The Mating (21 page)

Marla started to cry. “Kane, don’t be angry with me. I…I didn’t want to do it. I know how you feel but…I have a confession to make. About a week after the challenge, Ryne came back to see me. He needed money to leave the area and start fresh somewhere else, and he wanted me to sell off all his remaining pictures. I said I could find buyers for all of them, but not the picture of you—I remembered what you’d said—but he was desperate for money and I…I loved him and I wanted to help. I never thought that the picture could endanger the pack. I…I’m so sorry.” With that, Marla ran from the room. A minute later, her bedroom door slammed shut.

Kane stood with his fists clenched, a muscle working in his jaw, then he shoved Marla’s chair against the wall and stormed out.

*****

Elise woke the next morning and saw that Kane’s side of the bed was undisturbed. Had he been that angry, that he’d not come home at all or had he been out on a patrol? Maybe he’d come across Ryne and there’d been a fight! He could be hurt somewhere with no one even realising he was missing! Hurriedly she threw on her clothes and ran downstairs to look for him. He wasn’t in his office or in the kitchen and there was no note on the fridge. Worrying her lip with her teeth, she wondered who might know what was going on. Thankfully, at that moment John walked in.

Grabbing the Beta’s arm, she spoke in a rush. “John, Kane never came to bed last night and I’m worried. He was so angry when he left. Do you know where he might be?”

“It’s all right, Elise. I talked to him about half an hour ago. He went on patrol since he didn’t think he should be anywhere near Marla.”

Relief washed over her, and she released her death grip on John’s arm. “Was selling that picture really as bad as Kane made it out to be?”

“Yes and no.” John wandered over to the stove and poured them both a cup of coffee. Handing one to Elise, he continued. “There’s always a chance that someone will notice something unusual about the photograph, and the fact that it went to a collector who specialises in wolves makes it even riskier. Kane is extremely protective of the pack and the idea of someone endangering it is really hard for him to take. Then there’s the whole obedience and trust thing. Marla not only broke his trust, but disobeyed a direct command, basically flaunting his authority. On top of all that, he’s stressed to the max and working way too hard. It’s not a good combination.”

“I didn’t think he could get that angry.”

“I’ve seen him worse, and believe me, it’s not something you want to see. Our Alpha keeps himself under a pretty tight rein. He tries really hard to be civilized and not let the wolf take over, but sometimes it just slips out. When it does, it’s usually justified, like last night. Marla was lucky. A few generations back, the Alpha might have killed her.”

Elise shivered at the thought. While she was proud of her heritage, there were some aspects of it that she wasn’t as fond of. “So what’s going to happen?”

“Well he’s decided that part of Marla’s punishment is that she has to get that picture back. I don’t know what kind of a tale she’s going to have to spin or what it will cost, but that’s her concern. Beyond that, if she’s smart she’ll lay low for a while. Kane doesn’t carry a grudge. He blows up and then cools down. He’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

*****

Kane didn’t come home for lunch and Marla, just to be on the safe side, stayed in her room. Since it wasn’t her day to work, Elise found herself with nothing in particular to do and so decided to make a call back home to help fill in the time. Sarah answered the phone and Elise was surprised to feel tears welling in her eyes. She hadn’t realised how much she missed the woman.

They chatted for over half an hour, catching up on the news from home. Elise wondered how Bryan was, but the conversation hadn’t worked around to him yet. Finally, Sarah mentioned his name in passing and Elise jumped on the chance to inquire about him, unconsciously squeezing the handset tighter.

“How is he? … Really? … He’ll be coming this way tomorrow? … Well, yes of course I’d love to see him … Maybe he could meet me in town. My shift is done at one o’clock … Uh-huh … Well, pass the information on to him and if it works for him, he can call me and make it definite … Okay … I miss all of you too … Yes, I promise to call sooner, but you can call me too, you know! Right … I’m looking forward to it. Bye. I love you!”

Elise hung up the phone and gave a little twirl of happiness only to come face to face with Marla. “Oh! Hi Marla. How are you doing today?”

Marla had a strange look on her face, but it quickly disappeared as she answered Elise’s question. “Oh, I’m fine I guess. Still feeling like a whipped puppy over that incident with Kane last night, though.”

“I’m really sorry I brought it up. Like you, I never thought it would be such a big deal.” Elise gave Marla a sympathetic smile.

“I know. And I shouldn’t have given in to Ryne, but he can be so persuasive and I was in love…” Marla studied Elise for a moment. “Have you ever been in love?”

Shifting a bit uncomfortably, Elise felt her face grow warm as she tried to think of a diplomatic answer. She didn’t mind Marla that much anymore, but she didn’t want to discuss close personal matters with her either. “Well…I…”

“It’s okay, Elise. We all know that you and Kane didn’t make a love match, but it will work out though, you’ll see.” Quickly changing topics, Marla asked about her phone call. “I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help overhear part of your conversation. You sounded pretty enthusiastic about meeting someone tomorrow.”

“Oh! Just an old friend from back home. We grew up together.”

Marla nodded. “That should be fun. Well, I’d better get moving. I’m just going to grab a bite to eat and then hide upstairs again. I figure by tomorrow, Kane will have calmed down a bit and I can try to make some apologies.”

With that, Marla left, humming slightly under her breath. For some reason, Elise felt a sense of unease wash over her. Looking back on the conversation, she couldn’t think of anything in particular that would have caused it though, and finally shrugged it off.

Marla and Kane had a long conversation in his office just before dinner and she left the meeting looking rather subdued, her face tear stained. Elise wondered what had been said but wasn’t sure that she dared ask. She tiptoed past the office, peeking in the open door and saw Kane sitting in his chair. He had his fingers steepled and his eyes closed. A troubled look was on his face, almost as if he were sad… She wondered what he was thinking and how he was feeling. There could be no doubt that recent events were weighing heavily on him, and she speculated that he probably felt everything was falling to pieces around him.

Hesitating by the door, Elise waged an internal battle. Part of her wanted to go in and offer comfort, or at least a listening ear, yet she wasn’t sure if it would be welcome. Possibly, he just wanted to be left alone for awhile without anyone making demands on him. Then again, maybe he was wishing he had someone to share with… Did he feel ever feel lonely? Frowning, she realised how very little she knew about her mate. Kane had allowed her small glimpses inside himself—she knew a few of his likes and dislikes with regard to food or music, but for the most part he seemed to be a very private man.

Elise felt a bit guilty when she reflected back on their time together. They’d developed a physical relationship and she was comfortable with Kane on that level, however their relationship outside the bedroom was rather superficial. She knew next to nothing about his background, and hadn’t really made a great deal of effort to find out much about him. So far, she’d been worried about herself—her own feelings, her own insecurities—and hadn’t spent much time thinking about the inner workings of his mind, beyond the fact that as Alpha he felt responsible for the pack.

He did want some form of relationship with her—he’d said as much the other night—but she hadn’t really pursued that conversation, which really wasn’t very fair of her. She needed to try to find out more about him—ask him some questions about himself—but then again, maybe he didn’t want to have a heart-to-heart talk. Lots of men weren’t into that; her father certainly never opened up about anything, at least not since her mother had died.

Nervously, Elise hovered outside the office door. Should she go in or should she leave him be? She was almost about to walk in when the decision was taken from her. The phone rang. Kane reached for it and she walked away, relieved yet also a bit disappointed that moment was lost.

*****

Kane seemed in a better mood at supper that night, though it was hardly possible that he could have been in a worse frame of mind than the previous evening. He announced that a call had come in saying the soil testing looked promising, and it seemed the environmental cleanup costs wouldn’t be as extensive as first predicted. Not only would this save the pack a lot of money, but they’d have even less reason to accept the compensation offered by Northern Oil.

Everyone was happy about the news but then Marla came in and the atmosphere tensed again. No one was quite sure how she and Kane would interact, but Kane addressed her civilly a few times—nothing special, just a ‘pass the rolls’ and ‘I’ve called about getting your apartment door fixed’—and the tension in the room began to ease as everyone realised that the two had at least reached a tentative peace.

Elise was relieved. Apparently, John was right; Kane didn’t hold a grudge—he blew up but then cooled down. It was useful information to know, in case she was ever on the receiving end of his wrath. She was hopeful, however, that such an event wouldn’t occur!

“I’m going for a long, relaxing run after dinner to celebrate the good news about the oil spill,” Kane announced at the end of the meal. “Anyone want to join me?”

Carrie patted her rounded tummy. “I think Junior and I will pass. I’m barely waddling as it is these days.”

“I’ll stay in and keep you company.” Helen chimed in. “I’m getting too old for late night runs.”

“And I’m on patrol tonight,” John said glumly. “I’ll be out already, but it won’t be for fun.”

“That just leaves you girls.” Kane looked at Marla and Elise expectantly.

Marla stared at her hands and responded quietly. “You and Elise haven’t had much time together lately. I’ve been monopolising your time quite a bit. Why don’t you two just go by yourselves?”

“You’re more than welcome to come, you know.” Kane seemed to be trying to let Marla know that all was forgiven.

“No, that’s okay. You two have fun.”

“All right.” He shrugged and stood, extending his hand to Elise. “Are you ready?”

“Well, I should help with the clean up first…” She hesitated looking at the table laden with dishes.

“Elise, go and spend time with your mate! I’ll help with this.” Marla made a shooing motion at the couple.

“Thanks, Marla. I appreciate that.” Elise smiled at Marla, while her brain raced trying to figure out if an alien had somehow abducted the other woman. It was certainly a turnabout from the woman she’d first met, but maybe the incident with Ryne had brought her to her senses.

“No problem. That’s what friends are for and besides, I know how much you enjoy being out in the woods.”

Kane ruffled Marla’s hair by way of thanks and tugged at Elise’s arm, leading her outside.

*****

A blue-black dome arched overhead, dotted with twinkling white lights and the occasional grey shadow of a cloud as it drifted slowly across the night sky. There was still enough illumination from the crescent moon to allow Kane and Elise to see easily as they crossed the lawn towards the woods. Good night vision was one of the bonuses of being a werewolf, Elise thought as she easily stepped over a large stick that would have likely tripped anyone with less acute eyesight.

The night was extremely quiet. Frost had killed off all the insect life, so there were no comforting chirps or fluttering of wings to fill the silence, just the soft sound of their feet moving across the ground. Elise felt the familiar frisson of unease as she walked beside her mate. It was just the two of them and silence lay heavily between them. She darted a glance at Kane wondering if he felt it too, but he seemed lost in thought. Should she start a conversation? A number of trivial topics crossed her mind and were quickly dismissed as too cliché. Inwardly, she growled in frustration. Once again, it was being brought home to her that she only had a physical relationship with Kane. Tightening her lips, she resolved to try and build some depth into their lives together.

Pausing at the edge of the tree line, Kane cocked his head and listened carefully, then sniffed, testing the scents that drifted by. As she waited for Kane to finish checking the area, Elise acknowledged the crispness of the air. It bit at her nose, cooling her cheeks, ears, and fingertips. She didn’t mind the temperature, however. It was yet another one of the perks of her wolf-like genetics.

“The patrols have been here recently.” Kane announced. “The area is secure, so we can safely run.” With that he shifted into the form of a sleek black wolf and Elise quickly followed suit.

The change to wolf form always made Elise feel exhilarated. Her senses were heightened and she could feel the latent strength of her muscles. Stretching first her front legs and then her back, she raised her muzzle to the sky, squinting up at the moon and sniffing the air. An exciting blend of scents assaulted her brain: other wolves, plant life, rabbits and squirrels, but most importantly, Kane.

There was something about being in wolf form that made their bond seem stronger and hope fluttered inside her. Maybe this was what they needed—the chance to do things together just for fun, to let their inner wolves get to know each other. Already instinct was kicking in and Elise couldn’t resist rubbing against Kane and licking at his face.

For his part, Kane seemed equally affected. He nuzzled her then began sniffing at her from head to toe. His interest in her tail had her sidestepping away though. His attentions made her skittish. Her heat cycle was almost upon her and his wolf would be acutely sensitive to the fact. If he hadn’t been so tired this past week, he likely would have noticed sooner, even in human form.