Not The Leader Of The Pack (2 page)

Juli kept her voice as soft as she could, to avoid being overheard by the humans. “It didn’t occur to me that he could be having heart attacks right and left, because there’s no way he could maintain his position as pack alpha if he were so weak. If he didn’t get challenged from within, surely a nearby pack would decide it wanted to expand.”

Neil’s skin reddened all the way up to his cheekbones. “I’ve been handling challenges on his behalf. The vultures have been circling, don’t get me wrong. You remember Jesse Hoak?”

Juli sucked in a breath and nodded. The infamous pack leader from Helena had enough arrogance for twenty alphas. “That’s what you meant about fighting his battles.”

“It was the least I could do, after everything he did for me.”

Juli stepped a little closer so she could lower her voice even more. Mistake. In her heightened condition, with her inner wolf so close to the surface, Neil’s wild, masculine scent nearly made her shift, just from the primal urge to mate. If she didn’t get hold of herself soon, she’d cause an incident.

Juli gritted her teeth. She needed to make this point. “Most betas would take control of the pack themselves, not prop up a weakening leader.”

The blood that had been gathering in his face drained away all at once. “How can you say that to me, Juli?”

She wanted to bare her teeth, but they would surely be inhumanly sharp. Juli kept her lips down as much as possible, but did allow herself a more aggressive stance. “It’s what’s expected, Neil. All of us wish for an honorable end in the challenge—not this.” She waved a hand to take in the hospital and the machines and the whole horrible sanitary mood of the place. “He has to spend his last days on suppressants so he doesn’t freak out the hospital staff. You didn’t do him any favors.”

She’d hit home in a big way. Guilt washed her more than triumph when she saw the pain on Neil’s face. He rubbed the heel of his hand over his eyes and visibly collected himself. At least she wasn’t the only one having a hard time of it.

The ICU nurse chose this moment to swoop down on them. Juli offered a shaky smile. “I’m very sorry,” the nurse said. She winced as she spoke, as if expecting an outburst. “I have to ask you to go into the room with him, or to the outer waiting room. We can’t have people blocking the halls.”

“I’m sure you want some time alone with him,” Neil said.

He strode toward the main doors, and the ICU nurse patted Juli’s arm. “Let’s go in together, dear. I can take off his mask so he can talk to you a little. You’re the daughter? He’s been calling for you.”

Juli sighed and followed her in. The second view of her father wasn’t any better than the first. Nothing could prepare her for the sight of him so small and weak. She fisted her hands at her sides while the nurse checked monitors and tubes. Her legs felt hairy, but Neil wasn’t here to catch her. It would just have to be okay for now.

The nurse removed her father’s mask.

“That won’t hurt him, will it?”

“He needs to rest from it for short periods anyway.” The nurse hesitated, then took Juli’s hand and squeezed it. “Say anything you need to say to him, dear. Don’t put it off. I’m not a doctor, so don’t take this as official, but... I just wouldn’t wait.”

Juli swallowed hard. Fear crossed the nurse’s face, and Juli tried to smile to reassure her that she wasn’t the type to kill the messenger. Extricating her hand from the nurse’s grip, she moved to take her advice.

Her father’s arm felt cold, and his hands even colder. The texture of his skin seemed rubbery and unnatural, swollen, but not hot. She forced herself to intertwine her fingers with his, stroking his hand with her thumb. He still wore the old leather ring that symbolized pack leadership. The ring had been specially crafted to stretch and cling to a shifting werewolf, allowing the ring to survive when most other clothing or jewelry would have been torn apart on the full moon. “Daddy? It’s Juli. I’m here.”

The smile that broke over his face filled her with guilt. Since Juli’s mother had left to join the free packs in Wyoming, he’d never looked this happy to see anyone. Neil had been right, much as she hated to admit it even to herself. She should have come to visit when he’d asked. She knew the sort of man he was, and how much asking must have cost him.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to come, Daddy, but I’m here now.”

“Juli.” His fingers squeezed hers. She felt a hint of his old strength. “I’m so proud to have raised an alpha like you.”

What?
“Daddy, I’m not an alpha. Remember? After college, I went to work for the Werewolf Council in Lewistown. I’m a forensic investigator for them. Because I minored in forensics while I was getting my nursing degree.” She smiled, even though she was concerned about the lapse in his memory. “You did not want me to get that degree, especially not from the University of Idaho. You said I should have stayed in Missoula if I wanted to go into health sciences. Remember?” A note of desperation entered her voice. She wanted some sign that he was really in the room with her, that his brain wasn’t as much of a shadow as his body seemed to be.

His eyes opened wide, and he fixed her with a look that she definitely recognized. Blue, piercing, and implacable, with just enough mischief to show he understood every irony the situation might have. In that moment, her father seemed very much alive and present. “Sweetheart, I wanted you to stay in Missoula because I raised you to take over the pack someday.”

He’d never said that to her before. Certainly not throughout the many battles they’d had during her adolescence, when he hadn’t accepted a single decision she wanted to make. Juli had thought they’d agreed to disagree when she went to work in Lewistown. Had he really harbored a hope that she would return to Missoula to become pack alpha? Juli licked her lips nervously. Her mouth had gone dry. “What about Neil? Isn’t he expecting...” Surely, Neil had stood by Juli’s father so staunchly because he anticipated being named as a successor.

A strange, beatific smile spread over his face. “You have a lot to teach Neil.”

“Me?” She was stammering. She’d never needed so many deep breaths in her life.

“He needs you. He’s a good beta, but he still doesn’t have an alpha’s heart.”

“Daddy.” Juli kept her voice as gentle as she could. “I love you. I’m glad I came to see you. But I have a job in Lewistown. I can’t stay here with Neil.”

“Not just Neil. The pack.” He released her and lifted shaking hands off the bed. He grabbed the leather ring and tried to work it off his finger.

“Daddy, wait!”

“I did wait for you, Juli. This needs to be done while I’m alive, or Neil gets the leadership automatically. I’m sorry, baby girl, but I can’t wait any longer.” The ring came free. He grabbed her hand. She could not believe the steel in his grip or the determination in his eyes.

“Daddy, no!” Footsteps slapped against the tile floor. The ICU nurse and Neil rushed into the room just in time to see Juli’s father force the leather ring onto her finger. She snatched her hand from his grip, but he continued to struggle, locked in a battle with an invisible force.

“Darrow!” Neil cried.

“Is he okay?” the nurse asked, her voice urgent despite its professional tone.

Before Juli could put together an answer, machines broke into a cacophony of beeping. Her father’s muscles convulsed and his eyes strained open. A glance at the monitor showed his skyrocketing heart rate. “Daddy!”

“Honey, I’m going to need you to move out of the way.” The nurse stepped purposefully toward the machines.

Neil plucked Juli from her seat at her father’s side, sweeping her into his arms. The sight of her father’s face contorted in pain horrified Juli, but she could not take her eyes off him. Neil pushed her face against his jersey. Even with the turmoil coursing through her, his scent made her shiver. He misinterpreted the cause, stroking soothing fingers over her back that only inflamed her further. How could she be so distracted by him, even when her father lay dying?

“I’m taking her out to the waiting room,” Neil told the nurse.

“Good idea.”

Juli struggled with Neil, knowing this could be her last chance to see her father alive. “Daddy!”

He sat up, ignoring the nurse’s protests and efforts to push him down flat. Werewolf strength surely played a role, even with the suppressant, but Juli suspected the feat had more to do with the power of the man’s will. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilated. “You’re a good girl, Juli. You’ll do fine.”

Neil grabbed her arms behind her in a lock and forced her out of the room.

Chapter Two

Neil stayed in the background as long as he could stand it. He helped Juli calm down, then stood at her side while she filled out paperwork and made calls to local funeral homes.

Then he scented another werewolf in the building and knew he couldn’t wait to act. They’d probably called Dr. LaMont in to write up the death certificate. The werewolf doctor would be discreet, but even he couldn’t find Juli wearing the alpha’s ring, or it would be too late to contain the situation.

He pulled the ICU nurse aside. The woman had seemed consistently nice and concerned. “Listen,” Neil said, turning on the charm he used on pretty fans after ball games. “Juli’s obviously having a rough time. Can I take her out for a little while? I know there are a lot of things she needs to take care of, but I think she also needs a break.”

The nurse’s face softened. “She’s a trooper.”

“She is.”

“Take her out. We can’t do anything until we have the death certificate, anyway.”

Neil smiled—no need to mention that he could smell Darrow’s doctor making his way ever closer to the ICU. Returning to Juli in the dingy ICU waiting room, he brushed her arm to get her attention. He couldn’t believe how much he’d been able to do that in the last few hours, after going so long without touching her or even seeing her. The anxious yet tender expression on her face when she glanced up from her papers made him want to take her in his arms then and there and finish what she’d started all those years ago, before she’d left for college.

Of course, after the night she’d offered him everything, she’d forgotten about him completely. Neil couldn’t afford to let that fact slip away from him. He cleared his throat.

“Let’s go get a beer. The nurse says this stuff can wait until you get a break.”

She lifted her head. “One of ours is coming.”

“It’s just the doctor, Juli. He can handle things for us while we get you a little rest.”

Her grateful smile gave him a little twinge of guilt. He told himself he wasn’t manipulating her. As a good beta, he knew how to keep things running smoothly for the pack, taking judicious action where needed. He didn’t want to see her or the pack plunged into unnecessary confusion.

Neil led Juli out, choosing a path that avoided the other werewolf in the building. “I thought you might like to go to The Rhino,” he said, starting up his ancient truck and doing his best to smile through the ominous banging it made as it warmed up. He needed it to keep running for another year, even if he had to tie its engine together with dental floss.

Juli blinked. “You know, I’ve never been there. I left Missoula before I was a legal drinker.”

“Well, then we have to go.”

Their silence on the drive over gave him a good chance to watch her from the corner of his eye. Juli wasn’t a teenager anymore, that was for sure. Even at eighteen, she’d been all woman, driving him to distraction every time she entered a room. She probably had no idea what it had cost him to resist her advances.

She’d gotten even taller if that was possible, big and strong as a man, but still curved in all the right places. The firm set of her jaw made the soft glow of her pale skin even more inviting. It didn’t look like she cared much for what she wore, but the pale blue color she’d always favored for her shirts brought out every complex highlight of her eyes. At some point, she’d gotten a shorter, more grown-up looking haircut. He missed the long, black hair that used to fly wild, but couldn’t deny the way the new look shaped her face and pulled his attention to her plump lips. Just a little glimpse of her skin would have driven him crazy, but her damned hiking shorts showed miles of leg.

He parked on the street outside the bar. Neil couldn’t resist a moment of pride when he went around to her side of the truck to help her out. He might drive a beat-up old ride, but no other man in there would have a girl like this on his arm.

The din of conversation roared over them the moment he swung open The Rhino’s door. Peanut shells crunched under his boots as he stepped onto the worn, wooden flooring. Did Juli cling to him a little as he led her through the crowd? Neil let himself believe she did.

“They’ve got a really awesome selection of craft beer here.”

Juli squinted at him, not lighting up like a person who knew beer. He patted her shoulder. “I’ll get you a Moose Drool. You kind of have to know about it if you live in Montana.”

She nodded, then leaned forward to shout in his ear. “It’s really loud in here.”

He smiled. “You can stay close to me.” She narrowed her eyes, but he didn’t read genuine anger there, or even irritation. “Seriously, a loud place is the best way to get real privacy. I want you to take a break, but we also have some serious things to talk about.”

His lips could have brushed the side of her face, she’d come so near him. The sweet cucumber scent of her hair couldn’t mask the earthier smell of female werewolf. She’d slathered herself in bug spray too, but he wasn’t a bug. That unpleasant scent didn’t repel him in the least. His beast instincts surged to the forefront, very interested. Neil forced the wild part of him back down, wondering if it had been a mistake to bring her here. Having a few beers, then whispering into the ear of a beautiful woman could potentially distract him from the delicate politics of the situation.

He excused himself to the bar, ordered their drinks, then returned and found them a spot in a corner. Even with the students gone for the summer, people crowded The Rhino on Saturday nights. Juli wound up with her long body pressed against his from knee to shoulder. Neil braced one arm behind her to give both of them a little stability, and prayed he wouldn’t offend her with his stirring erection.