Feral：Devils Point Wolves #4(7)

"Nice try. Now tell us the truth." Diego demanded harshly.

Brody growled and both Diego and Creed turned their attention to him.

"What's wrong?" Creed asked him.

Brody didn't answer right away. There were some things that weren't supposed to be discussed in front of humans. "Nothing."

Creed narrowed his eyes and compressed his lips together, his obvious detection of the lie all over his face.

"Don't do—"

"So who do you work for?" Diego asked Prue, cutting off Creed from whatever he'd been about to say.

She sighed, a harsh breath expelling from her lungs. "Maybe I should talk to whoever owns the island. I can assure him that I can complete my research without being intrusive."

"You've got him," Diego said. "Me and my family anyways."

"Okaaay," She said, her eyes nice and wide. "I wasn't lying. It is true that I don't work for anyone at the moment. I recently lost my job. But that's a long story I'd rather not get into. However, I am hoping that with positive results to prove my hypothesis I might be able to secure a position at Wolf Haven. They're a wolf sanctuary a couple of hours from here."

"I'm familiar. Although that doesn't really influence me in letting you roam our island and disturb the residents. We value our privacy here."

Prue's eyes narrowed and Brody swore he saw a spark in her eye. Things were about to go seriously south.

"Is that why you have a strip club? So no one will come here and check you out. That seems a little rich to encourage tourists to partake in your young girls, and then deny a scientist some simple research that has no bearing whatsoever on your ‘residents’ She held up her hands and made air quotes to emphasis her point and Brody had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing out loud.

Diego on the other hand looked ready to blow. Allison must have sensed it too as she did what she always did best and calmed him by placing her hand on her arm. “What's the harm in allowing her to take some plant samples, Romeo?”

Brody winced. Diego didn't always appreciate Allison's incessant need to call him by a nickname she gave him before they were mated.

"Don't like strangers."

"She's not." Brody stood straighter. "I met her last time she was on the island and I'll vouch for her if you need me to."

Prue shifted behind him. "I don't—"

Brody reached behind him and grabbed her hip and squeezed. She squeaked but also stopped talking.

"I thought you didn't know her?"

He shrugged. "Well enough to know she's harmless. That's all that matters right?"

Silence descended as Diego thought over what he said. Creed stayed silent. He'd already gone out on a limb by releasing him and didn't need to do more that could blow up in his face. Brody preferred to have this on his shoulders if something went wrong.

He glanced back at the woman he'd searched high and low for and willed her to keep quiet. It must have worked because she didn't say another word.

When Diego finally spoke, they were all wound as tight as could be. "She'll need an escort if she goes anywhere other than the public beaches or the club."

"I'll do it," Brody blurted.

Everyone spoke at once. Prue, Creed and Allison all had their own opinion on that idea.

"Enough," Diego ordered.

Brody bristled at his tone. He and his brothers might lead this pack, but that didn't mean Brody was ready to roll over and automatically obey. Wolf or not, that behavior was absolutely not in his DNA.

"A word." Diego said, indicating with a tilt of his head that both Creed and Brody were to follow him. "Excuse us."

Allison stayed with Prue while he, Creed and Diego walked through the sand until they were out of earshot. Or at least human earshot. Allison would hear everything they said.

"What the hell is going on here?" Diego asked.

"I think he's got a nut for the woman."

"I'm right here," Brody said, not appreciating Creed's assessment.

"That true?" Diego asked.

He shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe I just need to get laid." He maintained a straight face when he said it because he didn't want to go into the details of his torment all these months. That was none of their God damned business.

"I don't like it. Having a human poking around the island sounds like a bad idea."

"And what the hell is she talking about that a certain plant is drawing wolves here? What kind of craziness is that?" Creed interjected.

"Sounds like nonsense," Brody agreed. "But what does it hurt to indulge her?"

"That part about the plant isn't totally untrue." Diego's voice lowered.

Creed looked as confused as Brody felt.