“You won’t be alone with a bunch of men, Carol, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ll be there with Darien, presiding over the party. Silva will be there and Sam, too, serving refreshments. Two other women are coming from another wolf community. They like what we have here—where wolves run the town and not humans. One’s a librarian who wants to start a library in town. And the other is a masseuse. I think she’s going to be a real hit.”

All of a sudden, Carol didn’t feel so important. Not that she wanted to mate with someone for life whom she wasn’t interested in… but to compete with a masseuse? Carol probably had the librarian beat. She shook her head at herself. This was still barbaric. And she wasn’t going along with it.

Lelandi was rattling off a list of names of married couples who were going to attend, but Carol watched the way she rubbed her fingers over her stomach every once in a while, and Carol’s mouth dropped open. “You’re pregnant?”

Her gaze riveting from her cheeseburger to Carol, Lelandi’s lips parted for a second, and then she smiled. “Four and a half months.”

Silva immediately put her hand on Lelandi’s belly. “Well, I’ll be. Just how long were you going to hide this little secret from us, sugar?”

“At least until after the games today. If I’d mentioned it before then, Darien wouldn’t have let me play. You know how he is.”

That’s why he was being so careful with her on the playing field and why Lelandi had been napping more lately. He had to have realized Lelandi was pregnant. Carol grinned.

“Wow, this is really a reason to celebrate. Triplets. Just like I had envisioned.”

“Do you know what sex they are?” Silva asked Carol.

Three boys, but Carol looked at Lelandi to see if she wanted to know.

Lelandi shook her head. “No. If you know, don’t tell me. And I don’t want to mention that I’m expecting tonight. This is your coming out. Not the other ladies’ either. They’ve already been introduced to their wolf packs to court. And neither cared for their prospects. So that’s why they’re here.” She took another bite of her burger.

“They were born lupus garous, weren’t they?” Carol asked, hoping that at least one of them was newly turned like she was.

“Yes. And, they don’t get along. So I’m hoping one will stay and the other will look elsewhere. I’ve already interviewed them, and both seem pleasant enough by themselves. But there’s some hostility between them, having to do with families, I think.”

Silva grabbed a plate with chips and a burger. “So what if a couple of the guys want the women, and they both end up staying here?”

“We’ll have problems. Darien has already counseled the men and said that if matches are made, one of the couples will most likely have to move on. But finding a mate is so important that the men are willing.”

Carol gave a short laugh. “Especially with a chance at a masseuse.”

“I don’t know, Carol. You’re more of a known quantity, one of our own, and no one would have to leave the pack,” Lelandi said.

“Hmm, nothing else, then?”

Lelandi smiled. “I sure didn’t put that right, did I? The guys have been talking about you. They shut up when I’m around, but they’re intrigued.”

“Same here.” Silva waved a potato chip. “As soon as I hear your name mentioned at the tavern, I check on the table next to them, but the guys see me coming and end the conversation. So, yep, they’re interested.”

“Sure are. For five months, they’ve been bugging Darien—or his brothers so they would relay the information to Darien—to let them date you,” Lelandi said.

“And you’ve been the one to keep them from dating me.” Carol felt relieved in a way. At least she was glad that they had not been avoiding her because they thought her too different.

Her green eyes flashing with humor, Lelandi laughed. “Not all my doing. Darien wanted you to adjust to being one of us, and he wants you to shape-shift first. We never thought anyone who was newly turned could prevent the shift for this long, though.”

For the first time, Carol was glad for her psychic abilities, if that was what was keeping her from shifting. She just hoped she could put it off forever, or that her visions of Doc being unable to shift back to human form were a mistake. That the worry about him was something benign.

But the event tonight was what she had to deal with now. She hoped that Ryan would come for her, that Darien would allow it, and she’d be able to skip the whole affair—even if it meant dealing with Ryan’s inquisition.

Chapter 6

NORTH HAD AVOIDED BEING ANYWHERE NEAR THE TWO women, both gray wolves from another pack and both newly sick from the bioengineered plague that Miller had concocted for them. The lure of money had worked. So from a distance, North observed the way Marilee and Becky looked. Sexy, he thought. Like sending the Trojan horse as a gift to Troy during the Trojan War, the women would attend the gathering and infect as many of Darien’s damn people, and Darien himself, as they could. Payback was hell.

The only drawback was if Carol got sick. She was the one he wanted. A red, turned by his own cousin. She would be his, and being a nurse, she could counter the effects of the sickness, if Miller was lying about his intentions.

The women entered the house, and he briefly saw Lelandi smile and motion for them to follow her. Carol could also take care of Lelandi, in the event she got sick. It wasn’t Lelandi’s fault she’d left their red pack. Damn their previous pack leader and his brutish ways.

North took a deep breath and slunk into the woods. The package had arrived.

His next mission was grabbing Carol before it was too late.

Normally, Ryan would dress casually on a fact-finding mission—in jeans and turtleneck or T-shirt, depending on the weather. So why the hell was he dressing up for this “affair?” He scoffed at himself for making such a big deal of this as he peered into the bathroom mirror of his room at the bed and breakfast. He ran his hand over the five-o’clock shadow that gave him more of a wolfish look and considered whether to shave again or not.

Hell, the first date he ever had, he took the girl to a swimming hole. It was an impromptu situation, and neither cared about what they were wearing—or not wearing as the night wore on. Of course, she’d been human and his and her hormones had been running high. Over the years, he’d been just as spontaneous. He’d take a liking to a human girl, make it known and, if she was of like mind, have a one-night stand.

But with Carol, he knew deep down it wasn’t the same. That she needed a mate. That one-night stands were out, and although he kept telling himself he had nothing to prove, damn if he couldn’t shake loose of the need to show up the other males, if she was even interested in anyone else.

He pulled on his sports jacket, hoping to convince Darien that he needed to speak to Carol pronto so he could quit interfering in Darien’s pack business and return home. At least that’s what he told himself.

As soon as he reached the cozy sitting area for guests at the inn, Bertha Hastings greeted him with a smile and twinkle in her eye. “Your sister, Rosalind, called. Asked if you were all right because you wouldn’t answer your cell phone. I told her you were watching the games earlier and were going to the gathering tonight.

“She asked if you were seeing Carol. Since I hadn’t been at the earlier event, I couldn’t say. I did mention you were taking Carol on a date tonight. Your sister was real quiet after that, and then she quickly thanked me and said good-bye. But I must say you’re looking really spiffy. Enjoy the gathering.”

“Thanks. I’ll be asking Carol a few questions and be on my way.” And have a word with Rosalind again. Hell, by the time he was finished with his business here, Rosalind would have everyone thinking he was chasing after Carol and soon would be mating her.

“Only one question is worth asking.” Bertha grinned even broader and made her way to the kitchen. “If you young folk want something to snack on later, bring her here after your date. Plenty of food for everyone.”

“Thanks.” It wouldn’t be necessary. As soon as he spoke with Carol, he was returning ASAP to Green Valley and the business he should have been conducting.

Shoulders straight, he stalked outside to his truck and took a deep breath of the chilly night air. He was ready to try to persuade Darien to allow him to see Carol one last time. And to end this obsession he had to set the record straight with Carol.

When Carol came down from her bedroom before the gathering, men and women were already settling in the sunroom. She was wearing jeans, boots, and a soft pink cardigan, trying to look cool and casual instead of more nervous than she’d like to admit.

She’d been planning to go to the kitchen for a glass of wine to soothe her nerves when Ryan walked in the front door with Sam and Silva. Carol’s heart skipped a beat.

Ryan was wearing a steel blue sports coat and a pinstriped blue and silver shirt. He had left three of the buttons open from the collar down, giving the appearance he was ready to unfasten the others in a hurry in the call of duty. She couldn’t decide if that meant shape-shifting or sex, but he definitely looked ready for either.

Jeans gave his look more of a dressy casual, which she totally approved of, but then her gaze riveted to his face to see his expression. A shadow of a beard graced his angular face, roughening it a bit and making him appear more like an outdoorsman than someone who sat around an office all day.

He was studying her face, just like a wary investigator would, and observing her reaction to his being here. Instead of smiling, he raised a brow as if to say he was here at her request. Let’s get this over with. She couldn’t believe it. But promptly at six, here he was. Maybe Lelandi was right. When Ryan got something in his mind to do, he wouldn’t be stopped. Wouldn’t he be surprised if he stayed around long enough to discover she truly was psychic!

That could take a really long time, considering that her visions were so unpredictable and that he probably was quite stubborn about refusing to believe in the paranormal.