Vivian Arend - Granite Lake Wolves 2 (6 page)

catch her, her body uncontrollable as her orgasm rippled through her. Tad thrust

another time or two, pressing as deep as the fabric between them would allow

before he hissed and tensed as he came.

They stood wrapped in each other supported by the wall and a strange little

ledge under her hips. His scent rose around them, thick and sweet on the air, and

Missy’s mouth watered. What they’d done was dangerous but the safest thing

under the circumstances. She opened her eyes to see his chest heaving as he

dragged air into his lungs.

She looked around curious to see where they ended up. It was an old phone

nook. The privacy shield beside them was all that separated them from the front

hallway and the line of people waiting to enter the bar. Missy tried to stifle her

laughter, squirming in his arms. Tad opened his eyes, saw where they were and

spun them to the right so they were both completely hidden.

He lowered her with gentleness to the phone shelf, hands tender as he adjusted

her dress and smoothed her hair. He had such a sweet smile on his face she

couldn’t help running her hand over his cheek, stroking his jaw. Tad turned his

face into her palm and kissed it. He winked at her.

“Thank you, AT&T.”

Tad tried to look casual and relaxed as he sat and waited for his sister to appear.

Being around large groups of werewolves no longer freaked him out, but now he

was in the midst of the Granite Lake pack elite. Beside him, Keil fidgeted with the

medallion that was the symbol of his new position as they waited for Robyn.

Since Tuesday night and his date with Missy, it felt like Tad had worked twenty-hour days. The rest of the researchers had arrived and were in the process of

establishing camp. Tad flew passengers and ferried supplies as quickly as possible

but each day passed without time for more than a friendly public hello with Missy

when he passed her at the camp where she slept.

The remaining hours he spent alternating between sleeping and taking cold

showers.

He was going to force himself to relax tonight, try to forget big blue eyes, soft

skin and passionate kisses, and celebrate his sister’s wedding…wolf mating…

whatever it was called.

Tad rotated the ice in his drink as he checked out the faces of the men sitting

around him. There were no visible signs they could change into wolves, nothing to

set them apart from the rest of society.

Other than, as Robyn put it, they were all freaking gorgeous.

While he’d been friends with these men for years, the stakes for the evening

were much higher than flying a sightseeing party or back-country adventure

group for Keil’s guiding business. Tonight was invitation-only to celebrate Robyn’s

first shift to her wolf, and the acceptance of Keil and Robyn as the new Alphas for

the Granite pack. Not only had Keil mated with Robyn, the two of them had shut

down an attack on their lives and won the leadership of the pack.

He was never going to let his sister go anywhere alone ever again. Well, Keil

would probably have something to say about it too, but
sheesh
. She was a danger

to herself.

“She really made them shift?” Tad asked.

“Oh, not only that, she made them stand around and introduce themselves. Butt

naked in the cold. Then they had to apologize to us both for ‘disturbing the

serenity of our honeymoon’. I thought Jack was going to pop a vein when she

suggested he might like to look into purchasing some of the penis enhancers they

advertise online.”

Tad choked on his drink. “My sister?”

Keil exchanged knowing looks with his younger brother TJ. “Oh, yeah. She’s

amazing. Don’t piss her off any more than you usually do. Now that she’s wolf

she’s even more of a handful.” Tad sat back and swallowed hard. Keil grinned at

him. “Wait until she starts ordering you around.”

All of a sudden Keil’s sharp concentration on Tad blurred, his attention turning

toward the door Robyn had disappeared behind. Soft scuffling noises came from

the other side, and Tad realized Robyn and Keil were speaking to each other

through their mate connection.

Another bloody amazing thing werewolves could do. One of the neatest as far as

Tad was concerned, because Robyn had been deaf since she was four. She’d not

only found her partner but she could hear again in a special way. Tad would still

use sign language with her and she could read people’s lips, but to hear someone

speak again…

It must be amazing.

The door opened and Robyn stepped through, a pale blue robe draped over her

shoulders. Her dark hair swung loose, and her eyes were bigger and brighter than

Tad remembered.

His mouth fell open. He’d never seen Robyn look so gorgeous. She was his little

sister, for heaven’s sake, and he’d never thought of her as a girl before. As he

watched her saunter toward Keil, it dawned on him she wasn’t only a girl but a

woman, and
the
woman to the highest-ranking wolf of this pack.

And she was head over heels in love. She and Keil both were. In fact it was damn

uncomfortable to be in the same room watching the two of them. They looked

like they’d forgotten others were present, and Tad thought some hot and heavy

action would be starting in the next five seconds.

“Oh, gag.” TJ rose from his chair and cut across the room pretending to slip his

finger down his throat. He slid in front of Robyn and kissed her cheek before

stepping back to ensure she could read his lips. “While I’m glad you’re going to be

my sister-in-law and my Alpha, can you save the sex for when you get in front of

the pack?”

Tad choked again.
Holy crap.

The colour drained from Robyn’s face. She whipped around to glare at Keil. Tad’s

soon-to-be brother-in-law swallowed hard and shrugged. They were doing it

again, he realized. Talking silently to each other.

Meanwhile TJ leaned over and patted Tad’s shoulder kindly. “Don’t worry, you

can stop freaking out now. They’ll be wolves. It’s just one of those things,” he

whispered.

Tad shook his head in disbelief. “Yeah, well, excuse me if I still don’t watch.” He

shivered.
Damn wolves and their openness about sex.

Robyn flushed when Keil offered his arm, pausing for a second before shaking her

head. She laid a hand on his elbow, and with a regal air they strolled through the

door toward the main hall and the ceremony.

Tad loved to see the connection between them, see how much they cared for

each other. If only he could find someone to complete him as well. Missy turned

him inside out with sexual need and he loved being with her. The longing for

more squeezed his throat shut. Could he really give up on the possibility of being

able to shift into a wolf? He watched Robyn and Keil walk away, cuddled close and

intimate, and his heart and mind fought to come to a decision.

Tad leaned against the wall in the shadows watching wolves and humans in

various stages of undress wander the hall floor after the actual ceremony had

finished. Seeing Robyn shift to wolf form for the first time had brought him to

tears. He managed to wipe his eyes before anyone noticed and stood back to

observe. Some of the pack removed their clothes and shifted to head outdoors

with Robyn and Keil for a run. Others seemed content to visit at the tables lining

the side of the hall.

Then it started.

“Well, what have we here? A half-blood lurking in the corner? Someone take out

the trash for me.”

Tad glanced down at an older woman, skin leathered by the sun. “Hey, I was—”

An overgrown ape pounded up to Tad and grabbed him by the arm. He gave Tad

a brief sniff then choked. “Gag. Untriggered too. Move along, little puppy. This

event is for big boys and girls. Invitation only.” He began to drag Tad toward the

exit doors.

“Hang on, I was invited—”

“Right. And I’m the Queen of Sheba.” She tossed back her bleached hair. “It’s

riffraff like you that make me worry about bloodlines. Nasty thing.”

Tad pulled hard and slipped away. He backed up quickly, darting a glance around

the room to try to find a friendly face. A hand touched his shoulder and he acted

on instinct and swung his fist landing a solid blow on…TJ’s jaw.

Damn.
That wasn’t on the to-do list.

TJ flew backward to collapse at the feet of an angry crowd.

“See, just what I’ve said all along. We get no respect from half-bloods anymore.”

A skinny man pulled TJ to his feet and tried to brush him off. “I do hope you’re all

right, TJ. How extremely rude of this bum to hit you. Don’t worry about him, we’ll

show him out.”

TJ slapped the man’s hands away and stomped up to Tad. Shaking his finger in

Tad’s face, TJ glared at him. “Do you know what you’ve done? Jerk. You cost me

twenty bucks.” He clapped Tad on both shoulders and his scowl turned to a grin.

“I thought the brown-nosing would require at least a couple of hours to start.

You’ve managed to get the suck-ups to show themselves not even fifteen minutes

after Keil left the room. Good job, buddy.”

TJ turned and stared back at the gathering crowd. “I suspected some of you were

assholes, now I know for sure. Did any of you think to ask my friend who he was?

You know, a visitor in town for a special occasion, let’s welcome him, that kind of

thing?”

The Queen of Sheba shoved to the front of the group and seemed intent on

continuing to stir things up. “Why should we show him any manners? He’s a half-blood. Untriggered. At his age that must mean he’s packless.”

“What’s wrong, TJ?” The pack Beta, Erik, slipped beside them, his solid six-foot-five-inch frame an encouraging wall of safety.

TJ stared at the twenty or so wolves gathered in front of him. “Nothing’s wrong.

Tad and I were just reviewing Manners 101 with these morons. Let’s go get

something to eat while we wait for Keil and Robyn to return.” He directed them

toward the food, speaking over his shoulder. “I know Robyn will be happy to see

her brother
after she shifts back.”

Stunned silence greeted his words.

“Oh come on, Tad, you knew wolves were just as bad as humans in some areas.

Worse in others.” Erik forced away another wolf who tried to pull up a chair and

join them. “Ranking means only a little less than breathing to some of these jerks,

and now that they know you’re related to the Alpha—”

“—they all want to be my friend. I get it. I just don’t like it. They didn’t even want

me in the building before. Is this an Alaskan thing? The Whitehorse pack had no

problem accepting me as a half-blood. Untriggered. Heck, I don’t know if it’s a

good idea for me to switch and join your pack, even if Robyn is now Alpha. Even if

it’s the closest pack to my work base.” He shoved away his plate. He couldn’t eat

if he tried.

What had started as an amazing day had turned dark and cold.

“They’re kissing up to you, are they?” Erik retrieved Tad’s plate and pulled off an

untouched chicken drumstick.

“I got accosted when I hit the can. The Queen of Sheba, who must be close to

eighty-five, offered me FirstMate.” Tad shuddered. “I know I’ve been waiting a

long time, but hell will freeze over before I accept her.”

Erik grimaced. “Nasty. I hear you. Still, I’m sure there’s someone else who’s

willing.”

Tad shook his head. “Don’t you see, what’s the point? I don’t want to have sex

with someone who’s willing because Robyn is Alpha. I want someone who wants

me for, well, me. Is that too much to ask?”

“The issue is no one can sense how strong you are. The girls don’t want to be

trapped by a false mating,” Erik pointed out. “And since you continue to turn

down offers from mated females, you’re out of luck.”

“I still don’t get why you don’t want to just accept FirstMate,” TJ complained.

“The wolf offers, her mate is cool with it. Why aren’t you? I mean, heck I know

Keil would never allow it, but if Robyn
did
offer and he
did
agree and if
I
still had

FirstMate to complete, which I don’t, but if I
did
I would have no problem

accepting a little loving from Miss Sweetcakes. Oww…” TJ howled as a firm grip on

his ear twisted him to face Keil and Robyn, fully clothed and glaring daggers. TJ

pulled a face.

Robyn lifted her arms and signed to Tad who hooted out loud. “Um, Robyn says

it’s Alpha Sweetcakes to you, TJ.”

TJ grasped Keil’s hand and attempted to rescue his ear. “My apologies, oh most

high rulers, but you are one hot babe, Robyn. Just in case Keil ever forgets to tell

you.”

Robyn glanced back at Tad with a questioning look. He shook his head. There was

no way he was explaining
that
conversation to her.

Tad pulled her in for a hug and a kiss, embracing her for a minute while he

considered his options. Keil had asked him to stick around for a couple of days to

help with sign language and make Robyn feel at home in Alaska with the Granite

Lake pack. He’d originally said he’d do it, but now he knew it wouldn’t work. Not if

the last couple of hours were any indication. There was far too much politics

involved, and while he liked to socialize and problem solve, there was no use in