Cassie suddenly shrank away from Leidolf and even groaned. He glanced down at her. "Are you all right?"
She looked a little pale.
"Cassie?"
What else could go wrong tonight? Cassie didn't even want to pose such a question in her head for fear she'd get an answer she didn't like. The Forest Club was the most interesting eatery she'd been to in a very long time, and if she hadn't been worried about Leidolf and his people discovering what she was, she would have loved it. The problem was the place was filled with his... well, their kind.
She took a deep, fortifying breath. Okay, she could do this. She was used to pretending to her colleagues that she was only a human wolf biologist. She could pretend she was a human wolf biologist to this crowd of werewolves. As long as the hunter spray didn't give out on her. Or she didn't give herself away in some other manner.
Leidolf guided her to a secluded booth that formed their own little forest hideaway. The only other tables nearby were empty.
She could do this.
Thankfully, Leidolf escorted her to one side of the booth and then sat opposite her, like the perfect gentleman. She supposed he was looking for a little nighttime diversion. He must not be mated.
"Like it?" he asked, handing her a menu already placed on the table against a tree trunk.
She finally gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks. I love it. Feels like home. Except for the music." She motioned in the direction of the beat.
He smiled broadly back, looking relieved she'd changed her tune. "Maybe you'd like to dance later."
"Uhm, no. Thanks. Don't dance." She quickly looked at the menu and fought the blush that rose to her cheeks.
"Ever?" He sounded disappointed.
She gave him a quick smile meant to appease but faked to high heaven. "Sorry, never."
"I can teach you--"
"No."
He watched her. She didn't have to look up to know he was studying her, trying to figure her out.
"You're not a hard-shell Baptist, no drinking, no dancing, are you?"
She smiled, only this time it was for real. "No. I'll have the..." She frowned as she studied the menu. "Forest Urchin Special."
"A vegetarian's dish."
She nodded. "Red meat's not good for you, you know." She figured that would throw him off track if he had any inkling she was a wolf, although she was dying to have the chicken or beef added for substance. A little bit of meat would give her more energy to sustain her for longer. And she'd need it for her trek through the woods tonight. As soon as she could have her truck in working order and leave.
"I'll have the roast tenderloin." He closed up the menu and motioned to one of the waiters, who hurried to bring them glasses of water.
The man had been staying clear of them, trying to give them privacy, Cassie thought, as she'd seen him attempting not to be noticed but glancing often in their direction. Probably all Leidolf's pack members were dying to know where this would lead. Which most likely meant Leidolf was their pack leader. Great. Just great.
All of a sudden, Alex stalked into the club, spied her in their little hidden part of the forest, smiled, and headed for one of the empty booths across from them. She wondered how he'd found her this time. Must have followed them from a distance.
The waiter glanced in Alex's direction, but after Leidolf ordered for them, he cast the waiter a look, turned his head toward Alex, and then gave a very subtle nod to the waiter.
She knew what it meant. Alex was encroaching on Leidolf's territory. Even if Leidolf only wanted to be with her for one evening, he wasn't about to let Alex interfere. The waiter smiled at Cassie in a knowing way and then hurried to speak to Alex.
He spoke low, but with her enhanced wolf hearing, she overheard him say, "I'm sorry, sir. These two tables are reserved. And the rest of the place has been booked until closing. Perhaps you'd like to make reservations to dine here another night."
Leidolf hadn't had to make reservations. And she predicted no one would sit in the tables across from them while she and Leidolf remained here tonight.
Leidolf opened the wine menu. "Want a glass of wine?"
"Uh, no, thanks." She sure didn't need to drink before she started her long trek later tonight, trying to hunt the wolf down.
He closed the menu. "All right. So, where did you see the wolf?"
Leidolf couldn't figure out Cassie's mixed messages. One minute, she seemed resigned--like when she agreed to eat with him. She was skittish again when she entered the club and then panicky when he mentioned the wolf.
He knew for sure she'd seen one, then. But where? And was it one of his reds? Or was it a plain, old gray wolf, nothing to really worry about?
He waited for her to answer his query: where had she seen the wolf? She hesitated, took a sip of water, and glanced over at their waiter, George, as he brought their meals. She smiled at him and placed the napkin on her lap, totally ignoring Leidolf's question.
As soon as George put the food down, asked if they needed anything else, and then hurried off, she eyed Leidolf's tenderloin. If he hadn't thought she was a vegetarian because of the dish she'd ordered and because of her comment about red meat not being good for him, he would have sworn she wanted some of his roast.
He cut up a portion of it, slid his plate over, and smiled. "Won't kill you. I promise."
Her gaze switched from him to his meat again, and she began to shake her head and decline, but he insisted. She wanted it. Probably concerned about her figure. She had nothing to worry about in that regard from what he could tell.
"Go ahead, Cassie."
She looked up at him. "You said you hadn't eaten and you're hungry."
He chuckled. "Pass over some of your rabbit food. We can share."
Still, she hesitated.
He eyed her mushrooms sauteed in a spicy sauce along with spinach and broccoli, carrots, and potatoes. "Looks a lot better than my plain old baked potato."
She twisted her mouth a little and considered his tenderloin again. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. We can always get more if we want."
He didn't know why it pleased him so much, but he wanted her to like this place as much as he did. He wanted her to enjoy her meal as much as he would, and he really wished she'd dance with him. Maybe it would make up for the way some bastard had given her so much trouble in the form of two flat tires, or the way Hollis had interrupted her when she was lecturing about the wolves. Or the annoyance she had felt about Alex following her around. Maybe it had to do with how much she truly loved wolves.
She seemed to enjoy the meat like he did, almost as much as he enjoyed watching her savor every bite of the tenderloin. As if it was her first good meal in ages and would be the last for even longer.
"Are you sure you don't want a glass of wine?" he asked.
She shook her head no and sighed deeply. "Thank you for bringing me here. I'll never forget it."
He could tell she meant it, but a tinge of regret slipped into her words. Which made him hopeful she'd want to stay with him longer. Dinner, drinks, and then an intimate tryst with a human woman was the usual fare for him when he felt the need and found a woman who wished it as much as he did. Except he hadn't felt the need since taking over the pack several months ago. Not with any other woman.
He really wanted to be with Cassie for the night, although he felt her pulling away again. Since she was human and he couldn't develop a long-lasting relationship with her, it shouldn't have bothered him that she was leaving soon, but strangely it did.
"You said you slept with the wolves. Didn't this domesticate them somewhat? I thought wolf biologists didn't interact much with the wolves they studied for fear the wolves wouldn't be afraid of man anymore. Which could put them in a world of hurt if hunters came across them."
She shrugged. "We study them to help educate people about the wolves' true natures. They're wary of humans until those of us who study them show we're not to be feared."
Leidolf raised his brows. "I see. I was curious about your calling to wolves. I've never heard of someone howling so that a wolf would understand." A human anyway. He hadn't ever met a wolf biologist before, so what she really did was still a mystery in part.
"That would be understandable since you're a rancher and I doubt you'd be running around with a pack of wolves." She almost seemed to smile at the mention. Almost.
He sat back in his chair and smiled at her. If only she knew. "I'd love to hear you howl. You should have done so for the teens. They would have gotten a kick out of it."
"I don't normally demonstrate for human audiences. I really don't think that Mr. Hollis would have appreciated it. I don't believe some of the other men in the audience would have, either. If you'd like to experience such a thing, they have howling outings for people at the International Wolf Center near Ely, Minnesota. Or howl-ins at Wolf Haven International where they take in captive-born wolves or Wolf Park where they have howl night programs."
"Really," he said, with surprise. "So I take it you've been there?"
"Of course. Wolves everywhere and anywhere interest me." She motioned to the treed booths. "You and I are in a restaurant with civilized folk. I'm sure no one would appreciate it if I suddenly let out a howl."
He motioned to the forest surrounding them. "We're in the woods."
"What if I attract a bunch of wolves?" She lifted her water glass, and her lips curved up slightly.
"I'll assure them that you're with me," he said.
The same amused expression lit her eyes, entrancing, mysterious, like looking into darkened green windows, a hint of something just beyond.
She shook her head. "I'm sure the management wouldn't like it."
"I'm friends with the management."
This time she smiled broadly.
"Come on. Just once." He really didn't believe she could manage a good howl, being human, although his own kind could. He was curious how she'd sound.