Leader of the Pack (15 page)

That might not have been the best
thing to say.

Why?

Because you’re implying that she’s
the opposite of the attributes you assigned to me.

That wasn’t what I meant.

I know.
She leaned into him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,
darling.”

“You’re welcome,
älskling
.”

“Well, I can see the connection
between you.” Will approved. “Congratulations. Please invite me to the wedding.
Or the reception, since that’s so important for you both.”

“I’ll be sure you receive an
invitation.”

“We don’t want to monopolize you,
Will.
Yohana
and I will circulate a bit.”

“Excellent.” Will and
Per
shook hands then Will turned to her. “It’s been a
pleasure getting to know you.”

“And you,”
Yo
responded, holding her hand out. Will
shook
it.

Yo
turned to Melinda.
“Nice to meet you
too.”

Melinda frowned. “Yes. It
was…enlightening.”

“It was,”
Yo
agreed, slipping her arm through
Per’s
.

Let’s move, stud. Escape while we
can.

Stud?

Yohana
glanced at him, smiling as he led her away from Will and
Melinda.

Well, you’re definitely hot,
Per
. I love the long hair. I’m surprised your boss accepts
that personal signature in your style.

I was surprised too, but it’s my one
bit of rebellion, I suppose.

“
What
about you? Any rebellions when you were younger?”

“No. I wasn’t really all
that
rebellious. I couldn’t be if I wanted my father to designate me his pack heir.”

“I can’t stand pack politics.”

“As opposed
to medical practice politics?”

“Touché.”
He laughed. “But I could never handle falling into line
like I didn’t have a brain.”

Yo
studied him. “Was your father a pack leader by any chance?”
He tensed. Stilling, he turned his gaze to her. Damn, but his eyes had gone
cold.

“I don’t talk about my family pack.
Ever.
”

She raised her brows. “I guess the
answer to my question is yes.”

“You’re on thin ice,
Yohana
.” His Swedish accent had grown thicker.
More pronounced.

“You don’t have to tell me tonight.
But eventually I’ll find out. If only because we seem to be True Mates and
we’ll be floating around in each other’s heads a lot of the time.”

“Shit.”

Yo
chuckled. “Now you know how I feel.”

“So you finally accept it?”

She nodded. “What choice do I have?
So many things suggest it, not the least of which is the telepathic bond.”

He nodded. “And I’ve missed you
insanely all week.”

“And dreamed
of you every night.”
Per grinned
at her admission. “And you dreamed of me too.”

“
Ja
,
I did.”

Yohana
shrugged. “What else can it be?”

“Don’t sound so happy,” he teased.

She smiled at him. “It’s going to
take some getting used to and it certainly wasn’t what I asked Serena to find
for me.”

“Me either.” He slid his arms around
her and pulled her against him. “But we’ll live.”

“
If
we
survive me going into heat.”

“But what a
way to go.”

“So you’ve said.”

“Let’s go dance. Then I can hold you
close and I have an excuse.”

Yohana
nodded. On the dance floor, she went into his arms and they
fit together as if they’d been made for one another. And perhaps they had.
After a few dances they drifted over to the side. Items had been placed on display
for an auction that would take place later in the evening.

Yohana
looked around the room. “We should do something like this
for the hospital in
Whitewolf
. We need some new
equipment.”

“Fundraisers are helpful. So are
powerful and wealthy donors.”

“We have the donors. Kincaid
Redwolf
has his name all over the hospital at this point.
The
Whitehawks
do too.”

“Kin
Redwolf
?
His finger is in more pies than I can count.”

“He’s everywhere.
Redwolf
Aviation is based out of the
Whitewolf
Municipal Airport.”

“Don’t forget
my
dad,” said a
dry feminine voice behind her and
Yohana
turned.
“He’s contributed to some of the city projects in
Whitewolf
.”

Yohana
laughed. “Serena! You look gorgeous.” The two females
hugged.

“That’s what I told her,” Damien
Blackwolf
, her handsome dark-haired True Mate agreed as he
turned his gaze to
Yohana
.

Yo
leaned in to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Per
growled, low in his throat. It was barely audible but Damien heard it. He raised
his brows at Per.

“Per, this is Serena’s True Mate,
Damien
Blackwolf
.” The two men shook hands. “Damien,
this is
my
True Mate, Dr.
Per
Goldwolf
.”

They all froze. Serena looked from
one to the other.
“No way.”

“Way.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Serena screeched and pumped a fist
in the air.
“Score!
And I matched them. Am I good or
what?” She did a dance in place and
Yohana
fought a
laugh. Per was still frozen as he stared at her.

“Are you
certain
,
Yohana
?” His voice was soft.
Thick.
His blue eyes shimmered. She touched his shoulder.

“Quite
certain.”

“So am I.”

Are you upset,
Per
?

No.

Then what?

To hear you tell someone else.
Someone who’d understand what it meant. It moves me.

She smiled at him.
Me too.

Per gathered her close and kissed
her.

Damien cleared his throat. “Well,
congratulations are in order. When is the Mate Reception? We’ll be there, of
course.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Serena agreed.

Yohana
and
Per
exchanged glances. “We
haven’t set a date. This is still pretty new.”

“Be sure we get invites.” Serena
winked. “And recommend me, okay? I need all the word-of-mouth advertising I can
get.”

“Don’t be so mercenary, love.”
Damien nudged her.

“It’s all right, Damien. I
understand the importance of advertising too.”
Yohana
cocked her head, looking at him. “You know, the two of you might consider a
move. Having your pups grow up in a wolf town would be good for them.”

“The commute would be a pain.”

“I suppose. But the daycare in
Whitewolf
would be excellent, and take into account the
special needs of your young.”

Damien and Serena exchanged glances.
“I’ve been considering cutting back at work and I
can
work from home
some of the time,” Serena said.

“And you’d be close to your mom too.
She’d love to help with your pups.”

You’re evil,
älskling
.

I know.
But in a
good way.
They’d be quality additions to the community.

“Our schools are excellent,” she
continued aloud, “and all of our teachers understand
shapeshifter
young. The community currently stands at about five thousand including the
rural residents, but we’re growing. There’s enough land in our valley to
accommodate at least fifteen thousand, not counting the rural enclaves.”

Serena continued to look thoughtful,
then her eyes narrowed and she glared at
Yohana
.
“You!”
She pointed.

Yo
raised her brows. “What?”

“You’re doing it. You’re trying to
sell us on moving to your pack.”

“I’m not a follower,
Yohana
,” Damien agreed.

“No worries. We have unaffiliated
shifters, of varying species, living in the area. And if you think Serena’s
sire or Kin
Redwolf
consider me
their
pack
leader, you are
much
mistaken.” She laughed.

“Are there any humans living there?”

“The Feldspars, but they have some
special gifts themselves and are fully aware of having
shapeshifters
in their midst.”

“Feldspar?
Why
is that
name familiar? I
remember my father talking about them,” Serena mused.

Yohana
nodded. “They’re
magick
users.”

“Magic?
Come on,” Damien scoffed.

“
Magick
,
Damien. That’s very different, and they’re quite capable. Piss them off at your
peril.”

“What can they do? Wave some bones
at me?”

Yo
grinned. “Ever seen the Harry Potter movies?”

“Of course.”

“Well, the Feldspars are a more like
that, except they only use wands,
athames
and spells
for ritual
magick
.”

“So do they twitch their noses?”
Damien dripped sarcasm.

“Be sure to ask Brennan or his
grandmother Kathleen about that Damien. I’m sure they’d be happy to show you
and then Quinn can treat your singed fur.”

He blinked and
Per
whistled. “Will either of them be at the council meeting tomorrow?”

“Yes, Per.
So be nice.”

He raised his hands. “I wouldn’t
dream of being rude. I like my fur just the way it is.”

“So do
I
,”
Yohana
agreed.

Yo
reached into her purse and pulled out a card. “Here’s the
name of a local real estate agent. We have some houses for sale and there’s a
new development being built on the north side of town.”

“How do you keep out humans?” Per
asked.

“The pack owns all the land within
the city limits and most of the rural land too. The buyers lease the land but
buy the homes. I have veto power regarding sales. If someone sold to a
nonshifter
, I’d arrange for the sale to fall through.”

“Is that legal?” Damien asked.

“It’s similar to a condo or gated
community setup, or so my city attorney tells me. But yes, it’s quite legal.
You could buy up in the
Goldwolf
compound, but then
you’d be subject to Drew’s decisions. Of course you’d still be part of the
Whitewolf
community.”

Serena and Damien exchanged a long
look. “We’ll consider it,” Serena finally said.

Yes. Score! Am I good or what?
Yohana
echoed Serena’s earlier
exuberance, but refrained from doing the happy dance.

You have a talent for selling your
community
,
Per
agreed, taking her hand.

Thank you.
Suddenly, she felt a rush of heat hit her and used her
clutch purse to fan her face.

“Is it me or is it hot in here?”

“Your face is red.” Serena frowned.

Damien looked concerned, and set a
hand on her arm. He took a deep breath and his eyes widened then he licked his
lips. His gaze skimmed over her and stopped to rest on her breasts. Per growled
and stepped between them.

Yohana
frowned at Per. “What do you think you’re doing? I was
talking to him.”

“Not anymore you’re not.”

“Fuck you,” she snarled, “I’ll do
what I want.”

“Oh, shit!” Serena cried, grabbing
Damien and dragging him away. “You need to check at the desk to book a room.
Now.
”

As the distance between them
increased, Damien relaxed. “What the…?”