Wolver's Reward (17 page)

"How are the beds here?" Darla asked after
another few minutes of silence.

Fishing. The woman was fishing and not doing
a very good job of it.

"I wouldn't know. I haven't slept in one
yet." He grinned. Let her try to figure out what he meant by
that.

Darla finally gave up fishing and came right
out and asked. "Are you joining with the others or are you just
here for the fun and games?" She added another head tilt toward the
door where the argument was escalating.

River's wolf had begun to snarl at his
refusal to interfere, but whatever was going on in there was none
of his business. It wasn't his fight. Besides, it sounded like the
Rebel was holding her own, so he kept his eyes on Darla.

"Don't know about fun, but I don't play games
unless someone tries to play me first, and I'm not looking for a
new pack. How do you know about the others?"

The warrior woman smiled though only one side
of her mouth turned up. "I'm closer to the door."

"Isn't that considered rude?"

Wolvers had excellent hearing, so it was
sometimes hard to keep conversations private. Cubs were taught to
ignore the conversations around them. Eavesdropping was rude. River
never learned those lessons. Apparently, Darla hadn't either.

Her lopsided grin widened. "I've been
considered a lot of things, most of them wrong. The only thing you
should consider me is loyal. To Rebecca. You mess with her, I'll
mess with you, and since I've seen you fight, I won't have any
problem with putting a knife in your back when you're not
looking."

River mirrored the grin, lifting one side of
his mouth. "You could try." He stepped from the post and stretched.
"But you won't have to. You've got your wires crossed. I just came
to get my truck."

"Then why is she..."

The door opened and the subject of their
conversation came storming out. She was wearing a short sleeved
shirt that buttoned up the front. The shirt was neatly tucked into
a pair of tight fitting jeans that showed off her long legs and
high rising ass. It did a lot more for her figure than the clown
suit. The orange sneakers didn't match the outfit, but she'd worn
them anyway. Everything else did, including the small purse that
hung from a chain draped over her shoulder.

She turned back to her parents as she stepped
outside. "I'm an adult, not a cub, Mother. I know what I'm meant to
be, so you can stop reminding me. I know my destiny, but until the
time comes to fulfill it, I'm just like any other unattached adult.
I'm free."

"Rebecca, as your Alpha, I order you..."

"No, Father, you can't order me to do
anything, not in this case. In this, you're just my father." She
marched over to River and grabbed his hand. "Take me for a
ride."

She would have dragged him behind her, but he
stood his ground. It was obvious she was making some kind of point,
but he wasn't a lap dog to be ordered around.

"Hey, hold up there, Reb." He bent to her ear
and spoke as quietly as he could. "You're not my Alpha either. You
snappin' your fingers don't mean I'll jump. You want a ride, I'll
be happy to do that, but you ask me nice."

It was only when she answered that he
realized she was on the verge of tears.

"Please, River, please take me away," she
whispered. "I don't want them to see me break."

"You got it, Babe." He kept her hand in his,
but as they walked away, he turned back to her father, who'd
followed her out the door. "I'll take care of her, sir, and bring
her back in one piece."

"I hope I have your word as a gentleman on
that," the Alpha called after them.

Without stopping, but walking backward, River
called out again. "You have it, sir."

This time he noticed Darla, standing behind
the Alpha. She was still grinning, but now it reached both sides of
her mouth. Turning, he caught sight of four more wolvers, all
grinning with thumbs raised in salute.

They rode, but not too far. River had
promised to bring her back in one piece and she wasn't wearing a
jacket or a helmet. When it came to his luck, Fate wore shitkickers
and he didn't want to tempt her to use them on Reb.

A few miles up the road, he found a
restaurant and bar, a local watering hole by the looks of it. It
was late afternoon and there were only three cars in the parking
lot, one of which belonged to Harry.

"I'm not really hungry," she grumbled when he
turned the switch to KILL, but she no longer looked on the verge of
tears.

"Then you can watch me." He hadn't eaten in
days.

The building was divided with a large dining
room off to the left and a small barroom to the right. River chose
the left since the room was empty, except for a waitress playing
solitaire at a table in the back. He led Reb to a table for two by
the windows. He waited until the waitress had taken their drink
orders and left the menus before he spoke.

"I don't like being used..."

"I'm not..." she interrupted.

He raised his index finger. "You are, Babe,
and I don't like being used." He kept his finger raised. "Unless I
know what for and I agree to it. So let's hear it."

He leaned back in his chair, folded his arms
across his chest, and waited while she collected her thoughts. He
waited while she unwrapped her napkin covered utensils and laid
them carefully in their proper place. He waited while she pressed
the napkin flat with her hands and laid it on her lap. Her hands
stayed there with her napkin. She kept her head bowed.

The waitress delivered their drinks.

"Ready to order?" she asked.

"Just give us a few minutes," he told her and
she smiled at Reb's bowed head and then at him.

"Sure thing, hon, you just give me a wave
when you two get things worked out."

"I won't wait forever, Babe," he said when
the waitress moved far enough away. "I'm hungry."

~*~

Reb didn't know how to begin. If she couldn't
find the courage to explain it to her parents, how on earth would
she explain it to him? If she told him the truth, he'd probably
head for the hills or back to the pack he came from. She glanced up
and there he was staring at her with those soulful eyes that broke
her heart and filled her with longing all at the same time. She
took a breath and then another and decided that half a truth was
better than none.

"They treat me like a pup," she said to her
lap.

"And?"

"I'm not."

She wanted him to laugh and say, "You
definitely ain't no pup, Babe," but after waiting a beat, all he
said was, "And?"

"I'm tired of it," she told him because she
was. She was tired of being an Alpha's daughter. She was tired of
being a good little girl. She was tired of being a freak.

"And?"

"I wanted them to think I slept with you,"
she said in a whispered rush, but that wasn't what she wanted to
say at all.

"Yeah, I get it," he said, but he didn't look
pleased. "How does a spoiled, pretty female with expensive clothes
and high class parents rebel? She finds the wolver who'll give
Mommy and Daddy nightmares."

How could he think such a thing? "You're
perfect," she blurted.

"Of course I am. I'm uneducated. As a matter
of fact, I can barely read. Maybe you want to write this down,
Babe. You wouldn't want to forget. I swear, not fudge and shoot,
but fuck and shit. I wear black leather, and have a motorcycle that
would scare Mommy wolf right out of her furry skin. When it comes
to making a statement of independence, what sweet young thing could
want for more?"

"Maybe you are all those things," she
said.

"Damn right, I am."

"But you're also brave, and handsome, and
kind, and everything I would want if...if I was allowed to want,"
she added quickly so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. Or the right
one.

River blinked. He looked confused. "Say
again?"

His shocked response gave her courage. "You
treated me like I was real and not some china doll. I liked you. I
liked the way you made me feel back in the forest." She gave him a
lift of her shoulders along with her apology. "I didn't know that
until after I hit you with the rock, so I'm sorry for that, too."
She took a deep breath and let it spill. "You... you liked the way
I made you feel, too."

He smiled, and the way he smiled made her
melt inside, or maybe that was her wolf. It had been acting
strangely since River pinned her to the ground.

"
Mate
," it whispered as if Reb could
forget who and what she was.

"I won't deny it, Babe. Why bother? You know
you're hot and I'm not the only guy who wouldn't mind a piece of
that heat, but you also have to know that you're a princess, and
I'm no knight in shining armor. So you're going to have to tell me
where this is going, because..."

"Nowhere," she said. "That's where it's
going."

"And?" he asked cautiously.

"That's what makes it so perfect." There. It
was over. He didn't have to know anything else. "Can we get
something to eat? I'm starved."

"Sure," he said and waved his hand to flag
the waitress. "Did you know starvation does a number on the brain?"
he asked, but before she answered, he shook his head. "I must be
hungrier than I thought."

They ordered steaks and bowls of chili
instead of salad and Reb asked for extra butter, sour cream, and
cheese on her baked potato. River produced his driver's license and
ordered a beer.

"And that's another thing," she said,
pointing to the plastic card as he returned it to his wallet, "I
want a driver's license."

"They're not that hard to get, Babe. You got
a birth certificate?"

"Oh, yes, that's one thing my father is very
particular about. All our papers are in order."

"Then all you have to do is get someone to
teach you how to drive."

"Darla already has."

"Then there's no problem."

"Yes, there is. Darla's pretty good about
bending the rules, but she won't break them."

Circles inside circles inside circles. River
wouldn't have been surprised if his head began to spin on his
shoulders. "What do bending and breaking rules have to do with
getting a fucking driver's license?"

"You needn't swear," she said primly.

Fortunately, the waitress arrived with the
beer and the chili. Reb watched him down half the glass. Her tongue
darted out and wet the center of her lips.

"You want a sip?"

She bobbed her head. "Yes please, if you
don't mind."

She took the glass, raised it almost
reverently to her lips, and took a sip. She wrinkled her nose and
handed it back. "It always looks so pretty in the glass. Too bad it
doesn't taste as good as it looks."

The beer was a disappointment, but the chili
was not. She followed his lead, crushed some saltines over the top,
and tasted it again.

"This," she sighed, and pointed at the bowl
with her spoon, "This tastes even better than it looks."

"Let me guess," he laughed, "You've never
tasted chili, either."

"There are a lot of things I haven't tasted,"
she said. He stared at her oddly when she licked a stray bit of
cheese from her lips. "What?"

"Nothing." He swallowed hard and shook his
head as if to clear it. "Now that my stomach isn't growling, can
you explain all this again?"

Watching him watching her right back, Reb
found it difficult to speak. No wolver in the world could have eyes
like that. It wasn't the color or the shape. Brown eyes were common
enough. She had them, too, and while she envied the thick, dark
lashes, she envied anyone with thick, dark lashes. Hers were as
pale and fine as her hair.

No, it wasn't the shape or color, though they
were attractive enough, particularly with the heated look he was
giving her now. It was something more. Depth. That was it. River's
eyes held a depth and mystery and she wanted to know what secrets
they held within them.

Her wolf wanted that, too, though at the
moment, the creature was more concerned with his body than his
mind. She purred. She yipped. She lifted her tail high in the air
in blatant invitation.

"My parents treat me like a pup," Reb
repeated, and closed her eyes for a moment to still the pounding in
her chest.

When she opened them again, River had his
elbow on the table, hand in the air with his palm facing her. Could
strong arms be beautiful? Tinted a reddish brown that reminded her
of autumn, they were rounded with well-defined muscle. A few veins
stood out against the rugged terrain, forming a highway to his
heart. His arms were perfectly sculpted works of art. So, yes, she
decided, strong arms could be beautiful.

If the fantasy of his eyes was good, the
fantasy she was building around those arms was better.

"I get that part. What I don't get is why
now. Why didn't you stage this little rebellion before?"

Fantasy suddenly snapped back to reality.

"You sound like them," she snapped along with
it. "This little rebellion is only a phase is what my mother always
tells my father when I 'act out'." She framed the words with finger
quotes. "That's what she calls it, acting out. My father calls it a
tantrum. It's insulting." Well, didn't that sound mature, and a
little like a tantrum. She closed her eyes and took a breath. "I'm
sorry. I can see how someone like you wouldn't understand what it's
like to be me."

"Yeah, someone like me." He blew out his
breath and folded his arms across his chest. "Why don't you give it
a try? Maybe I'm not as dumb as you think." River lost the heated
look.

Oh dear. "That isn't what I said or meant.
You're not dumb. You're free. You wouldn't know what it's like to
be trapped in a life you can't get out of. You couldn't. You're not
an Alpha's daughter."