Lone Wolf Rising (Paranormal Romantic Thriller) (The Winters Series) (32 page)

"That about sums it up."  He agreed sadly.  "I’ve already told them they’ll have to go through me if there are any challenges for the alpha power and no one has stepped up to the challenge.  But if someone does and they do beat me...”  He stopped mid thought and sighed.  His eyes showed the weight of the world in them.  “You need to be ready to defend yourself, just in case." 

The idea of losing him struck a chord deep in her soul.  It was like there was some invisible link that connected them.  It unnerved her, made her feel vulnerable
, and she didn’t like it.  She refused to believe anything bad could happen to him. 

‘
I won’t let anything bad happen to him
.’  The wolf smiled into her mind. 

‘
Like you can do much
!’  Rebecca snapped.  "I guess that’s why training with Lucky is so important."  Rebecca nodded her head.  "Why are
you
doing this?"

"You know why."
  His green eyes locked on hers.  Electricity filled the air between them and she found her heart skipping a beat.

"Because you believe we
’re mates?"  Rebecca shook her head.  "What you ask, that level of commitment is too much."

"Perhaps it is now, but someday
, I believe you’ll realize what a wonderful gift it is.  Someday you’ll want to mate with me and when you do I’ll be here waiting."  He didn’t give her a chance to answer him.  He flipped open his phone and dialed a number.  "Hey, begin setting up the interviews for Thursday."

"Any particular order?"
  The female voice on the other end asked.

"No, schedule them back to back, thirty minute intervals at the
South Mountain compound."  He answered her with more directions.

"Got it.  T
ell her thank you."  The voice sounded relieved.

"You already did."
  He smiled and hung up the phone. 

"
South Mountain compound?"  Rebecca asked curious, she knew about the one in Tucson, but not any others.

His grin spread from his lips to his eyes, brightening his face just a little.
  "Would you like to see it?"

"Sure."
  She shrugged while she placed her notebook and pen in her backpack.  He jumped from his seat across the table and took her hand. 

"Come with me, milady."
  When Rebecca didn’t pull her hand away he took that as invitation and laced his fingers with hers for the short distance between the table and his motorcycle.  He hopped on and waited for her to join him.  She bit her lower lip, after the ride with Lucky she knew how intimate riding on a motorcycle was, especially with someone she found attractive.  He handed Rebecca a helmet and said, "If you like we can run, but it’s quite a hike from here.  The bike will get us there much faster."

Rebecca contemplated her options for a few more moments.
  Deep down she knew she was being ridiculous, but she wasn’t sure if she could control herself with him.  It was logic that swayed her.  She put on the helmet and climbed on the bike.  Her body responded as she wrapped her legs around his body and circled her hands around his waist.  His scent, pine and peppermint, wrapped around her and mixed with her own
.
  

When she
was situat
ed he started the bike and they were off.  Riding on a mountain trail was far different than riding through city
s
treets.  Every jump or turn promised more danger and with more danger came more attraction.  It’s true what people say about dangerous situations creating
bond
s and attraction.  As they wound through
the 
rocky terrain she
realize
d spending time with Gabriel was just
as 
dangerous as time with Lucky.  Why couldn't she simply choose
o
ne of them and let the other go?  It wasn’t fair to them or her.  

The wolf decided to tak
e full advantage of their closeness and curled tighter against him, leaning her head
a
gainst his shoulder and breathing in his masculinity.  Rebecca chided the wolf silently, but also took advantage of the moment; enjoying the tingling sensation that touching him sent through her. 

Two very different men, best friends, and she was, unconsciously, doing everything in her power to mess things up between all three of them.
  This wolf and human duality was much more difficult to control than she ever imagined. 

They continued to bike over the hilly rock
-filled terrain as Rebecca tried to relax against Gabe’s back.  There was something comforting about his presence.  She was sure it had more to do with the pack connection than his proclamation.  In a few minutes, they were pulling up to a large home built right into the side of the mountain.  Gabriel stopped the bike and waited for Rebecca to get off before killing the engine.  She tossed him the helmet after he situated the bike.  While he was busy she decided to take a look around.  The home was built into the mountainside; half of the roof was rocks and plant life.  There was a stable on the far left completely stocked with horses and a large building that stood solid between the two structures which she assumed was the garage. 

"So what do you think?"
  His smooth voice brushed against her neck as he came up behind her. 

"I think it’s huge."
  Her voice was a little awestruck. 

He grinned and slipped his fingers into her hand as he led her up the drive.
  "Tomas called this the South Compound, but you can give it a different name if you like."  He let go of her hand long enough to pick up the ‘hide-a-key rock’ and open the large wooden doors to the house.  "The South Compound has room for ten people in the main house as well as a fully stocked hospital in the basement.  The five guest houses on the ten acre property can house two families each.  The stables you noticed when we came in and the garage houses about ten vehicles and an armory, fully stocked if I know Tomas."  He turned on the lights and waited for Rebecca to catch up. 

The floors were solid wood.
  The walls, wood and stone, and gave the impression of a rustic hunting lodge.  There was no use for the large fireplace that took up about half of one wall, but it looked fantastic.  He walked Rebecca through the main house, bedrooms upstairs, large restaurant-style kitchen, and the dinning room.  The master suites were the only bedrooms on the bottom floor, and they were connected to a rather large library stocked with hundreds of books, and an office which she assumed Tomas used when he was here on visits.  "This will be the best
p
lace
f
or your
interviews Thursday, if you like it."

"Great idea.  It’s
perfect."  Rebecca smiled.  “So this is mine?”

Gabriel nodded. 
“All the properties in Arizona, eighteen last I counted, are yours.  They are automatically willed to the new alpha in case something happens.”  He led her into the library and made a beeline to the bar.  "Would you like a drink?"  He asked as he poured himself a scotch on ice.  Nothing about this house revealed that the master was killed.  It was as though Tomas would be coming home in a few hours.

"A water would be great.  I don’t drink and you shouldn’t either.  We aren’t old enough."
  Rebecca ran her fingers over the large mahogany desk.  The smooth wood had elegant lines and her chewed fingernails
look
ed suspiciously out of place in this entire house.  "I never expected something
li
ke this."  She sat down behind the desk and took the water while he sat
down 
across from her, swirling the amber colored
li
quid as
he star
ed
acr
oss the room at a leather sofa.

"I used to
study 
on that sofa
w
hile Tomas held
business 
meetings
here
."  Sad
ness touched his eyes and disappeared
a
fter he took a drin
k.  “He hoped I would be his successor.”

“Do you resent me for that?”  She didn’t know why she asked, but knew she needed to know.

“What?  No.”  He shook his head sadly.  “No.  Not at all.  If I had, I would’ve challenged you at council.”  He leaned forward and locked her eyes to his.  “My father abused his power.  I believe you’ll bring in a new dynamic that will help us be stronger than we ever were before.”

Her throat went dry.  “You have a lot of faith in me.”

He shrugged.  “I have a unique perspective.  As your mate, I can sense things about you others can’t.  Once you delve past the loss and sadness that you carry deep down, you’re a good person.”  He took another drink and leaned back in the leather chair.

“Well, I could use some of that confidence.  Eve
rything is so new, challenging…a little scary.”  The wolf didn’t yell at her for sharing her feelings.  Instead, she simply played the passive listener and flooded Rebecca’s system with compassion.

“You don’t want to share those feelings with other wolves.”  Gabriel stated sternly.  “Unless you want to see me fight them off to protect you.”

“No, I won’t.  I just feel like I can trust you.”  It was a realization she didn’t see coming, but the moment the words were out she knew them to be true.  “I didn’t like you at first.”  She hurried on when she noticed the look of desire grow dark in his eyes.  “But you’re growing on me.”  The heat in her cheeks forced her to lower her head for a moment.  She felt so unbelievably shy.

“These confessions are going to drive me mad,
babe.”  He growled deeply as he swallowed the rest of the amber liquid in his glass.  “You’re making it difficult not to take you in my arms and… well you get the picture.”  He jumped out of his seat and poured himself another drink.       
 

Rebecca immediately changed the subject
.  "This must be hard, visiting this place.”  She took note at how his shoulders tensed.  She could feel the waves of pain coming off of him, even with his back to her.  She could only imagine how his eyes looked.  “I can't promise you that you’ll get over his death, but it does get easier." 

He turned, pain replaced desire on his face.  "Has it gotten easier for you
, Becca?"  His green eyes locked on hers, pleading with her to give him good news.

"It will be when I find their killers and have my vengeance."
  She told him honestly.

"Do you really think that will give you the closure you need?"  Doubt
was written across his features.

She shrugged her shoulders and took a drink of the water.
  "I don't know.  I hope so.  And I hope you’ll feel better when we avenge our fallen wolf friends as well."

He took another drink swirling the liquid around the crystal glass.
  "The question is how that vengeance will change us."

"What do you mean?"
  She pressed her lips together frowning, trying to understand what he was getting at.

"I mean, once we know who killed them, what do we do with that information?"

"Make them pay for the pain they caused us."  It was a simple answer that left so many questions. 
What would we do
?  She’d never gotten past the idea of discovering who did it.  She’d never thought how she’d make them pay for destroying her family, for trying to kill off her entire pack.  "I don't know how; but I figure I’ll decide when we get to that point."

"It might be
som
ething you want to think about
before
hand.  You may not be thinking clea
rly when we are in the moment."  He warned as he washed out his glass.  "
Thank
you for the drink."  Rebecca simply nodded, without even looking at him.  

"Want to go for a ride
 and check out the rest of your land?
  I can saddle up two horses
."  
He offered.

She glanced out the window and said.
  "Okay."  When she turned around to look at him; he was
already 
gone, leaving her alone in the large room that was far more than she
would’
ve ever needed. 
'How many more surprises await me as the new alpha?
'  She wondered as she made her way to the main entryway.

‘
You need to start thinking of yourself as a leader.  You’ll never be alone again.  You’ll always have people who’ll count on you to make the right decisions - to protect them.  The land and housing that you inherited aren’t just for you, but for everyone you’re now responsible for
.’

The wolf was right.  Like it or not she had responsibilities.
 

"Who are you?"
  A young girl's voice echoed behind Rebecca.  She turned and saw a girl and boy. They both looked about seven or eight.  Their hair was matted and dirty, their faces covered in dried dirt and blood.  The girl was sucking on her thumb while holding a rag doll that looked worse then they did, if that was possible, dangling from her free hand.  The boy stood with his arms crossing his chest, trying to look strong, but fear registered behind his eyes.