Right. Once he mated her, he wouldn't allow her to leave him ever, just like he wouldn't let her out of his sight now, and they weren't even mated!

* * *

Leidolf watched the emotions play across Cassie's face as she stood as a wolf in the creek and wondered what they meant. She had an intense way of looking when she was thinking deeply, and he knew it had to be about the two of them. Was it his laughing at her while she played like she was a wolf pup on her first adventure that caught her attention?

He strode forth, the chilly breeze whipping across his heated skin. The woman would be the death of him if he couldn't mate her soon. He'd finally found his royal match, and yet that wasn't all that appealed to him. She could have been newly turned for all he cared.

All he knew was he wanted her like he'd wanted no other woman. His twin sister had been right. Lelandi had said someday he'd find the woman of his dreams and no other woman would do. Despite believing what she had said was utter nonsense, he could see now that Darien, the gray wolf she'd chosen for her mate, could have been her one and only choice.

He took a deep breath of the cold air.

Cassie was every bit of that to him. He wondered what Lelandi would say about it. His mother would be here in a heartbeat, welcoming Cassie to the family before the little red wolf even agreed to be his mate. His wheelchair-bound father would undoubtedly give him a stern look and command that he behave himself where Cassie was concerned or he'd lose her.

Leidolf shook his head. He didn't believe Cassie would want him to be any other way. The problem was more her past, how she'd been living as a loner for so long, certainly not anything to do with him not appealing to her.

He stalked into the creek headed straight for Cassie. For the moment, he planned to forget the fish. Her gaze remained locked on his, trying to figure him out, to determine what he was up to. He was ready to play with his little red wolf. That's what he was up to.

As soon as he dove for her, she darted away, splashing through the creek. He laughed as he ended up on his hands and knees, the icy water up to his whiskery chin. "You'll never get away from me, Cassie."

And that was a promise. He only had to devise a plan to convince her that what he already knew in his heart was true for both of them. They were destined to be mates.

Warily she came up behind him and poked him in the ass with her nose. He grinned. "You'll regret that, darlin'."

He swung around and grabbed for her furred neck, but she dashed out of his path again, and he took a nosedive into the cold water. The chase was half the fun. He scrambled to his feet and ran through the shallower water after her. She grinned at him as she stood waiting for him to close in.

Soon, he hoped, he'd catch his mate and win the game.

* * *

Near the river where Leidolf had crossed, Elgin and Fergus talked close by, while Satros sat down on a tree stump a hundred yards away, and Carver stared across the riverbank, watching for any signs of Leidolf's return. He hoped Leidolf would have Cassie under his control and bring her back to the pack soon. The woman was just what Leidolf needed. Too many times in the last several months that Leidolf had been leader, he had run off to take care of pack business miles away. But Carver knew Leidolf had done so in part hoping to discover a mate located somewhere else and return her to the pack to start a family.

Carver sighed. He knew the feeling, the longing, the wanting. He should have been satisfied to have had a mate he'd loved with all his heart who gave him two beautiful daughters. He craved what he'd had with her until the car accident, and he wanted the girls to have a mother.

He narrowed his eyes as he stared in the vicinity of where the red wolf had run through the forest across the river. He wanted to go after her in the worst way, to learn if she was a lupus garou also, and to bring her safely back to the pack if she was.

"What are you thinking?" Elgin asked, coming up beside Carver.

"I want to go after them. Leidolf, Cassie, the unknown red."

"The unknown red mostly," Elgin observed.

"All of them," Carver said, not caring if he sounded on edge.

"Leidolf wants to do this alone. He was a loner before he came to us to take over the pack. He needs time away from the pack sometimes to get his sense of balance. Not to mention the little lady is probably a loner also. He needs to be with the woman alone."

Carver walked over to the river, the tips of his boots poking at the water's edge. "What about the other?"

"She may just be a feral wolf."

"Or she might be a lupus garou. We won't know until we find her."

Elgin shook his head and folded his arms. "Leidolf wanted us to let the others know where he was. Nothing else. Fergus got that Alex wolf-biologist character off to a motel, two hours farther away than he needed to go, letting him think there were no other ones available due to an antique-car show in the area. So he's taken care of for the time being. We've taken Cassie's truck back to Leidolf's house."

Elgin looked out across the river at the forest on the other side. "The Jag's in the garage again where it will continue to collect more dust until Leidolf tells us to sell it. Evan's there, safe and sound. Sarge is under heavy guard. Not only are Pierce and Quincy watching him, but two other men are also, and they've left the sheriff's bracelets on him until Leidolf returns. So we've done what he asked us to do. And now we either return to the ranch and wait further word, or we stay here and wait for him."

Elgin let out his breath. "Another matter, too. Irving and Tynan returned. Irving said they'd speak only to Leidolf about what they had been doing."

Carver spared him a glance. "And you asked, of course."

"You know how they are. They could do no wrong where the former leader was concerned. They don't believe they owe anyone any explanations. I suspect they were up to no good, but I have no way to prove it. They seemed damned rattled that we'd had a wounded lupus garou female at the house, though."

"Why?"

"Hell if I know. They seemed even more concerned that she'd run away and that Leidolf went after her."

Carver frowned as he stared across the river. He'd never liked the two men, who were always breaking the rules Leidolf had established since he'd arrived. Both had been favorites of Alfred's, and anyone in his circle of friends was to be watched. But Leidolf wanted to give everyone from the old pack a chance if they hadn't done anything like Alfred and his thugs had.

"Hell. Leidolf's the best man we've got for the leadership position. Well, you and Fergus do an excellent job backing him up, but if this Tynan and Irving intend to stab Leidolf in the back, they'll have me to contend with."

"Ditto for us, Carver."

"What about Leidolf? If he needs our help, how can he get word to us?"

"He'll howl."

Carver rubbed his hand over his cheek. "All right, we wait. If he doesn't come back with her by first light, we're searching for them." He didn't care if he wasn't a sub-leader and not authorized to take charge of the situation. He hadn't wanted the responsibility because of raising his daughters on his own. But he wasn't waiting to search for his leader and the women any longer than he had said. Not when he finally had a decent pack to live with.

Chapter 21

Not being able to catch Cassie as a wolf in the icy creek and his skin half frozen, Leidolf shape-shifted. In wolf form, he eyed her with interest, his little red wolf. She stood panting, lifted her head, and snapped her jaws closed, her gaze commanding him to catch her now, as a wolf would.

He gave her his best big-bad-wolf smile back. Ready or not, here I come. He ran toward her, sending water splashing out of his path. As if playing chicken, she waited. He was afraid he'd plow right into her, and with his heftier size, he'd knock her over. Right or left, Cassie? Which way are you going to dodge?

He watched her eyes, the way she observed him, challenging, willing him to come for her, the subtle way she shifted her body, giving her plans away. Left, he figured. As soon as he anticipated her twisting her body that way in an attempt to escape, she turned to the right. And he missed her. He wanted to laugh. She was his... all his.

He nipped at her hindquarter as she dashed out of his path. If she'd been in her human form, he swore she'd be laughing her head off. Then she totally threw him off his stride as she swung around and pounced on him, feet up on his back, head turned to nip at his neck. Ah, Cassie, darling, you're mine.

He whirled around and planned a frontal assault, intending to place his forepaws around her neck and challenge her muzzle to muzzle. She dropped her front quarters down in a crouching position, wagged her tail, and smiled.

He smiled right back. Then he sat down in the creek. She had won... his heart, his pack, everything. She rose to stand and then trotted over to where he was sitting and nuzzled his face. He licked hers back. Even though she still might not be able to commit to him forever, he felt the subtle change in their relationship again. Before, he'd felt he no longer had to compete for her affections. She was his. But now, there was a stronger tie. She had enjoyed playing with him as part of the wolf courtship phase, and he didn't think she'd want to totally give him up.

Although he had thought she wanted him to get on with the business of catching fish, he wasn't quite ready to quit playing with her. He rose and she watched him, waiting for what he planned to do next. He walked over to the dry shore and lay down. She still observed him, probably wondering what he was up to. And then he rolled onto his back, feet up in the air, waiting for her to respond. She didn't at first. Maybe a little too intimate for her at this point? Maybe not willing to concede he was baring his throat and underbelly in a way that said he trusted her completely.

Then she dashed out of the water, and it took every nerve he possessed not to get up and ready himself for the onslaught. He wasn't used to baring his vulnerabilities to another wolf. Not as an alpha.

She pounced on his chest and bit at his mouth in a mock fight, and he loved it. He growled and snarled as much as she did, their teeth clashing, her body pinning him down. Or he should say he let her pin him down, because if he'd wanted to get up, she didn't have enough weight to keep him on his back. After a vigorous workout, she lay beside him, and they watched the creek rumble by and the breeze rustling the leaves of the forest around them. Leaving the pack to get away would never be the same if he didn't have Cassie by his side.