She gave him a tight smile, but the attempt at a friendly response didn't reach her eyes. She hurried inside, her heels clicking on the wooden floor, and the conversation died to absolute silence. Leidolf took a seat in back where he could observe everyone. As attractive as the woman was, he'd have preferred watching her, the way she slid her hands gently over her notes, the way her full, glossy lips parted as she spoke, the sweet tone of her voice, even when she was worried about being late or annoyed that someone had ruined her tires.
He forced his gaze from her and glanced at several kids, who appeared to be high-school students, seated to one side of the room with pens and notepads in hand. Probably would receive some kind of special credit for coming here tonight. Even a couple of twin girls from his pack were in the audience, although pack members home schooled their own. Their father must have made them come. Alice and Sarah glanced back at Leidolf and smiled. He bowed his head in acknowledgment.
On the other side of the hall, he recognized most of the men, ranchers all of them. One man raised pygmy goats; six others, cattle like him; and the sheepherder. The man who really caught his attention was a blond who also garnered Cassie's. Her eyes widened, and she fussed over her notes, but she looked back at him as he grinned broadly. Someone she definitely knew but apparently wasn't overly happy to see. She didn't seem to be from the area. In fact, her bio said she was from California, and Leidolf didn't remember seeing either of them here before. So had the man followed her here?
Leidolf studied the man again. Tall, thin, wearing hiking boots, jeans, and a camouflage jacket. He looked like a hunter. Leidolf already didn't like him.
Pulling his cell phone out, Leidolf texted his second-in-command, Elgin, telling him which vehicle to have repaired, what needed to be accomplished, and to take his time in getting it done. And then Leidolf sat back to listen to the little lady's speech.
After she finished her talk, he meant to speak to her again and learn the truth. What kind of wolf had she seen, and where?
* * *
Cassie couldn't believe all of her rotten, bad luck. First, the idiot or idiots had to ruin not one, but two of her tires. Then the absolute hunk who comes to rescue her was one of her kind. How could she get so lucky? And to top all that off? Fellow wolf biologist Alex Wellington had to track her down again. What was his problem? What part of I work alone did he not get? Not that he wasn't cute or good at his job, but sometimes she liked to shift while she was working, and she sure as hell didn't want him studying her as one of his wolf projects.
Avoiding looking at Leidolf, his handsome features rugged, his eyes penetrating and insightful, she knew he could be even worse trouble for her. She'd been so upset about the tires and being late to the lecture that when he gave his name, it hadn't registered at first. Leidolf was Norse for wolf descendant! And the last name, Wildhaven, was typical of a red lupus garou name.
The fact he said he was a rancher had also thrown her off. No way would she have thought a werewolf would be in the ranching business. Once she'd gotten a whiff of his lupus garou scent, she'd known the truth. She fought a smile. His comment about wolves, like dogs, being man's best friend, made sense. From a werewolf's standpoint, anyway.
She had barely begun to talk about wolves--their history and their future--when one of the men seated near the front said, "Sure, we used to kill 'em for money. The only good wolf is a dead wolf."
Wondering if the scruffy-looking, bearded man was the one who had taken care of her tires, she bit her tongue and clenched her teeth. Her gaze riveted on Leidolf. He was giving the man a look like he'd better watch what he said, and all of a sudden she realized something more about the werewolf in her midst.
He said he'd have one of his men see to her tires. She blinked. He couldn't be the pack leader here, could he? Or maybe he was a sub-leader. Not that it would make much difference, since he would report back to the head honcho that he had located a female red in their territory.
She groaned inwardly at her rotten luck.
"Mr. Hollis," Millie said, her voice pleading, breaking into Cassie's distressing ruminations. "Dr. Roux will take questions at the end of her lecture. For now, we'll just let her present her case." She smiled a little nervously and motioned for Cassie to begin again.
Cassie gave her a tight smile. She'd never had this many problems lecturing before and certainly had never expected to find a red wolf in the area. Once she had learned of the wolf, she felt it her duty to make the people aware that wolves were not a threat for the most part and that it was illegal to shoot them.
Alex nodded, as if approving her every word.
Leidolf was busy texting someone. Thankfully, he hadn't seemed to smell her scent. The hunter's spray had appeared to hide what she was from him. She still had worried that if he'd gotten too close, he might have detected she was a red werewolf like himself.
She continued with her speech, wanting to get this over with, while she normally loved pleading the wolves' case. She usually wasn't in a werewolf's territory, either. And that could mean trouble. Especially because she was an unmated red, and packs were always looking for unmated females.
She'd barely made it to page two of her notes when Mr. Hollis interrupted her again, his voice reproachful. "Last year a woman broke into the zoo and set a wolf free. Or at least that was the story the newspapers gave. Naked woman in zoo frees red wolf. So do you advocate freeing wolves from the zoo, too?"
Cassie set her papers aside. The man was referring to Bella Wilder, red werewolf, who had shifted while in captivity from her wolf form to her human form during the new moon. Unless the werewolf was a royal with very few human roots in its bloodline, like Cassie happened to be, it could not remain as a wolf or change into one during the new moon. Cassie couldn't imagine how terrifying that change had to have been for the woman.
Leidolf studied Cassie, his brows slightly raised, waiting to see how she would respond to the question. If only he'd known what she truly was and how she cherished the wolf kind as much as her own werewolf kind. Alex still wore his silly smile, cheering her on.
Attempting not to become antagonistic in response to Mr. Hollis's question, Cassie stood taller and maintained a cool but professional tone.
"The woman was the victim of a crime, Mr. Hollis. She was left naked in the wolves' pen, and the red wolf was stolen. She was never found guilty of the crime of aiding anyone to set the wolf free. And the red wolf was never found."
Mr. Hollis harrumphed and folded his arms across his broad chest. "You didn't answer my question, Doc. Do you believe the wolves in the zoo should be released into the wild? You said yourself that they don't have the same kind of life in the zoo as they do living in the wide, open spaces. You know"--he motioned to the other ranchers--"where they can kill our sheep and goats and cattle."
"Most animals in the zoo are born and bred there. So they're more suited to a zoo environment. Many haven't ever lived in the wild."
"So you're saying no, they shouldn't be released?" Mr. Hollis persisted.
"That's what she's saying," Alex said, as if he was talking to someone who was a little slow to understand.
While she appreciated that Alex stuck up for her, Cassie preferred to fight her own battles.
Mr. Hollis turned around and glowered at Alex. "She's the wolf expert here. If I want your opinion, Sonny, I'll ask for it. Otherwise, mind your own business."
Alex arched a brow and offered a little smile. He was almost as much of an expert on wolves as Cassie was, although being one part time, she did have the advantage. She was glad he kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything further.
A student raised his hand, and Hollis didn't say anything further while she answered the students' questions. Cassie was relieved to see most of the ranchers quit the place. Not Mr. Hollis. She hoped she didn't have to deal with him afterward. And Alex. How in the world was she going to lose him as she attempted to slip into the wilds to study the rare red in the woods?
Of course, Leidolf was the other major problem. He already suspected she'd seen a wolf. She frowned. It couldn't have been one of his people, could it? She sure hoped not. And now because of the tire situation, she was stuck dealing with him a little while longer. At least until she paid one of his men for repairing her tires and thanked him for the gesture. She definitely didn't want Leidolf learning she was one of his kind. The sooner she was as far away from him and any members of his pack as she could get, the better.
Another girl's hand shot up, and she proposed her question. Cassie loved educating students since they were more eager to learn than adults. But right now, she was ready to slip away before anything else went wrong tonight. And she was afraid it would--as soon as she tried to get away from Leidolf without telling him about the wolf she'd actually seen.
Chapter 2
As soon as Cassie finished responding to questions, Hollis moved in to harass her at the podium. Leidolf intercepted him, not intending to let him bother Cassie further, while the students gathered around her to ask about her chosen career field. Dividing Leidolf's attention, the blond guy also inched closer to get a word with Cassie.
The other ranchers shook their heads and left.
"What?" Hollis said to Leidolf as he blocked the sheepherder's path. "Don't tell me you love wolves, too. You raise cattle!"
"She's just an educator. That's all."
Hollis shifted his glower from Leidolf to Cassie. "She ought to be in some other kind of business, the way she looks. If she starts advocating that we allow Oregon to be a safe haven for wolves..." He gave Leidolf another scowl. "A lot of ranchers will turn into hunters, is all I got to say." He stalked out of the building.
Glad Hollis had left, Leidolf folded his arms and looked at Cassie. He was surprised how much she understood about wolves. She truly was an expert, knowing them inside and out. His admiration of her went even deeper. The love she had for them was what really struck him.
"Have you ever slept with real wolves?" a wide-eyed girl asked. "My German shepherd sleeps with me on campouts. Would the wolves you've studied in the wild let you get that close?"