Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack (Siren Publishing Classic) (31 page)

Jeff snorted, and Tawny gave a shy smile as she sat in the chair across from her brother.

“It just seems strange that they’d keep coming after me.” Julianna glanced over at Tawny, but the other woman studied a stubborn spot on her silverware. “Tawny told me about an experience she had last night that made me think it might have been a setup.”

“Oh?” Richard looked over at his daughter. “What happened?”

Tawny swallowed nervously, but she reiterated her story to her father and brother. Julianna watched Jeff’s expression grow colder and harder with each word. Richard’s face showed nothing at all.

Julianna curled her hands into fists to keep from throwing something in her fury while she waited for the Alpha to speak.

Richard sat quietly for a few moments more before he asked, “What makes you think Ms. Solaris was speaking about you?”

“Tawny said Ms. Solaris wore perfume, the scent of apricots. It’s the same scent I smelled on the man who attacked me at the salon and last night in the bar. The scent wasn’t part of him. It was on him, like he’d come in contact with someone wearing it. And the scent is distinctive.”

“Is there anyone who can verify that?”

“I can.” Jeff raised his hand. “Ms. Solaris wore that scent on all the occasions I met with her, and I smelled it on the man in the bar last night, too. I thought it strange that a man would smell so fruity, but he’s human.” He shrugged. “I didn’t make the connection until now.”

“You said there were five men who attacked you at the salon.” Richard tapped the table with one hand. “Did any of the others smell like apricots?”

“No, just Baldy Tattoo.”

“Baldy Tattoo?” Richard raised an eyebrow.

“That’s what I called him in my head because he didn’t introduce himself.” Julianna grimaced. “He was bald and had a tribal tattoo on the back of his head that stretched from ear to ear.”

“I can verify that, too,” Jeff said. “Thomas removed the ball cap last night after he incapacitated Julianna’s attacker, and he had a shaved head and a spiky tattoo on the back.”

“Did you see any of the other men last night who attacked you at the salon?”

“No, Alpha, but I did see him with two friends, and since the Leland PD got two of the five attackers at the salon, I can only assume these other two were part of the three who got away.”

“Why were you anywhere near these men last night?”

“I took a drink order to the pool tables for a waitress who needed a break.” Julianna frowned. She recalled her unease at the time. “I thought it must have been a setup when I realized who the men were. Did anyone talk to Lucy?”

“I did.” Ice filled Jeff’s voice.

“What did she say, Jeff?” Richard asked.

“She said the man in the Raiders cap offered her a large tip to have Ms. Morris bring the drinks back to the table.”

“And she didn’t think that was weird?” Tawny asked.

“She said with everyone gawking at Julianna last night because of the rumors going around town, she thought these guys just wanted to see the source of the gossip.”

No offense to Detective Caninus, but his family is idiotic
, Julianna thought, but only said, “Great.”

“We have to do something about her, Dad.” Tawny dropped her fork.

“Who, Tawny?”

“Ms. Solaris! She can’t be allowed to get away with this. We have to, to…”

“To what, Tawny?” Julianna shook her head. “We have no proof that Ms. Solaris did anything unless Baldy Tattoo says something to implicate her. We just have a scent and a suspicious one-sided conversation.”

“But we know it was her!” Tawny threw her hands up. “I know it as much as I know anything.”

“Gut feelings are not admissible in court, Tawny,” Jeff remarked, and Tawny’s lips tightened.

Julianna drummed her fingers on the table. “We have no proof. But that might not be a bad thing.”

“What are you saying, Julianna?” Tawny looked aghast.

“Hear me out. If Ms. Solaris is the one behind the attacks, she thinks she’s gotten away with it, and it should make her overconfident. When she sees that I haven’t been ‘ruined’, there is a good chance she’ll make a mistake that’ll expose her manipulations.”

“But she should be held responsible!”

“She will be, but it’s not up to us. She has to condemn herself, and eventually she’ll get caught or try to bribe or manipulate the wrong packmember. I won’t play her game by her rules. Now that we’re aware of her involvement, we can guard against it better.” Julianna paused and turned her attention back to Richard.

“Alpha, I won’t challenge Ms. Solaris over this. I have too many other things to worry about that are more important than her antics for attention. But I wanted you to be aware of the direction of my thoughts in this matter.”

No one said anything for a few moments after Julianna’s statement. Tawny regarded her with amazed outrage, while Jeff wore his customary amused expression and Richard looked at her with calm attention.

“But, Julianna…” Tawny protested again.

“I’ll be vigilant and ready to call for help if the situation gets out of hand, but I won’t retaliate until I have proof that Ms. Solaris is behind all these events.” Julianna laid her hand flat on the table in emphasis. Anger and frustration welled up inside, but she crossed her arms over her chest to hold them back.

I really do want to be Luna.
Julianna wanted to win the competition on her own merits, not because she exposed a fellow candidate as a cheat. And she wasn’t convinced Ms. Solaris had cheated. Something about the two attacks didn’t ring true.
I swear there’s something I’m missing. And getting back at Brenda, while it might be fun, would only hurt my standing in the competition.

“It’s not right, Julianna.”

“I know it seems that way, Tawny, but please don’t do anything to Ms. Solaris on my behalf. I don’t want to be disqualified as a candidate. I’ll just have to be more vigilant and so can you. I need proof that Ms. Solaris is actually trying to undermine me or harm me.”

Tawny looked like she wanted to spit nails.

“Please, Tawny,” Julianna said gently. “Don’t dishonor me or yourself by doing anything that hurts Ms. Solaris.”

“You could always let the rest of the pack know that you’ve lost respect for Ms. Solaris, Tawny,” Jeff said into the silence. “You know how rumor spreads through this town.”

“Jeff.” A growl underlay Richard’s voice.

“What?” Jeff tried to look innocent. “I agree with both Tawny and Julianna. Julianna is my Mate, Dad. Ms. Solaris should be punished for her actions. I wish I could kick the crap out of her myself and send her back to LA. But Julianna is right, too. It would detract from her and us if we resorted to the same tactics. However, I think the pack should decide if Ms. Solaris is so deserving of her rank and status.”

“You can’t interfere, Jeff.”

“I won’t.” Jeff offered his customary half-smile. “I leave that up to Tawny’s discretion and that of her friends.”

“Please, nothing underhanded, Ms. Tawny.” Julianna begged her with a look. “I have to win this on my own, through my own positive actions.”

Tawny sighed, nodding. “All right.”

“Thank you.”

Julianna hugged herself tighter and felt Jeff shift a little in his chair until his thigh brushed hers under the table.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I think so. It’s just so messed up with everything that’s happened. I mean, I’ve had rough times, but I’ve never been a target before. It’s unsettling.”

Richard nodded and gave Jeff a look she couldn’t interpret as she reviewed her memories of the recent months. The scary events in the last few days made her wonder if life would always be this exciting once the competition was over. How did anyone live with that kind of uncertainty, day after day?

Eloise must live with it now that her sister is missing.

Crap! Nora Farkas.

“Oh!” The others jumped. “Sorry. I just remembered something important. At the salon the other night, Eloise Farkas told me that her sister Nora has been missing for four weeks without contact of any kind. Eloise didn’t want to speak to you about it. When she told me, I offered to bring it to your attention, Alpha.”

Richard’s expression settled into thoughtfulness.

“Have I breached protocol by telling you in Eloise’s place?”

“No, Ms. Morris, but I’m concerned that a packmember has been missing for so long without anyone saying anything.” Richard cocked his head, his brow creased in a frown. “Did Eloise tell you anything about her sister’s plans or if she normally does this sort of thing, disappearing for a while?”

“No, Alpha. She said she knew of nothing that could explain Nora’s disappearance. I mentioned it to Detective Caninus of the Leland PD and he suggested I tell you ASAP.”

“Exactly right.” Richard nodded. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. We’ll get on it right away, and I’ll talk to the family.”

Julianna nodded and stood. “Thank you, Alpha. Please excuse me. I need to get ready for the day.”

“What about breakfast?” Jeff gestured to the table.

“Thanks. Tawny brought me some upstairs. I’ll just finish that.”

Julianna exited the room as quickly as possible, suddenly embarrassed over her appearance. Once she’d reached the stairs, however, her mind returned to the problem of Ms. Solaris and the events at the salon and the bar. Something about them seemed off. Everything pointed to Ms. Solaris as the mastermind behind the attacks, and Julianna would bet a case of Jack Daniels whiskey that the men who attacked her had come from Los Angeles.

Without concrete evidence for anyone other than Ms. Solaris trying to cheat in the game, Julianna couldn’t point fingers or make accusations.
But I swear I’m missing something.
It felt like someone else pulled all the strings and called all the shots from behind the scenes.

Julianna frowned as she gathered up a towel and her toiletries. She had no reason to suspect anyone else in this mess, but the feeling of a hidden player just wouldn’t go away. She stopped in the middle of the room, her mind playing out the possibilities.

What if there
is
another person trying to make it look as if Ms. Solaris is trying to take me down?
Julianna’s mind projected the scenario forward.
If she engineered my failure and didn’t get caught, she’d pass the tests and have a better chance of being chosen as Luna.

That was mostly true. Cameron Winthrop still remained in the game as a viable Candidate. Julianna hadn’t heard anything about her misbehaving or acting out. Brenda Solaris would still have to contend with Cameron if Julianna failed.

In this game, everyone’s looking at me and Brenda as primary rivals. There appears to be no one else in the top rank. But who’d have the most to gain if I failed and Brenda got accused of manipulating it?

Julianna’s thoughts splintered as her bedroom door opened and Jeff stepped into the room. Arousal and heat flashed through her body, and she clamped her hands on her towel to keep from throwing herself at him. His masculine beauty lay hidden beneath a rusty red T-shirt with “Sedona” across the chest in black letters and a pair of black canvas shorts held to his waist by a black leather belt. He padded across the floor to her, his green-gold eyes alight with desire and fierce joy.

“Julianna,” he growled, lust filling his voice.

“What are you doing here, Jeff?” She backed up, fighting her own needs in the face of his intent. Thank the Goddess she still wore clothes. “You know you can’t be alone with me until I pass the tests, and you really shouldn’t be alone with me in your
father’s
house!”

“It doesn’t matter now.” She raised an eyebrow at him, and he grinned. “I’m here to offer my very special,
personal
, congratulations on passing all seven tests.”

“Wait, I passed? Why wasn’t I told?”

“I’m telling you now,” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her cheek near her ear. “You’ve passed all the tests, and now you’ll be my Luna.” His lips teased her arousal, scorching her from the inside out. Each kiss elicited a sigh, and her knees tried to melt out from under her.

“Doesn’t some sort of announcement or ceremony have to happen so the pack is aware of my success?”

Jeff’s kisses drugged her mercilessly, but Julianna held on to her wits. She refused to screw everything up now that she’d come so close to winning the man of her dreams. Julianna squeaked and tried to gather her lost thoughts when he bit her earlobe. What had she been asking about again? Oh, yes, official ceremony.

“Yes, there is.” Jeff lifted her shirt and filled his warm hands with her breasts. “It’ll happen in two days here at the house. The whole Pack will be here to see it.”

“Oh, Goddess, Jeff.” Julianna moaned as he massaged her breasts with his hands. He ducked his head to lick her skin while she chased her thoughts. “But isn’t that a Friday night? Won’t the loss of revenue—”

“The bar can handle a little revenue loss.”

“Jeff, don’t we have to stop? The others will know when we’re standing up in front of them that we’ve done this.” She gasped as he pulled one nipple into his mouth and suckled gently. “Oh my God, that feels good!”