Read on for an excerpt of book 2 in Terry Spear’s Billionaire Wolf series
Coming soon from Sourcebooks Casablanca
Gray wolf Dr. Aidan Denali stared at the blood sample under the microscope and the notes scribbled on paper nearby. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with this. Not without new wolves to test. As much as it killed him to do so, he was giving up on his research on finding the cure for the lupus garou longevity issues before the Christmas holiday. Maybe his twin brother, Rafe, was right, though Aidan hated to admit it. Maybe joining Rafe and his family early would give Aidan the break he needed, and he might even have some new insight into what was going on for their kind. He could even bounce ideas off his brother and Rafe’s mate, Jade. Yet it wasn’t like Aidan to consider leaving his research behind for that much time. Not until Jade and her son, Toby, came into their lives. That had made them even more of a family, and he enjoyed the change in dynamics.
Still, Aidan couldn’t help but worry that he was going to fail in his mission when so many people were counting on him. Why couldn’t he be more like Rafe? Rafe was successful in all the money deals he’d made. Finding Jade was another success he’d racked up. Not that Aidan envied him for it. He just wished all the time he spent on his work resulted in some headway. As to the matter of the wolves… Well, he had to get out of his lab to pursue female interests. And then what happened? His date invariably would ask about his work and if he was getting anywhere with it. He’d say no and explain the reasons, and then he’d be back to thinking about the issue and forget all about the she-wolf.
Frustrated with his lack of progress in his research, Aidan put away his notes and locked up the lab. When he made his way to the living room of his home, he saw Ted Gallagher, one of his bodyguards, raising his brows in question. Ted was an even-tempered, muscular redhead who could take down the meanest of wolves.
Yeah, Aidan normally never left his lab at this hour. He was known to be a bit obsessed and a workaholic. “I’m going to the chalet earlier than planned.”
“Hell, Doc, that’s good news. I mean, I guess, if you’re not bursting at the seams with news of a cure.”
Aidan understood what Ted meant. “I can work on it at the chalet, if I’m not too busy playing with Toby and visiting with my brother and Jade.”
As soon as Aidan spoke the words, Ted got a call. “Uh, yeah, this is Dr. Denali’s personal assistant.” Ted eyed Aidan, waiting to see if he wanted to take the call.
Aidan had told both of his bodyguards to say that if they had to explain who they were. They took his calls while he was in the lab and wouldn’t interrupt him unless it was important.
His other bodyguard, Mike Stallings, joined them.
“Sure, just a minute.” Ted covered the phone’s mouthpiece. “Everett Johnston is calling from the gray wolf pack in Bigfork, Montana. He was originally with the Seattle pack.”
Aidan perked up. Anything to do with the Seattle pack interested him, since it was the only wolf pack he’d located that hadn’t agreed to allow him to test their blood. “Let me speak with him.”
Ted handed the phone over.
“This is Aidan Denali. How may I help you?”
“Hey, Doc, this is Everett Johnston. You checked my blood when you came out to Montana. You tested my mom’s and sister’s too. But Dr. Holly Gray, who is with the Seattle pack, called my sister, Tara, and told her she was worried about a pack member who had been banished. He’s currently living in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Holly and my sister are friends. They were just talking about him and how Holly keeps searching for him when she can, but she hasn’t been able to locate him. I thought, since you have a cabin in the Wilderness, if you could find him, maybe he’d give you a blood sample.” Everett cleared his throat. “What I was really hoping is that if you can find him, you could bring him here to live with the Montana pack. I’ve talked with our pack leaders, and they said they’d be willing to take him in. He’s a good guy, and he needs a home with a pack.”
Aidan opened his mouth to say he’d be glad to, but Everett continued to talk, sounding worried he might not be able to convince Aidan to look for the lone wolf.
“We know the Seattle pack has refused to allow you to sample their blood. Who knows? Nick Cornwall’s blood might give you a break in your research, if you haven’t had any success yet. I suspect that all you’d have to do is tell him the Seattle pack refuses to allow you to gather samples of their blood and he’d be agreeable.”
Thrilled with the prospect, that’s all Aidan needed. The call to action: offer Nick the opportunity to find a home among the wolf packs Aidan knew of, and he’d get him there—and possibly get a blood sample from him too.
“Why did Ronald Grayson banish him from his pack?” Foisting Nick off on a pack if he was a problem wolf could prove troublesome. Aidan wasn’t about to do that. He’d take him in and deal with him the best he could instead. Making sure the wolf was fine health-wise would need to be Aidan’s first priority. But getting a sample of his blood could be a boon.
“He wasn’t banished for any good reason. It really was a shame Ronald kicked him out of the pack. Poor guy lost his mate and was having a difficult time coping. Ronald said he was causing trouble for the pack. I can’t imagine anything being further from the truth. If you search for Nick, just be careful. Holly Gray says several members of the Seattle pack are staying at a group of cabins south of the peak and are running in the area this week. She’ll be looking for him again. Alone. There are grizzlies and wild wolves out there. She shouldn’t be by herself. Then again, maybe it would be best to avoid running into their pack and, if possible, go to Glacier Peak Wilderness after they’re gone. At one time, Ronald had declared the Wilderness as a free zone for other wolves to visit, but he could have changed his mind. He’s like that.”
Aidan couldn’t believe what a rotten ass Ronald was. “Thanks. I’m free at the moment, but I have a family gathering in a couple of weeks. I need to get this done now, if I’m going to do it before the holidays. I’ll try to locate Nick.”
“Good luck, Doc. I sure hope you find him. If you do, tell him he’s more than welcome to join our pack in Montana.”
“Will do. One other thing. Why is he living in the Wilderness? Why not just move out of Seattle and find a home someplace else?”
“He had to sell his home and sold off everything else. At least he’s retired and has an income, but he’s been so distraught over everything, he just left and is living out there for now. He probably doesn’t know where other packs are located. Even if he does, he might feel, with the stigma of being banished, that no one would take him in anyway. Not to mention he’s lived all his life in the Seattle area. He’s older and more set in his ways. Oh, and I asked Holly if there was a chance you could get the pack leader to change his mind and agree to give blood, but she said no.”
That would have been the best Christmas present ever. “Okay, thanks. I’ll let you know if I locate Nick and can convince him to allow me to fly him out there.”
Aidan ended the call and passed Ted’s phone back to him, feeling he had some direction in his research again. And hope.
Ted was frowning. “Must be a combination of good and bad news.”
Mike folded his arms across his chest. “Yeah, his intermittent frowns and an elusive smile say so.”
“Scratch my last comment about going to the chalet. We’re packing for a cold-weather camping trip. We’re going to the cabin near the Glacier Peak Wilderness. A lot of equipment is always there: snowshoes, climbing gear, cross-country skis, snow bikes, and I have a lab there. The Seattle pack is staying at the cabins south of there, but we need to locate a wolf they banished from the pack. And possibly convince him to fly with us to meet the Montana pack.”
“I’ll arrange for transportation,” Ted said.
“Actually, you don’t have to go with me,” Aidan said, heading for his bedroom to pack. He thought that if he ran into Dr. Holly Gray, her pack might not object as much to a lone wolf.
“Like hell we don’t.” Mike pulled out his phone. “You might just need us this time… Hey, Chet, we need a car dropped off at the private airport near Glacier Peak Wilderness… Just be on standby. If Doc says we need you for an additional guard detail, we’ll let you know. Thanks.” Mike turned to Aidan. “You sure we don’t need Holloway on this mission?”
“No, Hugh’s sister is due to have triplets any time, and he told his twin he’d be there for her. We don’t need three bodyguards.” Aidan didn’t think he’d need one.
The Wilderness area was vast, and locating the wolf probably would take much longer than the two weeks they had to search for him, unless Nick wanted them to find him. Aidan couldn’t envisage why Ronald had kicked the widowed wolf out of the pack. He couldn’t imagine anything worse than losing the comfort of other wolves during a time of deep sorrow. If Nick didn’t want to join the pack in Montana, Aidan was certain one of the other packs would be eager to take him in. Though the one in Montana could be a good start for him. Like Everett had said, they had taken in several females who had lost their mates. Who knew where that could lead? In any case, he would fly him to every location he knew until he found the pack Nick felt comfortable with.
As soon as the men had their bags packed and were gathered in the living room, Ted asked, “Do you think the guy will even want to talk with you?”
“If we’re lucky and can locate him.”
Ted grabbed a few bags and hauled them outside to load in the SUV.
Aidan went to gather anything else he might need from his lab. Every getaway place Rafe had purchased for their use had a room dedicated to Aidan’s research. Aidan loved his brother for knowing how important it was to him.
When he went outside, the guys were ready to load into the vehicle. “What about shopping for Christmas presents for your nephew? You said you were going to do that before you left, and there might not be much in the line of shopping out there,” Ted said.
“Yeah. Right.” Aidan pulled out his cell phone and looked for a shopping mall close to where they’d be staying. “We can drop by a mall on the way, pick up what we need, buy some groceries nearby too, and then drive to the cabin and settle in. Once we’ve done that, we can start doing a grid search of the area surrounding the volcano and see if Nick’s still there.”
“What about the Seattle pack?” Mike asked.
“Everett said his former pack considered it a free zone for wolves. We’ve never had any issues when we’ve stayed at the cabin before.”
“Were they in the vicinity at the time?” Ted asked. Ted and Mike had never been to the cabin before, Aidan realized.
“Maybe not.”
Mike snorted. “That pack hates outsider wolves. I bet you if we run into them in the Wilderness, there will be trouble.”
“Don’t give Doc any ideas. He’s liable to scrap with them just to get them to bleed on him so he can test it,” Ted joked.
Mike and Aidan laughed.
“Why haven’t I thought of that before?” Aidan smiled, but he was serious. It could work.
They drove to the private airport and loaded the plane with all their gear. A car was waiting for them when they landed in Washington. Aidan knew it was helpful to have a wealthy brother—all they had to do was call ahead to make arrangements for anything they needed and it was done.
At the mall, trees in the parking lot were decorated with white Christmas lights, and every parking spot was taken. They drove around and around and around, looking for a free spot, while other cars did the same. Then Aidan saw a sign for valet parking. “There. Valet parking. Go for it.”
Inside the mall, Aidan saw that Christmas lights sparkled all around the inside too. He never bothered to decorate his place. There was no need since he hadn’t planned to be there. Rafe had always gone all out for Christmas. He held a charity ball at his place every year right after Thanksgiving weekend. That was all the Christmas Aidan ever needed. Just a quiet gift-giving on Christmas morning, and then the brothers and their bachelor friends all did whatever they wanted. Flew off to another location, ran in the woods as wolves somewhere, fished, hiked, exercised in Rafe’s gym, partied—whatever they were in the mood for.
This was the first year Rafe had a mate and a son. It wouldn’t be quite the same. And Aidan was looking forward to it. Aidan could envision the tyke’s wide-eyed expression when he saw all the wrapped packages under the tree. It had been many years ago for them, and Christmases had been homespun affairs, everyone making something special for everyone else. He’d always thought fondly of his mother, who made such a big deal of loving a tea towel he had created for her when her favorite one had caught fire. She used that towel until she died. Rafe had made her a bread box, teasing him that sewing was for girls.
When Aidan had to stitch him up after a wolf fight, Rafe didn’t tease anymore.
As he and his bodyguards made their way shoulder to shoulder through the noise and confusion of the crowds, Aidan remembered just how much he didn’t like shopping. Aidan had ordered everything else for the family for Christmas, but he’d wanted to pick up some special things for his nephew and had waited too long to do it online. He hadn’t expected to see the mall this crowded but reminded himself it was Saturday and getting close to Christmas. He normally purchased most things online and would never go shopping at a mall for anything at this time of year.