Monty’s swallowed hard, hoping against hope he assumed incorrectly. “Sophie’s going out with you?”
“Yep. It’s time I took a mate. Not too many she-wolves around. Not ones that aren’t feral, anyway.” They all grimaced at the thought of the many Ac-taw living as animals in Glacier National Forest. Rafe’s battle to lead the gray wolves had ended with him as alpha, but he had a long way to go before stabilizing the order. The few civilized wolves in town were a far cry from the wild ones roaming the mountains.
“I thought a bunch of females were migrating up from the South. Evening out our numbers.” No way had Sophie agreed to a date with Rafe. She barely tolerated Monty without flinching.
Rafe shrugged. “I won’t chance female lives until it’s safe for them to be here. They aren’t coming until the order’s cohesive.”
“Cohesive means together. A unit.” Axel spoke slowly.
“Please. You’re educating me?” What was it with people always trying to explain large words to him? He didn’t think it was funny when his pridemates did it, and Axel, even less. He turned back to Rafe. “Sophie’s mine. You can’t have her.” There. He’d said it. A verbal claim of intent.
Rafe sniffed. “I don’t smell a mating or her scent anywhere on you. And she doesn’t seem to know she’s yours.”
“We just had dinner Friday night.”
“If it went that well, why did she agree to a date with me?”
Monty couldn’t answer that and frankly didn’t care. “The point is, she’s mine.”
“When she says it, I’ll believe it. Until then, happy hunting. Come on, Axel. Let’s leave Monty to his delusions.”
With all politeness, Axel explained, “Delusions are false beliefs held with absolute conviction, and normally pathological in nature. Meaning you have a mental illness. Or, so you can understand, you’re fucking crazy.”
Monty roared and attacked the bigger male, uncaring that he’d no doubt lose to the giant wolf. While Axel played with him, Rafe sat by wearing a large smile and watched.
Half an hour later, Monty limped through the woods, cursing the gray order left and right. He possessed a quick wit, fast reflexes and the ability to withstand a good pounding. He’d taken more than his share of licks over the years and had the scars to prove it. But Christ, he’d never beaten Axel in a fight, fair or otherwise. No one had. Rafe had a good wolf at his back. Now if he could just keep the rest of the wild wolves in line, the order might amount to more than a group of hairy thugs who killed Hunters and terrified the townspeople.
He groaned and cursed Rafe again. Truth to tell, Sheridan wasn’t a bad guy, but no way in hell would he treat Sophie the way she deserved. Sheridan would run rings around her. It was obvious he’d overwhelm her. Delicate Sophie needed a man who could appreciate her strengths and support her weaknesses.
And just like that, he understood why she’d agreed to go out with the alpha. Of course. She’d been afraid to say no to Rafe. Her alpha requested her time, and like a good wolf, she agreed.
Or she’d finally gotten over her fear of Ac-taw men. Her response to Monty the other night might not have been for him specifically, but for any available male wolf. Hell. Was she going into heat?
Frantic to get back and put his claim on her before anyone else could, he turned and started to head back when he caught a rotting stench light on the wind. Norris. He had to follow it, had to see if it would lead him to his adversary. But that might mean days of tracking, preparation, the possibility of injury, even death.
Sophie would be fair game tomorrow night.
His enemy or his mate?
Grumbling under his breath, he shifted to human and back again to speed his healing. It was chancy, since so much shifting tired him out, but at least he could move whole and hearty. Then he hurried after Norris’s scent. He’d get as close as he could without engaging, then head back to town. He had a date to stop and a woman to pursue. Sophie had to be ready for him, because they’d both run out of time. An alpha with mating on his mind always made for complications. And this particular alpha planned on mating Monty’s girl.
Thursday afternoon, Sophie cupped the hot cup of coffee in her hands as she sat with Gabby and Julia at the catamount ranch. Gabby’s cabin was a cute little place devoid of clutter. So homey and comfortable, unlike the old house Sophie lived in.
“Are you sure a man lives here with you?” she teased.
Gabby eyes lit with mischief, the fox and cat spirits within her clear to see. “I only had to threaten to throw out his favorite boots after tripping over them four times. Voila! They’re either in the closet or on his feet.”
“Nice.” Julia nodded. The sisters looked alike, despite Julia’s bigger baby belly and more petite frame. Their fiery red hair lent itself to a beautiful reddish coat when they took their animal forms. “Ty is kind of a slob, but only in the bedroom.”
“Is that a euphemism for something I don’t want to know about?” Gabby cringed.
Julia blushed. “No, you idiot. He leaves his dirty clothes on the floor. I cannot get that man to use a hamper.”
“Oh. Good. I worried you wanted to share again. It was all well and good until you married him. Now it’s just weird.” Gabby grimaced. “Ty is cute and all, but really, he’s going to be the father of my niece.”
“Nephew. Shut up.” Julia laughed. “Sophie doesn’t mind a little frank talk, do you?”
Considering Julia had gotten her hooked on her late-night hobby, she had to answer, “No.” She wanted to share in their laughter, but nerves stopped her. She fidgeted, wondering how to tell her friends what she’d done.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Julia leaned closer.
Sophie had to talk or she’d explode. “I have a date tonight.”
Gabby patted her shoulder. “Way to go. It took a while, but Monty finally saw the light. About time.”
“With Rafe Sheridan.”
The sisters froze.
“What’s that?” Julia asked.
Sophie groaned. “I didn’t mean to. He saw me in town and cornered me. Before I knew it, I was agreeing to a date with the alpha.” She shivered. “He’s really powerful. All that energy practically sizzles when he’s close.”
Gabby gasped. “Did he threaten you into it?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. Rafe is actually a really nice man. Like Theo.”
“Theo?”
“His brother.” Seeing their confusion, she added, “Oh right. You guys don’t hang around the order much.”
Julia shook her head. “No one does. When Dylan was in charge, chaos reigned. It was like a zoo up there, except no gamekeepers. Gerald had more work bailing wolves out of jail than we knew what to do with.” Gerald, a silver fox, was also one of the premier lawyers in town, and Julia’s boss. “I’m telling you, Ac-taw and humans alike went missing in those woods. Ty looked into it but could never prove Dylan’s Dogs, as Dylan like to call his hit squad, were guilty.”
“Then Rafe battled for leadership and won. Ever since he’s been in charge, things have been quieter.” Gabby gave a lusty sigh. “You have to admit, Rafe is hot.”
“Gabby.” Julia frowned.
“Hey, I’m mated, not dead. Of course, Monty’s much better-looking. He’s part of the pride, so I’m biased.” Gabby winked. “Besides, he’s had a thing for Soph forever.”