“What’s this about?” Aspen Lowery asked, meeting him at the door of the clubhouse. He wasn’t hiding behind it. In fact, he didn’t appear to be afraid at all. That wasn’t who Aspen Lowery was. Grant couldn’t imagine how much of that massive pride he must have had to swallow to run away from a fight with the Dire Wolves. Especially when you considered that it was something he would only continue to have to do to preserve his pack.
“I’d like to talk to you,” Grant told him. “Alone.”
“About what?”
“Elizabeth,” he told him.
Aspen’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded toward what appeared to be the empty space behind Grant. Several silver wolves came forward and nudged him forcibly forward. He should have expected that there were guards lurking about, just not out in the open as they had been during the attack. It was a harsh lesson for the pack. One they wouldn’t soon forget.
“What do you know about my Mouse?” Aspen growled at him.
“Enough. I know she won’t be an only child for long. Can we talk inside?”
There were curious looks from the shifters beside him. Aspen showed no change in demeanor, but he was quick to wave them off, sending them back to the depths of the nearby forest from which they had emerged. Aspen patted him down personally and nodded for him to come inside.
Elizabeth stood in the hallway, looking terrified. He smiled at her and shook his head quietly to let her know that she had no worries from him. He wasn’t there to tell Aspen about them. He could hardly say anything about their meeting in the coffee shop and well, the origin of the information about Amanda’s pregnancy could be accounted for in other ways.
“Come to the kitchen with me,” Aspen told him, leading him through double doors alongside the large den. He got dirty looks from a handful of shifters present watching a football game as he crossed the floor and entered the kitchen behind Aspen. Even for an alpha wolf such as himself, Aspen Lowery was an intimidating figure. He was taller and broad shouldered, not someone you wanted to tangle with if you could avoid it. Grant watched as he leaned against one of the spotless stainless steel counters and sized him up. “What about Elizabeth?”
“It’s not so much about Elizabeth as it is about her mother. I met them at the coffee shop in town and struck up some harmless conversation. I couldn’t help but notice that the future Mrs. Lowery is getting a little bump cropping up beneath her coat. She was careless for a moment and it fell open a bit.”
“How do you know she’s not just putting on a little weight?” Aspen snarled.
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Mr. Lowery.”
“What is it you want? Who are you?” Aspen asked.
Grant could tell he recognized him, but hadn’t quite placed his face just yet. He squinted at him as he tried to sort out who he was. Rather than let it linger, Grant decided to just get on with what he came here to say.
“My name is Grant Harper. I came here not too long ago and asked to join the Silver Wolves pack. You turned me down.”
“And now, here you are again. Why? The Dire Wolves send you in to negotiate?”
“No, not to negotiate. To infiltrate.”
Aspen stopped leaning on the counter and rose to his full height, looking menacingly down. Grant wondered how tall he was. He himself was a little over six foot one, so Grant was bound to be at least six four. He had never seen Aspen’s wolf, but he was betting he wouldn’t want it coming at him on a dark path in the woods.
“Yeah? How’s that working out for you?”
“Listen, I didn’t come here to threaten you. I came here to help.”
“What makes you think I want the help of a filthy dog from the Dire Wolves?”
“You don’t, but I’m not a Dire Wolf. I mean, I went to them after you rejected me. I lost my pack and needed one, but I’ve never really fit in there despite having gained their trust. Saul sent me to try to get into the Silver Wolves again, to hopefully play upon your sympathies and gain information. Instead, I met Elizabeth and Amanda and decided I couldn’t do that to your pack.”
“So, you just accidentally met them, huh? You’re here telling me that you set up a “chance” meeting with my family and then came here to double cross your pack because you liked them so much?”
“No. I’m here to tell you that I’m in love with your daughter.”
“You love me?” a voice said from behind him.
Grant whirled around, wondering where she had come from and how much she had heard of this conversation. He never even saw the blow coming as Aspen punched him so hard he went flying back onto the floor and came stalking toward him. Immediately, Elizabeth was on top of him, protecting him from her father’s wrath.
“No! Don’t hurt him. He hasn’t done anything wrong,” she protested angrily.
“The hell he hasn’t. He’s a Dire Wolf! He came here to nose around in our business and find out what they wanted to know.”
Elizabeth froze for a moment and then looked down at him with a stricken look. He might as well have slapped her right in the face from the looks of it.
“Is that true?” she breathed.
“Yes, but then things changed. I got to know you and things changed. I came here to talk to your father about how we could best protect your pack,” he replied, rubbing his already aching jaw with one hand as he pulled himself up from the floor and helped Elizabeth up from where she sat looking shocked.
Aspen looked as if he might explode. Grant knew he was on shaky ground here. He was at risk of being attacked by the entire pack if he didn’t sort this out quickly and get out of here. They would rip him apart. Instead, he found Aspen studying him, trying to size him up.
“I don’t like you. You have obviously brainwashed Mouse into falling for your bullshit, but I’m not quite so easy. What sort of asshole takes advantage of a girl?”
“My name is not Mouse. It is Elizabeth and I am not a girl. You need to realize I’ve grown up, Aspen” Elizabeth barked at him, emphasizing his name rather than calling him anything remotely akin to “father.”
“Elizabeth, it’s not your father’s fault,” Grant told her softly.
“And you? I can’t believe you! I trusted what you told me. The whole time you were just lying to get close to me, to get information out of me!”
“That’s not true,” he said.
“What part of it? What part is not true?”
“I admit that I started out trying to get to know you because I needed information, but you have become so much more than that to me.” Grant cast a glance toward Aspen and could see his entire head was red with anger. Not only had Grant crossed him, but he had hurt his little girl too and Aspen must, no doubt, be wondering just how far he had gone to take advantage of her.
“Elizabeth, get out of here. Grant and I have some talking to do,” Aspen said, his voice even despite his obvious anger.
“I . . .,” she began to say but he held up his hand toward her.
“No. Just do as I ask for once in your life. I’ve been too easy on you and it’s made you too trusting. Leave before I have to pick you up and put you out.”
Elizabeth left in a huff, her face a mask of anger and fear, not for herself. He had no doubt she was well aware that her father would never hurt her, but it was a different matter what he might do to Grant. It told him a lot. She might be mad, but she loved him too. Once she was gone, he turned back to Aspen, waiting for what the man might dole out to him, prepared to shift and do the best he could against enormous odds.
“Tell me what you’ve told the Dire Wolves.”
“Nothing yet. I’ve only told him that I was making progress in getting into the clubhouse by getting to know the daughter.”
“How did you even get near her? I have protection on her all hours of the day.”
“Surely you know that she is very capable of eluding bodyguards if she chooses to do so. She’s a smart girl.”
“Yeah. Always has been. You know, she lived on the streets until she was almost a teen. I had to kill a man to protect her. Do you think I won’t do it again?”
“I know you will, but I’m not the one she needs protection from. Listen, I came here from a dead pack. I lost everyone. I tried to get you to take me in, but you refused. The Dire Wolves let me in, but I learned quickly what they were about. A bunch of alpha wolves prancing around and beating on their chests like apes in the jungle, showing off who is the biggest and baddest to anyone who will pay attention. You’re a threat to them and they want you gone. They won’t stop until they make that happen.”
“We are no threat. They just don’t want it to be too noticeable that so many people have disappeared from town at once. They pick us off a few at a time. We just have to be careful.”
“Is that what you think? You think the Dire Wolves are hesitant to come in here and wipe you out? They aren’t. They are planning to do just that. They sent me to find out how. They sent me to find out the easiest way to take you down without losing too many men or leaving enough that they would face retaliation.”
Aspen pursed his lips, lost in thought for a moment. Finally, he looked back up at him and nodded quietly.
“What is it that you think we should do?”
“Honestly, I think you should leave, but I know you won’t. So, your only other option is to take them on. Set them up, take them out. Exactly what they had planned to do to you.”
“Alright. I’m going to trust you. I don’t know why. I don’t know you, but if Elizabeth trusts you, then I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Double cross me and I promise I will kill you myself, even if I have to come back from my tomb to do it.”
“Fair enough.”
“You can go. Tell Saul that you’ve found your way into the Silver Wolves, but you can’t run back and forth from here to there. I’ll find you a room at the clubhouse. You’ll be closely monitored by a few choice members.”
“I’d expect as much.”
Aspen waved him off, following him toward the door. As they walked across the front room and he escorted him out the door, he leaned down and quietly whispered, “And stay the fuck away from my daughter.”
Grant nodded solemnly, knowing that was going to be the hardest part of this. He had meant what he said about having fallen in love with her, but if he had to keep his distance to protect her, he would do so. At this point, she probably wanted nothing to do with him anyway.