But he couldn't and wouldn't abandon her. Not yet. Tessa had taken him in and cared for him when she didn't have a clue as to who he was. If he left her alone, the stalker would change her against her will. Hunter wouldn't let him. Another alpha leader, given the same scenario, would take the gray to task also, if he had been in his territory, but beyond that, she would be on her own. For now, Tessa's property was in Hunter's territory--newly franchised.
He couldn't let her brother stay in prison for a crime he didn't commit. No other wolf would feel obligated to help out in a case like this--except in the event one of their kind did the killing. Dealing with the lupus garou would be the end of it though. No lupus garou would try to release an innocent human. In fact, he would serve to keep the lupus garous out of the limelight. But Hunter couldn't allow it, although how he was going to get Michael out of his incarceration eluded him. First of course, he had to prove the grays had committed the crime.
To complicate matters, Hunter had to force Meara to stay with him and keep her out of trouble. Her first wolf heat was making her crotchety and difficult to handle. Thank heavens he didn't have any more sisters and that none of the three wolves she had taken off with had forced a mating. She needed an alpha to spar with and keep her in line.
Tessa placed the spaghetti in the pan of boiling water, her back rigid. He took a ragged breath. His shoulder was killing him after running in the woods for so many miles as a wolf today, and all he could think about was making love to the woman who heated his blood as hot as the raging fires they'd left behind in California.
Sleep with his sister? That would be the day. And have Rourke sleep with Meara? She would bite him for sure and not in a playful way. Hunter was glad Cara was targeting Ashton as her love interest. He needed to remind him, though, if he mated her, it was a onetime deal. No fooling around a few nights, and then parting ways, although if she did mate him, that might be the solution to one of his problems. She would teach Ashton the ways of being a lupus garou and take him off Hunter's hands.
If Tessa thought Hunter was sleeping with Rourke in the living room, she could think again. For one, he didn't trust that the gray might not attempt to break her window and get in while she was alone. All he would do was bite her, and then come back to claim her later once she was a lupus garou. Hunter assumed the gray had intended to kill Ashton, and then bite Tessa, but when she brought out the rifle and started shooting, he gave that notion up in a hurry.
"Hunter," Meara said. "Gathering wool? We're all sitting down to eat."
Tessa had moved her plate to the foot of the table and had seated Meara next to him in her place. He smiled at Tessa's tenacity. Still, he was angry with himself for feeling more than he should toward Tessa and that Meara had to remind him of his duty to their pack, but most of all to their kind. Yet, he couldn't help but admire the spunky human female.
"They're getting married in the spring," Cara said, as the tension escalated in the dining room as thick as the snow was getting outside. "Won't they make a cute couple?"
Meara choked on her water. Tessa avoided looking at Hunter and cut up her sausage.
"She just said that so she could get in to see Hunter at the hospital." Rourke glowered at Cara. "Why are you here anyway?"
"To bring the hospital release forms for Hunter. So what do we do after dinner? Do you have any board games? Cards? Anyone want to play strip poker?"
"After we finish here, I need a word with Ashton, and then we're all going to bed. We've had quite a day of it. And we've got a lot of work to do tomorrow," Hunter said.
"Can I be in on this little adventure?" Cara asked.
"You can keep Tessa company. Both you and Meara. Rourke and I have some hunting to do."
"Can I go, too?" Ashton asked, looking chagrined.
Cara patted his arm. "We need you to protect us."
"Are you going to Bethany's place? They've removed the police locks, and I have a key if you need one," Tessa said.
"Yeah, we'll need a key."
Tessa's eyes filled with tears and Hunter couldn't tell if she was happy he was still looking into this situation for her brother, or was worried they wouldn't discover who really murdered Bethany.
Meara cleared her throat and patted Hunter's hand. "And if you see those three guys I was with while you're at it, don't kill them, okay, Hunter? We were just having some fun. Nothing more."
Hunter gave her a dark look. He wanted to bang those guys' heads together for stealing an alpha leader's sister right out from under his nose. They had to be some of the dumbest betas around. He thought his sister would have had better sense. He was surprised neither Ashton nor Rourke showed any interest in her. But maybe they were afraid of how Hunter might react--and for good reason.
After dinner, Cara and Meara helped Tessa with the dishes. Rourke and Ashton went with Hunter to get another load of firewood in case the electricity went out again. The wind was gusting higher and the waves were growing more violent. If the weather got much worse, the increasing storm would flood the beach, and they wouldn't be able to forage for firewood.
"Remember how I told the two of you that mating is for life? That's something that can't be broken except by death. It might be a hard concept for you to understand since you've always been human, but it's the wolf way and the lupus garou way."
Rourke grabbed an armload of wood. "What about Tessa?"
"She's different." Hunter didn't want to have to defend his actions to a subordinate wolf and wouldn't have if it hadn't been that Rourke was Tessa's friend and was sincerely concerned about her well-being.
"You mean, she's human so her feelings don't count." Rourke headed back up the hill.
"Damn it, Rourke, of course her feelings matter. We're both adults. We had consensual sex and that's all there is to it. As a lupus garou we can't have sex with another lupus garou unless we accept the female as a permanent mate. Humans don't live by the same rules, as well you know. And I've already explained to her our relationship can't be permanent."
"So if we want to party with a woman, she has to be a human." Ashton trudged up the slope with an armload of timber behind Hunter.
"Yeah, so that means you can sleep with Cara, but no sex. If you go all the way with her, you're mated-- for life."
Rourke chuckled. "What if she forces herself on him?"
"In the case of a forced mating, the punishment for the perpetrator is death. Unless the victim chooses to accept the perpetrator as his or her mate. We don't tolerate the abuse of our lupus garous or laws."
Wide-eyed, both Rourke and Ashton stared at him.
"Hell, I knew it would be a lot of trouble teaching the two of you all the rules." Hunter gave Ashton a sympathetic look. "If you don't want Cara for a mate, just say no. Firmly! Don't waffle."
Rourke laughed out loud. "She doesn't look like she readily accepts taking no for an answer. Thank god she latched onto Ashton and not me."
When Hunter opened the back door, he heard Cara say, "If you want him--" She abruptly quit speaking, but he wished he knew who she had been talking to and who "he" referred to.
"Ashton, do something with that dead duck." Hunter motioned to the kitchen on his way to the living room. "Stick it in the fridge or something."
Then he walked into the living room and found the three women watching him. "Early morning, ladies. Let's get some sleep."
"Is he always this bossy?" Tessa rose from the couch, scarcely giving him a look.
"Always," Meara said.
"I'll get you some sheets and blankets, Rourke." Brushing past Hunter, Tessa headed down the hall.