"Mira," Troy said with a smile, "nice to meet you."

  "Nice to meet you too, sir," she replied, and he could tell she was checking him out a little less discretely than he'd done with her.

  "I leave you to at it, then," Captain Curtis said, and left, heading off to his desk.

  "So, what do you need?" Mira asked, looking him in the eye.

  "I want to go over all the alerts for the last ninety days that were apparent djevel attempts to breach the DEZ perimeter."

  "For this camp?"

  "For everything that abuts Lord Basun's territory."

  "That's going to be a lot of incidents," she said, and motioned for him to follow her to a cubical all the way at the back of the building.

  "I'm looking for small groups with nothing larger than a råge leading them."

  "And then what?"

  "Put them on a spreadsheet with times and locations. Maybe mark them on a map as well…" he said, looking thoughtful. "You any good at trend analysis?"

  Mira snorted. "Piece of cake. What are we looking for?"

  "I haven't the slightest," Troy admitted with a shrug.

  "If you don't know what we're looking for, why are we looking for it?" she said, looking back at him with a frown.

  "Because," he smiled at her, "we'll know it when we see it."

  The next eight hours were full of tedious, boring records searches and reading reports. The data he wanted wasn't in the description of the alert, so they had to read through each report, and record the descriptions of what kinds of djevels and how many were at each incident. It got to be so annoying that he made a note on his work pad to talk to SJ about updating the reporting system. Maybe he'd put a bug in Deidre's ear, as well. She was often drafted to do data analysis, as she had a way with parsing things.

  It wasn't until long after lunch, when it was getting near time for dinner, that he noticed the very attractive sergeant was well into his personal space, the top two buttons of her fatigues had somehow come undone, and of course she wasn't wearing a t-shirt under them, or a bra. That made him stop and think a moment, because he was fairly certain she had been wearing a t-shirt underneath at lunch.

  He had to admit, he enjoyed the view; Mira definitely had a chest worth looking at, and if she was going to show it off for him, far be it for him to be so rude as to decline the invitation.

  That got him thinking about what other kinds of invitations she might be looking to make. Sex among lycans was still a pretty open affair, and he could think of a lot worse things to do tonight than entertain a comely wolf gal in his bed.

  When she moved her tail and laid it against his, he suddenly realized that yes, she was very much interested in him. He was about to flick his own tail over to cover hers, which in lycan society was a sure sign of interest, because it had been days since he'd been laid, when he suddenly remembered who was sleeping in his bed back home.

  It didn't matter that she wouldn't know about it. It didn't matter that if he'd been sleeping with her, he'd probably be chatting the good sergeant up and seeing about lining her up for a night between the sheets.

  It was simply the matter that Nadinc was going to be—hell, she was—his first wife! Until they'd had the time to get to know each other, even just a little bit, he couldn't even begin thinking about a second or a third, or any of that. Hell, after he'd gotten to know his little Nadi, he might decide one was enough. Adam only had two, and Sampson had just one still, after twenty years, and they were both lions!

  Leaning back in his chair, he stretched and yawned, noticing that Mira was watching him appreciatively.

  "Are all cheetahs as buff as you?" she asked. "Hell, I've seen leopards who weren't half as built!"

  Troy smiled; oh, yeah, she wanted him all right. "No, I think it's a family line thing. Whether it's genetic or because we all work out a lot," he shrugged, "hard to say."

  "Well it does look hard, I'll give you that!" she said and winked at him.

  "You know, I haven't seen many wolves with a coat like yours."

  "Apparently one of my great-grandparents mixed it up with an African Dog, and, well," she grinned, "here I am!"

  "Are you the only one in your family like that?"

  "Nah, a couple of my cousins got it, too. It's not rare, but it isn't very common."

  "Huh, didn't know that."

  "So, care to do dinner with me, and maybe afterwards I can show you that it's all over?" Mira said in a husky voice.

  "I'd love to, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to take a raincheck."

  "A raincheck?" she said giving him a look.

  "What, you've never heard that one before?"

  She shook her head.

  "It means I really want to, and hopefully at a later date I'll take you up on the offer, but I can't right now."

  "Why not?"

  "New wife," Troy said and smiled, then almost laughed at the panicked expression on her face.

  "OhI'msorryIdidn'tknow..."

  "Mira," he said, putting his hand on her leg, causing her to stop mid-stream and give him a wide-eyed look.

  "I'm still breaking in my first wife. Now after that, if perhaps you'd be interested in the number two position, we could test out a couple of mattresses."

  "Number two…" she said slowly, still giving him the deer in the headlights look.

  "I grew up with nine mothers. My father, who you'll recall is a lion, has a pretty large pride. Now, I don't know yet if I'm going to go down that road myself, and I definitely won't end up with that many if I do, but you're definitely a contender if I do."

  "Ummm, but you're not a lion!"

  "And that's why I want to think about it a while first. Unlike, say, one of my lion brothers, who'd be dragging you off to their room by now, and talking about where you'd fit in!" Troy said with an outrageous wink.

  "Ummm..."

  Mira was back to the deer in the headlights look again.

  Troy patted her on the leg again. "Relax, you can always say no if you're that worried. In either case, It'll be a week or two before I consider warming any other beds."

  "Are you serious?" she asked in a very soft voice.

  "Look me up in a month, and we'll see," he whispered back. "In any case," he said in a more normal voice, "I need to go stretch my legs for a bit and think about what we've found so far. See you in the morning, Mira."

  "Uh, yeah, right, the morning," she said with a nod and quickly fled the area. Troy snickered as he watched that cute butt of hers until she was out of sight. The moment the idea that sleeping with him might end up a permanent arrangement had come up, she'd gotten quite flustered.

  Then again, a week ago, he would have felt the same way.

  He stopped a moment as his own eyes widened. He'd just turned down sex with a really hot gal for a woman he hadn't even slept with yet!

  Gathering up his notes, he put them in the small notebook he carried so he could write them up later. He was on his way back to his room, still thinking about what that meant, when he felt someone slip their arm inside his. Looking over, he saw it was Healy, the cougar from the Blackhawk he'd gone with a few days ago.

  "Deep thoughts?" she asked with a grin at him.

  "Yeah." Troy nodded.

  "So I heard you were all shut up with Mira Head today?"

  He nodded.

  "So, get any?" she asked, and then leered at him and winked.

  He noticed from the laughter that the rest of the crew was there as well.

  "Let's just say the offer hasn't been rejected, just put on hold."

  "Wait, you tol' Mira no?" Jasper, the other wolf E4, said with a shocked look on his face. "Half the troops here would give their left nut to bed that one!"

  "Yeah, really, what's goin' on there, Troy?" Healy asked.

  "Damned if I know," Troy said with a shake of his head. "I'm still trying to figure this one out."

  "What, whether or not to sleep with Mira? I'd think that'd be a no-brainer!" the leopard door gunner whose name he hadn't gotten said with a laugh.

  Troy shook his head. "It's not that simple."

  "Oh, now this I gotta hear!" Healy said, laughing as well.

  "My dad's a lion."

  "Well, yeah, everyone knows that!"

  "He has a pride."

  "A what?"

  "A harem," the door gunner supplied. "Lions have more than one wife. His dad has like seven."

  "Really?" Healy said, looking up at him.

  Troy nodded. "Yeah."

  "Okay, so what does that got to do with Miss Head?"

  "Because I just got hit in the face with a very important question."

  "And just wha' kinda question could a young man like yerself be facin'?" Jasper asked.

  "Do I want one, too?"

  "One what?" Healy asked, then her eyes got wide. "Wait, you're thinking of putting our hot little brindle babe in your pride? But that would mean…"

  "You know, you could be number three," Troy said and winked while looking down at her.

  The rest of the crew laughed so hard that several of them literally fell over.

  "But, but I though you were single!"

  "Not anymore."

  "Well, shit," Healy growled.

  Troy turned to face her. "Wait, were you seriously thinking about hooking up?"

  "Tell him, Heal!" said Rod, one of the other wolves, almost howling, he was laughing so hard.

  "Well, fuck, of course I was thinking of it! Good lord, I haven't seen a cougar as buff as you, and let's face it, you're a fucking Valens! Of course I was thinking about it! Especially with you being sent out here all on your lonesome!"

  Troy couldn't help it, he started laughing himself.

  "What's so damn funny?" Healy growled at him.

  "Now I gotta go home and tell my wife—my new wife—I want a pride! Oh, man, I can just hear it now. 'Honey! I'm hoooome! Oh, and how would you feel about a larger bed in the bedroom? You know, like my dad has?'" Troy snickered and then laughed. "I wonder if she'll say yes? Or just slit my throat as I sleep?"

  Healy looked up at him, then kicked him in the shin.

  "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

  "Miss Head can be number three! I saw you first! I get to be number two. Dammit!"

  The rest of the crew just laughed harder, the wolves all but howling as they were now drawing a crowd.

  "Hey, Troy! Up to your usual antics, I see!" Tracy called out as he walked over to see what all the noise was about.

  Troy just sighed and shook his head. "What can I say? It's a gift."

  "Well, come on, Mister Gift, you can buy dinner tonight."

  "Guess someone oughta let Mira know she's got competition for the number two spot!" Jasper snickered.

  "Didn't you just get married?" Tracy asked.

  "Looks like our boy here is gonna take after his papa and put himself together a pride!" Jasper said, snickering.

  "Really?"

  Troy just sighed and looked up at the sky. "As god as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly," he mumbled.

  "Huh?" several of them said, and they all looked at him.

  Troy coughed, "I said, As god is my witness, I'll kill anyone who tells my new bride."

  "Aww, we're just teasin'!" the leopard said, still chucking.

  "Yeah, well, I'm not," Troy growled. "She's had a rough time of it, and I know how fast rumors travel around here. Hell, I spread most of 'em!" He sighed heavily while shaking his head. "Let's just eat."

  "You think she'll believe it, don't you?" Healy asked in a whisper.

  Shaking his head, he whispered back, "I'm starting to believe it, and I haven't a damn clue."

  "Why would you do that?"

  "Because it's just the kind of fool thing I'd do." he sighed.

  Roosting Chickens

  Troy woke to his alarm going off and grumbled loudly to himself. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and just stared at it. He never slept until his alarm went off. He resisted the temptation to crush it with his fist, as it was on his phone, and just silenced it.

  He was still tired. He hadn't slept well at all, and he had a sneaking suspicion why—namely two attractive young women who wanted to share his bed, and another who by all rights should be in it.

  Shaking his head, he sighed again, something he'd been doing too much of lately it seemed. How the hell had he gotten himself into this mess? He had a wife he still hadn't had sex with, and two more candidates waiting in the wings, who very much wanted to 'apply' for the position. Well, perhaps not Mira. She'd just wanted a roll between the sheets. Whether that was because she found him attractive or because he was a Valens kid, he didn't know.

  Grumbling, he got up and headed off to the showers, following the last of the stragglers out of the small barracks room that was the domain of the scouts. Then he'd get some breakfast. After that…after that, he'd go back to sorting data with Mira. He was coming to realize that he really needed to go back about ten years to get enough of a baseline to try to start figuring things out. Ideally, he'd love to go back to the beginning, but that'd take far more time than he had right now. SJ wanted results, and it was Troy's job to get them for him.

  After that, well, he'd have to figure out some way to prank the hell out of him for putting him through all this. Obviously, it had to be SJ's fault. Maybe even Mike's. It wasn't like he'd do this kind of stupidity to himself, right?

  He felt a lot better after the shower. Grabbing his gear, he went off to the mess to get some breakfast. Tracy and a couple of the others were still there, so he took his food over to them and plopped his ass down in a seat.

  "Damn, you look like you took that girl back to bed, and she kept you up all night!" Ken, one of the wolven scouts, said with a snicker.

  "Who knew the sleep of the innocent was so much worse than the sleep of the guilty," Troy said with a wink and started eating.

  "I thought that was a prerequisite of being a scout," one of the others—Jace—said.

  "Not sleeping well?" Ken asked.

  "No, being guilty!"

  Everyone chuckled at that.

  "So what are you working on, Troy?" Ken asked.

  "Not allowed to say," Troy replied.

  "Aww, come on. We know how to keep a secret!"

  "Yeah, until some little thot comes along and spreads her legs," Troy said with a laugh, "but don't worry, I'll be asking all of ya a few questions in the next couple of days. Once I think I got a couple of leads. Until then, it's just a waste of your time to tell you about something I'm still trying to figure out.

  "So what are you all up to today?"

  Troy ate as he listened to them going over their deployments for the next few days. Most of the scouts he'd flown out here with had already been flown out to the camps farther out. Most of these guys would be doing a sweep through the territory on the outside of the DEZ, and ranging out a good ten miles, looking for anything that didn't fit.

  Troy had almost forgotten about that program, which was kinda funny, because he'd been the one to propose it. Right now, he was just far too focused on finding the damn lava tube.

  "Well, I gotta get back to it. Later, fleabags," Troy said. He bussed his tray and other stuff, then headed back to Mira's cube.

  "I heard about what Healy said last night," Mira grumbled, looking up from her desk at him.

  "Uh-huh. Don't worry, I won't make you mud-wrestle for it."

  "Mud-wrestle!" she exclaimed, giving him a shocked look.

  "Yeah, I think Jello wrestling is so much better," Troy said with a thoughtful look.

  "Why—you!" she sputtered. Smiling, he came over and pushed her back down into her seat as she tried to stand up.

  "Unless you really are thinking of trying out for a spot in my pride—something, I'll remind you, I haven't even said I'm going to have—I wouldn't worry about it."

  "But I heard Healy said she wants in."

  "More like she wants me in her!" Troy snickered. "Not unlike a certain little wolf?"

  Mira's facial fur stood up in a blush.

  "Yeah, I know, I'm built, I'm not ugly, and my last name is Valens. Honestly, I'm flattered you're interested in me, even with all that, but right now, we've got more important stuff to deal with." Troy tapped on the top of the flat screen monitor of her computer.

  "Trust me, I'd rather be home in bed with my wife; we just got freakin' married! But instead I'm here, because this is that important, and my brother asked me to help. So back to work, and you can bitch at me all you want over lunch."

  "What about dinner?" she asked, giving him a look.

  "Not unless you want to eat in the mess. In which case, fine by me."

  'She still wants you,' his cheetah told him as he went over to the computer he'd been using yesterday.

  'I noticed.'

  'Well, I want to get laid,' his cheetah informed him.

  'Oh? By which one?'

  'Our new mate!'

  'She's not here.'

  'Why not?'

  Troy stopped and thought about that. Why the fuck hadn't he brought her along? This was one of the major regional bases. It was big, as well as safe, and there were even a few VIP rooms over by the barracks he could easily grab one of.

  Closing his eyes, he communed and went to Growlhalla.

  §

  "What are you doing here?" Renee asked as he popped in.

  "I need to talk to SJ."

  "I think he might be busy. Let me talk to whoever's on watch."

  "Uh-huh." Troy had a sudden thought. "Ask Adam if he's got a few minutes as well."

  "Adam? What would you want him for?"

  "Renee, you know I love you, and want to do nothing more than settle down with you, and raise dozens of annoying mini-mes, but this is kind of important."

  "You mean you're in trouble. I know that look, Troy."

  "I want my wife to join me," he grumbled.

  "Oh! Why didn't you say so! Natalia!"

  "What?" asked a lioness who'd been talking to a few others, looking over.

  "Go find SJ and tell him to get his ass in here now."

  Natalia immediately disappeared. Less than two minutes later, an annoyed SJ suddenly showed up.