Daughter of the Wolf Clan

Tuesday Teaser 1/12/16: Olivia’s Mate

Well, it has begun. Overtime at the day job. Sigh. That will cut into my writing time. But, to look on the bright side, it will be nice to have extra money on the paycheck (I’m still paying for that darned surgery). The weather here in Fargo has gotten quite cold. The low on Sunday was -22F, which is about -30C. It’s a good thing I like cold weather! Although, to be perfectly honest, -22 with a windchill of -36 might be too much of a good thing. How’s the weather where you’re at? I hope you’re keeping warm–or cool, depending on where you’re at.

Here is the next snip from Olivia and Kit. Keep warm and enjoy!

 

How had Kit gotten her uncles to agree to let them have ten minutes alone? Olivia wasn’t sure they actually were alone, but the family dining room was empty and most everyone was working the lunch shift in the restaurant. When he sat next to her on the sofa, she glanced around. Except for Rob Russell, she’d never been alone with a man. Remembering what she and Rob had done in the stall of his father’s smithy made heat creep up her checks, and flare in other places too. She swallowed and pressed her knees together to prevent any telltale scent from escaping.

It must not have worked. Kit leaned close her and inhaled. Then he groaned. “Olivia, I promised Del and Hawk that I wouldn’t touch you.”

“You’re touching me now,” she pointed out. She liked the feel of his shoulder and thigh pressed to hers and missed it when he moved circumspectly away. “When we’re married …”

He muttered something in a low rough voice she didn’t understand. “If your parents consent.”

“They will! Why wouldn’t they?”

“Your father said he would kill me if I ever came near you again.”

Olivia shifted her weight on the sofa. “That was before he knew you truly loved me and I love you. Besides, you’re not giving up now, are you?”

“No.”

She smiled. That sounded definite. “The train should arrive in an hour. You stay away until after supper. That will give me time to explain everything. Okay?”

He looked unhappy. “Okay.”

She couldn’t help it. She scooted over to him and kissed him. For a moment his lips were soft against hers, and then they did something that sent her heart speeding. She felt it slamming against her ribs. She was practically in his lap, their mouths hot and open and mating with a heat that shook her. It lasted only a minute before he dragged his mouth away from hers and stood up, panting.

“I promised not to touch you!” he cried.

“I didn’t promise not to touch you,” she said, smug satisfaction running through her. “Now I really can’t wait to be married.”

The expression on his face indicated painful torture. Even the thick denim of his jeans didn’t hide his erection. “That’s not fair. Your family won’t trust me if we do that anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, chastised. “You’re right.”

When Hawk came to find her a few minutes later, she sat on one end of the sofa, and Kit sat on the other. Her uncle sniffed, gave them a neutral look that turned pointed when he nodded at Kit, and spoke.

“Train will be here soon. We’re leaving in five.”

Kit took the hint. “I better get going then. I’ll see you tonight, Olivia. Sir.”

Olivia always blinked when he called her uncles ‘Sir’, but it was respectful, and he was all about showing her uncles that he was polite. She smiled at him. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Kit was barely out the door before Hawk raised a brow at her. “Did he kiss you?”

“No,” she said earnestly. “He said he promised he wouldn’t touch me.” She paused to smile wickedly. “I kissed him.”

His chuckle sounded reluctant. “You kissed him, huh?”

“He made me stop.”

Hawk shook his head. “Must have ice water in his veins to stop his mate when she’s kissing him.”

She remembered the bulge in the front of his pants. “No, just too much fear of what you would do to him.”

“Smart boy. Go get your coat. Don’t want to miss the train.”

*

The wind sent snow scurrying over the train platform, circling the benches and whistling around the corner of the station. Olivia could have gone into the station to get out of the cold, but she was too excited to see her parents. She raised her scarf further over her nose and watched the train pull even with the platform. She ignored the men who hurried to the freight cars to begin unloading and kept her eyes glued on the passenger car. A conductor jumped down, lowering the steps for the passengers.

The first person to emerge from the train was Parker. Any childhood animosity she’d ever felt for her bossy older brother was forgotten in a blaze of happiness. Taylor came next. The boys gave the platform a careful examination, searching for any trouble as was their habit. Satisfied that it was safe, Taylor turned back to the train and waved. Her mom came down the steps, closely followed by her dad, and the sight of them brought tears to her eyes. She launched herself at them.

“Mom! Dad!”

Her mom dropped her suitcase just in time to catch her in a hug. Her father laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She could tell by the warmth in his eyes that he was glad to see her. Then Taylor and Parker closed in and the twin expressions of angry accusation on their faces made her forget that she was glad to see them.

“Later,” her mom said sharply.

Her dad gave her a long, thorough examination, and though his face didn’t reveal his thoughts, Olivia was sure he was unhappy with her. “Later,” he agreed, and gave her shoulder another gentle squeeze.

At least he wasn’t glaring at her. Not that he ever glared. Hawk and the others from the Plane Women’s House came forward to greet the newcomers. The baggage was collected—there wasn’t too much, as her family believed in travelling light— and headed back to the House. Olivia was careful to walk beside her mother. Her brothers were behind with Sharp Tooth and He Charges, probably getting every detail about Kit out of them. She cast one glower over her shoulder at them before moving closer to her mom and asking about the trip.

When they all came through the back door, stamping snow off their feet, Connie and Des were there, smiling widely. Connie and her mom had always been good friends. They didn’t hug, but they grinned widely at each other.

“We’re putting you and Tracker in our third bedroom,” Connie said above the chatter of welcome, “and your boys can bunk with Hawks’ brood. Sound good?”

Her mom agreed.

“Good,” said Connie briskly. She pointed at her older son. “Rock! Get the bags carried up.” She turned again to Olivia’s mom. “It’s four o’clock now. Renee will have chili and cornbread for family in half an hour The Eatery opens for supper at five o’clock. Olivia is on the roster for kitchen duty this week.”

Olivia hid a sigh of relief. Her parents would have to put off grilling her until after supper. Connie’s next words rushed her worry right back.

“But since you haven’t seen her for over a year, we’ll make do without her. Give you a little time alone with her.”

Olivia would have sworn her dad was too deep in conversation with Red Wing and Des to have heard Connie. She should have known better. He turned from the men to look at her. She swallowed, feeling like a bug pinned to a card.

“Good,” was all he said, but Olivia swallowed again. She was going to have to find the right words to convince her parents that Kit was the right man for her.

Tuesday Teaser 12/29/15: Olivia’s Mate

Wow, this is the last Tuesday of 2015! We’re getting close to the end of Olivia’s Mate. The manuscript is at 32,751 words now, and I estimate another 5,000 words to wrap it up. I had intended for it to be about 30,000 words. I guess no one will mind if it’s a little longer?  I am beginning with a bit of revisions of last weeks, and then we go to the tail end of chapter 11. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Olivia stared intently into his eyes, before looking down at her fingers twisting together. “There’s only one more thing.” She swallowed and drew a long breath. “What would happen if you decide someday that you don’t love me anymore?”

His jaw dropped. He looked at Stone and then at Colby. The younger man looked smug. Kit snapped his gaze back to Olivia. “I won’t,” he said simply. It was a vow he meant with all his heart.

Olivia shrugged, still looking down at her hands. “It could happen. People fall out of love all the time. And cats aren’t like wolves, are they? Wolves only find one mate, but cats are fickle.”

The smugness deepened on Colby’s face, and Kit was sure he knew where Olivia had gotten the idea that cats couldn’t be faithful. “The men in my pride don’t find mates very often, but when we do, we are true to her to death.”

He looked at Stone, who nodded. “Truth,” the other man said clearly.

Olivia looked almost miserable, but she persisted. “I saw what your pride is like when I was with you in those caves. All the men sleep with the women, don’t they?”

“They don’t have mates.” He wanted her to understand. “It’s not like that between mates. I have a mate. You are the only one I’ll sleep with.”

“Until you get tired of her,” Colby put in with a sneer. “Okay, fine, maybe you won’t sleep around,” he admitted with a glance at his uncle. “But that doesn’t mean you will be happy.”

“Shut up, Cole,” Olivia snapped.

The one Kit was getting tired of was Colby. “I’ve seen among humans how unhappy some of them are with their mates. Most of the time, it’s their own fault. They don’t even try to talk together to make it better. Well, they talk,” he corrected himself, “but they don’t listen.”

Olivia tilted her head, showing she was listening.

“I don’t think husbands understand what their women are feeling. Humans aren’t good at sensing those things, I guess, but seems like they don’t care. Sometimes it seems like the women aren’t saying the right things to make their men understand.” He wanted to reach across the table to take her hand, but he didn’t dare. “We won’t be like that. When you talk, I’ll listen. If I don’t understand what you mean, I’ll ask you to explain more. And you’ll listen to what I say, and if I’m not clear you can tell me I need to try again. Then we won’t fall out of love.”

Every eye in the room was directed at him. With approval? Stone cleared his throat. “It’s not always that easy, but that sounds like a good plan to keep each other happy.” He nodded at the room in general. “He has my blessing.”

“Shush!” said Olivia over Colby’s dissatisfied grunt. She smiled at Kit. “The only thing left is for my parents to meet you and give their approval.”

Remembering the cold, narrow face of her father, he swallowed. “What if they don’t like me?”

A shadow crossed her face. “I can’t marry someone they don’t approve of. But they’ll like you!” She faltered. “Once they get to know you,” she tagged on.

Behind him, he heard a woman murmur, “When we were young we would have laughed at the idea of needing our parents’ permission to marry.”

And another woman replied, “The world has changed a bit since then, Connie.”

“Where are your parents?” he asked.

“At the ranch. They’re coming for Christmas. So just a couple of days.”

Praying was unfamiliar to Kit, something that humans did. But he stared at his mate and prayed for all he was worth that her parents would give permission.

 

*     *     *

 

Tami gave the chili a good stir. She was making a triple batch to feed the ranch hands while she, her husband, and her sons were away for Christmas. Between the chili, the huge ham, and the venison sausage, the four men staying behind wouldn’t go hungry. The back door opened and shut so quietly that the only reason she knew it had opened was the swirl of icy wind that swept through the mudroom into the kitchen.

Tracker paused in the door of the kitchen. “Where did the boys go?”

“Town,” she answered, tapping the spoon on the side of the pot. “To get the train tickets to Kearney and pick up any mail. There should be a letter from Olivia by now. It’s been a few weeks since we heard from her. They should be back anytime.”

“They’re heading in. Saw ’em on the ridge,” her husband said, shaking his head to dislodge the snow clinging to his braids.

“Brr!” she said, when some of the melting snow fell on her. “That’s cold, Tracker.”

“Sorry.” He slipped an arm around her waist. “I can warm you up. Which position haven’t we tried in while?”

She melted against him like the snow on his hair. “Hmm, how about…” She reviewed the various lovemaking positions in their repertoire and suggested one.

Never a man to chatter, Tracker kissed her deeply and began maneuvering her away from the stove toward their room.

“But you said the boys are on their way in,” she protested half-heartedly.

“They know better than to bother us when our door is closed.”

His teeth grazed that one spot behind her ear that drove her crazy. “Right,” she breathed. “Oh, Tracker…”

It took them several minutes to get to their room, and just as she was about to kick the door shut, Tracker stiffened against her, head turned as if listening to something she couldn’t hear. “What is it?” she asked.

“Something’s wrong.”

He gently disengaged from her and strode out to the kitchen. She fumbled to button her shirt and hurried after him.

“Mom! Dad!” Parker yelled, as he slammed open the back door and ran in, holding an open letter in his fist. “Mom! Dad! A letter came from uncle Hawk!”

Hawk? It had to be about Olivia. Her daughter had written every week, but they hadn’t received a letter for a couple of weeks. Was she hurt? Tami looked automatically at her rifle in its niche beside the door. If anyone had harmed her…

Tracker already had the letter and was reading it with his usual lack of emotion. But she, who had been married to him for over twenty-five years, could see the tiny signs of rage on his face. When he lifted his face, his mouth was set in a long, flat line.

“You got the train tickets?” he asked tersely.

Parker patted his coat where the inner breast pocket was. “Yep.”

Tami snatched the letter from Tracker’s hand. It was a single page of Hawk’s carefully formed hand writing. She read with growing horror and confusion. “What is he saying? Who found Olivia?”

Tracker’s hands were in fists at his sides. “That damn cat. He found her and he’s courting her.”

“What? You mean the one who kidnapped her?” Tami stared at her husband and son. “And Des is allowing it?”

“Hawk says Olivia agreed to it.” Parker scowled. “The question is, what are we going to do about it?”

Tracker was back to being coolly relaxed. He didn’t smile, he didn’t frown. He simply said, in a very quiet voice, “We’re gonna kill him.”

Tuesday Teaser 12/22/15: Olivia’s Mate

Christmas is only THREE days away!!! I still have too much to get done! Hand stitching the binding on a quilt, wrapping presents, taking my mom out on one last shopping spree, cleaning the bathroom and the sewing room/guest room. That place looks like a bomb hit it! But my brother from Minneapolis will be staying in there for a few days and he needs to be able to walk around the bed without getting a pin stuck into his foot and find scraps of thread or fabric stuck to him. (I gave up on the cat hair. One of his gifts is a lint roller he can use immediately.)

 

Another thing on my list was to write a lengthy piece in Olivia’s Mate. I didn’t actually get very far and I haven’t had a chance to review and go in and add the little bits like emotions and little actions. Still, here is the bare bones of the next bit in Olivia’s Mate.  I hope you can enjoy it anyway.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

“You can force people to do other things, things they don’t want to,” Colby accused bitterly. “Like surrender.”

Oh. The reason for the anger and suspicion became suddenly clear. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.” He looked at Olivia pleadingly. “I told you I wouldn’t do it again. I promise, I never will.”

Again, all eyes went to Stone. “Truth,” he said.

“Oh, Kit,” Olivia said softly. She smiled at him with … Love? Was it love? “Are you sorry you stole me?”

“Yes,” he said.

Stone’s brows twitched together and he shook his head. Kat stared at him. How did he know? He pronounced true or false, and all of his kinsmen believed him without argument. Was he never wrong? Maybe not. He wasn’t wrong now.

“I am sorry!” Kit burst out. “I’m sorry that I did it all wrong and you were afraid of me. I’m sorry that I scared you.”

“I wasn’t scared of you,” she said defensively.

Her uncle looked at her. “Lie,” he whispered.

Color rose in her face. “Only a little at first.”

“That’s what I’m sorry for,” Kit said.

“But not for stealing me?”

Even though the entire room was listening intently, and with varying degrees of anger, he answered honestly. “No, I’m not sorry for that. I’m glad I had the time with you.” He almost mentioned his pleasure in feeling her mostly bare body pressed to his when they slept, but a glance at her uncles, Des and Hawk, made him swallow the words. Colby was rigid with temper, but the young wolf didn’t concern him as much as the elders. “I’m sorry because I didn’t listen to you. You told me I had to take you home. If I had listened to you, I could have begun courting you then.”

Colby snorted. “We would have killed you.”

“True,” Stone said with a wicked smile. “Or probably true, anyway.”

The low rumble of chuckles from around the room sounded dark and threatening.

“No, I wouldn’t have let them,” Olivia said stoutly.

“What could you have done to stop us?” Colby sneered. “You’re only a girl.”

Olivia’s eyes popped wide, then narrowed, as she half stood, slamming her fists on the table. “Only a girl?” she shrieked, at such volume that Kit’s sensitive ears quivered. “You— You idiot!”

Stone reached and patted one of her fists. “Calm down,” he said mildly. And to Colby, in the same mild voice, he said, “Have you found your mate yet?”

Colby’s nostrils flared in his reddened face. “No,” he growled.

“That’s a good thing.”

Kit watched while Colby’s jaw worked. “Why?” he ground out after a long, tense silence.

“Because now we’ll have time to whip you into shape for her.”

Colby’s face got redder. “Sit down,” he growled at Olivia.

Kit noticed several of the men looking at Colby with varying shades of displeasure and disappointment. The women looked nearly as outraged as Olivia. Olivia did sit down, still glaring at her cousin.

“What are you talking about?” Colby demanded of his uncle.

“I think you know.” Stone leaned back in his chair, still mild and conversational. “You didn’t learn that attitude from your father. You’ve known from the cradle the way a man should treat a woman.”

“I know how you treated Aunt Sara at first.” As soon as the words were out, Colby twitched as if controlling a cringe. “Sorry.”

Stone nodded. “I’m older and wiser now, and I gained that wisdom the hard way. We need to talk soon, but right now we’re talking to Kit and Olivia. Olivia, do you have any more questions for Kit?”

She turned her shoulder on her cousin and looked at Kit. “Are you really willing to live where ever I want?”

He paused, sure that Stone would know if he were lying. “Almost anywhere. A big city would be hard for me.”

“I mean, if I wanted to live close to my parents that would be okay?”

“Yes. Olivia, you can ask me anuthing.”

She stared intently into his eyes, before looking down at her fingers twisting together. “There’s only one more thing.” She swallowed and drew a long breath. “What would happen if you decide someday that you don’t love me anymore?”

His jaw dropped. He looked at Stone and then at Colby. The younger man looked smug. Kit snapped his gaze back to Olivia. “I won’t,” he said simply. It was a vow he meant with all his heart.

Olivia shrugged, still looking down at her hands. “It could happen. People fall out of love all the time. And cats aren’t like wolves, are they? Wolves only find one mate, but cats are fickle.”

The smugness deepened on Colby’s face, and Kit was sure he knew where Olivia had gotten the idea that cats couldn’t be faithful. “The men in my pride rarely find mates, but when we do, we are true to her to death.” He looked at Stone, who nodded. “I’ve seen among humans how unhappy some of them are with their mates. Most of the time, it’s their own fault. They don’t even try to talk together to make it better. Well, they talk,” he corrected himself, “but they don’t listen. I don’t think husbands understand what their women are feeling. Sometimes it seems like they don’t care. Sometimes it seems like the women aren’t saying the right things to make their men understand.” He shook his head at the tangle. It seemed easy to him. “We won’t be like that. When you talk, I’ll listen. If I don’t understand what you mean, I’ll ask you to explain more. And you’ll listen to what I say, and if I’m not clear you can tell me I need to try again. Then we won’t fall out of love.”

Every eye in the room was directed at him. With approval? Stone cleared his throat. “It’s not always that easy, but that sounds like a good plan to keep each other happy.” He nodded at the room in general. “He has my blessing.”

“Shush!” said Olivia over Colby’s dissatisfied grunt. She smiled at Kit. “The only thing left is for my parents to meet you and give their approval.”

Remembering the cold, narrow face of her father, he swallowed. “What if they don’t like me?”

A shadow crossed her face. “I can’t marry someone they don’t approve of. But they’ll like you!” She faltered. “Once they get to know you,” she tagged on.

Behind him, he heard a woman murmur, “When we were young we would have laughed at the idea of needing our parents’ permission to marry.”

And another woman replied, “The world has changed a bit since then, Connie.”

“Where are your parents?” he asked.

“They’re coming for Christmas. So just a couple of days.”

Praying was unfamiliar to Kit, something that humans did. But he stared at his mate and prayed for all he was worth that her parents would give permission.

Tuesday Teaser 12/15/15: Olivia’s Mate

Oh, my gosh! Christmas is only TEN DAYS AWAY!!! Are you going crazy getting ready? I still have to quilt and bind a table runner gift, bake cookies, take my mom shopping, clean the guest room/sewing room/ office for my brother who will be staying with me, and decorate.  But not tonight. Tonight I’m relaxing.

Kit, however, isn’t relaxing. He is being interrogated by Stone under Colby’s antagonistic eye. 🙂  Enjoy!

 

Kit stood outside the gate to the Plane Women’s Eatery. Big lazy snowflakes filled the air and collected on his hair and shoulders while the guards moved slowly to open for him. They had never been friendly, but tonight they bristled at him. Literally. One was in wolf form, his hackles raised and his teeth showing. Kit knew he had somehow offended Olivia. He just didn’t know how. His offense obviously annoyed her entire family.

He nodded to the guards as they let him pass. Olivia’s uncle Hawk was at the front door to let him in. The Alpha, Des, stood in back of the entry, arms folded, brows pulled down. He was another of Olivia’s uncles. Justin and his mate had taught him about human family relationships. An uncle was the brother of a person’s parent. So Des and Hawk were the brothers of either Olivia’s father or her mother.

He followed Des down a corridor to a different room than before, this one smaller. There were three couches pushed against three of the walls, with small tables and chairs scattered about. Just about every seat was taken. Most of the people in the room were men, but he saw five women there. A quick glance around showed him Olivia wasn’t there. Fear gripped its icy fingers around his heart. What had he done to offend her so badly that she wouldn’t see him?

The sound of his mate’s voice melted the fingers’ clutch and he turned back to the doorway. She came in with her cousin Colby behind her and a man he didn’t know beside her.

“Kit,” she said, smiling. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you came in.”

“That’s okay.” He felt the relief leap into his smile. “I just got here a minute ago. How are you?”

She walked to a small square table and beckoned him over. “Sit down, Kit,” she said. “Meet my uncle Stone.”

Kit shook the other man’s hand. He wasn’t young, but neither was he old. He wore his hair the way many of Olivia’s kinsmen did, in two long black braids. His eyes were light brown instead of inky black, but they held a watchful expression as he accepted Kit’s hand and gave it a vigorous pump. They all sat down at the table. Kit wished Colby would’ve chosen somewhere else to sit. His eyes were not only watchful, but anger smoldered there as well. Was that just Colby’s usual dislike, or was it related to whatever Kit had done to offend Olivia?

He sat opposite her at the small table and smiled at her beautiful face. There was something there but he wasn’t sure what it was. Excitement? It wasn’t that cautious, almost fearful, look she had given him on the sidewalk yesterday. Her uncle Stone sat at her right hand and her cousin Colby sat on her left. A quick glance around the room showed him that most of the people there weren’t staring this way. Some were playing cards and others were working on some sort of handwork. Talk was quiet and the tone was casual. Nonetheless, but he could almost taste suspicion and anger on the air. Kit was sure they were straining their ears hear everything he and Olivia would say. They were all related to Olivia in some way.

“How many uncles do you have?” he asked her.

She counted on her fingers. “Well, there’s Taye, and Shadow, and Des. Hawk, Red Wing, Quill, Sand, Snow, Sky, and Stag. Oh, and Snake, Raven, Lobo, Standing Bear, White Horse, and Matt, but Matt’s more like a cousin, I guess.” She screwed up her face and looked at Colby. “Who am I forgetting?”

“Never mind,” growled Colby, looking from her to the uncle. “Get on with it.”

Stone leaned forward, catching Kit’s attention. “Do you love Olivia?”

Another protective male relative. Kit didn’t mind answering that question. He would say it as many times as he needed to. “Yes, I love her.”

Stone looked over at Olivia and gave a brief nod. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “What would you do to keep her safe? If the only way to save her life was for you to die, would you do it?”

He felt no hesitation. “Yes. I would do anything to keep Olivia safe.”

The other man lifted one eyebrow and gave a very subtle nod to Olivia. Her face lit with a smile so beautiful Kit caught his breath. Every time he saw her she was more lovely and more precious to him. If he could see her smile at him like that every day he would be the luckiest man in the world. A faint sniff sounded from one of the couches against the far wall. Kit sent a quick look in that direction and saw the woman named Marissa raise a finger to swipe a tear away. Alarmed, he glanced quickly at the woman’s mate. Making a woman cry couldn’t be good. Her mate would want to punish Kit now. But the man, Red Wing, didn’t look angry at all. He wore a tender smile as he slipped an arm around his mate’s shoulders.

“How about happy?” Stone tapped a finger on the table to bring Kid’s attention back. “What would you do to make her happy?”

“Anything. I want her to be happy.”

Colby slouched in his chair with a scowl. “Yeah?” The younger man sneered. “Would you brainwash her to make her think she was happy even if she wasn’t?”

There was dead silence in the room. Kit shifted in his chair when he felt everyone staring at him. “Brainwash? What is that?”

Colby jerked upright, his chair scraping on the floor. The anger that had been smoldering at the back of his eyes was now a fiery blaze. “Like you don’t know.” Breath whistled between his clenched teeth. “You’ll stare deep into her eyes and tell her she’s happy and she’ll believe you because your magic will force her to.”

No one had touched him, but Kit felt like Colby had just sucker punched him. “I would never, never do that to her.”

Both Colby and Olivia looked at her uncle.

“Truth,” he said.

Colby sneered again. “But you could if you wanted to.”

A tiny spark of anger pricked Kit. “No, I couldn’t. I can’t make people change their emotions. I can’t make people love me, or think they’re happy.”

“You can force people to do other things, things they don’t want to,” Colby accused bitterly. “Like surrender.”

Oh. The reason for the anger and suspicion became suddenly clear. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.” He looked at Olivia pleadingly. “I told you I wouldn’t do it again. I promise, I never will.”

Again, all eyes went to Stone. “Truth,” he said.

Tuesday Teaser 12/8/15: Olivia’s Mate

At last we’re back to Kit and Olivia!  The revised version of Sleeping With the Wolf is out at most online retailers, and it’s free at all of them except Amazon, where it’s $0.99. Amazon doesn’t allow a book to be free at first. After it’s been price matched it will be free. When that happens I’ll make a blog post about it with buy links.

But now, back to Olivia. It’s been so long since we read Olivia’s Mate that I’m beginning with the previous chapter so you can refresh your memory. If you don’t need refreshing, you can skip right down to Chapter 11. Enjoy!

 

Chapter Ten

 

Olivia checked the small round table one more time to be sure the tablecloth hung evenly. The usual beige tablecloth had been replaced with one of bright, Christmas red. She was surprised that uncle Des was allowing her and Kit to sit alone for their lunch date. Well, not really alone since there were a dozen other people already eating lunch in the restaurant. But at least they would be at the same table, and unlike last night, the table was small, so they could have at least the illusion of privacy. She stepped back and jumped when she bumped into somebody. Something prickly poked her shoulder.

“Hey.” Victoria’s voice was a growl.            “Look what you did.”

Olivia brushed at her shoulder and admired the small arrangement of pine boughs and cinnamon sticks tied with cheerful red ribbon. One of the pine twigs was broken. “Sorry.”

Victoria carefully pulled the broken piece free and set the arrangements in the center of the small table. She stepped back, head tilted to the side to check the placement, and made a minute adjustment. “There. Festive, don’t you think?”

“It’s nice,” Olivia agreed. She glanced around the restaurant, noting that all the tables had cloths of red or green, but not centerpieces. “Did you make enough for all the tables to have an arrangement?”

Her cousin shot teasing look over her shoulder. “Nope. Just the one           , for our special guest.” She put extra emphasis on the word ‘special’. “We want everything to be perfect for him, don’t we?”

Yes, she did. She glanced around the restaurant, noting Hawk was the only man of the Pack in the dining room, although she was sure some of her younger cousins were around, ready to bus tables and wash dishes. She was sure they would all be keeping an eye on this little table.

Victoria’s gaze shifted toward the entry and a slow smile curved her lips. “He is such a pretty boy.”

Olivia whirled around and saw Kit walking behind Mrs. O’Connor, the hostess. His face was pretty, but his wide shoulders and whipcord physique were all man. Mrs. O’Connor waved toward her and turned back to the hostess desk up front.

Victoria murmured, “Have fun.” Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

Olivia started forward to welcome Kit. She was relieved to see he was casually dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. She had debated what to wear today. This was their first date, and last night he had dressed so nicely. She didn’t want to be under dressed. After wrestling with it, she had settled for wearing her usual jeans and a sweater.

“Good morning!” he said eagerly. The tip of his nose was red. He might be cold from the December air, but his smile was warm.

“Hi.” She waved at the table. “We’re sitting here.”

Kit stepped forward and eased a chair out, looking at her expectantly. It took her a minute, but she realized he was waiting to seat her. The heat of a blush surged into her cheeks. She gathered her composure and stepped in front of the chair. As she sat, he scooted the chair forward. It was as smooth and graceful as if they had done it a dozen times. When she looked up, she saw Aunt Renee in the kitchen door, nodding approval.

Kit sat across from her. The table was so small that with the centerpiece there would barely be room for their plates. It was strangely intimate. He leaned forward slightly to speak in a low voice.

“I dreamt of you last night,” he told her.

In anyone else that might have sounded flirtatious, but Kit was matter-of-fact.

“You did?”

“Yeah. It was a good dream. We were old and gray, with grandchildren—”

He broke off when Marissa came to their table and set a cup in front of each of them and poured hot, fragrant coffee into the cups. Marissa was Red Wing’s mate, a comfortably plump woman with smile lines on her pretty face.

“Good morning,” she said cheerfully. “How would you like your steaks done?”

Olivia stared. “Steak? I thought today’s lunch was Boston Baked Beans with a slice of ham, or a hamburger and fries.”

“For everyone else, that’s right.”

Kit patted his front pocket with a wrinkle between his brows. “Steak costs more, doesn’t it? I’m not sure I can afford steak.”

Marissa waved that away. “It’s on the house. Renee likes you, young man.”

Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “She does?”

“Yep, and she doesn’t like many people enough to offer them a free steak. So how would you like it done?”

“Medium rare for me,” Olivia said and looked at Kit.

He still had that wrinkle between his brows. “But a man is supposed to buy his date’s meal,” he protested.

Marissa gave him a warm smile. “If you try to pay for this, Renee will be unhappy. You don’t want to make Renee unhappy. If Renee is unhappy, her mate is unhappy, and her sons are unhappy. An unhappy Hawk is not a good thing. Believe me.”

Kit smiled, the line smoothing from his face. “Okay. I’d like my steak rare, please.”

Marissa went to the kitchen and returned immediately with a basket of dinner rolls and a small bowl of butter. “There you go. Your steaks will be out before long.”

Kit buttered a roll and handed it to Olivia before buttering one for himself. “So, Renee is mean?”

“Oh, no. She’s just a really good cook, and she expects people to appreciate her cooking.” Olivia took a bite of the roll and almost moaned. Fresh out of the oven, with butter melting over the edges, the roll was just a preview of the excellent lunch to come. “Aunt Renee is a wonderful person, but she isn’t the warm, fuzzy type. But if she likes you, then Uncle Hawk will like you. He’s the pack Beta, so his opinion carries a lot of weight.”

“That’s good then.” Kit leaned over the table. “But the most important thing to me is whether you like me.”

That stupid blush was back, but she gazed at him steadily. “That’s what we’re going to find out, right? That’s why we’re courting.”

He nodded with a slow smile. “Yeah. Do you like living here? You used to live on a ranch out west.”

“I like it well enough. My family lives on the ranch, but we travel a couple of times a year to visit other family. This isn’t a new place for me.”

“But you’ve been here a long time, right? Not just a visit. Is it because of me?”

Olivia forced a bite of bread down, and picked up her coffee to drink. She wouldn’t lie to him. “My mom and dad thought it would be good for me to be away from the ranch for a while.”

“They thought I would try to take you again.”

“Uh-huh.”

He stared out the window on the far side of the room, showing her his perfect profile set in melancholy lines. “I wouldn’t have. I watched you and your family walk away from me on that mountain and I realized then that I had done wrong by stealing you. That’s when I decided to go to Justin and have him and his mate teach me how to behave.”

He had seated her like a perfect gentleman. He kept his elbows off the table and ate his dinner roll in small, controlled bites. Which was more than most of the men in the Pack did. “You learned a lot.”

He flashed a smile at her. “Before I went to them I searched for you. Not to take you, but just to see you from a distance. I found your home, but I figured out you weren’t there. I heard your brothers talking about you, though. That’s how I learned you were in Kearney. I’m glad you are still here.”

She had missed the ranch, and being with her family, bitterly, but now she was glad she was here. “Did you like being with Justin? Was it hard to be away from your family?”

“Sometimes it was hard.” He looked down at the roll he crumbled. “I can’t go back to the pride. Tricia and Maria forbade it.”

The roll she’s so enjoyed turned to lead in her stomach. “You’ve been banished?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Justin and his mate said I was always welcome. If you accept me, we will need to discuss where we will live.”

The kitchen door swung open and Marissa appeared carrying a tray. She set down plates loaded with steaks and baked potatoes and long green beans. “Here you go,” she said cheerfully. “Need more bread? Butter?”

Olivia inhaled the scent of perfectly seasoned and grilled beef. “I’m good. This is terrific. Please tell Renee thank you.”

Kit nodded enthusiastically and Marissa laughed. “Save room for dessert. We have apple pie and cinnamon vanilla ice cream.”

After she left, Kit spoke in a low voice. “Ice cream is good, but I know what I’d like for dessert.”

Something in the way he stared at her made her blush. “Kit,” she began, darting a look around the restaurant to be sure no one had heard. Oh, crap, there at a table near the front of the restaurant were Colby and his little brother Little Feather— No, he was Howling Wolf now. Both of them seemed absorbed by their food, but knowing how sharp wolf hearing was, and seeing Colby’s brows pulled low, Olivia guessed they had heard.

Kit held up a hand. “Sorry. I wasn’t supposed to say that. That wasn’t what a civilized man should say.”

Although the tables in the restaurant were filling with diners, no one seemed to be paying any attention to them. Even Colby and Howling Wolf were doing a good job of pretending not to hear. Olivia went back to cutting her steak into small pieces. Maybe it wasn’t civilized, but his obvious hunger for her sparked an answering hunger in her. She only hoped none of the pack could smell her desire. That could get Kit into serious trouble. She concentrated on her meal in an effort to cool down, but she snuck quick peeks at him. He was cutting his steak and eating with perfect table manners. Every move he made with his fork and knife was elegant. It made her aware that she wasn’t eating as neatly as he. She was almost embarrassed.

Kit caught her eye during one of her peeks and gave her a slow, hot smile before eating another bite of steak. That smile didn’t help her cool down. They ate in silence. She was surprised it wasn’t uncomfortable. Kit was like most of the men in the Clan. When he was eating, he paid attention to his food and didn’t bother with small talk. That was fine. She liked looking at him. When they had finished, he balanced his knife and fork on the edge of his empty plate.

“It’s warmer today,” he said. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

Through the window she could see it was clear, with the sun bright in a vividly blue sky. “I’ll need to get my coat and hat.”

“I’ll go talk to your uncle while you get them. He’ll probably want to know where we’ll go.”

“He’ll probably send a chaperone,” she said on a sigh.

He reached across the table as if to touch her hand, but drew back. “That’s okay. I’m doing this right. You go get your coat. I’ll go talk to your uncle.”

When she came back downstairs, Kit sat on one of the benches in the area Aunt Connie had set aside for those who were waiting for a table to open up. Standing opposite him, arms folded over their chests, were Colby and Howling Wolf. She smiled at her cousins to prevent her lips taking on a sour curve.

“You’re going to escort us?” she said a little too brightly.

Colby nodded brusquely, but Howling Wolf smiled sweetly. He was still young, only twenty, and he was much less aggressive than most of his kin. Instead of inky black hair, he had brown hair that he wore in a ponytail that fell to mid back. “Uncle Hawk said to stay back so you and your cat can have some privacy.”

“Thank you,” said Kit gravely.

They stepped out into the bright winter day and Olivia’s foot slipped on a patch of ice. Kit neatly caught her before she fell. He lifted his voice slightly. “I’m going to tuck her hand in my arm,” he said. “So she won’t fall.”

“Okay,” said Howling Wolf cheerfully. Olivia thought Colby growled, but he didn’t speak.

With her hand tucked in the crook of Kit’s elbow, Olivia walked at a sedate pace to the gate in the fence around the Plane Women’s House. Red Wing gave them a steely stare, nodded at Colby, and opened the gate for them. Colby and his brother allowed them to put some distance between them, but Olivia was sure it would be obvious to anyone that her cousins weren’t strolling for their health. They were there as bodyguards. Whatever. They were half a block behind, so she and Kit could talk quietly.

“Thank you for walking with me,” he said, pressing his bare hand over her gloved one. “Are you cold?”

“No. There’s no wind. You were right, it’s a nice day. What do you want to talk about?”

“Us. Our future. I want you to be my mate. What do you need to make that happen?”

Direct. He wasn’t fooling around. She liked that he came right to the point. “Um… Well, there are things I need to know.”

“Like what? Ask me anything.”

She walked in silence for a minute, watching the sidewalk. “Okay. If I do accept you, how would you support me and any children we have?”

He nodded. “That’s a good question. Justin and Teresa taught me a lot of things besides good manners. I’m good with numbers, so I could be an accountant. I’m better with horses. I could be a cowboy. There’s still a lot of land unclaimed. We could start our own ranch.”

She shot a sideways glance at him. He didn’t look like an accountant. Maybe a cowboy. “The land might be free, but a start up will be a lot of work. We’d need cows and at least one breeding bull. And horses. A ranch could take years to become profitable. Do you have money to buy cattle and horses?”

He guided them around a patch of ice on the sidewalk. “No. Maybe I could work somewhere for a while and make enough money to buy what we need.”

Maybe. But how long would it take to get enough money? “I know there’s some land not far from my parents’ ranch. They might give us a few cows and loan us a bull.”

He slowed his steps to look down into her eyes. “Would you like to live close to your parents?”

He was so handsome. And so earnest. And so sweet. “Yes,” she whispered. “I would.”

His eyes glowed turquoise in the cold winter sun. He stopped walking and put his hand, warm in spite of the cold winter air, on her cheek. “If you want to live close to your parents, then we will.”

She was drowning in his eyes. So beautiful. “Thank you.”

His head bent, and his lips touched hers. She knew she shouldn’t, but she opened her mouth under his, inviting him in. His arms went round her, pulling her close.

Through a haze, she heard Colby’s snarl, and a heavy weight leapt onto Kit and tore them apart. She stumbled back while Kit crashed to the icy sidewalk.

“Colby!” she shouted at the gray wolf standing on Kit’s chest, snapping his teeth at Kit’s throat.

Kit was holding him off with a forearm against his throat, and his face took on the subtle lines of his cat. She stared when claws sprouted at his fingertips. She jumped a few inches when Howling Wolf spoke beside her.

“He’s different from us,” her younger cousin said thoughtfully.

She spared him a glance and saw him folding Colby’s discarded clothes into a neat pile in his arms. “I mean for us, the wolf comes out all at one time. But look at his hands. They are paws, like a cat’s, even though the rest of him is human.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, trying to sound casual. Casual was difficult when her cousin and the man who was courting her were doing their best to kill each other. No, she realized, Colby might be trying to kill or at least hurt Kit, but Kit was clearly trying to not damage Colby. She swallowed and forced her voice to steady tones. “The cats aren’t like us. You have a wolf, but you aren’t a wolf. I think the cat and the man are one person.”

“Huh, that’s interesting.” Howling Wolf stepped closer to her, watching Kit flip Colby onto his back to expose his belly. No matter how Colby strained against Kit’s hold he couldn’t break free. “I think your cat is going to win this one.”

He was right. Kit held his clawed hand poised over Colby’s throat. “I don’t want to hurt you,” Kit said, with a thread of his cat rasping in his voice. “You are kin to my mate. Yield.”

The wolf’s slips peeled back in a snarl that was answer enough. He squirmed frantically but couldn’t budge the cat in mostly human shape. Kit stared intently down into Colby’s eyes.

“Yield,” he said, his tone almost a caress.

Howling Wolf grunted. “Cole is too Alpha to give up so easily.”

The wolf made only a half-hearted effort to escape, and gave a little whine.

“Yield,” Kit said, still staring into Colby’s eyes.

Olivia felt her jaw drop when Colby tilted his head back to expose his throat. Beside her, Howling Wolf gave another grunt, this one tinged with disbelief. Howling Wolf was right: Colby was too much an Alpha wolf to submit so tamely. He was stubborn and infuriatingly sure he was always right, and he’d shown an implacable prejudice against Kit. Was this some sort of trick?

 

But when Kit stood up, Colby twisted to his four feet, shook the snow from his fur and shifted back to human. Without a word, he took his clothes from his brother and dressed. For the first time Olivia noticed they’d drawn an audience. Several spectators, female and male, watched Colby’s strong naked body with appreciation.

Kit came back to her and took her hand to place it in the crook of his arm. “I should take you back to your house,” he said, smiling down at her as if nothing had happened.

“Okay.” She walked with him in silence for several minutes, her two cousins almost a block behind them. “How did you do that? I never expected Colby to submit to you. He’s the sort to gnaw off his own paw rather than submit. It was almost like you hypnotized him.”

Kit was silent for a long moment. “I guess it’s like that. I’ve always been able to do it. It’s … I guess it’s sort of like magic.”

Icy fingers of unease slid down her back. “Magic? I don’t believe in magic.”

He laid his free hand over hers on his arm. “No? But your fathers and brothers turn into wolves. That’s not magic?”

“No! That’s just the way they are.” Actually, she did believe in magic. It came from the Lakota side of her heritage. “What did you do to Colby?”

His hair slid over his shoulders when he shrugged. “Just made him agree with me. That way he wouldn’t be hurt and you wouldn’t be mad at me.”

“You can’t do that! It’s wrong.” She almost jerked her hand free. Instead she swallowed. The house was only a block away. She hurried her steps. “How did you do that?”

“I just looked at him and thought it.” His brow wrinkled as he thought about it. “I just think of what I want someone to do, and sort of push it at them until it goes in and they do it.”

Cold that had nothing to do with the air temperature swept over her. “Did you ever do it to me?”

He looked away, toward the gate in the fence that was only yards away, and swallowed. She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Just once,” he confessed in a whisper. “When I carried you back to my lair. I told you to sleep.”

Yes! She remembered how odd it was that in spite of her fear she had fallen asleep. She ripped her hand free of his hold, fear and suspicion swirling inside. “Never do that to me again!”

He took a hesitant step toward her but stopped when she retreated. “I won’t. I promise.”

She continued to back up until she was at the gate. Red Wing shifted narrowed eyes from her to Kit, and then to Colby and Howling Wolf who came up to the gate with expressionless faces. She managed a smile at her uncle. “We’re back,” she said cheerfully, and unnecessarily. “Let me in, please. I need to get into the kitchen to help with dishes.”

Kit took a quick step forward. “When can I see you again, Olivia?”

The pleading on his face softened the wild emotions churning inside her. Her immediate refusal died. “Tomorrow night at 8:30. Unless Uncle Hawk says no. Come here tomorrow night.”

The relief on his face almost made her smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

 

Chapter Eleven

 

The following evening while Olivia was drying the last of the restaurant dishes, the back door opened with a bang, sending a burst of icy air swirling through the warm kitchen. Looking over her shoulder, Olivia saw Colby come in. He wore the same angry expression that he had since yesterday when he figured out Kit had used magic to make him surrender. She scowled until she saw Uncle Stone follow him in and close the door gently. She quickly dried her hands on a towel and rushed over to give Stone a hug.

“Uncle Stone!” she said, pressing her face into his shoulder. The flannel shirt he wore in deference to winter was cold against her cheek. “When did you get here? Where’s Aunt Sara?”

He gave her a loud kiss on the cheek and held her away to look at her. She looked back, not seeing any changes from the last time she’d seen him two years ago. His long black hair hadn’t a single gray thread and his handsome face was still unlined and boyish in spite of his forty years of life.

“Sara is at the den,” he said easily, releasing her shoulders. “With the kids.” He cast a look over her shoulder, probably at Colby, before focusing on her again. “I hear you have a new beau.”

“Yes.” Olivia glanced at the clock. Eight o’clock. Kit would be here in half an hour. She had thirty minutes to decide whether or not to allow him to continue to court her. Relief loosened her shoulders. Kit couldn’t lie to Uncle Stone. “Will you talk to him?”

“That’s why I’m here.” The faintest edge of grimness entered his voice. “Do you have doubts about him?”

“No.” Except he had the power to make people to do what they normally wouldn’t. “Yes.” But he was sweet and had promised to never do that to her. “No.” But her male relatives detested him. “Maybe.”

The door to the restaurant opened. Aunt Connie came in. “I thought I heard voices back here.” She glanced from the three of them by the back door to the sinks where the last two large saucepans were sitting in the drying rack. “Where’s Victoria and Kendra? They are on kitchen duty tonight too.”

“They’re done, Aunt Connie. I only have those two pans to dry and put away, and then sweep and mop the floor.”

Aunt Connie’s silvered blonde hair glinted as she nodded. “Okay. Your young man will be here soon. Better hurry up.”

Olivia gave Uncle Stone one more beseeching look.

He smiled. “Go on. I’ll be here to meet your young man.”

“Fine,” said Connie. “Come into the family room. Des, Hawk, and Red Wing are waiting to talk to you. I’ll get you some coffee. Colby, you give Olivia a hand finishing up in here.”

After the door closed behind Connie and Stone, she and Colby stared at each other in unspoken challenge. He, with his Alpha nature, was better at it. After a minute, she took her fists from her hips to throw them up in the air. “What?” she demanded.

“You can’t seriously be considering accepting that cat. “Why not?”

Colby closed the space between them. “Because he thinks nothing of using mind control to force things to go his way.”

To hide her inner wince, she whirled around to grab the pans on the drying rack. They clanged when she shoved them into the cabinet. “Do you want to sweep or mop?”

“You have nothing to say about the mind control?” From the grim satisfaction in his voice, Olivia assumed he thought he’d won the argument. “I’ll mop,” he said.

He dipped out a bucket of the still warm dishwashing water, retrieved the mop from the closet, and followed behind her where she swept. He hadn’t won the argument. Olivia used the long broom carefully so she wouldn’t kick up dust and thought about Kit’s talent. It scared her. Maybe this was how regular human people felt about the wolf warriors? It was strange, and could be dangerous. But her family didn’t attack for no reason. So wasn’t it likely Kit wouldn’t use his ability for no reason?

She would ask him tonight. And with Uncle Stone there, she would know if Kit was telling the truth or not.

Tuesday Teaser 11/3/15: Olivia’s Mate

Eek! How did it get to be November already? I am tentatively hoping to be done with Olivia’s Mate by December 30. We’ll see. I am planning on re-releasing Sleeping With the Wolf around December 5. I will be writing a few new scenes for it. It’s possible that Olivia and Kit will be pushed onto the back burner while I concentrate on Carla and Taye. But for now, here is the snip from Olivia’s Mate. Enjoy!

 

He slowed his steps to look down into her eyes. “Would you like to live close to your parents?”

He was so handsome. And so earnest. And so sweet. “Yes,” she whispered. “I would.”

His eyes glowed turquoise in the cold winter sun. He stopped walking and put his hand, warm in spite of the cold winter air, on her cheek. “If you want to live close to your parents, then we will.”

She was drowning in his eyes. So beautiful. “Thank you.”

His head bent, and his lips touched hers. Without actually meaning to, she opened her mouth under his, inviting him in. His arms went round her, pulling her close.

Through a haze, she heard Colby’s snarl, and a heavy weight leapt onto Kit and tore them apart. She stumbled back while Kit crashed to the icy sidewalk.

“Colby!” she shouted at the gray wolf standing on Kit’s chest, snapping his teeth at Kit’s throat.

Kit was holding him off with a forearm against his throat, and his face took on the subtle lines of his cat. She stared when claws sprouted at his fingertips. She jumped a few inches when Howling Wolf spoke beside her.

“He’s different from us,” her younger cousin said thoughtfully.

She spared him a glance and saw him folding Colby’s discarded clothes into a neat pile in his arms. “I mean for us, the wolf comes out all at one time. But look at his hands. They are paws, like a cat’s, even though the rest of him is human.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, trying to sound casual. Casual was difficult when her cousin and the man who was courting her were doing their best to kill each other. No, she realized, Colby might be trying to kill or at least hurt Kit, but Kit was clearly trying to not damage Colby. She swallowed and forced her voice to steady tones. “The cats aren’t like us. You have a wolf, but you aren’t a wolf. I think the cat and the man are one person.”

“Huh, that’s interesting.” Howling Wolf stepped closer to her, watching Kat flip Colby onto his back to expose his belly. No matter how Colby strained against Kit’s hold he couldn’t break free. “I think your cat is going to win this one.”

He was right. Kit held his clawed hand poised over Colby’s throat. “I don’t want to hurt you,” Kit said, with a thread of his cat rasping in his voice. “You are kin to my mate. Yield.”

The wolf’s slips peeled back in a snarl that was answer enough. He squirmed frantically but couldn’t budge the cat in mostly human shape. Kit stared intently down into Colby’s eyes.

“Yield,” he said, his tone almost a caress.

Howling Wolf grunted. “Cole is too Alpha to give up so easily.”

The wolf made only a half-hearted effort to escape, and gave a little whine.

“Yield,” Kit said, still staring into Colby’s eyes.

Olivia felt her jaw drop when Colby tilted his head back to expose his throat. Beside her, Howling Wolf gave another grunt, this one tinged with disbelief. Howling Wolf was right: Colby was too much an Alpha wolf to submit so tamely. He was stubborn and infuriatingly sure he was always right ,and he’s shown an implacable prejudice against Kit. Was this some sort of trick?

 

But when Kit stood up, Colby twisted to his four feet, shook the snow from his fur and shifted back to human. Without a word, he took his clothes from his brother and dressed. For the first time Olivia noticed they’d drawn an audience. Several spectators, female and male, watched Colby’s strong naked body with appreciation.

Kit came back to her and took her hand to place it in the crook of his arm. “I should take you back to your house,” he said, smiling down at her as if nothing had happened.

“Okay.” She walked with him in silence for several minutes, her two cousins almost a block behind them. “How did you do that? I never expected Colby to submit to you. He’s the sort to gnaw off his own paw rather than submit. It was almost like you hypnotized him.”

Kit was silent for a long moment. “It’s something I can do. I’ve always been able to do it. It’s … I guess it’s sort of like magic.”

Unease, like icy fingers, slid down her back. “Magic? I don’t believe in magic.”

He laid his free hand over hers on his arm. “No? But your fathers and brothers turn into wolves. That’s not magic?”

“No! That’s just the way they are.” Actually, she did believe in magic. It came from the Lakota side of her heritage. “What did you do to Colby?”

His hair slid over his shoulders when he shrugged. “Just made him agree with me. That way he wouldn’t be hurt and you wouldn’t be mad at me.”

She almost jerked her hand free. Instead she swallowed. The house was only a block away. She hurried her steps. “How did you do that?”

“I just looked at him and thought it.” His brow wrinkled as he thought about it. “I just think of what I want someone to do, and sort of push it at them until it goes in and they do it.”

Cold that had nothing to do with the air temperature swept over her. “Did you ever do it to me?”

He looked away, toward the gate in the fence that was only yards away, and swallowed. She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Just once,” he confessed in a whisper. “When I carried you back to my lair. I told you to sleep.”

Yes! She remembered how odd it was that in spite of her fear she had fallen asleep. She ripped her hand free of his hold, fear and suspicion swirling inside. “Never do that to me again!”

He took a hesitant step toward her but stopped when she retreated. “I won’t. I promise.”

She continued to back up until she was at the gate. Red Wing shifted narrowed eyes from her to Kit, and then to Colby and Howling Wolf who came up to the gate with expressionless faces. She managed a smile at her uncle. “We’re back,” she said cheerfully, and unnecessarily. “Let me in, please. I need to get into the kitchen to help with dishes.”

Kit took a quick step forward. “When can I see you again, Olivia?”

The pleading on his face softened the wild emotions churning inside her. Her immediate refusal died. “Tomorrow night at 8:30. Unless Uncle Hawk says no. Come here tomorrow night.”

The relief on his face almost made her smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Tuesday Teaser 10/27/15: Olivia’s Mate

Wow, what a week and it’s only Monday! My tire picked up a screw, and I’ve taken it top the shop twice and they couldn’t fit it in either time! Then this morning I was brushing my teeth and a tooth broke! It’s not like I was scrubbing my teeth with a wire brush; I use a soft toothbrush. oh, well. At least it doesn’t hurt. I’ve called the dentist and have an appointment tomorrow around noon. My fingers are crossed that the screw doesn’t come out of the tire and the tire goes flat. See what a mean? What a week!

 

But poor Kit is about to have a harder week than mine! Enjoy!

 

 

The kitchen door swung open and Marissa appeared carrying a tray. She set down plates loaded with steaks and baked potatoes and long green beans. “Here you go,” she said cheerfully. “Need more bread? Butter?”

Olivia inhaled the scent of perfectly seasoned and grilled beef. “I’m good. This is terrific. Please tell Renee thank you.”

Kit nodded enthusiastically and Marissa laughed. “Save room for dessert. We have apple pie and cinnamon vanilla ice cream.”

After she left, Kit spoke in a low voice. “Ice cream is good, but I know what I’d like for dessert.”

Something in the way he stared at her made her blush. “Kit,” she began, darting a look around the restaurant to be sure no one had heard. Oh, crap, there at a table near the front of the restaurant were Colby and his little brother Little Feather— No, he was Howling Wolf now. Both of them seemed absorbed by their food, but knowing how sharp wolf hearing was, and seeing Colby’s brows pulled low, Olivia guessed they had heard.

Kit held up a hand. “Sorry. I wasn’t supposed to say that. That wasn’t what a civilized man should say.”

Although the tables in the restaurant were filling with diners, no one seemed to be paying any attention to them. Even Colby and Howling Wolf were doing a good job of pretending not to hear. Olivia went back to cutting her steak into small pieces. Maybe it wasn’t civilized, but his obvious hunger for her sparked an answering hunger in her. She only hoped none of the pack could smell her desire. That could get Kit into serious trouble. She concentrated on her meal in an effort to cool down, but she snuck quick peeks at him. He was cutting his steak and eating with perfect table manners. Every move he made with his fork and knife was elegant. It made her aware that she wasn’t eating as neatly as he. She was almost embarrassed.

Kit caught her eye during one of her peeks and gave her a slow, hot smile before eating another bite of steak. That smile didn’t help her cool down. They ate in silence. She was surprised it wasn’t uncomfortable. Kit was like most of the men in the Clan. When he was eating, he paid attention to his food and didn’t bother with small talk. That was fine. She liked looking at him. When they had finished, he balanced his knife and fork on the edge of his empty plate.

“It’s warmer today,” he said. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

Through the window she could see it was clear, with the sun bright in a vivid blue sky. “I’ll need to get my coat and hat.”

“I’ll go talk to your uncle while you get them. He’ll probably want to know where we’ll go.”

“He’ll probably send a chaperone,” she said on a sigh.

He reached across the table as if to touch her hand, but drew back. “That’s okay. I’m doing this right. You go get your coat. I’ll go talk to your uncle.”

When she came back downstairs, Kit sat on one of the benches in the area Aunt Connie had set aside for those who were waiting for a table to open up. Standing opposite him, arms folded over their chests, were Colby and Howling Wolf. She smiled at her cousins to prevent her lips taking on a sour curve.

“You’re going to escort us?” she said a little too brightly.

Colby nodded brusquely, but Howling Wolf smiled sweetly. He was still young, only twenty, and he was much less aggressive than most of his kin. Instead of inky black hair, he had brown hair that he wore in a ponytail that fell to mid back. “Uncle Hawk said to stay back so you and your cat can have some privacy.”

“Thank you,” said Kit gravely.

They stepped out into the bright winter day and Olivia’s foot slipped on a patch of ice. Kit neatly caught her before she fell. He lifted his voice slightly. “I’m going to tuck her hand in my arm,” he said. “So she won’t fall.”

“Okay,” said Howling Wolf cheerfully. Olivia thought Colby growled, but he didn’t speak.

With her hand tucked in the crook of Kit’s elbow, Olivia walked at a sedate pace to the gate in the fence around the Plane Women’s House. Red Wing gave them a steely stare, nodded at Colby, and opened the gate for them. Colby and his brother allowed them to put some distance between them, but Olivia was sure it would be obvious to anyone that her cousins weren’t strolling for their health. They were there as bodyguards. Whatever. They were half a block behind, so she and Kit could talk quietly.

“Thank you for walking with me,” he said, pressing his bare hand over her gloved one. “Are you cold?”

“No. There’s no wind. You were right, it’s a nice day. What do you want to talk about?”

“Us. Our future. I want you to be my mate. What do you need to make that happen?”

“Um… Well, there are things I need to know.”

“Like what? Ask me anything.”

She walked in silence for a minute, watching the sidewalk. “Okay. If I do accept you, how would you support me and any children we have?”

He nodded. “That’s a good question. Justin and Teresa taught me a lot of things besides good manners. I’m good with numbers, so I could be an accountant. I’m better with horses. I could be a cowboy. There’s still a lot of land unclaimed. We could start our own ranch.”

She shot a sideways glance at him. He didn’t look like an accountant. Maybe a cowboy. A start up would be a lot of work. A ranch took years to become profitable. “Do you have money to buy cattle and horses?”

“No. Maybe I could work somewhere and make enough money to buy what we need.”

Maybe. But how long would it take to get enough money? “I know there’s some land not far from my parents’ ranch. They might give us a few cows and loan us a bull to help us get started.”

He slowed his steps to look down into her eyes. “Would you like to live close to your parents?”

He was so handsome. And so earnest. And so sweet. “Yes,” she whispered. “I would.”

His eyes glowed turquoise in the cold winter sun. He stopped walking and put his hand, warm in spite of the cold winter air, on her cheek. “If you want to live close to your parents, then we will.”

She was drowning in his eyes. They were so beautiful. He was so beautiful. “Thank you.”

His head bent, and his lips touched hers. Without actually meaning to, she opened her mouth under his, inviting him in. His arms went round her, pulling her close.

And then she heard Colby’s snarl, and a heavy weight leapt onto Kit and tore them apart.

Tuesday Teaser 10/13 and 10/20: Olivia’s Mate

Tales-front-coverMy apologies for the delay in the Tuesday Teasers. The server was down for an upgrade that took longer than expected. No one’s fault, just one of those things. But we’re up again now, and to celebrate I’m going to give away a paperback copy of Tales of the Wolf Clan over the weekend. I’ll post about it again on Friday, with instructions about how to enter, so stay tuned.

 

Since it’s been so long, I’m giving you a double helping of Olivia and Kit! Enjoy!

 

 

Olivia gripped the edge the table so hard her fingers hurt. She swallowed. “That was quite a speech, Kit.”

“I practiced parts of it,” he confessed. “But that doesn’t make it less true.”

She stared at him. Victoria was right. It took guts for him to come all this way and face off against her menfolk. “Okay.” It was hardly more than a whisper, so she cleared her throat to speak louder. “You can court me. We’ll see how it goes.”

She wasn’t surprised to hear the growls coming from the men. “This is my choice,” she told them with a fierce tilt of her chin. “I won’t be stupid. I won’t be alone with him. But he deserves a chance to prove himself to me.”

Colby broke from his position against the wall to loom threateningly over Kit. “If he puts one toe over the line I’ll kill him.”

Kit rose to his feet and stared Colby dead in the eye. “That’s fair. I won’t do anything to hurt Olivia. I promise I want to do this right. I want her to be safe and happy, just like you do.”

The sound of derisive disgust came from more of the men than just Colby, but no one said anything. After a minute Uncle Des waved Colby back. He laid a heavy hand on Kit’s shoulder and it looked like he squeezed little more than necessary to get his attention. Olivia saw Kit’s slight flinch.

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you can come here and have lunch. 11:30. Don’t be late.”

Kit looked at Des and nodded. Olivia noticed that Kit was an inch or so taller than the Alpha, but more slender. He might be slender, but he hid great strength in his lithe body. She remembered him carrying her for hours at a run. She also remembered how angry and frightened she had been then. Was she still frightened? No, she was safe here with all the men of the Packs on hand.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Kit,” she said, smiling.

He smiled back. “I’m looking forward to it.”

He looked like a normal young man, the type she might meet at one of Aunt Carla’s concerts, all dressed up for the event. Just how deep did the civilization he’d acquired at his brother’s hands go? As a couple of the men herded him out she found herself forward to seeing him again.

 

****

 

Kit walked away from the house his mate lived in, feeling the eyes of at least two of her kin on him. Joy bubbled fiercely inside him. She’d agreed to his courtship. He wanted to lift his head and scream his elation. What did a civilized man do when he was this excited? He glanced up at the stars and began to count them to control his urge to yowl. The wolves ghosting behind him wouldn’t like him to scream his victory here in the middle of this town.

He never saw the wolves, but he was sure they followed him all the way to the place he was staying at. John Hudson, a townsman with a house on a large lot, had given him a bed in a sort of bunkhouse behind his house for a small amount of money. Kit walked past the house and entered the bunkhouse. It held six beds that Hudson rented out to men passing through Kearney. It wasn’t fancy. There was no electricity or running water, but for a man who had lived in caves until recently, it was perfectly acceptable shelter. The bed was clean and there was a chest at the foot of the bed where he could keep his few belongings. At the moment, Kit was the only one staying there.

He could see well enough in the dark, so he didn’t bother to light the lamp to open the chest at the foot of his bed. It had a lock, which was one of the things about civilization he hated. Why should anyone have to lock their possessions away? To keep other civilized people from stealing them? But he used the lock Hudson gave him because he had only a little money and couldn’t afford to have someone take it. He crouched now and carefully counted the coins and snips of gold. Justin had given him all he and Teresa could afford, but it wouldn’t last long. He might have to find work to earn more. How long would it take to court Olivia and gain her consent to their mating? He tucked the bag of money back into the chest.

He carefully took off the suit Kathy had made for him. He stroked the soft fabric, enjoying the plushness of it. Olivia had liked it. He remembered her quick expression of pleasure when she’d first seen him. She had instantly wiped it away, but he’d seen it, and he treasured it. As he neatly folded the suit coat and trousers into the chest, he folded the image of Olivia’s pleasure into the little box in his mind, where he kept all his best memories. He’s opened it often in the past year and a half, taking out precious memories of Olivia to comfort himself with when he struggled and failed to comprehend civilized behavior. The lessons Justin and Kathy had drummed into him were paying off. Olivia had smiled at him. Her male kin hadn’t tried to hurt him.

No, it was the others who had hurt him, those strange cats. They had followed him from the store this afternoon and dragged him into a snow-filled alley. He lifted a hand to his shoulder, feeling the bruises the cat named Marty had left. Although the two seemed to be the same age, Marty was clearly more dominant. Ray was aggressive, but followed the other’s lead.

“Who are you?” Marty demanded, a hand around Kit’s throat slamming him into the brick wall at his back.

“I’m Kit. I’m only here to find Olivia Stensrud. I don’t want your territory. I didn’t know there was a pride here.”

The two men exchanged a glance. Ray growled and Marty leaned close, eyes slitted. Had he been in his cat form his tail would have been lashing from side to side. “Where’s your pride?”

Kit hadn’t seen them in a year and a half. “New Mexico. Maybe Arizona. We winter down south and come north to Colorado in the summer. They’re not here. Just me.”

“Why are you here?” Ray bared his teeth. “What do you want?”

“My mate,” Kit answered simply. “Olivia Stensrud is my mate. I’ve come to court her.”

Marty and Ray exchanged another look. Marty released his throat with a chuff. “My mother will want to meet you. Come with us.”

They didn’t give him a choice. Marty’s hand clamped so tightly over his shoulder Kit could feel fingers pressing on bone. He didn’t struggle though. Of course the queen of this pride would need to give her consent to him being in her territory. How many cats did she rule over? And why hadn’t his pride ever heard of them? They walked to a part of town Kit hadn’t been to yet. It was surrounded by a stone wall guarded by armed men. They weren’t cats, though. They were let in and they walked to a grand house. It was a fit home for a queen. They went into a bedroom in the back of the house next to the kitchen.

When he saw the queen he was shocked. There was still fire in her faded blue eyes, but her body, lying in a bed loaded with blankets, was emaciated and weak. It was hard to tell her age, but if Marty were her son, she couldn’t be seventy yet. Marty bent over her, calling her Mom and kissing her cheek. He whispered in her ear so low that Kit couldn’t hear. The queen nodded a few times and beckoned to Ray to come closer. He called her Grandma. Finally the men straightened and the queen pointed at him.

“You, come here. Tell me about yourself.”

He did, emphasizing that he was only here to court Olivia. She asked more questions about his pride, and it seemed as if she didn’t know how a pride worked. How could that be? He wanted to ask questions too, like how many cats were in her pride and where were the other queens. But he didn’t want to be disrespectful. In only a short time her eyes lost their fire and she fell asleep. Kit stared at her and then looked at the other men.

Marty led him out of the queen’s bedroom to the kitchen. Another man was there, older than Ray and Marty, but resembling both of them. He froze for a split second when he saw Kit, then his eyes shimmered cat gold.

Marty jerked a thumb. “Eddie, meet Kit. Kit, meet Eddie, my brother and the Mayor of Kearney. Kit is visiting while he tries to woo Olivia Stensrud. Mom is okay with him staying in town.”

Eddie relaxed a little. He even offered his hand in the human mode of greeting. “Nice to meet you. Sorry I have to run, but Jasper Packard’s mare is foaling. Look after him, Mart.”

That had been Kit’s introduction to the Kearney Pride. Marty and Ray had both walked with him back to Hudson’s house. They weren’t as friendly as Eddie, but other than warning him to watch himself, they made no threats. There was nothing now to prevent his courtship.

He lay on the narrow bed and pulled the sheet up to his waist. Tomorrow he would see Olivia again. He would begin his formal courtship.

 

Chapter Ten

 

Olivia checked the small round table one more time to be sure the tablecloth hung evenly. The usual beige tablecloth had been replaced with one of bright, Christmas red. She was surprised that uncle Des was allowing her and Kit to sit alone for their lunch date. Well, not really alone since there were a dozen other people already eating lunch in the restaurant. But at least they would be at the same table, and unlike last night, the table was small, so they could have at least the illusion of privacy. She stepped back and jumped when she bumped into somebody. Something prickly poked her shoulder.

“Hey.” Victoria’s voice was a growl.  “Look what you did.”

Olivia brushed at her shoulder and admired the small arrangement of pine boughs and cinnamon sticks tied with cheerful red ribbon. One of the pine twigs was broken. “Sorry.”

Victoria carefully pulled the broken piece free and set the arrangements in the center of the small table. She stepped back, head tilted to the side to check the placement, and made a minute adjustment. “There. Festive, don’t you think?”

“It’s nice,” Olivia agreed. She glanced around the restaurant, noting that all the tables had cloths of red or green, but not centerpieces. “Did you make enough for all the tables to have an arrangement?”

Her cousin shot teasing look over her shoulder. “Nope. Just the one, for our special guest.” She put extra emphasis on the word ‘special’. “We want everything to be perfect for him, don’t we?”

Yes, she did. She glanced around the restaurant, noting Hawk was the only man of the Pack in the dining room, although she was sure some of her younger cousins were around, ready to bus tables and wash dishes. She was sure they would all be keeping an eye on this little table.

Victoria’s gaze shifted toward the entry and a slow smile curved her lips. “He is such a pretty boy.”

Olivia whirled around and saw Kit walking behind Mrs. O’Connor, the hostess. His face was pretty, but his wide shoulders and whipcord physique were all man. Mrs. O’Connor waved toward her and turned back to the hostess desk up front.

Victoria murmured, “Have fun.” Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

Olivia started forward to welcome Kit. She was relieved to see he was casually dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. She had debated what to wear today. This was their first date, and last night he had dressed so nicely. She didn’t want to be under dressed. After wrestling with it, she had settled for wearing her usual jeans and a sweater.

“Good morning!” he said eagerly. The tip of his nose was red. He might be cold from the December air, but his smile was warm.

“Hi.” She waved at the table. “We’re sitting here.”

Kit stepped forward and eased a chair out, looking at her expectantly. It took her a minute, but she realized he was waiting to seat her. The heat of a blush surged into her cheeks. She gathered her composure and stepped in front of the chair. As she sat, he scooted the chair forward. It was as smooth and graceful as if they had done it a dozen times. When she looked up, she saw Aunt Renee in the kitchen door, nodding approval.

Kit sat across from her. The table was so small that with the centerpiece there would barely be room for their plates. It was strangely intimate. He leaned forward slightly to speak in a low voice.

“I dreamt of you last night,” he told her.

In anyone else that might have sounded flirtatious, but Kit was matter-of-fact.

“You did?”

“Yeah. It was a good dream. We were old and gray, with grandchildren—”

He broke off when Marissa came to their table and set a cup in front of each of them and poured hot, fragrant coffee into the cups. Marissa was Red Wing’s mate, a comfortably plump woman with smile lines on her pretty face.

“Good morning,” she said cheerfully. “How would you like your steaks done?”

Olivia stared. “Steak? I thought today’s lunch was Boston Baked Beans with a slice of ham, or a hamburger and fries.”

“For everyone else, that’s right.”

Kit patted his front pocket with a wrinkle between his brows. “Steak costs more, doesn’t it? I’m not sure I can afford steak.”

Marissa waved that away. “It’s on the house. Renee likes you, young man.”

Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “She does?”

“Yep, and she doesn’t like many people enough to offer them a free steak. So how would you like it done?”

“Medium rare for me,” Olivia said and looked at Kit.

He still had that wrinkle between his brows. “But a man is supposed to buy his date’s meal,” he protested.

Marissa gave him a warm smile. “If you try to pay for this, Renee will be unhappy. You don’t want to make Renee unhappy. If Renee is unhappy, her mate is unhappy, and her sons are unhappy. An unhappy Hawk is not a good thing. Believe me.”

Kit smiled, the line smoothing from his face. “Okay. I’d like my steak rare, please.”

Marissa went to the kitchen and returned immediately with a basket of dinner rolls and a small bowl of butter. “There you go. Your steaks will be out before long.”

Kit buttered a roll and handed it to Olivia before buttering one for himself. “So, Renee is mean?”

“Oh, no. She’s just a really good cook, and she expects people to appreciate her cooking.” Olivia took a bite of the roll and almost moaned. Fresh out of the oven, with butter melting over the edges, the roll was just a preview of the excellent lunch to come. “Aunt Renee is a wonderful person, but she isn’t the warm, fuzzy type. But if she likes you, then Uncle Hawk will like you. He’s the pack Beta, so his opinion carries a lot of weight.”

“That’s good then.” Kit leaned over the table. “But the most important thing to me is whether you like me.”

That stupid blush was back, but she gazed at him steadily. “That’s what we’re going to find out, right? That’s why we’re courting.”

He nodded with a slow smile. “Yeah. Do you like living here? You used to live on a ranch out west.”

“I like it well enough. My family lives on the ranch, but we travel a couple of times a year to visit other family. This isn’t a new place for me.”

“But you’ve been here a long time, not just a visit. Is it because of me?”

Olivia forced a bite of bread down, and picked up her coffee to drink. She wouldn’t lie to him. “My mom and dad thought it would be good for me to be away from the ranch for a while.”

“They thought I would try to take you again.”

“Uh-huh.”

He stared out the window on the far side of the room, showing her his perfect profile set in melancholy lines. “I wouldn’t have. I watched you and your family walk away from me on that mountain and I realized then that I had done wrong by stealing you. That’s when I decided to go to Justin and have him and his mate teach me how to behave.”

He had seated her like a perfect gentleman. He kept his elbows off the table and ate his roll in small, controlled bites. Which was more than most of the men in the Pack did. “You learned a lot.”

He flashed a smile at her. “Before I went to them I searched for you. Not to take you, but just to see you from a distance. I found your home, but I figured out you weren’t there. I heard your brothers talking about you, though. That’s how I learned you were in Kearney. I’m glad you are still here.”

She had missed the ranch, and being with her family, bitterly, but now she was glad she was here. “Did you like being with Justin? Was it hard to be away from your family?”

“Sometimes it was hard.” He looked down at the roll he crumbled. “I can’t go back to the pride. Tricia and Maria forbade it.”

The roll she’s so enjoyed turned to lead in her stomach. “You’ve been banished?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Justin and his mate said I was always welcome. If you accept me, we will need to discuss where we will live.”

The kitchen door swung open and Marissa appeared carrying a tray. She set down plates loaded with steaks and baked potatoes and long green beans. “Here you go,” she said cheerfully. “Need more bread? Butter?”

Olivia inhaled the scent of perfectly seasoned and grilled beef. “I’m good. This is terrific. Please tell Renee thank you.”

Kit nodded enthusiastically and Marissa laughed. “Save room for dessert. We have apple pie and cinnamon vanilla ice cream.”

After she left Kit stared at Olivia so intensely that she shivered. “What?”

A faint wash of red swept into his face. “I know what I’d like for dessert,” he murmured. “But that’s not civilized.”

 

 

 

Tuesday Teaser 10/5/15: Olivia’s Mate

     It’s October! This is my absolute FAVORITE time of the year! Cool at night, still pretty warm during the day, and perfect tea drinking weather. All the Mayo Clinic stuff is done and went well. Sometimes I think I feel tons better, and then sometimes I don’t. Being on 1300mg of aspirin a day is giving me an unhappy tummy. Or it could be coincidence. YaaahNo. I think it’s the aspirin.  I guess I’ll give it a few days to be sure, then call the doc and see what he says.

     Today I had a dental appointment (OUCH!!!!-He put a post through my bridge into the tooth below. The anesthesia is wearing off now and I have to admit the root canal I had a year ago hurt less than this!) so now I am finished with all that nasty business for the year. I can go ahead and get back into my writing routine.  I did try on Sunday night and I did get some writing done, but it’s sort of lackadaisical. Blah. Maybe I should have Colby try to throttle poor Kit… I’m sure I’ll be able to spark it up a bit later, but here it is for now. I’m going to sit for an hour in my flannel jammies and read for a while before bed.  Enjoy!

 

That left her alone with Uncle Des and Uncle Hawk. Des wore his habitual grim expression, but it was just as little darker than usual. The light hanging above them glinted in the silver wings in the black hair at his temples.

“Olivia,” he said sternly. “You won’t be alone with him. If he does one thing to make you uncomfortable, just raise your hand and we’ll escort him out.”

Yes, but will he be alive when you do? She didn’t say it out loud, but knowing her male relatives it was a valid question. And really, who knew what Kit would do? He was practically a wild animal. “Thanks, Uncle Des,” she said. “I’m sure it will be okay, but I’m glad you’ll be there. Where are we meeting? In the kitchen? Or the family dining room?”

“In the restaurant. Renee is still in the kitchen and he’s not family, so he doesn’t come in to the family areas.”

She nodded. That was fair. And six of her menfolk as guards wasn’t too bad. Actually, everyone seemed to be behaving pretty reasonably. For wolves.

When she entered the restaurant she saw why they were being so unusually reasonable. Another dozen men of the House and Taye’s den were there, seated at the scattered tables and drinking coffee or hot cider. Colby raised his mug to her with a fierce smile.

“Oh, no,” she groaned. She turned to the men behind her. “Uncle Des, this is ridiculous.”

“It’s just caution,” he said mildly.

Colby stood with a scrape of his chair over the wood floor. “I don’t trust him,” he said flatly. “He stole you before. He’d like to do it again. He won’t get the chance.”

There was no sense trying to argue with them. “Fine,” she growled. She moved to a small table that seated two. Des took her arm in a gentle but firm grasp and led her to the longest table in the room, the one reserved for groups of twelve.

“You sit here on this side facing the door,” he said. “When the young man arrives, he’ll sit opposite you.”

“But we’ll be ten feet apart!”

“Exactly.” There was satisfaction in his growl. “You’ll be alone at the table, so that’s nice, right?”

Alone at a table, with eighteen of her dearest male relatives in the room. Great. She took the chair Uncle Des indicated. What did she expect? And maybe it didn’t matter anyway. Like Gray said, he might not even show up.

But he did, and with his silky caramel colored hair lying in shiny waves over the shoulders of a perfectly fitted dark brown corduroy suit coat, he was amazingly handsome. And he appeared unexpectedly civilized. She compared her memory of Kit, feral, living in a cave with snarled hair and wearing few clothes, to this almost elegant man.

He paused in the doorway for just a moment while his gaze swept quickly around the room before settling on her. When he looked at her, such joy filled his face that Olivia stared.

“Miss Stensrud,” he said formally, and hurried toward her. Uncle Des caught him and shoved him toward the chair at the other end of the table.

“You sit there,” the Alpha growled.

Kit twisted lithely away from Des’ grip, and stood looking down the table at her for a long moment before turning to extend his hand to Des.

“Christopher McQueen, sir,” he said.

Des looked at the long slender hand like it was a dead fish, but he gripped it and shook it twice. “Des Wolfe. I’m Alpha here. If you behave yourself we’ll let you live.”

“Thank you.” Kit’s tone was perfectly respectful.

After a moment, Des grunted. Approval? “Have a seat.”

Kit pulled out the indicated chair and sat down. Des took up his position a yard behind Kit, arms folded and mouth turned down in its usual scowl. She and Kit sat in silence, staring at one another. All she could see was awe and happiness on his face. He was well dressed and well groomed, looking like a civilized man, yet his expression retained something of the feral openness she had seen on it when she had been his captive. Hiding his emotions didn’t seem to come easily to him. Silence stretched. Olivia wondered if she should speak first. Was allowing a woman to speak first a will polite thing?

“Good evening, Kit,” she said. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been well, thank you. And you?”

“I’ve been good.” This was excruciating. Olivia flicked a glance at her male relatives lining the wall. At least half of them should go away. She tried to use her eyebrows to convey that thought to them, but they either missed it entirely or ignored it. She looked again at Kit. “You look very nice.”

The small smile that curved his lips grew. “Thank you. You are even more beautiful than I remembered you.”

She blushed. “Your suit is very nice. I don’t remember you having a suit.” Actually, most of her memories were of him nude, or covered with the light fur his cat form had. “Is it new?”

He smoothed a caressing hand down his arm, stroking the chocolate brown corduroy of his sleeve. “My brother’s wife made it for me. She said that I should dress my best when I go to court you.” His expression turned very serious and he leaned forward as if to lessen the distance between them. “I want to do it right. Last time I did everything wrong. You are my mate. I didn’t know any better than to take you home with me the minute I found you. But I was wrong. You said you wanted a civilized man, so I went to my brother Justin to learn how.”

One of the cats knew how to be civilized? Olivia couldn’t imagine it. “I don’t think I remember Justin.”

No, he doesn’t live with the Pride anymore. A few years ago he met his mate and left us to live with her human family. After your father and brothers took you home I went to find them. I spent the last year living with them and learning how to be the man you want. Please let me court you.” His eyes gleamed as tears welled in them. Even across the table she could see them. “Please don’t send me away without giving me a chance.”

Olivia gripped the edge the table so hard her fingers hurt. She swallowed. “That was quite a speech, Kit.”

“I practiced parts of it,” he confessed. “But that doesn’t make it less true.”

She stared at him. Victoria was right. It took guts for him to come all this way face off against her menfolk. “Okay.” It was hardly more than a whisper, so she cleared her throat to speak louder. “You can court me. We’ll see how it goes.”

She wasn’t surprised to hear the growls coming from the men. “This is my choice,” she told them with a fierce tilt of her chin. “I won’t be stupid. I won’t be alone with him. But he deserves a chance to prove himself to me.”

Colby broke from his position against the wall to loom threateningly over Kit. “If he puts one toe over the line I’ll kill him.”

Kit rose to his feet and stared Colby dead in the eye. “That’s fair. I won’t do anything to hurt Olivia. I promise I want to do this right. I want her to be safe and happy, just like you do.”

The sound of derisive disgust came from more of the men than just Colby, but no one said anything. After a minute Uncle Des waved Colby back. He laid a heavy hand on Kit’s shoulder and it looked like he squeezed little more than necessary to get his attention.

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you can come here and have lunch. 11:30. Don’t be late.”

Tuesday Teaser 9/22/15: Olivia’s Mate

This last week or so has been a crazy one for me. Last Tuesday through Thursday I was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota having testing done in regards to my Samter Triad/AERD to determine if I was a good candidate for aspirin desensitization. That’s why there was no teaser last week. I had expected to be done with all of that by now, but it turns out the inflammation in my sinuses (along with new, bigger and badder polyps and worsening asthma) meant that we couldn’t do the Aspirin Desensitization right away. Instead I’m home with 5 different medications to tame the sinus troubles to a level where the procedure wouldn’t be as risky. The doctor called it a Polypectomy without surgery.  Hmm. I have Prednisone, Budesonide rinses, Flo Vent, Singulair and an antibiotic.  I will go back down to Mayo next Monday and be there through Thursday, and possibly Friday.

 

There, was that TMI? I didn’t even tell you about the urine samples I have to collect over the next 36 hours and mail back to Mayo. No, we definitely don’t need to discuss that! Instead, let me crow for a minute about Wolf’s Princess!  It got a Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews!  You can read it here 

 

And now, here is the snip from Olivia’s story.

 

 

At ten minutes before eight o’clock, Olivia finished her work in the Eatery. She rushed upstairs to wash her face and comb her hair. When she had first come to the Plane Women’s House, Hawk and Renee had put both their adult sons into one bedroom and offering her the newly vacant one. They had become her surrogate parents. By the way he’d treated Kit, Uncle Hawk was taking his position far too seriously. She hoped he wouldn’t round up every man in the pack to guard her while Kit visited.

She had just finished combing her hair when Victoria poked her head in. Her older cousin watched with a knowing eye. Olivia wished she could tell her to go away, but this was Victoria’s room too. She lifted an eyebrow at her older cousin.

Vic laughed. “Getting all dolled up for your date?”

“Don’t start,” she warned.

The laugh gentled to a smile. “Okay, sorry. I like him.”

Olivia’s eyebrows pulled together in dubious questioning.

“No, really,” Vic insisted. “I like your cat. He has guts. And he must think of a lot of you. He came all this way to find you, and he stood up to Uncle Hawk, but not arrogantly. His little speech was precious.”

“Precious? He’s not a puppy.”

“No. Miaow.” Victoria curled her fingers into claws and slashed at the air. “He’s a yummy little kitty.”

Instead of replying —and what she would have said, she wasn’t sure—Olivia pushed past her cousin to hall to the living room. As she went by, Vic murmured, “Prepare for the gauntlet.”

As soon as Olivia entered the living room she understood Vic’s comment. Uncle Hawk stood in before the apartment’s front door with his arms crossed. His elder son, Sharp Tooth, was on his right, and his younger son, He Charges, was on his left. All three men stood in identical stances of spread legs and arms folded over their chests. She sighed and walked to the door, only pausing when Hawk placed his hand on the door to keep her from opening it.

“We won’t stop this man from seeing you,” he said in his low, slow voice. “But you will be careful.”

“Of course I will,” she said with patience. They were only doing what all the men of the Clan did, and at least they weren’t forcing her to stay in her room while they sent Kit away. And only the three of them standing guard over her wasn’t too bad. “I promise.”

He opened the door and led the way out. Charges and Sharp followed behind her. At the foot of the stairs stood Uncle Des, the Alpha of the House, with his two sons behind him. She faltered when Des nodded at Hawk and said the thief hadn’t arrived yet.

“Maybe he won’t show up,” Des’ younger son, Gray Shirt, suggested in a hopeful tone.

His brother, Broken Rock, gave him a glare. “We should be so lucky.”

Des raised one hand. “Boys, go down and make sure there’s wood enough for the stoves. We don’t want our guest to be cold.” His voice suggested the opposite. Rock and Gray turned and went toward the restaurant. “Charges, you take your brother and keep watch at the door for the caller.”

That left her alone with Uncle Des and Uncle Hawk. Des wore his habitual grim expression, but it was just as little darker than usual. The light hanging above them glinted in the silver wings at his temples in his long black hair.

“Olivia,” he said sternly. “You won’t be alone with him. If he does one thing to make you uncomfortable, just raise your hand and we’ll escort him out.”

Yes, but will he be alive when you do? She didn’t say it out loud, but knowing her male relatives it was a valid question. And really, who knew what Kit would do? He was practically a wild animal. “Thanks, Uncle Des,” she said. “I’m sure it will be okay, but I’m glad you’ll be there. Where are we meeting? In the kitchen? Or the family dining room?”

“In the restaurant. Renee is still in the kitchen and he’s not family, so he doesn’t come in to the family areas.”

She nodded. That was fair. And six of her menfolk as guards wasn’t too bad. Actually, everyone seemed to be behaving pretty reasonably. For wolves.

When she entered the restaurant she saw why they were being so unusually reasonable. Another dozen men of the House and Taye’s den were there, seated at the scattered tables and drinking coffee or hot cider. Colby raised his mug to her with a fierce smile.

“Oh, no,” she groaned. She turned to the men behind her. “Uncle Des, this is ridiculous.”

“It’s just caution,” he said mildly.

Colby stood with a scrape of his chair over the wood floor. “I don’t trust him,” he said flatly. “He stole you before. He’d like to do it again. He won’t get the chance.”

There was no sense trying to argue with them. “Fine,” she growled. She moved to a small table that seated two. Des took her arm in a gentle but firm grasp and led her to the longest table in the room, the one reserved for groups of twelve.

“You sit here on this side facing the door,” he said. “When the young man arrives. He’ll sit opposite you.”

“But we’ll be ten feet apart!”

“Exactly.” There was satisfaction in his growl. “You’ll be alone at the table, so that’s nice, right?”

Alone at a table with eighteen of her dearest male relatives in the room. Lovely. She took the chair Des indicated. What did she expect? And maybe it didn’t matter anyway. Like Gray said, he might not even show up.

But he did, and with his silky caramel colored hair lying in shiny waves over the shoulders of a perfectly fitted dark brown corduroy suit coat, he was amazingly handsome.