Wolf’s Glory (6 page)

Bowling alley attendant. Waitress. Hell, a job in a fast-food joint would do. Anything except stay with Shadow in a tent in the winter.

The Clan never forced their mates to accept them. As the Clan Alpha, his father would be the one to punish him if he hurt Glory.

His mate"s bag lay forgotten on the grass. He picked it up and carried it to his furs, burying his face against it. Her scent rose from it, sweet woman faintly overlaid by an acrid chemical scent. He remembered how surprised he had been this afternoon when he had first seen her and the other woman alone on the plains. He and cousins had hurried to them, keeping an eye out for any men who might be using the women as bait to lure them into a trap. Her unusual beauty caught his eye and his breath. And he remembered how her scent had hit him like a fist to his gut. His wolf had pressed his nose to her female place to roll in that scent, and she had not hesitated to chastise him for taking that liberty. The scent had captured his wolf, but it was her boldness that made his wolf howl inside his heart:
Mine! My
mate!

He should have been completely honest with her from the first. He"d guessed that she was from the Times Before when she"d talked about phones and planes. It was impossible, but what other explanation was there? She couldn"t have known about the Clan and their wolves. She"d believed the Clan were a group of people playing at recreating life on the plains in the nineteenth century, and he"d let her keep that belief because he was too much of a coward to tell her the truth. If he"d taken the time to explain the Terrible Times and about his wolf choosing her to be his mate, would she have stayed with him tonight? He would have comforted her. Even if she had denied him sex, he could have held her while she mourned her old life.

Tomorrow he would talk to her, convince her to come back to his lodge and stay with him. But if he had to, he"d court her until she accepted him. She wanted him; he had smelled that plainly. How he adored her scent when it sharpened with desire. Remembering it now, he went hard again.

Shadow let his breechcloth drop, lay down in his blankets, and closed his eyes. He held his mate"s bag cradled against his chest with one arm while he caressed himself with his other hand. Tomorrow night it would be Glory"s hand touching him like this. He wouldn"t bring himself to pleasure now. It would be sweeter to wait for her stroke over his hard, eager flesh.

He released his cock, set the bag beside his head where he would easily catch its scent, and pulled the blankets over himself. Tomorrow he would bring Glory back to his lodge where she belonged.

The woman who had been known as Jill Lampett fifty years ago and now was called

Grandmother by every member of the Clan, let her friend sleep late the next morning. It had been so long since she"d been called Jill. Her husband had been dead for eighteen years, and she missed him still. He and his brothers were the only ones to call her by name. Their three sons were gone too. She was an honorary grandmother to the whole Clan, but she had no immediate family left. Glory had always been like a sister to her. Having Glory here was almost like having her family back.

She dressed in her everyday work dress and smiled at Glory lying on her side, mouth half open, pink hair stiff with old hairspray standing out in every direction. How strange, to see Glory here. She was so painfully
young
. And still loud and headstrong. Shadow would have an interesting courtship. Jill wasn"t sure how it would end. Shadow was strong and determined, but Glory was as stubborn as a mule.

She left the lodge to use the latrine and on the way back Shadow waylaid her. She"d been expecting it. Dressed in his best leggings and breechcloth, with a carved bead necklace hanging down his bare chest, he looked very handsome. She wouldn"t say Glory was crazy for turning Shadow down, but … Glory was crazy. His long hair hung loose, glossy and black, down his back. She held up her hand to stop his eager voice. “Your mate is sleeping, Shadow. She is exhausted from her ordeal.”

“Ordeal? W—”

She held up her hand again. “She was flying in the sky, higher than the clouds, in a giant metal bird from the Times Before. It fell to the ground. It"s a miracle she wasn"t hurt or killed.”

Shadow"s broad shoulders tensed, the muscle bunching under the skin. “She could have
died
?”

“Easily.” She enjoyed his horrified reaction, the fear that gleamed in his black eyes.

Glory deserved this man to love her utterly, the way no one else ever had. “Many of the people in the airplane died or are hurt. Then she walked for two days with little food or water, to find help. Imagine what would have happened if woman stealers had found her.”

“I would have killed them.” Shadow"s growl made it a vow. “I"ll kill anyone who tries to take her away from me.”

Fifty years ago Jill would have rolled her eyes at that threat. Now, after fifty years with the Clan, she knew it wasn"t a threat but a promise. “And then you tell her she belongs to you, as if she were your horse or your moccasin.”

“She"s my mate!”

“Shadow, I know Glory well. We grew up like sisters. I know that you will be a good husband for her. But you will have to convince her of that. In the Times Before she was taunted for being so tall and big. People used words to hurt her.”

“Tall and big? Grandmother, she is my mate. She"s perfect. My wolf wouldn"t choose a scrawny woman for me.”

Jill wished Glory could hear this. “You"ll have to tell her that, and make her believe it.

And I tell you, she doesn"t understand about mates. She doesn"t know about your wolf. Why didn"t you tell her? You must have known she wasn"t from this time and place.”

Shadow raked an impatient hand through his hair, ruffling its glossy perfection.

“Grandmother, I hoped I was wrong about her being from the Times Before. Who doesn"t know about the Wolf Clan? Since those fools stole our women all the townies within five hundred miles know about our wolves. Will you explain it to her?”

The Grandmother almost accused him of being a coward, but sighed instead. “Shadow, I"ll tell her, but Glory is from the Times Before. I don"t know how she"ll react when she hears about your wolf. Don"t be surprised if she rejects you.”

Shadow was the Beta wolf of the Clan to his father"s Alpha, but he cringed. “She won"t be like Aunt Naomi? I can"t woo her for three years! I"ll die of wanting her by then.”

It took a little effort, but the Grandmother hid her pleasure at his attitude. “Listen to me, Shadow, and that won"t have to happen. First, you must leave her alone for a few days while she rests. Then you should begin courting her. Bring her gifts. She will need clothes and blankets and furs to keep her warm. She loves jewelry. And don"t give her orders as if she were a young wolf in need of direction. Glory is an Alpha too. Speak softly to her. Tell her she is beautiful.”

“I"ve already told her that!”

“Tell her again.”

“I want to see her.”

“Not now, Shadow. She"s sleeping. Go hunting. Or go see if you can find the plane and help the other survivors.”

Shadow"s shoulders slumped a little. “As you say, Grandmother.”

She ached all over, and she could have sworn she had slept on rocky ground. And she needed to pee desperately. After that she had to call the cent—No. Her stomach dropped when the memories rushed into the hollow place inside her. She had tried to talk herself into believing that she had been dreaming about the terrorist attacks. But it hadn"t been a dream. She went outside the tent and looked around. She wasn"t sure she could find that disgusting bathroom on her own.

Luckily she didn"t need to. There was a row of four little boys, crouching in a neat line outside the tent. Their naked bodies were brown, their long hair black and braided. She didn"t see Jill or anyone else around. “Hi, there. Can you tell me where the latrine is?”

All four round faces looked at her solemnly. Geez, they had that stoic red man thing down pat already, and the youngest looked like he wasn"t older than four. Only the wideness of their eyes when they looked at her hair made them look like little boys. All of them stood up. They weren"t quite naked. They wore small breechcloths and moccasins. The tallest one was probably around seven or eight. He looked familiar. Wasn"t he the kid that brought the stew last night? He spoke.

“You"re my sister. I"ll take you.”

“She"s my cousin!” another little boy objected.

Her bladder went from nagging to screaming. “Fine. You can all show me, okay? Let"s just get a move on.”

The bathroom was as disgusting as she remembered. She used it as quickly as she could, washed her hands, and rejoined the boys. She had to talk to Jill about going somewhere with real bathrooms. But first she needed to eat. Then she needed to find a toothbrush. Crap. She had left her toothbrush behind at Shadow"s place last night. In fact, her purse was there too.

She didn"t want to see him right now, but she needed her purse. It had her comb, if nothing else. She looked at her little escorts.

“I bet you guys know Wolf"s Shadow, right?”

They nodded. The oldest one said, “He"s my brother.”

“He"s my cousin,” said the other three.

It figured they were related. They all looked alike. Someday they"d all be as handsome as Shadow. “Great. Would you do me a favor? I left my purse back in his tent. It"s about this big, and purple and shiny. Would one of you go get it for me?”

The oldest one gave quick commands, and one of the other boys trotted off. “Chase will bring your purse. I"m Raven; this is my cousin Singer and his brother Matt.”

Matt was the one who was four. He was adorable. Glory wiggled her fingers at them all.

“Hi. I"m Glory.”

Raven looked ridiculously handsome for a little boy when he nodded. “Are you hungry?

My mother has food ready.”

Hungry? She was starving. Some Cap"n Crunch or Fruit Loops would be good now. Or a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel. “Lead the way—Oh, wait. Is Wolf"s Shadow there?”

“My brother is hunting.”

Weight rolled off her shoulders. “Okay. Great. Let"s go.”

The three boys clustered around her as they walked, staring at her. Glory didn"t know many kids. These were starting to creep her out. She tried to look around while they walked, but except for the conical canvas tents and a couple of big dogs lying in the sun, there was nothing to see. She glanced back down at the kids, and they were still staring at her. She was never at her best first thing in the morning.

“What are you staring at?” she grunted at them.

“You.”

Glory rolled her eyes. “Duh. Don"t do it. It"s rude.”

“But you"re a woman,” said Singer, in the same excited tone a little boy might normally reserve for a particularly cool bug.

Tiny little Matt spoke around his thumb. “Your hair is pink. And you need to comb it.”

Glory huffed, just as Raven chimed in, “You"re my brother"s mate.”

The huff was strangled by indignation. “I am
not
!”

All three boys stopped walking to stare open-mouthed at her. “But,” Raven protested,

“Shadow"s wolf has chosen you.”

“I don"t give a flying fu—” The innocent brown faces pointed at her made her break off.

“I don"t care about Shadow or his inner wolf. They can both take a long walk off a short pier.”

Young faces looked confused. Glory sighed, feeling like a foreign freak of nature. “Let"s just go eat, okay?”

Jill—Glory still couldn"t believe it was her—was with the other woman Glory had seen yesterday. Three other women were about a hundred yards away, doing something disgusting with a hide stretched flat over the dead grass. Jill was relaxing in a wooden chair that looked like it would fold up. Shadow"s mom was standing by a fire, stirring something in a pot that looked like a witch"s cauldron. It wasn"t Cap"n Crunch, but it smelled pretty darn good. It was closer to lunch time, and stew was a good lunch food, as long as she picked the vegetables out of it. Was there a bowl handy?

Her three escorts abandoned her to rush over to the women. Matt and Singer went over to Jill, draping themselves over her legs like overgrown puppies, and Raven went to his mother.

“Mother!” said Raven. “Sister Glory says she is not Shadow"s mate!”

Sister
Glory? She wasn"t a nun, and she"d like to tell that little tattletale a few things.

Several dogs trotted over, and Glory thought they must be drawn by the scent of meat and gravy, but they paid no attention to the pot, only stared at her like
she
was lunch.

Matt looked like he was going to start blubbering. “What"s a short pier? Will it hurt Shadow if he walks off one?”

Jill snickered before letting out a thin cackle. “Glory! What did you tell the boys?”

Glory glowered. “Nothing.” But she looked a little guilty when she glanced at the younger boys clinging to Jill and then over at Shadow"s mother. Chase ran up to her, carrying her big purse against his thin bare chest. She grabbed it from him with a fervent and heartfelt thank-you and dug through it for her comb.

“You"re welcome.” Chase had a sunny, gap-toothed smile. “You have a lot of funny

things in there. Shadow must have liked some of it a lot. His scent is over all of it, but especially the book and the pink bullet-shaped thing.”

Pink bullet…? “What?” gasped Glory, hand going protectively to her vibrator.

“I have the best nose in my generation,” Chase reported proudly. “Even if I never get a wolf, my father says I"ll be as good a tracker as my uncle Dan.”

Glory grabbed her comb and snapped her purse shut.

“How come the lady on your book isn"t wearing many clothes?” Chase went on

innocently. “Why"s she so skinny? How come she"s not soft and beautiful like you? Doesn"t she get cold? All human ladies get real cold real easy. That"s what my uncle says. And—”