The Alpha's Mate (20 page)

“Do the other people know about you?”

“Hell no. We lay low and live like everybody
else. Once in a while, State Wildlife gets a report and a few times
we’ve had some high and mighty folks up here from the university
looking down their noses at us, but it never amounts to anything.”
She grinned and winked. “You know how us mountain folk are a
superstitious lot and prone to tell tall tales.”

Roman stuck his head through the serving
window. “You hear about the camp?”

“Who hasn’t?” Maggie snorted.

Elizabeth raised her hand for attention.
“Me?”

“Huh. Figured you would’ve been the first to
know.” Maggie laughed and winked.

Elizabeth didn’t ask why. “Apparently I’m the
last. What kind of camp and what about it?”

“Growers,” Maggie said. “Marshall and the
boys have been harassing them for a couple of weeks now. Spraying
the plants with weed killer, trampling them to the ground. We get
them up here now and again and usually, if you pester them enough,
they go elsewhere. This group was a little cagier than most and
nobody could find their camp. Marshall and some of the boys
suspected they were renegades. Folks like us,” she clarified, “But
without a real pack. He figured the fires were their way of
harassing back and then the other night, it got out of hand. Last
night, a mess of our boys went out hunting while Marshall was
occupied elsewhere.” Another wink which Elizabeth ignored.

“And?” she asked innocently. There might be
gossip, but she didn’t have to add to it.

“Sometimes you ain’t no fun at all,” Maggie
grumbled and then she laughed. “They found the camp or what was
left of it. Looks like the survivors took what they needed and left
the rest behind. Now that they’re gone, Chief Goodman will file a
report with the proper authorities. It’s done. It’s over. We
won.”

“Have they identified the… ah…”

“Ones that got themselves killed. Nope and
they’re not likely to either. According to Harmony, the boys didn’t
find any ID. You die as a wolf, you stay that way. If you got no
pack, you got no one to identify your wolf.”

“What will happen to the bodies?” This was a
gruesome subject, but she wanted to know. There were men in those
wolves and no man should be left to rot.

“Don’t you fret about it, honey. They’ll be
buried with more respect than they deserve. The Good Lord will take
it from there.”

Chapter 20

When she saw the sleek and sporty Mercedes
parked outside her back door, Elizabeth’s first instinct was to
run. Fighting a quiet battle of wills with her mother over the
internet was one thing; a face to face confrontation was another.
Without ever raising her voice, her mother had the ability to
reduce Elizabeth to the status of recalcitrant twelve year old.

Her panic subsided when she saw the long legs
and blond head of the man unfolding himself from the front seat. It
was Charles dressed in a pair of sharply creased khakis, hand sewn
loafers sans socks, and a blue Oxford cloth shirt that looked as
crisp as the day it was removed from the package. The sleeves were
folded back neatly to below the elbows and he sported a leather
banded watch on his left wrist. He was too far away to see the
detail, but she’d guess it was expensive and it was different from
the silver banded one he’d worn before. He was the picture of
casual urban elegance.

She had a sneaking suspicion that he was the
delightful young man from her mother’s email and she didn’t like
it.

“My, my,” she said eyeing both Charles and
the car. “Haven’t we moved up in the world?”

“And haven’t we come down?” he countered,
taking in her new jeans and sneakers and the t-shirt advertising
Farm Supply that she received free for being a new customer.

“I don’t think so. They’re comfortable and
people don’t stare when I get out of my truck. And the best part is
I can afford them.” Okay, no one stared exactly, but her linen
slacks and silk blouse had received an odd look or two when she was
getting into the red pickup.

“You can afford a lot more than that,” he
said. He held the screen door for her while she unlocked the door
and followed her into the kitchen.

She was both shocked and appalled at the
surge of sexual interest that ran through her when she brushed
against him. She was still tender from her night with Marshall and
here she was quivering inside for a man she wasn’t sure she trusted
or liked. What was wrong with her?

“No, I can’t afford more,” she said firmly.
How much did he really know about her or was he forming assumptions
based on other things.

She busied herself putting away her few
groceries and finally pulled out the pitcher of tea. She held it up
in offering and he nodded. She sliced a lemon with a little more
force than necessary, handed him his glass, grabbed her own glass
and the pitcher and started to walk.

“Porch,” she said with no attempt at
politeness. Regardless of her body going haywire, her head was
still functioning.

Charles took the chair she indicated and
toasted her with his glass. She didn’t return it.

“What do you want with me?” she asked without
preamble. His slow, sexy smile made it difficult to swallow.

“I think you know. You feel it, too. I think
we should get together and see where it takes us.”

Her body was saying, “
Okay. When do we
start?
”, but Elizabeth was more than a body and she shoved the
horny slut down. “It will take us nowhere.”

Charles shook his head indulgently. “This
place isn’t for you, Elizabeth. Having met your mother, I can see
why you’d feel the need for a little rebellion, but…”

“How do you know my mother?” she asked
suspiciously. “Did you do some kind of background check on me?”

“It was quite by accident,” he said, but she
didn’t think it was. Not for a moment. He handed her a business
card with the head of a wolf etched in the corner. Charles Goodman,
Wolf’s Head Enterprises, it read, Cincinnati, Ohio. “I was in town
on business and someone pointed your mother out to me. I happened
to mention that you and I had met and that led to an introduction,
lunch, and dinner a few days later. I told her I’d look you up next
time I was in the area.”

“And Rabbit Creek just happened to be on your
way back to Cincinnati? Not the last time I looked at a map.”

“No, but some things are worth a little extra
mileage.”

“You’re mistaken, Mr. Goodman, I’m not worth
it. And if my mother told you I’m free and available, she is
mistaken as well.”

“You mean my brother? What can he offer you
that you really want? A mountainside that isn’t really his and a
dirt poor community of hicks who wouldn’t know fine whiskey from
water. How long do you think you’ll last up here? How long before
you’re bored to tears with the endless monotony? Do you think
Marshall’s going to take you to all the places you’ve dreamed of?
Paris? Rome? Venice?” He reached across the table and took her hand
in his.

“If you know so much about me, Mr. Goodman,
you know that I can do those things without you. It’s only a matter
of time.”

She wanted him to go away, but something
inside her wouldn’t let her say the words. It was his touch. She
couldn’t bring herself to pull her hand away. Already, her heart
was beating faster and her breath was becoming shallow. She would
not succumb to this, this, whatever it was. So she fought back the
only way she knew how; like her mother. She smiled, wide and false,
the kind of smile that showed off every inch of her expensive
dental work.

“Why Charles,” she said sweetly, “I believe
the only reason you want me is because your brother wants me, too.”
Her tone became haughty. “What’s the matter, can’t find a Wolver
girl to meet your needs? I know of a place where they practically
sell their women to the highest bidder. Would you like me to
arrange an introduction?”

It didn’t have quite the impact she was
hoping for, but at least he let go of her hand.

“You know.” Charles’ lips tightened together
and he nodded. “I thought they’d wait a bit more before letting you
in on our little secret.”

The only sign she could detect of any
discomfort in him was the thickening of his accent, absent until
now.

“They didn’t have a choice.” She told him
about the attack, the injuries, the violations of Pack Law.

Charles shrugged as if it was nothing. “You
reap what you sow. There are half a dozen reasons why someone would
want this land and my backward brother will listen to none. He and
his ragtag bunch of hillbillies have no strength and no power. And
he could, if he played his cards right. He could.” Something in her
face must have told him it was the wrong track to take.

“He had no right to drag you into it.
Marshall’s not the only Alpha available,” he said which made no
sense to Elizabeth so she continued to watch him with her hands
folded in her lap. “I’m the Alpha of my own pack; one I started
from the ground up. I didn’t have it handed to me like Marshall
did. We’re the wave of the future; an urban pack. We work in
offices, drive decent cars, enjoy fine dining and the theater. I
own a condo on the river and a home about an hour away where we can
run and hunt. We’ve found a way to harness the natural talents of
the pack to hunt in a new way; in the financial marketplace instead
of the forest. More civilized, don’t you think? It’s something my
father couldn’t see and Marshall doesn’t want to see. That’s why
his pack is stagnant and mine is growing.”

“Why does it matter to you? You don’t sound
like you care about the people here. You don’t want to live here.
You sound as if you’re quite successful in your own right. Why
bother with Rabbit Creek?”

“Because it’s mine!” he snarled. He leapt to
his feet and paced to the rail.

His sudden anger was a bit frightening, but
she’d seen it before. In her mother’s world, these men were called
sharks and while her mother would disagree, Elizabeth saw nothing
civilized about them. Maybe the wolves were taking over. She kept
her voice light.

“Jeeze. I guess you can take the beast out of
the hills, shine him up and put him in a fancy car, but he’s still
a beast.” She shook her head sympathetically. “You should ask my
mother to introduce you to a couple of her ex-husbands. You guys
have a lot in common. Have you tried golf? It seemed to help them.
Soothes the savage beast.”

Charles grinned sheepishly and Elizabeth got
a glimpse of the boy he once was. She might have liked that
boy.

“My apologies,” he said, “And it’s breast,
not beast. Soothes the savage breast. Music, not golf.”

“Woo-hoo!” she laughed, “Another reader.”

His outburst and her reaction to it seemed to
clear the air between them. She still felt a tingle of excitement,
but the tension was gone. She could see why her mother liked him.
The woman had always been attracted to aggressive men. After five
husbands, you’d think her mother would learn. Elizabeth certainly
had.

“Wait here,” she said. “I’ll be right
back.”

She ran to the kitchen, grabbed Ruby’s jar
from the shelf and poured two finger’s worth in each of the two
glasses she pulled from the cupboard. She was back on the porch and
offering a glass to her guest in less than three minutes. Maybe
this was a mistake, but she was willing to take the chance.

“Still no bourbon,” she said as she set the
jar on the table.

Charles sniffed the glass and took a drink.
He shut his eyes and snapped his head to the right. “Ruby’s.” His
voice was a rasp.

“Housewarming gift.”

“Figures.”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Elizabeth wagged her finger at
him. “Peace offering. I want you to tell me what happened between
you and Marshall without getting all g-r-r-r. Why are you so angry
with him?”

“He took my place. He took the land.”

“How?”

“I’m the oldest. The place of the Alpha
should have fallen to me. And a share of this land should have
fallen to me.” He shook his head and took another swallow, a large
one. She could almost follow the liquid’s progress, but when it hit
bottom, he smiled as if he’d won some contest of wills. Man against
fire.

“There were three of us. Me, Michael and
Marshall, with only a year between each. My father didn’t see the
point, but my mother wanted us well educated and she had her way. I
won a scholarship to a school up in New England. I couldn’t come
home every weekend and when I did, my father and I fought. I was
already investing, making money. The Alpha couldn’t see anything
but this land and the poor fools living on it. I wanted to see what
was out there in the rest of the world and what I could do in that
world. What was I going to do here with a degree in business?”
Charles finished the glass and held it out for a refill. “Michael,
now, he was the smartest of us all. He went to Med School, followed
a girl he met in college and joined her pack over in Arkansas. The
Alpha there has no talent for healing, so being a doctor gave Mikey
good standing in the pack.”

“Do you see him often?”

“It’s been a while.” He refilled his jelly
glass and held it up to inspect the design. “Good glasses?”

“Only the best for my friends,” she laughed.
“They came with the house and they’re my favorites. I desperately
wanted Flintstones glasses when I was a kid, but my mother wouldn’t
hear of it. There’s a plastic bowl in there that has a big goofy
bear in the bottom. I don’t know who he is, but I love him,
too.”

Charles laughed and it was a good natured
laugh. “Maybe you do belong in these hills.”

Elizabeth laughed with him. “I think I might.
You and I are a lot alike, Charles Goodman.”

He looked at her suspiciously. “How you
figure?”