Leader of the Pack (14 page)

“She’s definitely a woman on a
mission.”

“A mission?”

“Yeah, to
fuck you up.”

Per turned to
Yo
,
smiling as he looked into her eyes. “You’ll protect me though, won’t you?”

She laughed. “Yes, I’ll rescue you
from the evil witch.”

He cradled her cheek, dropping a
light kiss on her lips.
Yo
slipped her arms around
his waist then she glanced at Dr. Mel again. All pretense of calmness had left
the other woman and her gaze was filled with fire.
Yo
smiled again.
Challenging her.
Daring
her.
Ignoring Dr. Frieze, Melinda charged toward them. Frieze saw where
she was headed and followed quickly.

“Incoming…”
Yo
murmured in
Per’s
ear and he
chuckled.

“I think I might actually enjoy
this.”

“I know I will.” She looked into his
eyes again and they shared a moment of complete understanding and harmony.

“Well. Well. We finally meet your
mystery date.” Melinda’s voice was harsh.
Sarcastic.

“Fiancée
actually.”
Yohana
turned in
Per’s
arms to
smile at Dr. Frieze, completely ignoring Melinda. “So,
Per
darling, introduce me.”

“
Yohana
,
I’d like you to meet Dr. William Frieze and Dr. Melinda Gardiner.” He paused.
“Will. Melinda.
This
is
Yohana
Whitewolf
, my fiancée.”

Yohana
held her hand out to Dr. Frieze. “It’s a pleasure to meet
you.” She glanced around. “Is your wife here? I’d be pleased to meet her as
well.”

“I wish she was. One of our children
has the flu and she stayed home to take care of him.”

“I understand. Once the little ones
arrive, life changes, doesn’t it?”

“Do you have children?” William
looked back and forth between
Yo
and
Per
.

“Not yet. But we’re planning to get
started on that very soon, aren’t we, darling?” She leaned into
Per
and looked into his eyes lovingly. The scary part was
the loving glance wasn’t that much of a stretch. She felt flutters in her
stomach as his gaze flowed over her and centered back on her face while he
licked his lips.

“Oh yes. And I’m looking forward to
it.”

“The having or the getting?” she
teased.

“Yes,” he growled.
Yohana
laughed at his terse response. Her scent must have
been broadcasting because his nostrils flared and his eyes darkened. She smiled
at him, flirting outrageously.

“Surely, you’ll be getting married
first,” Melinda grated, forcing
Yo
to turn away from
Per. “There’s a proper order to these things. Isn’t there, Will?”

“Well, yes.”

Will
cleared
his throat, glancing nervously between Melinda and her. He could definitely
sense something was off and didn’t want to get in the middle of a cat fight.
Yo
had the advantage of knowing she’d win a fight,
regardless of the method of combat.
Physical.
Verbal.
Emotional.
Or anything in between.

“When we marry, we’ll keep it small.
The reception is usually the big deal.
At least in my family.
In yours too,
Per
?” He nodded, watching her closely,
but he didn’t relax.
Smart wolf.
“Perfect
then.”

“So what do you do?” Melinda asked
before Will could get out another word.

Yo
grinned. “
I herd
cats.”

“Is that what you call it?” Per
chuckled, his fingers trailing down her arm.

“It’s as good a description as any,”
she told him with a wink.

“What are you? A veterinarian’s
assistant
?”

Yohana
noticed that Melinda didn’t ask if she was a veterinarian.
Interesting.
“No. I’m the mayor of
Whitewolf
,
Colorado.”

“
Whitewolf
?
I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s up in the mountains. We have a
gorgeous mountain valley with a small lake.”

“Isn’t the
Whitehawk
Ski Resort up there?” Will asked.

Yo
smiled at him. “Yes, it is. Have you been to the resort?”

“I went skiing there last winter.
It’s beautiful country.
A hidden gem.”

“Thank you. We love the area. We’ve
kept the community small and quaint.”

“So you’re a small-town mayor?” Melinda
sneered.

“Yes.”
Yohana
stared her down. “Our budget last year was in the neighborhood of thirty-five
million. Nowhere near Aspen or Vail, of course. But we want to keep our growth
incremental and manageable.”

“Thirty-five
million?
I didn’t realize that,” Per said,
whistling softly.

“They have a small state-of-the-art
hospital too. I was impressed.”

“You didn’t tell me that,
Yohana
.”

“
Whitewolf
General is much smaller than you’re used to so I haven’t mentioned it.”

“You don’t know what your fiancée does,
Per
?” Melinda asked
,
to force
everyone’s attention back to her.

“Of course he does, Dr. Mel.”

“Don’t call me that,” Melinda
gritted.

Yohana
shrugged, “We don’t really talk about work. There are so
many other things we’d rather talk about when we’re together. And other things
we’d rather do too.”
Yohana
curled herself into
Per
and he pulled her close.

Don’t you think you’re overdoing it?
Just a little?

Her eyes widened as she stared at
him. No fucking way did he just talk in her
head.
This
could not happen.

But it is happening,
älskling
. So get used to it.
His
smile was wicked and a little smug. She wanted to hit him right in the gut.
I
wouldn’t.
Will might
not understand.

I don’t give a damn what Will
thinks, Per.

What about Melinda?

I don’t care about her opinion
either.

Of
course not.

He leaned down and dropped a light
kiss on her lips. She fought back a growl that would undermine the vision of
domestic bliss they were trying to portray. After all, she was here to make
Per
look good, not play dominance games.

Thank you for remembering that.

We made a deal and a pack leader
always keeps her word.

“So what does being the mayor
have
to do with herding cats?” Melinda asked.

“Herding cats is next to impossible
and so is being a mayor. Politics is a murky business even at the best of
times.”

“I thought mayors were figureheads.
Don’t you have a city manager?”

“I do but the city manager is a city
employee. I’m more like the CEO in
Whitewolf
and the
city manager is the COO or the CFO.”

“I didn’t think that was the way it
worked.”

Yohana
shrugged. “I don’t know how it works elsewhere but I know
how it works in
Whitewolf
. I’m in charge. As Harry
Truman said, the buck stops here.”

“That’s very impressive.” Melinda
glanced at Will and paled slightly. He must approve of
Yohana
.

He
does,
älskling
. And it’s driving Melinda insane.

Good. Cause nobody fucks with my
Mate.

“So you’ll have a nanny when you
have children then?” Melinda asked.

Yo
raised her brows. “I’ll be there when I can, but there will
be times that others will care for my…children.”

Melinda turned to Will. “That’s so
different from your family, isn’t it, Will? Lisa is a maternal marvel.”

“Yes, my wife is a full-time
mother.”

Melinda smiled at
Yo
triumphantly as Will looked concerned. Forcing a pleasant
expression to her face,
Yo
met the taunt in Melinda’s
gaze with one of her own, but spoke to Will.

“You’re both fortunate that your
wife enjoys full-time motherhood and feels fulfilled in that role.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Dr. Mel, I would imagine that as a
career woman yourself, you’ll do what I do. Care for your children yourself
when you can, but hire competent and trustworthy childcare workers when you’re
not available.”

She colored slightly, but as Dr.
Frieze studied her she admitted the truth. “Yes, I suppose so.”

Yohana
tilted her head. “And where is
your
husband?”

Melinda blinked.
“Husband?”

“Aren’t you married, or at least in
a relationship?” Melinda shook her head, biting her lip.
Yohana
turned to the older man. “I thought that being in a committed relationship was
something you valued in your partners, Dr. Frieze. Or does that only apply to
males?”

Careful,
älskling
.

Either it applies to everyone or it
should apply to no one. It’s a damn stupid rule, anyway.

“I…uh…hadn’t really considered…”
Will colored, looking back and forth between his two colleagues.

“I’ve discovered having the wrong
life partner is usually worse than having none at all,”
Yo
said softly.

“Had some bad experiences?”

Melinda’s arch question brought back
some painful memories. “As a matter of fact, I have. Some men find it difficult
to pursue a relationship with a strong, capable woman. Surely, you’ve run into
the same problem?”
Yo
put out the olive branch. Maybe
they could find some common ground and quit fighting.

Melinda’s face tightened. “No, I
haven’t had any of those issues.”

So much for
olive branches.
“Really?
How lucky you are. I
have
run into men who couldn’t accept me and my
life.” She smiled at Per. “Fortunately, now that I’ve met
Per
those worries are over. He’s strong enough and confident enough to handle
me,
and our life priorities are compatible.”

“And what are they?”

“Melinda, those are private things.
We shouldn’t intrude,” Will
scolded
.

Yo
smiled at him. “Thank you, Will.”

“I’m merely looking for suggestions
for finding that elusive person for myself. You’ve been together for what?
Three months? Did you talk priorities after one week? One month?”

I told you we needed to get our
stories straight,
Yo
told
him.

I’ve got this one.

“We discussed it on our first date.”
Per turned to them as
Yohana
met his gaze.
I’m
telling them the truth, after all.

Oh, of course.

“So how did you meet?”

Mine.
Yohana
smiled up at him and he
winked. She turned to Melinda. “I went to a matchmaking service. I don’t have
time to date people who don’t meet some basic needs I have.”

“A
matchmaking service?”
Melinda
looked her up and down as if she was a loser.

“Yes. I was so glad when they
matched me with Per.” She ran her hand over his lapel, reminding Melinda that
Per
used the service too. “There was an immediate connection
between us and he was so attentive.”

His lips twitched.
More truth, huh?

Yup.
Keeping it simple is the easiest thing to do.

Absolutely.

“Why would you go to a matchmaking
service,
Per
?” Melinda asked.

“It’s as
Yohana
said. Employing a service saved me time and energy. They found me a smart,
funny, beautiful woman to be my life partner and I couldn’t be happier.”

“I see.” Melinda first paled, then
reddened and her eyes narrowed as she glared at the two of them.