Sharon's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 10) (3 page)

“On a scale of walk-away-and-pretend-we-saw-nothing and mow-down-these-idiots-with-machine-guns?” Wyatt finally broke his serious look to chuckle.

“Something like that,” Isaiah responded.

Wyatt’s shoulders slumped. “Probably somewhere in the middle.” He turned to face Isaiah. “This is our land too. We live here. I hate to see it destroyed because of a group of money-hungry assholes. Besides, the damage could be far reaching. We can’t be sure what the repercussions will be.”

“The tremors are increasing by the day, in strength and duration. We have to assume the land along this fault line is going to rebel.” It didn’t take a seismometer to tell him that. Why were these people permitted to continue upsetting the Earth’s crust without interruption?

“Larger earthquake?” Isaiah asked.

Wyatt shook his head. “I don’t get that vibe.”

“What else is there?” Isaiah regretted asking the question as soon as it left his lips. There were indeed other phenomena that could accompany a shift in the tectonic plates under these mountains. He shuddered, offering a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening.

Cooper Hamilton grabbed his cell as it rang for the fourth time in less than ten minutes.

He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Laurie.

Of course. Who else would be annoying the hell out of him while he scrambled to wrap thing up in his office and get out of town?

The earthquake centered just north of Cambridge, Montana, had been a five point two. Several smaller tremors had been felt since then. Within minutes of the first quake, Cooper’s boss leaned into his office and pointed at him. “You. Cambridge. Now. Don’t stop for anything but gas. I’ll send the rest of the team behind you.”

Cooper had been stuffing things into his laptop bag and shutting down his desktop ever since then. He surveyed his desk as he answered the call from Laurie, hoping he hadn’t forgotten anything. “Hey. On my way there.”

“Good. I was wondering.”

“Everyone okay?” he asked as he dashed from his office and jogged toward his car.

“Yes. Well, except Sharon. She was injured during the quake, but everyone else is fine.”

Cooper’s breath caught in his throat.

Sharon. The woman he’d known for two years was destined to be his mate. The woman he’d avoided all that time because he wasn’t ready and hated that Fate arranged things to Her liking with no input from him. “Is she okay?”

“Yes. Her leg got sliced by the hoe she was using. Large, deep cut. But she’s shifted now. She’ll heal.”

He blew out a breath as he unlocked his car, yanked open the back door, and stuffed his computer bag inside. He tucked the phone between his chin and shoulder as he slammed the back door and opened the driver’s. “Hang on a second, Laurie. Let me get the Bluetooth going.” He swung into his seat, dropped his phone on the console, and started the engine while shutting the door.

Seconds later, as he pulled out of his spot, the Bluetooth kicked in and he could hear Laurie’s baby gurgling in the background. “I’m back.”

“Okay. Listen. I need to tell you something.”

“Yeah?”

“Sharon met her mate.”

Silence filled the car, not because there were no noises, but because Cooper’s ears started ringing, blocking out everything. His grip stiffened on the steering wheel as he tried to focus. Left or right?

He knew the way to Cambridge easily. But a freight train had derailed and slammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. “Mated?”

“No. Not yet. But she met him. He’s human. He’s a logging inspector in the area. And an accountant, I think. Something like that,” she rambled.

Cooper couldn’t think of anything to say.

“I know you’re shocked.”

To say the least
.

Years of putting her off. Months of dodging the draw to head back to Montana and give in to Fate. He’d even moved to Spokane to get farther away from his destiny.

And all for nothing. She wasn’t even meant to be his after all.

“We’re all shocked,” Laurie continued. “We were certain it would be you.”

“You’re sure?” Why did he feel deflated instead of elated? He should be glad. Ecstatic. Doing a happy dance.

Sharon Masters. The last of the Masters siblings and only daughter. Mated. Not his after all.

He shook his head to clear his mind and pulled onto the highway. “Wow.” It was the only word he could think of. “How…”

“I was there when they met. Friday night. There’s no doubt.”

Still stunned, his shoulders slumped. He felt as though someone had just married his high school sweetheart, a woman he’d pined after for years without having the guts to face.

In reality, he’d never met Sharon. They’d never been sweethearts, or anything else for that matter. He’d never even spoken to her.

He’d simply known.

They’d all known.

Every one of his siblings was mated to one of the Masters brothers. They each also had another mate, rounding the groups out to sets of two men and one woman. But that wasn’t Sharon’s destiny. As a female, she would only mate with one person. And apparently it wasn’t Cooper.

“You okay?” Laurie asked, her voice gentle.

Cooper nodded before it occurred to him she couldn’t see him. “Yep.” The single word sounded terse, and he grimaced.

Adam Masters, the father of the brood, had a brother in Oregon who also had five kids. All four of the men mated in threes. The only daughter in that family mated one man.

When Cooper’s oldest half-siblings met and mated into the Masters clan, they’d started an interesting development, making it increasingly obvious that Fate intended to unite the families. There had been no doubt.

Until now.

Until this.

Until Cooper felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and run over by a truck.

Shit.

“Gotta go, Laurie. Concentrating on driving. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay. Be careful.” She ended the call.

He slapped the steering wheel, hating the sensation battering him. It was going to be a long drive. And he had a lot of work to do. As a seismologist, he would need to set up a station and track the activity in the area. His office had been monitoring the situation in Montana for almost three years, since the quake that shook the area when his oldest brother Miles had met his mates.

The shit was about to hit the fan. The research Cooper had been doing indicated a tremendous unrest in the mountains of Montana. He didn’t for a moment believe that little five point two was the end of it.

Nope. He needed to shake out of his self-inflicted pity party and drive. It was his own fault for not facing Sharon before now.

Was it possible Fate had intended for him to mate with her, and he’d simply been too pigheaded to face his destiny? They said it could happen, altering the paths of everyone irrevocably.

There was nothing he could do now except let it go and move forward.

And bury himself in his work.

Jackson was staring at his computer screen, seeing nothing, when a knock sounded at his open office door. He lifted his gaze and nearly jumped out of his skin.

After days of distraction during which he found himself even more consumed with thoughts of Sharon than ever before, there she stood in his doorway, a sweet smile on her face. She leaned on crutches, the bottom half of her leg wrapped in a tight bandage.

Jackson jumped to his feet and rounded the desk. “Sharon.”

“Hope I’m not bothering you. I just wanted to come by and thank you again.”

“No. No. Of course not. Come in.” He set his hand on her bicep but realized he was in her way and stepped back to let her pass, pulling out the chair his clients used when they visited. “Sit.”

She transferred one crutch to the other hand and hobbled around in a half circle until she could lower herself into the chair.

Jackson took the crutches from her and leaned them against the wall. “How’s your leg?”

“It’s great. Clean cut. Shouldn’t even leave a scar.”

“Really?” That seemed outrageous considering the amount of blood he saw. Instead of rounding the desk to resume his seat, he perched on the edge of the mahogany surface, his knees only inches from hers.

She shrugged. “It wasn’t as deep as it seemed. Should be good as new in a few more days. I guess my queasiness had more to do with shock than actual blood loss.”

He nodded, unable to imagine how the wound he’d seen could possibly heal that well that fast. Of course he hadn’t ever actually seen the cut. But he had seen the blood.

“Well, you look much better today. You were so white.” She looked amazing. With the exception of last Friday night, he’d never seen her hair down. When she worked at the ski lodge, she wore a ponytail. When he found her on the side of the road, she’d been a mess, her hair all over the place.

Today she took his breath away. Her long thick waves hung down her back as if she’d just left the salon. She wore the perfect amount of makeup. And she had on a cute dress that hit above her knees, probably making it easier to accommodate the bandage that wound around her leg from her ankle to her knee.

He took in her strappy sandals and then let his gaze wander up her muscular legs and higher. The light-blue dress was fitted across her chest, leaving very little to the imagination when he paused at her breasts. He jerked his gaze the rest of the way to her face, licking his lips.

It suddenly seemed too hot in the room, and he was rethinking his idea of sitting on the desk where it was nearly impossible to hide his growing erection. He was so close to her he could smell the floral scent of her shampoo.

How many words had he exchanged with her now? A few dozen? He needed a head exam if this was how he reacted to women he barely knew.

“I was wondering if maybe you’d like to come over for dinner one night. I make a mean lasagna when I put my mind to it.” She opened her mouth to say more and then hesitated. “I mean, as a way of thanking you for rescuing me, of course.”

He scrunched his forehead tighter, realizing he was frowning. No wonder she backtracked.

With her head tipped back to look up at him, her neck elongated. He wanted to nibble a path up that expanse of tan skin until he reached her ear. Would she shudder when his lips wrapped around the tiny lobe?

Get a grip, Wolf
.

“That would be nice.” His voice came out sounding too high pitched. He swallowed around the knot in his throat and continued. “But you don’t have to go to all that trouble. You can hardly stand on your own. How about if I take you out instead?”

She shook her head.

Dammit
. Did he push too hard? Maybe she really did simply want to thank him. But he refused to believe a woman would go to all the trouble to make herself up, put on a sexy dress and makeup, and drive forty minutes to a man’s office with one good leg just to say thank you.

She waved a hand in front of her in dismissal. “It’s no trouble. I like to cook. I’m not as good as my mom, but my brothers have never complained.”

Oh.

Oh
.

She wasn’t turning him down. She was redirecting. She wanted him to come to her place.
Okay, then
.

He smiled. “Fine. I’ll bring wine.”

“Excellent.” She beamed. “Are you free tomorrow night?”

Tomorrow was Friday, one week since he’d seen her at her brother Logan’s house and known he was doomed. He’d told Jazmine he wasn’t about to go out with her, and he’d meant it. And then the little imp had needed rescue and all bets were off. “Tomorrow’s perfect.”

She pulled herself to standing again. “I’ll let you get back to work. I didn’t mean to disrupt your day, but I didn’t have your number.”

“Oh, right.” He snapped. “Let me give it to you.”

She reached inside the purse hanging over her shoulder and pulled out her phone. After tapping the screen in several places, she handed it to him.

His fingers shook as he input his number, hoping he got it right. His brain was scrambled. His number could be anything at this point.

She smiled sweetly again when he handed it back. “I’ll text you the address.”

“I’ll be there. Seven?”

“Sounds good.” She nodded across the room.

When he jerked his gaze from her to the wall, he remembered her crutches and pushed off the desk. “Shit. Sorry.” He grabbed them, separated them, and lined them up with her hands as she hopped in a half circle to face the door.

His hands brushed hers as he passed off the crutches, taking his breath away as though she shocked him. What the hell was up with him? No woman had ever gotten under his skin like this before. He was liable to make a complete jackass out of himself tomorrow night if he didn’t get his head on straight.

As it was, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep between now and then. He hadn’t slept much at all in the past week in fact. Tonight would be hell.

Sharon set the ends of the crutches down in front of her and hopped forward. She twisted her torso around at the door to face him. “See you tomorrow, then.”

He nodded. “Yep.”
So smooth, Wolf. So smooth
.

As she made her way down the hall away from his office, he stepped into the corridor to watch her. He didn’t even blink as he focused on the sway of her sweet ass, the swish of her skirt, and the way her hair bounced with every hop.

By the time she was out of sight in the elevator, he was sweating. He stepped back into his office and lowered himself into the chair she’d vacated, unsure he could make it around to his side of the desk. The seat was still warm from her thighs. He leaned his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands.

Yeah. He was in so much trouble.

Cooper yanked his head up from where he leaned over his computer when Laurie stepped into his office. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself. I thought you were going to stay with us at the house while you were here.”

“I am.” He flinched. “I mean I was, but…”

She glanced around the disaster zone that was his temporary office space in the Shepley building at the junior college. The school had gladly offered to house his team in exchange for Cooper allowing some of the students to observe and learn from the experience.