Wolver's Rescue (32 page)

He lifted her chin and his kiss was so sweet
it almost made her cry. “What do you feel after you’ve been with
me?”

She felt like she’d made love. For the first
time in her life, she’d made love. But she couldn’t tell him that
either. “I feel like I have a silly smile on my face.”

He smiled and kissed her nose. “I’m glad to
hear it.” And then he became serious again. “What you did when you
were a cub wasn’t you. Your wolf was in control. You hadn’t
mastered it back then.”

“
I don’t think I’ve mastered
it yet. She keeps putting strange things in my head.”

“
Listen to her, Tommie. That
doesn’t mean you have to follow her, but you need to listen. Her
instincts can save your life. If she’s scared, you should be, too.
If she says something is good, it probably is. But you have to
remember that a wolf doesn’t reason like a human. They think in the
present, not the long run. You have to find a balance.”

He let her go with a chuckle and began
picking up the things he’d dropped. “Like now, my wolf wants me to
drag you under those trees over there and have my way with you. My
human says it’s going to rain and we need to get a few hours’
sleep. We have a lot to do today.”

Tommie knew he was trying to make her smile
and she tried. She picked up the towels. “My wolf wanted you to
kill the Alpha. She wanted you to take the mantle.”

Cora had explained that the mantle was a kind
of mystical cloak that the Alpha wore. It gave him special powers.
The mantle was what made the Alpha the leader. An Alpha could set
aside the mantle, but most died wearing it. A Challenge to take it
was a fight to the death.

“
Was that the job Cora said
you refused to take?” she asked.

Bull’s sigh sounded like he regretted
promising to answer all Tommie’s questions. “It wasn’t a formal
Challenge, but yeah, I didn’t want to take the chance that his
mantle would fall on me. I couldn’t tolerate a pack like that and
I’d end up fighting Challenges once a week.”

“
I’m glad. I wouldn’t like
you to become like him. He was creepy, evil. I don’t understand why
everyone is so gung-ho about finding one.” She could never be with
anyone who made her feel like the Alpha did. The thought of it made
her shiver with disgust. “Alphas are horrible
creatures.”

Bull had started the walk back, but stopped
and waited until she caught up. “You’ve got it wrong, Tommie. Like
everybody else, Alphas run the gamut from bad to good and
everything in between. A good Alpha should be a leader, not a
dictator,” he said patiently. “The best Alphas care more about the
welfare of the pack than they do about their own. It shouldn’t be
about strength or power unless it comes to the safety of the pack.”
Bull poked his chin in the direction they were heading. “They’ve
forgotten that because they haven’t had a good Alpha in thirty
years. Most of them were pups back then.

“
Good or bad, most of us
feel better when there’s an Alpha in charge. We feel lost without a
leader and a pack. It’s ingrained in us, like never getting lost or
knowing where the moon rises. We function better with it than
without it.”

Tommie had heard about something like this
before in one of her college classes. “It’s called genetic memory.
I had to sit through a lecture about it once, but I think it’s only
a theory.”

“
Never heard of it, but if
the theory fits,” he joked and then went on. “Without an Alpha,
there is no pack, and pack is everything.”

Tommie nodded that she understood, but she
didn’t think the theory of genetic memory applied to her. “I’ve
never been much of a joiner and never looked for a leader to
blindly follow.”

Bull started to laugh. “What about the
PB&Js? What about your special ladies at Harbor House? I’ll bet
there were others in between. You didn’t look for a leader because
you were one; a bossy little mini-Alpha.”

Tommie rolled her eyes. “Great. I’m an
oddball there, too. Cora says all alphas, little and big ‘a’,” she
clarified, “are male.”

He was still laughing. “That’s what we like
to think, but look at these guys. Because he’s the oldest male,
Samuel appears to be the boss, but it’s Cora who has the real power
in this group. So do you. Look how fast they changed sides over
Macey.”

“
They changed sides because
they knew it was right.”

“
No. They followed because
they instinctively understand that you and Cora are the
strongest.”

“
Oh please,” she disagreed,
“Have you seen Helen?” The woman was heavy, but definitely not fat.
Tommie had watched her toss coolers of meat into the back of the
truck like they held nothing but air.

“
It’s more than physical.
They sense your inner core of strength, your
determination.”

She laughed. “My stubbornness, you mean.”

He bumped her with his hip. “It’s only
stubborn when you use it with me.”

“
Won’t Cora be upset when a
real Alpha shows up?” Tommie couldn’t picture Cora allowing anyone
to boss her around.

“
No, and if an Alpha is
smart, he’ll value her wisdom. Genetic memory, remember? I don’t
think that’s going to be an issue anyway. They’re not going to find
an Alpha, not a good one.”

“
How can you say
that?”

“
Because it’s true. I know
you like them, spitfire. I do, too, but look at them. They’re a
band of misfits, and that’s putting it kindly.”

“
They are not.” She felt
like a mother whose child had been called ugly. Even her wolf
snarled.

“
Denying it won’t change it.
These wolvers are thieves, Tommie, and I have a sneaking suspicion
Bogie’s worse. With the exception of a few, they’re not very
bright. They’re the wolvers other packs throw out. I’m not even
sure some of them are good at what they do.

“
They survive because they
don’t stay in one place long enough to get caught. They want to
change.” He used the point she was about to make. “But a good Alpha
would have to stand for his pack first and allowing twenty plus
thieves to move into his territory would put his pack at risk.”
Again, he answered her next argument before she made it. “He
wouldn’t take the time to get to know them. He wouldn’t take the
chance that they’d rob his people blind while he was getting to
know them.”

“
They can find an Alpha,”
she argued. “There must be one out there someplace.

“
If there is, he’ll be just
like the one that died up at that shack. He’ll use them. It doesn’t
matter how we see them, Tommie, to the rest of the wolver world,
they’re tramps and thieves, omegas. No one wants them.”

“
I do,” she said
indignantly. “I want them.”

“
I know.” Bull shook his
head. “But we’ve already established that you’re crazy.”

“
Then we’ll have to find an
Alpha who’s crazy, too.”

“
Stubborn,” he said, but he
was smiling.

“
Determined,” she answered
back.

It took the men most of the day to hide the
damage, as Samuel euphemistically put it. The bodies had to be
taken far from the scene and no two would be buried together.
They’d used the ax as much as the shovel. The floor of the woods
was carpeted with mats of fine roots that grew just below the
surface and no matter how clear the space looked when they began,
far reaching tree roots had to be dealt with.

The morning’s threatened storm moved in soon
after breakfast and didn’t stop until late afternoon. They were
muddy and exhausted by the time they returned and Bull insisted
they spend another night before moving on.

Tommie wasn’t happy and Bull was pretty sure
he knew why.

“
You’ve got more thunder in
your face than the storm had.” Bull leaned down to kiss her nose
and caught her ear instead.

She kept her head turned away. “Go soak your
head,” she grumbled.

“
Already did.” He laughed
and shook his head, sending drops of water over her and then jumped
back. “Thunder in her face and lightning from her eyes. Who peed in
your cereal?”

“
You did.” She wiped her
face of the water from his hair. “You don’t want me to take them to
my house and you’re finding excuses to stay.”

He was, but not for the reason she thought.
“Burying evidence is not an excuse, spitfire, and one more day
isn’t going to kill them or you. The rain’s moving out and we can
pack up dry in the morning. Besides, your new outfit is sexy.
Stolen goods look good on you.”

She was wearing a clear plastic poncho that
looked like a garbage bag with a built-in hood.

“
It would look a lot sexier
with nothing underneath,” he whispered as an aside. “Show off that
skinny little ass of yours and that mole you have right below
your...”

She jabbed him with her elbow, but she
laughed as she did it, and that’s what he was looking for.

“
Don’t change the
subject.”

“
Baby, that subject never
changes.”

“
Admit it. You don’t want me
to take them home. You think it’s a bad idea.”

The damn woman was like a crow on a carcass.
He gave up trying to chase her away from it. “You’re right. It’s a
bad idea. Gantnor will have eyes on that place.”

“
There’s safety in numbers.
He wouldn’t come for me with all those people around me,” she
argued. “Besides, all his notes, all his proof, are destroyed. He’s
lost. You heard the news. He’s got more on his plate than li’l ol’
me.”

The news of the fire had been the lead story
for days. The investigation into the cause had led to other
questions, beginning with the evacuation procedures. Things were
complicated by the escape of several high security patients. While
most of the escapees were recovered, five were still missing.

Bull wondered if two of them went by Buster
and Stu.

The State was now involved and politicians
were jumping in front of any hand that held a microphone. They
demanded answers. The public trust had been violated. Political
bullshit at its best, but at least it kept Gantnor in the
spotlight. As long as he was news, Bull’s hunt would be easier.

“
His problems will make him
more desperate,” Bull told her. “Or he’ll be looking for revenge.
And who says he needs you?” If she wouldn’t think of herself, she
would think of the others. “He knows about Samuel and Eli. Don’t
you think he’ll put the rest together?”

“
Once we’re inside, we won’t
leave. He’s not going to storm the place. It’s a quiet residential
street for God’s sake.”

Bull shook his head. Crow on a carcass. “I’ve
seen that house, spitfire. It’s a nice little house, little being
the operative word here. Five rooms?”

“
Six,” she huffed with a
little purse to her lips. He’d insulted her house.

“
Six. How long do you think
you can keep these wolvers happy in six rooms? Look at them.” He
used his chin to point. “It rained most of the day. How much time
did Cora and the others spend in the bus? How much did
you?”

“
None,” she bit out before
she frowned. “For them. They put that tarp up over the picnic
table.” Her shoulders sagged. “I took a nap in the tent. By the
way, the corner leaks,” she informed him and then looked miserably
up into his eyes. “Am I a bad wolver if I hate sleeping in a tent?
Am I a failure as a wolver because I want cozy covers instead of
sleeping bags with broken zippers? I want a soft, cushy mattress
instead of a yoga mat. I want pillows that aren’t soggy. I
want...”

“
Me in this cushy bed of
yours?” He slung his arm around her neck

“
Oh, all right,” she said
without enthusiasm. “but I get the side closest to the bathroom and
we keep the nightlight on.”

Bull laughed and pulled her closer. “Are you
that miserable living wild?”

“
I hate it. Oh, Bull, please
don’t tell them, but I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I’d give
anything for a nice warm bed.” She buried her face in his
chest.

It was the best news she could have given
him. Ferals sought the wild. To hide his relief, he snickered
salaciously. “Anything?”

She punched his chest and laughed. “Is that
all you wolvers think about?”

“
That’s pretty much what all
males of any species think about,” he chuckled, and then he pulled
her away from him so she could see his face and know that he was no
longer teasing. “One more night. That’s all I ask. If you can make
it one more night, I promise you’ll sleep in the softest bed with
the hottest wolver in town.”

“
Oooo,” she purred, “When
will you introduce us? How tall is he? Should I wear
heels?”

“
Smartass.”

“
Takes one to know one and
I’m holding you to that promise, big guy.”

Bull grinned and kissed her nose. Round one
to the big guy. Round two wouldn’t be so easy.

~*~

“
Are you going to take me
tonight?” Tommie asked. They were sitting side by side back on a
log, eating pork chops with their fingers.

“
Take you? That sounds like
funny business to me, spitfire. Damn, and I thought you didn’t like
Bully Bulworth.” He wiggled his eyes brows at her, making her
laugh.

She leaned into his shoulder and whispered,
“You know I do.” And then whacked him. “Now get your head out of my
pants, Bully Bulworth. I’m talking about tonight, when you shift,
transform, whatever you call it.”