Chapter Eight

“This doesn’t change anything, you know. ”

Logan sighed and stretched, shifting his weight partially of Honor’s limp body and onto the rough ground. “I never thought it had. ”

He might have hoped, but he hadn’t really let himself believe any different. In the twelve hours or so that he’d known Honor Tate, he’d come to realize she could teach stubborn to Missy Winters.

Logan winced at the reminder of his own pack and why he’d come to Connecticut in the first place. It unfortunately hadn’t been to roll around the forest with the mouth-watering alpha of the White Paw Clan, but to decide if she had what it took to lead her pack. Something about which he hadn’t yet made up his mind.

“Just so we’re clear. ” She pushed him off of her, forcing him to roll onto his back so she could sit up and brush the bits of leaves and dirt from her skin. “Now when are you leaving? ”

He groaned and covered his eyes with his forearm. “Look, I think we’ve come to a Mexican standoff. ” He shifted to look at her and tried desperately not to get distracted by the sight of her bare breasts and the marks he’d made on them, most of which were already fading. “You’re not going to change your mind about having me here, and I’m not going to change my mind about staying. So I have a proposal for you. ”

“Does it involve you catching the next train back to the city? ”

“No. And that’s not just because I drove here, either. ” He saw her looking around for the remains of her T-shirt and felt a ping of conscience. He handed her his mostly intact, if buttonless, shirt and watched her shrug into it. “I intend to stay until I find out what I came here to find out. ”

“It doesn’t matter what you say. No one here will cooperate with you no matter what you think your job is. ” She tied the ends of the shirt into a knot below her breasts and reached for her jeans. “You’re wasting your time. ”

All of a sudden he realized she’d never been wearing a bra and his body responded in a pretty predictable fashion. He drew one knee up to his chest and rested his forearm across it. “It’s my time to waste, but I don’t think that’s what I’ll be doing, anyway. But here’s what I’m thinking. ” He waited until she fastened her jeans and turned to him with an impatient expression. “The full moon is in three days. ” Along with the peak of her heat, but he wasn’t thinking about that. “And it will be the first howl since your father’s death. It would be a perfect opportunity for me to see the dynamics of the pack and to get the answers to the Silverback alpha’s questions. If you can put up with me for another seventy-two hours, I’ll leave after that without a fuss. ”

“Why? Give me a good reason. I have every right to order a non-pack member out of pack territory. I don’t have to let you stay. ”

“You do if you want to avoid a clan war. ”

He saw her pause, saw his words sink in and make her think. He kept his gaze level, but unthreatening. He needed her to know he meant what he said, but he didn’t want to come across as any more hard-nosed or unyielding than he had to. He walked a delicate tightrope, but his balance had always been good.

“Winters would really take it that far? That’s insane. It shouldn’t matter to him who leads this pack, so long as they aren’t intending to lead it into his business. And trust me, I’m not. So why does he care? ”

“The White Paw pay fealty to the Silverback. It’s his job to care. ”

Honor rolled her eyes. “I so don’t need this shit. Not now. Not here. Not a fucking chance. ”

Logan shrugged. “You’ve got it anyway. Now what are you going to do about it? ”

She slammed her feet into battered hiking boots with a snarled curse. “Right now, I’m going back to the house to change, and then I’m going back to work. Some of us have real jobs where we have to be constructive and accomplish things. ”

He suppressed a smile at that dig. She was cute when she was mad. And she’d probably rip his intestines out through his nostrils if he mentioned that fact. “Gotcha. I think I’m going to go get a shirt at least, and then maybe take a look around. See if I can meet some of the pack. You know, basically stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong. See you at dinner? ”

Logan watched her stalk off back toward the house, grinning a wolfish grin. He hadn’t come here expecting to find his mate, but damned if it didn’t appear that was exactly what he’d done. He wondered what she’d say when he informed her they’d be getting married and having cubs together. If he knew her at all, he guessed what she’d say didn’t bear repeating. But what the hell? Logan Hunter loved a challenge. And this one looked to be a doozy.

* * * * *

By the time Logan gathered and donned what was left of his clothes—namely his blue jeans, his boots and one sock—and made his way back to the main house, Honor was long gone. He hadn’t really expected anything different, but some days, he just couldn’t quell that involuntary burst of optimism.

He jogged up to his room, which he’d learned was across the hall and down three doors from Honor’s, and grabbed a change of clothes. It took a second to brush himself free of the debris he’d picked up from the ground in the stoneyard, but he figured better to take a moment now than spend half the day fighting with a twig in his trousers.

He was still buttoning up a new shirt as he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. All his exercise from this morning had made him hungry, even if it was still technically an hour or so ‘til lunch. He didn’t find Joey in the kitchen as he’d expected, but he did find a brief note on the counter explaining the timing of meals, the contents of the refrigerator and that he was free to help himself to anything that wasn’t on the neatly printed menu beside the note. He took Honor’s cousin at her word and foraged in the fridge, emerging with a half a rabbit and a full duck breast, cooked beautifully rare.

Sitting at the small kitchen table, he made short work of his snack before he wiped the grease off his hands with a dishtowel and pulled out his cell phone. He noted gratefully that he still got a pretty good signal out here in the woods and dialed Graham’s direct line at Vircolac.

“Vircolac, ” a perky feminine voice announced. “We bring good things back to life. ”

Logan snorted out a laugh. “What, is that a new ad slogan? ”

“It’s still in testing. The first focus group yielded mixed results. How are you, Logan? Arrived safely in the wild, untamed north? ”

“Missy, I’m only a hundred and thirty-six miles north of Manhattan, and the last yeti from these parts became a stockbroker back in eighty-seven. But I’m fine. Thanks. ”

“Spoilsport. ” She sounded remarkably unfazed by the correction. “How are things going so far? Did the new alpha make a good first impression? ”

Logan’s mind instantly conjured up the sight of Honor silhouetted in the bathroom doorway the instant before she had noticed him. The light and steam behind her had outlined her in lush detail, emphasizing the soft curves of her breasts, those long legs, and the luscious flare of her hips. He felt his body stirring at the memory and cleared his throat. “I’m reserving judgment. ”

Missy snorted. “Just like a man. I assume you called to talk to my mate, not to me, right? ”

The question caught Logan unaware. Not because the answer wasn’t yes, but because he realized that for the first time since he’d originally met Missy Roper Winters, he really would rather talk to her husband than to her. The epiphany almost knocked him over. Missy hadn’t caused the erection he could feel straining against his jeans—zip front, this time—as they talked; Honor had. He’d been fine until his mind had conjured up that image of the lithe brunette poised in the bathroom door wearing nothing more than a towel. And when he let his mind wander along its favorite path, he imagined Honor’s pale, creamy skin and dark, curling hair, not Missy’s blond, curvy figure. It amazed him.

“Logan? ”

The quiet question shook him out of his meditation. “Right. Sorry, Miss. Yeah, I do need to talk to Graham. Is he around? ”

“Sure. He was just showing Ava the door. She stopped over to see Roarke, and Graham never rests easy until he’s seen her taxi pull away. I imagine he’ll be back any second. ”

Logan could hardly blame Graham. Of all Missy’s close friends, Ava Markham inspired the greatest sense of fear and awe. An unrepentant matchmaker, she’d tried her hand at setting up just about everyone she knew at one time or another. Now, her erstwhile victims spent most of their time praying for the day when someone would turn the tables on her. “Right. Should I call back? ”

“No, don’t worry about it. Here he is now. ”

He heard a shuffling sound as the receiver was passed from one had to the other, then a rough growl replaced Missy’s light, feminine voice in his ear. “What’s up? ”

Logan felt his eyebrow arching. “Nice to talk to you, too. I’m fine, thanks. Didn’t sleep that well last night, but somehow I’m not feeling all that many ill effects. Must be the water up here. ”

“Can it, Hunter. It’s been a lousy day. ”

“I heard. Ava paid a visit, huh? Having the place fumigated? ”

“Not yet. Maybe when Missy takes Roarke to the park later. So what’s the news? ”

“I’m here. ”

Pause.

“That’s it? That’s the news? ”

“Rome wasn’t built in a day. ”

“Yeah, but they could at least say, ‘we’re here and we put down some rocks, ’ right? ”

“Okay. I’m here, and I’ve met Tate’s daughter. ”

Another pause.

“And? ”

“There’s not much else to tell. I’ve only been here, ” he glanced at his watch, “fifteen hours, and most people around here were asleep for a good eight or nine of those. ” He and Honor hadn’t, but he saw no need to bog the conversation down with details.

“Yeah, but you’ve had time to form a first impression, haven’t you? ”

Logan paused, reluctant to say anything. On the one hand, he didn’t want to hurt Honor’s chance to prove herself, but on the other, he couldn’t lie to his alpha. “Yeah. She’s pretty together, considering what she’s just been through. I think she has potential. ”

“Potential or ability? ”

“It’s really too soon to make that kind of call. ”

“What about the pack? Have they settled in to the idea of having a female alpha, especially such a young one? ”

“I’m going to start talking to them once I’m off with you. So far I’ve only met a couple of them, and I doubt that’s much to go by. ”

“It’s a start. What did they have to say? ”

Logan gritted his teeth for a second before answering. “There have been three challenges since she took the title Alpha. ”

“Really? Well, she’s alive, so I guess that means she can handle herself in a fight. How is she taking the deaths? ”

“I don’t think her father’s death has had a chance to sink in yet. She’s been too busy keeping things running to shed any tears over him. ”

“Understandable. But what about the challenge deaths? Is she holding up after those? ”

Shit. “There haven’t been any deaths. ”

Again, Graham paused. “What does that mean? If there were challenges…”

“She chose to end them without slaying her opponents. The first showed her his throat, and the other two she crippled. But she hasn’t killed anyone. ”

“And you still think she has the potential to lead that pack? ”

“I think it’s possible. She’s strong enough. Two of those challenges came from grown men, and she defeated both of them, death or no. She’s also damned smart from what I can tell. True, she’s got a bit of a feminine notion of mercy, but I believe she would do what needed to be done if it came to that kind of situation. ”

“She doesn’t believe an alpha challenge is that kind of situation? ”

Logan felt the need to defend her, which was weird enough in itself, but coupled with the fact that his hackles were raising to his alpha, it crossed the line into surreal. “She did what she had to do, and she walked away from the challenges a clear winner. The last one was her closest childhood friend. Imagine how you would feel if you were faced with a choice to let me live or die. How easy would that death stroke be for you? ”

“Whoa. We’re not talking about you and me, brother. We’re talking about Ethan Tate’s daughter. Aren’t we? ”

Logan forced down his growl. “Yes. We are. And I think we need to give her the benefit of the doubt. The first howl since Ethan’s death will be this weekend. The day after tomorrow. The whole pack will be gathered and according to Pack Law, any outstanding challenges will have to be answered then or held ‘til the next Clans Moot. ”

“Which is still three more years away. And it’s scheduled to be hosted in Silverback territory this time. So she and her clan will have to come here. ” He was silent for a moment, and Logan could almost hear him thinking. “I won’t say I’m not concerned over what you’ve told me, but I trust your judgment. Stay through the howl. If you think she’s capable of leading the pack after what you see then, I’ll accept your word and leave her in power until the next Clans Moot. Then I’ll take a look for myself and make a final decision. ”

Oh right. Honor would just love that little plan. Of course, he didn’t plan to tell Honor about it. “Agreed. ”

“Good. Now get back to work. I’m thinking about trying to give Missy a new baby for her birthday. ”

Logan rolled his eyes at the shriek he heard just before the phone disconnected. He flipped the cell phone closed and shoved it into his pocket. Let Graham have fun with his little blonde mate. Logan had a darker fish to fry.