She thought it was interesting that Jonathan seemed to be angriest about Waldron accusing him and his brother of being troublemakers. “Why did Waldron leave his pack in Idaho?” she asked.
“Benjamin, the pack leader, said if his brother didn’t leave with those who sided with him, he would kill him.”
“Why?”
“Waldron wanted to run the pack. He was trying to create a mutiny. Only Benjamin caught him at it and expelled him right away. He told Waldron if he saw him in Idaho anywhere near his territory, he’d kill Waldron outright and any of his followers too.”
“Why did your parents go with him?” Pepper asked, shocked to hear it.
“He promised our dad a sub-leader position. Dad wouldn’t have had one otherwise.” Jonathan sat back in his chair. “Waldron made a lot of promises to the pack.”
“What made him come here?” Eric asked, his tone suspicious. “How would he know that Pepper was a single she-wolf running a pack?”
“She wasn’t a single she-wolf when Waldron first found out about her. She killed his cousin when he murdered her mate and tried to take over her pack,” Jonathan said, pointing at Pepper. “Not only was Obie Waldron’s favorite cousin, but he always said he wouldn’t fail where his cousin had. But still, Waldron was trying to take over his brother’s pack first. It’s bigger and would give him more power, and Waldron knew everyone. He thought he’d have an easier time of it than trying to win over a new pack. Of course, he didn’t tell us that, but Leroy and I overheard him talking to his sub-leaders, our dad included.”
“Hell,” Eric said.
Pepper felt her whole world spin. She was stunned that Waldron could be related to the animal who had killed her mate.
Seeing Pepper’s face turn ice-white, Eric didn’t know what to do. He wanted to talk to her in private, but he didn’t know what to say to make her feel better.
Susan and Richard had remained in the kitchen, cleaning up, which Eric thought was a ploy to stay out of the way and let Pepper and the boys have this discussion without so many adults listening in on the conversation. To help them to open up more.
Then, as if on cue, Susan and Richard started serving dessert—chocolate mousse pie. Everyone ate it while the subject switched to what needed to be done tomorrow, and the boys seemed a little lighter-hearted after giving up their secrets.
Pepper was quiet while Susan and Richard and the boys dominated the conversation with talk of what they had planned for the pack for the rest of the year. As the adults finished their desserts, the boys had a second helping.
Then Richard looked to Pepper and she nodded. “It’s time to say good night. I had a nice visit with everyone,” she said.
“Thanks,” Jonathan said, and his brother echoed his thanks.
“I’ll take them home,” Richard said. “Come on, boys. We have to get up early to go to work tomorrow.”
They both groaned, and then they all left.
Susan hurried to take care of the dessert dishes.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your mate,” Eric said to Pepper.
“I had no idea Waldron’s relation had anything to do with it. If I had, I would have viewed him being here a lot more warily. Sounds to me like revenge could be at the root of it. Explains why he is so persistent.” She joined Susan in the kitchen. “Thanks, Susan. I’ll take care of the rest of this.”
“The dinner seemed to go over well with the boys. They loved the food, and I think they realize how rotten Waldron is,” Susan said, putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. “Um, about him being Obie’s cousin—”
“We’ll talk about it later. I’m tired and not in the mood to speak of it right now.”
“Sure,” Susan said and cast Eric a look that indicated she hoped he’d stay and visit with Pepper a bit to ensure she was going to be all right.
He hoped to, but it was really Pepper’s call.
When Susan said good night and left, Eric asked Pepper, “Do you mind if I have a cup of coffee before I leave? After being up most of the night, I don’t want to drift off on the drive home.” He figured she’d be glad to send him on his way too. She’d most likely be thinking about what had transpired tonight, maybe wanting to sort it all out on her own. But if she needed to have someone to talk to, he wanted to be that someone.
She let out her breath, looking tired but beautiful. “About that. It’s a four-hour drive home for you. Stay the night. You can leave for work tomorrow from here. It’s about the same distance to your job as going from your…” She suddenly stopped speaking. “I’m sorry. I forgot about your home.”
“It’s all right. And you’re correct. The distance from Sarandon’s place is about the same too. And thanks. I’ll take you up on the offer.” If Waldron pulled anything tonight, Eric would be here to protect her.
“Sure. Let’s have some coffee then. Decaf if you’d like. That’s what I’ll have, or I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“Same for me since I won’t have to drive.” Eric eyed the second mousse pie in the fridge as she reached in to get cream for their coffee. “I didn’t want to ask in front of everyone else and give the boys the idea they could finish the pie, but…”
Pepper smiled. “You want another slice?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“No. I’ll have another too.”
He brought out dishes and forks. “Sorry about using up more plates.”
“No problem. That’s what dishwashers are for.” She poured them both cups of coffee, adding cream and sugar, but this time instead of going back to the dining room, she led him into the den. They took their seats on the faux suede sofas where it was a lot more relaxed and cozier. “I might as well tell you about my mate. All of it.”
Eric hadn’t expected this, but he was glad she felt comfortable discussing her mate with him now. She’d changed from her business skirt, jacket, and heels into a pair of soft jeans and a sleeveless blouse and looked a little more relaxed now that the boys had gone.
“Have you ever known a couple who have been friends so long that everyone assumes they’ll be mated?”
Eric set his empty coffee cup down on the table and ate his pie. “Kind of. Sam, who owns the tavern in Silver Town, and Silva, who now runs a tearoom, were destined to be mated, even if they couldn’t see it for the longest time. But to see all that passion between them… The rest of us knew it had to happen sooner or later.”
“Oh, well, not exactly the same with us. Because of that, I waited years before I agreed. I think some part of me felt like I needed someone who was more than just a best friend. I think you need both. Some spark of passion and the friendship that shows you care about each other every day of your mated life. Not just during courtship or the first years of the mating. But forever.”
“I agree. So you were best friends, but you felt something was missing.”
“Yeah. Maybe that he should have been more alpha.” She finished her pie and set her plate on the table, then drank the rest of her coffee.
He noted she quickly dropped the issue of needing more passion in her life. “Because the alpha wolf killed him.”
“Yeah, I always wondered if it would have made a difference. Obie was coming on to me and trying to get my mate to react, but Harold was following my lead, although I know he was embarrassed about not doing anything about it. But he was a real beta wolf. I didn’t want him to fight Obie, and I knew Harold didn’t want to fight him either.”
“So you’ve always led the pack on your own.”
“Yes. I never thought we’d have trouble with an alpha male like that. Harold had gone off on a run after we’d had a big fight. He’d said he wanted an equal role in the leadership, which would have been fine if he’d been a leader. But he wasn’t. He sat back and let me deal with everything. He was a hard worker, loved by all, good with the kids,
but he was not a leader. While Harold was running as a wolf by the creek, Obie jumped him. He had been waiting for Harold to be off on his own. I heard the wolves fighting, stripped, and shifted. I was sick with worry. I knew in a confrontation between Harold and Obie, Harold would lose. Among the beta wolves in our pack, Harold managed fine. But matching him with an aggressive alpha wolf? No way.
“When I saw Harold lying on his side, gasping for breath, I tore into Obie. He was just standing there, gloating over his success. He didn’t see me coming, which gave me the advantage because he was so much larger than me. I sank my teeth into his neck and held on with such tenacity that I killed the beast. When I released him, I finally saw three males of his pack watching me, but none moving closer. I growled and snarled at them, and then I howled for my pack, but we were too late. Harold died in my arms. If we hadn’t had a fight that night—” She wiped away tears. “If I hadn’t made him my mate…” She shook her head.
Eric wasn’t sure Pepper would appreciate it if he moved closer to comfort her, but he slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a tender hug. “Who’s to say the same thing wouldn’t have happened if you had taken a different mate? Or that if you hadn’t taken Harold as your mate, he might still have been provoked into an attack with the same result?”
She swallowed hard. “I keep reminding myself of that. For the past seven years, I’ve had trouble with alpha males thinking my pack would be an easy takeover. Just mate me and they’d be in charge. But none of the wolves would have been good for the pack or for me.”
“And then Waldron comes along.”
“Right. I should have known he was related to Obie. Now that I know, I can see he has some of the same mannerisms, both as a wolf and as a human.”
“He must have thought you wouldn’t learn the truth before it was too late. Then here I come along, causing you more anxiety.” Eric wanted her to acknowledge that she was unsure of him in the same way. And he wanted to talk about it. To straighten out her misconception of him.
“I don’t want you to get killed over me or over my pack.”
Eric raised his brows. “I don’t intend for him to kill me for any reason.”
She let out her breath in annoyance. “He brutally attacked you already and—”
“And I didn’t fight back. I ran off. It won’t happen again. Believe me, over the years, I’ve been in enough wolf fights—and lived to tell about them. You don’t have to worry about me. What bothers me is you thinking I’d be like the other alpha males you’ve had difficulty with.”
“I’ve never met a bachelor alpha male who wasn’t thinking of taking over my pack. So you have been an enigma to me. I keep thinking you’ll suddenly begin to behave like the others did.” She shook her head. “But you’re nothing like them. Oh, sure, you have all the alpha wolf posturing. But whenever I’ve had to deal with anything pack-related around you, you stay back and watch how it plays out. You wait for an invitation to step in.
“Not like Waldron. A few weeks back, Waldron paid me a visit when I was speaking to Richard about some pack matter. Waldron told Richard what to do, as if he were already the leader of the pack. I asked Richard to leave and then tore into Waldron. He only seemed semi-amused. I knew then if I ever mated him or another wolf like him, I’d have a devil of a time protecting my pack—from him.”
Right then, Eric wanted to kiss her and make her feel better. He wanted her to see that some alpha males were all right. He wanted to court her, to learn if they had enough common ground that they thought it might work out.
Ultraserious, Eric rose from the couch. He knew this was one hell of a gamble, but she’d allowed him to have a guest room last night. And he felt like dinner tonight had been a test to see how he handled the boys. To see how he spoke to Susan and Richard, her loyal sub-leaders. He felt she wouldn’t have said he could stay tonight if she wasn’t reaching out to him, wanting to learn more about him, to see if he truly was different from the others she had known.
Pepper stood, but before she could start grabbing dishes, he took her hand and pulled her tentatively into his arms. She was still unsure of him and what this might lead to. Yet she didn’t fight it, didn’t pull away or say no. She allowed herself to be drawn into his arms, and he gave her a light hug—at first. He didn’t want her seeing him as some alpha who couldn’t control his libido around her, despite the way his pheromones were spiking and triggering hers to react. He could hear her heart beating pell-mell with intrigue.
He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. They were filled with curiosity and interest. He leaned down and kissed her mouth. She slid her arms around him, which gave him permission to slide his arms around her back. To gently rub her back with a soothing caress. To hold her closer and show her he was interested in her in a way that had nothing to do with pack leadership and everything to do with the way a man hungered for a woman.
Their kiss was gentle at first, and then she pressed him for more like she’d done before, but this time neither work nor pack members would intrude. His blood sizzled as he touched her lips with his tongue, but she hesitated to open up to him. He backed off just a little, unwilling to let it go. He felt the hesitation in her whole body—the desire there, but the concern too. Then, as if she was ready to throw caution to the wind, she parted her lips and touched her tongue to his. But there was nothing tentative about it.
She kissed him as if she’d die if she didn’t taste him, feel his mouth and tongue against hers, and experience the passion ignite between them. For the moment, he forgot about everything else. He didn’t remember that he was trying to go easy with her or that he wanted to prove he was one of the good alpha wolves. All he wanted to do was breathe in her she-wolf scent, the fragrance of pines and firs she’d worked with today, and absorb the taste of the sweet coffee and chocolate mocha flavoring her mouth. He luxuriated in the feel of her soft body pressed against his, the way she was kissing him, making him hard and wanting more.
She pulled away with obvious reluctance, and he sure as hell was reluctant to let her go. But he had to, if he was going to prove he really was different from the alpha males she’d encountered in her life. He wondered now if her mate had been that passionate with her. Maybe he had been, but it had been a long time ago.
“We’d better go to bed if you’re going to wake in time for work,” she said.
“I’ll manage.” He wished they could just keep this up. But he knew it was best if they ended it like this, on a positive note. And he hoped she wouldn’t regret it in the morning and put distance between them again.
“Thank you…for everything,” she said. Then she took the plates and silverware into the kitchen while he carried in the coffee mugs.
“I’ll just grab my bag.” He was going to have to pack more clothes if he kept staying overnight. Luckily, while he was at work, CJ had dropped by the park and brought him a change of clothes for the day and an extra set for emergencies like Eric always liked to carry. This time, he wasn’t calling Darien to let him know he’d be here again tonight. But he did have to call Sarandon, since he was supposed to be sleeping there now that his place had to be rebuilt.
When he went out to get his bag out of the truck, he called his brother. “I should have gotten in touch with you earlier, but I was invited to dinner at Pepper’s house after the incident at the clubhouse, if CJ mentioned it to you.”
“He did.”
“Well, I’m staying the night again.”
“Expecting trouble?”
“Maybe.” In the silence that ensued, Eric could just imagine the conclusion his brother was drawing. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. She wanted me to stay over, and I’ll go to work from here. It’s the same distance as it is from your place.”
“Do you need me to bring another change of clothes to the park tomorrow? Maybe enough for a few nights?”
“No, it’s just for ton
ight. I’ll be at your house tomorrow night.”
“Okay.” Sarandon sounded like he didn’t believe Eric.
But Eric had no intention of pushing anything further with Pepper. It had to be her call. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind about the clothes. I’ll be taking a group hiking and will be stopping by the ranger station anyway.”
“All right. Night, Sarandon.”
“Night.”
Eric headed into the house and found that Pepper had already gone into her bedroom and shut the door. He said, “I had to tell Sarandon I wasn’t coming home tonight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night,” she called out.
“Night, Pepper.” He headed for bed and stripped out of his clothes. He never slept in anything so that if he was needed for a spur-of-the moment wolf mission, he’d be ready.
Chapter 14
Pepper couldn’t believe how hot Eric was. She didn’t think all alpha males were like that. Somehow she was connecting with him on several different levels, which made this feel so right. She’d been fighting the attraction she had for him, trying to see him as just another alpha male who could be real trouble. But he wasn’t like that. She would never have known about his treatment of the Fairhaven teens if they hadn’t told her, so he hadn’t done it to earn points with her.
But she was still worried he might be like the other wolves. It often happened in human relations. The guy would be nice to the woman, or vice versa, until the couple married, and then maybe a year or two down the road, the newlywed game was over. Since wolves signed up for a lifetime, that wouldn’t work for them. Yet the way Eric kissed her, the way he became so aroused around her… She had to admit she’d never had that kind of passion with her first mating, and she loved the way Eric made her feel sexy, passionate, and adored. Harold had been too much of a long-term friend beforehand and hadn’t been comfortable with even kissing her. Tongues? Forget it. He was more for a small peck on the lips. Sure, they’d consummated the mating, but he had never wanted to have sex with her for pleasure. It had been more a matter of duty, and she’d felt all along that he regarded her more as a sister than his mate and lover.