Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega #1)(23)

The Marrok's wife walked briskly past her and into the living room. Once inside, she slowed down, giving the room her entire attention, as if she hadn't seen it before. Anna had the uncomfortable feeling that she was making a mistake, letting the woman in. Maybe Charles didn't let her into his house-she couldn't think of anything else that would account for Leah's fascination with Charles's furnishings.

Unless the whole examination was just a power play designed to make it clear that Anna wasn't nearly as interesting as the room. As Leah explored, Anna settled on the latter explanation-it wasn't a big enough room to demand so much time.

"You aren't what I expected," Leah murmured finally. She had stopped in front of a handmade guitar that hung on the wall far enough from the fireplace so that the wood would take no damage from the heat. It might have been an ornament, except the fretboard was worn with playing.

Anna didn't say anything or move from her place near the door.

Leah turned to look at her, and there was nothing kind or friendly about her face now. "He had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for you, didn't he? Had to go all the way to Chicago to find a baby, a woman who wouldn't present any kind of challenge at all. Tell me, do you sit and stay when he tells you?"

The nastiness of the attack made it more personal than just a desire to put a lesser wolf in her place. Leah, for all that she was the Marrok's mate, sounded jealous. Did she want Charles, too?

The door popped open, and a second woman came into the house with a wave of cold air and French perfume. She was tall and slender, like a runway model-she looked expensive. Her brown hair was streaked with gold highlights emphasized by gold glitter brushed across her cheekbones and, more heavily, over a pair of magnificent blue eyes.

Anna recognized her from the funeral-she was not only beautiful, but dramatic, as well, and the combination made her memorable. The other woman shut the door behind her and shed her ski jacket, tossing it casually on the nearest chair. She was still wearing the dark skirt and sweater she'd had on earlier.

"Oh, come now, Leah. 'Sit and stay'? You can do better than that, darling." Her voice was thick and purring with Southern charm. To Anna she said, "Sorry just to barge in like this, but it sounded like you might need rescuing from our queen bitch."

"Leave, Sage. This has nothing to do with you," commanded Leah sharply, though she didn't seem inclined to take offense at the name-calling.

"Honey," said the woman sweetly, "I'd just love to do that, but I've got my orders from the boss-a step higher than you." Bright blue eyes slid over Anna. "You'd be Charles's Anna. I'm Sage Carhardt. Sorry about the rough welcome, but whatever makes our Charlie happy is sure to get her tail in a twist because our Alpha loves his sons."

"Shut up," Leah snapped, and power swept through the room, knocking Sage back two steps.

Funny, Anna would have sworn that Sage was the more dominant of the two...then she realized the energy tasted of the Marrok. A woman takes her place from her mate, she thought. She knew that, but hadn't understood that the power was real.

"You"-Leah had turned her attention to Anna-"go sit on the couch. I'll deal with you in a minute."

A prudent woman would have done it, Anna thought regretfully. The woman she had been a week ago would have cringed, sat, and waited for whatever hell would have followed. The Anna who was Charles's mate, who was Omega and outside of the pack order, lifted her chin, and said, "No, thank you. I think you'd better leave and come back when my"-three years a werewolf but calling Charles her mate sounded wrong, and he wasn't her husband- "when Charles is here." The hesitation robbed her statement of much of its strength.

Sage smiled, her whole face lighting with delight. "Yes, Leah, why don't you come back when Charles is here? I'd like to see that."

But Leah wasn't paying attention to her. Her eyebrows lowered in puzzlement as she stared at Anna. "Sit down," she said, her voice low and rich with a power that once more slid over Anna and did not touch her.

Anna frowned back. "No. Thank you." She thought of something, and before she could stop herself, she said, "I saw Sage at the funeral, but the Marrok was alone. Why weren't you beside him?"

"He had no business there," Leah said passionately. "He killed Carter. And now he pretends to mourn him? I couldn't keep him from going. He never listens to me anyway, does he? His sons are his advisors, all I am is a replacement for his lost love, the incomparably beautiful, self-sacrificing, Indian bitch. I can't stop him, but I won't support him, either." By the time she was finished, a tear slid down her face. She wiped it off and looked at it and then at Anna with an expression of horror. "Oh, God. Oh, my God. You're one of those. I should have known, should have known that Charles would bring something like you into my territory."

She left in a rush of cold air and rattled power, leaving Anna trying not to show how bewildered she was.

"I'd have paid money to see that." The smile was still spreading on Sage's face. "Oh, honey," she crooned, "I am so glad Charles brought you home. First Asil, then Leah. Life is going to be so much more interesting around here."

Anna wiped her sweaty hands on the sides of her jeans. There had been something odd about Leah's response, almost as if she'd been compelled to talk.