Mountain Moonlight

  "Yes."

  "Huh?"

  She turned then. "I said yes. I know what they said. They said they were sorry, but the laws would remain as they always had. After all, one does not change something as important as environment and ecology overnight. These things take time. Study. More facts are needed before they can proceed with more security for the Carpathian wolves."

  His jaw dropped. "You just quoted the man verbatim."

  "Yes." Disgusted, she turned and faced the window again.

  "How did you know?"

  She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to remain calm. Don't even answer him, Katya. He is not worth your anger.

  "Katya. What's wrong?"

  She bit her lip until it bled. She would not answer him.

  When he reached for her, wrapping his fingers around her upper arms, she tensed, partially shifted, growling and clawing at him.

  Conner jumped back, his eyes wide. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

  She shifted back to fully human, refusing to feel guilty for the blood seeping from the wound on the back of his hand.

  He was lucky he still had two balls.

  "Katya, why did you attack?"

  "Get out, Conner. Before I do something I won't regret."

  He went silent for a moment, and she'd actually thought he might leave. But he didn't.

  "Oh, I get it. You're pissed because I went to the ministry without you."

  "And they said you were stupid."

  "Huh? Who said I was stupid?"

  She rolled her eyes and turned to face him. "You promised me last night that you would consult me."

  He looked past her, out the window, then met her gaze. "I did what I needed to do. I won't apologize for it again."

  "So you decided that maybe last night's apology was premature. That maybe you showed weakness by allowing the female alpha to bend you to her will. You suffered some kind of testosterone meltdown and decided to teach me a lesson. Let me know when I'm getting close to the truth."

  Close? Fuck, she'd hit the nail right on the head. Her insight was uncanny. And the woman was one vicious lupine when she was pissed off.

  "So how did it work for you, Conner? Oh, that's right, it didn't."

  "You need to understand the way it's supposed to work, Katya. I'm the alpha. I'm supposed to make all the decisions, and you're supposed to follow along."

  "Supposed to? I don't think so. The Braslieu pack has had a female alpha leading them since my father died. So much for tradition. They may hold onto some of the old ways, but they can bend in others. Perhaps you should consider the same."

  "I won't bend in this."

  "Then you'll be truly alone, because I won't yield to you and become some simpering, empty-headed mate that you only keep around to fuck. If that's what you want, go find someone else, because our association will end right now."

  "There can't be two alphas."

  She laughed. "There already are. And with you and me at odds, how long do you think it will take before my people realize that they gain nothing by having you as their leader, and everything by having me?"

  His eyes narrowed, his body stance taut with tension. "Don't threaten me, Katya."

  "Then don't insult me by expecting me to be something I'm not, Conner."

  She heard the growl, low and menacing, but refused to budge. Yes, he could harm her physically, but she didn't fear him. He'd never hurt her, no matter how angry she made him.

  Though she wasn't the type to lash out physically, either, and she had.

  Conner obviously brought out the worst in her.

  "I'd say we've reached an impasse," she offered. "Please leave my room and don't come back."

  "Gladly." He turned on his heel and in two long strides was gone.

  Katya exhaled and sat on the bed, her limbs trembling.

  Whether from fear, misery or outright anger, she couldn't tell.

  But one thing was certain.

  Neither of them had won that skirmish.

  And she feared a war was coming.

  *

  "You did it again? Holy Christ, Conner, are you a glutton for punishment?"

  Conner did his best to ignore Noah. Instead, he kept his focus on the paperwork on Katya's desk, determined to figure out an angle that would work on the ministry.

  "Elena told me what happened yesterday."

  "Remind me to have Elena sent to the far border of Braslieu land. She talks too much."

  "She's Katya's cousin, for God's sake. Don't you think the two of them speak? She's also Katya's beta and you know that gives her certain rights."

  Conner looked up at his brother. "Just whose side are you on here, bro? Mine, or Katya's?"

  "Yours, of course, except you're doing it all wrong."

  "I took advice from you once. Unsolicited. Notice how I'm not soliciting it now?"

  "I really think you should--"

  "Look," Conner said, rising from the chair and sliding the file folder shut. "I've taken all the "you shoulds" that I can handle. I'm not going to play meek puppy dog to placate the princess. She's going to have to learn to adapt to change, just like everyone else around here."

  "You're going to lose her, Con."

  Conner refused to be swayed by his brother's statement. "If I do, I do. There's plenty of pussy around here." But even that statement left him feeling hollow and empty.

  Noah shook his head. "Now you sound like me. And that's not a good thing. Because you aren't anything like me."

  "Thank God."

  "Keep it up, Con," Noah said, heading for the door. "In record time, just about everyone here will be wishing you'd never set foot on Braslieu land. Including me."

  Conner winced at the slam of the heavy door.

  The silence wasn't as comforting as he'd hoped. The sun had long since departed, leaving the nearly full moon tormenting him through the window.

  The pull grew stronger, as did his need.

  For Katya.

  He dropped his head into his heads and wished he was anywhere but here. It sure as hell seemed like he couldn't win, no matter what he did.

  "What the fuck is wrong with wanting to be an alpha?"

  The moon offered no response.

  A silvery cloud sailed across the three quarter moon, obliterating its light. Hell, even the moon had turned its back on him.

  He'd never felt more alone in his life. Or more like a failure. He'd always been taught to handle those around him who wanted to dominate him. There was only room for one alpha in a pack, and he was alpha of this one. Not a very good one, though.

  And for the life of him, he didn't know what to do now. Nor did he have anyone to talk to about it. Not even Noah. Noah and he didn't think the same way about things. They'd always been sun and moon, night and day. Opposites in so many ways, especially their philosophies. Funny, though, he'd expected Noah to stand behind him in this.

  "I guess I'm just goddamned wrong about everything."

  "About goddamned time you figured that out, brother dear."

  He lifted his head, shocked at the voice he hadn't expected to hear, especially in person.

  Chantal.

  "What are you doing here?"

  She waltzed in looking fresh and beautiful as usual, her hair pulled back in a ponytail and looking like she just walked off the pages of a glossy fashion magazine.

  "Thanks so much for the welcome." She set her briefcase down and came over to the desk to kiss his cheek. "You're in deep trouble."

  "Who says?"

  "Noah, for one. And he's not one to call for help. And he sure as hell would never think to call me in unless it was a dire emergency."

  "There's no emergency."

  Chantal crossed her arms. "Really? And how's Katya? How much progress have you made with her and your current situation?"

  He groaned. "Shit."

  "Going that well, huh?"

  "The last thing I need is another pain in the ass alpha female in the mix."

&
nbsp; "Oh, but there's a difference. I'm not the pain in the ass alpha female you're in love with."

  He glared at her. "Who said I was in love with Katya?"

  "I did."

  "You don't even know her."

  "I don't have to. I know you. The fact you've completely alienated her can mean only one thing. She's gotten under your skin and you have no idea how to handle her. Because she isn't your usual piece of fluff that you fuck, and she isn't a part of the business that you can just deal with as you see fit."

  Sometimes he really hated Chantal's insights. "So?"

  Her grin brightened up the gloom in the office. "So I'm here to rescue you. Aren't you just the luckiest sonofabitch on the face of the Earth?"

  *

  Katya may loathe Conner Devlin right now, but she was absolutely crazy in love with his sister, Chantal.

  What complete opposites. Yes, Chantal was definitely an alpha female, but she had emotions. And she understood Katya's plight.

  What was even better, she agreed with her complaints about Conner.

  "Yes, my brother is a huge pain in the ass. You're very wise to discover that so quickly in the game. That says a lot about your intellect, Katya. Most people don't figure that out until after he's been around a while."

  They sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee and trading stories about Conner.

  Thought Katya's experience with him had been limited, she'd learned a lot about him in a short period of time. Though she hadn't shared quite everything with Chantal. Namely, the passion that she'd experienced with Conner.

  She doubted Chantal would want to hear those details.

  "I can't believe you've run this huge pack all these years," Chantal said. "That must have been quite a burden for you."

  "I could have continued to handle things myself."

  "Having help isn't admitting failure, Katya."

  She shrugged.

  "Anyway, let's get down to business. Tell me exactly what's going on with Conner."

  "He's a pain in my ass."

  Chantal laughed. "Understandable. I remember when Noah and Conner were teens. Lord did they drive my mother crazy. I just sat there with the halo over my head while they got in trouble."

  Katya could well envision the family dynamics of the Devlins. She wished she could have seen Conner grow up. "I'll bet Conner was a troublemaker even then."

  Rolling her eyes dramatically, Chantal said, "Honey, you have no idea."

  She'd never felt this comfortable so quickly with another person. Chantal had breezed in unapologetically and informed her she was here to help. Having experience with international law would also assist them with the ministry. At least that was the reason Chantal gave for showing up here.

  But she got the idea that Conner's sister had come for another reason entirely, despite her claims to be here to help the Carpathian cause.

  "Your brother is stubborn."

  "Mmm-hmm," Chantal answered, sipping her coffee.

  "And unreasonable."

  "Yes."

  "He refuses to acknowledge my rights."

  "Typical."

  "He treats me like a woman."

  "The bastard."

  Katya laughed, realizing how ridiculous that sounded. With a resigned sigh, she added, "And I'm in love with him."

  "I'm so sorry to hear that, honey," Chantal said, then grinned.

  "How do I handle him? I feel like if I bow to his dominance, I lose a part of myself."

  "You don't have to give up any of yourself to love someone. If that person loves you, then there's always a compromise."

  She shook her head. "I can see no way to compromise. He simply wishes to take over and do things his way without including me."

  "Then you have to keep reminding him to include you."

  She lifted her chin. "I shouldn't have to remind him. He should know what to do."

  Chantal arched a brow. "Now who's being the stubborn alpha?"

  It hadn't occurred to her until Chantal said the words. "You know, you're absolutely right. I'm as bad as he is."

  Laughing, Chantal clasped her hand and squeezed. "The great thing about women is that we can admit our flaws. Men, on the other hand..."

  "Very true. We do need to walk more than halfway to meet them in the middle, don't we?"

  "With my brother, yeah, I'm afraid so. But if it's any comfort, I believe he's in love with you."

  Katya snorted. "That's highly unlikely. He hates me. He thinks I deliberately seduced him to take him as my mate. Which, by the way, I didn't. I had...a rough night that night. Then I drank too much brandy to numb the shock, and one thing led to another."

  Chantal held up her hand. "You don't need to explain to me. I believe you. And trust me. I know Conner. If he didn't love you, I wouldn't still be here. He'd have railed and complained and done whatever necessary to get me on a plane out of here as fast as possible. The last thing he'd want is my help."

  "And?"

  "He asked me to stay. To help him figure a way that he could work things out with you."

  She found that hard to believe, and was irritated at the sense of hope she felt at Chantal's statement. "He told you this?"

  "Not in so many words, but that was the gist of our conversation. Trust me, Katya, he's got it bad for you. All you have to do now is take the upper hand, and move in for the kill."

  Yes, she liked Chantal more and more every minute she spent with Conner's cunning sister. She'd given Katya hope that maybe her feelings for Conner weren't unfounded. Perhaps their relationship wasn't completely doomed to failure.

  If she could give a little, maybe Conner would too.

  Chapter Eleven

  "Don't you have business to attend to in San Francisco?"

  For three days Conner had dealt with Chantal underfoot, picking away at him until he had no choice but to sit down and listen to her harp about his treatment of Katya. He tapped his fingers on the desk and waited.

  "Of course I have business in San Francisco. Well, moving in, anyway. The job doesn't start for another few weeks, so until then I'm all yours."

  He looked to the heavens for intervention. "Oh, joy. I'm sure Mom and Dad would love to see you."

  "Quit evading the issue. Pull your head out of your ass and make some headway with Katya."

  "Katya is a stubborn, unreasonable pain in the ass."

  Chantal smirked. "Funny, she said the same thing about you."

  "That figures." Lord, save him from his own family. "I'm doing fine."

  "You are not. You've made no progress at all with the ministry, you can't even get your foot in the door and Katya won't speak to you. Aren't you two mated or something?"

  "Yes." Not that anyone could tell. The cold castle had become even more frigid over the last few days.

  "I haven't seen the two of you occupy the same room, let alone a bedroom, since I came here."

  "She's being obstinate."

  Arching her brows, Chantal said, "So are you. Meet her halfway, Conner. Otherwise you're wasting your time here. Her people won't follow you if she doesn't."

  Tired of hearing this same speech from his brother and sister, he said, "Yeah, they will. I'm alpha. They have no choice."

  "Haven't you ever seen another male take over a pack?"

  "Yeah. But it won't happen here. I'm much stronger than any of their males."

  "Famous last words." Chantal examined one long, red fingernail. "I'll miss you when they beat you to a bloody pulp in their takeover."

  "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

  She stood and stretched, then headed to the window. "Even now, they're plotting against you."

  "You watch too much television."

  "I'm watching out the window, you idiot. There are at least a dozen males huddled together, and occasionally glancing up here at the office. Do you think they're planning a surprise birthday party for you? Come on, Con. They see how unhappy Katya is. They're worried about the future of their pack. They don't see you
as a leader. The tension around this place is thick. Everyone's worried about their future. If you can't gain Katya's cooperation and trust, how will you ever gain theirs?"

  Fuck. He didn't need this. He'd already apologized once. He goddamn well wasn't going to do it again.

  "You might be right. I do need her. For cooperative reasons only."

  "Of course."

  She didn't believe him, judging by the smirk she tried unsuccessfully to hide. He didn't really care. He'd do what he had to do to gain Katya's assistance in the planning efforts for the wolves, but that was it. If she wanted him to touch her again, she'd damn well have to get on her knees and beg, because he was no woman's puppy dog.

  Apologizing to her the first time had been a critical error on his part. It wouldn't happen again. He could live without his mate's love. What the fuck would he do with love anyway? It just caused problems and he had enough problems to deal with.

  "I'll go talk to her."

  Chantal crossed her arms and graced him with a satisfied smile. "Good."

  But on his terms, not hers. He stood and headed for the door. No time like the present to get the unpleasant business out of the way.

  "She's in love with you, you know."

  He stopped and turned. "No, she's not."

  "Yeah, she is."

  "Did she tell you that?"

  "I'm not at liberty to say."

  "What the fuck does that mean?"

  "That means I'm not telling you how I know. I just know."

  He narrowed his gaze on his sharply cunning sister. "You made it up."

  "If you say so."

  Damn Chantal for putting that thought in his head. Did Katya love him? How could she possibly have any feelings for him at all, other than hatred? He'd pushed her away by not including her in pack business, not once, but twice. He'd accused her of deliberately entrapping him into a mate bond. It wouldn't make any sense for her to be in love with him.

  "Don't screw with me, Chantal. I need to know."

  His sister shrugged. "Then you're asking the wrong person. Go ask Katya how she feels."

  "No fucking way."

  "Your choice, Con. Good luck. I'm going to go soak in the tub." She walked past him and stopped, throwing her arms around him for a quick hug. Just as quickly, she pulled away and said, "Not many of us are fortunate enough to find someone willing to put up with us. I'd say you're one of the lucky ones. What you choose to do with that knowledge is up to you, but if you screw up again, you're never going to get another chance."