Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply (11 page)

Pepper smiled. If Susan thought she'd push Pepper into making a play for Eric, she was mistaken. Unless Susan really did have the hots for Eric.

Pepper headed over to the game, figuring they wouldn't start until she joined them and ready to show Eric she wasn't half bad at this. Like Susan had done, Pepper kicked off her sandals before she joined in on the fun.

Eric began the game with a serve that went right to her. Too easy, but she couldn't slam it down on the other side of the net like the tall guys could, so she set it up for one of her teammates. She noticed that Susan's mouth was gaping. Maybe because Pepper was playing. Or maybe because Eric had been trying to be nice, sending her the ball in a gentle way that assured her she couldn't miss returning it. It was more than being nice though. It was tantamount to saying he wanted her favor. He wanted this to go further between them.

Eric's brothers Brett and CJ were on his side too, both of them eyeing him with speculation. She suspected he usually played to win.

Then the game got into gear. When one of the men on her team slammed the ball onto Eric's side, the Silver team scrambled to get it and return it with just as much vigor. When she began serving, Pepper managed to make six points before the Silver team could return the ball and she lost her turn. Now Eric was smiling at her with a devilish look that meant payback. Not like he planned to squash her in the game of volleyball, but something more fun, more intimate.

She had never had this much fun playing volleyball, and it was all because of the underlying sexual tension heating up between the two of them. She made a kissing motion at him, hoping no one saw it, but wanting to distract him enough that he would miss the incoming ball—and he did. She laughed.

CJ joked, “Eric, are you trying to lose on purpose?”

Brett laughed. “Hell yeah,” he said, “and for a damn good reason too.”

She didn't think the kissing motion would distract Eric again, and she was afraid his team would be watching her to see what had stolen Eric's attention in the first place, so she just smiled and raised her brows a little while his wickedly intrigued gaze remained on her, his mouth curving up slightly.

“It's not winning the game that's so important,” he said to his brothers, “but
how
you win.”

“Ha!” CJ said. “You're playing an entirely different game than us. We have our names and reputation to uphold.”

Everyone on both sides laughed.

She realized that a lot more wolves had moved around to see them play. Usually, everyone did their own thing while several activities were going on at the same time. But their game seemed to be drawing a lot of attention.

Even Sarandon was standing there, arms folded and smiling.

And of course Richard. He said he was too old to play vigorous games like this, and he usually manned a grill, but now he wanted to see what was going on. Or maybe to figure out if their leadership was going to be changing anytime soon.

Susan was smiling at Pepper from the other side of the net, and Pepper wondered if Susan had witnessed what she had done. She would hear about it soon enough.

Before long, Pepper's team won, but CJ and Brett were shaking their heads, saying next time Eric had to be on the other team.

Pepper laughed. “He played his best. You all did. It just wasn't good enough to match the Grayling pack.”

Eric smiled, but his expression said he was thinking of having more fun with her.

After the game, Eric's brothers dragged him off to play tug-of-war against her pack, and Lelandi joined Pepper, motioning to all the activities going on. “This is so much fun. We get kind of stagnant when all we have to visit with are the same old people. Though the MacTyre sisters are new to our pack, and that's really helped to bring in fresh blood.”

“I understand one of Eric's brothers already mated one,” Pepper said. Sarandon had given her a rundown of his brothers during the Scout speeches.

“Yes. Well, they've been with us now for over a year, and CJ fell hard for Laurel.”

“And she did for him,” Pepper guessed.

Lelandi shook her head. “She was fighting it.”

Like Pepper was fighting her attraction to Eric? That made her curious. That was the problem with her own mating. It had been inevitable. No one thought anything otherwise. No conflict. No other wolves showing up to woo her and sweep her off her feet. Everyone in the pack had thought it was just the way things were supposed to be. She couldn't imagine two wolves getting together when one wasn't interested. “Why?”

“She and her sisters were searching for their missing aunt,” Lelandi explained. “That was why the sisters bought the hotel. That is their business though—renovating Victorian hotels, selling them for a profit, and then moving on. But once Laurel gave in to what she knew in her heart was true, she and her sisters decided to set down permanent roots. So they're running the hotel at full capacity, even turned the former maids' rooms into a suite of rooms to rent because the place has been so popular.”

“Ah.” So that was one isolated case of a wolf not wanting to mate. But they had loved each other. Pepper still thought that was atypical. What had her more than curious though was Lelandi's relationship with Darien. She had begun to think there didn't need to be any passion between the leaders of a pack, but Lelandi and Darien still acted like courting wolves. They had children already, and yet they seemed so passionate with each other. Their actions made her wonder how they had been when they
were
courting.

“Darien seems to be a good mate, giving you equal decision-making authority, but being all alpha male when it comes to taking care of threats. Yet he concedes to your psychology training and woman's intuition.” Pepper wanted to mention how much she admired their obvious love for each another, but she didn't feel comfortable speaking about it when she and Lelandi had really just met.

“Yes, but I was as reluctant about Darien as Laurel was with CJ. And in truth, Darien had no intention of ever making me his mate either.”

Shocked to the core at the revelation, Pepper couldn't help also being amused. It was astonishing how much they appeared to treasure each other with a beginning like that. “Well, it's good it all worked out then, because you both seem perfectly suited to each other.”

“I so agree. We're very happy together. You were mated before, I understand.”

“Yes.”

“For some, the grief process can take decades or even last forever. No one will ever measure up to the one we loved. I think if I ever lost Darien, I'd feel the same way. But time would tell. No two people are ever alike. So what we might love in one, we might not find in another. Yet, something else will make that person special to us. So even though I don't think I would ever find another mate I love the way I do Darien, I can't know that for a certainty.”

Pepper was taken aback to hear Lelandi say so. She had believed Lelandi would remain mateless for the rest of her life if she lost Darien. “But it's different for us as pack leaders. We have our packs to consider. A new mate might want different things for the pack. You have your children to worry about too. What if a new mate didn't treat your children right?”

“I'd have a whole pack up in arms. Not to mention, he'd have me to deal with first.”

Pepper laughed. She could just imagine Lelandi, although very sweet in her demeanor toward Pepper, could be a real wolf if anyone treated her children badly. “What if he didn't lead the pack like you were used to with Darien?”

“He wouldn't lead it the same way. That's the thing. Different wolf, different ways of doing things. We'd work it out. Life is taking chances.”

“What if he wouldn't give you equal say?”

“It wouldn't happen.”

Pepper wasn't sure. An alpha male could be terribly hardheaded. Waldron was. Her father had been. Even the wolves who had sought to court her were. She thought of Eric. “But what if it did?”

“Then as an alpha leader, you ensure you get equal say. Even if you mate with another wolf, it's still your pack. Your people. They will love you and side with you until your pack mate realizes you're vital to the rule of the pack.”

Pepper could see that. Her people were loyal to her.

Darien sauntered over and smiled. “Great party. Everybody's enjoying it. Kids are having a blast. Adults are too.”

Pepper hadn't realized the kids would have so much fun with the others. It was a great way for them to get to know other wolf kids. It was so hard to find them otherwise. And though the teens in her pack played with the little ones, it wasn't the same as having real teens to socialize with.

Darien watched the men playing tug-of-war. “So what were you ladies talking about that you got so quiet all of a sudden when I arrived?”

“You, dear,” Lelandi said, patting his shoulder. “If anything should happen to you, how I would consider finding a new mate.”

Pepper closed her gaping mouth. She hadn't figured Lelandi would ever say such a thing to Darien, not when they were so obviously in love. Then again, maybe that's why she could.

“Over my dead body.” He smiled at her and kissed her lips. “You would never find anyone as great as me.”

The ladies laughed and Pepper loved the way Lelandi and Darien were with each other.

She still worried about how a male wolf would impact her pack leadership, but now that she was involving her people with the Silver wolves, she could see that some change was for the best.

Someone started playing music and Darien said, “Do you mind excusing us? I want to take my mate for a dance if she's thinking of replacing me anytime soon.”

Pepper smiled. “Have fun, you two.” Then she went to get some fried chicken and potato salad. When she drew closer to where the food was being served, Pauline glanced at her, her cheeks reddening a bit. Because she was talking to a man? From another pack? If she found a new mate who made her happy, Pepper would be ecstatic for her.

Pepper motioned to the chicken. “Which is best?”

“Fried chicken, ma'am,” the gentleman said, but this one wasn't the same one Pepper had seen Pauline talking to earlier. That one was younger and now playing tug-of-war with the others.

“This is Mason, president of the Silver Town Bank,” Pauline said, “and, Mason, this is my pack leader, Pepper Grayling.”

“My pleasure.”

“Can you believe they run everything in town? The bank, hotel, bed and breakfast, newspaper office, just everything,” Pauline said.

“I've heard great things about your pack,” Pepper told Mason.

“They have some super interest rates on accounts. I'm going to switch my money over to their bank,” Pauline said.

“Sounds like a great idea.” Pepper wondered how many of her people were going to begin doing business with Silver Town now. She thought it was a wonderful idea—wolves helping each other, which, in a perfect world, would be the way it was. She couldn't imagine how complicated it would be to run a pack that large and a town that size. She could see why Lelandi would get another mate if she had to run things by herself. Yet, Lelandi wouldn't be alone in managing things. Not when Darien had two brothers who would continue to be her sub-leaders. They'd help ensure things ran as smoothly as before.

Pepper took her plate of food and headed for one of the picnic benches.

“Nice spread,” Eric said, joining her, his plate piled high with barbecued brisket, corn on the cob, and potato salad.

“Who won?”

“Ah, the other side. More than half the team was made up of your people, and they must practice a lot.”

She laughed. “I'm sure they didn't want to lose face if they lost the game to another wolf pack.”

“The Silver pack too. We know so much about each other in our pack—everyone's moves and tactics—that fresh opponents made it fun. No one knew what the other side was going to do, what their weaknesses or strengths were. But all of your strongest players had to have been playing.” He took a sip of his bottled water. “My brothers were giving me a hard time about you distracting me during the volleyball game.”

She took a seat opposite him. “I really didn't think you could be that easily distracted.”

“Hell, are you kidding? I thought you were trying to tell me you wanted to return to the kitchen and finish what we started.”

She smiled. “In your dreams.”

He chuckled. “My brothers are still asking what you did to take my mind off the game. They said
they
were watching the ball.”

She laughed again. “I like your brothers. I think it would have been fun if I'd had some siblings like that.”

“No way. If you had brothers, I could just see them giving me grief for kissing you in the kitchen. Shotgun wedding. The whole business.”

“True. And one of them might have been the leader.”

“Your sub-leaders. I have no doubt you would have been in charge even then.”

“Thanks, Eric. You look like your shoulder is doing better.”

“Yeah, good as new. And with babying it for so long, I needed the exercise.”

She doubted he'd spent a moment babying it.

“Did Lelandi invite your pack to our Victorian Days celebration in the fall?” he asked.

“Not yet. Sounds like fun. I'm sure everyone will want to attend.”

Suddenly, Darien was stalking toward his brother Jake, his cell phone to his ear, his expression dark.

Eric got up at once. “I'll be right back.”

She watched the men as Lelandi joined them. Pepper knew that the other deputy sheriff, the sheriff, and Darien's youngest brother, Tom, his other sub-leader, had stayed in Silver Town to protect and run it. Others had too, though Pepper assumed more than half their people were here, as big as the crowd was.

Eric spoke to Darien, then Darien nodded. When Eric returned to the picnic table, wearing a frown as big as Darien's, she knew something bad had happened.