Your Wild Heart (11 page)

“You sure it’s not because you’re a lousy cowboy?” Drew smarted off.

Wyatt shook his head, refusing to rise to the bait. “Even the most docile of horses wanted nothing to do with me.”

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on you. We can ask Mother.” She tipped her head. “She’d want to check you over first, though. Which would require you to go to Georgia.”

“I’ve never been to Georgia. I think I’d like to see it.”

Something passed between them. Something unspoken. A promise of sorts, perhaps.

But there would be time later to figure it out.

Betty cleared her throat. “Speaking of Georgia. What brought you all the way out here?”

“I tracked a wolf I encountered earlier this year to this area,” Isabelle said.

“Wyatt told us what you said when you arrived. But I want to know the real reason you came,” Drew said bluntly.

“Er….” Isabelle looked to Wyatt with a question in her eye. He nodded for her to continue.

She played with the water droplets on the outside of her glass as she told them about the young wolf she had helped.

“You said you found this wolf caught in a trap?” Drew cocked his head to the side. “Was it a coyote trap?”

“It was one of those horrible things with two jaws that snaps shut around the animal’s paws.” Isabelle motioned with her hands how the thing closed.

Betty cringed. “Did the wolf you freed have a diamond-shaped mark around her right eye?”

Isabelle sat up straighter in her seat. “Yes, she did.”

“And did she injure her”-Drew paused and looked to Betty for confirmation but she only gave him a blank stare in return-“left front paw?”

Isabelle dug through memories. “Yes, I believe she did. Do you know her?”

Drew’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Why are you so interested in that particular wolf?”

“I’d like to find out if she’s okay and if she suffered permanent injury from the trap. I did the best I could for her, but I’m no doctor. I also wanted to confirm my suspicions.”

Drew’s brow rose in question.

“That she is a shifter and belongs to a pack I am unfamiliar with.”

“What made you think she was a shifter?” Betty asked.

“First of all, I left her sedated in a cage in my lab for the night. When we found her missing the next morning, I pulled surveillance tapes to make sure no one had taken her or done something to her. The tape showed a young girl with a pronounced limp leaving the building.”

Based on the looks Betty and Drew exchanged, she would bet money they knew the girl.

“There’s more,” Wyatt added.

“While she was sedated, I implanted a tracking chip in her shoulder,” Isabelle confessed.

“You what?” Drew roared and sat up in his chair.

Wyatt leaned forward and tried to place himself between her and Drew. She patted him on the shoulder to reassure him that Drew’s outburst didn’t bother her. She was used to loud, dominant men. She had grown up around two of them and, thanks to her father’s friends and business partners, she’d learned how to deal with them early in life.

But it was sweet of him to be concerned for her. “It is common practice in my field to use tracking chips because it’s a fast and easy ways to collect data on animal movement,” she explained.

“You did it even though you suspected she was a shifter?”

“God, no.” She gave Drew a disgruntled look. “If you’ll recall what I said, it wasn’t until the next day that I had any reason to suspect she was anything other than Canis lupus.”

Wyatt smiled.

Drew grunted in response.

“Once Mother confirmed the likelihood of the wolf being a shifter, I kept tabs on her movements through the chip. I tracked her as far as the Black Hills, but then the signal died.”

Betty frowned. “Wait. How did your mother learn she was a shifter?”

“From the blood I took from the wolf.” She held her hand up to stop any yelling Drew might do. “Again, before I suspected anything.” She looked at Betty. “Years ago, Mother found an anomaly that showed up on certain DNA strands that all wolf shifters have in common. It’s quite small and, unless you know what you’re looking for, you probably wouldn’t notice it. After seeing the video footage, I sent the blood I had taken over to Mother.” She shrugged. “If there was a chance of her being a shifter, I didn’t want it getting mixed up with any of the other lab specimens.”

“Is this anomaly something anyone with access to our blood and microscope could see?” Betty asked, alarmed.

“No. It’s too small to be seen with a regular microscope. It takes special equipment to be found and, like I said, you’d have to know what you’re looking for. Besides, this isn’t something Mother has published a paper about. That is a well-guarded secret. Very few people have seen her research. I have only seen the marker a time or two, and that was after Mother isolated and magnified it. I doubt I’d be able to find it on my own.”

“But this wolf you found had it?” Drew clarified.

“Yes, she did.”

Drew leaned forward in his chair. “What does someone’s DNA tell you about them?”

“Well, DNA can tell you who is related to whom, like parent to child. It tells whether or not the subject is male or female, a great many physical characteristics like hair and eye color and whether the subject is likely to develop certain diseases.”

Betty’s eyes widened in surprise. “All of that?”

Isabelle nodded.

“What about insanity?” Drew’s voice was just above a whisper. “Can it tell you whether or not you’re prone to insanity?”

Isabelle looked to Wyatt. He nodded for her to continue. “Er, not that I’m aware of.”

Betty put her hand on Drew’s and squeezed.

“So, now what?” Wyatt prompted.

“Now, I want to hear what she plans to do with the information she has collected about our pack,” Drew said.

“I hope you realize that I have not been studying your pack and have little information on it as a whole. Being a shifter myself, and daughter to our pack leader, I understand the need for privacy and security for the safety of all. I can assure you I have no plans to do any formal research on you or your pack members.”

Drew started to say something, but once again, she held her hand up to stop him. Wyatt grinned from behind his cup.

“As a scientist, I cannot help but observe and collect data. But that doesn’t mean I will use the information for anything more than my own curiosity. Now”—she paused—“that said, if I found the information could be used to benefit both of our packs, I reserve the right to bring it up to both parties.”

Drew narrowed his gaze. “What do you mean?”

“I mean if I observe some environmental factor that could impact either of our packs negatively, then I would think you would want to be informed of it. Am I correct?”

“Absolutely,” Drew said.

“Okay, then.”

“So, you’re not going to write a research paper on us then,” Betty confirmed.

“Certainly not. But, with your permission, I would like to be able to speak to my mother and father about you and your pack.”

Drew’s gaze narrowed. “Why?”

“For starters, to make them aware of another pack’s existence. Father has contacts in most of the packs along the East Coast. I think he would be excited to meet you. Allies are a good thing. And you never know when a partnership in a new venture could be formed.”

“Let me think about that,” Drew mumbled.

“As for Mother, she’s always looking for bright new talent for her research team. If any of your young people show an aptitude in the sciences, she has established scholarships in exchange for their agreement to work on one of her teams or in the main laboratory.”

“I assume you mean as a researcher, not as a lab specimen,” Betty said with the lift of one brow.

“Of course. Mother has a division devoted to the development of medicines and products for our kind, and it’s a requirement everyone be either a shifter or a descendant of a shifter.”

“Did you inherit your Wolf from your father’s line?” Drew inquired.

“Both my mother and my father.”

“I did some research on you and your family when you showed up,” Drew said without remorse. “If you think he’d be open to it, I would like to meet your father. He’s made some impressive changes with his spin-off companies. I wouldn’t mind talking with him about how he’s managed to grow his business while maintaining pack security and secrecy.”

“I’ll let him know.”

“What about you? Surely, you have questions,” Wyatt suggested.

“Actually, I do, if you don’t mind me prying,” Isabelle admitted.

Drew gestured for her to proceed.

“Based on your reactions, I’m guessing the wolf I found belongs to your pack. What was a young girl doing so far from home? And alone, no less.”

Drew looked at Wyatt then to Betty. He took a deep breath, then said, “In a nutshell, my father.”

Isabelle’s brow drew up in question.

“It’s a long sordid story what my father put this pack through. Suffice to say abuse was rampant and several pack members ran away.” Drew tapped his finger on the table. “I believe the wolf you found was indeed one of ours. Her name is Lucy. A scout found her and her mother in Iowa and encouraged them to return home after reassuring them that Magnum was no longer in charge.”

Betty picked up the story. “Lucy left with her mother a few months before Magnum was killed. There’s no telling what the poor woman went through. Her husband had been killed, and back then, women without a mate were, well, vulnerable.

“Lucy said they had been staying with her mom’s aunt and uncle when the change hit her for the first time. Poor thing. Her mom was so tangled in her own issues she couldn’t help Lucy.” Betty looked at Wyatt then Isabelle. “We believe it was only a couple of moons later when she became caught in the trap you mentioned.”

“Oh poor thing,” Isabelle murmured.

“Not that it was a good thing, but it scared her mother enough to return. By then, Magnum was gone.”

“Is Lucy all right now?” Isabelle hoped so.

Betty nodded. “Yes. We sent her to a doctor soon after she and her mother returned and we learned of her injury. We were assured that because she was young and still growing, there would be no lingering damage.”

The tension she didn’t realize she had been carrying eased. “Good.”

Drew spoke up. “The doctor also told us that had she not been let out of that trap and the bleeding stopped, there would have been lasting damage. And if she had shifted while still in the trap it’s likely the major artery that runs down the leg might have been damaged and she could have bled to death.”

Betty added, “Basically, you saved Lucy’s life.”

Isabelle’s heart leaped.

“And for that we are grateful,” Drew said. “Our pack isn’t as large as yours and our young ones should be treasured. That is something I am hoping to stress to everyone in Los Lobos.”

“Would it be possible for me to see her?” Isabelle asked hopefully.

Betty and Drew exchanged looks.

“I don’t see why you can’t,” Betty finally answered. “I’ll talk to her mother and see if we can arrange it.”

Isabelle smiled. “That would be great.”

Now that they had resolved the sensitive topics, they were able to relax and enjoy dessert. By the time they left, Isabelle felt as if she wouldn’t have to tiptoe around Wyatt. And perhaps he would be candid with her in return.

After lunch, Wyatt and Isabelle returned to her trailer. Wyatt walked the perimeter of her campsite to make sure they had plenty of privacy. Satisfied they were alone, he took a seat under her canopy.

She handed him a bottle of water. “So, what did Drew mean when he asked if you would take responsibility for me?”

“You heard that?”

She nodded. “My sense of smell may not be what it should, but my hearing is great.”

After taking a deep breath, he explained. “In Los Lobos, if a pack member brings a human in and accepts them as their mate, the human must promise to keep pack secrets. The pack member is required to accept responsibility for them.”

She took a seat next to him. “But I’m not human. Does the same rule apply to me?”

“To a certain degree.” He tapped the side of his bottle. “You’re a shifter, so you understand the need for secrecy where humans are concerned. But you aren’t a member of the Los Lobos Pack, so there are still some things that should remain secret.” He sighed. “And while you’re here you would be expected to follow pack rules.”

She tipped her head to the side. “Does that mean you have to watch me at all times?”

Wyatt frowned, unsure of where her question might be leading. “It means if you break any pack laws, then punishment will be delivered to me.”

“So, you made a commitment to your Alpha?”

“Yes.”

“About me.”

“Yes.”

“Without talking to me about it first?”

“Er….” It occurred to him he was on shaky ground.

“What exactly does this commitment involve?” she pressed.

“It can be whatever we want it to be,” he suggested.

“You don’t have to ask your Alpha?”

“No. This is between you and me.”

She got up and walked to the edge of the canopy and looked into the thickness of the surrounding trees. He couldn’t see her face and worried what she might be thinking.

“So, I could return to Atlanta as long as I promise not to tell anyone other than Mom and Dad about the pack.”

His gut clenched. “Yes,” he said through gritted teeth.

She looked at him. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

She closed the distance between them. “Do you plan to always be at your Alpha’s beck and call?”

He smiled. She wasn’t holding back, was she? “I’m not at my Alpha’s beck and call now. I am my own man. I don’t live in Los Lobos. I am not dependent on the pack for survival. I choose to support the new Alpha because he is a good man and I believe he can bring the pack to life again and repair the damage his father did.” He put the bottle on the table behind him. “I keep Drew informed of events that may impact the pack, and I warn him of possible dangers. But my day-to-day life is my own.” He took her hands in his. “Yes, I have family and friends in the pack but the reality is, I could move to Alaska and the pack would survive. So would I.”