Wolf Tales III. Kate Douglas
fair counterpoint to the other man’s dark chocolate, Luc had the same rock-hard muscles, the broad shoulders and narrow hips characteristic of all the other Chanku males Tia had met.
The Chanku she loved. It boggled the mind, made Tia want to laugh out loud, to think that a mere couple of weeks ago she’d never even heard of Chanku outside her mother’s fairy tales—and as the old joke went, now she were one.
Unfortunately, she’d learned quickly that being Chanku carried with it risks unlike anything she could have imagined. Thank goodness her father was safe, for now. The presidential cabinet member intent on creating a breeding farm for shapeshifters needed to be stopped, but now that they knew his identity and plans, they’d won a large part of the battle.
Tia felt a gentle presence in her mind. She glanced at Luc and realized he was listening to everything she was thinking.
“Tinker said it’s bad manners to snoop in someone’s thoughts without permission.”
Luc grinned. “Yeah, Tinker would know, wouldn’t he?”
Tinker sat on the bed next to Tia. “You know how sorry I am, Luc.”
Tia sighed. She’d learned of Luc’s role in her mother’s death by stealing into Tinker’s thoughts. She knew Tinker felt terribly guilty, even though it was something Luc should have told her on his own. She covered as much of Tinker’s big hand as she could with her smaller one. “It’s not your fault, Tink, and it all worked out for the best.” She gazed steadily into Luc’s brilliant amber eyes. “I thought Luc had learned his lesson—that you don’t hide important things from the ones you love.”
Luc shook his head. “I didn’t realize you knew about the breeding farm. I thought you were asleep when Cheval was talking about it. I would have told you, you know.”
Tia shook her head. “When, Luc? You have to learn to share things like that with me. It’s important. Not knowing stuff could get us killed.”
“It’s hard to change old habits.” Luc leaned close and kissed Tia, his lips soft and warm against hers. “I want to be there to protect you.”
She refused to be dissuaded, though it was really hard not to kiss him back. Pulling away with a sigh, Tia managed a halfhearted glare in Luc’s direction. “The point is, what are we going to do about it? Is Shannon safe?”
“I need to call Jake. He didn’t check in last night, as far as I know. Someone would have told us.”
A soft tap sounded at the door. AJ Temple opened it just a crack, saw they were all awake and stepped into the room. He still looked rumpled, as if he’d just crawled out of bed. Tia wondered if AJ and his lover Mik had enjoyed each other as much as Tia and her two men.
“G’morning. Tia, your dad wants you to call your friend and see if Jake got there. He hasn’t reported in. Ulrich tried Jake’s cell phone but it’s turned off and he’s not answering his messages. Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Tia grabbed a robe and tied it around her waist. She turned to glare at Luc. “You and I need to talk. I’ll be right back.”
Luc blew her a kiss as she left the room. Tia was glad he couldn’t see the grin on her face.
The long table in the dining room was almost filled. Anton Cheval, leader of the Montana pack, his mate, Tia’s cousin Keisha Rialto, and Stefan Aragat, another Montana Chanku, already had plates of food in front of them. Alexandria Olanet, Stefan’s mate, was pouring coffee at the sideboard.
Tia said a general “good morning” as she and AJ entered the dining room, then she greeted her father. Ulrich Mason looked none the worse for wear, considering they’d only rescued him from his kidnappers a few hours earlier. She smiled at Miguel Fuentes, or Mik, as everyone called him, who was loading two plates with food. Mik handed a plate piled high with bacon, eggs and fried potatoes to AJ, and the two men sat down at the table.
Tia leaned over and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. “Where’s a phone, Dad? I’ll call Shannon now. It’s late enough in the morning in Boston, she should be up.”
Anton Cheval handed a cordless phone to Tia. “Good morning. I hope you slept well.”
Tia felt her skin flush. She’d hardly slept at all, not with both Luc and Tinker finding such inventive ways to keep her awake.
Anton’s knowing grin made Tia blush even harder. Stefan laughed out loud. “Don’t let him embarrass you, Tia. It’s not like the four of us weren’t doing the same things as you guys.” He leaned close to Anton and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “Next time, I want to be the bottom.”
Anton choked on his coffee.
Tia dialed Shannon’s number, laughing along with everyone else. When the answering machine picked up, she left a quick message with the phone number in Montana. “No answer. I wonder where they are, so early in the morning?”
Luc and Tinker entered the room. Both men looked freshly showered and, as far as Tia could tell, good enough to eat.
“No word from Jake?” Luc grabbed a plate and handed one to Tinker.
“No.” Tia poured herself a cup of coffee and slathered a blueberry muffin with cream cheese. “Should we be worried? Should we fly back there and check on them?”
“Not yet.” Luc leaned over and kissed Tia on his way to the table, clearly staking his claim in front of every other male in the group. “Let’s give them a couple more hours, then we need to think about heading back to San Francisco. We can make our plans from home base.”
Anton Cheval cleared his throat after his coughing spell, wiped his streaming eyes, and glared at Stefan. “The jet is ready whenever you feel you need to leave. Just let Oliver know so he can bring the car around.”
“Thank you.” Ulrich toasted Anton with his cup of coffee. “I would like to ask Oliver for a lift to the airport whenever the rest of you are ready to go. I feel a trip to Washington DC is in order about now. I have a strong desire to visit with Secretary Milt Bosworth.”
“Dad, do you think it’s safe?”
“We’ll go with you.” Luc grabbed Tia’s hand.
Ulrich shook his head. “No. This is something I need to do on my own. Less risk of anyone finding out about us. Besides, I want the rest of you available in case Jake needs help.” He turned his attention to the leader of the Montana pack. “Cheval, you and yours have been more generous than I ever imagined or expected. Thank you.”
Cheval dipped his head in acknowledgment. “We have much to learn from one another. We are, in essence, recreating an ancient culture, an entire species in fact, with very little history on which to base our knowledge. It’s imperative we work together, help one another, share what we know whenever possible.”
“Agreed.” Tia’s father took another sip of his coffee and smiled sadly. He grabbed Tia’s hand in his. “I wish your mother had lived to see this.” He gestured with his other hand, encompassing the entire room, the ten of them together. “For years we wondered if there were others like us. We knew of Keisha and her mother, but no one else. Then you were born, but we didn’t know for sure if you were Chanku. A few years later I found Luc, then he found Jake. Mik and AJ joined us. There’s no reason to wonder if we’ll find others. Not any more. Now we know they’re out there.”
His cell phone rang. Ulrich stood up as he reached in his pocket to take the call. He left the room, talking quietly. When he returned a few minutes later, Ulrich was smiling. “That was Jake. Bosworth’s men grabbed Shannon, but Jake got to her in time. They’re in a motel on the south side of Portland, Maine.” He laughed and pointed a finger at Luc. “We’re buying Jake a motorcycle. You know that Beemer he’s been drooling over? Seems he really needs it to get Shannon away from the bad guys.”
“He what?” Luc slammed his coffee cup down on the table. Then a slow grin spread across his face. “Where’s