Matt: Tales of the Were (Redstone Clan Book 5) (8 page)

What he hadn’t prepared for all that well was the surly attitude of the group as they arrived en masse in an old, beat up van that smelled of French fries and Mexican food. The thing reeked of the grease they used to fuel it, and Matt had to find a place to stand upwind of the monstrosity.

Morgan parked right behind the eco van and greeted Matt frostily as he did his best not to gag on the smell of the eco guys’ bio-fuel. He handed out the prepared materials and tried to learn everyone’s names, but the odor of the fuel was clogging his sensitive nose and making him want to sneeze. Badly. He had to get them on the trail, and that’s what he did, right away, deciding to do his presentation as they walked, rather than talk and then walk.

Slight change of plans, but he was good about rolling with the punches. He led the group out, ignoring, for the moment, their antagonistic attitude. With time, and some well-placed information, he hoped to change their attitudes. He put his best foot forward and began to speak about the land and their plans for it while Morgan brought up the rear of the small group, saying nothing.

When they arrived at the pond, Matt invited everyone to sit on a log he had pre-positioned and staged to look as if it had been there for years. The eco guys seemed to buy it, a couple of the females remarking on the ducks and one adventurous soul examining the various mushrooms that liked to grow in the area.

Matt decided to stop here. What better spot? It was free of the French fry smell of their biodiesel, and the flora and fauna were already doing their best to enchant the newcomers into a better mood.

He began talking about the project and did his best to paint a picture with his words. He noted Morgan’s every move, but he did his best to concentrate on the human audience, impressing upon them how much he loved the land and how little he wanted to change what nature had done here so beautifully.

“We’re going to put in marked trails of varying skill levels and a waste bin at the trailhead, which will be checked daily, but other than that…” he said as he was wrapping up his discussion of the nature preserve, “…we’ll leave Mother Nature to do what she does best.”

“What about security?” the leader of the group asked. His name was Daryl, and he was the owner of the French fry mobile. “Since this is private land, have you given any thought to private park rangers or some kind of ready assistance if a hiker gets in trouble?”

“Actually, we have. Several of the families that will be moving into the housing development are naturalists. There’s one man, in particular, who is a retired Yellowstone Park Ranger.”

Matt knew exactly which of the wolves would be moving to Napa to form the nucleus of a small Pack along with Jenny and her family. Mostly, the spots were going to retirees and women like Jenny who wanted to work, just not in construction.

“His name is William O’Donnel, and you have his bio in the materials I’ve provided. He’s already agreed to set up a private patrol based on his years with the National Parks Service. He’ll be working directly for the Maxwell Preserve Trust that has been set up to fund this preserve, with the stated goal of adding to these lands, if possible, over the next several decades. As adjacent lands come up for sale, the Trust aims to bid on them, trying to expand the natural area as much as we can.”

Matt saw nods from the eco warriors, and he knew they hadn’t expected that particular feature. Score one for Morgan. It had been her idea to set up the Preserve Trust and give it a mission of buying up the land in the area. Atticus had approved the idea, loving the thought of creating an even larger buffer between his lands and his neighbors.

Atticus’s vineyard was on the edge of the valley. The housing development was a short distance away, in the rocky areas that were no good for growing grapes. If they had their way, the nature preserve was going to work its way up the hills behind the vineyard as much as possible over the next decades. Before too much longer, the vampire vintner would own as much land as he could possibly buy up—all very legitimately—turning it into a nature preserve and ensuring his privacy.

Morgan had worked it all out so that he actually gained tax breaks by donating the money to the trust as a charitable contribution. She was clever, was Morgan.

“This is all great, and we like the idea of the preserve, but our main problem has been, and continues to be, the old gold mine.” Daryl got to the crux of the group’s objections. “We’re concerned that, if you stir up the land nearby, all the old tailings will cause problems downstream.”

Matt was ready for this question. “If you’ll look at the revised plans filed and approved a few days ago with the county, you’ll see that the gold mine is going to be sealed off. Absolutely nothing of the old mine will be used in the new construction. The most we’re going to do is stabilize the area by sealing the mine entrance permanently. In fact, our guys have already started. We can hike up there next and take a look at their progress, if you want.” The eco group seemed surprised by the news, and most of them looked pleased.

The spokesman looked skeptical. “I’d say we should definitely go up there. I want to see for myself what kind of methods you’re employing.”

Matt expected that and had his crews working on the main entrance to the mine, which would be closed permanently. The secret plans had nothing to do with the very obvious main entrance, and never had. There were other shafts. Other entrances that could be created much closer to the housing development, in much greater secrecy.

He also wanted to give the eco guys one more aspect to think about. “There will be children living in the new housing. Babies and youngsters. We don’t want any of them wandering into an unsafe situation. Nor do we want to stir up any toxins that might be in the area. We plan to do even more environmental testing than the results already in your handouts. And, if any new problems are discovered, a full cleanup will be done in accordance with California and EPA law, so that the land is returned to its natural, safe state. Testing will occur on an ongoing basis, and any new situations will be remediated before any construction will proceed or anyone will be allowed to move in. Redstone takes this stuff very seriously. I know you may not be familiar with our company, since we haven’t done too many public projects around here recently, but we have the highest rankings in safety and environmental responsibility. We pride ourselves on that, and on our respect for Mother Earth.”

Well, that was no fib. The Redstones followed the Goddess. Some people called her Mother Earth, but Matt believed it didn’t matter what you called Her, as long as you did right by Her.

“Shall we hike up to the old mine entrance, now?” Matt stood and the others followed suit.

Again, he led the small party up through the woods, pointing out markers he’d laid out earlier for what would be one of the lightly groomed hiking trails. Before too much longer, they arrived at the site where one of his work crews had already set up. Matt gave the group a quick safety briefing for being on an active construction site then kitted them out with plastic orange vests and hard hats before allowing them closer to inspect the methods and work progress that had already been made.

This particular crew was run by an Alpha female werewolf named Philomena. Matt asked her to say a few words and describe the methods the crew had been employing. She seemed to impress the male members of the human group, just as Matt had hoped. Philomena’s natural leadership and command presence was tempered by her sultry looks and soft-spoken demeanor. Her dominance was clear. She didn’t have to shout to get her point across. Matt had always liked that about her, and it seemed the humans were even more enchanted with the tall brunette.

Matt stayed back and let Philomena do her thing, hoping he’d finally get a chance to talk with Morgan. She’d done her best to steer clear of him so far, hanging in the rear of the group and avoiding eye contact, but he wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity when she could so easily evade him again, once this dog and pony show was over.

CHAPTER FIVE

Morgan had to admit, Matt was a good speaker. He had the situation well in hand, and though the meeting had started out with more than a bit of animosity on the part of the eco group, Matt now had them eating out of his hands. Having the female wolf lead the tour of the construction site had been a stroke of genius. Most of the human males were watching the sexy wolf woman with something close to worship in their eyes, and even the human females in the group responded to her natural authority. The human women wanted to be her, while the human men, no doubt, wanted to
do
her.

Morgan had to stifle a little snicker as she made the joke in her head. She also had to revise some of her thoughts about werewolves and how women were treated in the Pack structure. Before seeing Philomena in action, Morgan had had no idea there were female wolves working in such powerful roles.

Maybe it was something unique to wolves? Or maybe Matt hadn’t been exaggerating when he described the way things worked in the Redstone Clan. She wasn’t sure, but she was definitely intrigued by this female Alpha wolf. Morgan would try to find time to speak with Philomena, if at all possible. Such a strong female would tell Morgan the truth about how things really were in the shifter world, she was certain.

“At last, we’re alone,” Matt’s voice came from behind. The bastard had snuck up on her when she was busy thinking and observing Philomena in action. Dammit.

She began walking, striking out after the tour group. “Don’t think so.”

“Morgan…” He followed after her, hustling to keep up with her brisk strides. “Look, I know you’re upset with me, but can’t we at least talk about it?”

She rounded on him. “There’s nothing to talk about.” She was going to do her best to brazen it out. She did
not
want to get into an emotional conversation out here in the middle of a work site with dozens of sharp werewolf ears listening in.

“I think there is,” he argued. “Morgan, we need to work together, and it’s damn hard to do that if you won’t talk to me.”

“I’m talking to you. I set up this damn meeting. I’ve been working with you. Don’t you pull that crap on me. What I don’t have to do is be your best friend. They don’t pay me enough for that.” She sounded like a shrew, but she couldn’t help herself. Jealousy had been eating her alive for the past few days, and it made her temper flare into places best left alone.

A wolf snickered nearby, and she realized the damn construction crew really was listening in on them. Well, so be it. At least they weren’t snickering at her. That one had been aimed directly at Matt because of what she’d said about him.

In one way, she felt bad about treating him like this in public, but in another, he was getting only what he deserved. The horny bastard.

But he turned the tables on her. He stepped closer and snaked one arm around her waist, pulling her against his body. Her breath left in a whoosh as surprise turned to something a lot hotter…and a lot less controllable. Damn the man.

“I don’t want to just be your friend, Morgan. I want something much more important from you.” His lips came closer, and she was powerless in his hold. It was as if her brain went on a little vacation while her body just gave in to what it really wanted. This man. Holding her. Doing things to her…

Dammit!

“Sorry to interrupt,” came a tentative voice from off to one side.

Matt let her go and turned on a dime to face the newcomer. Had a human really just snuck up on two
were
cats without either one of them noticing? Wow.

That only went to prove how dangerous this man was to her equilibrium. Matt was not a calming influence. Not like Marc and his Brotherhood cohorts.

Morgan turned to see one of the eco women standing about six feet away, shuffling from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. A low growl came from deep in Matt’s chest. Hopefully, it was too low for human hearing. Morgan tapped Matt on the shoulder, edging him aside so she could meet the human girl’s eyes.

“No problem,” Morgan said brightly, pushing through her embarrassment at being caught in a compromising situation. Truthfully, she was thankful to the human woman for putting a stop to something that could have easily gone a little too far. Morgan had been
that
close to succumbing to Matt’s nearness. In truth, she’d been ready to pounce on the man and kiss him, if he didn’t do it first. “What can I do for you?” she asked her unlikely human savior.

The woman stepped closer as Morgan approached. She noted Matt, close behind and to one side, ready to defend Morgan if the human proved dangerous in some way. Overprotective shifter males were something Morgan expected, but Matt was at least allowing her to meet the girl halfway, even if he was still on guard. She’d give him a point for that, at least.

“I didn’t want to say this in front of the others, but there are some really bad vibes coming out of the mine,” the woman said in a rush. “I know you probably think I’m crazy, but I’m kind of sensitive to bad juju, and this place has it in spades.” The human paused, cringing a little as she looked into Morgan’s eyes, probably hoping Morgan wouldn’t laugh at her.

“I’m listening,” Morgan said with calm authority to which the human responded. Relief crossed the woman’s almost elfin-looking face. The woman had red hair and freckles. She was probably of Irish descent, if Morgan was any judge. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Rosalie,” the human answered, stepping forward to offer her hand for a quick shake. Morgan took it and felt a little jolt of…something…from the woman. Rosalie’s blue eyes widened, and then, a smile spread over her face.

“Oh. I get it now. You’re one of the forest spirits. You
will
take care of this land,” she whispered, then nodded slightly to herself. She shook her head as she let go of Morgan’s hand, and then, she frowned. “You need to know that there are people up here—underground. Bad people. Doing bad things. The mine is being defiled, and the earth is crying out for help. I can hear it rumble. And, if these people aren’t stopped, the earth will rise.”