"I doubt she has. They wouldn't want one of their unmated females running around the world without someone watching out for her."
Elgin's face brightened, but then he frowned. "Laney warned me the little lady wants to return to the woods."
Leidolf snorted. "She isn't going anywhere. The bullet hole in her shoulder won't heal that quickly, and with all the riffraff sure to be searching out there," he said, giving Quincy and Pierce a pointed look, "it's not safe for anyone, least of all, a lone female." He looked around the room for the other major source of contention--Sarge, who was being monitored closely by three of his men.
Satros was sleeping soundly in an overstuffed chair, his romp to locate Sarge and, earlier, the search for a red wolf mate for Leidolf, having taken their toll on his stamina.
Leidolf considered the twin brothers again. If Quincy and Pierce hadn't needed a pack to keep them in line and if the trouble they had been getting into wasn't due to poor judgment, Leidolf would have made them leave. That's just what had happened to them before, and he couldn't help feeling that some leader needed to make sure they fit into a pack.
He noticed Evan, one of his male teens, watching him, and Carver observing the teen, irritation evident on the middle-aged widower's face. Seemed Leidolf couldn't ever resolve one problem without six more taking its place. He might as well have a word in private with the boy. Leidolf motioned for everyone but Evan to leave the room. Once the door was shut and they were alone, he waved to a chair.
"Evan, I want you to stay out of trouble."
Evan let out his breath, sat on the chair hard and then spread his hands palm up. "I'm not doing anything. Really."
Leidolf raised his brow. "Stay away from Carver's daughters."
"One of them constantly chases after me." Evan shrugged. "Whenever her father and sister aren't around, she's coming on to me. What am I supposed to do?"
"Stay away from her. Gently tell her you're not interested."
His look defiant, Evan shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Evan?"
"Of all the girls in the pack, she's the only one who's really an alpha. I like that she comes after me."
"Yeah, and if her father learns of it, he'll come after you... and then what?"
"I'm not afraid of him."
"You should be. Her father has the final say about who she sees until she's an adult."
"He doesn't want her to see anyone, least of all me. I'm not going to lie to you. If Alice wants to see me, I'll be there for her."
"Alice, the quiet one?" Leidolf frowned at Evan. "Hell, as your pack leader, I highly recommend against it."
"But?"
"As a teen in your situation, I wouldn't listen to anyone who had a lick of sense, either. So do us both a favor. No sneaking around to be with her. Let Carver know face-to-face that you want to see his daughter."
Evan's defiance continued to shine through. Then he gave a sharp nod. "All right. It won't work, you know."
"Won't know for sure unless you try."
"Did it work for you?"
Leidolf gave him a small smile. "Hopefully better for you than it did for me."
Footfalls stalked toward the room, and Leidolf said, "Have everyone come back in. Just remember what I said."
"Yes, sir," Evan said and hurried to tell everyone to rejoin them.
When the men reentered the room, Leidolf was surprised to see Irving and Tynan. Sporting a head bandage, Tynan had as big a scowl as Irving. They should have looked guilty as hell for not doing their ranching duties and leaving without a word to anyone, again.
"Where have the two of you been?" Leidolf growled. "And what the hell happened to you, Tynan?"
"We were hunting for that cougar," Irving said, his steely eyes focused on Leidolf's, not backing down. He jerked a thumb in Tynan's direction. "Because of the rain, he slipped on some rocks and hit his head hard against a boulder. Hard head, though, nothing damaged. Much."
At least the twin brothers didn't give Leidolf new headaches maliciously. And Sarge was just a major nuisance. But Irving and Tynan? Leidolf was beginning to suspect they were real trouble.
He wished Elgin hadn't been so reluctant to make him aware of them months earlier when Leidolf first arrived in the pack. Leidolf's complacency could be seen as a weakness. Further, not realizing the problem was also an indication that he didn't have what it took to lead the pack. At least anyone who had half a notion to challenge him might think so.
Leidolf narrowed his eyes at Tynan and Irving. "I didn't give you permission to leave and neglect your duties, and you haven't let Elgin or Fergus know your whereabouts for several days."
The look on the two men's faces remained frozen in stone. No regret for what they had been up to. Just as arrogant as Alfred's cronies had been.
Leidolf scowled at the men, his voice low and menacing. "Did you kill any of the human girls like Alfred and his henchmen had done?"
Tynan glanced at Irving, which told Leidolf that Irving was running the show and also that they were involved somehow in what Alfred had done.
"Did you?" Leidolf growled. He knew if they had, they wouldn't admit to it. They would have signed their death warrant by doing so. But their reactions would reveal the truth in part.
Tynan quickly shook his head.
Irving said, "No." But the way he spoke was a challenge. Prove it.
And Leidolf would do just that. He lifted his nose and smelled the air, but he couldn't capture any scent from the two men. "Why are you wearing hunter's spray?"
"I told you we went hunting for the cougar," Irving said, with a snide twist to his words.
"Your guns were armed with regular bullets?"
A flutter of concern crossed Tynan's face.
"Of course," Irving said, as if the question was idiotic.
Leidolf stood taller like an alpha wolf leader would, his posture and voice threatening mayhem if the men didn't take heed. "The cougar will be tranquilized, not killed. Do you understand?"
"Alfred would have killed the cat and been done with it," Irving said, challenging Leidolf's authority.
A couple of the men grumbled something Leidolf couldn't make out. Elgin snorted but held his tongue. Fergus and Carver both scowled at Irving, fists tightening and appearing as though they were ready to tear Irving apart.
Although Irving and his cousin weren't born lupus garous, they'd been werewolves for a long time. But a pecking order still existed, and Irving would be no match for Leidolf.
"And you know where Alfred is now." Leidolf gave him a look that said if he didn't mind pack rules, he could join his former pack leader, six feet under.
If these men had murdered innocent women, they would be dealt with in the only way their kind dealt with pack members who committed such atrocities. Wolf to wolf in the ancient way. And Irving and Tynan had to realize that.
So what was making them hang around and not tuck tail and run before they met their fate? The only reason Leidolf hadn't torn into them before this was that before he did so, he had to learn beyond a shadow of a doubt that the men were guilty of a crime.
Chapter 13
With only a penlight to illuminate his way, his lantern having given out hours earlier, Alex reached his truck and leaned against it. He hesitated to return to the thick of the woods close to where he might still encounter the men who had tried to shoot him and who had shot the red wolf. He assumed the wolf was in good hands now with the men who had rescued her from the zoo staff, if only because wolves had been running with them. They probably belonged to the men, which would explain the female's unnatural protective behavior around Alex.
So much for observing red wolves in the wild. He should have known that finding a pack of red wolves living out here was too good to be true.