Wolf Line: Granite Lake Wolves, Book 5 Read online

  Jared pointed at the door briefly. “Chad would probably try to have me arrested for evil impersonation or something. Besides, there’s only so many workers doing maintenance, and if I cut out, they’re going to be swamped. I can handle another five days.”

  Warmth trickled through her. “You’re one of the good guys, aren’t you?”

  “In spite of having money, you mean? Yeah, I guess. It’s what I’d want others to do.”

  “My comment had nothing to do with you having money. I think I like you, Jared Gilliland.”

  He stopped in the middle of feeding the plumbing snake down the drain to turn his full-wattage smile on her. “I like you too, Keri Smith.”

  He stared for a minute, and she could feel his gaze on her lips, her body. Like a laser beam heating her up. “Stop that.”

  “Can’t help it. If you mean the looking at you. You just…” He jerked his head away. “My wolf is not helping matters. We need a little time taking a run. When do we hit the next dry land?”

  Even the mention of a run made something leap inside. “Ketchikan. We make port around seven tomorrow morning. We depart eight p.m.”

  “Then it’s a date? I’m not on shift until afternoon. Can I entice you to explore the island with me tomorrow morning?”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  She curled her arms around her legs and luxuriated in her happiness. Her wolf stopped making filthy suggestions of how to seduce her mate and instead preened in having chosen such a good match. Yeah, yeah, you know everything.

  Her wolf agreed completely.

  “You get the stolen stuff back to Tessa?”

  She nodded then realized he couldn’t see her as he’d turned his back to continue working. “First time I’ve seen her get snarly in a long time. She’s very pissed off someone would dare to try to set up my mate for a fall.”

  “Well, people didn’t know I was your mate, did they?”

  “No, but she’s still pissed.” Keri had to smile. “It’s funny. I started this trip wondering if I was going to have to hold Tessa’s hand the entire time, but the more demands made on her the better she’s stood up to the challenge.”

  “She’s got the training, right? You said she graduated with honours?”

  “Yeah. She’s totally got the skills, only she’s always comparing herself to her big brother who is like Mr. Perfection. That dude is freaky. It’s not his fault that he’s good at everything he does, but it…” She didn’t want to seem disloyal to Tessa.

  Jared dragged back hard on the snake, pulling something through the pipes. “It makes it tough for the people who follow behind? Yeah, I can see that. Especially in shifter families, it can get tough. Although cats are usually less into the ‘I have bigger fangs than you’.”

  “Tony isn’t competitive at all. He’s this big old friendly pussycat, which is part of the reason I think he did such a good job coordinating. Everyone liked him and they worked hard for him.”

  Jared tugged again, making a little more headway. “What’s the story with Chad, then? He doesn’t seem the type to be best buds with someone like Tony. Chad’s the opposite of an overachiever.”

  Another tug. Another. Keri watched in fascination as he worked. “Nope. Makes perfect sense. Tony was too softhearted to fire Chad’s ass. But to be honest, it sounds as if the way Chad’s dealt with you this trip is the first time he’s really stepped over the line. You know, acting like a shithead.”

  “Oh, I’m getting special treatment? How simply marvelous.”

  Keri snorted, the sound escalating into a cry of surprise as Jared gave one final tug and the stuck object burst into view.

  An enormous, sodden stuffed polar bear with a ragged snout stared forlornly at them both as they laughed. Thievery and brother’s evil friends completely forgotten in the moment of growing together.

  Jared rested his muzzle along Keri’s back, both of them still breathing hard from chasing each other through the tall timbers of the forest covering the mountains behind Ketchikan. They’d found a small open space overlooking the town, the highway between them and the brightly coloured square houses built in layers over the steep hillside.

  “That was amazing. And just what I needed,” Keri all but purred as she settled more comfortably.

  Even speaking into her mind was more effort than he wanted to make. Lazy contentment poured through every one of his muscles, the morning sunshine bathing them with warmth. The harbour lay below them, not close enough for any more than the faint sound of human voices and wheels over the docks. Three massive ships stood in waiting, their passengers pouring through the small town like an invasion.

  And every day that same invasion would repeat itself, but unlike the Vikings or Goths, these raids brought energy and finances to the people who lived and loved the remote land.

  He would miss the North terribly if they left, and suddenly that had to be part of what he shared with her. “Keri—we can live anywhere we want, you know that, right?”

  She quivered under him. “I hear the words, but the pictures are not registering properly yet.”

  “I understand. And I’m not pushing but need you to know I really love this kind of thing. The wilderness, and the small towns. The ability to shift and be completely wild within five minutes of leaving my house—if you’ve only experienced that kind of freedom while on a holiday, maybe you can’t understand, but this is home for me.”

  She rolled belly up, and his wolf trembled to control the howl of delight that wanted to escape. Then she wiggled around and licked his muzzle, and he was even more floored.

  “I have no home. No place that calls me to be there on holidays and special events. You are my mate, and while I want to have conversations about what’s happening in our life, I’m too damn happy right now to try to figure out things I should complain about. I’m a wolf, Jared. I like dirt under my paws and the sun warming my fur. If you want to live in the North, I’m good with it. If you want to take me to expensive places in Europe, I’ll just have to grin and bear that.”

  She was all soft against him and he stared over the water contently. They watched the action for a good twenty minutes, Jared enjoying every one of the deep breaths he took that allowed more and more of her scent to fill his head.

  “Too funny. Look.”

  Keri patted a paw toward the main street.

  “Paws suck as fingers. What are you trying to show—wait a minute. Is that Chad sucking face with someone?”

  Keri wiggled with her laughter. “Oh wow, it’s Eden from housekeeping. She’s been all over his ass from what I heard. Chad was complaining about her to Tony between trips a while back, and Tessa mentioned it was happening this trip as well.”

  Jared examined the near-to-sex-on-the-street happening up against the back wall of the side street. “He doesn’t seem to be complaining anymore.”

  He was getting a little turned on. It had nothing to do with Chad—ick ick and triple ick—but everything to do with the fact he was picturing putting Keri into that same position up against the wall and doing a little enthusiastic sun-worshipping himself. “Is your wolf happy? Shall we go grab a quick lunch?”

  Keri was on her feet and racing down the path to where they’d hidden their clothing. “I say skip lunch and we can have sex until it’s time for your shift.”

  Even as they sprinted down the hillside, he couldn’t believe his incredible good luck. He loved being a wolf. Loved having a mate.

  And lunchtime trysts with his mate? Oh yeah…he was sure he was going to love those too.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tessa wrinkled her nose as she accepted the handful of jewelry Keri passed over. “It just doesn’t make any sense. I had a couple of the best noses on the ship go through all the crew quarters, and it’s impossible to figure out from scent alone who’s been stealing and hiding things. And when they were only hiding it on Jared, it was one thing. But now that it’s spread to you?”

  “That’s why it’s got to be
a plant.”

  “It’s driving me crazy how they’ve managed to stay one step ahead of me.” Tessa offered another piece of chocolate.

  Keri turned it down flat. “How the caffeine in that stuff doesn’t make you crawl the walls, I’ll never know.”

  “Who says it doesn’t? I’m actually half-comatose normally.”

  Keri blew a raspberry then rose to her feet as Jared approached.

  “May I interrupt?” He kissed her cheek and Keri sighed like a lovelorn schoolgirl.

  Tessa raised a brow. “You seem capable of doing anything you put your mind to. Including mucking up my well-running cruise.”

  Jared shook his head slowly. “You’re doing a great job. Everyone is giving glowing reports, the visitors and the staff, so relax and enjoy the final day.”

  Keri watched as Tessa visibly relaxed. “Really?”

  “Of course. There’s nothing but praise for the cruise, as usual. And the only mention I heard of anything weird with the jewelry were a few women I passed who were raving about the ship’s ‘cleaning service’, whatever that is.”

  Tessa bounced. “Wheee! It worked.”

  “What you up to, girlie?” Keri asked, sneaking into Jared’s arms for a quick hug.

  “I had this brainwave to have the items cleaned before returning them, and made up these little cards ‘complimentary sparkles to make your trip shine’… Well, the card said it better than that, but you get the idea. Like there was a reason for things to be slightly out of place. I guess it worked.”

  Keri snickered. “Only on a shifter ship, I bet. I wouldn’t try that one on a human vessel. I think they’d be a little more suspicious.”

  “Totally.” Tessa nodded. “Shifters are fun to work with—as long as nothing is gone for good, they’re cool. I’m still upset I can’t figure out who’s taking things in the first place. We’ve got all kinds of shifters working the ship, so it’s not as if I can get any of the Alphas on board to make demands until they find out who it is. Besides, that’s the opposite side of what I want—this isn’t a witch-hunt, and it’s not supposed to be an inquisition either.”

  “If everything is in place by the end of the trip, and there are no outstanding complaints from passengers, is it even an issue anymore?” Keri really didn’t want it to be an issue.

  Tessa paused. “I can’t just sweep it away, Keri.” She stared up at both of them and shook her head. “I mean, I know you can’t be the thieves, because, hello, you’ve been handing items over to me as fast as you find them, but it still looks bad. And if we can’t point to the guilty party, there’s bound to be someone who will suspect you, even afterward. Or suspect me of covering up your guilt.”

  It was too true. “Then we have to look faster. We have a few hours until we make dock. You don’t need me for anything else?”

  Tessa shook her head as she unwrapped another chocolate bar.

  Jared waved a hand. “I’ll help as well, but first, I wondered if you’d gotten any response to that message I sent to my pack.”

  The cat’s grin grew again. “Oh yeah, there was one. Pretty brief, just that he’d meet you at the dock. Someone named Keil signed it.”

  A shudder shook her mate, and Keri squeezed him a little tighter. “Jared? You okay?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, but I guess we’ll be introducing you to my Alpha sooner than later.”

  “Oh.”

  “Don’t worry, he’s cool, only there’s a long overdue discussion that needs to happen. Keil took over as Alpha after my folks left town, so he’s not aware of a few things.”

  “Are you in trouble?”

  “Hell, no. Just…” The buzzer on his waist belt went off and Jared sighed. He checked the screen and stepped away from Keri’s side. “So much for helping you look around for the last few hours. Someone decided the shuffleboard lanes would be a great place to dump a couple of bottles of bubbles. There’s no one available from housekeeping. I have to go clean it up.”

  He dropped a kiss on her cheek and turned.

  “Wait—I’ll go with you.” She stepped in time with him as he pulled up next to a maintenance closet and opened the lock, dragging out a well-stocked cart. Mop and broom handles stuck out above the edge of the neat basket section. “I have no ideas other than sitting and staring at people anyway. I’m sorry, some troubleshooter I’ve been for us.”

  “It’s going to be fine. Really.”

  Keri yanked her hair back and secured it with a ponytail holder. There was a light breeze again, this time pulling off the land, and with the ship’s forward momentum, it was enough to make the flags on the railing snap and crackle, their bright colours adding a happy twist to the blues and greens of the surroundings.

  The kids were having a blast in the bubbles. Not only kids—a couple of older cats had shifted to their animal forms to join in. They skidded across the surface, four paws splayed wide to the side for balance.

  “That looks like a lot of fun.” Jared put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, loudly. “Okay, everyone down to the right.”

  Keri frowned. “What are you doing?”

  Jared grinned. “Well, I have to clean it up, but not this instant, and as long as they run from the railing toward the inner deck, they should be safe, right?”

  Keri watched with admiration as Jared coaxed the gathering of a dozen or so youngsters into a safer starting position. More people gathered to watch the kids take a running start then swoosh across the solid wood boards that were now thoroughly coated with a thin layer of slick wet bubbles.

  A cheer went up as Mr. Fedora joined the queue. He chatted with the youngsters around him as he waited for his turn.

  “What’s he up to?” Keri asked.

  “A little fun? Just because he’s an important person doesn’t mean he can’t have a good time with the simple things of life.” Jared caught her hand in his, and they stood and enjoyed the sun shining down on them, the laughter and excitement in the air making her nearly able to forget there was a cloud hanging over them.

  Fedora’s form for the approach was superb, but his steady footing vanished at the three-quarter point of the run, much to the delight of the children who laughed and swooped in to help him to his feet.

  “You going to try?” Jared asked her.

  “Me? Nahhh.” Only she eyed the deck and wondered if it was terrible that she wanted to join in.

  He pushed her forward. “Go on. It’s safe enough. Troubles will be there later, have some fun now.”

  She stood in the line, short people and adults all lined up for their own turn. One of the kids raced up to Jared with a couple of extra bottles of bubbles in his hands, and Jared leant over to discuss something—probably reloading the surface to make it slipperier. Just the way he turned his full attention on the child made Keri’s heart ache. He had his hands planted on his thighs, his face turned wholly toward the little wolf as they discussed earnestly.

  He was a good man, and Keri was falling in love. It wasn’t enough her wolf was obsessed, she wanted her human mind to love her mate as well. And with every day that passed, she grew more confident love could happen.

  Was happening.

  Jared sent the child off with one bottle. The line of sliders paused as the little boy dribbled liquid from the open mouth of the bottle in a zigzag pattern over the length of the lane.

  A slight commotion from the right drew her attention. Eden from housekeeping marched up to Jared then whispered loud enough that her voice, though not the specific words, could be heard from where Keri stood in the line.

  Eden grabbed the railing of the cart and tugged it toward her. Jared laid a hand on the basket section and stopped her motion. That was when Keri spotted the neat Eden label on the upper edge of the basket and a horrible, terrible, yet wonderful thought hit her.

  Jared gave up fighting, his hands lifted in the air, and Eden turned and flounced off, her cleaning cart in white-knuckle possession.

  The little lad who was reloading
the bubbles reached the end of the row and turned, giving a quick thumbs-up before racing back to Jared’s side.

  Keri rudely forced her way past the few shifters waiting in front of her. “Excuse me, sorry, emergency.”

  And with an extra burst of speed, she timed her leap to hit the lane first, her gaze locked on Eden as the woman scurried toward the maintenance-staff-only door, her cart clutched in front of her. Keri balanced as if on a skateboard, twirling in a full 360-degree circle as she fought to keep her balance. A loud roar of approval rose behind her. The wall of the inner cabin shot past her as she bore down on her target. They connected smartly, Eden’s feet flying out from under her, and the cart tipping hard enough it landed with a bounce.

  Mops flew one way, brooms and buckets another.

  And over it all, a fine layer of earrings, necklaces and other shiny baubles came to rest on top of her and Eden.

  Epilogue

  He’d come full circle. Jared leaned back in the comfy couch, looking around the familiar coffee shop with something close to wonder rippling through him. Across the table, his Alpha lowered a tray filled with coffees and goodies. Jared still couldn’t smell the damn stuff, but now it didn’t matter in the least, because at his side was his mate, her feet tucked under his thigh as she curled up tight against him.

  “You two know how to make a splash.” Keil dropped his bulk into a chair before passing a mug to Keri. “I thought I’d heard of everything, but this is…” He seemed to search for a proper word.

  “Entertaining?” Jared supplied hopefully.

  Keil snorted. “Better than having to haul your ass out of the slammer. You’re a far more complicated guy than I ever imagined, Jared.”

  Across the table, Tessa leaned in and snagged a chocolate éclair, sinking her teeth into the soft surface and groaning happily. She swallowed quickly before pointing the half-eaten goodie at her best friend.