Chasing The Moon (7 page)

“Who are we going to see?” she asked.

“One of the pack elders,” he answered. “Nolan French. I thought he might be able to add to the whole mate conversation. Maybe he’ll have some kind of solution.”

“Why would he?”

“He’s kind of the keeper of the lore, ya know? The pack historian.” Summer nodded. Other packs had someone who performed the same function. They walked up the wide steps, and Jackson leaned on the doorbell. It seemed incredibly rude, and she reached over and swatted at his hand. Meeting his surprised gaze, she arched her eyebrows, silently daring him to say anything.

“Impolite, don’t you think?”

He leaned against the doorframe, ankles and arms crossed, and grinned down at her. “He tends to ignore you if you aren’t insistent.”

Several minutes later she gave up and didn’t protest when Jackson held the doorbell down again.

Finally she heard loud, angry footsteps approaching the door. Not sure what to expect, she was shocked when the door flew open. Nolan French didn’t meet the curmudgeonly elder image she’d been building in her mind. Oh no. She guessed he was around fifty, but he was the nicest looking fifty she’d ever seen; tall, broad, well-muscled. His face was lined with age, but in the way only men seemed to pull off. He looked stately and distinguished. His hair was silver with streaks of black.
He must be beautiful as a
wolf
. He paid no attention to her at all, and cut off his angry greeting mid-stride when he noticed who the male werewolf on the porch was.

“What! I’m—Jackson! Sorry. What can I do for you?”

Jackson just shook his head and grinned. “You can start with a Miss Manners’ lesson, Nolan.” Jackson grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. “This is Summer Lambert. My mate.” Nolan’s entire demeanor changed, morphing from pissed off to pleased in an instant. He stepped back and gestured for them to enter. “Come in, come in.”

Once inside, he shook her hand before turning back to Jackson. “What’s up?” He smiled at Summer. “As thrilled as I am to see you’ve finally settled down, you don’t have these elusive things called manners anymore than I do. So I doubt this is a friendly neighborhood introduction.” Jackson looked wounded and spread his arms. “Summer, help a guy out here, would you?” Enjoying the banter, she grinned and set her hands on her hips. “Oh, I really don’t think you want my help on this one.” She paused before adding sweetly, “We could tell him how I ended up here.” Jackson grinned back at her. “He’d applaud my ingenuity.”

Nolan barked a laugh. “I already heard. It’s the talk of the pack.” She must have looked as horrified as she felt at his announcement. Offering comfort, Jackson pulled her up against his side and whispered in her ear, “Hey, it’s okay. They’ll have something else to talk about in no time.”

Resisting the urge to turn her face into shoulder and hide, she lifted her chin to meet Nolan’s curious gaze.

Obviously not understanding what the big deal was, he changed the subject instead of asking.

“Let’s go to my study. I was going to come see you today, anyway.” They walked through a large living room that stretched from the front door to back wall and was bisected by hall. The room was pristine and looked unlived in. Turning to the right, they walked down a short hall that ended at another door. Summer followed Nolan and Jackson and smiled when they entered. This was not a leather and wood study like Jackson’s. It looked more like the kind of place you

’d find an alchemist or sorcerer hanging out in.

The two men chatted about acquaintances while she wandered around. The room appeared to take up the entire end of the house with a set of French doors leading to an outside deck. The remaining walls were lined with shelves. Two sides were crammed with books, and a desk sat in front of it. The other two sides were filled with object; everything from rocks, to animal skins and bones, to sketches and photographs. Long workbenches stretched in front on them. Delighted, she realized who he was and whirled around to question him.

Both men sat in the sitting area in the middle of the room and another realization struck. This man could be Alpha.
Why isn’t he? Damn the witch’s intuition.
And her own confused heart. The thought of someone taking Jackson’s place filled her with dread, and she approached cautiously. There were two couches and two chairs, with a long table in the center. She sat next to Jackson and took his hand, ignoring his surprise that she felt more than saw. There was something odd going on in the Appalachian pack and well, he needed all the help he could get. If only he would take off the damned talisman. It had served its purpose, and it confused her senses. She would have hissed at him to remove it if Nolan hadn’t been watching them so carefully.

“Why were you going to come see me?” Jackson asked curiously.

Nolan’s eyes turned hard, the affable man disappearing in an instant. “My daughter. She mated to someone outside the pack, and he doesn’t let her see us. Me and my mate.” He clarified for Summer.

“Usually she calls us every couple of days, but she’s gone silent.” Jackson looked sympathetic as he answered. “Outside the pack there isn’t anything I can do, Nolan. You know that.”

The other man nodded. “I know, but it’s not like Wyatt went anywhere, and one way or the other he means to cause problems.”

Jackson’s eyebrows shot up. “Your daughter is bonded to Wyatt? Chloe… I should have realized.”

“What?”

“You aren’t the only one worried about her. Billy mentioned she’d sort of disappeared earlier.

That’s why we’re here.”

“Billy Cagle?” Nolan looked intrigued and nodded slowly. “She always had an unusual interest in him. That’s a match I can see.”

“So can he.” Jackson frowned. “I can’t afford to have him this distracted, but he’s positive she’s
his
mate. Until the matter is resolved in some way, he’s sidetracked.”

“I can see how that would happen,” Nolan answered.

“I’ve never heard of a case where a werewolf bonded with the wrong woman. But
if
this is one of those cases, I need a solution. And an explanation.”

“The explanation is simple enough. Wyatt wants the pack and assumes I’ll support him since he is essentially holding my daughter hostage.”

She felt Jackson’s tension at the possible threat though his expression didn’t change, and she squeezed his hand in silent support.

“There’s only one solution. And there is precedence. There was the Panhandle case a few years ago, and the records mention a few other times.”

“You know about the Florida situation?” Summer asked. “Do you know what happened to them? The couple?”

Nolan gave her a steady look. “I know. I wonder how
you
know?”

“I was there. For some of it at least.”

He nodded. “You’re that Summer.”

Jackson’s tension strummed through the bond between them. “What do you know about Summer?”

Nolan shook his head and smiled. “You know I’m not a threat to you or your mate.”

“It’s part of my charm,” Jackson growled.

“I’ll keep what I know to myself. Part of my job, isn’t it?” Nolan assured him. “I know she studies wolves, and she’s pretty well known in the field. She has several friends in the were community.

And her grandfather was a Hunter.”

She bit back a gasp at his knowledge. She only knew one thing about him. “And you’re Nolan French, the famous naturalist.”

He tipped his head at her and joked, “Not so famous.”

The tension eased from Jackson, and he picked up the thread of the conversation. “What happened to them? That couple from Florida?”

Nolan started to laugh and stopped abruptly. “Really? You don’t know?” Jackson glared and Nolan threw up his hands. “Okay, okay. They’re here. Richard and Janelle.” Jackson started to feel more confident about the situation. Richard and Janelle were one of those couples that you saw and knew were meant to be together. He wondered if Trey would ever unwind to the level Richard had. Unless he was reminded, he rarely remembered Richard used to be a Hunter.

Somehow he didn’t see Trey ever reaching that level of comfort with other people.

“Well, that’s good news at least. What about the other incidences you mentioned?” Nolan sighed. “This seems to happen a couple of times every two or three generations. There’s always a challenge, and you know how that goes. The outcome is never predictable. Witnesses don’t discuss it. No one is in a hurry to accept that someone would do this. It’s essentially stealing a mate.”

“Right.” Jackson stood and paced the length of the room a few times. Nolan wasn’t doing more than verifying what he already knew. “So you’re saying it is what it is, and there’s nothing I can really do about it.”

In an instant, Nolan’s lazy posture changed, becoming the dark and dangerous predator he was instead of the friendly, affable face he usually wore. Jackson was grateful Nolan didn’t want to be Alpha.

This man could pose a real threat otherwise.

“You can let me or Billy handle it.”

Jackson shook his head. “I want you both to chill out for a couple of days.” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them to kill Wyatt, but if one of them made a challenge and fought in anger instead of cold reason, the outcome would be much less assured.

He eyed Nolan with an assessing gaze. “Neither one of you is in a position right now to trust your effectiveness. You’re both too angry.”

Nolan watched him a long moment, and he thought he was going to argue before he finally nodded in agreement. “Two days.”

Jackson ground his back molars. “Fine. Two days.”

That gave him forty-eight hours to find Wyatt and try to force the confrontation with the troublemaker onto his own territory. He caught Summer’s hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

He’d much rather spend the time convincing her they were perfect for each other, but the seduction would have to wait. In the meantime, he’d shown her the way to the village, and he was certain she’d insist on free access. His gut rebelled at the thought. It wasn’t safe.

He made arrangements to meet Nolan in a couple of days and left with Summer. They’d been inside long enough for dusk to fall, and the streets through town were empty as they made their way back to the path leading to the house. She was as quiet as usual, but kept her hand in his as they climbed the trail.

As their first week together progressed, he began to understand her better. Her emails to Hardy were always chatty, so he’d expected her to be the same in person. In the first couple of days when she wasn’t, he’d taken her quiet as a way to punish him for the sneaky way he’d claimed her, but he was starting to see it was just her way. Not that it didn’t worry him. He had learned the quieter she got, the more she was thinking, and he doubted that was good for him. He was still trying to figure her out. He knew one sure way to pull her from the remote shell she was erecting while they walked. When they reached a small deer path a quarter mile from the house, he pulled her behind him into the woods.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

He smiled, knowing she could only see his back, and considered a big bad wolf response.
Some
place isolated. The better to eat you, my dear.
Though he didn’t say it out loud, she must have felt his intent and her blood rushed in response. He imagined his lips on her, recalled her taste, and felt desire stir through him. It met hers and the air seemed to crackle with sexual energy.

In another few yards, they emerged from the trees into a small glade. He spun around to face her, pulling her hard against his body, and crushing her mouth with his before she could utter a protest. If she didn’t understand his sudden urgency, she didn’t show it. Instead, she met it, her fingers reaching for the snap on his jeans and freeing his cock from the constraining fabric. Her fingers closed around him, and he growled low in his throat until she reluctantly released him. He needed her willing, but he wasn’t sure he could handle aggressive. Stepping back, he ripped off his shirt.

“The jacket,” he panted out. She unzipped it and tossed it to the ground. He wanted to take off her sweater, but was afraid he’d tear it. “The sweater, too.” When it too lay on the ground, he moved in, eyeing her bra. Knowing the lacy thing was history, he silently promised he’d buy her a dozen more. Letting his claws lengthen, he shredded the straps and sides, paying no attention as it fluttered to the ground. Her breasts rose and fell at a fast pace. He met her gaze, expecting to see fear, but not sure how to assuage it. The truth was she probably should be afraid of him right now. He felt a primitive need to mark her as his territory, a need that was obsessive. It went beyond sexual chemistry. This woman was in his bones.

Compassion shone through the chocolate depths of her eyes, and she held her hand out to him. It was all the invitation he needed. Yanking her closer, his mouth closed over the pink areola of her breast.

She moaned, and her fingers twisted in his hair. The growing scent of her arousal flooded his nostrils and without releasing her, he walked her backwards to brace against the nearest tree. When the bark brushed his arm around her back, he released her and reached for the button on her jeans. Popping it open, he felt for a zipper and groaned when there was none.

“Button fly?”

She laughed shakily. “Sorry.”

He popped the remaining snaps open. He met her gaze, glad to see she looked as dazed as he felt. “Don’t replace these jeans,” he ordered.

Her eyes sparked but instead of a retort, she groaned when his fingers reached inside the jeans and found her clit. The small nub was already hard and swollen, and he had her screaming her release in seconds. At the small mastery over her body, ecstasy surged through him and his cock demanded attention. Deciding he was far beyond finesse, he turned her around and placed her palms on the tree, pulling her hips with him until her back was flat, her glistening pussy in easy access.

He pushed two fingers in her channel to test her readiness, relieved to find her slick with need.

She dropped her head, pushed back against him, and fucked herself on the digits for a few seconds. He enjoyed the sight of her moving around his hand. He withdrew them and trailed the line between her ass, pausing over the pucker of her hole. She stilled completely as he pushed one finger inside and slowly worked it in and out before adding a second finger. She tensed at the additional invasion, and he murmured soothing nonsense words. Gradually she relaxed, opening up to him. He groaned, feeling the sensation, watching the action, wishing he had a tube of lube with him.
Soon.