Alex rose from the couch, too, the look on his face as he studied Cassie one of admiration and a little longing.
Leidolf pulled Cassie close again. She distinctly got the impression he wanted her to leave the situation well enough alone. But the more Cassie thought of the wolf in the zoo, the more she wanted to free her. Not here where there were no red wolves, but why couldn't she live in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina where other red wolves had been reintroduced and now lived in family packs?
She wasn't sure if Big Red could handle being out in the wilderness with a bunch of wild wolves, but she hated to leave him alone in the zoo. Besides, just the way Thompson talked about Big Red, the man sounded concerned that the male wolf would be left alone if they didn't steal him also. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part.
"Was Big Red originally a wild wolf or bred in captivity?" Cassie asked.
Thompson's brows shot up, and a small smile touched his lips as if he knew she'd ask and he knew just why, too. "Wild, brought in a year ago, shortly before Rosa was captured."
Good. He would most likely adjust back to living in the wild.
"If you're through," Leidolf said, motioning for Thompson and Alex to leave.
"Thank you for your time," Thompson said curtly. When he and Alex headed for the front door as Leidolf walked with Cassie to see their guests off, they heard Felicity's wolf pups whining and woofing.
Hell.
Immediately, Thompson switched direction and headed down the hall toward the guest bedroom she was staying in while Leidolf stalked after him. "You can't go down there."
"I hear... pups, damn it. How could you have stolen the wolf and her pups that quickly?" Thompson glanced over his shoulder at Leidolf, while Alex hurried after them.
"This is private property, and you can't disturb a mother and her newborns."
Thompson laughed. "Newborns? Right." He jerked open the door to the bedroom where Felicity was staying and stood stock-still in the entryway to the room. Cassie peeked around Leidolf, hoping Felicity and her litter had enough time to shape-shift. With one baby suckling on each breast, Felicity looked tired and annoyed at the interruption.
Harvey held a baby in each arm and scowled. "Who the hell are you? Get the hell out of our bedroom."
"I... I thought I..." Thompson's face was crimson. "Sorry, my mistake." He pulled the door shut and faced a furious Leidolf.
"Should I call the police about an invasion of privacy, or can we settle this right here?" Leidolf asked.
Thompson glanced back at the door. "I could have sworn..." He shook his head and looked at Alex for confirmation, but the wolf biologist looked just as shocked. "Just remember what I said about the surveillance and alarms. They'll be up by tomorrow morning after what happened there tonight," Thompson warned. He gave Cassie a stern look, and she swore he was telling her to take the wolves before she lost the chance to free them.
She smiled. "It's good the wolves have an advocate in you." She took his arm and walked him down the hall, ignoring the way her mate looked like he was about to have a conniption. "I hope you catch that cougar. If you need any help in catching him, I'm sure Leidolf or his ranch hands would be happy to help."
Thompson paused at the front door. "No room for cougars here, too, eh?"
"You know how it is. Dog and cat fights." She shrugged.
"You know, Cassie, you sure remind me of Bella Wilder. You're not related to her, are you?"
"Never know. You just never know."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." He glanced back at Leidolf. "Thanks for your time. I'll let you know if I learn anything about the cougar."
But Alex finally broke his silence. "Cassie, are you looking for wolves anytime soon?"
"Soon, yes. If you didn't know, Leidolf and I got married."
"Already? It wasn't supposed to be--"
"We couldn't wait," Leidolf said, pulling Cassie into his hard embrace, protecting her from the outsider.
Another strange hint of recognition flashed across Thompson's face. As if it was deja vu. Someone else, Bella and Devlyn maybe, had acted in a similar manner and made Thompson see the similarity.
"Good-bye, Alex, Mr. Thompson," Cassie said.
"Remember what I said about the security." Thompson headed out the door as Alex gave Cassie one last look of longing.
Fergus hurried to shut the door, while several others joined them.
"Everything all right?" Elgin asked, wearing a worried frown.
"Everything's fine." Leidolf said to Cassie, "We can't free her. She and her pups are safe where they are."
Leidolf slipped his arm around his waist, while Cassie's thoughts switched to just how they could steal her away.
"What if we--" Quincy started to say.
Leidolf's glower shut him up.
Pierce shoved his hands in his pockets, looking like he wanted to offer a piece of advice but thought better of it.
Elgin appeared uneasy. Cassie thought it might be because he figured this could cause a big rift between her and Leidolf. He was right.
She began to pull away. Leidolf tightened his hold around her waist. "It's late."
She wasn't in the mood.
Laney folded her arms and looked crossly at Leidolf.
If Cassie hadn't been so irritated with him, she would have smiled to see his people's reactions. At least she had their vote of confidence.
"She doesn't belong in the zoo. You know it, and I know it," Cassie said to Leidolf.
"Even if you remove her and take her somewhere that red wolves are, she might not be accepted. She needs a mate and territory of her own."
"Just what I was thinking."
Leidolf let out his breath. "Cassie, if you're thinking of Big Red..."
"I am."
"They need time to get to know each other."
"Here. With all our other red wolves." She gave him a quick smile.
He shook his head. "I just got you out of the zoo. And now you want to go back? They'll be waiting for you, Cassie, and then I'll have to find a way to get you out of jail."
"That sheriff was a friend of yours, wasn't he? You can get him to let me out."
Leidolf ran his hand down her arm, then took her hand and squeezed. "I take it we're not going to get any sleep tonight until we try this crazy scheme of yours."
She took a deep breath. "It's my life work to study wolves. She doesn't belong there. They breed many of the animals in captivity to keep the zoo's exhibits full, and the animals never know anything else but a life of captivity. She's feral, not the same thing."
"All right, Cassie Roux, little wolf biologist. You are bound to get us into a whole lot of hot water, but what the hell." He looked at Elgin. "You're in charge while I'm... we're gone."
Elgin frowned. "You can't go alone."
"Pierce and Quincy can come along," Leidolf said.
Sarge looked hopeful, but Leidolf shook his head at him. "When you learn to behave, and I don't mean taking my mate hostage when she slips away in my Jag, then you can go on missions like this."
Cassie bit her tongue. She thought maybe Sarge would finally fit in if he could do something positive. Even if in doing so, it was something illegal. Probably the reason he wanted to go along in the first place. But she'd finally gotten Leidolf's okay, and she didn't want to go against his ruling on this. Choose your battles wisely rattled around in her brain.
"I'll join you," Fergus said.
"All right. That makes five of us. Let's go, because I want to get some sleep tonight." He gave Cassie one of his devilish winks that said he didn't intend to sleep in the least, and she'd better damn well make this up to him.
She was totally ready to, but after they completed their mission.
Chapter 27
When Cassie and her team of she-wolf rescuers arrived in the dark outside the second fence barrier to the wolves' exhibit three hours later, she felt both excitement and apprehension. It hadn't been that long ago that she and Leidolf were escaping the place and now, all dressed in black, the five of them--Fergus, Quincy, Pierce, Leidolf, and she--made a motley group.
Everything was so quiet that she suspected a trap. Fergus, Pierce, and Quincy were ready with cages for the wolves, one for each of the adults and one for the pups, while Leidolf was getting ready to cut the wire on one of the fences.
"Wait," Thompson shouted, coming out from behind the wolves' building with Joe trailing behind. "I'll make this easy for you."
Leidolf moved Cassie behind him. "Go, Cassie. Go home. I'll deal with this. Fergus, go with her."
"No, I'm staying with you. I'm just as guilty, and I'm staying with my mate," she said.
Thompson stood at the first fence and took a deep breath. "I knew you'd try to steal her. You'll move her and the pups and Big Red to your ranch first, and then where to?"
Dumbfounded, Cassie stared at him.
"We don't have long. The security team will be here in an hour or so," Thompson warned. "They called and said they're coming early because of other priority jobs they have to complete due to thefts."
Leidolf gave him a wry smile. "You're serious."
"What the hell?" Thompson said, his hands spread, palms up. "You're going to steal them anyway. Might as well do it right. And safely for all concerned. But I want Big Red to go with the family. And I don't want them released out there where hunters might take potshots at them."
"No. We'll move them when the pups are older. To a place where others of their kind live," Cassie said, as Thompson opened a secured gate.
They hurried to get the cages to the indoor enclosure where the she-wolf, her pups, and Big Red were staying. Everyone helped to get the wolves into the cages as quickly as possible.