“He’s not right for her,” Tom persisted. “He doesn’t believe in her abilities. Hell, she deserves someone who knows just how special she is.”

  That Ryan could agree with. She was special all right.

  “Did you see the way he kissed her? Danced with her? If you want a chance at her, you’d better make your move.”

  Tom responded, “I haven’t had dreams of her.”

  Silence followed.

  Dreams? That was another thing Ryan hadn’t believed in. The notion that someone dreamed about mating with the one that fate had chosen for them. Dream mating was something that Darien and some of his family had supposedly been cursed or gifted with. So now Tom thought that dreams would reveal the one for him also?

  Pure nonsense.

  “Darien might have had the ability, Tom. You can’t believe you will, too.” Jake’s tone was conciliatory, which surprised Ryan.

  He hadn’t heard Jake speak like that to his brother since he’d been around the two of them. But he’d heard Jake didn’t believe in dream mating either, at least as far as it would involve him.

  Someone paced. Then Tom said, “So why don’t you make known how you feel about Carol?”

  Jake gave a short laugh, but it sounded forced, unnatural. “Seems I’m too late.”

  “You can’t mean Ryan. Carol needs to stay here. For Lelandi. Carol’s one of our pack. She belongs here with us.”

  Jake countered with, “She needs to have a mate first and foremost. If Ryan turns out to be the one, so be it. Maybe he can convince her to shift before it’s too late. None of us has had an ounce of luck with her. You know how dangerous it is for her not to get some control over her shifting.”

  That was another thing Ryan wholeheartedly agreed with. Carol needed to embrace her werewolf half without delay.

  The brothers quit speaking, and their footfalls died away as they headed in the direction of the kitchen.

  Ryan kissed the top of Carol’s head in a protective, consoling way, unwrapped his body from hers, and began to leave the bed. She’d be getting ready for work at the hospital soon, and he intended to be with her every step of the way.

  She tossed and turned, her hands searching for something. Him? Hell. Maybe she didn’t have to work today. He crawled back under the covers and pulled her into his heated embrace, vowing this time to control his sexual urges better.

  Being a bodyguard had never felt quite this… pleasurable. He suspected it would never feel the same way again.

  * * *

  Later that morning, after he had breakfast with Darien, Ryan intended to call Carol’s mother about the situation with the psychiatrist. But he didn’t want Darien, his brothers, or Lelandi to know about it and get the wrong idea. If they heard he was calling to verify that Carol truly had had an early vision, he was sure that would put him in the doghouse. His investigative skills dictated that he ask Carol’s mother about the episode with the psychiatrist to learn how he’d treated her and if her mother believed in Carol’s abilities now.

  “I’ve got to make an important call,” he said to Darien as he finished the last of his eggs and another slice of ham, the sun streaming in through the kitchen window and warming the room. Lelandi had relieved him a half hour earlier to sit in the recliner and watch over Carol while she still slept. Lelandi was using the time to catch up on her studies on behavioral psychology.

  Tom and Jake planned to hang around the house guarding the ladies today. The brothers had taken up positions in the sunroom and in the den, so they would be safe for the moment.

  Darien raised a brow and sipped his coffee. “I understand you slept with Carol last night.”

  Alpha leader. Protective of his pack member. No beating around the bush. “She was experiencing night terrors.”

  “Anything occur between you two that I should know about?”

  Again, to the point.

  “If you mean did we mate, no. She was drugged and consequently asleep for the most part, although her nightmares partly woke her half the night.” Darien didn’t need to know about the rest.

  The doorbell rang and Tom hurried from the sunroom to get it, passing the kitchen on the way to the front door and giving Ryan a reproachful look. Darien smiled wryly.

  A couple of minutes later, Tom carried a vase of roses to the sunroom.

  Darien motioned to Ryan’s phone. “Go, make your call. We’re all here to watch over Carol until you return.”

  “Take only a minute.” Ryan headed for the great room and then made his way to the back patio. Outside, he called information, got Carol’s parents’ home phone number, and punched it in.

  “Hello?” a woman asked, sounding like Carol, only a little older, but with a voice a little sharper.

  “Hello, Mrs. Wood. This is Ryan McKinley.”

  Silence.

  “I’m a private investigator out of Green Valley.”

  “I know who you are,” she growled.

  He paused. Hell, had Carol told her mother about him?

  “I was calling about…” He rephrased the comment. “Carol told me about her ordeal with that psychiatrist, Dr. Metzger. About how—” The phone clicked dead in his ear.

  * * *

  Carol woke to the turning of pages in the guestroom and felt her legs pinned beneath the comforter, but Ryan was gone. Disappointment vanished when she glanced down and saw what was wedged between her legs. Her heart lifted. Puss. Her tabby: soft, happy, and sound asleep. She couldn’t believe Darien had allowed her cat to leave the kennel so he could stay with her.

  A warm, fuzzy feeling instantly filled her with serenity. She smiled, pulled Puss into her arms and cuddled him soundly. Then she looked at Lelandi, who was seated in the recliner reading one of her psychology books. Lelandi was determined to become a psychologist. Darien backed her, but he had lots of stipulations about her work. No seeing males who needed her services alone unless she had his permission. He’d prefer it if only females wished her to help them with their life issues. But knowing Lelandi, if anyone made an appointment with her to discuss problems, she’d see them. With or without Darien’s approval.

  Even though Carol had had a bad experience with a psychiatrist, she knew Lelandi would be perfect as a psychologist. She was a lot more open minded, for one thing.

  Carol wished Ryan was still with her, although she was afraid things might have heated up between them again. And this time they might have gotten caught.

  On the other hand, maybe he regretted what they had done. She tried not to think of it, but still, a little irksome worry fluttered around in the pit of her stomach. Seeing him this morning without letting on was not going to be easy.

  Puss’s little motor began to rumble. He stretched a little and then continued to sleep, rolled up in a ball, eyes shut, breathing slight. Carol was thrilled to have Puss back. Sighing, she gave him another gentle squeeze.

  What had changed Darien’s mind?

  Lelandi looked up from her book and gave her a bright smile. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”

  “Fine. Except for my arm.” The skin was bruised and the muscle sore. Carol thought what a lousy nurse the man would have made.

  “One of the men gave you a shot. The bruise should fade soon. Do you remember what happened?”

  “Someone grabbed me from the shower. Stuck the needle in my arm first, though, and I felt drugged. Then he dropped me on the grass, I guess. I must have been slowing them down once Sam and Darien were in hot pursuit. Ryan found me, I think. And carried me back to the house. I recall him rinsing out my eyes, and then that’s about it.”

  “Hmm. He stayed with you last night. Did anything… happen between the two of you?”

  Carol raised her brows. “You think we had sex last night?”

  Lelandi smiled a hint. “If you’re mated, Darien has to let the bachelors know you’re no longer available.”

  “We didn’t do anything last night.” Not that Carol would admit to, but Lelandi was observing her closely, like a psychologist might observe a subject. She hoped she didn’t look as guilty as she felt. “He slept with me?” Wondering how anyone might have known. Had they heard their moans and groans while having sex?

  “That’s what Tom said. He peeked in on you sometime in the night to see if Ryan needed to be relieved from guard duty and found him with his arms wrapped tightly around you, his back naked. After Darien questioned Tom about every detail for what seemed an eternity— suspecting Tom was leaving some of the story out, Tom finally admitted he’d heard you whimpering and poked his head in to make sure Ryan was being honorable.”

  Carol’s heart nearly stopped. Had Tom seen them in the throes of sexual frenzy? “Ryan was being honorable. Just helping to calm my night terrors.”

  “About being kidnapped? Or something else? More visions?”

  “Don’t remember.” Carol yawned. Then she sat up abruptly. “What time is it? I need to get to work.”

  “Matthew and Charlotte are working extra half-days to cover for you. Darien doesn’t want you working today after what happened last night. Take a break, and you can go back to the hospital tomorrow.”

  Carol slid out from under her sleeping cat, who stretched a little but didn’t bother opening an eye. She crossed the floor to the antique dresser, jerked the drawer open, and yanked out a bra and panties.

  “I’m fine. And no way am I making Charlotte and Matthew work my hours.” She’d fought hard to get a job at the hospital. She wasn’t going to shirk her responsibilities now. “Why is Puss here?”

  Lelandi hesitated to say.

  “Lelandi?”

  “Unofficially, and just between you and me, I believe Darien felt badly that he told Ryan he couldn’t stay with you and then you were kidnapped. But officially, he thinks that if you mostly have your life back the way it was before you were changed, you may accept our ways and shape-shift.”

  To have her life back, she’d be living in her own apartment again. Instead, Darien had insisted she put her things in storage and close up her apartment. Her life as she had known it was over. Yet, she’d become accustomed to being with others—with Lelandi, with Darien, with his brothers. The thought of returning alone to her apartment and only having Puss to talk to didn’t appeal, either.

  Carol shook her head and grabbed a pair of kitty-cat scrubs from another drawer. “If I shift, I won’t be able to shift back. Simple as that.” She entered the bathroom and shut the door.

  “Did you see this in a vision?” Lelandi asked from the recliner.

  “No, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

  “You say Darien shifts and can’t change back. Is he the only one?”

  “Doc also. Jake is in the same predicament as well. You’re really upset and want me to do something about it. But I can’t. I have no idea what’s happening. If everyone chooses to ignore me, I can’t help anyone.”

  “We love to shift, Carol. It’s part of who we are.” But this time Lelandi didn’t sound quite so sure of herself.

  Carol dressed, brushed her hair, and applied a little makeup.

  When she opened the bathroom door, Lelandi smiled at her. “Ready for some breakfast? With Sam and Ryan chowing down with Darien and his brothers, there may not be anything left. Mervin’s down there also, but he eats like a bird.”

  “I can grab a bagel and green tea at the hospital.”

  “Nonsense. If you want just tea and a bagel, the guys probably haven’t touched those. But the bacon and sausages? I’m sure Tom will have to make another trip to the store.” Lelandi opened the door to the guestroom and walked into the hallway. “So, you’ve seen Darien, Doc, and Jake unable to shift and me agitated. Do you see me change and unable to shift back?”

  “Not yet. But maybe you’re beginning to believe me.” Carol studied Lelandi’s petite frame as she walked down the stairs, wondering how long it would be before she began to show. Soon, she imagined, with triplets on the way.

  “Did you tell Darien about the babies?” Then it dawned on Carol: maybe that’s why Lelandi was cautious about Carol’s warning visions. Lelandi had more than herself to think of now.

  “He guessed before we had the games. He wasn’t happy that I had tried to keep it secret from him. He’d worried that if someone had tackled me, I might have been hurt. Or the babies would have been. So he told all the guys in a special meeting that if they as much as made a hint of a move in my direction, he’d oust them from the pack. That’s why he didn’t have the tug-of-war game. Afraid I’d want to participate and might injure myself.”

  Carol had suspected as much.

  Lelandi glanced back at her. “During the game, I figured everyone would be afraid of touching me because I’m Darien’s mate. I didn’t know that he’d warned them away.” Then she gave Carol another award-winning smile. “Alphas are like that.” She turned around and headed across the great room as Carol hurried to catch up. “I imagine Ryan will be the same.”

  “He doesn’t believe in my second sight.” Carol shrugged. “Things wouldn’t work out between us.” Then she frowned. “Who else knows that Ryan slept with me last night?”

  “I imagine at least half of the pack. Maybe more. Tom was pretty incensed about it. When he talked to Jake, he didn’t get the support he wanted, so he spoke to Darien and Sam. Sam told Silva, and you know how that goes. She means well, though. She wanted to warn the wolves of our pack that if they desired having you for a mate, they’d better do something about it. If Ryan wants you, same thing. He’d better stop resting on his laurels.”

  Incredulously, Carol shook her head.

  “I’m serious.” Lelandi pointed to the sunroom. “You have a dozen glass or ceramic vases, brass pots, and baskets filled with flowers. Rosie, at the flower shop? She called and gave me a list of names. Silva wanted to know who hadn’t sent you flowers and wangled it out of her.”

  Carol sighed. “Isn’t anything sacred?”

  “Rarely, in a pack. You know who didn’t send you flowers?”

  “Tom, Jake, and Ryan.”

  “Two of the three did. I have to tell you, I was pretty darned amused.”

  Carol pulled Lelandi to a stop outside the kitchen where the men’s conversation had died. She’d made out Darien and his brothers, Ryan, Sam, and even that lame Mervin talking in the room before they heard Lelandi and Carol’s conversation.

  Lelandi’s expression brightened. “Everyone but Ryan sent you flowers. Sure sign he’s in love. Darien did the same with me when I was injured.”

  Ryan and everyone else in the kitchen had to have heard what was said. Every inch of Carol’s skin heated with mortification. But then she concentrated not on who hadn’t given her flowers—she figured Ryan wasn’t a romantic—but who had… Tom and Jake.

  Lelandi leaned over and whispered to Carol, “Jake didn’t give me flowers, either, when everyone else did. I figured he was too cheap.” She straightened. “So there might be something to it, you think?”

  Lelandi gave her a conspiratorial wink, and Carol realized Lelandi was doing her matchmaking business with her, just as she was always doing with Silva and Sam.

  But what if Ryan and she were already a match? Or maybe this was just a test on his part. See if the female wolf is right for the alpha male leader. She was reminded once again that she really didn’t understand this werewolf business as much as she needed to, if she was going to make the right decisions from now on. With her head held high and her stomach flittering with unwanted jitters, she walked into the kitchen.

  Ryan instantly caught her eye, and as hot as her face was, she had to have flushed crimson.

  Chapter 14

  WELL, THAT WAS ONE MESSED-UP OPERATION, NORTH thought to himself as he and two of his men stood in the forest miles from Silver Town, trying to come up with an alternative plan.

  “Hell, North. You said that it would be a piece of cake. That no one would even miss the red. Shows what you know.” Galahad, so named because he thought of himself as a knight who had been concerned about their pack’s direction while Bruin had run it, motioned to the ground and a rough-hewn map he was drawing in the soil. “Here’s the new plan. We grab her at the hospital. When she’s in the break room. Or when she’s coming or going. Maybe when she’s in with a patient.”

  North shook his head. “Miller won’t like it.”

  “Hell, I don’t trust him. He’s renovated the basement of that old place, turned it into his own private quarters, lab and all, and I swear it’s like a bunker. No telling what all he’s doing down in his lab with all that bioengineering crap. He’s quiet and thoughtful, too thoughtful. Something’s going on in that mind of his. He might be a genius, but I swear he’s a borderline nutcase, too.” Galahad gave North a hard look, emphasizing his dislike of Miller.

  “One of us can be a patient,” Hank said. He was Galahad’s brother, a nice enough red but a little too preoccupied with computer role-playing games for North’s liking. Hank seemed to have missed the whole point of Galahad’s tirade. Or maybe it was that they’d heard it before, and Hank didn’t believe anything was wrong with Miller then, or now.

  “If we wear the hunter’s scent, no one would be the wiser. As long as Lelandi doesn’t show up at the hospital and spot any of us. She’s the only one who knows us from the pack,” Hank added.

  Galahad pointed a stick at North. “He was in the house when the fight was going on. Darien and others in his pack may very well recognize him. But the rest of us…” He shrugged. “We weren’t there, and as long as they can’t make us out to be reds, we could pull it off.”

  North didn’t like it. The whole thing had been his plan—and it would have worked if that damned gray pack leader from Green Valley, McKinley, hadn’t spied Hank snooping around the forest surrounding Darien’s home. Now North was left out of the whole deal. “I don’t want Carol Wood hurt.”