“-scent,” Baker spoke up in shock.
I blinked. “A big scent?” I repeated.
Baker frowned and shook his head. “Laughton’s scent has disappeared.”
I lifted my nose in the air and gave a whiff. According to my sniffer my mate had vanished. “That’s actually kind of creepy not smelling you,” I commented to Luke.
“It’s unsettling for me, too, so let’s hope it doesn’t last,” he agreed.
Baker nodded at the bottle. “With the bottle nearly empty I’d say they don’t last very long.”
“But it’s a small bottle, so they might last longer than we think,” Luke argued.
“Boys, the enemy is Lance, not each other,” I playfully scolded.
Luke took well his words being thrown back at him because he smiled and pocketed the bottle. “You’re right-”
“-as always,” I added.
“-and we have more important things to talk about.”
“Like the bodies in my barn,” Baker spoke up. “I’m going to have somebody take care of my farm while I’m gone and I don’t want them stumbling on a corpse.”
“Maybe they’ll think it’s fertilizer?” I suggested. The joke fell flatter than a circus elephant onto a midget.
“Do you have any of that cleaner chemical around the house?” Luke asked him.
“Yes, but if you’re thinking of sprinkling the corpses with it then stop thinking. That stuff doesn’t last as long as a decomposing body,” Baker argued.
“It’ll have to unless you’re asking a human to keep care of the place,” Luke countered.
Baker furrowed his brow and a grudging smile slipped onto his lips. “That’s the first good idea I’ve heard you say all night.”
Luke grinned. “And the night’s not even over,” he quipped.
“It is for me,” I spoke up. I stood and stretched my tired arms. The long walk had taken its toll and I was dog-er, werewolf-tired. “I’m hungry, tired, and whinny. What’s a girl got to do to get some nice table scraps and a nice bale of hay to sleep on?”
Baker actually chuckled. “For saving my children, I’ll give you the finest leftovers I have to offer.”
We were served delicious leftovers, and sent back to the parlor with our arms full of blankets and pillows. Baker went to his kids’ room to stay with them, and Alistair opted to stand the first watch in the house just in case there were more gunman. Luke was scheduled for the second. “And I’ll take the third watch,” I offered when I heard their proposal.
Luke shook his head, and Alistair slunk out of the room to avoid the coming bloodshed. “If something does happen I’d rather one of us be on the watch.”
I folded my arms and scowled at him. “It’s because I’m a girl, isn’t it?” I challenged him.
“It’s because you’re my girl, and this trip has been dangerous enough without you standing guard,” he argued.
“Worried about my beauty sleep?” I teased him.
He stepped up to me and wrapped his strong arms around me. His eyes glistened with affection as he looked down at me. “I don’t think I’ll ever have to worry about that,” he cooed.
“Even when I’m old and my muzzle is gray?” I wondered.
His voice was soft and caring. “Even then. You’re my mate and no amount of time, age, or scars will change that.”
I blushed at his attentions and snuggled my head against his firm chest. I enjoyed the feeling of his body heat against mine, and didn’t even mind the dirty clothes. “I’m sure you say that to all the pretty werewolves,” I whispered.
He pulled us apart and leaned down so our lips brushed against each other. “You’re the only pretty werewolf for me.”
“How about a little proof?” I teased.
“Gladly.” He captured my lips in a searing kiss that had my body tingling from my head to my toes. We broke apart only because we needed air. I had a blush on my cheeks so hot I worried I’d been installed with parking brake lights.
“You sure do know how to make a mate feel loved,” I breathlessly commented.
He grinned. “Good. Now will you tell me your last name?”
My face fell and I stared at him in disbelief. “You still want to use that as our calling card in Minuteland?” I asked him.
“Manutia, and yes. No one but us and Brier will understand who it’s for.” I sighed, broke from him and slumped into a chair. He raised an eyebrow. “Is it that bad?” he wondered.
“It’s just, well, it might not be useful for us,” I warned him.
“How?”
“Because it’s too plain.”
“Nothing about you is plain.”
“Smith.”
“Pardon?”
“My last name. It’s Smith.” He looked at me with blinking eyes and a blank expression until his face burst into laughter. I thought he’d flipped. “What’s so funny?” I growled.
He gathered himself together, wiped the tears from his eyes, and shook his head. “I was expecting something a little more-well-”
“Grand for your mate?” I suggested.
“Just a little.”
“Well, it’s Smith. Rebecca Ann Smith.”
Luke smiled, knelt down in front of me and took my hand in his own. “It’s a great pleasure to be properly introduced to you, Rebecca Ann Smith.”
“Ah, but you haven’t introduced yourself. That’s bad form for a gentleman, if we’re going to call you that,” I pointed out.
He pretended to take off an imaginary hat and bowed his head. “I am Lucas Christopher Laughton, Lord of Wildlands and keeper of the honorable house of Laughton.”
“That’s a long name. Should I call you ‘and’ or ‘the’?” I teased.
Luke grinned. “I prefer ‘of,’ but if you must call me something then keep with the Luke. It’s easier to remember.”
“And won’t turn heads when I call you a keeper,” I quipped.
Luke laughed, grabbed me around the waist, and pulled me into his arms. “My life was very boring before I met you.”
I smiled and shrugged. “What can I say? I’m the party of the life.”
We heard footsteps along the hallway outside the parlor and Baker stepped inside the room. He glared at us. “What’s all the noise about?” he asked us.
I sheepishly removed myself from Luke’s arms, and we both hastily stood to our feet like school kids caught in the closet doing more than putting our coats away. “Sorry about that. We were just arguing over the watch,” Luke replied.
“I won,” I quipped. Baker rolled his eyes, turned, and left us.
Luke glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. “Who won?” he wondered.
“I did. You just weren’t listening.” I grabbed his arm and tugged him into the chair I’d recently vacated. Sitting there in the dim light he did look a little tired. Fighting bad guys and saving the day was hard work. “Now you just get a good sleep and I’ll change shifts with Alistair,” I ordered him as I tucked him in tight with a blanket. By the time I was done he looked like a royal mummy wrapped by the lowest bidder.
Luke didn’t argue, but instead leaned his head back and smiled. “Just don’t fall asleep yourself,” he warned.
“Me?” I gasped in fake outrage. I sat myself down on the hard floor and smiled up at him. “Of course I won’t fall asleep!”
9
Yeah, I fell asleep, and damn quick. He wasn’t the only one who’d saved the day, and Baker’s delicious food sat so comfortably in my stomach that even the hard floor couldn’t stop me from leaning against Luke’s chair and falling asleep. The next thing I knew there was a clanking of silverware and dishes outside the parlor. I jerked up and frantically looked around. A weak sun peeked over the horizon, a blanket lay over me, and the chair beside me was empty. I scurried up and out of the room to find the family, Luke, and Alistair wide awake and making breakfast.
Luke noticed me over the handful of plates in his hands and smiled. “Good morning. Sleep well?” he asked me.
“You let me sleep through my watch, didn’t you?” I scolded Luke.
He shrugged and walked into the dining room that lay past the kitchen. “Maybe,” was the snarky reply.
I rolled my eyes and followed him, and the food, into the dining room. Our places were set, the food was ready, and I did justice to the meal. The kids were quiet all through breakfast, and I soon found out why when there came a knock on the front door. Baker stiffened and sniffed the air, then relaxed and answered it to reveal a middle-aged woman with a bright smile. “Good morning, Mr. Baker. Are Simon and Leslie ready?” she asked him.
“As ready as they’ll ever be,” he replied. He turned into the house. “Leslie! Simon! Mrs. Sampson is here to take you!” The pair shuffled out of their room with suitcases in hand. This was the neighbor who would care for them while we were out saving the werewolf world. That, or getting ourselves killed. They came up to their father, who knelt down and smiled at them. “Be good to her, and I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised them.
Leslie nodded, but Simon’s face was a mess of red cheeks and tears. He balled and flung his arms around his father’s neck. “Don’t go, Papa! Please don’t go!”