Primal Heat(Wild Lake Wolves Book 3)(27)

It dawned on me by "ride" she meant horses. "I'll manage," I said. One  of my mother's boyfriends had horses. That was Blake, I think. For once,  I was grateful for her eclectic tastes.

"Buster and Ladybug are all saddled up," Harold said. "You better let Abby take Bug. Buster's ornery today."                       
       
           



       

Pat excused herself for a moment, then came back wearing jeans and a  flannel shirt. She grabbed a cowboy hat from a hook near the door and  heaped another dollop of syrup on Harold's plate of waffles before we  left. He reached up and held her hand to his cheek. A moment passed  between them that tore at me a little. Whatever history the Bonners had  with the Wild Lake packs couldn't have been easy. The price of it was  literally written on Harold's face. But, this place felt like sanctuary.

Pat gave Harold a playful smack on the back of his head as he reached  over and poured even more syrup on his waffles. "Why don't you just open  up a line and clog your arteries directly?"

Harold shook his head. "Says the woman who just served me fried chicken." I laughed. He had a point.

Pat made a circular motion with her hand and led me out of the house.  The late April air was clean but brisk. As Harold promised, two of the  horses had been saddled and tied off near the fence by the barn. Pat  couldn't be more than four foot eleven, tops. But, for her size and  shape, she was fast and agile. She untied the reins, placed her foot in  the stirrup, and heaved herself into the saddle. She ponied the other  horse, a dappled brown, toward me.

"Ladybug, I presume," I said, nuzzling the horse's nose with mine. I'd  palmed an apple from the kitchen and held it out for her. Ladybug nodded  her head and munched the apple greedily.

"Oh, now you've done it. That old girl will follow you for life now."

I patted Ladybug's nose and heaved myself into the saddle. Pat clicked  her tongue and got the horses moving down a trail winding behind the  barn. She rode ahead of me. Ladybug's surefooted movements led me to  believe I wouldn't have needed Pat as a guide.

"How long have you lived on this property?" I pulled Ladybug alongside Buster.

Pat smiled. "It's been in my family for over a hundred years. My father  left it to Harold and me. He passed on, oh, fifty years ago now. And  when we're long gone, it'll still be here for the packs."

I don't know what I expected her to say. Maybe it was wrong of me to  pry, but knowing what I did, I had to ask. "You want to leave it to  Bas?"

Pat clicked her teeth to straighten Buster out. He seemed more inclined  to root through wild strawberries on the path then move forward. "Not  just Bas. Wild Lake is home to six different packs now. Bas's is just  the largest. This place is special. I'm not saying they don't have their  differences now and then, but you'll never find a group of packs like  them. Allied like they are, I mean. Not wanting to rip each other's  throats out. Most packs you'll find are too territorial to roam or hunt  on a stretch of land like this so close to each other. And I'm not  saying they didn't have to go through hell to get to this point."

"Is that what happened to Harold?" As soon as I said it, it felt too blunt. But, Pat seemed in a talking mood.

She nodded. "That happened when he was a kid. Before my father died.  During the pack wars. Harold got in the middle of something he shouldn't  have. The Wild Lake packs finally drove out the rival packs, pushed  them further south. Every now and again, one of those southern packs  will try causing trouble up here, but it's not like it was. Thank the  Lord."

Puzzle pieces took shape and realigned in my thoughts. Where did Dale  and his pack fit into all of this? If he belonged to a Wild Lake pack,  did that mean this harmony Pat described was coming to an end? I wanted  to ask her, but hesitated. If I probed her any more, she might start  asking why.

We rode through a thicker part of the forest, down the hill until we  reached a clearing. I gasped as I saw the lake ahead of us. Seeing it  from the air was breathtaking; on horseback it was magical. Clear blue  waters framed by deep pine. A large, rocky outcropping formed a natural  ledge at the south edge of the lake. The scene would have been pristine.  Now, though, whoops, hollers, and splashing cut through the air as  Bas's pack dove off the ledge and splashed through the water.

"Jesus H!" Pat called out. "That water can't be any warmer than fifty degrees yet!"

I laughed. Alec stood at the edge of the ledge; he jumped, arcing high  in the air, and his naked, muscled profile cut through the water and he  disappeared below.

Bas rose up out of the water; fat droplets dripped down his chest as he  came toward us. I blushed as my eyes were drawn to his sex. Pat just  shook her head and clucked. Buster whinnied and reared his head, as if  he were offended by the wall of naked men around him.

Pat pulled back on the reins and turned him. "I'd better head back up to  the house. Those fools didn't think to bring clothes or towels. They  were probably planning on marching straight up to the house dripping wet  and naked like that. You have no idea the war I fight not to have ‘em  ruin my damn floors. You wanna stay here or head back up with me?"                       
       
           



       

Bas had almost reached us. My heart fluttered at his proximity. I  laughed and gave Pat a salute. "I think they're basically harmless. I'll  head up in a second to give you a hand." She nodded and gave Buster a  kick to get him going again.

Bas caught up to me and pulled on Ladybug's reins. I leaned down to give  him a kiss. Despite the chill in the air and the near frigid water,  Bas's lips were liquid heat.

"How about a swim?"

"No way. No chance. You want me to freeze my tits off?"

Bas laughed and wagged his brow. "I have a few ideas how to keep you warm."

I swatted his shoulder. I thought about dismounting, but didn't trust he  wouldn't throw me in the lake just for sport. "I like her," I said.  "Pat."

Bas nodded. "I knew you would. She's kind of made a career out of taking  care of us. This place is home base for the Wild Lake packs. It's been  that way for half a century since her father was alive."

"She told me a little bit about it. She said she's leaving the land to  you and the other packs after she and Harold are long gone."

Bas nodded. "That's what she's always said. And that's the thing that's  got Congressman Foster twisted in such a knot. There are copper veins  running all through this land. A lot of it's state owned, but he's  thrown in with some people who don't have our interests at heart. I know  I shouldn't be telling you all of this. But you need to know.  Environmental conservation isn't his goal."

I swallowed past a lump in my throat. What Pat had told me was just a  throwaway comment, but it cut to the heart of everything that tore at  me. It became clear that Pat had no idea she didn't have a claim on the  land after her death. Which meant Bas didn't either. Either she'd  misunderstood her own father's will, or there was something even more  sinister going on.

I looked out at the lake. Aaron and Ben were wrestling each other on the  ridge. It looked like Ben didn't want to go back in the water, but  Aaron had other ideas. Before they could sort it out, Davis came behind  them, picked them both up by the scruffs of their necks and pitched them  both in. Bas's rich laughter vibrated through me.

Seth watched from the shoreline. Connor and Eli cut through the water,  swimming with freestyle strokes at a speed that might set Olympic  records. The rest of the pack watched and laughed, cheering one or the  other on. They were at peace here. They belonged. The land and lake  seemed to nourish them as much as the kill they'd made on the trip up.

"Abby?" Bas reached up, sliding his hand along my thigh. "What are you thinking?"

I let out a breath and smiled. "I was just thinking how wonderful it is  watching the pack together like this. This place is kind of magical."

He nodded. "There's no place like it anywhere. At least not in North  America. I've heard there are some European packs that live together  like this. Not here, though."

"Pat explained some of that. She said there are six packs that call Wild Lake lands home."

"That's in large part due to her. And Harold. Without these lands we'd  be fractured. Struggling to find somewhere to hunt and hide when we need  to. That's what it's like for the packs down south. We're out in the  open here, at least to some extent. Down south, were have to hide more  than we do. It's more brutal."