“It’ll be interesting to see what catches your attention on the slopes.” He returned his gaze to the road. “My other brother, Jake, is a photographer also. He likes to take pictures of wildlife and flowers.”
She didn’t say anything.
“The two of you could probably compare notes,” he continued.
“I probably won’t meet him.”
She spoke so quickly that he thought she might be afraid to meet more of the gray wolves.
“We’ll have dinner at Darien’s place. Jake and his mate might come, depending on what they’re doing.”
She didn’t respond.
Tom tried not to smile. She wouldn’t win. She had to know that. She was in another pack’s territory, and they made the rules. Unless she was a loner and not used to pack rules.
“I’m sure your brother wouldn’t want me intruding at a family gathering,” she finally said.
“He will insist that you come.” Darien hadn’t, but Tom knew that he would require that she dined with him and Lelandi because she was a she-wolf. A male wolf just hitting the slopes, or a mated couple or family, no big deal. But since she was an unmated female who planned to hang around longer than a day, Darien would want to keep tabs on the situation.
If Tom was just giving Elizabeth a lift to the resort, he would have dropped her off at the ski rentals. But he didn’t want her out of his sight until he let the other wolves in the vicinity know she was under his protection. He thought he might enjoy his role as her protector.
As he drove past the ski-rental shop toward the parking lot, Elizabeth turned her head to look. “You could have dropped me off back there.”
“Being a sub-leader, I can expedite the rental process,” he was quick to say.
“Oh.”
“Is your pack very big?” he asked, fishing for more information.
She didn’t say anything for a moment, as if trying to come up with an answer. The coyote trickster myth instantly shot into Tom’s mind.
“Big enough,” she said evasively.
Which didn’t tell him anything. Maybe she belonged to a coyote pack instead, and she didn’t want to let on. He didn’t have any problem with that.
He pulled into a parking space, and she was out of the pickup in a hurry. She slipped her ski hat and gloves on and hurried back to the ski-rental hut. He quickly joined her.
Maybe she was a rogue wolf-coyote, shunned by the coyotes and the wolves. He hadn’t considered that before. If that was the case, he felt like a heel for bringing up her pack alliance when normally he thought of himself as the most diplomatic of the three brothers.
Not knowing what to say to rectify his faux pas, he walked alongside her in silence. She stared straight ahead at the ski-rental hut and avoided looking at anyone milling around and gawking at Tom and her.
Wolves, the lot of them. They smiled at him and several gave him the thumbs-up.
Damn it, he couldn’t help but smile back. She was his obligation, not his conquest, and he had to keep that in mind. Even though Darien had told him he was supposed to treat her as though they were together.
A couple of the ski patrollers saw him with Elizabeth and trudged through the snow to join them. Of course, they were giving the lady a good once-, well, twice-over. Wolves were that way. The ski patrollers were all alphas. Had to be. In charge of life-and-death decisions on a daily basis, they had to take over in an emergency and couldn’t wait for someone else to tell them what to do. Some were from other wolf packs and came to serve on the ski patrol during the season. They were all good friends.
Kemp and Radcliff Grey, twin brothers who were new to the pack, finally took their eyes off Elizabeth and greeted Tom with a nod.
Before either could introduce himself, Tom said, “I’ll take the lady to the ski-rental hut and get her started and talk to you about what Darien wants afterward.”
“Sure,” Kemp said.
Tom stalked after Elizabeth when he saw she didn’t remain meekly by his side. If she’d been a beta, she would have stayed with him until he escorted her to the rental hut. That had him rethinking what she was again.
One of the wolves working the ski rentals must have alerted the other three that Tom was approaching, or maybe they were more interested in who he escorted. “Tom,” the four said in greeting. They all looked at Elizabeth, waiting to hear who she was.
She cleared her throat, then told them her shoe size.
“Put it on Darien’s tab,” Tom said. “I’ll be back to check on you in a little while.”
“No need,” she said. “And thanks, but I can pay for it.”
The four wolves looked at Tom to see his response. They were betas with the pack. That’s the kind of reaction he expected. Eager to please, waiting to hear what the alpha decided. If Elizabeth had said he didn’t have to come back if he didn’t want to, or nodded in agreement, it would have been seen as a beta response. To say she would pay and that there was no need for him to return was an alpha response.
“No problem,” he said. “It’ll only take me a minute.” He looked at the guys with a silent command: Take care of her until I return.
They hurried to fit her in ski boots.
Chapter 3
Elizabeth hadn’t realized Silver Town was a gray wolf pack’s territory, and she definitely didn’t belong. That must be why North was reluctant to meet her here—because he was a red wolf. He should have said so, though it wouldn’t have changed her plans. If her uncle decided he wanted to try and kill her again, the gray pack here wouldn’t allow it. Most likely.
She’d dismissed the notion of going to either Telluride or Wolf Creek because both ski resorts were too well-known. She’d wanted an out-of-the-way place, far from any large cities but mostly far enough away from her father’s old wolf pack.
Skis and poles in hand, pack on her back, ski boots on, she thanked the guys who helped equip her. They even got a ski pass for her—on Darien’s account. She couldn’t help but appreciate Tom’s taking care of her like that, but she was still wary of other shifters. Granted, her past experience was mostly with red wolves and only a few grays. Coyote shifters avoided her as if she carried a genetic mutation that they might catch if they breathed in the same air as she did.
A couple of cute human girls frowned and folded their arms as they waited to be helped with ski boots while the wolves ignored them.