe I
can do anything."

"Don't let it go to your head. I believe in
Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, too," she laughed, lifting her
chin so he could transfer his kiss to her lips. "Go get 'em, Big
Bad. Go show those little pigs who's boss Alpha around here."

"Wait up for me?"

"Like I could sleep while you guys are out
there playing with firearms. Are you sure they all know what end
the bullet comes out of?"

Wolf on wolf, she was sure of their
competence. She'd heard some of the stories about their forays into
the wild. But guns? When these guys said shoot from the hip, they
were talking business tactics and their OK Corral was a board
room.

"Don't be fooled by the Brooks Brothers suits
and Italian loafers. Most of these guys grew up like I did. Don't
forget, most packs live close to the wild. Riker's trained them
well. They know how to work as a fighting unit inside the boardroom
and out. There's nothing to worry about. They'll be fine."

* * *

Kat watched them go. She was alone on the
patio when the men went over the moon. This time there was very
little horseplay and they were all dressed in dark jeans and black
cotton T-shirts. She'd wondered how they would transport the guns,
but the problem was easily solved with leather satchels whose
straps could be looped over the neck once the change to wolf was
made.

She watched as they changed, no less
fascinated than she'd been the night before and wondered where Jo
was and why she wasn't watching, too. The other women had opted to
stay indoors. The forecast promised more rain and a light mist was
already beginning to fall.

When the bright light faded and the beasts
departed, Kat stayed where she was. A lone white wolf came out of
the mist running toward her at full tilt. He skid to a stop just
inches from her feet and barked at her insistently. She wanted to
laugh, but didn't.

"Alright, Buddy, I get the message. I'm going
in, but I want you to stop by the kitchen windows every time you
make a pass. I'll be watching out for you just like you're watching
out for me. Okay?"

The animal snorted and nodded his head. He
understood.

"Don't forget. The Alpha is counting on you
and so am I."

Charles didn't believe there was any danger,
but he wanted Buddy to feel like he was part of the pack. If Buddy
believed he had an important role to play, he would be less likely
to follow the call of the wild. It was a matter of trust and they
all had to trust that their Alpha was right.

For the next few hours, Kat waited and
watched. For a while, Tilda waited with her. Just as Charles
predicted, Buddy kept his promise and circled the grounds as he had
been shown and stopped by the windows with each pass.

"He'll be fine," Tilda said as if Kat was the
one who doubted it. "I expect they'll be out until the wee hours.
They can afford to sleep late. I can't. House this big, I can't
afford to let the work get ahead of me."

"You need to talk to the Alpha, Tilda," Kat
told her. "With all these people, this job is too much for one
person."

"It won't be forever. They'll all be heading
back to the city soon." Tilda yawned and rolled her shoulders.
"With just you and the cubs, I'll get my rest."

Kat snorted a laugh. "Sure, because taking
care of eight people is no big deal, right?"

Inside, she wasn't laughing. What Tilda said
made perfect sense. The others would be leaving soon. They had jobs
to go to, work to do. She said an absentminded good night to Tilda,
her thoughts on the future.

They'd been playing house here at Hell Hall
and she had allowed the fantasy of it all to hide the truth. This
wasn't a fairytale, in spite of the fantastical beings she'd
discovered. Charles would be leaving for the city soon and leaving
her behind. How long would he be gone? How often would he visit and
when he did, how long would he stay? How long before he forgot to
come visit her at all?

"Stop it!" Kat said the words aloud and
looked at the old schoolhouse clock that hung on the kitchen wall.
Ten minutes! She leaned over the sink to get a wider view of the
yard. There was no sign of Buddy. Had he passed by while she was
busy holding her private pity party? Or had he missed his
check-in?

She grabbed a jacket from the row of hooks by
the back door and ran out onto the patio, calling the white wolf's
name. "Buddy! Buddy, where are you?"