Dreaming of the Wolf (Heart of the Wolf #8)(49)

Peter pulled the door open to his Suburban, and Tom tossed Jake’s clothes in the backseat.

“I’ll drive Jake and Alicia. You can drive Jake’s truck back to the house,” Tom said.

“Will do.” Peter loped ahead to Jake’s truck.

“Too bad I didn’t know you were one of us, or I could have brought a change of clothes for you,” Tom said to Alicia. “Wait!” he called out to Peter. “Why don’t you drop by the motel in Crestview and see if you can get Alicia’s suitcases released to you?”

The police officer shook his head. “They’ll confiscate everything at the crime scene. The sheriff will need to get Alicia’s statement also, once she shifts back.”

Great. In a way, she’d thought she was off the hook with the police. How in the world was she to explain what had happened at the motel? One minute she was human and the next a wolf?

“All right,” Tom agreed, then let Alicia into the backseat of the vehicle. “I’m Tom Silver. The big gray wolf behind you is Jake, my older brother by five minutes. And from what Darien said, the two of you are already well acquainted. Darien is our eldest brother and our pack leader and runs Silver Town. Jake and I are sub-leaders, and Peter Jorgenson is the sheriff for the town.” Tom gave her a broad smile, his eyes sparkling with humor. “Welcome to the pack.”

***

Jake sat next to Alicia in the backseat of Peter’s vehicle, his feelings raw and mixed. He was relieved as hell she was safe and in his custody. And he was glad to know the woman he’d been sharing nocturnal pleasures with was a gray lupus garou and that if his family history was correct, she was meant to be his mate.

But this business about the thugs she’d gotten involved with could be a real problem. And the fact she had to be newly turned was also a dilemma. Who had turned her, and where was he now? Had he mated with her, and if so, was he still alive? Because if he was, Jake could not claim her for his own. That made him wonder if the wolf who had turned her had taught her what she needed to know as one of their kind.

And had the wolf turned her against her will?

He was certain that if he hadn’t pinned her down and kept her that way, she would have run off. Until she realized who he was. But she was newly turned, and he was sure the whole werewolf business was too unreal for her to swallow yet. She was probably just as stunned to learn he was a werewolf, as were his brother and Peter.

At least for now, she seemed resigned to her fate. He had half a notion of shifting to reassure her that it was truly him. To speak with her. To learn all he could about her.

She sat staring out the window, avoiding looking at him, he thought. Or maybe she just wanted to see where they were going. But he assumed she was upset.

He couldn’t quit watching her, the way she sat so rigidly, so tense, her ears twitching back and forth, as she took deep breaths to sample the air. She was smelling the smells, memorizing them, cataloging them. Just as he had memorized her fragrance as a wolf. He would know her scent anywhere now and even the paw-pad trail she’d left behind as they’d made their way to the vehicle. If she ever ran as a wolf, he’d find her without any difficulty.

Tom said to Alicia, “Either Lelandi can loan you some of her clothes, or one of the other women can.”

Hell, Jake wanted to talk to her, and he couldn’t do it as a wolf. He shifted, and as soon as he did, she whipped her head around, eyes large and brown and endearing. He gave her a dark smile and pulled on his jeans.

She glanced at Tom. Jake frowned. She hadn’t thought her dream lover had been Tom, had she? They did look a hell of a lot alike, except Jake’s face had rougher angles, and his hair and eyes were darker.

She looked back at Jake, her gaze taking all of him in, and she swallowed hard.

“Tom, when we get to town, stop at the lingerie store.” Jake smiled at Alicia. He had every intention of taking care of her every need.

“Silk and Lace Delights?” Tom’s voice sounded surprised. “She won’t be open this late.”

“I’ll call ahead. And we can drop by the all-night discount store after that.”

“Do you know her size? As a wolf, she appears taller than Lelandi. But she’s not as big as some of our female wolves. Maybe Silva’s height?” Tom asked.

From what he’d seen of Alicia, and that was every inch of her delectable body, he figured her to be Silva’s height when Silva wasn’t wearing high heels to make herself appear taller like the other grays while she waitressed at the Silver Town Tavern. Silva was just as buxom but taller than Lelandi, since Lelandi was a red wolf and Silva a gray. Yeah, he imagined Alicia and Silva were about the same build.

Jake thought about the logistics of the situation further. He wanted to get to know his soon-to-be mate unaccompanied. His grandfather’s house would be the ideal setting. Isolated. Away from family so they could really be alone.

“After we shop, you can drop us off at Granddad’s old place.”

“Darien expects me to bring her back to his house,” Tom said, again sounding surprised.

Jake didn’t care for that scenario in the least. Everyone would get involved in his business with Alicia when he needed the time alone with her.

“Want me to call and—”

“No.” Jake jerked on his shirt. Then he grabbed his cell phone from his pants pocket and called Darien. When his older brother answered, Jake said, “We’re making a couple of clothing stops because Alicia has no clothes to change into. After that, we’re staying out at the old homestead.”