“She’s finally standing up for herself. Not only that, if she does decide to take Riley as her mate it is best that he not like he can dictate to her. You have to admit, he was acting pretty high handed with her; if you had tried that with me you would have seen sparks. I don’t want Riley thinking that he can railroad over her.” Sam knew that things were different in the pack; a person’s place was determined by how dominant or submissive he or she was. Maddie had always been the most submissive member of the pack but it would seem that she had had enough. Maybe having Sam and Nafarius to back her up had given her the courage she needed to stand up for herself.
“Be that as it may;” Nafarius interrupted his mate’s wanderings, “she shouldn’t have been with Alex alone.”
“He would never hurt her; Alex is too kind for that sort of thing.”
“No, but I doubts he’s above using an innocent woman to help him escape.” Nafarius had thought of all the possibilities and none of them frighten him as much as the idea that Alex could escape and alert other humans to the wolves’ presence here at the lake.
Sam shook her head. “I know you don’t trust him but I do and I know that if for no other reason he would keep his silence to protect me.”
“I’m not willing to bet the lives of my pack on that.”
“I know but where does that leave us? And Alex?” Sam watched as Nafarius walked away without answering. It was clear that he was having as hard of a time as she was.
The next morning Alex was surprised when the curtain to his alcove was pulled back and Maddie entered, once again alone.
“I thought you might like to clean up.” She offered him a large kettle of warm water, a rag, some soap and some clean clothes.
Alex took the offering and immediately stripped his shirt over his head. Maddie gasped quietly at the sight of his sun kissed skin. Alex was tall and broad across the shoulders. His chest and stomach showed the signs of a man willing to work. As he moved his muscles rippled beneath the surface of his skin and sent waves of heat pooling into the pit of her stomach.
Too busy cleaning himself up to notice, Alex missed the sight of wonder that past over Maddie’s face. Quickly, he sponged himself off before dunking his head in the water. His hair was fifthly and he wouldn’t be surprised to find lice. There wasn’t any shampoo so he made due with the soap. It was enough to wash the first few layers of grime from his body and he was relieved to pull on a fresh change of clothes. “Now I feel human again.”
Maddie gave a small laugh and then blushed in embarrassment. She didn’t want Alex thinking she was making fun of him.
Alex caught the joke and chuckled. Those few second were enough to break the tension and he found himself asking her to sit with him.
Maddie looked indecisive. She wanted to sit with Alex and learn more about him and where he was from but she was worried what would happen if she did.
Alex picked up on h hesitation. “Is Riley your mate?”
Surprised, Maddie sat down. “No, but I think he is hoping that Nafarius will give him permission.”
“Permission to what?”
“To mate with me.”
Alex was surprised. “Don’t you have any say in the matter?”
Maddie considered. “If my father was still alive it would be for him to say and I would have obeyed his wishes. My father died a few years ago and my mother several years before that therefore the responsibility falls to Nafarius. Because he is my leader I would do whatever he deemed right however I think that both he and Sam would permit me the chance to voice my opinion.”
“Which is?” Alex was curious and for some reason found himself holding his breath. For whatever reason he didn’t want to see her with Riley.
“Riley is a good man, he would provide well for me and his position within the pack would assure my safety.”
“But?”
Maddie chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t love him.”
“Does your kind mate for love?” Alex quickly apologized. “That was a rude question and I apologize for my comment.”
Maddie smiled and brushed it off with a wave of her hand. “My kind is very different from yours; I took no offense. Yes, some of us mate for love but others mate to secure a higher position within the pack.”
“Why did Sam mate with Nafarius?”
Maddie hesitated wondering how much she should say. The circumstances surrounding their mating was common knowledge among the pack but that didn’t extend to an outsider.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” But Alex was curious what had made Sam decide to stay.
“I think it was both. Nafarius was looking for a mate but needed to find a way to do so without offending the other packs. We are the largest and most powerful pack in the area. If he had chosen a mate from one of the other packs then the rest would have taken offense.”
“Why didn’t he pick someone from within your own pack?” Alex was finding that there was a lot more to wolf dynamics then he originally thought. To him wolves were just animals living on instinct but the same obviously wasn’t true for werewolves.
“There wasn’t anyone within the pack strong enough to take the place of his mate. In addition, there was more than one woman that wanted the position and they would have had to battle for it. A battle for the leader’s mate is to the death and Nafarius didn’t want to see his pack destroyed. It would have weakened us as a whole and he cares too much about the individuals involved to see any of them killed.”
Alex considered all she had said before asking his next question. “How did he find Sam?”
Maddie smiled remembering the day Sam had entered their lives. “She was brought to us kicking and screaming. Roland had found her down by the lake, like you she was human and not welcome but Roland thought it best to bring her before Nafarius. Nafarius was impressed by her spirit. Despite the situation she refused to back down and held her own with both men. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Nafarius can be pretty intimidating.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Maddie smiled at Alex’s sarcasm. She had been watching him as he listed to her and was pleased to see true interest in what she had to say. “Nafarius gave her a choice she could stay as his mate or she could return to the city.”
“He was going to let her leave?”
“That’s what he said but looking back I don’t know if he would have let her go. From the first moment she walked into the clearing he was intrigued by her. She didn’t fear him and that was a first for him. So, they mated and wolves mate for life.”
“How did she become one of you?”
“Most of us are born werewolves but Sam became infected during the mating process.”
Alex frowned. “Like a sexually transmitted disease?”
“No, a person can become infected either through a bite or a scratch but only when a werewolf is in animal form.”
“So, Sam mated while Nafarius was in animal form and he either bit her or scratched her?” It was too easy for Alex to conjure up a mental image. He expected to be repulsed or at the very least offended by the idea but he found the image strangely erotic. “So, what will you do?”
Maddie didn’t have to ask to know that Alex was asking her about Riley. “I don’t know. I can’t stay with Sam and Nafarius forever. I’ve already intruded on their hospitality enough but I can’t see mating with someone just so that I can get out from under foot.”
“If you’re that worried about staying with Sam and Nafarius why don’t you stay with someone else or move out on your own?”
Maddie shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Because of the other pack members?”
“Yes, and Riley. If I was alone there would be nothing stopping him from taking me even without Nafarius’ permission.”
Alex was appalled. “Is that allowed?”
“It is an old custom and one usually reserved for talking a mate from an enemy pack. Pack law states that if one member is strong enough to take another then he, or she, is within his right to do so.”
“Any you’re not strong enough to defend yourself against Riley.” It wasn’t a question, Alex had seen the change in Maddie the minute Riley had stepped into the alcove the night before. “Isn’t there anyone else you can stay with? Someone who will protect you?”