The Keeping (14 page)

The comment didn’t
sit well with Ryne and he growled a warning.

Bryan threw up his
hands and backed out of the room. “Okay, I get the message. I'm
dropping the subject for now. Don’t go all Alpha on me.”

As the door
slammed shut, Ryne relaxed and slumped down on the sofa, rubbing
his face with his hands. What was the matter with him? Bryan was
right. Melody Greene was just a human female. She was cute, but
irritating, nothing that special really. So why was she running
through his head?

He couldn’t
believe what he’d done last night. The idea of her alone with a
head injury had bothered him all evening. After pacing restlessly,
and driving his friends crazy with his miserable attitude, he’d
announced he was going into town to see Lucy. And he had planned on
seeing her—a romp with Lucy usually left him feeling relaxed and
mellow. It was just that he was going to check on Ms. Greene
first.

After parking the
car down the road, he’d changed into his wolf form and silently
padded up to her cabin. No one had noticed him sniffing around the
building. When he had heard her ragged breathing, he transformed
back to human and peered in the window. She was lying in bed,
obviously distressed, and without thinking, he opened the window
and climbed in.

She was apparently
in the throes of a nightmare, thrashing about on the bed. He had
gripped her shoulders, turning her over and commanding her to look
at him, thinking that if she wasn’t dreaming, she’d feel better. It
was only later that he realized how foolish he’d been. What if she
had completely woken up? Seeing him, uninvited in her bedroom in
the middle of the night, would have had her screaming the house
down. No amount of fast talking could have explained his way out of
that one.

Thankfully, she’d
only partially opened her eyes before closing them again, a
blissful smile on her face as she relaxed against him. Then,
without him even realizing it at first, his wolf slipped past his
guard and took over. He found himself pressing a soft kiss to her
lips, just offering comfort, of course. Only it hadn’t stayed that
way. She’d kissed him back and before he knew it, he was lying on
top of her, caressing her, while she moaned in pleasure.

He should have
stopped then; he knew it, but his wolf didn’t care. She’d tasted so
good; the smell of her arousal had thrown all common sense out of
his head. The feel of her body pressed against his, her soft sighs
and smooth skin, the way she moved under him, needing him, begging
him in her sleepy voice...

Ryne could still
taste her, still remember how her pebbled nipple had felt against
his tongue, still recall the slick moisture that had seeped from
her body onto his hand as he moved his fingers within her. Her body
had clenched around him, her head thrown back, and mouth opening in
a silent scream as she came. It had been such an erotic sight,
watching her orgasm. Her uninhibited response had left him hard and
aching, but he’d wrenched back control from the beast within,
knowing he couldn’t ease his discomfort with her.

Instead, he’d
covered her up and left. Once outside, he’d morphed back into a
wolf and run through the woods until he could run no more; the ache
in his body replaced by exhaustion. For a moment he had considered
visiting Lucy as he had initially planned. She would have taken him
in, regardless of the late hour, but he had no heart for it. The
very idea seemed wrong; to go from one woman to another. He had
some scruples. Not many, but they were there.

And so he’d headed
back home. At least Daniel had been in bed, but Bryan had still
been up, watching a movie. Ryne had known he must look a mess, his
hair tangled, his breathing rough, the smell of sweat and sex
emanating from him. Their gazes had locked and Ryne, even though he
was Alpha, had shifted uncomfortably under his Beta’s gaze. Bryan
hadn’t said anything. He’d merely sniffed the air, frowning until
he placed the scent. After giving him a considering look, Bryan had
simply nodded and turned back to his movie.

Ryne had stood in
the entryway, inexplicably unsure of what to do. He’d felt the need
to explain and even opened his mouth to do so, but then shut it
again. How could he explain what he himself didn’t even understand?
Instead, he had slowly walked to his bedroom, climbed into bed and
stared at the ceiling most of the night.

Melody Greene was
bad news. No, not the girl herself, but what she represented. Ryne
was too smart to be able to attribute her arrival to coincidence.
Just a few weeks ago, some woman had been in his old home town of
Smythston asking about him. Now, a woman was in Stump River, also
wanting to see him. In all the years that he’d openly shown his
photographs, no one had ever wanted to interview him, except for
the local paper. But now that he had basically vanished, there was
a sudden interest.

If he was vain
enough, he might have thought that his talent was finally drawing
interest from the art world. While it was a possibility, it was
more likely that the interest being generated was because of that
one damned picture. God, he wished he’d never taken it, let alone
had it enlarged and professionally mounted. Why hadn’t he left it
as a snapshot in a family album?

Sighing deeply, he
steepled his fingers and pondered what he should do about the
problem Melody Greene was about to create. He hadn’t told Bryan,
but just minutes before his friend had come in, Ryne had called his
brother Kane to double check some facts about the inquisitive
person who’d been asking about him. He’d been hopeful that it
hadn’t been Ms. Greene, but of course that would have made things
too easy. Instead, Kane had confirmed that it was the same person
and that had led to a very uncomfortable conversation about
options.

If he ignored her,
would she go away? Instinctively he knew she wouldn’t, not given
the fact that she’d travelled all the way to Stump River—and he was
still puzzling over how she’d found him. For some reason, she was
extremely interested in him, either due to her own curiosity or
because someone was paying her. Most likely it was the latter.
She’d been too shocked when he’d mentioned the boys were
wolves—correction when he’d told her the supposed ‘dogs’ were
wolves. There had been no ‘ah-ha’ moment passing over her face, no
hint of prevarication. If she really knew what she was looking for,
she would have figured it out then and there. While she might be a
bit quirky, she wasn’t stupid. Her repartee with him proved
that.

So, how to
proceed? Did he grant her an interview and tell her a bunch of
lies? No. Lies could trip you up too easily. He couldn’t tell her
the truth. It went against The Keeping and he didn’t know if she
could be trusted. Just a generation ago, the solution would have
been simple; kill her and dispose of the body. She’d become simply
another statistic. A young woman travelling on her own mysteriously
disappears in the wilderness. Her car is found, abandoned by the
side of the road. Years later, bones turn up and the verdict would
be that she’d left her car, possibly to take a picture and got lost
or was attacked by wild animals. It was efficient, but in this day
and age more likely to lead to complications, especially if she had
a family that might come looking for her.

Ryne smiled
grimly. Death was still a possibility—neither he nor Kane had ruled
it out—but it was always a last resort. They’d both agreed on that
before ending their conversation. Leaning his head back, Ryne
studied the ceiling and hoped for inspiration. The Keeping was
their most important law. It wasn’t just a matter of what he wanted
to do. It existed to protect the whole pack, even the whole race.
Their safety took precedence over the individual every time. If
Melody Greene became too nosey, if it appeared she was on the verge
of discovering the truth, well then...

Getting up, Ryne
walked over to the cupboard where he kept the liquor. Pulling out a
bottle of whiskey, he took a swig, not bothering to dirty a glass.
The golden liquid burnt as it slid down his throat and joined the
knot that was forming in his stomach. “Here’s to you, Melody
Greene.” The sound of his mocking toast filled the silent room.
“Why the hell did you come here, and fuck everything up?”

*****

Chicago,
Illinois

Leon Aldrich sat
stiffly in the burgundy plush chair. It was directly in front of a
large, leather topped desk. As per usual, the room was dimly lit
and on the cool side, despite the fact that there was plenty of
money to pay for electricity and heating. Aldrich took no note of
his surroundings; the shelf-lined walls filled with leather bound
books, the stone fireplace, the expensive Persian rug spread out
over old oak flooring. He knew they were there, but instead of
glancing around, he stared straight ahead. His hands rested on the
report in his lap, his finger beating an impatient tattoo on the
manila cover.

Anthony Greyson
watched his lawyer with grim amusement. The man never indicated his
displeasure by word or expression, the tapping of his finger the
only sign that he wasn’t happy with Greyson’s decision. Finally
tiring of waiting for the man to break—he never did—Greyson shifted
in his chair and spoke. “So is there anything else to report?”

“No, sir. Ms.
Greene’s file remains unchanged. She has a distant though cordial
relationship with her mother. There are no close friends nor
romantic interests enquiring about her.”

“And her
father?”

“Still listed as
unknown.”

“Good. Just wanted
to make sure she hadn’t been lying on her application.”

“If she had been,
I would have discovered it before she got this far into her
assignment.”

Greyson snorted.
No, of course not. Nothing got past Aldrich, which was why he’d
hired the man in the first place. Sharp as a pin and as close
mouthed as a clam. “And her ‘assignment’ is progressing?”

“If you can call
it that. She is in Stump River.” The man seemed to want to sniff
derisively at the name of the town. Greyson watched intently for
any sign of an emotional response, but none came. After the
briefest of pauses, Aldrich continued. “She has discovered where
Taylor purportedly lives, but claims she has yet to make contact
with the man.”

“Claims?”

“There was
something in her voice that made me wonder, but since it was just a
message on the answering machine, it wasn’t possible to question
her.”

Greyson nodded.
“It’s to be expected. And all our research shows Taylor isn’t
interested in publicity. Hopefully, Greene can get under his
natural radar.”

“I hope you’re
right, sir.”

“I know you do,
Leon. You think I’m a crazy old fool to spend my time and money on
this. But if I’m right—and I’m sure I am—the payoff will be well
worth it.”

Aldrich stood and
set the manila file on the edge of Greyson’s desk. “If that’s all,
sir, then I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes. You’re
dismissed. Franklin will show you out.” He moved to ring the
bell.

“That won’t be
necessary. After all these years, I know the way.”

Greyson barked in
laughter as the lawyer left the room. That pathetic attempt at
humour was the closest thing to a human response that he’d forced
out of Aldrich in months. He leaned forward and picked up the file,
thumbing through the contents until he found the page he wanted.
“Ah, Ms. Greene. Whatever will become of you before this is
over?”

*****

Smythston,
Oregon

Kane put down the
phone and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was happening. What
he’d most feared for years, hoped against with every fibre of his
being, was finally occurring. He clenched his fist, uncaring that
his nails were digging into his palms, tiny drops of blood
appearing.

It was beyond his
control now and he didn’t like the feeling at all. He was Alpha.
This sitting back and waiting went against his nature, yet he knew
reacting could cause the cards to tumble even faster. All he could
do was sit and wait while playing out the various scenarios in his
head.

The ball was in
Ryne’s court. He trusted his brother to make the right decision, to
do whatever needed to be done. Kane just hoped it wasn’t the worst
case scenario.

The door to his
office opened and he looked up. His mate, Elise slid in and locked
the door.

“Am I disturbing
anything?” The warmth of her voice washed over him, soothing his
fears and worries with her calm tone. It had always been like that,
from the first time he’d seen her. She’d been young and frightened
by his sudden appearance in her life, but something had attracted
them to each other.

“You disturb me,
but in all the right ways.” He pushed aside his concerns and
extended his hand. She came to him, settling in his lap, and
snuggling her head against his shoulder. “To what do I owe the
honour of this visit?”

“I was lonely.”
She pouted up at him and blinked her eyes innocently.

“Lonely? Or
lusty?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, knowing that the hormonal
changes from her pregnancy were sending her libido into
overdrive.

“Both.” She
laughed and then pulled his head down for a kiss, tracing his lips
with her tongue.

Kane groaned and
opened to admit her, while grabbing her hips and shifting her body
so that she straddled him. Pulling her shirt free, he worked his
hands under the material while she sucked on his tongue. Her skin
was warm and smooth. He moved his hands higher, searching for the
clasp of her bra and was pleasantly surprised to discover she’d
neglected to put on that piece of clothing. He broke away from the
kiss and looked at her questioningly, while moving his hands to cup
her breasts. She purred in pleasure.

“It seems you
forgot something when you got dressed.”