The Finding (45 page)

“Meredith is
flying in first thing in the morning. She’ll need a suit—something
suitable for a government official—and perhaps a brief case.”

“I’ll see what
I can find.”

“And I’ll need
you to watch Netty.” Despite the seriousness of the situation,
Franklin had to bite back a smile at Mrs. Teasdale’s expression.
Ever since the fat little dachshund had absconded with one of her
roasted chickens, she’d proclaimed the dog was a menace.

Despite her
animosity, the cook nodded. “What’s your plan?”

Franklin
grinned, feeling the old adrenaline rush he’d used to experience
when he was still on active duty. “We’ll try bluffing our way in to
see her. Claim to be IRS and we’ve tracked her down for tax
evasion. People usually don’t question the IRS when they show up
asking for information.”

“If she’s with
a werewolf though...” Mrs Teasdale frowned, “do they pay
taxes?”

“They do now.”
Franklin nodded emphatically, hoping his crazy plan would work.

Chapter
20

“I’ll...um...get ready for bed.” Cassie stood in the middle of the
room not sure what to do with herself. She’d shared a home with
Kellen for three years and never felt this unsettled in his
presence. Why was sharing with Bryan so different?

Because he’s
hot and sexy and has a delicious little edge about him; not enough
to make him obnoxious, just...interesting.

Cassie inhaled
ready to scold the wolf inside her, when she realized those were
her own thoughts, not the animal’s. She clamped her mouth tightly
shut, exasperated with herself.

“Sure. I’ll use
the bathroom after you.” Bryan was flopped on his bed and seemed
more interested in surfing the TV channels than her activities.

Sparing the
briefest of glances to admire his exposed muscular chest—he’d
removed his shirt and thrown it on the back of a chair before lying
down—Cassie grabbed her bag and headed to the bathroom.

Once inside,
she pressed her hands to her face, chagrined to feel the heat
coming off her cheeks. She hoped Bryan hadn’t noticed she was
behaving like some virginal teenager. She sucked in a deep lungful
of air and let it out slowly, before giving herself a pep talk.
First of all, she wasn’t a teenager and secondly she wasn’t a
virgin. Well, barely not a virgin. Her one time with Kellen hardly
qualified her as an expert, but in an official sense she wasn’t
pure as the driven snow.

That thought
made her frown and the animal inside whined pitifully. Would it
matter to Bryan that she’d been with Kellen? Perhaps. She frowned
and worried her lip. Werewolves seemed sort of old fashioned...
Wait a minute! Why was she even concerned about that? Sleeping with
Bryan wasn’t part of the programme. Yes, she thought he was sexy
and yes she liked him, but once this adventure was over, they’d
part ways, right?

Unless, she
decided to stick around for a few days, Cassie amended. She’d never
known any others of her kind and it might be nice to talk with Mel
and Elise a bit more. Learning more about herself would be like
research and, if in the course of that research she ended up
spending more time with Bryan, it was just coincidental. It had
nothing to do with predestined mates. The course of her life wasn’t
going to be directed by a recurring dream and old werewolf
folklore. When the time came—a time of her choosing—she’d bid
farewell to Bryan and the others and head out...somewhere.

Staring
sightlessly at the mirror, she wondered how Bryan would react to
her leaving. His wolf seemed drawn to hers; not that the wants of
the animals inside really counted for much, she added. But
Bryan—the human Bryan—did seem to be physically attracted to her.
Hadn’t she felt his arousal pressed against her?

The thought had
a rush of warmth developing low down in her belly and she shifted
uncomfortably, hoping he wouldn’t scent her...er...interest in him
when she left the bathroom.

In her mind,
she played out a scene where Bryan was so overcome with desire for
her, that he pinned her to the bed and ravaged her while she
struggled helplessly. The idea seemed very erotic and soon had her
heart pounding. Embarrassed by her wayward imagination, Cassie
splashed cool water on her face, trying to douse the fire that grew
within her and return to a more practical mindset.

Pulling off her
clothes, she changed into a t-shirt and sleep pants, berating
herself the whole time for her silly fantasies. Bryan was older and
likely an experienced male. He wasn’t going to jump her just
because she was sharing a room with him. It was utterly juvenile to
think that way. He might notice she was physically attractive, but
he wouldn’t act on it.

The thought
should have been comforting, but somehow it wasn’t. She pursed her
lips and wondered why. Perhaps because of the whole ‘mates’ thing,
she expected more attention from him? But that was ridiculous
because she didn’t want to be his mate, did she?

Yes
,
we do
, the wolf inside her insisted.

No we don’t she
argued back. If anything, I want a nice normal man of my own
choosing, a house in the suburbs, a white picket fence, and a few
kids.

We can have
that with him!

Could she?
Cassie forced herself to think about it while she brushed her
teeth. Bryan wasn’t ‘normal,’ though at the moment, normal didn’t
sound that exciting. In fact, it sounded rather...dull...whereas
Bryan... Well, they’d butted heads a few times today and it had
been rather exciting to see the latent power he wielded, to feel
the pull of his personality. Okay, scratch ‘normal’ from her list
of what she wanted. But it should still be her own choice,
shouldn’t it?

And what about
her house in the suburbs and the white picket fence? From the way
Bryan spoke there was a pack house which housed several wolves;
definitely not her dream house in the suburbs. And as for a white
picket fence, hadn’t she overheard Ryne and Bryan discussing a
security fence with video cameras? Cassie pulled a face. That
sounded more like a prison camp than a home.

And don’t
forget about children, she reminded herself. Would she give birth
to a litter? She thought about Mel’s swollen stomach and wondered
how far along she was. Was there one—what had Ryne called it?—‘pup’
inside or more? Frowning, she thought about the other female she’d
met. Elise only had two children and they were a few years apart,
so perhaps werewolves didn’t emulate their animal cousins when it
came to reproduction. Her shoulders slumped in relief over that
fact. The idea of a litter of children seemed overwhelming.

“Are you all
right?” Bryan knocked on the bathroom door and Cassie gave a start.
She’d been lost in thought much longer than she realized.

“Yes!” She
called out, rinsing her mouth and stuffing her possessions back in
her bag. In her haste, she knocked over her bottle of pills and
they rattled against the plastic side of the container as it rolled
off the counter and onto the ground. Bending over to pick it up,
the door burst open and Bryan stood staring down at her, a frown on
his face.

“What are you
doing with those?” His tone was accusatory and she automatically
responded in kind.

“What does it
look like I’m doing? I’m picking them up.”

He reached down
and snatched the bottle from the floor just as she was about to get
it. Reading the label, he snorted. “You’re not taking these any
longer. I don’t care if it’s almost a full moon. They’re dangerous
to you and your wolf.”

“They’re my
pills so you can’t tell me what to do!” She tried to grab the
bottle back, but he held it out of reach.

“They’re
illegal; little better than common street drugs in my book. And I’m
your Beta. I
can
tell you what to do and I’m doing so right
now. You aren’t taking any more of these. It’s time you come to
grip with the wolf inside you instead of hiding.”

“I’m not
hiding
. I’m
surviving
in a world that doesn’t even
know our kind exists.” She reached for the bottle, but he held it
higher.

“Funny, I
didn’t take you for a coward.”

“Coward?” She
gaped at him. “Where do you get off calling me a coward?”

“What else do
you call it when someone is afraid of reality? Afraid of
themselves?”

“I’m not afraid
of myself.” She folded her arms and stared at him
belligerently.

“That’s not
what you said earlier today. And if you aren’t afraid of yourself,
of the animal inside, then why do you still have these pills?”

“I’m. Not.
Afraid.” She punctuated each word by poking him in the chest, then
brushed past him. “I was merely safeguarding everyone around me.”
She dumped her bag on the floor and climbed into bed, drawing the
covers up around her and turning her back to him.

From the
bathroom she could hear the sounds of something being dumped in the
toilet and then a flushing noise. She clenched her fists and bit
her lip. For all her bravado, she was terrified at the idea of
facing a full moon unmedicated. Not that she’d been planning on
taking the pills tonight—she knew she needed a clear head for
tomorrow’s rescue of Kellen—but tomorrow night, once the excitement
was all over, she’d planned on it. Now she had no choice but to
stick around and hope Bryan would be able to control the animal
within her. It would be too dangerous to the human population for
her to be on her own.

Bryan walked
out of the bathroom. She could hear him moving about the room,
material rustling, lights being flicked off. The room darkened,
only the light from her bedside lamp providing illumination.

Even though she
was facing the wall, Cassie sensed Bryan coming closer, standing by
her bed, staring down at her. The air fairly hummed with his
presence.

“Cassie?”

She didn’t
respond, trying to keep her breathing even. Maybe he’d think she
was asleep.

“I know you’re
awake.”

Damn! She
really didn’t want to talk to him. “So?” Her voice was filled with
attitude in the hopes he’d leave her alone.

He sighed
heavily then she felt the edge of the bed dip down as he sat beside
her. His hand brushed the top of her head, gently stroking. “I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean it when I said you were a coward. It’s just
that the thought of you taking those pills, knowing how dangerous
they are... I was concerned about you and it came out as anger. I
know it’s been hard for you to survive on your own, but you can’t
keep taking those pills.”

She curled her
palm over the edge of the pillow, feeling its softness. He’d been
worried about her... The idea helped melt away her own anger. “I
wasn’t going to take them tonight. They just fell out by accident
when I was gathering up my things.” She whispered the words, for
some reason feeling the need to explain herself, to redeem herself
in his eyes.

“I’m glad to
hear that.” He moved his hand down the back of her head, his
fingers trailing through her hair, in a soothing motion. She felt
herself beginning to relax when he asked the damning question. “But
what were your plans for tomorrow night?”

Cassie bit her
lip and shrugged trying to sound blasé. “That’s really none of your
business.”

“Yes, it is.
According to the Finding clause, I’m responsible for you. That
means not only keeping you out of trouble, but also caring for your
wellbeing too.”

Strangely
enough, it hurt that the only reason he was concerned for her was
because of some clause in an ancient law. Cassie felt her throat
tighten and tried to hide her feelings with an airy attitude. “I’m
sorry some silly little clause has left you stuck with me. After
Kellen is safe, if you just close your eyes for a minute, I’ll slip
away and be one less thing for you to be responsible for.”

“You will
not
slip away.” He growled the words at her and took her by
the shoulder, forcing her to roll over and face him. “I won’t be
taking my eyes off you, so don’t even bother to try.”

For a moment
she was stunned by how close he was, her entire field of vision
filled with him. The light from the bedside lamp highlighted his
form, showing off his well toned body and smooth skin. She couldn’t
stop the downward path of her eyes and she noted his firm abs and
trim waist, the way his pyjama pants hung low on his hips, the
merest hint of body hair. Cassie jerked her eyes back up to his
face and concentrated on what he was saying.

The passion in
his voice startled her and she stared up at him in surprise.
“Cassie, whether you like it or not, you’re part of my pack, so
quit fighting it. Pack is everything to a wolf. We live for the
pack, die for the pack. Every member is important, almost like a
part of our own body. Pack means home, security, friends,
family...” He shook her gently. “I can’t turn my back on you.
You’re like a part of me now.”

Cassie wasn’t
sure what to think about that. In a way it made her feel warm and
wanted, but in another way, she felt hollow inside, too. Yes, Bryan
felt she was part of his pack and he would care for her just like
he’d cared for any other member, but a piece of her wanted him to
see her as special and unique. She frowned and searched his face
looking for some sign that she meant more, all the while
questioning why it mattered. God, but her thinking was messed up
when it came to him!

Bryan must have
noticed her expression, but interpreted it to mean something else.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine without those pills. I’ll help you
every step of the way. You need to learn to deal with what you are
and the animal inside is a part of you.” He paused, and laced their
fingers together. “The full moon won’t be so bad. I’ll stay with
you, help you deal with the feelings that come over you.”

She absorbed
the warmth of his palm against her own, enjoying the brush of skin
on skin. A tingle raced up her arm, causing a little hitch in her
breathing. It felt right to be with him; thrilling but right at the
same time. Her earlier pique dissolved and she shifted on the
mattress, into a more comfortable position.