Heir To The Pack (The Cursed Pack Book 1) (7 page)

“I’m fine,” she muttered,
and picking up the sippy cup, she fled into the dining room.

Dash let out a string of
curses, low enough that Annie wouldn’t hear, but Elaine had the senses of a
wolf.

“That’s enough of that,”
she said. “We’ll discuss this later.”

“It’s none of your
business,” Dash said.

“I beg to differ.” Elaine
pressed her lips together, whitening them. “But it can wait. Right now we need
to know what news Gaelan brings. Dinner is over. I gave him some pants and told
him to meet with us in your study. Bill and Novie will keep an eye on our
guests. Daisy knows we have business to discuss.”

“All right,” Dash said,
shaking his head, trying to get his thoughts back in the game.

“I like her, by the way. If
your Annie has anywhere near as level a head as that woman, I see why you like
her. But I’m not sure her head has anything to do with it.”

He bit back the urge to
retort. “She’s very smart.”

“I hope she’s smart enough
to cope with the next few days. Time will tell.” Elaine wiped her hands on the
pink apron, took it off and hung it on a hook by the door. “Let’s go.”

Gaelan made it to the
office before them and lounged in Dash’s Herman Miller chair, bare feet up on
the walnut desk. His borrowed track pants stopped a few inches short of his
ankle bones, leaving him looking like the world’s biggest, hairiest cabin boy.

Dash walked around behind
him and pulled the chair out a few inches, enough that his feet dropped off the
desk. G shot him a grin.

“It’s so easy to get a
rise out of you, brother.”

Dash allowed himself a
smile, and sat down in a leather armchair. Elaine joined him in its twin.

“Where’s Marjie?”

“She’s resting,” Elaine
said. “I’ll fill her in later.”

“It’s nice to see you,”
Dash began, “but we weren’t expecting you. Of course, you’re always welcome,
but I’m curious what brings you here tonight.”

Gaelan sat forward in his
chair, leaning on his thighs. “Well, it isn’t good news.”

Dash waited, even though
the suspense was killing him. The more eagerness he showed, the more Gaelan
would drag it out. He knew this from a lifetime of painful experience.

“You sent most of the pack
on ahead. What the hell were you thinking?”

“I had business to take
care of, and I wanted peace and quiet to take care of it. What does it matter?”
He kept his voice easy, relaxed, and fought not to drum his fingers on the low
table in front of him.

The giant nodded. “Perhaps
it doesn’t matter at all. But many wolves from other packs are within a couple
hours drive, on their way to the Gathering. I’ve heard all kinds of rumors about
what’s going on here. Wolves get curious, you know. They start wondering if
they should come and take a look.”

“Is that the only reason
you’re here? Curiosity?” Dash raised an eyebrow.

“That’s part of it.” Gaelan
paused, stroked the blond stubble on his square chin with one meaty hand. “I
heard you had some babe stashed away, and I wanted to see for myself.”

“Don’t talk about Annie
like that,” Dash warned, his voice unintentionally gravelly.

“Hmph.” G smirked, opened
his mouth to speak, and closed it again. His face darkened. “I wasn’t actually
referring to the woman. She’s a pretty little thing, sure. But I was referring
to the pup.”

Dash sat back in the
armchair, tilted his head back, and stared at the ceiling. He knew trouble was going
to come out of this, but not so soon. “Word does travel fast.” Also, he’d have
to figure out who had been gossiping, and have a conversation with them that
they wouldn’t enjoy. Werewolves loved to talk. But they needed to be able to
keep private pack business to themselves.

“I’m trying to understand
this, Dash, but I can’t seem to get my head around what’s going on. The girl’s
human. The pup’s yours, I assume. How the fuck did that happen?”

Dash sighed. “Your guess
is as good as mine.” He’d been thinking about that pretty much constantly since
Annie showed up.

“It’s going to fuck up a
lot of people’s plans. The mere fact of the existence of this kid. The Russians
are trying to arrange a mating between you and Irina next week.” Gaelan made an
obscene gesture.

Dash chose to ignore it,
and went back to staring at the ceiling. “I know.”

“
I know
? You’re sitting there, all zen and shit, saying
I know
?”

“I wouldn’t say I was zen
about it.” He turned to look at Gaelan, who watched him intently. Dash shoved
one hand through his hair. “I figure they’re going to be pretty pissed at me. We
had no formal agreement, though.” It had been his father’s whim, and he would
not be bound by it.

“Right. So that brings me
to why I came. I heard you sent people on ahead, which leaves you, this little
nuclear family of yours, and your aunties, sitting here without an honor guard.
Like sitting ducks.”

Elaine cleared her throat,
reminding Dash of her presence. Her expression was mild. “Bill and Novie are
here. Dash is an excellent fighter. And Marjie and I are hardly defenseless.”

“Sorry,” Gaelan said. “I
don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but I’d rather that than fifty Russian wolves
bursting in here to get you.” He fisted his hands, sending a ripple of tension
through the muscles all the way up to his thickly corded neck.

Dash had been watching
Gaelan get worked up for years, and talking him back down. He leaned forward to
refute his points. “I don’t think the Russians are coming to get me. If they
want to kill us, they’ll try at the Gathering. And up on the ranch we’ll have
lots of guards.”

“It’s not the killing I’m
worried about. Gods, wolf, think! That pup is a lever. If someone can take him
from you, they can make you do anything they want. Or at least that’s what I’d
be thinking, if I were your enemy. The woman is human. She’s basically a fat
little chicken sitting on a giant pile of golden eggs. There’s nothing she’s
gonna be able to do to defend him. That’s on you.”

“Somebody already tried to
take him.” Dash clenched his fingers into fists, trying to keep a lid on his
rage. “I beat the shit out of them. But I don’t know who they were, or what
pack they were from.” He filled Gaelan in.

When Dash was done, G let
loose a string of Norwegian swearwords. Some of them Dash hadn't even heard from
him before.

Elaine said, “We could do
with your help solving this. And for protection.”

Gaelan nodded. “I'm here to
help. Maybe smash in a few heads. It's what I do.”

“Are you planning on
making the trip up to the ranch with us?” his aunt asked.

“With you, behind you, in
front of you. Whatever it takes.” The blond reached out his hand and Dash
clasped it in the arm-wrestle shake they’d used for twenty years.

“You’re not all bad, G,
but I’d prefer it if you didn’t flaunt yourself in front of Annie.”

“I’ll try not to show
myself off too much. But I can’t hide my Gods-given gifts, now, can I?” He
grinned. “I wasn’t kidding about the Russian wolves, either.”

Dash’s ears pricked up. “What
do you mean?”

“I took out a scout in
your back yard. Watching the house from the woods.”

CHAPTER
SIX

“Took him out? Tell me you
didn’t kill one of our theoretical allies right in my territory.” Shit. This
could get ugly.

“Nah, I whopped him over
the head with a chunk of wood. He’ll get over it. Assuming he can find his way
out of your neighbor’s dumpster when he wakes up.”

Dash turned it over in his
head, drumming a foot on the floor. “I don’t like it.”

“Well, duh.”

He stared out into space,
thinking. “Where did you hear the rumor that brought you here?”

“I called the house a few
hours ago to see when you were leaving. Bill told me you’d sent the others on
ahead and were tied up with houseguests. He wasn’t too shy about giving out
details, either.”

Dash swore. “I thought I
could trust him. That’s why he’s here.”

“I don’t know that he meant
anything by it. He’s stupid. That’s why he’s at the bottom of the pecking
order. You know it.” Gaelan shrugged.

Dash knew G had issues
with the lower ranks. “Stupidity isn’t confined to submissive wolves. I’m
feeling pretty gods-damned stupid myself right now.” He stood up, walked over
to the window. “The abduction attempt was this morning. Annie and Jack were
over here yesterday for a brief visit. Word had already gotten out, and
somebody had time to act on it. We’d better talk to Bill.”

“I want to know who else
he told,” Elaine added. He could tell she wasn't happy from the V between her
brows. That was fine. Neither was he.

Gaelan stood up, flexed
his biceps. “I’d be happy to take care of that for you. I never liked his
weaselly little face. Be a pleasure to rearrange it.”

“There's no need for
violence,” Elaine said, crossing her legs, and giving them her ladylike version
of a scowl.

“I don’t know about that,”
Dash growled. “He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut.”

“Let’s go.”

“I’m with you, brother.” Dash
and Gaelan reached the door at the same time and bounced off each other’s broad
shoulders. Dash snarled and leapt through the doorway, Gaelan right on his
heels. He charged into the family room where Bill sat in a corner, watching out
the window while Annie played on the floor with Jack and Daisy. A scene of pure
domestic bliss. Except that the guard who was supposed to be maintaining that
bliss wasn’t paying enough attention to his duties.

Dash rushed over to Bill
and picked him up by the neck, Darth-Vader-style. “You stupid bastard,” he
growled. Bill’s eyelids moved up and down slowly, and his face began to purple.

“Dash,” Annie said, her
voice clipped and calm. “I don’t know what the issue is, but you need to take
it outside. Jack and I are playing here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I’ll
take my business elsewhere.” He took one of Bill’s arms and Gaelan took the
other. They picked the wolf up and carried him out, through the kitchen, and
back into Dash’s study, where they threw him on the floor. Elaine stared down
at him. Gaelan stepped over to shut the door.

“Who did you tell about
our guests?” Dash demanded, standing over the cowering wolf.

Bill opened his mouth, but
no sound came out.

“Answer me!” Summoning
every inch of his force as an Alpha, Dash stared the man down, compelling him
to speak.

“I...I...I...only Gaelan. I
swear it! Please don’t hurt me.”

Bill wouldn’t be able to
lie to his Alpha’s face, Dash knew. But how had the men in the parking lot
known? Someone else must have talked. “You listen to me,” Dash said. “You don’t
tell anyone any part of our private pack business without my permission first,
you understand me? No one. Not Gaelan, not your own mother. You got it?”

Bill nodded, scooting
backwards across the floor away from Dash until he ended up with his back
against the desk.

“Get out of my sight.”

The wolf struggled to his
feet and shot out of the doorway, nearly knocking over Annie, who had just
opened the door. She flattened her back against the door to let him through.

“Dash,” she said. “I need
to speak with you.”

He nodded, the red filter
that clouded his vision fading, and rubbed both his hands over his head. “Gods,”
he said. “Okay.”

Elaine and Gaelan silently
left the room. Annie fixed Dash with a stare, and he knew he was in trouble.

“Do you want to sit down?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” She walked
over to the corner by the window where she took up a position as if she were
about to teach a class—legs slightly apart, arms in a neutral position,
head up. On the other hand, she also looked like she was about to start a
fistfight. That couldn’t be good.

Dash sank into one of the
armchairs, stretched his arms and legs out in front of him, and cracked his
neck once in each direction. There. Ready for her worst onslaught. Bring it on.

*
         
*
         
*

Annie breathed in from her
diaphragm, as she’d learned in singing lessons, and prepared to speak. She
couldn’t let the events of the last hour pass without saying something. King or
no king, he couldn’t start fights in front of Jack. She wasn’t too happy about
Gaelan running around naked, either. And, king or no king, Dash couldn’t kiss
her whenever he felt like it.

It didn’t matter how much
she liked it.

“I have some requests.” Much
less assertive than she’d planned, but it was not her intention to start a
fight.

“What can I do for you?” His
relaxed body position belied the intensity of his stare. She guessed he played
by the same rules.

“I would strongly prefer if
you would instruct members of your entourage to remain clothed.”

Dash let his breath out. “I’ll
do my best. We don’t all run around naked all the time, but we are casual about
it. We’re naked when we change back, you understand that?”

“I gathered.” A flash of
naked Dash standing next to her car filled her mind. She blinked away the
image.

“I’ll have a word with the
pack members, let them know to be more...subtle than usual. Other packs are
harder. I can’t tell them what to do, not until I’m officially Lycaon.”

“That makes sense,” she
admitted. Unfortunately. It seemed likely that she’d spend at least some of the
next few days surrounded by gorgeous naked men. Her treacherous soul wished
that particular experience had occurred before she’d become a mom.

“That might change by the
end of the week. But I’ll need to choose my battles.”

“Understood.” This was
going better than she’d hoped. He seemed willing to work with her. “The second
thing is about the discussion you had with Bill.” This would be harder, because
she knew it wasn’t going to go over well. “I don’t want Jack to be exposed to
that level of violence.”

Dash set his jaw and his
eyes glinted in the dimly lit room. His long arms and legs remained still, but
his fingers tightened on the chair arms. “It needed to be done.”

She bit her tongue,
swallowed the words
I disagree
. “Not
in front of Jack, it didn’t.”

“We could be attacked at
any time. In the event a bunch of rabid mercenaries come bursting through the
door, do I have your permission to defend you and our family?” His voice had
deepened and his eyes darkened even further.

“That’s not at all the
same situation.” She could explain why, but somehow she didn’t think it would
help right now. She was distracted, besides, by the way he’d said
our family
. Again. As he had at dinner.

Dash stood and walked over
to her, his gaze never leaving her face. He stopped too close for comfort, and
she fought the urge to take a step back. She’d forgotten how big he was. “You
have to understand how it’s going to be this week. We are allies with these
other packs to a greater or lesser extent. Greater, in that some are actively
our friends, like the Norse. Lesser, in that we are not openly at war with any
of them. Our packs have survived the modern world by declaring a truce, but
it’s a thinly held truce, and it erupts from time to time.” He looked away from
her, toward the dark glass of the windows. “Some of those wolves want me in
their power, or dead. And that means you and Jack are at risk.”

She followed his gaze. Who
knew what lurked out there, waiting for them? Anxiety put a lump in her throat.
Annie swallowed, and turned away from the darkness. “I understand that
perfectly. After all, it was my son and my mother who were nearly abducted this
morning.” She took a deep breath. The frustration she’d been building since
they’d arrived in the house, perhaps even since Jack got sick and she hadn’t
been able to do a thing about it, flowed back into her body, burning away the
fear. “I understand that I’ve put my family at risk purely by meeting you and
sleeping with you in the first place. I understand that our presence and our
very existence is inconvenient for you. Perhaps you could show us some
understanding as well.”

She braced herself. “He’s
my son and I will protect him, not just from physical threats, but from people
who might frighten him or provide poor role models. Do
you
understand
me
?”

Her knees shook, and she
did her best not to let it leak out into that one accusatory finger she
extended in his direction. He said nothing, so she repeated, “Do you?”

In a low, perfectly calm
voice, he said, “Yes. That’s fine.” His face relaxed, the hard edge melting
away, and he opened his arms, inviting her closer. “I know you’re afraid. I’m
here to protect you.”

He drew her like magnetic
North draws a compass needle. She dropped her hand to her side, and took a step
toward him before she stopped, out of reach. His words were compelling, and
comforting. From here, she swore she could feel the heat of his body. Watching
her, his gaze softened. Not the man who’d jumped her in the kitchen earlier,
but one who offered tenderness, and a place to call safe.

They were properly alone
in here, in the dim light, the room filled with the scent of Dash, sun on clean
skin, a hint of wood smoke, and a dark, delicious, curious note that tickled
her nose. She guessed now that scent represented the wolf within.

Annie stood in the den of
the beast, and he beckoned her toward him once more. His eyes darkened,
welcomed, wanted, and she knew he was thinking about what had happened in the
kitchen, and three days and nights when they hadn’t left the hotel room, but worn
each other out and eaten each other alive. She remembered it with a quiver in
her belly, a tightening at the apex of her breasts, and a tickling sensation
deep between her legs.

A tiny sigh escaped her
lips. Her memories were nothing but a well-rehearsed keepsake, now. Her life
had moved on. She had to get that through to him,

“You want something else.”
Dash said it as a statement, not a question. His pale blue eyes watched her,
set deep in his distinctive face—the high cheekbones cut raw above his square
jaw, the sensual lips that had brought her so much pleasure. He watched her,
and she wanted him. Oh, how she wanted him.

Squeezing her thighs
together tightly, ignoring the shiver it gave her, she said, “The third thing I
need to talk to you about is what happened in the kitchen.”

“Oh, yes,” he breathed. “Let’s
talk about that.”

She wanted him, but she
could not have him. “This can’t be like Cancun. We’re older now, and we have a
sick child.” She took a deep breath and assumed a formal tone, what she thought
of as her academic voice. “I assume your kiss indicates you retain at least
some residual attraction to me.”

Dash remained silent. She
looked closer at him, his eyelids half closed. Surely he couldn’t be sleepy? No,
he was looking down, at her chest. Annie folded her arms over her shirt, where
her erect nipples pushed against the fabric.

“Did you hear me?”

“Sorry.” He jerked his
gaze upwards to her face. “You were saying something about kissing, I think.”

She’d have to spell it out
for him. “We are no longer in a position to have casual sex.”

“It wouldn’t be casual,”
he said, his voice deep and rough.

 
Her reaction was visceral and
instantaneous. How could the sound of his voice alone arouse her? She had to
remind herself why it was a terrible idea, so she spoke her thoughts aloud. “How
could it be anything but? You said it yourself, we’re not even the same
species. Also, we barely know each other. We’ve now known each other for a
total of four days.”

“Five.”

“It doesn’t matter. We
barely know each other,” she repeated.

“I know I want you.”

She moved away from him
and perched on the arm of an armchair, trying to ignore the shudder of
anticipatory pleasure his words evoked deep within her. “Seriously, Dash. If I
ever have a relationship again, which seems unlikely a lot of the time, it will
be one I intend to be permanent.”

“I don’t understand,” he
said, shaking his head. “What do you mean?”