Raising his ears, he made a split second decision.
Jana, I'm capturing the Alpha.
You're what? Her voice couldn't have sounded more incredulous if she tried.
Azriel is studying these wolves—trying to help them, free them, or something. I bet he could use an Alpha.
Jana growled at two wolves in front of her and they yelped and ran away into the woods. How the hell are we going to get it back to Westervelt?
Biting the wolf once more to make sure it was still pinned down, Malcolm considered her question. We'll rent a car.
Oh heavens help me, I'm mated to a crazy wolf.
Ha. Think you could growl at the stragglers who haven't run off?
I can do that. But we aren't renting any damn car. Jana growled loudly and lunged at one of the distorted wolves. It yelped and ran off.
Malcolm gripped his opponent's head in his powerful jaws and slammed it on the ground, rendering the Alpha creature unconscious. Calling the shift on himself, Malcolm turned to Jana who was doing the same. In front of his eyes, she changed from a small petite wolf into the glorious shape of his woman, his mate, his life.
It seemed to him that she had been shaped from the soil in Fate's effort to create the perfect woman. How was it possible that one person could be everything to him? A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed it away.
"Malcolm, why are you looking at me that way?" Jana narrowed her eyes.
"I like to look at you Jana."
His heart pounded as in the darkness he could see her cheeks redden. "It's one of the reasons I took so long to reveal myself to you. There was just something so sensual about watching you for that month without you knowing who I was."
She raised an eyebrow. "And now that I know you, I bet you thought it would be super romantic to reveal yourself on Valentine's Day."
"Okay, there was that aspect to it too."
The wolf on the ground made a groaning noise and started to rise. Malcolm cuffed it with a swift fist, causing it to lose consciousness again.
"If you're not careful, you're going to kill that thing."
He shook his head. "They don't die so easily, unfortunately."
"So I mean it, we're not renting a car."
"Why not?"
She walked up to him and ran a hand down his arm. "Because we have something else to do."
Sensual images of Jana naked beneath him filled his mind and he swallowed hard. "I have a feeling you're not talking about what I'm imagining."
"If you're imagining the two of us going after my illustrious boss Carl, then yes, we're thinking about the same thing."
"Not even close." He paused to consider what she said. "Okay, then how do we get Alpha here up to Maine?"
Jana shrugged. "Get on your cell phone. If Az and the boys need an Alpha, let them come down and pick it up."
The idea of calling a Kane and demanding they come down and pick up this wolf made him snicker. Jana obviously had no fear.
As if reading his mind, she laughed. "It's one of the benefits of having grown up with Michael and Gabriel. It makes me older than our Alpha. I can still remember them all as little boys."
"And I guess you haven't technically sworn allegiance to the new pack yet."
"True." She ran a hand through her brown hair. "But I will."
Picking up his cell phone out of his pants pocket, he grinned. "Maybe I can demand they send down Cullen."
Jana's eyes got huge. "Even I wouldn't go that far."
"Woman, you make me feel like embracing danger."
Sniffing the air, he hoped his words weren't premonitions of things to come.
Chapter Four
Frozen rain spilled down on her hair but Jana didn't notice as she listened to the clink of her high heels on the pavement beneath her. Three more feet and she'd be inside the building she'd called her second home for so many years. When this was over, she would miss work.
But she wouldn't miss the sick son-of-a-bitch that'd sent the wolves after them last night.
Stepping into the building, she thought of Malcolm. She could feel his eyes on her even though she wasn't entirely sure where he was hidden. Well, where he and the team that had shown up early this morning currently resided.
She had been right. One call to Westervelt had sent down a recovery team. It was the other group that shocked her. To give them their due, the Kane brothers seemed to be running a more efficient team than their father had. Plus the private plane landing at dawn in a field had been pretty cool to watch.
She clenched her hands at her side. How long had Carl known about her and how had he known it? There would be answers today, if she had to personally rip them out of his worthless throat.
Smiling at the receptionist as she headed for the elevators, she had the strangest inclination to shift right there in the lobby and see what happened. At least some of the people had to have cellular phone cameras. It might make a good video on the Internet.
The elevator was crowded and she tried not to breathe. She'd spent a lot of time in wolf form the night before and the fight had brought back long suppressed instincts.
There was no way she was going to be able to commune with the humans in such small spaces for very long.
Not if they were going to insist on wearing perfumes, deodorants, and scented soaps.
There was a real worry that she might gag. Tapping her foot, she tried not to breathe as the elevator seemingly stopped on every floor on its way to the top. At least she was certain that none of these people were made-wolves in disguise since none of them would willingly wear the products that were making her ill.
Looking up, she caught a glance of the video camera recording the goings on inside the elevator. As she leaned back against the wall, she raised her right hand and waved.
They knew she was coming. There was no point in acting like they didn't. She'd survived the night—thanks to Malcolm's instincts—and she knew what Carl was up to.
The elevator dinged, signaling her arrival at the top floor. She was alone on the elevator, most of the employees having no reason to go near Carl's private offices that morning. As the door opened, Jana raised an eyebrow. Standing in front of her was Carl himself.
Short with broad shoulders and the body of a battering ram, Carl had almost single handedly brought his small sneaker company from a one-man operation to a multi-billion dollar corporation with offices and factories nearly everywhere in the world. For the last ten years, Jana had run his advertising. Now, she wanted to rip out his throat with her teeth.
Calm down, my mate. You are not alone. Nothing he can say or do right now will matter very much. Malcolm's voice was like a balm on a sore leg. It immediately settled her.
"Hello, Carl. I have to say; I expected to be greeted by hoards of wolves and guards, not you yourself. Or maybe you're just so surprised that I'm alive you had to come out of your office and see me yourself?"
Carl grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. "This was never about you. They were not sent there to go after you." Jana felt herself hauled forward with a surprising amount of strength by Carl. When had he gotten so strong? His voice was a low hiss and Jana realized he didn't want the secretaries to hear what it was he said. She smiled. What would the others do if she started ranting and raving about shifters in the woods at night?
The thought amused her more than it should and she couldn't help the giggle that exploded. Quickly, she covered her mouth with her free hand.