Dark Wolf (Spirit Wild) - By Kate Douglas Page 0,76

and Sebastian sensed Alex’s dismay. Was it guilt over Annie’s injuries? Did Tinker blame Alex? He hoped not. That didn’t seem fair. He’d been the object of speculation and accusation often enough to know how painful it could be.

Liana sat back on her heels, and Alex blinked, shook his head, and slowly struggled to a sitting position. He leaned close to Liana and ran his tongue across her cheek. She laughed and batted him away.

“Thanks, but no thanks, Alex. Now take it easy. Don’t overdo it, and you should feel fine tomorrow. Adam said Annie’s going to need some rest, too. You know how it works—we can put stuff back together, but it needs time to settle and stick where we put it.”

She kissed his nose, hugged Lily, and then turned to Sebastian and stuck out her hand. “I’m Liana. It’s nice to meet you, Sebastian. Even though we’re both starkers.” She laughed, and it was such a wonderful sound he found himself grinning in response, not feeling quite as naked as he had. “We’ll talk tomorrow, preferably with clothes on, but Adam is calling.” She smiled, and suddenly he was staring at a beautiful gray wolf. Then she was gone, racing after her mate.

Sebastian watched her go before turning to Lily. Alex lay curled up beside her, still a wolf, but Lily was every inch a beautiful woman. A beautiful naked woman.

Trying not to laugh, Sebastian wrapped his fingers around the back of Lily’s head and pulled her close for a kiss. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been introduced to a naked woman before. Interesting, especially since I haven’t got clothes on, either.”

Lily kissed him quickly. “Get used to it. Unlike the werewolves of fiction, our clothing doesn’t shift with us. We essentially ignore nudity, unless we really want to see it.”

She raised an eyebrow and looked him over. “And I have to say, I love what I’m seeing.”

“That works both ways. Are you ready to go back?”

“Not yet.” Lily glanced toward the woods. “I want to give Alex a few more minutes to recover, and I’m waiting for the others to get back. I just heard from Dad. They lost the trail. It appears the rogue wolves must have gone into the caverns at some point. There are any number of tunnels connecting your father’s property and ours. If they’ve learned the tunnel system in these mountains, it could be really bad. They’re all connected, and it will make it almost impossible to guard against attack.”

“I had no idea there were caverns around here.”

“Their existence isn’t well known, but we’ve used them for years, as kids to play in, as adults for safety. The whole pack once took refuge in them when a forest fire ripped through this valley and burned my parents’ house to the ground. That was almost twenty-six years ago.”

He didn’t hear a sound, but before he could ask for details, the small hilltop was suddenly filled with wolves, slipping out of the forest like dark ghosts and gathering close around the three of them. Sebastian had no idea who they were, though he was almost certain the large black wolf in the lead was Lily’s father. Another wolf, similar in markings to Alex, stood beside the black one, but all obviously deferred to the black wolf. Lily had referred to her father as their über-alpha.

The alpha shifted, as did the three wolves standing closest to him. Lily’s mother and father and two people he assumed were Alex’s parents quickly knelt beside Alex. Sebastian realized he still had his left hand on Alex’s shoulder, but the wolf was asleep and he didn’t want to disturb him. He left it there.

“Sebastian, you’ve met my parents, but these are Alex’s. Stefan, Xandi, this is Sebastian Xenakis.” She smiled at them. “He’s with me. His father owns the property next to this one.”

Stefan held out his hand, and Sebastian took it. He’d not seen Alex in his human form and wondered if he looked like his father. It was strange, realizing the people he was meeting were probably in their seventies or eighties. They all looked his age.

Keisha touched his shoulder. “This probably isn’t what you imagined when you came to see our daughter. I’m sorry this happened. Especially to Alex and Annie.” She glanced at the wolf. “Poor baby. Xandi? Do you need help getting him home?”

Before Alex’s mother could speak, Sebastian interrupted. “Lily and I were planning to take him to Lily’s cottage.”