Yada, yada, yada. Shaun yanked harder on his burden, managing to drag the heavy weight a measly two inches. Only a couple days left before his temporary break in bookings was over and he’d be flying tourists again. This hanging-out-with-the-pack thing wasn’t as bad as he had expected.
It was worse.
“You know, you could ask for help.” Evan motioned toward the pack members crowding the pub.
“When pigs fly.”
Evan laughed out loud, pausing to call a few of the guys from their beers. The nearest three leapt to their feet in response. They grabbed the griz under the arms and manhandled him out the door.
Shaun slid back onto his barstool. “Is there nothing I can say that will piss you off?”
Evan considered for a minute. He shook his head as he reached under the bar and brought up a dusty bottle of liquor, lowering the pale blue decanter to the counter with reverence. “See, I understand where you’re coming from. You want me to get mad and tell you to take a hike. Therefore, the most fun I can have is to force you to stick around until you get your head out of your ass.”
He grabbed two glasses and motioned to one of the pack who took over serving. “Come on, we’re going to my office.”
Fuck. This kind of summons was as bad as getting called to the principal’s. “Ah, gee thanks, Evan, but I should get home. I’ve got a big flight planned in a couple days. I need to get my beauty sleep. There’s this really good movie on APN.”
“You forgot the excuse about needing to wash your hair.” Evan pushed open the solid wood door leading to his office and gestured Shaun in first. “Forget it. I’m not ordering you around, but if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get your butt in there.”
Landing in Whitehorse was unadventurous, just like Gemmita had promised her father at least a dozen times it would be. The place was even smaller than she’d calculated when she’d insisted he had no need to worry, or provide an escort. The teeny airport had one luggage carousel, and the teeming crowd of greeters meeting the plane numbered twenty at the most. So far, her trip had been perfect. A chance for her to spread her wings and prove she had more going for her than the family name.
Two wolves loitered by the coffee shop. Considering how well wolves aged, she figured they must be somewhere between twenty and fifty years old. Black hair and eyes, smoky-coloured skin. Not as dark as hers, but not white either. They waggled their brows in her direction, but Gem pointedly ignored them, at least until they approached, interest gleaming in their eyes.
“Hello, sweets. You need a ride?”
She examined the mural on the wall behind the luggage carousel as if it were a Picasso, figuring silence was the best response.
The second wolf stepped to the right, neatly caging her between them before she could protest. They weren’t crowding her or looming over her, or anything that seemed like an attempt to freak her out. They were just being, well, wolves.
“If you have someone coming to greet you, they’re late. We’ll make sure you get where you want to go.”
Well, shoot. Here she hoped she’d be able to avoid the whole hierarchy and sniffing-for-importance obsession. Guess it didn’t matter if you were in the Deep South or the Far North.
It was a public place with humans near at hand, so she wasn’t afraid. Not really—or not enough for her to order them to stand down. In fact, this was a perfect time for her to test-drive her new “assume control of her own life” skills and get them to listen without playing on her family background.
She lifted her chin resolutely. “Thank you, boys, but I’ll hail a cab and find my own way. Understand?”
Along with her words she let the tiniest touch of her power sneak out—enough to prove she wasn’t a weak wolf. That bit of power was all her own, nothing to do with her name or money. The sensation thrilled her as always, the rare moments she used that other side of herself, and she fully expected both her annoyances to stage a rapid retreat.
Their response was not as respectful as the average wolf back home. In fact, they barely moved, the older of the two raising one brow as if he was more interested than before. A momentary flash of dismay shot through her, and she stomped her reaction into submission before her frustration showed.
Personal pep-talk time.
Press forward, Gem, you can do this. Don’t wait for someone to rescue you.
She reached for her bag, but the wolf on her left snatched it up first. With all the humans around, she didn’t want to make a loud scene, instead stepping forward to block his path. “Do you have a hearing problem?”
He smiled, his teeth flashing white against his skin. “Nah. You said you needed a cab.” The Bobbsey Twins whipped out matching caps and slapped them on their heads. Solid black graphics declared Whitehorse Wolves Transport, accompanied by the imprint of a wolf in hot pursuit of a terrified horse, and she sniffed to refrain from smiling.
Her second suitcase cruised past on the carousel, and she resigned herself to accepting their help. If they stepped out of line, she had more strength she could whammy them with. “Fine. One of you grab that blue bag as well. I’m staying at the Moonshine Inn.”
“Then that’s where we’ll take you.” The younger wolf offered his elbow and Gem adjusted her thinking. Maybe they weren’t all roughnecks and lowbrow here in the north. She got to embrace that charitable thought for a full minute before he helped her into the cab and managed to pinch her butt in the process. He waited until his buddy got behind the wheel, then waved at the retreating cab like a little girl, fingers fluttering innocently as they left him behind in the parking area.
Wolves. She peeked in the mirror and checked her lipstick.
“You in town for long?” The name posted on the cabby’s ID was David.
“Just passing through. I’m heading to the northern part of the territory to do some research, and my pilot is supposed to meet me here.”
He whistled softly. “Research, hey? What’s your specialty? Let me guess—botany. I heard they were doing a study on the microsomes of the aspidiaceae ferns. Sounded fascinating.”
The steep incline of the road as they descended into the river valley was forgotten as she again fine-tuned her attitude. A cabbie wolf who knew botany? Gem’s enthusiasm burst out unchecked. “I’m conducting an environmental assessment on the Porcupine Caribou herd birthing grounds. With the oil and gas development, it’s of vital importance to maintain up-to-date statistics on any changes.”
“Really? That’s fabulous as well.” He grinned at her, the leer fading, replaced with a touch of something else.
Was he…? Was that…? My goodness, he was laughing at her.
Gem stiffened her spine. She wasn’t used to being made fun of to her face. In fact, no one in her pack would dream of doing anything but treat her with respect in public. She stifled a sigh. If only being shown respect meant they actually respected her. That was part of the point of this journey—to prove she could stand on her own without Daddy interfering.
There was no reason for her to be impolite in return. “You’re well educated for a cab driver.”