“You love him, don’t you?” she blurted out.
“Well now, aren’t you the inquisitive one? Come on, Doc. Of course I love him. I’m his second. We’re best friends and do almost everything together. It’s our way,” he revealed thoughtfully.
“Wolves?” she questioned.
“Yeah. I mean, sure, there’re fights within the pack every now and then, but we live to support each other. It’s how it’s meant to be. The communal love and devotion, it’s in our nature and whatnot. Kind of hard to explain to someone who’s human, but I’m sure you feel it a little. Right?” He wanted to tell her she was Tristan’s mate, but it wasn’t his place. They needed to find their way to each other via their own journey.
“Yeah, but what about the brutality? You know, the forced breedings and matings? The fights for dominance? That’s not so loving,” she remarked directly, remembering her life in South Carolina.
“Hold on there, Doc. That’s old school shit and I can assure you that it doesn’t happen around here. Now, it could be part of the reason we’re about to have a territory war, who knows? I can tell you that Tristan and Marcel don’t schlep out our females like prostitutes. They make their own decisions about mating when they’re damn ready. As for the violence, put a group of human men together and you’ll see what happens isn’t too much different than around here. But I’ll guarantee you won’t see any ‘brutality’ as you so delicately put it.” Logan narrowed his eyes on Kalli. Where the hell was she coming up with these things? Sure, brutality was common long ago, but things had changed, in most packs anyway.
“I’m sorry, Logan. I didn’t mean to insult you or the pack. I…I just have a different experience is all. I spent some time around wolves before…not here…it wasn’t pleasant,” she admitted.
“No offense taken. Doc, I like you. I’d like for you to stick around a little and not just because you have to. Can I give you a bit of advice?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, sure. Why not? I sure as hell could use some.”
“Whatever is going on with you, we’ll deal with it, okay? But you’ve got to tell Tristan. Like soon. I’m gonna be honest with you. Your life is already in danger. So whatever little nugget you’ve got stowed up your sleeve, it’s not going to put you more at risk. But by not showing all the cards, you could very well be putting others in danger. I know you’re not pack, but you should consider joining our team so to speak,” he said with a grin. “And hey, it’s a pretty good team. The only requirement for membership is honesty. Other than that there’s all kinds of great benefits; not only do you get the protection of a tough Alpha wolf, you get his beta. It’s a twofer. Also, there are lots of great friends here, runs in the wilderness, although you might need a horse for that,” he joked.
Kalli laughed softly. “I’ll talk to him tonight.”
He cocked his head to the side, as if not quite believing her.
“I swear,” she promised, standing. “Okay, I think I’m going to go take a long hot shower and try to relax before he gets back. Thanks. I really appreciate the talk.”
As he watched her walk down the hallway, Logan found himself wanting Kalli to be Tristan’s mate. She was intelligent, beautiful and full of life. The more time he spent with her the more it confirmed his visions. But he worried about her reasons for lying, sensing something very, very bad had happened to her. If he had to guess, he’d say she’d been abused. Something drove her fear of wolves, yet she exhibited a knowledge of wolves that could only be learned by spending a lot of time with a pack. The subtle way she lowered her gaze around Tristan told him she’d been with an Alpha.
But up until just now, she wouldn’t readily admit she’d been around a pack. Why? Was she afraid of the ‘brutality’ she’d referred to in their conversation? Had a wolf done something horrible to her or her family? Now that he thought of it, she hadn’t mentioned her family. Her entire being was wrapped up in her work. None of it made sense. But he prayed she’d come clean soon. She was wrapped tight. And Tristan. Shit. He’d been coming unglued since the minute he’d met her. Things were getting out of hand. The pack, including Kalli, needed to be strong if they were going to prevail.
A text came across the screen of his phone, slamming him back into reality. As he read the words, he shook his head. Knowing that Tristan was receiving the information at the same time, he took a deep breath and blew it out. Things were about to get real serious but quickly, and Kalli had better get ready to provide his Alpha with the truth as soon as he got home.
Tristan slammed down the weights. The text from Logan’s investigator was the last damn straw. No past on a Dr. Kalli Williams since college. Everyone who was a real person had a past; good or bad, exciting or boring, rough or easy, it existed. On the contrary, people who didn’t leave a paper trail of their past, were hiding something, possibly using another person’s identity. They were liars. He’d like to pretend it wasn’t a significant finding, but he just couldn’t.
There was no doubt that the beautiful woman he knew, the one who’d gone to school for eight years in New York, who’d been working at UVH, was Dr. Williams. But before that, there was nothing. No birth certificate. No driver’s license. Not a high school diploma. And then poof, one day Kalli Williams is a freshman at NYU. It was if she materialized out of the freakin’ air.
Goddammit. Kalli was driving him crazy. He wanted to scream at her. Make her tell him the truth. At the same time, he wanted to fuck her senseless. The situation was maddening. What the hell was she lying about and why the hell wouldn’t she tell him? Her apartment was totally trashed, and she was as cool as a cucumber. ‘Things can be replaced’ his ass. Who says that anyway? She’d had to leave her job. Her shit was destroyed. You’d need a fucking jackhammer to get the eggshells off the cabinets. Hell, the entire apartment would need to be gutted.
And what was her reaction? She calmly went to her bedroom and packed a bag. Seriously? Oh, and she’d locked the door while doing it. The million dollar question was why and what was she doing in there? When she’d returned, she’d refused to look him in the eye. Like a cat on a hot tin roof, she’d scampered out of the building. During the torturous car ride home, she’d said nothing, pensively staring out the window.
He was so damn mad that he could have thrown the hundred pound barbell through the window. Instead, he grabbed his towel, wiped it across his face and headed toward the locker-room. Fuck. He needed to get laid. Blow off some steam. He knew Mira would be down for anything he asked for sexually; she’d do whatever he wanted. If not Mira, others were willing and ready to service him. With a text, there was nothing he couldn’t have. A one on one. Threesomes. The women were plenty. Wolves, humans and even vamps, as longs as they didn’t bite, there’d been a time when he’d have been up for it. The women were available and willing twenty-four seven. And he was an equal opportunity lover…used to be, anyway.
Therein lay the rub; he wasn’t that person anymore. For the past couple of years, he’d quietly made love to Sydney on the side; sometimes indulging with Logan and Mira. Was it a release? Yes. But was it fulfilling? Was his wolf at peace? Unequivocally no. But what was he supposed to do? Go in search of a mate? So not happening. He was happy with the freedom of knowing he could do what he wanted, when he wanted, and wasn’t about to give that up. He wouldn’t submit to a forced pairing, something that was done in the old days. It’d never feel natural. He’d be trapped like a zoo animal, never again allowed to run in the wild.