TheTroublewithWolves Read online

  “No. No, Mr. Rhodes. Nigel hasn’t done anything wrong. He just never mentioned he was going on vacation.”

  “Oh no, dear. You misunderstand. He’s gone to live with his uncle and the St. Ignace Pack.”

  She stiffened. “He’s not coming back?”

  Thomas’ eyebrow shot up. “No. He’s left us permanently.”

  He cocked his head and his nostrils flared, reminding her that before anything else he was a wolf. A powerful wolf.

  “Would you care to explain to me why my son, my most powerful enforcer, came to me at the crack of dawn desperate to leave his pack? And why the woman he was guarding has come to me mere hours later requesting a meeting?” Thomas Rhodes was suddenly much less the kindly pack leader and much more the intimidating pack alpha.

  “There’s nothing to explain,” she said flatly. If he was gone for good, there truly was nothing to say. “I’m sorry I took up your time.”

  “You’ll be pack soon. Speaking with you isn’t an imposition.” He was still studying her with that curious, intent look.

  She turned quickly to go. She needed to get out of here before Thomas realized what was going through her mind.

  “Claire?” His deep voice froze her in her tracks, but she didn’t turn to face him. She was afraid of what he might read in her expression.

  “I’ll see you at the Run.”

  She nodded without looking back and walked out the door. Once the door swung shut behind her, she let herself pick up speed until she was running down the stairs and to her rental car. She managed to drive about two miles before her hands shook so badly she was forced to move over to the shoulder of the road.

  Nigel was gone; he’d left town like a thief in the night. Maybe what she thought she felt coming from him last night had been all in her head. They’d been forced together by circumstances rather than want. It was only natural she’d felt attracted to him. He’d been her shadow for a month and a half.

  A momentary lapse in judgment, that’s what last night had been. A blip on the radar.

  Liar, the voice in her head accused her.

  Maybe she was lying to herself, but she really had no choice. To admit she truly did love this man would only lead to a deeper heartbreak. He had made his choice and left town.

  She’d been ready to back out of the Mating Run, something no other female in her family had ever done, over a heavy petting session.

  She took a deep breath, trying to clear the pictures of last night from her mind. Her new life would begin in two days; she needed to pull herself together and prepare to become a fitting mate for one of the wolves.

  Chapter Four

  Two Years Later

  Claire wearily locked the door of the café. Her back and feet ached from another twelve-hour day, and she could feel a headache brewing behind her left eye. She made her way over to Taylor’s truck and gazed up the daunting distance from the ground to the driver’s seat. Two years and she still hadn’t mastered gracefully climbing into the big 4x4.

  “Hello, Claire.”

  She froze, certain her ears were playing tricks on her. Exhaustion-induced auditory hallucinations. But no, that unmistakable tingle was working its way up her spine. The tingle she’d only felt under the molten amber eyes of one man.

  Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she turned to face him, struggling to keep her face neutral.

  “Nigel, what are you doing back in town?” It was a reasonable question. He’d returned only once in two years, to attend Taylor’s funeral. The minute his older brother was buried, he’d left town again.

  “My father has asked me to come home. He wants me to fulfill pack law where you are concerned.”

  “Oh really. And which pack law has to do with me?” She didn’t want him to answer. She didn’t want to know. She was too tired to deal with pack politics at the moment.

  “Your protection,” he answered, stepping closer.

  Too close. His deep voice shivered through her, heating things long cold and dead. Dammit, it wasn’t fair. She’d just begun to get her life back together after Taylor’s death at the hands of a drunk driver. Why did he have to come back now? And why did he have to smell so damn good?

  “I assure you. I don’t need your protection now any more than I did two years ago. I already mated; I have no need for a bodyguard.” Throwing her purse into the front seat, she placed her foot on the step. His hand gripped her below the elbow, stopping her from climbing into the cab.

  “You misunderstand me. As the second son, it falls to me to take my brother’s place and to care for his mate as my own.”

  Claire threw his hand off as a tide of pure red rage bled over her vision and seeped into her voice. “You couldn’t get away from me fast enough two years ago.” Was that a glint of guilt in his amber eyes? “I’ve been on my own for a year now. My mate is dead. I have no need of a replacement. Besides,” she added, surprised at the sheer intensity of the bitterness in her voice, “I won’t be an obligation for you to fulfill ever again.”

  He stepped back and met her eyes somberly. “Your mourning period is officially over. Other wolves will start sniffing around now. That’s why I’m here. I’ve come to take care of you.”

  Her anger boiled over.

  “How dare you, Nigel Rhodes? You have no business here. I don’t want you here. Leave me alone.”

  “I can’t, luv. It’s the law.”

  “Your precious law.”

  “And yours as well, Claire. When you mated with Taylor, you became pack. You are bound by the same laws as I am.”

  Exasperated and tired, she snapped at him. “I am not wolf, nor do I have a wolf mate. Nor do I ever plan to mate with a wolf again. Once was more than enough. Your law means nothing to me.”

  She cried out as he reclaimed his hold on her, and he pulled her into his arms.

  “What did Taylor do to you?” he gritted between clenched teeth. His vehemence surprised her.

  She shrugged out of grasp. “He did nothing to me. He was a good man. I just wasn’t what he wanted.”

  There, she’d said it. Even though it wasn’t her fault, there was no way Claire could ever have made Taylor truly happy. They’d mated for the good of the pack, had even become the best of friends over time. But there had never been anything more between them. Not when both of their hearts were already given elsewhere.

  He’d treated her with nothing but respect and kindness, but there’d been no love, no kindling of sexual attraction that kept most couples burning up the sheets.

  Claire and Taylor’s mating had been a sham, one she’d entered into willingly at his request. While she’d made his life bearable, she’d never held the power to release him from his secret pain. And the fiction of their marriage had only proven that, once again, she was inadequate.

  “No,” she corrected sadly, “I wasn’t what Taylor needed.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Taylor loved you. He told me often enough how wonderful you are, how happy you made him.” Nigel wanted to choke on the words as he spoke them. Oh yes, Taylor had never failed to tell him how amazing she was. What a great mother she would make one day. How he loved waking to see her face every morning.

  It’d taken every bit of his willpower to keep from driving back from St. Ignace and punching his brother in the mouth on more than one occasion. He’d resented the hell out of Taylor, because his brother had what he longed for—Claire. After his brother’s death, he’d been so eaten up with guilt, and worse, with lust, that he hadn’t been able to face her.

  Standing at his brother’s grave, he could only think of her, how much he wanted her. His need for her had been so great he hadn’t been able to offer her the comfort she’d needed. He’d walked away from her again that day, hating himself even more with every step.

  He’d kept his silence. For two years, he’d kept his feelings buried deeply in the dark well of his heart. Even now, standing before the woman he’d never been able to get out of his mind, he wanted to r
un. She’d grown paler than he remembered, her porcelain skin translucent and fragile. The deep-purple circles under her eyes betrayed just how tired she really was.

  When his father called him three days ago with the request to come and take care of Claire, he’d been pissed. He was just starting to get himself and his wayward feelings under control. The very idea of being near her again threatened to tear down his carefully constructed walls.

  “I’m sorry.” His words burned like acid in his throat. “I’m sorry you lost your mate, and I’m sorry I wasn’t here to offer you comfort.”

  The tears brimming in her hazel eyes called to him, compelled him to reach out, catching one on the tip of his finger. Her visible flinch hit him like a kick to the gut and stopped him from touching her further.

  “I’m here now. For whatever you need, I am here for you.” The flicker of hope in her eyes heartened him, but her next cautious words filled him with disquiet.

  “At your father’s request, not because you want to be here.”

  “Yes, my father called to tell me how you were doing.” The small light of hope in her eyes was extinguished with his answer.

  “I don’t need your help. I don’t want it.” She backed on to the step of the truck. Nigel didn’t try to stop her.

  She needed time. Time to get used to him being around. He knew he could never take Taylor’s place, but he could be there for her. She may not admit it, but the dark bruises under her eyes told their own story about how much she really did need his help.

  * * * * *

  The sound of her own screams woke Claire. It wasn’t so much a dream as a memory. Her last conversation with Taylor before his death. They’d had a heated argument, the first of their married life. It had ended with Claire in tears as Taylor slammed out of the house.

  Two hours later, she had opened the door to a police chaplain bearing the news that Taylor had been killed by a drunk driver.

  Scrubbing her hands over her damp face, she lay back against the mattress. A baleful glance at the alarm clock showed it was almost four a.m. She closed her eyes and tried willing herself back to sleep.

  Two years. It had been two years since she’d had a full night’s sleep—not since Nigel had abandoned her to keep his precious pack law. She was tired, bone-deep tired, and wanted nothing more than a peaceful night’s rest.

  She gave up on trying and got out of bed, shuffling toward the shower. She was due at the café early to accept a shipment of special coffee blends from South America. She also had payroll to fill out and several interviews for new wait staff. It had taken more than a year, but she had finally gathered the capital to afford help in the café.

  While she’d been mated to Taylor, Claire had turned the day-to-day operations of the café over to her younger sister, Rio. She loved her baby sister, but Rio was a disaster when it came to running a business. She was also stubborn, because instead of coming to her for help, she’d nearly run the café into the ground.

  It had taken a year and two business loans that were not from the coven, coupled with untold hours of backbreaking work to repair the damage Rio had done, but the café was finally beginning to break even again.

  Claire’s small amount of magic had been crippled when Nigel left her; Taylor’s death had almost depleted her completely. It had taken months of grieving before her inner spirit had begun to heal enough for her to begin the monumental task of reclaiming her magic. Eventually Mother Nature gave back what was taken so cruelly from her.

  Rio promised to work for free for life, but Claire had turned down her sister’s offer and told her to go back to college and earn her degree. For a year, she had worked from opening to closing, six days a week.

  Her family offered to help, of course, but she wasn’t any more willing to take their money now than she had been two years ago. The coven Elders had approached her again earlier this year. She had politely but firmly told them she couldn’t afford their help, and then gave them a batch of fresh, un-magicked muffins.

  Taylor and Nigel’s father wanted to bail her out as well, but she couldn’t bring herself to accept his help either.

  Mr. Rhodes was a great man, as well as a great alpha, and she loved him dearly. But every time she saw him she was filled with tremendous guilt over the way she’d failed his son. Besides, it was her mess to clean up, and it was important to her that she be the one to do it.

  Thomas respected her wishes, though it seemed every wolf in the surrounding area made it to the café at least once or twice a week. The increased business helped her to dig out of the financial hole Rio had left her in, and she was proud enough of her business that it didn’t feel like accepting charity. She’d always be grateful to Thomas for the business he’d sent her way, and for the many kindnesses he’d shown her, both during her marriage and after Taylor’s death.

  The hot water helped to wash away the remnants of her bad dream, and she stepped from the shower and made her way to the kitchen, wrapping herself in a silky green robe as she went. Working quickly, she filled the teakettle and put the water on to boil.

  “Damn, woman, do you always rise this early?”

  Claire spun, flattening herself against the counter and letting out a shriek that rattled the windows.

  Nigel stood in the kitchen doorway, dressed only in a pair of faded jeans. Her eyes zeroed in on the top button, which was left undone. Her mouth went dry, then began to water as she took in his bare torso. She’d never seen him without his shirt on, and the sight of him sleep-tousled and bare-chested and standing in her kitchen stole her breath.

  “Stop it, Claire,” he growled at her, the deep rumble of his voice bringing her back to reality.

  “What the hell are you doing in my house?” She quickly turned her head and rummaged through a drawer for the tea diffuser ball.

  “I told you, luv, I’m here to take care of you.” His matter-of-fact tone made her bristle.

  “And I told you, I don’t need your help. Get out of my house.”

  “This isn’t actually your house. It’s my family’s home. When Taylor died, all his property reverted back to the pack, you know this.”

  Slamming the drawer, she turned back to him.

  “Fine. I’ll move. Give me a week and I’ll be out of here.”

  He sighed, crossing his arms. “Don’t be silly. No one wants you to leave. You know our ways, you knew them before you volunteered to join the pack. It’s too late now to get all pissy about the rules.”

  Claire saw red. She was sick and tired of all the pack’s rules.

  “All I want is a normal, peaceful life. Is that too much to ask for?” She stalked closer and he seemed to shrink away from her. “I want to be left alone. Why is it that you were allowed to go away and not be bothered, but I am having all this help flung at me?”

  “I wasn’t mated to anyone.”

  “Neither am I, anymore!” she screamed, and then felt a flash of guilty pleasure as Nigel’s amber eyes widened. “Taylor is gone, and all I want is to live in peace. Please, give me this.”

  God, but she was beautiful. He closed his hands into fists. The urge to reach out and touch her skin was overwhelming. “I’m not your enemy. I never have been.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re nothing to me. And I’m nothing to you. You proved that when you took off without so much as a goodbye.”

  Damn, he didn’t want to have this conversation yet. He wanted to wait awhile. Let her get used to his presence before he moved things forward. But the wounded, vulnerable look in her eyes wouldn’t be denied.

  “You know why I left.”

  “Actually, I don’t. All I know is that we had that little petting session, and you disappeared the next day like a coward.”

  His cock hardened as her anger grew. Her face flushed pink and her warm, cinnamon-apple scent rose to fill the space between them. He gripped the countertop to keep from pushing her to the floor and taking her like a rabid animal. There was no Mating Run looming over them now,
nothing to keep him from completing what they’d started two years ago.

  “Maybe I was a coward, Claire, I don’t know. But I do know I was a desperate man. I couldn’t have you, and I couldn’t stay and watch you and your new mate paw each other. The fact you mated with Taylor just made it worse. I couldn’t watch my brother with my woman, luv. I wasn’t nearly noble enough for that.”

  The memory of that night, the thought of Taylor in her bed, stirred up a jealous rage he’d hoped never to feel again. His dick pounded in his jeans, demanding release, and every instinct he possessed, both as a wolf and a man, demanded he take her, mark her so no other male would ever dare approach what was his.

  “You didn’t even kiss me.” The words were spoken so softly he wasn’t sure he’d heard them.

  “What?”

  “That night. You never kissed me,” she whispered.

  His well-honed restraint broke. It was her turn to shrink back as he stalked forward, pinning her between him and the counter.

  “If I had kissed you, you never would have made it to the Run. It would have caused more trouble than it…” Too late, he heard himself and trailed off.

  “Finish it. It would have caused more trouble than it was worth, right?”

  He raked his gaze over her face. Her warm hazel eyes crackled with anger. Her lips were so fucking lush.

  “Yes, it would have caused a world of trouble for us both. We live by the law. It’s what keeps us humane. I’m not alpha, and I don’t want to be alpha. It wasn’t my turn to Run, so you were forbidden to me. I did what I had to in order to keep the law and my honor, as well as your own. Why can’t you understand that?”

  “You’re right.” The look in her eyes turned bleak and the hectic color faded from her cheeks. Suddenly she looked as pale and tired as she had when he’d first seen her yesterday. “Stupid me. I forgot about the law you all hold so near and dear to your hearts. Never mind who it hurts as long as the law is followed.”

  Nigel wanted to erase the hurt that was so clear in her eyes. He knew she understood why the law was so important. Humans may not, but she had been part of a coven whose own laws were almost as strict as his were. They both had been paralyzed by what was expected of them. The law was the only thing that kept the pack civilized, kept the wolves from becoming feral.