Mark of the Wolf; Hell's Breed (29 page)

What in the world would bring five
such dominant males together?

She dismissed the possibility that she
figured into the equation just as she’d immediately dismissed the
suspicion that either Con or Jared were actually flirting with her
in reality. More likely, given the way they looked, they were just
used to toying with whatever female came within their
sphere.

“
No, they’re not,” Danika
lied, hoping to diffuse the situation.

Some of the tension eased from Balin.
Amusement and something else she couldn’t quite grasp flickered
through his hazel eyes. “No?”

She offered him a weak smile. “I know
they’re just being playful.”

Dakota snorted, the sound a mixture of
repressed amusement and mild annoyance.

“
Con’s right. You are
clueless, sweet thing,” he muttered in a rumbling growl of a
voice.

She made the mistake of whirling to
look at him when he spoke and discovered he’d shifted a lot closer
than she’d realized. He was close enough she could see his eyes
were dilated until she could barely discern the difference between
the pupils and the thin, golden brown ring around the outer
edge.

Her body, mindless thing that it was,
still keyed more to animal instinct than sentient being, reacted
with another wave of warmth at the blatant sexual interest in his
eyes.

They must have been on the road a long
time, she thought dimly, to have any interest in her.

Fortunately, the waitress arrived with
their food, effectively distracting the men from her and each
other.

“
So … you’re not passing
through and you haven’t been here long,” Balin said almost
conversationally as they focused on their food. “Now I’m wondering
what could’ve brought you to this little out of the way hick
town.”

Danika flicked an uncomfortable glance
around to see if any of the local ‘hicks’ had taken exception to
the comment. It didn’t help her feelings when she noticed a number
of people at the surrounding tables seemed to have their ears
pricked to listen to the conversation.

She wasn’t certain why she got that
impression. They seemed to be focused on their food and/ or their
dining companions, but the impression resisted her efforts to
dispel it with reason. “Work,” she said finally.

His black brows rose questioningly.
When she ignored the silent command to continue, he pursued it.
“What kind of work?”

“
Oh, you wouldn’t be
interested,” Danika said dismissively, not because she was
concerned about telling him beyond a reluctance to get acquainted
with an obvious gang member but because she doubted he was
interested or would be intrigued if she did tell him.

“
Try me.”

She glanced at him in surprise and
then looked around at the others at the table, discovering she had
their full attention. Finally, she shrugged. “Wildlife management
brought me down … or rather up, I guess since this is north of
where I live … because they seem to be having trouble with wolves
and I’m the closest they could get to an expert in that field on
such short notice.”

Something flickered in their eyes, but
it wasn’t surprise.

Why weren’t they surprised, she
wondered?

Maybe they didn’t know wolves weren’t
natural to the area, but surely they still should’ve been surprised
at her vocation?

Jared, who’d leaned around Balin,
studied her speculatively, then flicked an enigmatic look at the
others. “I suppose from that,” he drawled after a moment, “that
you’re supposed to observe and report back on whether to send
trappers or hunters.”

Surprise flickered through her.
“Actually, that’s pretty much it. They weren’t convinced there were
wolves. This is a rogue pack—not native to the area and they’ve
never had a problem with wolves. Their behavior is pretty peculiar
for wolves to say the least.” She shrugged. “Not that I’m really an
expert. I was doing a study on wolves in captivity in the Atlanta
zoo. I haven’t actually studied them in the wild before … other
animals, but not wolves,” she added quickly before they could get
the impression that she didn’t have any idea of what she was
doing.

She could only describe the
expressions on their faces as grim, which both surprised and
disappointed her—the grimness. Bored, wouldn’t have surprised her.
People had a way of looking like they were searching for a polite
way to scrape her lose the minute she got warmed up about her
studies in wildlife.

“
What were you doing the
study for in Atlanta?” Dakota asked after an uncomfortable silence
had descended at the table.

“
Mating,” she said before
she thought better of it. “They’re concerned—the zoo—that the
wolves don’t have much interest in it.”