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.
She loved the way he was always protective of her. She wished he felt something romantic for her, but she assumed his feelings were more brotherly love for a sister who needed protection. “No, Tom. I just decided to change clothes.”
Tom glanced down at her dress and smiled. “A different look for you. That’s what the guys like so much about you. You’re so… unpredictable.”
“It also bothers them.”
Tom, being the typical peacemaker, immediately changed the subject. “Did you see any red in the woods when you talked to McKinley there?”
“No. Lelandi already asked.” She was surprised Lelandi wouldn’t have already told Darien and his brothers.
“Are you sure?”
Carol frowned up at Tom. “I said I didn’t see anyone. Just Ryan. Why do you think I would lie?”
Tom cleared his throat, his cheeks faintly flushing. “Darien’s just… well, worried you’d had contact with a red male from another pack. Believe me, Darien wants the best for you. If there is something you’re not telling us… we don’t want to kill someone we think is stalking you when he’s truly a love interest.”
“Tom,” Carol said, unable to hide her exasperation, “if someone’s stalking me, I haven’t encouraged it. First of all, none of you let me out of your sight long enough for me to have contact with anyone else. And second, if by some miracle I did have an encounter with someone outside the pack, don’t you think that if I liked him, I’d tell you so you wouldn’t terminate him?”
Tom didn’t say anything right away, and as the music stopped, he glided to a halt. “No. I think you’d be afraid to tell Darien if you were interested in leaving the pack. Look at what happened last night. You were with McKinley alone in the dark woods. Not a word to any of us. We didn’t learn of it until we arrived home and Jake checked on you, finding your bedroom door wide open and no sign of you in the house. I found the back door unlocked, and you’d taken off into the forest.”
He had her there. “Fair enough. Now that this has come up, I assure you I have no interest in any red male. No gray either.” She smiled sweetly.
“All right.” Tom released her to another man and gave him a look that meant he’d better keep his distance. Then he headed to speak to Darien.
“Name’s Avery,” the man said to Carol, taking her arm. His light amber eyes matched his pale brown suit and compared to Christian, he had a much tamer look. His actions mirrored that, as his touch was light, not the least bit invasive.
“I’ve heard McKinley wants to talk to you later tonight about the investigation. Darien’s not happy about it.”
She shrugged. She wasn’t happy about it, either.
“And now McKinley seems to be targeting Marilee, like he can’t make up his mind which of you he wants.”
Carol looked around at the dancing couples and saw Ryan dancing with the masseuse. He was back for a return engagement. Carol attempted to hide a scowl. Ryan kept his distance with Marilee, but the woman attempted to snuggle closer. Wanting the alpha male? Had she learned he was an unmated pack leader? Or did returning to her show he truly was interested in her?