Patient Mates: (Book 7 Grey Wolf Pack Romance Novellas) (3 page)

Chapter Four

15
th
November

Gabe carefully placed ano
ther card on top of the pyramid and held his breath. 
It held
.  He smiled but then frowned. 
God he was bored
.  He was on duty at the Sheriff’s station but nothing was happening, his already restless wolf was driving him wild.  He’d take anything at that moment.  A drunken teenager, a speeding driver or even Winston the elderly bull shifter who occasionally took it upon himself to streak around naked. 
Where was a naked bull when you needed him?

He needed something to take his mind off his aunt’s phone call
.  She’d phoned that morning.  She had begged and pleaded with him to come and see her and his father but Gabe had refused.  She had cried but Gabe would not be moved.  He loved his aunt deep down, but since his mother died he couldn’t help but feel anger towards her.  And as for his father…
no he didn’t want to think about him.

Deanna Hardison, a bobcat shifter and fellow Deputy, strode into the station and slapped her handcuffs on her desks.  Gabe’s playing card pyramid collapsed and he let out a grunt of annoyance.

Deanna pursed her lips.  “Working hard I see.”

Gabe collected the cards together and began rebuilding.  “This place is dead, there’s nothing to do.”

The bobcat shrugged and took a lunchbox out of her desk and began munching on a cheese, chips and pickle sandwich.

“Guys!”  Called Liv from the front desk.  Liv was currently covering the receptionist job, she insisted
on it much to her mate Alec’s consternation who didn’t like her working.  Especially as she was pregnant.

Deanna wiped her hands and followed Gabe to the front desk.

Liv smiled at them serenely, she was knitting a tiny yellow sweater.  “Hey the alarm at Jolene Whittaker’s house just went off.”

“Yes!”  Exclaimed Gabe.

The two women stared at him in surprise.  “I mean… I’m just glad that there’s something to do… I’m not really glad the alarm went off… I…”

Deanna impatiently interrupted him
and grabbed the list of master codes for all the pack alarms.  “We get it, let’s go.”

They said their goodbyes to Liv and
sped off in a patrol car.

*

“What did you do?  What did you do?”  Screeched Lilah.

“I don’t know stop yelling at me!”  Cried Kira.

The alarm on Jolene’s house was wailing furiously.  Lilah was bouncing around with her hands over her ears whilst Kira tried pushing every button on the alarm console.

Jolene had gone to work early that morning so, mindful of the twin’s situation, left the alarm set.
  Kira feeling tired of being cooped up, and her wolf dying to get some fresh air, decided to go for a run.

She duly forgot about the alarm and blundering outside had
tripped it and now couldn’t turn it off.  It hadn’t helped that she had forgotten the alarm code and punched in the numbers incorrectly on the first five tries. 
It just made the intrusive alarm even louder
.

Now she had taken to hitting and mashing her hand against the console.
  “Come on you stupid thing!”

“Let’s just call Jolene!”  Screamed Lilah.

“What?”

“I said, let’s call…”  Lilah gulped as two Sheriff’s Deputies burst through the door.

Lilah clutched at Kira and spun her round to see the two Deputies. 
Gabe
.  Kira tensed but then immediately relaxed as warmth flooded through her body and the male wolf’s fresh, citrusy scent invaded her senses. 
Her wolf yipped like a puppy
.

The small female deputy holstered her gun and quickly turned off the alarm.

“Oh thank god!”  Murmured Lilah.

“Kira…”  A
punch-drunk smile adorned Gabe’s handsome face.

His wolf was panting at the sight of the she-wolf.  He couldn’t believe it was her.  They’d met briefly, and at the time Kira had been angry and
standoffish.  She had spent the better part of two years living as a rogue and had seemed more wolf than woman.  His own wolf had been extremely protective of her but Gabe had dismissed it as nothing more than friendly concern.  But seeing her again…

Gabe marveled at the change in her.
  Whereas before her eyes were sunken and wild, now they were warm and lively.  Her brown skin was luminous and her luscious dark blonde curls framed her pretty heart shaped face like a halo.  Her dark lips curled upwards into an alluring smile.  He was pleased to see she had put on weight, before she had been a bit scrawny but now she had some delectable curves.  His eyes dilated as they feasted on her body and his arousal started to soar. 
Her strawberry scent was just the icing on the cake.

“Gabe…”
  Kira breathed.

He was even better than she remembered.  He was about six feet tall, not tall for a wolf but tall enough to tower over her own five foot four frame.  He was slender compared to most wolves but
she liked that. 
Oversized beefcakes did nothing for her
.  He was broad enough to make her feel petite, despite her curvaceous frame.  It was Gabe’s face that really drew your attention.  With his thick black hair, perfect high cheekbones and full sensual lips he looked like a Hispanic angel. 
Or at least a pop star. 
Male wolves in general tended to be good looking, but in a rugged, rough sort of way. 
Gabe was beautiful
. 
Hell, was he actually prettier than her?!

“Ahem!”

Gabe and Kira blinked to attention.  Apparently they’d been staring at one another.

Kira rubbed her neck
in embarrassment. “Oh, ummm I’m Kira and this is my sister Lilah, Lilah this is Gabe and… errr…”

“Deanna Hardison.  Bobcat.  Please to meet you both.”  Provided the grinning Deputy.

Gabe did a double take between the two. 
Identical twins, well apart from the hair
.  Gabe politely told Lilah it was nice to meet her before returning his avid gaze to Kira.

Kira let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding
as her wolf pranced around.  She’d actually been worried that Gabe might have preferred Lilah. 
Well it had happened before…

For some unfathomable reason Lilah had always been considered the ‘hot twin’ when they were growing up. 
Which was ridiculous – they looked exactly the same! 
Apparently it had something to do with Lilah being a little nicer than her, which was dumb! 
The boys in New Mexico were totally dumb!

At least Gabe didn’t agree
.

“Thanks for turning off the alarm.”  Kira smiled awkwardly.

“Our pleasure right Gabe.”  Deanna elbowed the male wolf who seemed to be in a trance.

“Hmmm?  Oh right yeah, what ummm what happened?” 
He had to at least try and look professional
.

Lilah rolled her eyes.  “She forgot the alarm was switched on and tried to go outside, then she forgot the code to switch it off.”

Kira blushed furiously.  “I’m sorry that you came out here for nothing.”

“It’s no problem.”  Gabe said quickly.
  His wolf wagged his tail in agreement.  “So how long have you been back in town?  I haven’t seen you around.”

Kira bit her lip.  “
Since yesterday, we’ve kind of just been settling in here.  We haven’t really been out in the town yet.”

“Well if you want someone to show you around town…”

“Yes!  I’ll call you!”  Kira lit up and then felt awash with embarrassment.  “I mean if that’s what you meant, that is what you meant right?”

Gabe chuckled.  “It is.”

“Then yes I’ll call you.”  Her little wolf was practically rolling over to have her belly scratched.

Lilah and Deanna stood watching the awkward flirting,
with increasingly levels of boredom.

“So how long are you in town for?” 
Gabe tried to nonchalantly lean against a bookcase, the wood was just an iddy bit more slippy than he was expecting.   His shoulder slid off the smoother wood and he ended up banging his head against the edge with a resounding thud.

Lilah and Deanna had to stifle their laughs while Kira rushed forward concern written on her face.  Heat dusted over Gabe’s cheeks but when Kira reached up and smoothed her fingers over his forehead he knew it had been worth it. 
His body hummed at her touch as his beast virtually purred
.

“We’re joining the pack.”  She told him softly.

“That’s wonderful…”

Kira almost jumped a foot in the air as Gabe’s radio jumped to life.  A tinny voice blasted at them.  Reluctantly Gabe excused himself
and answered the radio call.

A few moments later he returned with an annoyed look. 
“Deanna we have to go, Winston’s on the loose.”

The bobcat groaned.  “Oh goody!” 

Gabe turned to Kira in apology.  “I have to go.”

Kira nodded.  “Of course.”

“Maybe I could… I don’t know, call you…”

“Yes!
” 
Whoa take it easy girl
.  “I mean yeah sure, why not.  You can get me on Jolene’s number.”   

Gabe looked like a kid at Christmas.  “Great!  Well I’m sure I’ll see you soon.  Nice to meet you Lilah.”

The Deputies left and the twins watched them go from the porch.

Lilah eyed Kira with interest. 
“Hmmmmm.”

Kira narrowed her eyes. 
“Hmmmmm what?”

“No wonder you were so desperate to get back to Rose.”

Kira felt heat suffuse her cheeks.  “I was not desperate to get back here!  Gabe’s just a friend.”

Lilah sniggered as she walked back into the house. 
“Yeah looked like it.”

Kira stared after Gabe, a small smile on her face.  No wonder her wolf had been so thrilled at coming back to Rose.  Yes she’d found him.  Her animal howled in delight. 
Mate.  Mine.

Chapter Five

17
th
November

It was the night of the f
ull moon.  The entire pack, including all human, witch and non wolf shifter mates were assembled at the central clearing. 
Well almost the entire pack
.

Gabe sauntered through the amassed crowd saying hello to a few people.  He waved at Kim the six foot manager of Bar Luna, he said hello to the reclusive pack tracker Don and
gave Alec a wide berth as he chewed out a trio of troublemakers.  Gabe himself had arrested and given warnings to Hunter, Jimmy and Casey on numerous occasions.  Given that Mal Tanner now an Enforcer, mated to the town librarian and expecting his first child, used to be just as wild as them Gabe reflected that maybe all they needed was to find their own true mates. 
It might be just the thing to calm them down.

Gabe scanned the crowd with growing
displeasure. 
Kira was nowhere to be seen
.  His wolf had been giddy about seeing her again for the last three days.  He had to force himself not to run over and see her every second of the day.

He suspected she was his mate but he was restraining himself from throwing her over his shoulder and dragging her back to his house.
 
He definitely didn’t want to make the same mistake as his father… 

He sauntered over and
joined the pack’s Chief Enforcer Acksel who was stood with Mac and her bear mate Andy. 

“Hey, have you seen Kira and Lilah around?”

Mac shook her head.  “They’re not coming, Kira called Adam to say they couldn’t make it.”

Gabe sagged in disappointment.  “That’s a shame.”  He muttered.

Acksel grunted.  “Probably for the best for now at least.”

Gabe prickled at Acksel’s tone and his wolf growled lowly.
 
Did this male not want Kira to be part of the pack?

“What do you mean?”
  Asked Gabe calmly as his claws flexed.

Acksel shrugged.  “Just that they need to keep a low profile until the problems with their old pack are resolved.
  For their sake and for our pack.”

“What problems?”  Worry started to seep through him. 
Was Kira in danger?

Mac cleared her throat
loudly and shot Acksel an annoyed look.  Gabe looked between them.  “What’s going on?”

Mac chewed her lip.  “It’s just that
there’s a bit of a question over whether Lilah can join the pack, technically she didn’t leave her old pack.  Her husband was hurting her but we don’t have any proof.  So we’re just kind of concerned that her old pack might turn up and try to take her back…”

“So
it’s kind of being kept quiet for now.”  Rumbled Andy.

“It’s not exactly a secret
, and as a Deputy Gabe should know.  The twins aren’t going out of their way to attract attention.  It’s probably best that they don’t attend the runs until they can be inducted, sends out the wrong message to their old pack.”   Said Acksel.

Mac
frowned.  “We want to keep Kira and Lilah safe until we know how their old pack is going to react.”

“With any luck they’ll just let them go.”  Murmured Andy.

“Right, thanks guys.”  Gabe murmured.

He walked away slowly. 
Why hadn’t Kira told him? 
His wolf roared at the thought of his mate being in danger.  The thought of anything happening to her was unbearable.

Maybe he didn’t want to rush into taking her as a mate, but that
damn well wasn’t going to stop him from making sure that she was safe. 

*

18
th
November

Kira tapped on the door hesitantly
.  Rosalee opened it and smiled at her before dragging her into a hug.

“Hey, nice to see you.  Come in!”

Kira opened her mouth to respond but slammed it shut as she was quickly pulled into the Alpha house and thrust into the living room.

“Kira you remember Liv and Carly right?”  The two small females waved at her.  Rosalee motioned to two other women.  “This is Terri she’s mated to a wolf and this is Kim.” 

Kira eyed the Amazon like Kim shyly.  Growing up as an Omega female, the smallest and weakest of the pack, Kira was used to being picked on by the stronger females.  She was naturally wary of larger female wolves who were generally aggressive and snooty. 
Survival of the fittest and all that
.  On average they were about five foot eight and fairly slender with sinewy muscles.  Kim however was six foot and built like a warrior princess. 
She looked like she could take down male wolves without too much trouble.

To her surprise Kim welcomed her with a hug and told her it was lovely to meet her.  “I’m sorry you didn’t make it to the run last night.”

Kira fidgeted.  “Yeah I’m really sorry about that…”

Rosalee offered her a piece of red velvet cake which Kira gladly took.
  “Don’t worry there are plenty of full moon runs, they happen every month you know.”

The women laughed and Rosalee offered the cake round to everyone.  Everyone except Terri took a piece.  The small Chinese woman paled and clutched her stomach.  “I better not, morning sickness and all.”

Liv happily munched on hers.  “You poor thing, I don’t think I’ve had any morning sickness really.  I’ve been eating us out of house and home.”

Terri groaned.  “No offence Liv but I hate you right now.”

Liv shrugged and licked frosting off her finger.  “None taken.”

Kira bit into her piece and emitted an orgasmic sounding moan.
 
God the cake was delicious
.  The rest of the women stared at her for a second before bursting into laughter.  She blushed like mad.  “I’m sorry…”

Carly’s shoulder’s shook.  “Don’t be sorry, I take it as a compliment.”

“You made this?”  Asked Kira incredulously.

Carly nodded shyly.  Rosalee patted her arm proudly.  “I keep telling her she needs to open up a cake shop
. It’s just what our town needs.”

“No!”  Moaned Liv.  “I’m already rounded enough, if I get to eat her cakes every day I’ll
be the size of a house!”

Kim smirked.  “You’re pregnant, you’re going to anyway.  When I
was pregnant with Jamie I looked like a freaking tank!”

Rosalee snickered and rubbed Liv’s belly.  “And I’m guessing that considering who the father is that is going to be one big baby!” 
Alec was six foot three and built like a pro wrestler
.

Terri covered her mouth as she chuckled.

Carly raised an eyebrow.  “I don’t know why you’re laughing.  No Tanner baby has ever been less than twelve pounds in weight.”

Terri clutched her stomach and moaned.  “Oh god!” 
Terri’s own mate Mal, like all the full grown males in his family, was six foot six and beefy.

Kim rolled her eyes.  “
You might have girls!  Even though I was big my Jamie was only eight pounds.  That’s about average for a female grey wolf.”

“And what about a female red wolf?”  Asked Rosalee archly.

It was a well known fact that Kim had been dating a red wolf shifter called Ed who lived in Alexandria.  He was five years younger, two inches shorter and absolutely besotted with her.

Kim pouted and took a sip of
coffee.  “I’m sure I’ve no idea.”  She said haughtily.

“Ummm hmmmm.”
  Chorused the other women before bursting in peals of laughter.

Kira listened to the banter with interest.  She felt
affection between the women that hadn’t been evident in her old pack.  All wolves in Charming had been encouraged to be rivals and fight for ranking. 
The Rose pack members actually just seemed to like each other
.

Rosalee wiped away a tear. 
“I’m sorry Kira we’ve been babbling. Not that you’re not welcome to come round anytime just to hang out but did you come round for something in particular?”

All the women looked at her in a friendly fashion.

“Ummm, I was kind of hoping you could help me find a job.  I don’t mind what the job is I just want to start earning my keep.  I really appreciate your generosity but I do want to contribute to the pack.”

The female pack members
nodded in approval.  A pack was a family, and everyone worked together. 
There was no room for freeloaders
.

Rosalee held up a finger as her face lit up with an idea,
you could almost see the light bulb above her head
.  “Wait right here while I make a phone call.”

The bouncy female Alpha disappeared for a few minutes
whilst the others made polite enquiries about Lilah.

Bounding back into the room
Rosalee smiled triumphantly.  “The Honeypot Diner needs a new waitress.  Deedee the bear shifter owner says she’s willing to give you a trial.  You start on Wednesday.”

“Wow
thank you that was so fast!”

Rosalee waved her hand.  “Deedee owed Adam a favor, no biggie.”

Kira couldn’t express her gratitude.  “Really thank you so much.  Well I guess I better be going…”

All the women cried out in
protest. 

Terri came and sat next to Kira.  “Don’t go yet! 
I still haven’t told everyone the crazy things my husband's brothers have been up to this week.  It involves a beehive, honey and no clothes.”

Carly nodded. 
“Ooooh you don’t want to miss that, stories about the Tanner boys are always worth sticking around for.” 

Kira grinned.  “Well maybe I could
stay for a little while…”

She felt warmth and affection swell through her, and her wolf barked like a puppy. 
Yep, she could get used to this.

*

A couple of hours later Kira hiked back to Jolene’s house with a smile on her face.  Just getting to know her pack mates had been fun.  They gave her an open invitation to join their coffee morning whenever she liked and told her that extended to Lilah too.

She hoped she could encourage Lilah to join her.  Socializing with other female pack mates might be just what she needed.  From what Kira had gathered Joseph had not allowed her sister to really have friends.
  Not for the first time fury washed through her.  She was just glad they left when they did.

Kira shivered.  The weather was turning chilly; snow was forecast in the next couple of weeks.  She picked up the pace. 
She’d decided against using her car.  For one thing her little Volkswagen was getting a bit old and for another the bright lime green color was kind of unusual
.  It stuck out like a sore thumb. 
And they were trying to keep a low profile.  Until she could trade it for something else it was going to sit in Jolene’s garage.  Besides the town was kind of small, she could pretty much walk everywhere anyway if she had to.  She looked down at her thighs sourly. 
And
she could certainly use the
exercise
.

Kira stilled as a twig snapped.  She anxiously scanned the woods as her wolf trembled ready to shift.
  She stood still not daring to move and her heart furiously drummed in her chest.

After a few moments she spied a rabbit. 
It was just a bunny
.  She was being silly. Surely no one from Charming would be crazy enough to sneak onto another pack’s land?  Gingerly she sniffed the air, she scented a number of wolves but she couldn’t tell if they were all members of Adam’s pack. 

No, she felt certain that no one from Charming would make it this far into Rose without being detected.
 
There was no one out here other than her and Thumper
.

Still she couldn’t escape a few niggles of worry.  She hastened to get back to Jolene’s house,
just in case…