Black Velvet (7 page)

“This is a deal we’re working on for a parcel of land down Kamiskotia Road. It’s a little over seven thousand acres. If we’re successful, we’ll build there,” he told her as he pushed the folder in front of her.

She only hesitated a moment before pulling it closer and scanning the first page. The fact that he’d brought her to a meeting had had her heart racing fast enough on its own, but to show her information most pack mates weren’t privy to almost had it leaping right out of her chest.

“How long before the meeting starts?” she asked as she flipped to the second page. “There are problems here.”

Warren cocked his head to the side. “What problems? And we have about five minutes.”

She flipped back to the first page and pointed. “Here it says the parcel is seven thousand one hundred acres, and here,” she pointed again, “it says seven thousand five hundred. That’s a significant discrepancy. It needs to be clarified. Also, you don’t have mineral rights in there. I know it’s hard to obtain them, but if we’re going to build there, you don’t want the powers that be to come in and wreck it when the mines decide they want to explore more areas around the city. This is a mining town, is it not?”

“It is, and you’re right. The discrepancies and mineral rights are two of the things we’ll be discussing today. Great observations.” The approving smile he gave her had the butterflies in her stomach taking flight. Being so gorgeous should be illegal.

The door to the boardroom opened, and a tall man with a bit of a paunch walked through carrying a briefcase. Another man, shorter, and rounder came in right behind him. “Mr. McBride, sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Joy waited to be acknowledged, but the man didn’t bother to look in her direction.

“Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Torrin, I’d like to introduce my future wife, Joy Sutherland.” He didn’t miss a beat as the words rolled off his tongue.

Joy stood, and extended her hand as though the words he’d uttered hadn’t given her a little heart attack. “Pleased to meet you, gentlemen.” Future wife?

“Well, now, that’s cause for celebration, isn’t it? You weren’t engaged the last time we met, were you?” Sullivan stood and went to a wet bar in the back of the room.

It wasn’t even ten o’clock yet, but Joy kept her thoughts to herself.

“No, she still hadn’t realized she was crazy about me then,” Warren said in a smooth tone. “Nothing for me, I have to keep my head on straight to keep up with the two of you for this meeting,” he said when the man showed him the scotch he’d poured for himself.

“And you, Joy? You don’t mind if I call you Joy, do you?” Sullivan winked at her, and she heard Warren’s little growl. The man was oblivious, but her wolf heard and approved.

“No, thank you. We plan on starting our family soon after the wedding. I’m abstaining from alcohol until then,” she said as she placed her hand over Warren’s on the table. He turned it over and brought it to his lips, his eyes twinkling.

“Well, it’s Jack and me, then.” He handed a tumbler to his partner and took a seat. “Let’s get this taken care of so you can proceed with the purchase, shall we?”

Something in the way the man smiled made Joy nervous. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, and although the man tried hard, he could never quite keep his eyes focused on her or Warren when he spoke to them. Maybe he sensed an Alpha pair when near one, but she didn’t think it was the case.

She grabbed a pen, and with one quick nod from Warren, started taking notes on the margins. The meeting moved along well for the most part. She kept quiet except to draw attention to a few points she felt needed clarification. Each time she did, Torrin’s eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned a little. His already ruddy face deepened a shade, but he never said a word. She wasn’t sure why he had come to the meeting for all he was contributing.

Warren, of course, was well spoken, and well informed. He answered all the questions Sullivan threw his way with the confidence of an Alpha. If she didn’t know a wild animal lived inside his gorgeous body, she’d easily imagine him in the corporate world.

Torrin finally smiled, or pretended to, when the meeting came to a close. His handshake when he took her hand was tighter than it should have been. It didn’t hurt, not even a little, but she gasped and tugged her hand back just the same. For all he knew, she was human, and a human female would feel the squeeze.

Warren stood taller with his shoulders squared. She’d seen the same kind of stance in every fight, every battle. “Are you all right, sweetheart?” he asked as he stepped between her and the nasty little man.

Joy nodded and laid her hand on him, smoothing it over the tense muscles of his back. Having him tear the man’s face off wouldn’t help them buy the property. “I’m fine.”

“My apologies, Miss Sutherland, I sometimes don’t know my strength,” he said with a satisfied grin.

She doubted the man could punch his way out of a paper bag. “It’s okay. Maybe I need to toughen up,” she said as she gave him a small smile and looked away. Let him think she’d been intimidated. Underestimating her would only be an advantage for her and Warren in negotiations.

“Oh, and we’ve halted work on the property,” this he directed at Warren. “If you still want to explore the land before the sale goes through, you have my blessing.”

“We might take you up on it, thank you.” Warren still didn’t smile, but at least he didn’t look like he was ready to punch the man’s nose through his skull anymore. “Thank you for your time, gentlemen.”

There was something about the man that had alarm bells clanging loud in her mind. If he were trying to screw Warren over, she’d figure it out. She’d always been good with contracts and numbers. It was high time she showed Warren what an asset his “future wife” would be.

Warren hadn’t expected Torrin’s hostility toward Joy, but he was almost glad for it. It had proven a couple of things he’d suspected. One, Torrin was a bastard who couldn’t be trusted, and two, his Joy was a smart cookie who knew how to play a situation. When she had gasped and pulled her hand out of the idiot’s grip, he’d wanted to pounce and rip him to shreds. The only thing that had kept him from exploding was her soft little hand stroking his back, soothing the beast, letting him know that she was fine, and they would handle the situation together.

The fact that the man didn’t possess enough power in his puny little arms to make the handshake uncomfortable for her didn’t matter. It was the intent behind it Warren wouldn’t tolerate. She was his. And he protected his own. If the sniveling human laid a hand on his mate again, he’d show him what real strength was.

Joy hadn’t said a word since they’d left the meeting. He could almost hear the gears turning in her mind. He kept quiet. They were only two blocks away from the den when she finally turned his way and opened her mouth.

“Were you testing me?” She looked at him, her eyes assessing him.

“I was.” He smiled at her and waited for more.

She shook her head, but her lips turned up at the corners, proving she wasn’t upset. “Did I pass?”

“With flying colors, baby.”

She grinned in earnest now, a little dimple he’d never noticed before appearing on her left cheek. “So, should I book a church?”

She thought she’d tease him, did she? Little did she know he fully intended to mate with her. Human wedding or no, she would be his. Hell as far as he was concerned, she already was. And her little comment about having children as soon as they were married had had him hard as steel for most of the meeting. Yeah, he wanted that too.

“Just tell me where, and when.”

Her eyes rounded, and her smile dropped a little. “That’s not funny. You shouldn’t tease a girl about things like that.”

He parked the truck and reached over to link their fingers together. “I’m not kidding. Tell me you don’t feel it. Tell me your wolf isn’t fighting you to let her come to me at all hours of the day and night. If you can say you don’t feel like I’m your fated mate, that you don’t feel the way I do, then I’ll leave you alone, but you can’t, can you?”

She swallowed hard. “No, I can’t.”

He reached over and pulled her into his arms. “Good, it’s settled then,” he said before he kissed her long and hard. By the time he let her go, she had the same flustered look on her face she’d had when they’d exited the elevator a few hours ago. If he had his way, she’d be sporting the mussed up hair, and puffy from kissing look all the time.

Joy took a moment to freshen the gloss on her lips and straighten her hair. It didn’t matter. She still looked like her mouth had been ravaged—gorgeous.

There wasn’t too much activity in the den at that time of day. People usually had things take care of, and jobs to do. The omegas taught the children while the betas trained the older males and females strong enough to be fighters in a fenced-in, empty lot across the street.

They needed land. It wasn’t right for wolves to live in apartments in the city. They needed room to shift, and roam, to let their wild sides out once in a while. Being confined to their human forms most of the time wasn’t natural. The males were becoming more aggressive, the females more unsettled.

The pack had been thriving a few years ago when they’d had a forest to roam in, but deforestation had encroached on their little piece of heaven, forcing them into the city. He’d been searching for a large enough property ever since. The land deal with Torrin and Sullivan had taken over a year to cultivate. When they’d called a few weeks ago and said they were ready to proceed, he’d been thrilled. They had dragged their feet for so long, he’d started looking for other properties farther out.

But now, with Joy’s fresh eyes, he was more confident they could make it happen. She knew her stuff. She’d asked some questions during the meeting even he hadn’t considered. He needed to show his pack the land. No one had said a word, but they had to have had doubts that the purchase would go through. Hell, even he had. Letting them run through the property would go a long way in restoring their hope.

***

Joy couldn’t help but smile when Warren looked at her like he had found the prize at the bottom of the cereal box. “Shall we go in?”

“I suppose we should.” Did he want to announce their mating plans to the pack already? Not that she minded, but she would have liked a day or two to digest the information herself. He took her hand and led her to the front door.

She’d been at the den once before, on the day the Eryma pack had accepted her as a member. It was nothing more than an old school house, which they’d renovated to suit pack needs. A meeting place where everyone could come together. The short ritual had been underwhelming, to say the least. When the Akino pack brought in a new member, a feast was prepared in their honor. The omegas always made sure the event was special, and the newcomer was welcomed in a way befitting their status. All she’d gotten were the ceremonial words, and a couple of awkward glances from her new pack before everyone scattered to continue with their day. Knowing what she did now, she wondered how much of it was due to Warren’s warning to leave her alone as she’d grieved her family and friends.

Silence fell upon the room as soon as they entered. There were a dozen or so shifters there. A couple of them she recognized, most she didn’t. Martin stood with two other males. One of the two looked down to the ground, but Martin gave her a small nod and a smile before doing the same. The other she recognized from the club. He didn’t avert his gaze, he only smiled. She could have kissed him for it, well, maybe not kiss him, that would have incited a fight he would have lost, but she was grateful for the gesture.

“I have an announcement to make,” Warren said, his voice loud in the quiet room. “We’re changing the site for our run two days from now. Joy and I have obtained permission to explore the lands we’re buying for the pack.”

It wasn’t what she’d expected, but Joy smiled and squeezed his hand a little. She had done nothing of the sort. He had to have made the request at a previous meeting, but he was willing to give her credit in front of everyone present. He was trying so hard to make her transition into the pack easier. Even if his actions had caused her loneliness, it had also given her the time she needed to heal. Besides, she was an Alpha. It was her job to make everyone see her that way, not his. They wouldn’t give her respect if she didn’t deserve it.

She stood on tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before leaving his side to join the women at the far end of the hall. None of them lifted their heads as she approached. One even took a couple of steps to place herself behind the others. Omega, through and through. She gave them a moment before she spoke, careful to keep her tone light in case the others were as easily intimidated. She didn’t want to frighten any of them.

“Hi, I’m Joy,” she said as she held her hand out, making sure to stick it out far enough so the woman in front of her would see it even with her head bowed down to her chest.

The petite brunette didn’t move for a few beats, but then she took a deep breath and took her hand. “I’m Macie,” she said as she lifted her gaze up, not quite meeting her eyes, but much closer than before.

“I’m happy to meet you, Macie. What do you do here?”

“I teach the little ones. So does Jamie,” she said, undoubtedly hoping to take the focus off herself.

“That’s great, and what do you teach them?” she asked the girl.