Wolf’s Glory (25 page)

Each of the women seemed to find a niche for herself. Jill was the matriarch. She was given extreme deference. Glory doubted the Queen of England was treated any better. Each of the few times Jill ventured out of the den was like a royal procession, with people anxious to meet her. A few even dared to seek her out at the motel. They weren"t allowed in. Taye and the Pack were rabid about security for their women. Rose was like everybody"s kid sister.

Sky"s love-sickness made him behave like an ass, in Glory"s opinion. He hovered over Rose and tried to court her with an endearing brand of awkward tenderness that turned darkly possessive every time she went into town. Marissa had been going to school to get an interior decorating degree, and she used that in both the den and the plane women"s new place. Renee had been a chef at an upscale Denver restaurant, and she did amazing things with their food.

The meats, vegetables, and spices they had on hand were plain. But she took that as a challenge and developed meals for the plane women to serve in their restaurant when it opened. She tested each of the dishes several times on the Pack, to their delighted approval.

Carla had said quietly how nice it was to eat something besides half-cooked steak, as if she didn"t want to hurt the wolves" feelings. Glory loved rare steak, but she admitted that three meals a day that featured steaks or roasts would get old pretty quick.

Glory had no interest in knitting or sewing, so she read, sketched, and painted. The Pack eagerly posed for Glory any time she wanted them to. She spent many hours sketching them in both their forms. One of her favorites was of Taye and his beta Des in wolf form chasing Sky, also in wolf form, across the backyard. Des was one of the older wolves, probably in his mid-thirties, who spoke as little as possible. But he was a good subject, since he had infinite patience and could keep still for hours if she wanted him to. In her art classes she had never quite mastered the knack of drawing the human body. Her interest then was in wildlife and nature. But with these superb bodies as her subjects she found she could capture their contours perfectly. The faces seemed all to resemble Shadow"s, though. It might be because they were all related, but maybe Jill was right and she made all of them look like Shadow because she missed him. She wished she could open her cell and give him a call. Instead, she made a dozen pencil sketches of him, trying to find the one that was perfect so she could use her precious oils to paint him.

Ten days after she came to the Pack, Glory got her period. She should have been

relieved. Instead she cried. She found herself crying a lot. She had begun to think that she might be pregnant, and the disappointment hurt. Jill thought her period had been delayed by stress, and said sympathetically that it was no wonder. Rose made the mistake of saying that since Glory hadn"t wanted to have a baby she should be happy. Marissa cried with her. Renee wasn"t the warm fuzzy type, but she tried to comfort Glory by baking a cake. Carla tried several different things to take Glory"s mind off it like letting her groom her horse and writing a song in her honor. JaNae and Katie from the plane women"s house generously sent some coffee beans to Glory. The rare and expensive beans had been gifts from their many suitors, but they said Glory needed coffee more than they did. Taye grew so alarmed by Glory"s depression that he bought her more oil paints and canvas. Complete strangers, like Taye"s cousin Ellie, her cousin Doug, and her fiancé Neal, were sympathetic when they came to dinner on a Sunday. Even her personal Pack guard, Quill, tried to comfort her, and he barely ever spoke to anyone.

“Don"t cry, Glory,” he said in his shy, quiet voice one day when Glory was outside enjoying the unseasonably warm weather to draw the wolves practicing their fighting.

“Shadow will be back for you in the spring. You will have babies someday.”

Glory was sitting in the grass with her knees pulled up to her face, feeling homesick for Shadow"s scent and strong arms. She tried to find her usual sarcastic self but failed. “I wish Shadow was here,” she hiccupped.

Quill put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. His voice was hardly a whisper when he said, “It"s hard to not be able to have your mate at your side.”

Ha! She knew it! “So, what"s up with you and Ellie?”

He flinched, tipping his head forward to hide behind his hair. “Nothing.”

“Seriously?” It felt good to think of someone else"s problems for a minute. “I"ve seen the way you look at her. You think she"s your mate.”

“I
know
she"s my mate.”

“So, what are you doing here? Go after her.”

“She"s already promised to the Overdahl boy.”

Boy? Quill was probably the same age. “So? They"re not married yet. You have a shot.”

Quill was quiet for a second. “She loves him. I"ve seen the way she looks at him.”

So had Glory. Those wide velvet brown eyes looked at the blond kid like he was the sun.

“Yeah.” She reached up and squeezed his hand. “But she"s really young. She could change her mind and fall for you.”

“She doesn"t know I exist.”

“That"s because you keep quiet and hide.” She got to her knees and pushed his thick brown hair back from his face and examined the green eyes, straight nose, and long thin mouth. “You are a really good-looking guy. And you"re sweet. Any girl would be lucky to have you.”

He pulled gently out of her hold. “Girls want Alphas, not shy wolves like me.”

Glory shook her head. Glory wanted a strong man who could stand up to her. But Ellie?

No. She was … obedient. Bouncy and cheerful and giggly, but when her grandfather said something, she submitted sweetly. Ellie wasn"t the type to rebel against authority like Glory was. An Alpha like Shadow would crush her. A shy wolf who would cherish her, though, would be a good match. “You"re perfect for her. I think you should at least try.”

Quill shook his head decisively. “Overdahl is a good man. The Chief checked him out to be sure he"s good enough for his cousin. Ellie will be happy with him.”

“So you"re just going to step aside and watch your mate get married to another man?”

“No. I won"t be with the Pack much longer.”

“Really? Are you going back to the Clan?”

“No. I think I"ll head east to Omaha. Find my brother Red Wing and tell him his mate"s son has been found. Maybe stay there a few years before going back to the Clan.”

Glory got to her feet and closed her sketchbook. She"d thought Quill looked familiar.

That guy with the curly brown hair she"d seen saying good-bye to Marissa was his brother.

The sun had gone behind a cloud, and it was getting a little chilly. “That"s unusual, isn"t it? I mean, don"t you Clan people stay with the Clan? Or Pack?”

“Mostly. But Laura spends summers away, and Dan is hardly ever there. And… Well,

there"s Jimmy White Elk.” There was a note in his voice that disapproved of the black sheep brother. He hesitated, looking at her cautiously. “Don"t tell anyone. Promise.”

Glory promised.

“If Rose doesn"t accept Sky soon, he"s going away too. Don"t tell anyone. You

promised.”

Quill might not be an Alpha wolf, but he could get pretty bossy. “Fine. I promised.”

But it bothered her. She liked Sky, the way she"d like a little brother. Well, that made sense, since he was her brother-in-law. She sure liked him a lot better than Jimmy White Elk.

Weird. She began paying attention to Sky and Rose, and not just for the entertainment of watching them bicker. Sky took every opportunity to be close to Rose, who began spending as much time as possible in her room or glued to Jill to avoid him. Carla told him to back off, but he retorted that the Chief had told him he could court Rose as long as she wasn"t in her room. Glory was impressed with the way Carla had grabbed Sky"s ear and told him to clean up his act.

“Nice,” Jill complimented her. “Always a good idea to nip that sort of insolence in the bud. Let a young wolf get away with it and you"ll lose respect you should have as Lupa.”

Things were coming to a head with Rose and Sky, and everyone knew it. Glory didn"t think Rose would give in. The blonde teenager was mulish in her determination to have nothing to do with Sky. Glory thought that Rose would want to fool around a little bit with a hot little stud muffin like Sky, but she was driving him crazy by avoiding him. Sky wanted his mate, and his simmering temper was almost tangible.

Glory continued her usual routine of visiting the plane women, joining in the cooking and cleaning, and drawing and painting. Apparently a lot of young men from Kearney were anxious for the women to open their restaurant, and had been hard at work getting the place cleaned up and renovated. Connie had asked Glory to paint a sign for the “Plane Women"s Eatery.” Their nickname had stuck, and they"d decided to use it. Renee spent a lot of time in town, coaching Diana and Randee and the rest of Connie"s women how to cook for their restaurant. Marissa was there several times a week, visiting with her son. Their reunion, although sometimes awkward and stiff, was a cause for wonder throughout the region.

Occasionally Taye would allow Carla to go into town, and she would do quick impromptu concerts at the plane women"s house. When she did that, the women and all the men working would put down their tools and sit or stand around listening. It was on such an occasion that the long-awaited blow-up between Rose and Sky took place.

Carla was sitting on a top step of the staircase inside the apartment building with her guitar, while everybody else was on the ground floor listening. Rose was sitting cross-legged on the floor when one of the men from Kearney came to squat beside her. Rose smiled at him in a friendly way and turned her attention back to Carla.

Glory later decided that the man must be a moron with a death wish. Even though there were a dozen members of the Pack scattered around, and everyone within fifty miles knew that the blonde teenager was claimed by a wolf, the man leaned until he was touching his shoulder against Rose"s. Rose gave him a startled look and scooted a few inches away. Mr.

Moron followed her and put his hand over her knee.

“Big mistake,” Glory started to say, but her voice was drowned out by several growls, and then a howl rose above that. Sky launched himself, lips pulled back in a snarl, at the man.

The plane women flung themselves out of the way, even Sherry, whose broken legs had healed enough for her to hobble a little bit. Jumping Stag lived up to his name when he leaped in front of his unwilling mate to defend her. The only reason Mr. Moron lived through it was Carla"s order for Sky to get back. He didn"t want to obey, but the other wolves forced him to let go of the man. With all the Pack glaring at him and Sky trying frantically to get at him, the man looked like he couldn"t decide to be cowed or defiant. Then Marissa"s son took charge. He snapped handcuffs on the man and apologized to Rose, Carla, and Connie for the offender"s behavior. He made a curt little speech about how the Kearney authorities would not allow any unwanted familiarity with any of the women, and this man would be an example to the entire area. A couple of the other town men helped to march the prisoner out.

The Pack was led by Des this trip. Des had them all pack up their things and hurried them back to the den. Two of the older wolves walked on either side of Sky to keep him from doing something stupid. Rose walked close to Glory, face set and eyes glaring straight ahead.

Marissa was smiling while she dabbed at her tears.

“My little boy,” she said. “He"s all grown-up and official and stuff. He"s a good man.”

Glory kept her shudder to herself. Her son was twice her age. It reminded her that her best friend, who was eight months younger than her, was now fifty years older. The walk into Kearney was only a few miles, but Jill was too tired to make it very often. Ever since they came to the Pack, Jill had seemed to age. She had kept up her energy during the three-day ride to the Pack, but almost as soon as they arrived she seemed to flag.

As soon as they passed through the gate to the den, Rose bolted for her room where even Taye wouldn"t let Sky go. Sky would have stopped her, but Carla grabbed his arm to talk to him in a fast, low voice.

“Sky, wait,” she said. “Rose is upset and so are you. Calm down before you talk to her.”

Sky"s voice was flat and furious. “He touched her! He touched my mate!”

“But that"s not Rose"s fault.”

“She should have stayed here.”

“Don"t be ridiculous, Sky. Go out for a run and cool off.”

This was all very entertaining. Glory wished Shadow was there to enjoy his little brother"s torment. But he wasn"t. Glory sighed and went to her room to get her art supplies and try to sketch Shadow again.

An hour later, when it was just about time for supper, Glory heard voices from the hall.

Rose was saying heatedly,

“I didn"t sit next to him.
He
sat next to
me
! Not that it"s any of your business who I sit by.”

A lower rumble, hard and furious, replied but Glory couldn"t make out the words.

“No!” Rose shouted. “I"m not your mate! Even if I wasn"t too young, you couldn"t pay me enough to be your mate!”

Sky"s voice rose to thunder. “You are my mate, and I"ll kill the next man who touches you.”

“Could you please be a little more dramatic?”

Glory grinned at her closed door. Nice touch of sarcasm there. Point to Rose.

Another low rumble from Sky, and Rose"s screech, “Not in this lifetime!”

There was a loud thump against the wall and a frightened cry from Rose. Glory

abandoned her sketch book and went to her door just as Rose yelled, “Let me go! Stop!

Help!”

This wasn"t entertaining anymore. Glory opened the door and stuck her head out. Sky had Rose sandwiched between his near-naked body and the wall, holding her hands above her head and kissing her savagely while she tried to jerk her head away.

“Sky!” Glory bellowed. “Let her go right now.”

And then Taye was coming up the hallway like a thunderstorm rolling across the sky. He tore Sky away from Rose and threw him into the opposite wall. Rose was crying, her normally pale cheeks scarlet and her lips cherry red and swollen. Her tears, Glory could tell, were more from rage than fear.