I glanced up and found myself staring at a man about Luke's age with dark hair and blue eyes. He wore a white shirt with dress pants, and his smile had a smooth, oily look to it that I didn't trust. Even with that strange, uncomfortable smile there was something about him that made my body jump to attention. Maybe it was the way he stood erect and confident, or maybe it was the heated look in his own blue eyes.
"Hello there. I don't believe I've seen such a lovely face as yours at the meeting before," he greeted.
"Probably because you haven't," I quipped.
The stranger smiled and shrugged. "I suppose I deserved that for not introducing myself." He held out his hand for me to shake it. "I'm Lance Connor, Lord Connor and leader of the Connor region. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
My mind was a swirling mass of panic and confusion. Here in the flesh was one of the names I'd been taught to fear, and he was strangely handsome. I supposed he kept his evil skin hidden beneath his clothes like all the werewolves around here, and shook his hand. "The pleasure's all yours, but it's Rebecca." Last names were still never given out until I approved of the guy, and I knew for sure that I didn't approve of this guy.
"A very good, old name. I'm sure you're interested in why I approached you, other than because of your wonderful beauty."
"I'd like to know if I need a restraining order against you," I replied.
He chuckled. "I saw you arrive and noticed you were in the same train car as Lord Laughton. Do you two happen to be intimately acquainted?"
"You could say that-" and a lot of other things related to intimacy. "Why?"
"Any friend of Luke's is a friend of mine," Lance explained to me. He leaned in and sniffed the air around me. His lips curled up into a grin. "And I smell you're a little more than a friend to Luke. May I congratulate you on the betrothal?"
The colored drained from my face. "Betrothal?" Luke hadn't even taken me out on a date.
"That's the usual results when a werewolf changes a human," he replied. His dark blue eyes swept over me, and I shuddered at the strange heat in their depths. "Though there are exceptions to every rule."
I leaned away and nervously chuckled. "Yeah, rules are funny that way. Speaking of rules, isn't there one where you're supposed to be at a meeting right now?"
He shrugged. "While I'm proud to represent my region the mundane aspects of the government are, well, mundane, so I've sent a representative in my place. On that subject, I hope to see you join my little organization," he commented.
I raised an eyebrow. "What organization?"
He chuckled. "Truth be told-" which I suspected didn't happen often with him, "-it's actually one of the minor social parties. I may not have the stomach for boring meetings, but I do like to unite people under a common cause."
"And what's that cause?" I asked him.
"To protect each other through mutual cooperation," he grandly replied. "The human world is growing closer and closer to finding out our existence and we need to be ready when the wolf is out of the bag, so to speak."
"I don't think the human world is that dangerous," I defended my former reality. I looked him up and down. " Sure there's a bunch of jerks in it, but that's not exclusive to the human world," I pointedly added.
Lance took my meaning and smirked. "That may be, but we werewolves still need to watch out for one another before our paltry numbers reach zero," he insisted.
I glanced around at the busy deck and the crowds that wandered in and out of the cafeteria doors. "There doesn't seem to be that few of us," I argued.
He shook his head. "The voting meeting is a little deceptive for evaluating our population. There's always a good showing, for as werewolves see it as our civic duty to attend."
"Even when it started earlier than it should have?" I wondered.
Lance chuckled. "I'm sure the few days change won't effect the outcome of the vote," he assured me. I had every confidence it would ensure the outcome he wanted.
Our wonderfully uncomfortable conversation was thankfully interrupted by a tug on my arm. I glanced over the table and found myself staring into Abby's cutely impatient face. "I'm bored. Let's go for a walk," she pleaded.
I smiled at her. "I think that would be a great idea." I looked back to Lance. "If you'll excuse us, Mr. Connor-"
"Please call me Lance," he insisted. There were other things I wanted to call him, but not within hearing of Abby.
"-but we need to go have some fun." Abby pulled me along the deck toward a flight of stairs that led down to the woods.
"Until later," he called over our shoulders. I'd make sure later was a really long time.
We hurried down the stairs and I managed a look over my shoulder. Lance stood at the top of the stairs with a creepy grin on his face. "That guy sure was creepy," I murmured to myself. I glanced down at my young guide. "What did you think of him?"
Abby wrinkled her nose. "I don't like him, he smells funny."
I raised an eyebrow. "Smells funny how?"
She innocently looked up at me. "Didn't you smell his scent?" I shook my head.
"Nope. He was doing enough creepiness with his mouth. Can you tell me what it smelled like?"
Abby scrunched up her face and pursed her cute lips together. "Well, it kind of smelled like blood, but really old."
I stuck out my tongue. "That's nasty. Doesn't that bother everyone around him?"
"He tries to hide it with other scents, but I can smell it. Papa taught me how to track scents," she beamed.
"I'm very glad you're on my side, Abby," I smiled in returned.
"So am I, but let's go. I want to show you my favorite trail."
"Just as long as it isn't too long," I told her.
It was too long, or at least a few miles farther than I wanted to walk. Abby frolicked the entire way, gathering flowers and smelling the trail like a wild, but adorable, animal. I had to admit the trail was beautiful with its wide, well-cared for dirt path and the views of the valley below us. The path followed the steepest part of the hillside so no trees obscured the lower view, but not so close I was afraid we'd fall off the edge. A few miles from the villa we came to a collection of large boulders several stories tall with small nooks and large cave openings. They were smooth-sided granite monstrosities arranged in a prehistoric rock slide motif thirty yards wide along the path and at least that deep into the mountainside.
"This is my favorite place!" Abby told me. She broke from my hand and hopped into the mess of rocks. The little girl terrified me by climbing all over them while I watched from the ground and winced every time she slipped or disappeared into one of the crevices. Werewolf abilities or no werewolf abilities, if she broke her neck her parents would kill me.
"Abby, get down off there!" I demanded. All I got was an echoing giggle and the girl peeked her head out from the top of the mess of rocks. "You've scared me enough, now get out of there."
"Come and catch me, Becky!" She disappeared into the rocks again, and didn't come back out.
"Abby?" I called out. I stumbled toward where I'd last seen her. The area was eerily quiet, and I whipped my head up when a bunch of pebbles slid over the top of the rocks. My inner voice was telling me it told me it hadn't been a good idea to leave my room, and I told it to shut up. "Abby, come on out. This isn't funny," I called to my little friend.
"Boo!" Abby jumped out at me, and I jumped out of my skin. I shrieked and knocked my back into one of the boulders. Abby giggled until I shot forward and grasp her hand in mine.
"Don't scare me like that!" I scolded her.
She shrank away and her lower lip trembled. "I-I didn't mean to, Becky. I just thought we'd have some fun."
I sighed and glanced around at the rock jungle gym. If by fun she meant breaking my neck there was plenty to be had here. "This isn't exactly my idea of fun," I told her.
"But there's a whole bunch of neat caves in there!" she protested. "They go all the way back forever and ever, and you'll never guess w
hat I found in one of the caves!" She grasped my hand and tugged me toward a wide opening that led into a dark, spooky-looking cavern. "Come on, I'll show you!"
I dug my heels into the ground and stopped her strong pull. She had a long of strength in that little werewolf frame. "Forever and ever is a long time. I don't know about you, but I'd get hungry before I finished exploring all those caves, and wouldn't you miss your mom and dad?" I reminded her.
"But I really did find something neat in there," she persisted.
"And we really should be getting back," I insisted.
Abby's face drooped and she sighed. "I guess, but can we come back here tomorrow and I can show you what I found?" she pleaded with me.
"Sure." If I lived to see tomorrow because if Luke found out I was gone I'd be dead meat.
"Yay!" Abby yipped.
"Come on, let's head back to the trail." I securely took her hand and led her away from the rock fun house and back on the trail. I decided we needed to turn around, especially when I glanced down the trail and couldn't even see the villa. I worried we'd wandered out of the boundaries of the werewolf territory, if there was an end to their territory. "Uh, Abby, I think we need to go back before I get in trouble." Luke's meeting had been going on for nearly four hours.
"It shouldn't take too long to get back if we transform," Abby casually replied.
"Um, transform?" I squeaked.
"Yeah, you know, turn into a wolf."
"Um, there's a bit of a problem with that. I don't know how to transform."
She tilted her head and blinked at me. "You don't? I thought everyone knew how to change."
"I'm kind of new to this whole werewolf thing and haven't really figured that part out. Or any part, really."
"Oh. Then I guess we'd better get back before Mama and Papa worry about me."
I frowned. "Worry? Don't they know you were going to take me for a walk?"
She sheepishly smiled and shook her head. "I kind of snuck out."
I sighed and took her hand to lead her back. "Well, I guess that makes two of us. Come on, before they send out a search party for us."
Chapter 18
We'd gone about a mile when Abby stopped and lifted her nose in the air.
"There's someone coming," she told me. I didn't need a super sniffer to be told that because I heard the pounding of paws on the path ahead of us. A few seconds later I spotted a werewolf racing along the trail straight toward us. I picked Abby up intending to run away, but she only laughed at my fright. "It's Luke!" she told me.
The werewolf skidded to a stop in front of us and those familiar orange eyes glared at me. If it was Luke, he wasn't happy. I sheepishly grinned at him. "Um, hi." The wolf growled and moved around behind us. He gave me a hard nudge in the butt and I stumbled down the path. I set Abby down, swung around, and crossed my arms over my chest. "Do you mind? I'm not an animal you can herd around." He bared his fangs and snarled, and I cringed and held up my hands. "Moo?"
Luke flipped me around with his snout and marched us back to the villa in time for the setting sun to shine its last rays behind the western mountain peaks. Abby's parents and Stacy met us at the edge of the villa park, and they were as happy as Luke. The worried parents raced up, and knelt down and hugged their child, then got down to the punishment part of the reunion. "Abigail Stewart, you are grounded for the rest of the trip!" Mrs. Stewart scolded her.
"But Mama!" Abby whined.
"No buts, young lady! Thank goodness Lord Laughton found your scent and his friend here found us with the news." She gestured to Stacy, who smiled and bowed her head.
"I'm just glad this adventure has a happy ending," Stacy replied.
Mr. Stewart turned to the werewolf. "We can't thank you enough for your help for helping us with our daughter a second time, Lord Laughton." The wolf shook its head, but Mr. Stewart persisted. "If you ever need our help we will always be at your service."
Mrs. Stewart straightened and tugged on Abby's hand. "Come on, Abby. You're going to your room without supper." The happy but angry parents strode off with Abby, and that meant my turn for punishment. I nervously glanced at the wolf.
"So, um, how did the meeting go?" I asked him. The werewolf growled and nodded toward the villa. I sighed and a trudged to my room with the werewolf chaperon close behind.
The halls were crowded with other werewolves who pointed and laughed at my predicament. I knew he meant to publicly humiliate me in front of the others, and it worked. It also made me mad. By the time we reached our room I was furious and stomped inside. Luke followed and shut the door behind us. I spun on my heels and faced my oppressor.
Luke lost the fur and revealed his naked self. He also revealed a scowl while he wrapped himself in a bathrobe. "What do you think you were doing out there?"
"Taking a walk. People do that with a lot of trails around," I replied.
"This isn't a joking matter, Becky. Our enemies won't hesitate to catch you alone and kill you," he insisted.
"So now I'm finally Becky and not a slave?" I wondered.
Luke walked up to me and softly grasped my upper arms. His eyes caught mine in an intense gaze. I blushed and turned away, unable to meet his serious look. "You were never a slave, and I apologize for treating you so horribly then, but I couldn't let you leave. My Beast wouldn't allow it, and truth be told I kind of liked your lively company. Alistair is a good manservant, but his companionship is rather stodgy."
I glanced back at him and raised an eyebrow. "Just appreciated my company?" I scolded.
He looked down at my body and wagged his eyebrows. "Among other things," he added.
"I guess I'll accept that, but I still haven't forgiven you for kidnapping me and I expect you to let me go back home and tell everyone I'm fine," I insisted.
"I can live with that, and I promise I'll let you see your friends again," he promised.
"Good. Now what?" I asked him.
"After that little adventure there'll be very little what and where for you," he replied. "You're going to stay by my side at all times."
I cringed. "Even during the meetings?"
"Even during the meetings," he repeated.
"That's cruel and unusual punishment."
"Then it's very suitable for the scare you gave me."
"Can't I suffer through the dining hall food and stay inside the villa?" I pleaded with him.
Luke shook his head. "Not until you prove I can trust you to stay where it's safe."
I folded my arms across my chest and leaned on one hip. "Stay where it's safe, huh? I'll have you know I already ran into Lance on the deck."
Luke stiffened and scowled. "What did he say to you?"
I shrugged. "Just asked me how I was related to you and I asked him how come he wasn't at the meeting. He said he got a representative to go for him."
"Yes, our old friend from the inn," Luke told me. "I imagine he sent that man to mock my efforts to have him arrested in Wolverton. Did Lance say anything that caught your attention?"
I scrunched up my face and recalled one strange item from our conversation. "He did say something that I'd like to know about. What's this about something being different about my smell?" I asked him.
Luke nodded. "Your scent's changed to be closer to mine and alert others that you belong to me. Why?"
I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him my best suspicious look. "Because that Lance guy sniffed me and said something about a betrothal. Care to tell me what that's all about?"
Luke coughed to hide his guilty expression. "I meant to inform you sooner, but our adventures have kept me from proposing."
"Proposing what?"
"To you."
I blinked. "Come again?"
He got down on one knee in front of me and took one of my hands in his own. "As my mate you are considered my wife in werewolf society, so I'd like to be considered the same in human society."
"Did you just-did you just ask me to marry you?" I asked him. He nodd
ed, and my face shifted between flattered and uncertain. "Is this something I have to decide right now? I mean, a lot's happened to me lately and I don't think I can think clearly right now."
Luke sighed and stood with a small, sad puppy-dog smile on his lips. "I suppose I should have expected that. After all, you haven't forgiven me for tearing you from your old life into this strange one."
"And speaking of that, how far did you tear me from my life?" I gestured around at the rough walls and rafters. "I've seen a lot of old-fashioned towns along this trip and no sign of a freeway or Starbucks." And here I thought there was one every square mile on earth.
"I took you across several hundred miles and a state-line to reach my home," he admitted.
My face twisted into disbelief. "How in the world did you even find me that far from where you live? Why in the world did you go looking that far when you had Stacy right here begging you to have her pups?"
"Our noses are very powerful and very selective, especially when it comes to choosing a mate. I merely followed mine to your city and rummaged through the scents until I found yours."
My face drooped. "So you stalked me that far?"
"Yes, but don't you think you're worth it?" he teased.
"I'm worth at least a thousand stalking miles," I replied.
He pulled me gently against him and wrapped his arms around me. I blushed at the heat of his body against mine, especially when the heat pooled between my legs. "You're worth much more than that to me." Then he let go and stepped away. The sudden loss of his hard chest caught me off balance and I fell face-forward onto the rock floor. "And that's why you're staying by my side all day tomorrow," he added.
I growled and whipped my head up to glare at him. He somehow survived my evil eye. "You sure you shouldn't be checked out for a split-personality disorder?" I wondered.
"Every werewolf has a split personality disorder with their Beast," he pointed out.
"I think you've got an extra one in that head of yours."
"My head is quite sound."
"That's a matter of opinion."
"You had ample opportunity to examine my head last night."