She opened her mouth to speak, and Owen quickly said, “I’m not chasing him down to rescue him.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I promise I won’t get you up again.”
“No worries. If you need me, just holler.”
“Thanks. Good night.” And then she returned to her bedroom.
That worked out well. Not that Owen was glad someone was snooping around her house, looking for wolves—and he couldn’t imagine it would be for any other reason. But he hadn’t been sure how he was going to convince her to come home with him, and now she was agreeable.
Despite not intending to go out in the middle of the night to look for the man who had been trespassing, Owen couldn’t stop worrying about whether someone was out there freezing to death. He finally said to hell with it, stripped out of his clothes, shifted, and headed for the back door.
As soon as he was outside, he began to smell for the man’s scent. Owen didn’t find just the man’s. He found Candice’s too. Her recent scent. Like now, not earlier. Owen was really glad he’d decided to go out and look for the man. Surprised she’d do so, he realized she really had a heart of gold. He wanted to keep Candice safe too.
The snow was already falling, collecting on his top coat of fur. It wouldn’t reach his skin where the second coat provided great insulation from the cold. All wolves did well in the snow. But Arctic wolves’ legs and ears were shorter, so they did even better in the frigid weather.
He couldn’t believe Candice would go after the man without asking him to come too. Then again, he could. She was certain he practically had a broken leg, and he had said he wouldn’t go out to rescue the man. Owen had to admit his ankle was bothering him, but he wouldn’t stop until he found her.
He must have trudged through the misty snow for more than half an hour when he saw her standing near a road. Then she turned and saw him. She gave a little woof and dashed through the snow to greet him, nipping his neck as if in scolding, or maybe a love bite. He wasn’t sure which. He licked her face, choosing to believe she’d given him a love bite. Then they headed home, but he didn’t race back because he was trying to protect his ankle. He would be fine by tomorrow, if he could just rest it the remainder of the night. When she realized he wasn’t keeping up with her, she ran back to him and stayed next to him as if she were his wolf mate, giving him solace. He could sure get used to this.
When they reached the house, Candice ran into her bedroom. Owen headed for his. But she called out to him, “You were supposed to be resting your ankle.”
He shifted in the hallway. “You were supposed to be sleeping,” he called back. He entered the guest room, threw on a pair of boxer briefs, and walked back into the living room, turning on the light and wanting to know what she’d discovered.
She came out wearing blue fleece pajamas covered in white fluffy sheep. She looked so huggable that he nearly forgot why he’d come out to see her. “He got in a red pickup truck and headed for town. He was wearing an old olive-green winter army parka with a fur-trimmed hood, ski pants, and snow boots. He never knew I followed him, because he used his flashlight to stick to the tracks he’d made in the snow and was looking forward the whole time. He didn’t look like he was suffering from hypothermia or anything.”
“Good. We’ll leave in the morning and be gone until we can settle this business with your uncle and the lawyer. By the time you return, the news of the wolves will be old news, and you can get on with your life.” Or hopefully decide to stay with his pack.
“Thanks for going out to look for him. I couldn’t sleep, knowing he could freeze to death out there.”
“Me either.”
Candice didn’t look like she believed Owen had heard her leave and run to catch up to her.
He smiled. “No, I wouldn’t have woken you either. I wasn’t surprised to see you’d gone out though. Well, not too surprised.”
Owen was surprised when she closed the gap between them and pulled him in for a hug. “Thanks.”
He wanted more than the soft, cuddly wolf in a hugging embrace. He bent his head to kiss her, and she lifted her head. He thought that meant she was agreeable, and he wasn’t waiting to find out.
At first, he pressed his mouth gently against hers, but when she didn’t seem to want to stop at just that, he pushed for more, his hand at her back, keeping her close against his body, his other caressing her soft, fleece-covered back. He was already turned on, and he knew she could feel how much so. He could smell her pheromones responding in eagerness and felt his jump-starting too. His hand moved up to her neck, and he caressed her soft skin as he deepened the kiss.
Candice kissed him back with abandon as if she’d missed this part of her life as a wolf, and yet, she’d never felt anything like it—a wolf-to-wolf encounter of the most pleasurable kind. He realized the only interaction she’d had with wolves had been a bad one—Corey biting her. Owen was glad to give her a new experience. A good one. To demonstrate what could happen when two wolves showed any affection for each other, how their pheromones would drive the need.
He was damned intrigued. She seemed to be too.
His heart was racing wildly, her pulse just as fast. He hadn’t expected a firestorm of need to hit him all at once, but then he realized he was in the same predicament as she was. He’d never kissed a wolf before.
She opened her mouth to caress his tongue with her own before moaning softly. This had to stop. Before they went too far. She probably didn’t know that their kind mated for life, just like real wolves did.
Candice pulled her mouth away from his, her beautiful eyes darkened with lust, and Owen was certain his were just as dark. She didn’t pull her body away from his, as if enjoying the intimacy just a little while longer. He caressed her shoulders, waiting for her to make a decision. She let out her breath on a heavy sigh. “We’d better go to sleep. And you’d better rest that ankle.”
When she pulled away from him, he missed the heat and softness of her body snuggling against his. “Tomorrow then.” At least tonight he wouldn’t have nightmares about a human frozen in the snow near their wolf-blazed trail. He hoped he’d only think of kissing the white wolf he’d seen so long ago.
Which had him wondering if he was doing the right thing. Taking her to see his bachelor friends. Wolves, the lot of them. How could they resist a female wolf as lovely and smart as Candice? They wouldn’t be able to, he was certain.
This could be a real test of their friendship. He hoped bringing her to their new home wouldn’t break up their cohesive pack. They needed each other. But he needed a female wolf in his life too, and so did they.
* * *
Candice couldn’t believe she’d kissed Owen. And ohmigod, she couldn’t have imagined anything sexier than the way he kissed. It wasn’t just that he was one hell of a kisser. Her senses were so attuned to him. She smelled his delectably aroused body scent that triggered her own. She enjoyed feeling his heated, hard body pressed against hers, showing exactly how much she intrigued him. She’d read how pheromones would intensify the interest for other animal species that could actually smell them, but she hadn’t really been able to envision how that worked. Not until she’d experienced it herself. Would she feel that way about other wolves? About Owen’s other bachelor wolf friends?
Philosophically speaking, she wondered if they all had the same interesting pheromones, or if they were unique for each of them. If one would faithfully sing out to her and keep her from being interested in the others. Then she realized that if they’d never had wolf girlfriends, she might cause all kinds of trouble for the pack. She sure hoped not. She had enough trouble of her own.
Chapter 5
Owen had risen before dawn while Candice was still sleeping. He showered and dressed, then went out to check around the house to make sure the intruder hadn’t returned. The snow had filled all the tracks, leaving nothing but the ones he was making.
Whe
n he returned, Candice was up and dressed, her bags packed. He heard a snowblower in the driveway, and Candice explained, “Oh, that’s Stanley. He does my yard work in the summer and blows the snow off the driveway in the winter. The county will have cleared the road. Did you find any sign of the guy?” She returned to her bedroom and then brought out a couple more bags.
“No sign of him. Do you want me to fix something for breakfast?” He took her bags to the front door.
“We ran out of eggs and bread for toast. Why don’t we go to the local coffee shop and bakery? We could eat breakfast there and head out. They have excellent food, everything from full-course breakfasts to home-baked goods.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“About the driving…”
“I’ll drive. You can just leave your car here. I’ll bring you home when you’re ready to return. Just in case you can’t hold your form. I rarely have trouble now, except sometimes a couple of days before, during, and after the fullest full moon.”
“Are you going to tell my uncle that you found me?”
“That’s kind of a problem. I don’t want to charge him for expenses when I’ve already found you, but he’s going to wonder why you can’t return at once to claim your inheritance. We’ll have to make up a story for why you can’t, so I can tell him I’ve found you and he’s done paying for my services.”
“Okay, so how long is the drive to your place, and where will I be staying?”
“It’s about thirteen hours, depending on road conditions and traffic. Each of us has our own log home. You’re welcome to stay with me. Or, if you’d prefer, you can stay with Faith and her family and have some female company.”
“That might be awkward for Corey…and maybe the parents if they feel guilty about me.” She hauled out the last bag while Owen packed the groceries she needed to take so they wouldn’t spoil.
“Good. Then I want you to stay with me.”
She smiled at him, and he figured she’d wanted to hear that she wasn’t going to be an imposition. Some people didn’t like change in their living arrangements, particularly if they were used to living alone. “I’ll need to take my computers. I’ll have to write while I’m at your place. I need to proof a manuscript I just finished before I turn it in. We also need to take the gingerbread cookies, to show you made them and to share them with the others.”
“They won’t believe it. Yeah, I cook. But I’ve never baked cookies or pies or anything.” He hauled out her PC, and she grabbed her laptop. “If you need me to read over your book, I can. A second pair of eyes might help.”
“Thanks. As long as you don’t critique my werewolf world too much.”
“You mean because your wolves aren’t true to our way of life? It’s fantasy. Your world, your way.”
After they were packed, Owen started the car, and Loving the Arctic Wolf by Candice Mayfair began playing in the MP3 player. He quickly turned off the sex scene where the heroine was wearing the Dear Santa, I’ve been very naughty… apron while cooking dinner and the hero was distracting her.
They were both quiet for a moment as Owen drove them to the Yoke Café and Bakery, not sure how to explain that he’d been listening to her book.
“That—” he began while she commented at the same time, “You—”
“Are listening to your book? Uh, yeah. Great way to get to where I’m going and learn a little about you at the same time. I’d never listened to an audiobook before.”
“That’s not me.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Your heroine had the Dear Santa, I’ve been very naughty… apron in this book, and it reminded me of…”
“I mean…” She was blushing beautifully and seemed to change her mind about what she was going to say. “I hope you’re enjoying it.”
“Hell yeah. I’ve listened to this part three times already because I missed my turnoff and had to listen to it over again.”
She laughed. “Two more times?”
“Yeah, it was a really good part. I might even learn a thing or two.”
“Yeah, right.”
He just chuckled. “Hey, I wondered about the money situation with your family. If they’re so well-off—”
“Why do I live in a modest-sized house? Well, my dad worked his way up the ladder in the oil industry. My parents had nothing starting out. They didn’t come into money; they had to earn every cent they made. They were careful how they spent it. They had a really nice home, but I was expected to earn my way too. That’s the only way to appreciate what you have, you know. If you have to work for it.”
“Okay, gotcha.”
“What about your parents?”
“My mother abandoned me when I was twelve. My dad was in enough barroom brawls that I decided I wanted to be on the side of the law, not constantly in jail. Cameron, Gavin, David, and I lived in the same general area. We went to school together and were best friends from the beginning. I was at Gavin’s house more than at my grandparents’. Gavin’s dad was a war hero, having saved five men when their Humvee hit a mine in Afghanistan. He joined the police force after that, but died in a bank robbery shoot-out. We were devastated.
“Cameron’s dad was a womanizer, carouser, gambler, and all-around deadbeat who died in a car accident. His mom died in the same accident. Cameron didn’t have any other family, so Gavin’s father took him in. Gavin’s father was like the father we all needed and looked up to. His death decided it for Cameron and Gavin. They both wanted to join the police force. David had always loved adventure and was waffling between joining the army or the police force. We all decided on joining the police, then later, we started a PI business.”
“What about David’s family?”
“Well-to-do, but too busy with their social lives. His father died of a heart attack when he was fairly young, which should have clued us in that David might experience heart problems. His mom married a wealthy landowner, and they moved to Australia. David had been close to his dad, not his mother. Her new husband really didn’t like David. David’s dad had a trust set aside for him, so when he turned twenty-one, David was wealthy. I came into money when my grandparents died. So, we really didn’t have any issues with our families learning what we had become. Thankfully.”
“What about Faith’s family?”
“Her mother had died. Faith was trying to locate her father and his research when she learned a red wolf pack had taken him in and turned him. He’s mated to a red wolf from the pack, and they take trips all over. Sometimes they stay with Cameron and Faith to see the kids.”
“Wow. Okay.”
The log cabin restaurant was warm and well lit, with several cars parked outside and patrons filling more than half of the tables and booths for breakfast. Christmas music was playing in the background as the aromas of fresh-brewed coffee and sweet cinnamon and chocolate pastries wafted in the air. Christmas wreaths and lights hanging overhead provided holiday cheer.
Candice took a seat at one of the red vinyl booths. “It’s busier than I’ve ever seen it.”
“Because of the food and atmosphere, I imagine.”
They looked over the menus on the table, and then the waitress came to take their orders, wearing a red-and-white Santa hat.
Owen ordered steak and eggs and a coffee. Candice ordered chocolate-chip pancakes and hot tea.
When the waitress left to place their orders, Candice asked Owen, “Did you tell everyone I was coming?”
“Yeah. They’re thrilled to meet you. Corey’s anxious to say he’s sorry.”
“I don’t want him feeling bad about it.”
“He’ll be okay. It’s one of those life lessons. It’s important to make amends.”
Candice’s phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID but didn’t recognize it. The call was from Minnesota. “Anyone you know?” She handed the phone to Owen.
“Faith.
”
She quickly answered the call. “Hi, this is Candice.”
Owen was glad Faith called Candice. She might be more able to influence Candice to stay than any of the guys would be.
Candice was looking down at the table while Faith spoke, but then she glanced up at Owen and smiled. “Thanks. I can’t wait to meet you too… I’ll tell him. Thanks again. Bye.”
Owen was dying to know what Faith had said to her. “Well?”
“She said if you did anything to dissuade me from meeting the pack, she was putting you in the doghouse.”
He laughed, but he knew Faith meant it. Not literally, of course.
Another group of people entered the restaurant. Owen wouldn’t have noticed them if one of the men hadn’t been wearing what Candice had described to him the night before—snow boots and an olive-green winter army parka with a fur-covered hood. The man’s hair was military short, dark brown, and he had blue eyes. His gaze shifted around the café while he checked everyone out.
Candice squeezed Owen’s hand, confirming that’s who she thought the man was too. But unless he was a wolf and could smell their scents, he wouldn’t know they had been at the cabin that night. Unless he had seen Owen’s vehicle outside the café and recognized it as the one that had been parked at Candice’s home. That worried her a bit. She could just imagine him coming over to ask them about the wolf tracks that led back to her house.
The sheriff walked in right after that and greeted a few people.
“Know either of them?” Owen asked.
“No. I hardly know anyone because I don’t go into town much, and I sure don’t advertise what I do.”
Then the blond-haired, brown-eyed sheriff went straight back to where the other man was seated. “Rowdy Sanderson. What the hell are you doing back here, of all places? I thought you were in Montana solving murder cases. How’s the homicide business treating you?”
Candice looked at Owen. He was wondering the same thing. How did a homicide detective get involved in tracking down wolves?