The Mating (36 page)

“You’re so…so ordinary. Boring. Why he ever agreed to be mated to you, is beyond me.” Marla continued as if she hadn’t heard what Elise had said. “Oh well, you’ll be gone and then I’ll get him back. He always comes back. Guilt can work wonders on a man with a conscience.”

Realising that Marla wasn’t going to do anything to help Rose, until she’d had her say, Elise tried to focus on the conversation. Even though she had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what Marla was talking about, Elise decided to ask. “Gone? What do you mean I’ll be gone? I’m not going anywhere.”

“Oh, I’m afraid you are, Elise. Rose and I had it all planned out. She lured you here and, just like she said, we were going to drug you, tie you up, and sink your body to the bottom of the lake. Then we’d convince Kane that you’d run off with Bryan. He’d be upset, but not overly surprised, given your recent behaviour. Of course, I’d be there to comfort him.”

Marla sighed. “It was all going so well. Even the little glitches weren’t a problem. I managed to think of a reason for Kane to be in town that first day you met Bryan. Of course, in the end, Kane didn’t go, but he sent Rose instead and that was fine. She would have been able to be an ‘eye-witness’ when explaining your disappearance later on. And the fact that you were hiding the meeting by using that perfume I gave you, would only have increased suspicion that you were guilty.” She glared down at Elise. “Yesterday should have been the icing on the cake. Kane actually saw you with Bryan. I know he heard the messages and I set the diary out for him to see. How did he end up blood bonding to you? What went wrong?”

Elise didn’t feel inclined to answer. Marla studied her for a moment, shaking her head, then shifted a bit and poked Elise’s shoulder with the toe of her boot, revealing the mark Kane had left. “I guess Rose was right. The blood bonding has put a bit of a kink in our plan. Eventually, Kane’s going to sense something’s wrong—the oil spill will only keep his mind busy for so long—and when he realises it, he’ll come looking for you.” Marla tapped her finger to her lips as she thought out loud. “The kidnapping and ransom story won’t work now, so the question is, what to do with you now? Hmm… I suppose I’ll have to arrange it so that it looks like you were killed. Ryne can be blamed again. He’s such a good scapegoat.”

“Ryne’s a scapegoat?”

“Of course. He’s hot headed, but I could never get him to do any real dirty work. He’s too full of annoying honour for that. I did manage to convince him to challenge Kane for the position of Alpha, but he just left the area after losing and has only come back once that I know of.” She touched her face as if remembering the bruise Ryne had given her. “Luckily, I had a pair of his old boots and enough of his sweaty gym clothes at my apartment that I was able to convince people he was still around. I covered my own scent with perfume so no one ever knew I was there. Then I wore his boots and clothes, making it seem like he’d been present each time and ensuring he was the one that got blamed for everything that went wrong.”

That would explain the perfume and the other scent in the red car—it had been from Ryne’s clothes, Elise thought to herself. Still, she couldn’t figure out what Marla was going to gain from all of this. Stalling for time, in the vain hope that someone might come to the rescue, she decided to ask. “But why?”

“I need control of the pack.“ Marla answered simply, while rising to her feet. She walked over and looked at Rose, then shrugged. “You’re right. She’s dead.”

For all that she’d known Rose was dead, having it proclaimed out loud was upsetting. Elise felt tears prick her eyes. She hadn’t known Rose well, and even though the girl had been working with Marla, the fact that she was dead saddened her.

Marla continued on in a conversational tone, as if she were discussing nothing more important than the weather. “It’s a shame in a way that she’s dead. Rose was actually quite clever, but no one paid much attention to her or ever suspected her of anything. You know the eagerly awaited environmental report? I gave it to her and she altered the version that Kane saw, making it seem almost worthless while the original went to Northern Oil. They paid us a tidy sum for that. And your gushing diary entries about Bryan? Rose wrote those too. She did a good job copying your penmanship, don’t you think? And some of the cheques she’s forged… Well, let’s just say that if anyone ever does an in-depth audit of the local bank, it won’t be pretty.” Shaking her head, Marla turned away from Rose’s broken body. “It’s too bad that she’s gone though. I had a few more jobs for her before I severed our relationship. Still, I suppose this will save me getting rid of her later on. Ryne can be blamed for her death, too.”

Elise tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but nothing alleviated the pain. Her broken leg throbbed and the various abrasions covering her body stung. Trying to keep Marla talking so the woman held off killing her, Elise brought up more questions. “Why do you need control of the pack? If you want to be an Alpha female, why not just go with Ryne and start over?”

Marla laughed sarcastically. “Are you serious? As if I’d ever go off and live like a pauper while Ryne tried to establish a pack somewhere. Being Alpha female is only a means to an end. I want money and this pack is loaded. Northern Oil is offering a fortune for the land, but most of the pack is too stupid to take it. Only Rose, myself and a few of the others seem to see things clearly. We can sell out to Northern Oil and we’ll be rich. “

“But…you said that this was your home and you couldn’t leave it.”

“I lied. Being a wolf isn’t that great. Rose hated being the Omega of the pack and wanted out of that stupid hierarchy system. And me, I could happily live as a rich human for the rest of my life, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

“But how?”

“Don’t you worry your little head, Elise. I’ve been planning this for ages. First I got rid of Zack by cutting the brake line—“

“So that’s why you pretended to be ‘Marlene’ and hung out with Marty!”

“Oh, what a clever girl you are.” Marla mocked. “You’re right. Marty showed me enough about how an engine works that I can hotwire it or sabotage it. Once Zack was dead, I figured Ryne would be the logical replacement since he was older. When it looked undecided, I gave matters a little push. Ryne was bigger and I thought he’d win a challenge, so I told him that Kane had sabotaged Zack’s brakes. Being the impulsive, hot-headed type that he is, Ryne issued the challenge before he had time to think things through. Unfortunately, he lost and it set me back a bit. I’d been working on Ryne for weeks before then, convincing him that selling out was the right choice, and now I had to start all over again.”

So that’s why everyone thought Ryne was behaving differently just before the challenge, Elise realised. Marla had probably been using all of her wiles to try and compel him to give in to Northern Oil.

Marla stared disinterestedly at the various rocks and trees that decorated the ravine, her lip curling slightly as if she found her surroundings somewhat distasteful. She gave a quiet snort, then returned her focus to Elise. “With Ryne gone, I went to work on Kane, trying to convince him to sell out. I poisoned the water, set traps, had the electricity turned off, called the fire inspectors… Even that picture was part of the plan.”

“The picture?”

“Remember how worried Kane was? How he thought someone might notice that the wolf in the picture isn’t a real wolf? If someone comes to check it out, the pack could be discovered. I might even hire a few actors to do that, now that I think about it. People poking around town, looking for wolves is a guaranteed way to spook our Alpha. You see, Kane cares too much about his pack and that’s his weakness. If I can convince him it isn’t safe here, he’ll agree to sell out and move elsewhere. Once the cash is in his hands, I can electronically siphon it from his account into an untraceable Swiss one in my own name.” Marla stopped and looked down at Elise, scowling. “Everything was going great until you showed up.”

“Marla, if it’s money you want, I can talk to Kane. I’m sure he’d give you some.”

“Some!” Marla scoffed. “I don’t want some. I want it all.” She checked her watch. “Well, as much as I’ve enjoyed this scintillating conversation, I’d better go get Ryne’s clothes on again. If I’m going to kill you, I want his scent all over you.” Winking, she kicked Elise’s broken leg. “Don’t go anywhere while I’m gone.”

Elise tasted blood in her mouth from where her teeth were biting into her lip. She wouldn’t cry out and give Marla the satisfaction of knowing how much that had hurt, even though her body was screaming with pain. Closing her eyes, she listened to the sound of retreating footsteps until they could be heard no more.

Finally she could let her aching body relax. Unclenching her hands and her jaw, Elise took stock of her situation. She was alone at the bottom of a ravine, with a broken leg, a money-hungry she-wolf coming back to kill her at any moment, and a dead body for company. Blinking, she reached up a shaky hand to brush a lone snowflake from her face. Yes, she was alone and no one knew where she was…

Surrounded by the quiet stillness of the woods, Elise sat at the bottom of the ravine, listening to the sound of her own laboured breathing. Every square inch of her body hurt. She’d just completed what felt like a herculean task by working herself into a sitting position and sliding her way over to the base of a small tree. Now, as she leaned against the trunk, she fought back waves of blackness that threatened to overtake her. The move had been excruciating and her immediate plan, to put as much distance between herself and this location before Marla returned, would have to wait until the urge to vomit and faint had passed.

This was a fine mess that she’d landed herself in and had no idea how she was going to get out of it. Her first thought had been to try to contact Kane, seeking him out with her mind, but nothing came to her. He was still blocking her out, but did that necessarily mean he couldn’t sense her? Did it work both ways? Concentrating as hard as she could, she projected her thoughts outward. For a moment, she wondered if she’d captured his attention, but then the little spark was gone, leaving her feeling empty and alone once again.

Staring up at the sky, she watched as more snowflakes began to fall. They landed on her face and caught in her lashes. It was actually quite pretty, she mused, letting her mind drift away from the pain that shot through her with every breath. If she was back at the Alpha house, she’d be sitting in the kitchen, sipping a fresh cup of coffee and watching Helen bake. The mug would be warm in her hands and the smell of fresh baked cookies would fill the air while they chatted about pack life. In her dream world, Kane would come walking in and place his hands on her shoulders. Then he’d nuzzle her neck and trail his warm lips along her jaw until their mouths met in a slow, warm kiss. Elise smiled at the thought and let her eyes drift shut, cherishing the picture.

She must have drifted off, for the cry of a blue jay had her becoming aware of her surroundings with a start. Grey rocks jutted out of the dark soil that composed the sides and base of the ravine while sickly thin saplings and dried weeds haphazardly popped up here and there. Evidence of what might be a stream in wetter weather could be seen meandering down the centre of the ravine floor, but at present only the tiniest trickle of water was evident.

Looking down towards her injured leg, Elise saw that a small amount of snow had accumulated around her and she realised that she was shivering. Her warm wolf fur would come in handy right now, she thought, but she hesitated to change forms. Her leg was broken and she wasn’t sure how phasing would affect it. Could the reshaping of the bone cause further damage or would it help it to heal faster? And then again, did she want it to heal faster if it wasn’t properly set? Could she end up with a permanently damaged leg or one that needed to be re-broken in order to be corrected? Nibbling on her lip, she decided to hold off changing forms as long as possible, but, if necessary, she’d risk being lame over being dead.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that it had broken in the fall, so she had no real idea of the time. Squinting up at the sky, a very hazy glow from the sun could just be seen through the cloud cover. From its position, she assumed it was almost noon. By now, Mr. Mancini would be having a fit that she hadn’t shown up for her shift at the Grey Goose, though Kane had forbidden her to work there anymore. She wondered if he’d meant it, or even remembered having uttered the words; it had been said in the heat of the moment after all. The way Kane had ranted and ordered her around yesterday still rankled underneath the hurt of his rejection. When she saw him again—if she ever saw him again—she’d have to clear that up. She enjoyed her job. To be sure it was just waitressing, but she was becoming quite good at it and enjoyed interacting with people. Working at the Grey Goose was her first taste of independence and she wasn’t going to give it up without a fight.

She gave herself a little shake. Why was she getting so worked up about her job at a time like this? Staying alive was a more pressing matter! Her stomach chose that moment to rumble and she realised that she’d forgotten to eat breakfast, instead she had spent her time telling Helen her troubles. She recalled with longing the delicious smells that had been floating around the kitchen earlier. Everyone would be gathering at the Alpha house now and enjoying Helen’s lunch of scalloped potatoes and baked ham. Would anyone notice she was missing and wonder where she was? Would Kane try to establish a connection with her in order to locate her? Once again, she tried to contact him, but soon gave up in frustration. If he was receiving her, he wasn’t giving any acknowledgement of the fact.

Damn him for being so stubborn and pigheaded! Her anger started to grow. If he had only listened to her, rather than believing all the evidence against her, he’d have left the connection between them open. Then he’d know she was in trouble and get his butt over here. A part of her mind told her this was unfair. If the tables had been turned and she’d seen him hugging Marla, along with reading love notes and tape recorded messages, she’d be inclined to see him as guilty too. Still, she’d like to think that she’d have checked up on his well-being now and then, especially if he didn’t show up for a meal and had left no explanation.