That's not what she had in mind! He rose, continued to watch her, and hollered, "Laney!"

The door immediately opened. Cassie figured the woman had been glued to it while trying to hear what was going on.

"Yes?" Laney asked, as if she were completely above suspicion.

"Get Cassie something to wear so she can join us for dinner." Then he bowed his head slightly to Cassie, turned around, and left the room.

Cassie immediately got up from the bed, the blanket still wrapped around her as she stared at the departing alpha leader.

That was it? That was the only kind of a kiss he was going to bestow upon her?

As soon as he shut the door behind him, Cassie switched her attention to Laney, whose expression was one of refrained amusement.

"Clothes?" Cassie asked in a sweetly innocent voice that sounded way too calculating to her ears. And keys to a fast getaway car? Before she changed her mind and decided to stay.

Laney's smile grew. "Sure. My things might be a bit big for you, but I may have something that's a little snug on me. My home is across the compound, but it shouldn't take me too long to drive over there, grab a couple of items, and return."

Cassie gave her a camera smile back, but she recognized that the woman wanted her to stay with the pack. Probably to satisfy the alpha leader's needs. A cold beer and a good woman could do wonders for an alpha male's disposition. So much the better for his pack members. And with fewer females in most packs, she imagined Laney would have loved another woman to talk to.

While she waited for Laney, Cassie quickly noted a messy pile of papers sitting on a desk next to a computer on the other side of the room, a brown leather couch in a sitting area, and an empty bookshelf. She raised her brows. Not a reader? Then she saw a book opened on top of the desk. Wondering what would appeal to Leidolf when he had no other books, she peered a little closer and saw the biographical page of Julia Wildthorn, the red lupus garou romance writer, and a colorful photo of the pretty redhead. Probably doctored with the miracles of photo-reworking programs.

She scowled. Hell, here he was acting like he wanted Cassie, while he had been ogling the picture of a romance author? And as evidenced by no other books in the room, he didn't even read? Maybe he had read Julia Wildthorn's book. Probably all her books, so he could tell her how much he loved her work, whether he did or not.

Then Cassie saw his desktop calendar and edged a little closer to take a peek. A cleanly handwritten note on Saturday boldly proclaimed: Book signing, 2-4 p.m., Julia, Powell's.

Cassie scowled even further. Julia: first-name basis. So how many red females was he chasing? He'd acted like Cassie was the only one for him, and in reality he had a bevy of red females waiting in the wings? Then she growled under her breath, more peeved at herself for caring than for being irritated with him. He was a male lupus garou after all. So what was her excuse?

Her attention switched to the velvet comforter on the king-sized bed, rumpled now after she'd tossed and turned there, and the patio doors leading outside where the sky was dark. She glanced at the bedside clock. Half past ten. A good time to search for the she-wolf and her pups and learn what happened to Alex.

Laney cleared her throat and Cassie's heart skipped a beat. She'd thought the woman had already left. Paused at the door, Laney had been watching her the whole time, cataloging everything she did. Cassie was used to being the one who did the observing, although wolves watched her every move while she was with a pack, curious about her, intrigued. For a different reason. A shiver ran up her spine, and she felt totally exposed that a lupus garou had been analyzing her actions and would no doubt report every move she'd made to Leidolf. And he'd be damned amused.

"Leidolf hasn't wanted anyone to help him redecorate the place, so he just had some things removed, and the bed and linens are all new. He had Elgin, my mate, get rid of the old bed, because it reminded him of the former pack leader."

Former pack leader. Had Leidolf ousted him? As curious as Cassie was, she figured the less she knew about Leidolf and his pack, the better.

"Then again, he really needs a mate to help him decorate the place." Laney smiled again. "Maybe you should lie down until I return." She motioned to Cassie's injured shoulder. "You know how it is. Rest helps us recuperate even faster. I'll be right back, Cassie. And, dear, welcome to the pack." She waited for Cassie to comply.

Peeved, but trying not to show it, Cassie climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over her in an attempt to play the game.

"Be right back," Laney said again, smiling slightly as if she knew what Cassie was planning. Then she hurried out of the room and shut the door.

As soon as it clunked closed, Cassie planned to snatch some of Leidolf's clothes and make her escape. When she grabbed the comforter to yank it aside, the bedroom door squeaked open. Her heart drumming with anxiety at nearly being caught trying to leave the bed again, she whipped her head around. She figured she must look guilty as charged, and she hadn't even done anything, yet.

* * *

"I want you to learn who the woman is and where she's from, Elgin," Leidolf said, pacing across the great room in front of several of his pack members, all of them wanting to know just where this was leading.

He couldn't hide how captivated he was, more than he had ever been with any woman. Apart from their pheromones kicking each other's into high gear, he wanted her--the way she challenged him and hid her lupus garou identity from him, the way she was as intrigued with him as he was with her and focused on her own wishes, his be damned. Still, he could read in her actions that she was having a hard time sticking to whatever her own plans were.

Hell, when he'd wrapped the blanket around her, she'd come to tears. Which, to him, meant she hadn't had anyone take care of her in a long damned time. She needed what he had to offer, and he sure needed her.

Yeah, he desired her body and soul, and he knew that buried deep in her psyche, she wanted him. Now he just had to help her see it both their ways. From the way she reacted to him, he knew she wasn't a loner at heart, but she'd become one out of necessity. Her family was dead, she said. That had to be the reason for her fear of being with another pack.

Elgin pulled at his red beard thoughtfully, the streaks of gray giving him added character. "Laney says the woman told you she has a pack."

"I doubt she has. They wouldn't want one of their unmated females running around the world without someone watching out for her."

Elgin's face brightened, but then he frowned. "Laney warned me the little lady wants to return to the woods."

Leidolf snorted. "She isn't going anywhere. The bullet hole in her shoulder won't heal that quickly, and with all the riffraff sure to be searching out there," he said, giving Quincy and Pierce a pointed look, "it's not safe for anyone, least of all, a lone female." He looked around the room for the other major source of contention--Sarge, who was being monitored closely by three of his men.

Satros was sleeping soundly in an overstuffed chair, his romp to locate Sarge and, earlier, the search for a red wolf mate for Leidolf, having taken their toll on his stamina.

Leidolf considered the twin brothers again. If Quincy and Pierce hadn't needed a pack to keep them in line and if the trouble they had been getting into wasn't due to poor judgment, Leidolf would have made them leave. That's just what had happened to them before, and he couldn't help feeling that some leader needed to make sure they fit into a pack.

He noticed Evan, one of his male teens, watching him, and Carver observing the teen, irritation evident on the middle-aged widower's face. Seemed Leidolf couldn't ever resolve one problem without six more taking its place. He might as well have a word in private with the boy. Leidolf motioned for everyone but Evan to leave the room. Once the door was shut and they were alone, he waved to a chair.

"Evan, I want you to stay out of trouble."

Evan let out his breath, sat on the chair hard and then spread his hands palm up. "I'm not doing anything. Really."

Leidolf raised his brow. "Stay away from Carver's daughters."

"One of them constantly chases after me." Evan shrugged. "Whenever her father and sister aren't around, she's coming on to me. What am I supposed to do?"

"Stay away from her. Gently tell her you're not interested."

His look defiant, Evan shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Evan?"

"Of all the girls in the pack, she's the only one who's really an alpha. I like that she comes after me."

"Yeah, and if her father learns of it, he'll come after you... and then what?"

"I'm not afraid of him."

"You should be. Her father has the final say about who she sees until she's an adult."

"He doesn't want her to see anyone, least of all me. I'm not going to lie to you. If Alice wants to see me, I'll be there for her."

"Alice, the quiet one?" Leidolf frowned at Evan. "Hell, as your pack leader, I highly recommend against it."

"But?"

"As a teen in your situation, I wouldn't listen to anyone who had a lick of sense, either. So do us both a favor. No sneaking around to be with her. Let Carver know face-to-face that you want to see his daughter."

Evan's defiance continued to shine through. Then he gave a sharp nod. "All right. It won't work, you know."

"Won't know for sure unless you try."

"Did it work for you?"

Leidolf gave him a small smile. "Hopefully better for you than it did for me."

Footfalls stalked toward the room, and Leidolf said, "Have everyone come back in. Just remember what I said."

"Yes, sir," Evan said and hurried to tell everyone to rejoin them.

When the men reentered the room, Leidolf was surprised to see Irving and Tynan. Sporting a head bandage, Tynan had as big a scowl as Irving. They should have looked guilty as hell for not doing their ranching duties and leaving without a word to anyone, again.