SEAL Wolf In Too Deep(90)

Susan closed her gaping mouth. Then she set her empty glass on the table. “So, where did you bite Waldron?”

“His tail, the first part of him I reached. I didn’t bite too hard, but I still drew some blood.”

“Was he pissed off at you?”

“We had a wolf-to-wolf confrontation. Yeah, he was pissed, but I wasn’t backing down either, and if he wanted me to look at his courting favorably, he had to mind me.”

“Oh, wow, I bet that nearly killed him.” Susan shook her head, taking another chip from the bowl and biting into it.

“Yeah, he didn’t like it. If we’d been mated wolves, I’m certain he would have growled and snapped at me to back off.”

“You’re not going to, are you? Consider courting him?”

“No way. Look how aggressive as he is toward another male wolf who hadn’t provoked him in any way. We aren’t even courting.”

“Agreed. But now, Eric? He’s my kind of guy.”

Pepper waved a potato chip at her. “You should have given him your number.”

“I would have, but I was a wolf. I wish he’d given me his business card.”

“He might have. But you were a wolf.”

“I should have shifted and given him a big smile and a big thank-you for his help.”

Pepper laughed. “You would have been way too shy to do that.”

“Yeah. I keep telling myself I need to overcome that. I couldn’t believe Waldron was watching our pack tonight. Well, and that he tore into the other wolf. He’s becoming a real stalker.”

Pepper refilled their wineglasses. “He thinks he’s protecting his ‘property.’ But I won’t be his mate no matter what.”

“Richard said Eric growled and snapped back at Waldron. I’ve never seen anyone stand up to him. Besides you. I wish I’d been there.” Susan sighed.

“Eric is a real alpha wolf. I was surprised he didn’t stay and fight Waldron to the end.” But Pepper was glad for it. She wouldn’t have wanted to see Eric hurt further since he’d already been wounded. Even now, she wondered if he was okay.

She didn’t want to call and check on him though.

She let out her breath on a frustrated sigh.

She hadn’t expected to have any trouble on their camping trip into the national forest. She was a forester and used to working with groups on forest management. Many of her pack members worked in some forestry job or another. Susan supervised their own forest nursery and Christmas tree farm. Some of the pack members worked there or on other tree farms and some worked on other forestry projects, such as tree removal. But they hadn’t been to this forest together as a pack in the last five years or so. It had been a vacation, and before Susan injured herself, they’d been having a blast.

Pepper had a lovely log home for pack meetings, with 250 acres of woods and a covered stone patio for outdoor gatherings. Most of her pack members had log homes of their own situated all over the territory to afford them privacy, but close enough that they could gather as a pack whenever they needed to.

“What if Eric could chase away Waldron permanently?” Susan asked.

“Then what? What if he expected something in return for his help? Our pack? Our land?”

“You? If I were the pack leader, I’d seriously be considering it.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not interested. We’ll continue to deal with Waldron like we have since he moved into the area with his pack two weeks ago.”

“I don’t think Waldron will get the message without someone taking him to task, physically. As alpha as you are, you couldn’t beat him as a wolf. Not one on one. Not like you took that other wolf down.” Susan moved her leg off the table and winced. “I’m going to call it a night. When do you see the Boy Scout troop tomorrow to talk about being a forester?”

“First thing in the morning, and another after that. And I have two sessions after lunch, so I’ll be hanging around the area. I’ll have someone stop in to feed you while I’m gone.” Because Susan was using crutches, she was staying with Pepper for a couple of days. Longer, if she needed to. But Pepper didn’t want her to have to try and do for herself right now.

“Thanks for putting me up for a couple of nights.”

“No problem, Susan. You know I always enjoy your company. If you think of it tomorrow, you could give Eric Silver a call and tell him that you’re all right. I’m certain he’d like to know that. While you’re at it, you can thank him for the rescue, and if it comes up in the conversation, ask him if he’s okay.”

Susan smiled broadly at her. “You are interested in him! But I doubt he’d want you to know if he was injured. Macho wolf syndrome, you know.”

“Possibly. Unless he wanted to get our sympathy. The doctor said it should take about four weeks for your leg to mend, which means half or less time for us. Just don’t put any stress on the leg for now. You don’t want to increase the fracture.”

“No, that’s for sure. It already hurts enough. I hope Pauline can run things until I return to work.”

“Pauline will be fine, but I’ll run over there to check things out. You don’t have to worry about anything. Just rest.” Then Pepper raised her brows. “You didn’t do this on purpose did you, to get some time off? You know I’d spell you for a while if you needed vacation days.”