Force of the Dark Wolf (Force of Nature Series) (28 page)

Tom leaned forward in his chair.
He scanned the rest of the room to see if anyone had come into it while he’d been focused on her
,
but could see that both doorways into the room were clear and that it appeared that no one was with her.
When she stood up and walked toward the camera
,
he held his breath.

Darcy walked right toward him and when her face was the only thing he could see in his camera view she puckered her lips and kissed the air.
Tom leaped back
,
swearing that he could feel her lips on his face.
When she smiled and turned away Tom let out his pent up breath.
When she stopped in the doorway leading to the kitchen she turned toward him once again and flipped him her middle finger.

Tom found himself staring at the spot where she’d stood for a long time.
All that kept rolling around in his mind was that she knew.
She knew, she knew, she knew.
Reaching over with shaking fingers
,
he turned off the monitor, something he’d not done since having the camera set up.
Terror, a thing he’d not felt for many
,
many centuries
,
flushed his skin with sweat.
Then the anger set in.

She’d been told. That was the only reason she’d known where the camera was set up.
The woman he’d had in the house around them all for decades had told her.
For whatever reason she’d told mattered little to him now.
Now she had to die.
Right along with the rest of the humans in the household, his plant had to die.

Chapter 15

Alexis drove to the pack house with Gordon sitting beside her.
She was still trying to figure out what the young
female
wolf had wanted hanging around her shop.

“What do you know about her?”
Gordon startled her out of her musings.
“The wolf, how long has she been hanging around your shop?”

She tried to remember.
“I guess a little over a month now.
I didn’t know she was a she though.
And if you tell me that you asked her I’ll murder you.
I don’t know what she wants
,
but she’s only been hanging around
,
not causing me any problems.”

“I could smell her.
She’s also a virgin
,
but not a young girl.
I would say that she’s in her mid
-
thirties or less
,
but not much. She should have a mate by now, or at least a pack to be in. She doesn’t smell like anything but her. No other males have been near her for some time.”

Alexis glared at him.
“You got all that by smelling her.
Just how close were you to her?
I mean
,
that’s a great deal of information for someone who only sniffed the air.”
She sounded jealous and hated that.
When she stopped at the light Gordon leaned over and licked her neck. Every nerve ending in her body went on alert.

“You smell delicious, love. If we weren’t commanded to be at the pack house to meet with Phil I’d have you pull over and I’d show you how much I love the way you smell.”
She sat at the light too long thinking about what he was saying and the person behind her beeped.
Flustered and a little mad
,
she nearly killed the engine popping the clutch.

“Stop doing that,” she told him when she got moving again.
“You know that I don’t like you very much and that is so not helping your cause right now.
What does Phil want anyway?
I thought he was pissed at you still.”

He moved back to his side of the car and looked out the window. She had made him mad
,
but she thought she might be safer if he was mad at her and not trying to have sex with her all the time.
When he spoke she felt really bad for what she’d done.

“I hurt him. And in hurting him
,
I hurt CJ.
Now my alpha is pissed and wants me to fix this.
I want to as well. I hate having Phil pissed off at me.
He’s a good friend and what I did and said to him wasn’t right.”
He reached over and took her hand before he continued.
“I was afraid and I said some things, some horrible things about his kind
,
and I have regretted it since.
But I think I have a way to fix it. I’m just waiting for—
”

The wolf shot in front of them in seconds.
If she’d not been looking where she had been going she might have hit it.
Jerking the vehicle to a sudden stop had her seatbelt cut into her deep
,
but the fear of hurting Gordon overrode the pain until she was sure he was al
l
right. He was staring at the wolf as it stood watching them from the middle of the road.

“Did I hit it?”
She started to get out to check when he squeezed her hand.
“You know that wolf?”

Without taking his eyes from the wolf he answered her
,
and she looked back when he had.
“You do as well. It’s your female.
She wants something.
Are you comfortable enough to get out and go to her?”

Was she?
Probably not
,
but
she
knew that the girl had been hanging around the shop for over a month now and Alexis wanted to help her if she needed her.
She unbuckled the belt and slowly opened the door.
When Gordon started to open his door the wolf stood up and her fur stood on end.
Gordon stopped
,
but didn’t shut the door.

“He’s my…well
,
fuck it, he’s my mate.
And you know how stupid they can be if you don’t do what they think is best for you.”
Alexis got out as she spoke.
“Sometimes I wouldn’t mind so much if you ripped him up a bit
,
but I think that whatever it is you want, he can probably help.”

The seconds went by slowly.
Alexis wasn’t sure if the girl/wolf was going to settle down or
if
she was going to run.
When she lay down but didn’t take her eyes off of Gordon, Alexis relaxed a little.
She heard the door close behind her and assumed that Gordon got out on his side.

“How do I talk to her?
I mean
,
unless you can understand barking we’re going to have a bit of a problem here.”
Alexis glanced over at Gordon when he chuckled a little.
“This is not the time to make fun of me.
I’m serious here. She wants to—
”

The voice that echoed in her mind was faint
,
but still there.
She turned to look at the wolf and was surprised that she’d moved closer to them.
Alexis put out her hand
,
but didn’t move otherwise.
The wolf came up and put her head under Alexis’ outstretched hand.

“I’m Stacy, Stacy O’Brien.
If you can hear me
,
would you please get down on your knees?
I won’t hurt you.”

“She said her name is Stacy O’Brien.
Can you hear her too?”
When Gordon didn’t answer, she turned to look at him.
“Gordon?”

“I can hear her.
Alexis, I should explain that you hearing her without being an alpha, her alpha
,
is very unusual.
Have you been able to hear wolf before?”
She shook her head at his question.
“I can hear her because you can.
I think.
Hell, who knows
?
”

“You’re special.
And very strong.”
Stacy put her head in Alexis’ lap when she sat on the road.
“When we touch, I can hear you much better.”

“Why are you running around at night? Are you trying to get killed?
My God, I could have run over you.”
Alexis started to rub her fingers through Stacy’s fur and could hear a rumble coming from her.
“Gordon said you needed to talk, so talk or come with me to the pack house and we can talk there.”

This time
,
the wolf whimpered before answering.
“The pack won’t take me. I’m barren
,
or so they’ve told me.
I cannot carry on the next generation
,
so the last pack said I was to be killed. I left there before they could carry out the order.”

Alexis looked at Gordon who shook his head. “That won’t happen to you here.
There are plenty of males who’ve lost their mates and could use a good companion.
Come to the pack house and we’ll welcome you.”

“The man who comes to harm you, do you know of who I speak?”
Alexis started to say no
,
but stopped when Stacy continued.
“Not the one who smells like the young pups…children.
The older one, the one who smells of blood, old and dirty blood.”

“I know the other man, the one who smells like my nieces and nephews.
The other, he’s a vampire
,
I guess?”
Stacy whimpered again when Alexis asked.
“Okay. Don’t know who that is unless it’s Phil.
Is that who it is?”

“No.
The lawyer smells clean and very fresh
,
not like this man.
He and his kind are what I fear. They like the taste of wolf blood, especially that of a virgin.
No, this man wishes you harm and he smells like one of the older women in your pack.”

Alexis looked up when she heard a car coming.
Without thought to what might happen to them she stood and opened the back door to her vehicle.
With a sharp command, Stacy leapt inside and Alexis closed the door
,
thankful that Gordon had gotten in as well.