Chapter 3 #2
followed a distance behind. Bindi held on tight, and he enjoyed it.
The weather ws was bracing, but they were dressed for cold weather,
especially Bindi who was human and didn’t run as hot as a wolf
would. She seemed to be doing fine. After about an hour they
stopped for a break and Joey pulled out some hot chocolate and he
was sure she had done this to check on Bindi.
His mate was so excited she didn’t seem
to notice the cold at all. This was the best thing he could have
done for her. There were other activities here and it was a shame
she would miss them. Many people panned for gold and went to the
meetings where crafts were sold. It was possible they might come
back for a visit, but he’d wasted so much time. They might have
been mated by now.
Naqi pulled over and motioned him to
pull beside him. “We’re being followed. It’s probably the haters,
but I can’t be sure. They are on four wheelers. We’ll keep an eye
on them.”
Now that Naqi had brought them to his
attention, he would watch them as well. He didn’t think Bindi
needed to be worried about them. This was a day for her to enjoy
herself. These guys might not even attack them. It might be that
they just wanted to see where they were going. What happened would
be clear in time. They might even get lost or go out on the
ice.
If that happened, they wouldn’t have to
be dealt with at all. Maybe they were worrying about nothing. Naqi
had sped up, so he did as well to keep up, Joey was in front of her
mate, but he had Bindi behind him. Duroc wondered what difference
it made. One thing was for sure, the break Joey probably had
planned wouldn’t happen.
The strangers were falling behind, and
he expected no stops until they had lost them. It was too bad they
couldn’t talk but there was no way to as they rushed along. Alaska
was truly beautiful, and he was glad he had come here for more
reasons than that he’d found his mate.
Naqi knew a hiding spot and they turned
into it. About twenty minutes later those following them drove by
going top speed. Joey suggested they take a break now, so they did.
Duroc felt like Bindi needed the break. It was easy to forget as a
human she couldn’t handle the tougher than usual conditions they
could. She also wore out faster and this rest was good for
her.
This made him wonder if there was any
way she would change when they mated. It was a lot to hope for but
human mates that changed happened more often because wolves had
been breeding with humans more. The council had been investigating
and found it happened so much that it was a problem. As an alpha,
his father was expected to take actionact as far as his pack was
concerned. There were human mates in his pack, but their children
were claimed and cared for.
Those rare few that weren’t claimed had
been dealt with easily and the males fined and punished. Their pack
didn’t and had never taken the view that any pups should go
unclaimed regardless of whether they were full blooded wolfwolves
or not. Pups should be claimed and provided for. There were no
exceptions.
Not all packs took that view and the
alphas of those packs had much to deal with. If they didn’t find
the fathers and make them pay, it became the responsibility of the
pack to care for those pups. With the council hunting down those
with half blood, responsibility would be taken one way or the
other. With so many pups carrying half or more wolf blood, the
wonder was that humans didn’t know of their existence.
“Do you want some hot
chocolate, Duroc?” Joey asked.
“No, thank you. I’m
drinking coffee.”
“You don’t know what you’re
missing.” Bindi mentioned with a smile.
Duroc thought she was so beautiful and
when she smiled it filled him with warmth. “I’m sure it’s not as
sweet as you.” She flushed.
“Maybe we should head back
before they give up and come back this way?” Naqi
suggested.
They all looked at Bindi. “What? I can
handle it.”
He hoped so, because they might not be
able to stop with the crazies on their tail. They loaded up and
headed back to Naqi’s business. Those following them didn’t come
into view until they were nearly back to Wilde. Even then, they
looked too tired to give them much of a fight and as they
approached the business their group had already reached, they
rushed on by.
“Those guys looked rough.”
Bindi observed.
“That’s good for us because
they didn’t stop to bother us.” Joey observed.
“Thanks Naqi. I appreciate
you two going with us.”
“Joey has been wanting to
go.” Naqi admitted.
It was lunch time, so Duroc escorted
his mate to Mad’s. He was sure with a woman at his side she would
leave him alone. Bindi wasn’t sure about going but she let him lead
her there. It was true that Mad’s added variety to the meals in
Wilde. Maybe Mad wouldn’t be there.
They went in and were seated quickly.
The waitress brought the drinks quickly and they both ordered the
special. Their food also came fast, and they began to eat. Talk was
kept to a minimum and he hoped to avoid Mad. Duroc thought they had
made it but just as he was paying, Mad began to circle him. He
feared for a minute she would block the door but when he put his
arm around Bindi, Mad backed off.
That woman was something he wouldn’t
miss. She was mad as a hatter. Her name fit entirely too well. It
was the nickname from her actual name. Had her parents known she’d
be nuts? Probably not, and it wasn’t something a parent hoped for
either. It wasn’t like she’d always been that way, but once it had
hit, it had gone all the way.
At least Bindi hadn’t blamed him for
Mad’s behavior. He’d heard it had given Naqi some problems at the
start of their relationship. Of course, Naqi had actually dated her
for a while. All Duroc had done was try to avoid the scary female.
He’d done well until now. Maybe when they were leaving soon wasn’t
the best time to give Mad’s a try.
“She is crazy.” Bindi
whispered as if afraid she’d hear her.
“Yup. No doubt about
it.”
“Doesn’t seem to hurt
business.”
“Not much competition.
Polar Bear doesn’t open until four.” Duroc observed.
“You think the newbies will
be alright?”
“At least they all seemed
friendly and outgoing.”
“True.” Bindi
agreed.
“All the extra helpers will
make things easier on Rita and Ray unless Tyne adds services that
have been requested.”
“You think he
will?”
“Maybe not right away, but
he will. It’s why the extra help is here when just maintaining
numbers would cover current demand.” Duroc speculated.
“You’ve given this a bit of
thought.”
“I hope to run a business
someday.”
“What would it be?” Bindi
asked.
“Might be security since
I’ve learned a lot about it.”
“It seems a lot to do, to
run a business. Would you own it?”
“Probably not. I’ve saved
some money, but nowhere near what I would need to get that going.”
Duroc admitted. Besides, his dad wouldn’t want the security
separate from the rest of his business. Maybe he would start a side
business of some kind. When he and Bindi had kids, their future
would be for him to plan.
It was true his brother wasn’t mated
yet, but someday he would be, and he would also have kids. His job
might go to one of them. That made it clear he needed a backup.
Duroc would make a good alpha, but he didn’t feel the need to be
one. Him ever being one was unlikely, but he wanted to have some
security. Finding your mate changed everything.
What would Bindi think when he told her
about his background? Would she run screaming? He hoped not because
at some point he would have to share it with her. Then he would
find out what her secret was. How bad could it be?
Duroc escorted her to his place since
she stayed at Joey’s and privacy just wasn’t there. “Want to watch
a movie?”
“Why not. What do you
have?” Bindi asked.
“I’ve a collection. Take a
look and see what you like.”
She thumbed through them and found an
action adventure and put it in the disc player. This was one she’d
heard of, and she’d wanted to see. It was in theaters when she
first came here but clearly it was out now.
“Good choice. I’ve been
wanting to watch it.” He admitted and they sat on the couch
together.
They were close enough he could feel
the heat from her body. and scent her lovely aroma. It more than
anything told him she was interested in him. Once the movie was
done, he planned to see how interested she was. The movie was good,
and action packed, and it kept their interest until it was
done.
“I bet there will be
another one soon.” Bindi guessed.
“There already is and I
heard it will be out next year.”
“Those guys aren’t wasting
anytime.”
“I’ll probably get it
before its release to the general public.” Duroc
admitted.
“How do you manage
that?”
“My dad knows a guy in the
business. He’s a producer and this is one of his.”
“This guy just gives them
away?” Bindi wondered.
“Dad gives him a review.
Everyone he loans it totoo has to give one. There’s a link we
follow so he knows he’s getting reviews. If he didn’t, I don’t know
if he’d cut dad off of the DVDs, he gives him or not. They have
other business together too.”
“What What’s your dad
do?”
Oops! He’d slipped upslipped on the
information and given it out sooner than he’d planned. “He just has
a business. There are lots of people that do.”
She just nodded and dropped it. Maybe
she was giving him a break, but he suspected she didn’t want him
asking any questions. Duroc wanted her to tell him because she felt
comfortable with him and wanted him to know. That time would come.
He was sure of it. The question was not if, but when. In a week,
they would both be headed to HQ and things would change. It was
hard to say how.
Moe hadn’t told him what his assignment
would be, and he was sure Bindi didn’t know hers either.
Assignments often changed from day to day thereday depending on
what they needed. This office had all servicesthe services