Seal Wolf Hunting (9781402293832) (19 page)

“Okay. I'll call you as soon as we get there and let you know everything's all right.” Lori prayed it was.

When they finally arrived at Catherine's house, they saw a pale glow of light inside.

“Candles,” Lori said, feeling somewhat relieved.

As soon as Paul parked, Lori was out the door and Paul hurried to join her. He knocked at the door and Catherine called out, “Coming!”

Everything sounded fine.

Catherine opened the door and let them in. “What are you doing out in this weather?”

“We couldn't get hold of you,” Lori said. “A tree came down on Grandma's house.”

“Oh no. Let me get a tarp from the garage. What else do I need to bring?”

Allan stalked down the hall in a pair of jeans, no shirt, his hair wet.

“You've been here?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, I got worried about Mom and Rose during the storm. I called them and only got voice mail.”

“Our batteries died,” Catherine explained, dressed in a fluffy white robe. “Normally one of us has a good charge, but we both charge them at night before we go to bed.”

“I'm buying you one of those emergency phone chargers. You have to be prepared for these sorts of things,” Allan said.

“You didn't have a car,” Paul said to Allan.

“Yeah, I ran as a wolf. I didn't want to disturb the two of you in case you were…busy.” Allan winked.

“We're mated.” Lori clasped Paul's hand in hers.

He pulled free and wrapped his arm around her shoulder possessively.

“Ohmigod,” Rose said, “finally.” She slipped in to give Lori a hug.

“It's about time,” Allan said.

Smiling broadly, Catherine gave Lori and Paul a hug. “I so agree.”

“What's going on with your grandma?” Allan asked.

“Tree came down on the roof and went through her living room window. We've got a chain saw and need to clear it.”

“Let me finish dressing.” Allan stalked back down the hall.

“Me too.” Rose hurried to her room.

“We're headed over there. You can catch up to us,” Lori said.

“Sure thing.” Catherine was still smiling at them, happy tears in her eyes.

Lori was glad everyone was happy for them as she and Paul took off for her grandma's place. She realized her heart was pounding way too fast when they reached Emma's house and saw the tree that had fallen during the storm. Fortunately, her grandma had probably been sleeping in her bedroom, far away from the catastrophe.

Emma opened the front door, but she wasn't frowning like Lori expected her to be. She was grinning, tears of joy misting her eyes.

Paul was anxious to get the equipment out of the SUV, but Lori pulled him to the porch so Emma could hug them both at one time. “You're mated.”

“You already assumed so,” Lori reminded her.

“Of course not. I was just giving Paul the added…push.”

He chuckled. “Told you it all had to do with her animal guide.”

Emma kissed Lori and Paul. “We have to celebrate.”

“After we clean up your place.” Lori took her grandma's arm and walked into the house.

“I'll have to stay with Catherine. Were the others okay?” Emma asked.

“Safely at home and Allan had joined them as a wolf, which is why he wasn't answering a phone. Catherine and Rose's phones had died.” Lori walked into the living room and surveyed the damage.

It was a mess, glass and rainwater everywhere. The tree branches poking at the floor at least had kept the main part of the trunk from crashing through the maple coffee table.

Her grandma had moved a few things and had a broom out, as well as a dustpan and a tall kitchen trash container.

But it was still lightly raining and Lori prayed it would stop.

“What do you want me to do, Paul?” She would help him with the big stuff until Allan got there.

“I'm going to start sawing off some of the branches. Maybe you ladies can just wait until I cut off some of them and then you can haul out the smaller stuff. I'm not sure about
you
,” he said, his gaze on Lori, “handling the broom.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, both Emma and Lori laughed.

They soon realized it would be an all-day affair. Firemen from the local fire department dropped by, and several other rescue workers combing through the area showed up to help remove the rest of the tree and cover the gaping hole where the window and part of the roof had been.

With so many men underfoot, the women had stopped helping. They were making sandwiches and coffee for everyone when they heard Dusty's and his brother's voices as they moved around the living room.

Rose shook her head. “They couldn't be here,” she whispered under her breath.

Lori had to see for herself. Sure enough, the Cooper brothers and Jerome were here to help. Or to cause trouble.

Both Paul and Allan moved to intercept the men at once.

“We've got enough help for now. Thanks for offering,” Paul said, not giving the men a chance to actually offer, if they intended to.

Dusty caught Lori's eye and smiled.

Paul glanced back at her. She moved forward then to show pack leader unity and wrapped her arm around Paul's waist. He put an arm around her shoulders, showing they were together in much more of an intimate way than if they were just members of the same pack.

She wanted to tell the men they'd better watch out or they'd have to leave the area, but she was afraid that they'd be encouraged to take it further, so she just followed Paul's lead and gave them the wolf stare that told them to leave promptly.

Dusty's lips curled up in a small smirk and she knew them coming here was a challenge to the pack—maybe a way to see if Paul had taken over the pack and if Lori had become his mate.

“Come on, guys,” Dusty said. “Seems we're not needed around here, though not by the looks of the place since it's in such shambles.”

The other men glanced around and Howard said, “Their loss.”

“Later,” Dusty said, with a smug smile and a wink directed at Lori.

With a low growl, Paul immediately let go of Lori, grabbed Dusty's arm, and hauled him toward the door they'd come in, the same one that all the men were coming in and out of while transporting the tree and other debris.

A few of the men helping to clear the mess stopped to see what was going on between Paul and Dusty. Paul just hoped no one would interfere in the wolf pack business. He had to set the ground rules with Dusty, his brother, and their friend…
now
.

In the light rain, Lori went outside with Paul as he continued to strong-arm Dusty. Dusty wasn't compliant, struggling to free himself, to prove he wasn't an omega wolf any longer. But he couldn't get loose from Paul's strong grip, no matter how hard he tried. Paul quickly yanked Dusty's arm behind his back and up, threatening to break it if Dusty didn't cooperate. Then he walked as far as he could go to the back of the brick house, away from the volunteers helping Emma, and shoved Dusty against the wall, plastering his face against the rough red brick.

Paul was beyond furious at the way the man continued to provoke a response from him regarding Lori. Even if she had not been his mate yet, Paul and Lori had made it clear that they were together; no other wolf need apply for the position. Humans would be clueless about what that meant. If a man thought he had a chance with Lori, he might try to get her attention away from her “boyfriend.” But wolves knew better. Or at least they should.

“Our pack, our way. You will not cross me in this,” Paul growled quietly for Dusty's hearing only, though the wolves standing nearby also heard. The humans couldn't hear because of the chain saws, but several watched, just the same. “If you or your cohorts ever touch Lori or any other members of my pack again, you'll be worse than sorry. Do you get me?”

“Yeah, man. We only came by to offer to help.”

“We don't need your help,” Paul said softly, his voice filled with threat.

“I got that.”

“But you don't get the pack dynamics. Or you do, but you're ignoring them. You apparently don't get that you don't belong here. In our territory.”

“All right. Let me go, will you?”

“No trouble,” Paul said on another growl. “If I'd been there when you tore Lori's necklace from her neck and tossed it into the lake, or when your brother threw Rose into the lake, I would have killed the two of you. Just give me another reason…” Then Paul released him.

Pulling away from the wall, Dusty quickly rubbed his shoulder. He didn't eye Lori this time and didn't challenge Paul with a wolf stare. Instead, he quickly joined his brother and friend, and the three of them hurried out of there like beta wolves, well chastised.

But Paul suspected he hadn't seen the last of the men.

Not only had Lori followed the men outside, but Allan was also keeping an eye on them, ready to take down either of the other troublemakers.

Lori knew with all her heart that Dusty wasn't going to let go of the situation. The three omegas would just get sneakier and less bold about it. Had Dusty truly tried to offer just his help?

No. To humans, the men would look innocent. But the wolves knew better. Dusty's challenge to Paul—saying to Lori he'd see her later and not acknowledging that Lori and Paul were together—couldn't have been ignored. By allowing it, Paul would have signaled that he wasn't a strong leader. The three men had been pushing the wolf boundaries: the incident with the boat speeding in the water next to Lori's dock, the situation with the ladies, and even hooking up with a hunter who had been involved in illegal activities. They were headed down a path no
lupus
garou
should take if he wanted to live long.

Red-faced and angry, Paul stared after the three men's backsides, ready to take this further if the situation warranted. He looked ferocious and endearing at the same time. And he was all hers.

Lori took him in her arms and tilted her face up to his. “I love you.”

He pulled her tight against his body and kissed her like he was ready to take her to her bedroom. All of them were wet because of the rain, but she didn't care. A nice, warm shower with a hot SEAL wolf would be really appealing after they were done with this mess.

Allan cleared his throat and said, “I don't remember your parents ever ending a confrontation with other wolves in this manner. Seems to work for the two of you though. I'll make sure they've left the premises.”

He stalked off after the men.

“Do you want to go with him?” Lori asked, concerned.

“Yeah, just to watch his back.” Paul kissed her again, and then they parted and he hurried after Allan.

By nightfall, Emma's house was secure enough until they could get workmen out to rebuild the roof and replace the window. At least the rain had finally stopped.

“We're done here. Let's go to Catherine's house,” Paul suggested.

“I'll fix us Cornish hens for dinner,” Catherine said.

Rose quickly offered to help.

Emma was sitting on one of the only chairs in the living room that had escaped the rain and mess. She appeared absolutely exhausted, with dark shadows underneath her eyes, her hair wilted from the humidity, and her posture slumped. Lori was afraid that if they didn't move her to Catherine's home now, she'd be too tired to make the effort.

She helped Emma pack some things, while Paul and Allan loaded the chain saw and other equipment into the car.

Allan was smiling at Paul, arms folded across his chest, as they waited for Lori and her grandma to join them. “I thought it might take you longer.”

Paul knew what he was referring to at once. “It all had to do with the storm,” Paul said. “No electricity, nothing better to do.”

“Says you,” Lori contributed as she carried her grandma's bags to the car.

Paul chuckled and hurried to take the bags while Lori went back inside and fetched Emma.

“So that's all you needed to make it happen? An electrical outage?” Allan was still smirking.

“And love,” Lori added while walking her grandma out to the car. Emma had definitely done way too much today.

“Are you okay, Emma?” Paul asked, his brow furrowing, worried about how tired she appeared.

“Grandma,” Emma corrected, giving him a look like he'd better get with the program. “I'm fine.”

He was all too happy to call her Grandma. He smiled at her, gave her a hug, and helped her into the car.

Everyone packed up, Lori locked the house, and they went to Catherine's. After they all cleaned up and changed into dry clothes, they had their first official mated pack-leader meeting.

“First order of business…” Paul said, taking a seat on one of the sofas next to Lori. “Do we all agree to continue with the name ‘the Cunningham pack'?”

“It's only right,” Emma said. “Your parents were good pack leaders.”

Everyone agreed.

“And you're fine with Lori and me leading the pack?”

The others smiled.

“How does everyone feel about Widow Baxter and her daughter joining?” he asked.

Lori sat taller on the sofa. “They should join. They shouldn't be isolated from us if we're going to re-form the pack.”

“Anyone want to volunteer to ask them?” Paul asked.

Emma raised her hand. “I'll do it. If you'd like, I'll be the greeter and check people out.”

“Thank you, Emma. We need an emergency alert roster, though there aren't that many of us,” Paul said.

“I'll do it,” Catherine said.

Paul had thought he and Lori would ease into this business much more slowly, with Rose's babies coming first, and then maybe Lori's and his following some months later. But he never had considered having new pack members right away.

“What about the Cooper brothers and their sidekick?” Allan asked.

Concerning this issue, Paul addressed everyone in the pack. “If anyone has any trouble with them, let us know immediately. I don't believe that they're going to behave any differently. They were omega wolves with the Wolfgang pack, the scapegoats of the pack. They could have changed, but it appears they aren't about to. They're still challenging our pack authority. And even if they don't cause any more difficulties for our pack members, we're responsible for dealing with them as wolves if they do illegal stuff in the area.”

“Agreed,” Lori said.

“About a pack fund. We can put together money to use for things the pack will need, or leave things the way they are and just have everyone pitch in when we have a special pack need.” Which was the way Paul's parents had handled the situation—just pitching in when they needed to.

“A pack fund,” everyone said.

“We could set that up tomorrow,” Lori said.

After discussing matters further, Catherine and Rose made dinner, and once everyone had eaten, Lori tucked her grandma away in Paul's bedroom, the one he always used when he stayed with Catherine.

As Paul waited for Lori in the doorway, Emma sighed peacefully. “I couldn't be happier with the way things turned out between you and my new grandson.”

Lori stroked her grandma's arm. “I agree.”

“I think it's worked out for the best,” Paul said.

“You get some rest. We'll check on things tomorrow, and we'll be sure to get some workers out to fix up your place,” Lori said.

She gave her grandmother a kiss, and then she and Paul said their good nights and took off. It would be awhile before they actually got back to the cabin—they had to take Allan to his place and then cut up the trees on the road to the lake cabin.

After they dropped Allan off, they headed to the Greypaws' cabin. But when they came to the place where the trees had fallen, all they found was fresh, wet sawdust.

“What…?” Lori asked.

“I told some of the men we had trees down on our road, and they said they'd take care of it. I knew we'd be getting in late so we'd need help with it. I'm glad they managed to take care of it before we returned home.”

“You know what that means, don't you?” Lori asked him as they entered the cabin.

“What's that?”

“We won't be too tired for what comes next.”

He grinned down at her, and as soon as he shut and locked the door, he scooped her up in his arms and hauled her toward
his
room this time. “I like the way you think.”

“
Your
room?”

“Hell, yeah. I kept thinking about what it would be like to roll around in the sheets with you. It about killed me to know you were so close that I could nearly taste you, yet not be able to have you.”

“I love you,” she said. “And, well, I won't deny it was the same for me.”

“When you were rubbing up against me in the lake when I was wearing my wet suit and you were wearing that sexy wolf bathing suit, I wanted us to be like this.”

“When it's not so stormy, that can be next on our agenda. Skinny-dipping in the lake.”

“You got it. I love diving for treasure—
your
treasure.”

In record time, they stripped off their clothes, dumping them on the floor in Paul's guest bedroom. Naked, standing next to the bed, he kissed her mouth, having wanted to do that since the beginning of the evening. They rubbed their naked skin against each other, wanting, needing the intimacy.

He was so glad they had reached this point in their relationship instead of waiting another year or more.

Her eyes were darkened with desire as he tilted her head back and kissed her mouth again. Her lips were hot and spicy, her tongue stroking his as her soft, pliable body pressed against him, enticing him to devour her. And he wanted to do so, to reach every wolfish, sexy part of her with his kisses. Her dusky, erect nipples brushed against his chest, and his cock was just as hard, stretching out to her, eager to feel her rubbing against him. She licked his nipple and he sucked in his breath, his body feverish for wanting.

She smelled of tangerines and the piney woods, of she-wolf and her own personal sweet and spicy scent. Their mouths fused as if he could never get enough. He'd never wanted to fight the attraction, not when he was young and wanted so much to prove he was the wolf she thought him to be. Even if he failed. She was always there for him, loving him just the way he was.

And she couldn't know how much that meant to him as he kissed her jaw, brushing his mouth against her throat. Her breathing was shallow, her pheromones hot with excitement, which helped kick his into a firestorm of desire. He was glad for his wolf senses because humans couldn't smell the stronger scents of arousal, the pheromones that triggered each of them into wanting and needing resolution. He stroked his mouth down her collarbone until he reached a breast, cupped both of them, and then licked each in turn.

She sank against the bed, and he smiled to see her so boneless.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Works for me,” he said, joining her. Leaning against her, he began kissing her breasts, licking the nipples while she swept her hands down his sides and buttocks, and growled softly.

He loved her growly nature, loved smelling the way she was so turned on. The dark, curly hairs between her legs were moist with her need, proving she loved what he did to her as much as he loved the way she made him feel—special, cared for, desirable.

He slid his hand down her smooth belly and stroked her between the legs, wanting to make her come as he listened to her tripled heartbeat.

Twisting underneath his sensual assault, she dug her fingernails into his sides and came unglued with a healthy cry.

She pulled at his muscled arms to join her, to enter her, to take his fill while she took hers of him. He rocked her world in a way that only he could, the way he touched her, kissed her, and molded to her. No one would ever be Paul—in his pink palm-tree shirt with the green flamingos and with his heart of gold—who wanted to save the world. A leader who loved his family and his pack, but most of all her.

He rubbed against her in a sweetly erotic way, sliding his rigid cock against her slick folds, wanting her to take charge and slide him into her until she was full of him, eager to mate again and again. He was everything to her, their bodies on fire, her body needing him deep inside, softening for him, welcoming him.