Call of the Wolf (21 page)

The question seemed to throw them all for a loop.

"That wouldn't be an issue,” Seth said emphatically.

Abby blinked at him. “Why wouldn't it?"

His lips tightened. “We do not have females."

Abby resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “You must have some!"

"Too rarely for it to be a concern,” Cameron said flatly.

"But ... if I did?"

"There would be no question of her place. An Alpha female has choice of place."

Abby frowned at that. “What if she isn't an Alpha female?"

That question seemed to stun them more than the first. They didn't seem to have an answer for it—mostly, she thought with a touch of amusement, because they couldn't seem to grasp the possibility that they might produce a female at all or, having done so, that she might be anything
but
an Alpha.

She supposed, though, that that wasn't something she needed to worry too much about. She didn't even know that she could conceive at all. She didn't see any reason why she wouldn't be able to. She'd never had any indication that she might not, but she never had and one just never knew.

She allowed the subject to drop. “If I agreed to do this, what would I be expected to do? I mean ... I don't have any idea what goes on."

"The pack gathers as the full moon rises—tomorrow night. We will run together as a pack and then meet again at the clearin'. The males who've marked the female of their choice will compete for her favor—so that she can judge for herself which male is strongest and most desirable to sire her off-spring. And then she will choose."

Abby studied him in dawning horror. “They'll fight?” she asked a little hoarsely, trying to imagine the battle she'd seen earlier multiplied by god only knew how many wolves. “I'd be expected to
watch
? Oh! I don't know if I can do that!"

Shooting to her feet, she scurried toward the door.

Seth intercepted her, catching her arm. “You would be in no danger, Abby,” he said gently.

She stared up at his face a little forlornly. “But ... I'd have to watch! And ... and I can't run with the pack, Seth!"

"We know that. It wouldn't be expected. You'd wait at the gatherin’ place, in the clearin'."

"And ... I'd be expected to choose whoever won?"

He studied her a long moment and finally shrugged. “In the end, the female chooses. Generally, she picks the winner, but she isn't required to."

That wasn't much consolation in her book. It seemed to her that he was saying any male that liked her looks could compete. What if nobody did? What if ...
all
the guys that had joined them at the fair the night before decided to have a try for her? She might have consoled herself with the idea that it was just for show except she'd seen the way Seth and Cameron and Adrian and Jerico fought with one another—and they were
friends
! “I ... don't think I can do this, Seth,” she said shakily instead of informing him that she didn't want to.

And she was pretty sure she didn't want to!

He lifted a hand to stroke her cheek lightly. “You can, Love. You're a strong woman—much braver than you give yourself credit for. You'll breed fine pups that any Wolfen would be proud of."

Abby thought for several moments that she'd burst into tears. She swallowed convulsively several times until she'd mastered the urge. It was almost easier to imagine facing hit men. “I need to think about this,” she said a little beseechingly.

Anger flickered in his eyes, but he merely nodded. “We'll be expected at the dance tonight."

That wasn't welcome news, not the way she felt at the moment. She stared at him unhappily. “Even after what happened...?"

His lips tightened. “Especially after what happened. I know it won't be easy for you, but it's important that everyone know that you can be trusted with our secret."

Abby felt the color leave her face at that, wondering if there was a threat in it. It wasn't enough that she had the mob after her? Now she had to worry that the Wolfen might want to knock her off for knowing about them?

"Don't look at me like that, Abby,” Seth growled. “We aren't monsters, whatever you may think now."

She nodded a little jerkily. Pulling away from him, she headed to her bedroom where she had a little privacy, time to think, where she could try to come to terms with the situation she'd found herself in.

* * * *

Cameron wasn't terribly pleased when he discovered Abby had hung his clothes on the doorknob, but he supposed it wasn't as bad as finding them pitched on the hall floor. He studied the closed door thoughtfully for several moments and finally dismissed the urge to try to press his point. He wasn't
dis
pleased with the way things had gone—except for the fucking pack interrupting him. She'd responded to him readily, eagerly.

Not that she'd had a clue that he'd taken it as a sign that she fully accepted him.

The others had obviously realized he intended to give her the second mark, though. He was pretty sure they wouldn't have shown themselves otherwise—certainly so soon after the incident that morning.

Guilt coiled in his belly. They were pushing Abby too hard, too fast. He knew it, but, like Seth, he was damned if he could see a way around it.

They were waiting in the living room when he returned, tense, distrustful.

As well they might be. He would cut them out in a heartbeat if there was a chance of it. Ignoring their glares, he sauntered toward the only empty seat and sprawled in it. “That could've gone better,” he drawled.

Seth and Adrian both sent him a hard look.

"It could've gone worse,” Jerico said pointedly.

Seth sent him a sour glance. “Exactly how the fuck do you think it could've gone worse?"

Jerico shrugged. “She wasn't completely against the idea ... not until you explained the gathering, anyway. That's something ... and actually more than I expected all things considered."

Seth frowned. He supposed he could see Jerico's point, but he still couldn't agree that the discussion could've ended much worse. Clearly, she was debating which was worse—joining them or dodging bullets. It sure as fuck wasn't flattering and it didn't say a lot for their efforts to win her over. He'd known it would be a hell of a shock to her, and not a pleasant one. It would've even if they'd had more time, but he thought, given more time with her she would've been more open to the discovery, maybe a lot more inclined to accept.

Not that there was any point in dwelling on
that
. They had what they had to work with. If it weren't for the circumstances, she would never have come to Ajax at all.

Of course, if she had, and it hadn't coincided with the gathering of the clan, he would've pretty much had her all to himself. He could've wooed her until he'd felt like she was ready to know.

Not that that mattered either since it hadn't happened that way.

"We'll never know, now, even if she decides to join the gathering, if she accepted because she wanted to, or if she accepted because she needs to,” he muttered.

He was actually surprised that no one challenged his assessment—not terribly happy they didn't, for that matter.

"The important thing,
mes ami
,” Cameron said after an uncomfortable silence, “is that she will be safe."

Seth flicked a resentful glance at him. It was the most important thing to him, if it came to that, to know that she was safe, but it sure as hell wasn't
un
important that she truly accept him—assuming, of course, he triumphed at the gathering, which he had every intention of doing.

"No one said it wasn't,” Adrian said tightly. “But she isn't Wolfen. Even if she chooses one of us we won't know that it means a damned thing to her—that we do! If she doesn't ... care for her mate, how can her mate be certain that she will love his pup? I don't like to think my mate might despise my pup for being a half-breed."

Seth sent him a sharp look. “She didn't mean it that way,” he growled. “She's worried it won't be accepted. It's a legitimate concern ... especially since she doesn't know anything about us ... and she
does
know humans aren't generally accepted as mates."

"Maybe,” Adrian countered. “But we don't know that for certain, do we? I don't think she's even had time to fully grasp what she discovered, let alone decide how she feels about it."

They fell silent, considering it for a while. “There is one way we could be sure,” Seth said finally, “but I'm pretty fuckin’ sure it isn't going to appeal to any of us. It doesn't especially appeal to me."

He saw when he glanced around at the others that they looked suspicious but interested.

"So,
mon ami
, tell us this plan you have that we are not goin’ to like,” Cameron said dryly.

Seth surged to his feet to pace. “Like you said, the most important thing is to make sure she's safe. Are we at least all agreed on that?"

They readily agreed, which didn't surprise him.

"Then we make god's damned sure she is,” he said grimly. “We join together at the gatherin’ and claim her—against all other contenders. That way we insure that she'll have pack protection. Then, we go after that fuckin’ asshole—cut the head off the dragon, there won't be a threat."

"And no reason for her to stay with us—even assumin’ we agreed to this,
mon ami
,” Cameron growled.

Seth studied him in tight lipped silence. “Exactly."

[Back to Table of Contents]

Chapter Sixteen

Cameron studied him with a mixture of anger and sardonic amusement. “
L'amour
has scrambled your brains,” he muttered. “This goes against pack protocol,
mon ami
, and you know it."

Seth felt his face heat with a mixture of discomfort and anger.

"I'm in,” Jerico said.

The other three men turned to look at him.

He shrugged. “Like you said—the important thing is to be sure she's safe. Anything else can be settled afterwards."

Adrian studied the others before he fixed Seth with a hard look. “I don't know. Exactly what is it you've got in mind?"

"We fight the other challengers rather than each other. When it's down to the four of us, we can challenge one another. That way we're certain it'll be one of us that wins—one of us she chooses. And we agree to settle the matter between us later—
after
we take care of Mikhail."

"You doan think the council will notice?” Cameron asked dryly.

"Why should they?"

Cameron shrugged. “Maybe because they'll be watchin’ us? The others are already pissed that we've been hoggin’ her time. Doan think word of it won't make it to the council."

Seth's lips tightened. “Fuck it! I'm sure as fuck not keen on givin’ her the chance of choosin’ one of the others!” he growled.

"There is that,” Adrian agreed, “but she don't have to choose any of us even if we do win. You know that and I'm pretty damned sure we told her that."

"She'll choose one of us,” Seth said with more conviction than he felt.

Jerico and Adrian looked at him a little doubtfully.

* * * *

Abby wasn't sure she was up to facing a huge social gathering—particularly the one on the agenda—but she realized that, like everything else she'd had to deal with in the past two years, she didn't actually have a lot of choice in the matter. It had to be done. She was just going to have to try to put the best face on it that she could.

Her wardrobe didn't help her feelings. She had the choice of casual, most of it extremely casual and not really fit for company, or the school marm duds the Feds had picked out for her. She was inclined to go with the jeans. At least then she'd be comfortable and it was a barn dance and barbeque after all. Surely everybody would be dressed causally?

The guys surprised her when she asked their opinion.

Seth, Cameron, Adrian, and Jerico surveyed her jeans and the halter top she'd picked out, and then exchanged a speaking glance.

"One of your dresses,” Seth said grimly, “would be better."

Abby gaped at him. “But ... you're wearing jeans. Don't you think everybody will dress casually?"

Cameron got up decisively. “I'll pick one for you,” he said, striding from the living room before she could take exception to his highhanded tactics.

Adrian, Jerico, and Seth followed him. She stared at their backs in outraged disbelief for several moments and finally followed them back to her room. All four of them were rifling through her closet, taking out first one and then another and looking them over critically. They finally settled on a green dress—which might actually have gone well with the color of her hair if it hadn't been such an ungodly shade of green. She stared at it in dismay when Seth shoved it at her.

"That one?” she asked doubtfully.

He held it up in front her, studying it critically.

The other three studied the effect, as well.

"Yep."

"That's it."

"Perfect,” Cameron agreed with the others.

Seth handed it to her and patted her on the cheek. “We'll be waiting outside."

She glared at him as he strode out followed by the others.

"In other words,” she muttered, “don't keep us waiting!"

She held the dress out and studied it when they'd left, trying to figure out what they could possibly like about it. In her opinion it was perfectly hideous if it was perfectly anything.

They had awful taste, was all she could say.

Then again, she supposed they might've thought it would look better since the high neckline and long sleeves of the dress would cover up most of her bruises.

Shrugging, she tossed it on the bed, shucked her jeans and halter top, and went to find a bra. She wasn't going to put on hose, she decided irritably when she'd put it on—or heels. The dress would be uncomfortable enough for what was bound to be a long evening.

Seth looked her over disapprovingly when she reached the SUV. “You didn't want to put your hair up?"

Abby stared at him. “You don't like it loose?"

He frowned.

"We'll be eating barbeque—outside,” Jerico said helpfully.

Uttering an irritated huff, Abby stalked back inside and grabbed a hair band, securing her hair at the nape of her neck.

"Happy?” she asked sulkily when she got back.

Seth grinned at her. Settling a hand in the small of her back, he ushered her to his car and helped her get in. “You look great."

She doubted it, but since she hadn't had a mirror to check her appearance she supposed she could try to
pretend
she didn't look hideous.

She felt like a green bean—a short, fat one.

The worst part of it was that people were bound to think she'd picked the damned dress out herself and that it was a reflection of
her
bad taste!

No doubt, if she ran into Julie Markam, and she probably would, the bitch would give her another lecture on style!

She forgot her misgivings when they reached the fairgrounds and she discovered they were early enough that the booths were still open. Remembering her determination to buy something, she headed for the nearest booth, searching for the items she'd earmarked before. Unfortunately, she discovered that most of the things she'd really set her heart on were already gone. She was disappointed, but finally decided it was probably just as well. Her future was still way too uncertain to waste money on buying things for a house she might not live in and might not even get to take with her if she had to go.

"You're not buyin’ anything?” Seth asked after they'd wandered through a half a dozen stalls.

Abby glanced at him. “I guess there really isn't much point in looking. It's not as if I actually
need
any of it and ... well, I still don't know if I'll be staying."

"Don't know or haven't decided?” Seth asked neutrally.

She looked up at him in surprise before she remembered she hadn't actually told Seth she wanted to stay. In fact, she'd told him she wasn't certain she could face the mating ritual of the Wolfen. She still wasn't certain she could face it with dignity intact, without embarrassing them, but she knew she had to try. An anxious frown drew her brows together. “Do you think they'll accept me?"

Some of the tension eased from him. “We already have."

Surprise flitted through her, but she frowned again when she realized he was talking about him and his friends—his pack. “I mean ... besides your pack. The council? It isn't official, is it, unless they accept?"

A jolt of surprise went through Seth when he realized she meant Cameron, Adrian, and Jerico—who certainly weren't a part of his pack—not anymore. He wasn't certain that he liked that, particularly when he recalled that they'd told her the Alpha female was pack breeder and that she was undoubtedly under the impression that it was a package deal—the four of them.

It irritated the hell out of him to realize that
they
had given her that impression. He was pretty sure they couldn't have made a bigger fucking mess of the situation if they'd set out to. “They'll accept you,” he said finally. “Attendin’ the gatherin’ is a statement of your knowledge of and consent to bein’ inducted into the pack. Our willingness to fight for the right to take you as a mate will have to be acknowledged ... since we're all Alphas."

She looked confused, briefly, but the broad hint seemed to go right over her head. She merely nodded and returned her attention to the wares displayed in the booth.

His annoyance deepened. He was still trying to decide whether it was a good idea to start lecturing her on pack etiquette when she chose a set of embroidered pillow cases and paid for them, sending him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. Both the tension and the anger seeped from him despite his reservations and he found himself smiling back at her like an imbecile.

He didn't know what it was about Abby that made him feel—and act, he reminded himself wryly—like a blissful idiot, but there was no denying the woman had him bagged and tagged—or that he felt any reservations about that. He didn't know if it was
l'amour,
as Cameron had put it that made him crazy or not, but
something
had sure as hell thrown him for a loop.

They picked up a ‘following’ before they'd made the circuit of the booths, which didn't particularly surprise him but did thoroughly piss him off. By his count, there were at least a round dozen—besides him and his ‘pack'—that had earmarked Abby as a mate. He wasn't overly concerned about the Weres among them—roughly half. It was the other Wolfen that were a serious threat.

Obviously, he thought with a touch of disgust, the god awful green thing they'd picked out for Abby to wear hadn't worked as well as they'd hoped in discouraging interest. He was inclined to think, though, there would've been even more to worry about if she'd worn the getup she'd originally picked out.

It had given
him
an instant hard-on.