The Mating Need (Werewolves of Montana Book 15) Read online

  The wolf shapeshifted, feeling the amazing power transformation of turning into Skin form once more. She loved being wolf, but this was even better.

  Because in this form, she could kiss her mate.

  Nikita approached Tristan the Silver Wizard and slid her arms around him, doing exactly that. He made a humming noise beneath the smooth pressure of her mouth, and leaned against her, then pulled away.

  That damnable intent look slid over him again, as if he had something bothering him, but would not share.

  “What? What’s wrong?

  Instead of answering, he gave a crooked grin. “Was the steak good? It looked good.”

  “That’s all you noticed? The food? You’re always hungry.” Nikita smoothed down her blue gown.

  “Hungry for you, my love.” He winked.

  She had learned in her time with him to be patient. “How’s the Timberline pack? Any threats?”

  “Not now. I saw that Skin, Professor Chance, studying them. He is genuinely concerned with conservation and wolves.”

  “He looks like a good-hearted Skin.”

  “Don’t go flirting with him, my love.” Tristan winked again.

  Nikita did not smile. This was too serious. “Tristan, I can’t keep an eye on her all the time. What are we going to do with Jenny? What if she shifts into a wolf again and someone sees her again? She puts all our people at tremendous risk! Why can’t we simply coax her into mating with Troy?”

  The Silver Wizard, the love of her life and the guardian and judge of all shifters, glanced at the forest. “Leave her be for now. She must work things out on her own.”

  “But…”

  Tristan kissed her forehead. “My love, you must understand this part of our guiding and judging Lupines. They have to follow their own paths.”

  “Even when those paths are filled with risk?”

  His mouth thinned as he glanced at the forest again. “You know the rules as well as I, Nikita.”

  Her stomach roiled. “I do. Jenny is allowed that one mistake. One more and you will be forced to destroy her. You must, for the sake of keeping our peoples’ secret safe.”

  But instead of nodding, Tristan stared into the forest. So odd, unlike him, as if Jenny were a puzzle he could not figure out.

  “Not quite.”

  “You’re forgiving her… twice? Why bend the rules for her? Because she was scared?” Niki searched his face. “Or something else? You’ve always told me our people must learn to blend into this world or you will be forced to send them into the next.”

  “There is something about her, and until I can verify my suspicions, we cannot and should not touch her. Only keep watch over her.”

  Watch over her? “And if she gets into trouble again? What if someone tries to shoot her?”

  “Jenny can take care of herself.” Tristan kissed her cheek. “Now, let’s return home. I have a different kind of hunger to appease, and only you can slake it.”

  Chapter 4

  Once he had a home like this, only smaller. But the sight and smells made emotion well in his throat. Troy pushed it away. Not good to show any weakness.

  The front door opened to a wide, polished staircase and hardwood floors smelling of lemon polish. Dale and Snake escorted him into a living room large enough to hold a herd of cattle. Smells of grilled beef wafted through the room, making his mouth salivate. Other smells put him on guard – the scent of several Lupines, horses, dust and cedar, all with an undertone of wolves.

  This was not a friendly, New Age kind of pack he’d known back in California. They were Lupines and would fight to the death for their home and for their leaders.

  He liked them already. At least here his talents could be put to good use.

  A fire crackled in the stone fireplace and leather sofas were arranged around a coffee table. Some cowboys lounged in chairs by the windows as they talked. Everyone looked up to see them, and more than a few gazes narrowed.

  He wouldn’t expect anything else. Strangers were always suspect in the good packs.

  Dale gestured to a nearby chair. “Have a seat, and I’ll get Aiden and Nia. They’re in the kitchen.”

  Troy declined the invite, sensing another test. Sitting before he met the alpha couple might be considered rude.

  Snake had no trouble fitting in, for he sat the chair Dale had indicated, spine razor straight, unlike the others whose legs dangled over the armrests.

  Perhaps Snake was new to this pack as well. Or he didn’t want to relax his guard around Troy. Or both.

  Troy surveyed the surroundings. After looking at him, the other Lupines returned their attention to conversation, but he sensed they side-eyed him. Good. He wouldn’t trust a stranger, either. Rogue Lupines could tear apart a room in minutes before being taken down.

  “How do you know Zoe?” Snake asked.

  Whoa, sensitive question. “We met out west.” Vague enough answer.

  Snake’s mouth compressed. “Dale seems to accept you, but I have questions. Before you bunk with us, you need to answer them, Trojan. Don’t want a lone wolf sneaking up on me and cutting my throat while I sleep.”

  Snake put two fingers to his eyes, indicating the Skin sign for “I’ll be watching you.”

  Troy shrugged. “Maybe I’ll find a patch of ground and sleep outside. Goes both ways. Who’s the say you wouldn’t do the same to me, Rattler?”

  Snake didn’t blink. “One question you can answer now is, where’s the female? You have her smell all over you?”

  His heart skipped a beat. Snake’s olfactory senses were as sharp as his own.

  Nostrils flaring, he detected Snake’s own scent. “Might ask the same of you, Rattler. Indulging in female companionship a crime around here?”

  “Only if said female aims to harm my pack.” Snake stood and jabbed a finger at Troy’s chest. “I swore a vow to protect these people and the alphas. Until you do as well, you’re on my watch list.”

  Interesting. These people. Not “my people.” Maybe Snake was a stranger as much as Troy. Didn’t matter now. He needed to dole out assurances without seeming weak.

  “I wouldn’t expect less of someone in a pack I aim to join. Mind you, I have a watch list of my own. Ain’t decided to join yet. I’m here to work, not get into a pissing competition with anyone.”

  Snake didn’t blink. “Remember, Trojan. They didn’t name viruses after your kind for no reason.”

  The Lupine walked off, standing before the fire. Not joining any of the clusters of others. Maybe Snake was a lone wolf as much as Troy.

  Another cowhand, lean and lanky, wearing a battered straw hat, ambled over. “Never mind Snake. He’s ornery to everyone. Name’s Ellison. Welcome to the Mitchell Ranch.”

  “Thanks.” Troy shook hands. “You a wrangler?”

  “Yep. Been here a couple of years. Work’s good, Lupines are all fair. You’ll like it here.”

  Dale emerged from an adjoining room with a couple. The male was tall, with short black hair and a well-trimmed black beard and mustache. An aura of quiet power radiated from him.

  The female was shorter, blonde, pretty and more relaxed, but watchful.

  Troy met the male alpha’s piercing, dark gaze and nodded to acknowledge Aiden’s status, but for the female at his side he removed his hat and bowed his head after meeting Nia’s blue gaze.

  Life taught him respect for females. If this alpha disliked his gesture because Troy showed more deference to his mate, hell, this wasn’t the outfit he wanted to call pack.

  Instead of frowning, Aiden smiled, a slow smile filled with understanding. This Aiden Mitchell liked what Troy had done.

  Both the alphas had the vanilla scent of a child surrounding them. He’d picked up the same scent near the horse corral. So they had a little one to protect as well. That would make them even more wary of strangers.

  Dale made introductions. Troy took a deep breath, knowing this would make or break him as a new hire.

  “Name’s Troy
Gilbert. Been on the road for a year after I left my last pack. Was head enforcer there until they kicked me out for being too violent. Thought you should know that up front.”

  Aiden arched a dark brow, while Nia simply studied him.

  “What pack?” Aiden asked in a deep voice.

  “The Meadowrunners out of northern California.”

  The alpha’s wide shoulders relaxed the smallest bit. The brittle tension in the room fled as well.

  “I’ve heard of them,” Aiden said in his deep voice. “Peace loving hippie pack, they align themselves with the Fae of that forest. They keep a strict no violence policy, no matter what.”

  The pack leader frowned. “I can’t see someone who looks like you being in their pack. They’re not regular Lupines.”

  He almost laughed. If Aiden only knew why the Meadowrunners had taken him in, the alpha might look twice. But that was a secret he planned to keep.

  For now.

  “Yeah, I didn’t fit in. Not really. They hired me as the pack muscle, probably because I’m a damn good tracker as well. I violated their rules and they banished me when an intruder threatened their alpha’s newborn. I had to do what I felt was right to keep them safe, even when it meant I broke their rules. I won’t go against my gut instinct.”

  “It’s a good instinct.” Aiden gave him a long, thorough look.

  Not as thorough as Nia.

  “What did you do to the intruder?” she asked.

  Everyone in the room leaned forward.

  “Gave him fair warning if he proved to be a problem. When he showed up late one night a second time, I showed him the business side of my claws. End of problem.”

  Not quite. He left out the part about how a certain wizard had interfered. Or how the pack alpha failed to inform Troy certain intruders were more welcome than others…

  Aiden nodded in approval while Nia continued to study him with her pretty blue eyes. Not as blue and compelling as Jenny’s, but she was striking.

  “How did you end up with the Meadowrunners?” she asked. “Where’s your family? Your pack of origin?”

  Now everyone in the room tensed, waiting for his answer.

  “Family’s gone. They moved to Europe from California when I was seventeen. Didn’t want to leave the country, so I was on my own. Wandered a while until answering the call for a job of enforcer for the Meadowrunners. After they kicked me out, I wandered some more. Figure it was time to find a new place that could use my skills. I’m no wrangler, but I’m a fast learner and loyal and if you give me a chance, I’ll show you.”

  Giving Troy a searching look, the alpha gave another nod. “I’ll set you up with our security team.”

  Aiden stuck out his hand and tension fled the air. “Welcome. Dale needs more muscle. You understand until Dale gives you the full green light, you’re on probation. I’ll leave it up to him where you bunk for now.”

  This Mitchell was no pushover and he had a family to protect. Yeah, he got it. Until he proved his loyalty to the power couple, he was an outsider.

  Troy shook his hand.

  As for Nia… she came straight up to Troy and gathered both hands in hers. Her palms were warm and calloused, showing she wasn’t adverse to hard work on the ranch.

  “You’re the one who gave Zoe money to return to us. Thank you. I’m happy to meet you. Welcome to our home. Have you eaten yet?”

  “Thought it was best to meet both of you first and tell you my story. Wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t. I sure could use a meal, and if that’s okay with you, I’d like to dine here with everyone.”

  Seemed like the right answer, because a few minutes later, he was seated at a table with the alpha couple themselves, their little girl, Dale and a pretty Lupine he introduced as his mate, Beth.

  Much as he enjoyed the meal, and getting acquainted with the alpha couple and the pack, Troy disliked being apart from Jenny. As a storm rumbled outside, he couldn’t help but worry about her.

  Jenny can take care of herself. Always could.

  He couldn’t help the nagging feeling that maybe she didn’t need him after all they had been through together.

  Because Jenny seemed to have a little secret of her own she hid, only Troy suspected hers was far more powerful. As lethal as his skills were as Lupine, as quickly as he could slash and claw and kill if necessary…

  Jenny could do worse. Much worse. Maybe soon she’d open up and trust him.

  Before it was too late.

  Chapter 5

  Spying on her friend was not how Jenny intended to spend her day. Yet this pack had appeal to Troy, and for that reason, she decided to let curiosity get the best of her.

  It killed the cat, they said, but she was a wolf.

  Or at least she thought so. Didn’t want to think about the other mysterious powers lurking below the surface.

  Powers she knew existed, and frightened her. Powers that had flared that day her pack died…

  But that was in the past. Today her focus remained on Troy.

  From a perch in a pine tree near the meadow she’d watched Troy ride a horse as the wranglers rounded up cattle, taking them to another pasture. He presented a fine figure on horseback, a brand new black Stetson perched at rakish angle on his head, shading his lean face from the brilliant yellow sun. Those jeans hugged every inch of his long legs and the blue chambray work shirt rolled up his forearms showed his sinewy, muscled arms.

  Those arms had held her with utter confidence as he’d kissed her good-bye.

  Wonder what he’d be like naked in bed?

  She adjusted her position and rubbed against the tree in sexual frustration. Hormones made her crazy, this yearning to lie down with Troy and tangle together as he slid in and out of her naked body.

  Fantasies were one thing. Reality another. What if they got naked and these odd magick powers surfaced? Getting naked meant being vulnerable.

  She’d made a vow to never be vulnerable after what happened…

  Yet from her observations today, the Mitchell Ranch seemed like a good place to settle down. The Lupines had an easy, friendly relationship with each other, and even Troy seemed to be cautiously accepted.

  Except for that wrangler called Snake, who seemed to dislike him.

  The ranch itself, nestled in a valley surrounded by jagged, forested mountains, had an aura of peace and goodwill. She’d seen the alpha himself earlier ride out, a rugged Lupine who treated others with respect, but kept everyone in line.

  The smell of juniper, freshly-mowed grass, horses and cattle filled the air. This smelled like a good place to live, and for Jenny, who tried to rely more and more on her Lupine senses, scent was most important.

  The longer she remained in Skin, the more her odd powers were likely to surface. She had to keep them at bay, like a dog straining to be off-leash.

  Long after Troy and the other wranglers herded the cattle out of the meadow she remained in the tree. Something tingled on her skin. The smell here was off as well.

  Jenny jumped ten feet down to the ground, landing on her feet. Letting her Lupine senses surge, she shifted into wolf and followed the trail.

  It light up like green phosphorus to her vision. But if someone here saw her as wolf…

  Shifting back to Skin and clothing herself as a cowgirl, she continued on. Immediately her powers surged, as if sensing the opportunity to act. Jenny thought of normal human activities to restrain her magick powers.

  If anyone saw her, well, she was part of the pack, or looked like part of them, anyway.

  The trail ended where a line of cabins stood at the meadow’s edge. Housing for the pack, perhaps. But the trail circled around, as if this something nasty were casing all the houses.

  For what purpose?

  Maybe she should warn the pack. No sentries were posted here, and inside some of the cabins she heard woman and children.

  Why would they leave their women and children unprotected? Unless no one sensed a threat. Maybe it wasn’t seen or s
melled by Lupines.

  To her the evil stalking this land was clear as black ants on white wedding cake.

  At the largest cabin closest to the forest, the smell increased and the trail lit up like a Christmas tree. Something had been here. Something nasty. A miasma of thick foulness, like sewer gas. Her wolf wanted to howl and run away.

  Jenny shifted back, clothing herself by magick. The smell was just as bad to her human senses. Doubling over, she coughed, fighting the nausea.

  She went around to the back. Tall pine trees shaded a child’s swing set and sandbox decorated with toys. Hearing a door on the back porch open, Jenny ran and hid behind one of the trees.

  A blonde woman carrying a baby came onto the porch, and headed for the sandbox. She placed the baby on the sand, and pushed a green plastic toy truck at him. The baby, who looked about a year old, babbled as he picked up the truck and waved it.

  “Don’t eat the sand this time, Hunter. Stay here and I’ll be right back after I check on those pies for tonight’s dinner.”

  The woman, Hunter’s mother she assumed, ran back into the house. Hunter looked around and babbled again. Then the baby pointed at the tree where Jenny hid.

  She stepped out. “Got me, kid. Can you tell me why this nasty thing is hanging around your house? I should tell your mama. I bet she wouldn’t leave you out here alone if she knew what lingered.”

  The child’s eyes widened. He pointed again to the tree. Interesting. Jenny turned and examined the trunk.

  Rugged beneath her fingertips, the maple tree bark seemed ordinary. But then she felt a slight indentation, as if a woodpecker had drilled inside. Jenny backed away and studied the hole.

  The phosphorus green glowed from inside. Now was not the time to shirk her odd powers. Culling them together, she stared at the hole, willing whatever was inside to come out. Jenny felt her mind reach into the trunk and yank hard.

  Her heart raced as a small black stone floated in the air. The baby babbled again and leaned away, as if he knew this was not a good thing.

  Especially next to his sandbox.

  The stone floated into Jenny’s outstretched palm. The silvery sheen covering the blackness glinted in the sunlight. It looked like a crystal, but beneath the stone glowed green. It stunk of the miasma of evil permeating this area.