Carol touched up her lips with a shimmering peach gloss. “Yep, as right as can be.” Under the circumstances.
“When you went into the woods with Ryan last night, did you see any sign of a red wolf?”
Frowning, Carol walked out of the bathroom. “No, why?”
“Have you had any premonitions that we’ve had trouble with a red wolf?”
“No.” Lelandi’s worried voice concerned Carol. What was up now?
Lelandi crossed the room to the door and opened it. “Ryan claims the wolf was skulking around the woods surrounding our home. Since there are only the two of us reds here, other than Doc…” Lelandi shrugged, but Carol could tell she was trying to hide her apprehension.
“Would it have been your cousin, Ural?”
“No, I called him, and he’s still in my uncle’s pack. Whoever it was, he was wearing some kind of hunter’s spray,” Lelandi said.
If it wasn’t Ural, was it someone else from Lelandi’s old pack? Someone who had survived the battle?
Carol opened her mouth to speak, but remembering how those who had attempted to kill Lelandi had worn hunter concealment sprays brought back a horrible flash of memory. She clamped her lips and eyes shut, the terror of the night she’d been bitten coming back to her in an instant. The red wolf’s wicked canines primed to bite her, lips curled back, nose wrinkled, the growl, the sharp teeth sinking in, the stabbing pain, the numbing cold, and then blackness.
“Carol?”
Attempting to hide a shudder, Carol opened her eyes and gave a wan smile.
“What were you thinking of?”
“Being bitten.”
Lelandi gave her a heartfelt hug and then pulled her to the door and into the hallway. “That’s what I thought. But Deputy Peter Jorgenson killed the wolf that bit you.”
A deep frown marred Lelandi’s forehead, and Carol got the impression she knew something else. “Was there someone from your old pack who was at the battle and survived?”
Lelandi stopped halfway down the hall and took a deep breath.
“Connor. Darien killed his twin brother. Connor appeared harmless enough to the others when he quit fighting to watch Darien battle with my former pack leader, so they let him go. But later, we had word that during the battle another was downstairs called North, cousin of the one who bit you. Like Connor, he gave up the fight and Jake let him leave.”
A chill spiked up Carol’s spine. “Would either of them want revenge for their kin’s death?”
“Possibly.”
But the way Lelandi said it as she headed down the stairs sounded more like she thought the red had some other agenda.
“What’s another possibility?”
Lelandi looked over her shoulder at Carol, her expression worried. “Connor’s brother turned you, but he died. Now either of the men, the brother or the cousin, might want to claim you, partly because you’re a red and partly because in the old days when a man needed a woman, and sometimes a woman wanted a particular man, they bit and changed them. Then they took the newly turned werewolf as a mate.
“In this case, their kin changed you, but you still don’t have a mate, so Connor or North may feel you belong to the family. But also, they might want you for revenge. Of course, I’m just guessing here. I have no idea if any of this is true.”
Carol swallowed hard as uneasiness swept over her.
“Another possibility is that it’s just a red wolf who smelled you or me in a gray territory and was curious about the two of us.”
“Unlikely, right?” Carol asked. Just the inflection in Lelandi’s voice told her Lelandi didn’t believe it.
“You’re right. The whole area is filled with gray lupus garous, which should be enough of a deterrent.” Lelandi clasped Carol’s hand and squeezed reassuringly. “Darien’s put out the word you’re to have a bodyguard at all times. The bachelor males have all eagerly signed up to take turns.”
How could things get any worse?
Carol hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. Returning to the sunroom after her flight from the great room was a major feat. She wasn’t shy, but she wasn’t a stage personality, either. She was sure she would be the center of attention when she returned, while she would have much rather blended in.
When they entered the great room, all eyes were upon them. Brows and lips lifted as the bachelors’ interest was piqued by the sight of Carol in the dress. Ryan seemed to be grilling Mervin in a corner of the room, the poor barber’s back to the wall and Ryan nearly nose to nose with him. Ryan’s jaw dropped when he caught sight of Carol out of the corner of his eye, his fearsome expression instantly vaporizing. Now she wished she hadn’t changed out of her more casual, conservative clothing to something that really got the guys’ attention.
She stiffened her back and glanced at the two women, who were staring at her and exchanging words with one another, both of them giving her a chilly look. Hell, Carol wasn’t going to be a wallflower any longer. The guys were single, and while she didn’t think she’d really get interested enough in any of them to mate, she had to remind herself that if she just got to know one of them, she might find he truly was someone she could care for. Still for now, all she intended to do was have fun.
“Can we have some music?” she whispered to Lelandi.
Lelandi smiled back. “Silva, want to get the music going? Let’s dance!”
That was all it took. One of the men hurried forth to grab Carol’s arm, and she tried to tell herself she wanted this—Do not shift!
When he grasped her arm, she took a deep calming breath and concentrated on his flyaway dark brown hair and intense air, his chocolate suit and matching tie at odds with his wild look, and attempted not to think of the force of his enthusiastic touch, which might trigger the shift.
“My name is Christian, and I couldn’t have been more proud of you for stealing Darien’s ribbon during the game today.”
“Really,” she said, holding him at arm’s length as he moved her across the tile floor to dance. His darkened eyes looked at her as if he was fascinated with her, but his voice was a little too high pitched to make her feel anything serious about him. “Everyone seemed shocked into silence.”
He grinned. “Only until we saw how Darien would take it. I realize you don’t understand everything about pack politics yet, but Darien’s the pack leader so what he says is the law. Not that we don’t disagree with him sometimes, but we keep it to ourselves.”
Betas. “And Lelandi?”
“She’s the pack leader’s mate, so sure, she has a lot of say. But ultimately, it falls on Darien’s shoulders to make sure that everyone follows the rules. His brothers help to enforce them also. So when someone does something that’s contrary to those guidelines, there’s a wait-and-see attitude. Does Darien find it acceptable or not? You might not think so, but the way he’s taken you into his household means you’re his ward, and no one wants to do anything to upset him concerning you.”
She snorted. “Darien is protective. I’ll give him that. But he’s more annoyed with me than anything.”
“That’s because you’re fighting the shift. It sets you apart from the rest of us, but worse than that, one of these days you won’t be able to control it. And you’ll put us all in a bind.”
Not liking the way he frowned at her and the sudden edge to his voice, she meant to pull away, but Christian tightened his hold. She was afraid that if she fought him, she might trigger the compulsion to shift again.
She could see it now—pulling her dress straps down, exposing her bra, yanking her dress the rest of the way off as fast as she could. Then before she knew it, she’d be standing naked in front of a crowd that was shocked or amused or interested. Definitely the entertainment for the night. And the talk for years of Carol’s coming out. She stifled a laugh. Yeah, coming out, all right.
Christian didn’t seem to notice the tension in her body and continued to speak as if he hadn’t upset her. “I’m your first bodyguard. And I’ll take the job seriously. Anyone who tries to get to you will have to deal with me.”
“Anyone?” she asked, curious if this meant he didn’t intend to let any of the other bachelors get close to her, either.
“Any red males,” he said, smiling. “I’d keep any male away, but not for that reason. Darien has sent some of the mated males out into the woods again tonight, looking for him. He won’t get a chance to get near you. Ever.”
Not wanting to think about being stalked, Carol switched topics. “What do you think of Marilee and Becky?”
Christian glanced at Becky, who was dancing with Mervin. Carol almost laughed when she saw them together. Becky was keeping her distance, and Mervin was watching Carol. Another bachelor clung to Marilee.
His expression fierce, Ryan was standing alone, arms crossed, watching Carol. She wondered why he looked so angry, so dangerous. Maybe because he was irritated that another bachelor male had stolen Marilee from him.
“Cute girls,” Christian said. “They’ll make some guys good mates.”
Cute girls? Sexy as all get out maybe, but cute? Not in this lifetime.
What she really wanted to hear was that Christian didn’t think the women were worthy of consideration. Not that she was interested in him, especially the way he’d come across concerning her fighting the shift, but…
The music ended, and before he could dance with her again, Tom butted in. “Mind, Christian?”
Even if Christian had minded, and she was sure he did by the disgruntled look on his face, Darien’s brothers had priority as sub-leaders in having their wishes met.
His mouth curved down, Christian bowed politely and then stepped away. She couldn’t believe Tom had even asked her. He kept her separated from his body, very dignified, very respectful, but when he spoke, she knew Darien had prompted him to dance with her.
“Did Mervin upset you in any way?” Tom began.
