Chapter Eight
Lachlan
By the end of the evening, I was convinced there was definitely something wrong in the MacArthur pack. Though Darrell never said or did anything the least bit aggressive, the pack members were beaten down. There was no other way to describe it. The she-wolves scrambled to make sure that their alpha’s every need was attended to, even before he had a chance to ask.
The males weren’t much better.
No, it was only Darrell’s deputies that seemed normal, but even that was suspicious.
It had taken several hours, but the pack members had finally begun to thaw toward Chloe. Even then, it only began after a she-wolf approached her. The female looked to be in her forties, which meant she was likely over two hundred years old. Maybe more. Our kind aged slowly, decades could pass and it would appear as though we had just aged by a few years.
“Chloe MacArthur, it has been too long,” she greeted, pulling Chloe into a hug. “How are you, child?”
“I’m fine, Miss Emma,” she replied, hugging the woman in return. “How are you?”
“Feeling every one of my years,” the she-wolf answered as she released her from the hug.
For the first time since we arrived at the barbeque, Chloe smiled and genuinely meant it. “Come on, I want you to meet my friend, Lachlan.”
She turned toward me, holding Miss Emma’s hand. “Lach, this is Emma Copeland. She’s a teacher at the elementary school here and one of the best she-wolves I know.”
I held out my hand, happy to meet someone who could make Chloe smile like that. “Hi, Mrs. Copeland. It’s nice to meet you.”
The older wolf took my hand and just held it rather than shaking it. “Call me Emma.” She paused. “You look just like your father, Ian,” she stated, her eyes misting over. “I know you don’t remember me. The last time I saw you, you were just a pup, barely out of diapers.”
“You knew my father?” I asked, ignoring the fact that she used my first name. A name I’d hated all my life.
She nodded. “He was a good man, a fierce wolf, and one of the best alpha’s I’ve ever met.”
“Thank you.”
“From what I hear, you’re just like him.”
I shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with the comparison. For years, my father was the yardstick I’d measured all my accomplishments against. “Thank you, ma’am.”
She smiled at me and smoothly changed the subject. “So I hear you’re my little Chloe’s mate. I also hear you’ve already mucked it up.”
“Uh, well, you see, Miss Emma—”
Before I could formulate an intelligent response, the she-wolf laughed and turned back to Chloe. “Good for you, girl. Don’t let him get away with anything this early on or he’ll try to walk all over you for the rest of your lives.”
Chloe arched a brow at me. “That’s excellent advice, Miss Emma.”
The older she-wolf laughed as she took in the two of us. “Y’all make a lovely couple. I’m so glad I got a chance to see it.” She laced her arm through Chloe’s and looked up at me. “Why don’t you go get us something to drink, Ian, and give me a chance to catch up with Chloe?”
I sensed that she wanted to talk to Chloe privately, so I did as she asked. I took my time, giving them a chance to discuss whatever it was Miss Emma had on her mind.
When I returned, they both looked a little upset, but their conversation seemed to be finished.
We talked for a while until Miss Emma’s mate, Tom, came over. After introductions and some catching up, Tom told Emma he was ready to leave.
“I’m ready to go myself,” I murmured to Chloe. I’d been on edge the entire time we were at the barbeque and it was beginning to take its toll. There was a dull ache behind my eyes and fatigue dragged at my body. I hadn’t spent this much time around a group of wolves in months.
“Me, too,” she agreed.
We said our good-byes to Darrell and his son, Carter, before walking toward the parking lot. I wasn’t sure why, but I wanted to reach for her hand again. I suppressed the impulse and kept pace with her, my eyes sweeping the dark cars and shadows for threats. From the moment we entered the park, I felt unease prickling the back of my neck. It wasn’t just from the way the pack reacted to their leader. It was something more sinister, but the reason eluded me.
“I’m driving,” Chloe stated firmly as she skirted around the hood of my truck.
“It’s my truck,” I argued, even though my heart wasn’t in it.
She held her hand out for the keys. “But I know the area and it’s dark. It’s better if I drive.”
Since the ache in my head was rapidly becoming a harsh throb, I let it go and dug my keys out of my pocket. When I climbed into the passenger seat, I noticed a slip of paper in Chloe’s hand.
“What’s that?”
“It was in the driver’s seat,” she answered in a low voice, unfolding the note.
I leaned over and read over her shoulder.
They know why you’re here. Be careful.
Without speaking, Chloe gave me the paper and started the truck. I read the words again, unsure of the motivation behind them. They could be a promise of future violence or a heads up to watch our backs.
I waited until we were on the road, away from the park, before I spoke again.
“Do you think this is a warning or a threat?” I asked her.
She kept her eyes on the road in front of us when she answered. “I think it’s a warning from whoever contacted my grandmother.”
“I’m not so sure.”
My reaction caused her to glance at me. “Why do you say that?”
“My truck was locked. They got the note inside without setting off the alarm. It seems to me as if that’s their way of saying, we know why you’re here and we can get to you anytime we want.”
Chloe nodded. “That’s a good point. Either way, we need to be careful.”
“Who are they? Darrell? His officers?”
“Probably,” she replied.
I lifted the paper to my nose, inhaling deeply. All I smelled was Chloe and lavender so strong it made me sneeze. Whoever wrote this note was covering their scent.
“Bless you,” Chloe said. “What are you doing anyway?”
“I’m trying to see if whoever wrote this left their scent, but all I can smell is you and lavender.” My nose twitched again and I lowered the page, fighting the urge to sneeze. “A lot of damn lavender. Did you recognize the handwriting?”
She frowned and shook her head. “No, I didn’t. So the messenger didn’t want to be identified. I guess that makes sense. If I was actually working for Darrell, I would probably take the note straight to him.”
“What’s with him, anyway?” I asked. “He seems nice enough, but his pack is terrified of him.”
“I know,” Chloe stated, her hands tightening on the steering wheel until the leather creaked. “I don’t like it. I’ve known Darrell since I was a pup and he was always just…Darrell. He would give me piggyback rides and sometimes he even shifted and let me play fetch when I was little. What I saw at the barbeque today doesn’t fit in with my memory of him. There is no reason his wolves should be so afraid of him unless he’s doing something heinous to them.”
“Do you think he had anything to do with the death of your parents?” I asked.
She was silent for so long that I thought she wouldn’t answer. Finally, she spoke, her voice low and vibrating with anger. “I didn’t before but now I’m not so sure. I intend to find out. If he did, then I’m going to kill him.”
Chloe turned down the dirt road that led to the secluded cabin, the truck bumping along the rough terrain. I had to give her credit though, she was as careful with my vehicle as I was.
“Stay in the truck and let me look around before you get out,” I stated, unbuckling my seat belt.
The look she gave me should have singed off all my hair. “I don’t think so, Lach.”
“Chloe, I’m telling—”
Her seatbelt clicked then her face was suddenly just an inch away. “Listen to me good, Ian Lachlan, because this will be the first and last time we have this conversation. You and I both know that I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I was the fucking enforcer of the last two packs I joined, which means I had to kick a lot of ass. We also both know that I am the better fighter of the two of us. Added to that, you aren’t back to your full strength and it’s unlikely you will be anytime soon because you barely ate a damn thing at the barbeque tonight. You and I will get out of this truck together and check the property together. Have I made myself clear?”
Though her aggressive behavior pissed off the wolf within me, I still found myself biting back a smile. Calder would have been laughing by now, not at her anger, but at me for thinking that she needed my protection. More than once he’d said he was glad Chloe didn’t want to be the alpha of the MacIntire pack. He knew he couldn’t take her in a fight. He might hold his own, even get in a few good licks, but in the end she would rip him to shreds and smile while she did it.
“You’re right, we should do this together,” I conceded.
Her brows lifted in surprise and she leaned back in the driver’s seat. “You’re not going to argue?”
“Hell, no. I don’t know what I was thinking. In fact, now that you’ve pointed all that out to me, I think I’ll stay in the truck and let you go look around by yourself.”
The anger disappeared from her face and her hazel eyes sparkled in the shadowed cab. In the dim moonlight, I saw the corner of her mouth tug up. “Okay then. I’m glad you see reason.”
When she reached for the door handle, my hand whipped out quickly, grabbing her right wrist and jerking her back over into my space, though not as close as she’d been before.
“Just one thing,” I said. “If I do or say something that you don’t like, do not get in my face like that again. You can talk to me with respect or not at all.”
I expected her to get mad and tell me to go fuck myself. Instead she studied me for a moment, an enigmatic expression on her face. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I let the stress of the situation get the best of me, but it won’t happen again.”
I blinked at her for a second, confused. At her gentle tug against my grip, I released her hand.
“Are you ready to get out?” she asked, her face unreadable.
I didn’t get the sense that she was angry, or even hurt. All I saw was acceptance.
“Yeah. I’m ready.”
With that, we both opened our doors and stepped out into the night.