Wolf Creek Alpha (Texas Pack 1) (8 page)

“I understood what the papers were saying.  Anyone else would just read them as fiction.  I knew there was more to them as I read them.  But my understanding was that if I knew the
fae’s
name, I had control over him,” he said questionably. 

“You were wrong,” Dunstan laughed.  “And no, I will not tell you where y
ou went wrong.  Unlike you
, I
’
m not stupid.”

Ste
phen realized he had made an
error in his translation.  N
ow he was bot
h worried and scared.  His wanting to be famous in his field
had brought him to this.  Thinking he could use the
fae’s
magic to
his advantage
had been a grievous mistake.

“I see the car up ahead.  Slow down, I don’t want them to know we’re following.  Interesting isn’t it?  They seem to be going to
wards
a town cal
led Wolf Creek,” Dunstan said
.

“Why are we following them?  Who are they?” asked Stephen.

“
That’s not your concern
. 
Take us back to the hotel
.
We’ve
followed them far enough.
”

Once they got to the hotel
, Dunstan started to question him. 
He wanted to know why Stephen had summoned him to this particular place.

“I had a roommate in college
who
grew up just north
of here.  One night after we’d been drinking, he started talking about the wolf people that lived around Wolf Creek.”

“He was from this area and said his grandfather had told him stories
about the people
when he was a little boy. 
They were stories about men
and women changing into wolves. It was said they
had lived there for hundreds of years.” 

Stephen went on to say
that,
his plan was to spy on the people living there and to try and ge
t proof of the wolf people. His
ability to rea
d people had
told him his college friend
believed the story told by his grandfather
.

“I was investigating the town when I got news of the auction. 
There aren’t a lot of people in this area
who are
interested in this field. 
The scholars
around the southwest
aren’t
a big community, so when the papers turned up, colleagues contacted me to let me know about them.”
 

“After reading the papers from the auction, my understanding
was that you could somehow hide
me.  My plan was to
get close enough to get documentation.  This would make my name at
the college where I work
.  I would be lecturing all over the world once I had proof of these werewolves,” he cried.

“So you summoned me for a job
,” Dunstan said
. 

“Not just a job, I would be famous,” he shouted.  “I would earn th
e respect of the academic community all over the world.”

“Not anymore. 
If you become famous, it won’t be through me
, or the shifters. 
I need to speak with the redheaded woman.  I memorized the plate, so you
’
ll do what you do best.  Research.  I want to know who she
is.  Find out about the dark haired one
too.  I want names and addresses.”

Rafe got up the next morning
with anticipation of
seeing Lisa again.  He hurried through his breakfast so he could get his morning duties done.  He had an office in his house to take care of all pack business. 

Sitting down in his office chair, he started working on the piles of correspondence on his desk.  I really need to hire a secretary, he sighed. 

He had a request to put a cell tower on pack land.  That seemed like a good idea, he thought.  Better reception across their property plus the contract to lease the land it would be on would bring more money to the pack.
  He was always looking out for the
pack’s
future.
 

Only downside he could think of was the construction of the tower.  That would bring several humans on to the property while it was being built. 

He got on the phone to call the construction company listed in the letter to get a timeline on building the tower.  He was
on the phone longer than he’d
anticipated
.  I
t was a little more involved than he’d thought.

Next
,
he went through the complaints from the wolves in his pa
ck.  They never were a big deal.  T
hey just needed an unbiased
mediator to fix their
dilemma.

Finished with those duties, he then called Colin to inform him he was coming over.  Problem was, Colin didn’t answer. 

“Shit.  Should I go on over, hoping he’ll b
e back soon, or wait
?”
he mused
. 

He decided
he would speak to Ian first
.

“They didn’t see anything last night.  There’s nothing new to report.  I’m just waiting now for Robert to show up with the guards.
”

“All right, I’m going over to Colin’s.  No one ans
wered when I called
,
but I can’t
stay here waiting around.  If Robert and the guards show up before I get back, get them settled in the house.”

“Will do.  Mom said she would come and stay here to feed them while
they’re
here.  Bonus for us!  We won’t have to eat our own cooking,” Ian grinned.

Rafe smiled.  “I hadn’t thought ahead about feeding them.  Thank God for
Mom
.  We need to think about hiring a couple of people.  I’ve decided that I need a secretary and we need a cook too.  Mom can’t be expected to
cook for
all of us
for an extended period of time.
  Also, see if one of the teenagers want
s
to make some money helping Anna.  I don’t want to take
advantage of her good nature.”

“And hiring a secretary gives you more time to spend with Lisa, right?” said Ian.
  

“
Mom
didn’t raise no dummy,” Rafe joked
.

“I’ll put the word out to the pack about the jobs,” said Ian.

Arriving at Colin’s, Rafe saw that he was cleaning out the gutters.  “Hey sheriff, can’t you get a prisoner to do hard labor?”  

“Nope, that’s considered cruel and unusual punishment,” he laughed as he climbed down the ladder.

“
Come on in, I could use a cold drink.  It’s
gonna
be another hundred degree day.”

Rafe followed him inside, immediately looking around for Lisa.

“She’
s not here.  They went to one of those craft fairs they love so much.”

“That’s probably a
good thing.  I needed to tell
you
about Chas
e coming to see me
.”

He began
to tell Colin about the warning and
about
having Robert bring guards back from
Faeir
e
. 

“Are you sure it’s the
unseelie
?  I mean, we’ve always protected the pond, but I guess I never really thought we would have to defend it,” said Colin.

“I thought so too.  I think we’ve become complacent about it.  Since the pack has prospered and moved on into the twenty-first century, we’ve begun to take our responsibilities for granted,” announced Rafe.

“You’re probably right.  We’ve had it pretty easy for a very long time.”

“I’ve got something else on my mind.
I’ve decided to take Lisa back to the castle
.”

Colin looked shocked.  “I understand how you feel, believe me.  It’s just that I thought you wanted to ease her in to our, umm, lifestyle.”

“With the guards comin
g and the threat of the
unseelie
, I can’t leave her here.  We will be training and patrolling, so I won’t have the time to win her over slowly.  I know you would protect her with your life, it’s just that I feel that I need to protect her.”

Colin nodded his head.  “I would feel the same about Stephanie.  How can we help
?”

“I’d plann
ed on telling her about us today
.  With your permission, I want to ask Stephanie
to explai
n, with me in the room.  I don’t want her to be afraid, but
that’s
just wishful thinking.”

“Of course, Alpha.  I appreciate your asking.  I will stay in the room too,
just
in case Stephanie needs me. 
Lisa will freak out, you know.  If she reacts the way
Steph
did, be ready to duck,” he grinned.
 
             
             
             

Stephanie saw
Rafe’s
Tahoe
when she pulled into their driveway.  “Looks like someone couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see you,” she smiled.

“Oh, I doubt
Rafe’s
here to se
e me.  He’s probably here to see
Colin,” Lisa said.

“How do you know I was talking about Rafe?  I could have meant Hank
,” Stephanie laughed.

“Very funny.”

Lisa got butterflies in her stomach anticipating seeing Rafe.  She found she was straightening her clothes and checking her hair as she got out of the car.  This is ridiculous, she thought.  He’s just a man, but oh-boy,
what
a
hottie
!

They grabbed their purchases and headed into the house.  The guys were in the kitchen with glasses of iced tea and cookies in front of them.

“
Hey,
babe, find anything good?” asked Colin.

Stephanie went over
and gave Colin a light kiss.  “Of
course,
I did.  I bought the cutest earrings.”

Lisa
went to get a glass of tea for herself and Stephanie.  She felt awkward and didn’t know what to say to Rafe. 

“
Hi,
Lisa.  How was the craft fair?  Did you find anything?” Rafe asked.

Lisa turned and went to sit at the table.  She was excited now to tell him of her find.

“I bought the most beautiful quilt.  I love handmade quilts and this one is in all the colors I like,” she said.

“Would you two excuse us a minute?  I need to talk to
Steph
,” Colin said.

Stephanie gave him a questioning look and followed him into the living room.

Well,
crap!  What am I supposed to sa
y now?  Her mind went blank.  Okay
, think.  I usually have no problem flirting or
just bullshitting someone
.

“Pretty hot la
tely, isn’t it?” She blushed.
  Are you kidding me, really? The weather?  I am such a moron!

“Yeah, I’m feeling hot right now,” he grinned. 

Rafe reached over and took her hand.  He was smoothing his thumb over the back, making circles on her skin. 
Distracting,
but nice, she thought.  She had no desire to pull away. 

“I’m glad you’re here, I wanted to speak to you,” he paused, not sure where to start.

“
When I saw you at Charli
e’s last night,” he hesitated, choosing his words carefully.
 
“
Do you believe in fate?”

“Um, kind of.  Well, I think fate is basically certain paths put before you, and you choose the one you’ll follow.”

Rafe let go of her hand and stood up.  He paced across the kitchen floor while Lisa stared at him confused.  She wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say.

“I believe there is one person,
one
perfect
match
for each of us.  I’ve been waiting a long time to me
et mine.  You are my perfect One
.  I felt you as soon as I saw you
in that hallway last night.  Your soul called to mine,” he stated.

As Rafe stared at her, waiting for her to say something, he clenched his fi
st.  He was a commander, the l
eader
of his
pack.
Yet,
here he was, scared she wouldn’t understand what he was saying
, or what
he would be asking of her.