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She was never happier to see Taylor at the back gate waiting for them. She let them in and ushered them through the sliding glass door and up into the bedroom without alerting Martina and Gavin. Or, at least, they hoped that was the case. Either way, as soon as Giselle was safely inside the bedroom, she shifted and turned on Di. “Who was that?”
Diana looked equally clueless, but no less shaken than Giselle. “No clue. Never smelled them before.”
Taylor was eager to get in on the action, “You found someone? Spill it!”
Giselle picked up her pj’s and pulled on the pants. “Yeah, we found someone all right. Someone new.” She tossed her shirt over her head and pulled it down. “That could be good news?” she said, hoping the newcomer could take blame for the cousin’s disappearance.
Diana didn’t look so convinced. “Or really bad news. That was in our territory.” She pulled her clothes on as well, nearly ripping her shirt with the speed she was dressing. “Granted, just on the edge of our territory, but in our normal run area.”
“Maybe it was the cousin that went missing? We should have tried to talk.”
“Um, hello! He was going to kill us.”
“We might have spooked him?” Giselle was grasping for a feasible reason, but knew deep down that running had been their only real option. Two young girls against a feral wolf; odds were not in their favor.”
“That kind of thinking gets lone wolves killed. He could have had backup nearby. He could have had a whole pack. You don’t approach a strange wolf unless you have your pack ready.”
“Okay, so next time we all go.” She hadn’t really meant it, but didn’t want to give Di the benefit of having the last word.
“Or maybe we mention this to Martina. Look. It’s one thing to say we want to go find clues. It’s an entire other to find a stranger waiting in our back yard.” Di’s domineering tone had returned.
“You’re over-reacting. That wasn’t our back yard.”
“Close enough, damn to it!” Di said. “We’re warning Martina.”
“And how do we explain why we were out?”
“Easy. I tell them you wanted to run away, and we stopped you.”
Giselle’s jaw dropped. Dumbstruck, she wasn’t sure how to respond. Di was clearly throwing her under the bus, but for a cover up story. A damn good one too, if it worked. But she’d be in deep trouble.
“Fine. I’ll take the heat.”
Di screwed up her face. “Wait. What?”
“Do it,” Giselle said.
Di eyed her curiously as if wondering whether she should call Giselle’s bluff or not. After a silent few moments between them, she shouted, “Martina!” and then took off down the hallway, heading for the stairs.
“Didn’t actually think she’d do it.” Giselle tossed a wayward glance at Taylor.
“You don’t know Di very well,” Taylor laughed. “Best get down there. Who knows what story she’s spinning.”
The girls tore down the stairs and found a very angry looking Martina there to greet them in the kitchen.
“Giselle...” Martina said, clearly disappointed. She stood eerily still, in her bathrobe and slippers, looking as if Di had not only thrown her under the bus but woken Martina from a sound sleep in the process. No one every handled news well when they first woke up. Giselle needed something, anything, to appeal to Martina’s mothering side, and quick.
“Before you start, I know. I should have talked with you more about what was going on. But let’s save the lecture for later. We have bigger issues to deal with.”
“You think you’re getting out of this easy, huh?” Martina’s hands on her hips and crazy eyes said more than her words about just how much trouble she was in. “You just wait until I tell Gavin about this. We’re all going to have a family meeting about this in the morning. And you can bet our full moon festivities are canceled.”
That had the girls collectively groaning in disappointment. Now it wasn’t just Martina but the girls who were angry at Giselle. She wanted to explain her reasons... her need to go out and search for clues, but talking about it would only distort the facts. Which she really didn’t have – only hearsay between the two families. Stupid fighting. Just pointless. And all she’d wanted was a damn family to call her own. Part of her, a small part, wished she’d never met Asher. If he hadn’t said anything, she’d have happily gone along with becoming a pack member. But no. He had to go burst her bubble with pack politics. Maybe he was right all along. Maybe she should just run away. She’d been a lone wolf all this time. Might as well make it a lifestyle. Anything was better than the deadly glares she was getting from everyone in the small kitchen.
“Is no one concerned about the lone wolf that attacked us?” Giselle asked.
“Wait one second. You met another wolf?” Martina’s anger ebbed, but just slightly.
“Met, not so much. Chased by. Hunted down. Near mauled by... take your pick. He meant business.”
Martina pulled Giselle into an unexpected bear hug. “You. Don’t you ever run off like that again!”
“Not the reaction I was expecting.”
“Just happy you’re alive. All of you.” She pulled the other girls into the hug, and Giselle thought she might faint from the air being squeezed from her lungs. “You don’t go running without me. You hear?”
“We were in our own territory,” Di said.
“Doesn’t matter. You’re pups.”
“Hey!” Taylor said in mock annoyance.
Martina let them all go. “You are. Until you’re of age and married off, you’re pups, and you can be picked off by lone wolves.” She shot a wary eye at Giselle. “Lone wolves don’t respect boundaries. Or rules. Even Thrace wouldn’t attack a pup, and he’s despicable.”
“So, you knew there were lone wolves around? How long have they been out there?” Giselle asked.
“Honey, that’s the nature of a lone wolf. They come, they go. Who knows how long they’ve been there?”
“But you’d know if they were killing off pack members, or other wolves, right?” Giselle asked.
“Why are you so curious?”
“Well...” She wasn’t sure where to begin or how much she could get away with saying. “I would assume. If there was a lone wolf out there, you’d want to clear them off quickly... since they pose a risk for us. Unless maybe they were dangerous, and you were afraid of them.”
“Have you heard something?” Martina asked, and there was no mistaking the order in her voice.
Giselle shrugged casually. “Just that another pack has a missing wolf.”
“Talking to the Thrace boy, eh?” Martina looked unimpressed, and her hands returned to her hips with disappointment. “Rumor-mongers. The whole lot of them. Don’t you listen to a word that boy says.”
“That’s just it,” Giselle said. “He’s not spreading a rumor. He was concerned for his missing pack member.”
“Sure he was. And I’ll bet he said it was my doing?”
Giselle paused, not wanting to tell the truth, but not really knowing how to answer without giving away all she really knew. Martina looked ready to run out and murder the whole lot of Thrace wolves if she got the wrong message. Giselle’s voice waivered. “Uh...no. He just asked if I’d seen anything strange. Was concerned for everyone.”
“Concerned?” Martina snorted. “That’ll be the day.”
“No blame... really.”
“So you get the bright idea to go out there alone and look for a lone wolf yourself? Dragging my girls into the danger with you? What were you thinking?”
Her girls? Funny how Giselle was suddenly excluded from the family now that she’d shown part of her hand. “Sorry. Stupid idea. I thought...” Giselle fidgeted on the spot, wringing her hands and looking sadly at the ground. “Maybe I would find another loner, like me. You know. Someone who doesn’t have family.” She might have overplayed it a bit, but she saw her words strike a chord with Martina. The anger faded just slightly from her eyes, replaced with something resembling... guilt, maybe.
“You have a family, if you choose one. You know that. We offered that to you.”
“And I’m still wrapping my head around it. I guess that’s why I wanted to find the lone wolf. Maybe see why they chose to remain that way. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to try. Everything is so confusing.” Even the girls looked like they were buying it. Watery eyes all around the room, everyone focused on Giselle as she gave her sob story cover up.
“Confusion is no excuse for putting yourself in danger. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Martina. I’m sorry.”
Another bear hug confirmed she was out of trouble for the moment. And the thumbs up from Taylor behind Martina’s back was almost as good as a standing ovation for her performance.
“Listen. Yes, from time to time there is a loner out there. We deal with them when we have to. Don’t go running at night without myself or Gavin, and you’ll be fine. But, even with that in mind, I don’t want you going out again without telling me. No sneaking around. We’re more than family here. We’re pack, and I’m your Alpha. Understand? Giselle, you too... unofficial or not.”
“Yes, Martina,” the girls answered back in unison.
“Good. Now get to bed before you wake Gavin and get another earful!”