Diamond Dust (6 page)

She let him go, an ear-to-ear grin firmly in position.

He blinked. “You are incredible.”

“Actually, I’m confused.” She stepped away. “Where is she? I mean, usually you guys find your mates—and I understand your loss of attention on the phone now—but I’d have thought you and she would be off on your wolfish honeymoon already.”

His grin faded. “Yeah, well. She was in the hotel. I never really met her.”

“But you sniffed her, right?” Caroline was pretty sure that was how it worked. “You at least know for sure she’s out there.”

“She’s out there, yes.”

Something was still wrong. “Is she…hiding on you? That doesn’t sound typical either.”

Evan dropped onto the couch. “Fuck it.”

Trouble in paradise. This was not good. “Okay, back up and tell me if I’ve got this straight. You have a mate, or at least you smelt proof of her in the hotel this morning. Only you haven’t met her, which is why you’re here, and not off rocking both your worlds.”

“Right.” He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “Help me find her?”

“Of course I will.” What a nightmare this must be for him. “Come on, let’s check the security cameras. I can access the feeds from here.”

She darted to the computer desk and opened the hotel security system. Evan dragged a seat into position beside her, his hand resting lightly on the back of her chair.

“The only place I scented her was in the kitchen. Shaun and I took a second pass through the restaurant, but there’ve been too many bodies in the room in the past hour to catch anything.”

Caroline punched in her password. “If you scented her in the kitchen, she had to get in and out, somehow. Unless she shifted into a mouse or something.”

He choked. “Umm, no. Definitely not. She left through the shipping door.”

“How long ago was this?” Caroline looped back through the feed that focused on the kitchen area. Evan’s wolf reappeared, shifted back into his human and acted…interesting. “Whoa, were you ever pissy. Way to freak out the staff, big guy.”

“I had reason.”

She patted his knee. “You did. Come on, backing up shouldn’t take too long then. I’ll focus on the door and take it up to high speed.” A couple adjustments later the workspace was a blur of motion, uniformed cooks and assistants seeming to leap from position to position. “We’re looking for someone returning through the—”

“There.”

He stabbed his finger at the screen and she paused the motion. A body in a black hoodie was backing through the service exit, definitely not one of the staff, who were all dressed in white. “There’s no one else in the room, so no witnesses.” Caroline checked the time stamp. “Ten to ten. Someone should have been in there, no?”

“I would have thought so. Not sure why… What is she doing? And damn it, do we have another camera angle to check?”

Evan’s mate, if that’s who it was, had kept her back to the camera the entire time she paced past the workstations. She had a notebook out and wrote something down at one point. “I’m sorry, Evan, I can’t change angles because there’s only the single ceiling camera. We didn’t install them to monitor staff that closely, just…”

“Just for moments like this, when someone we don’t know tries to gain access to the hotel. Fuck it, Caroline. We’ve got a potentially volatile situation with a hotel full of bear diplomats, who aren’t known to be forgiving of indiscretions or mistakes. What does this mean in terms of them?”

Caroline spun her chair until she could catch his hands. “Hey. You’re rattled, and I get it, because you’re probably some kind of ticking wolf-time-bomb, but please, get it under control.”

The usually level-headed, hyper-bossy, always-in-control A-plus Alpha as good as bounced from his chair and into the kitchen, jerking open the fridge and hauling out a juice. She watched his throat move as he tipped the bottle back and drained it.

That’s when the realization hit. They were finished.

She was happy for Evan, but now that he’d found—well, knew his mate existed—it was as good as a done deal in her mind.

Caroline didn’t cheat, and she didn’t fool around with other women’s men. Her and Evan’s love affair, as hot and intense and,
holy moly
, tons of fun as it had been, was over.

Something of what rolled through her must have shown on her face, because when their eyes met, his expression shifted. He put down the empty bottle and returned to her side, extending his hand.

She allowed him to pull her to her feet and accepted the hug he gave her, only she couldn’t hold back a sigh of regret.

“I’m sorry for hurting you like this.” Evan petted her hair gently. Even his touch had changed, from that of a lover heating her to the boiling point to a big brother offering comfort.

“Oh, Evan.” She wiggled back far enough they were staring at each other so he had to witness her honest smile. “I don’t regret one minute. Not of the time we had together, or that it’s over because you’ve found your missing soul. How could I possibly be upset?”

Confusion lingered in his eyes. “But you sighed as if…”

“I sighed because I’m going to miss the sex, dammit.” She wrinkled her nose. “You might have ruined me for everyone else in the future.”

Evan grinned cockily. “I did warn you about that when we hooked up, you know.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I think you did.”

He squeezed her again. “I don’t regret our time together either, although I am sorry it’s over. You’re a pretty cool human. Very devious.”

Caroline slipped back to the computer chair, considering the changes that would have to happen. “Only when I need to be.”

“Hey, I like devious. You’re more shifter than ninety percent of the pack, when it comes down to it.”

She went back to attempting to find a picture, a notable bit of information anywhere on the security tapes that would help him trace his mate. “I’ll get my things together. I can be clear of your place in the next day or two. I can use my sister’s apartment while she’s out of town.”

“No.” He leaned on the island counter. “You stay here. I’ll move into my room at the pack house until we can find you a new place to live.”

“Don’t be silly, Evan. This is your home. I’m not kicking you out of it.”

Evan narrowed his eyes. “Why are you arguing with me? Is it out of principle? Like you can’t possibly do what the Alpha says for once in your life?”

“Where would be the fun in that?” They smiled at each other, her sadness fading. “I mean it, Evan. You deserve this—to find your mate, and I’ll do everything I can to help you. And that sigh? Wasn’t
just
about the sex. You’ve become a super friend. I’ll miss being around you all the time.”

“Hey, you’re not getting out of my life that easy. We’re switching paths, that’s all.”

She nodded. “Friends instead of lovers?”

“Best friends.”

Her email pinged, but she ignored it. “One other question, though. How do you want to play this out with the pack? I assume while you’d love to hold a citywide search, you don’t want this broadcast. Or do you?”

Evan paced to the windows, messing up his hair with his fingers as he worked out his frustrations. “It’s not likely to stay a secret for long, but I don’t want to shout it from the rooftops. Any apparent weakness is an opportunity for others to take advantage of the pack through me. I won’t let Takhini suffer.”

“So…do you need me to stay here? Pretend we’re still together? I can sleep on a spare mattress in the bedroom. It’s nobody’s business what we’re not doing anymore.”

Evan turned, his gaze sharper, harder. “No, that’s not fair to you, or my mate. I don’t know if she’s unaware of me, but I won’t allow her to think I’m willing to be with anyone but her. Not even in retrospect.”

Caroline was at a loss. “Tell me how I can help.”

“Be yourself.” He gestured in the air, a wide encompassing circle. “Go with your gut instincts—they don’t seem to have failed you before. The hotel needs to keep running smoothly, and I…might need a few kicks in the butt. If I lose focus. Help me?”

“Deal.”

They paused. A moment of silence, almost as if they were saying farewell to what they had been.

Evan stepped to the window, hand clutched around something, his gaze focused into the distance.

Space. They might be committed to staying friends, and helping each other, but right now, they needed some space. She’d gather a few things and head over to Shelley’s apartment to settle in. Even though she was good with the change in their situation, not having Evan in her life was going to take some getting used to.

Maybe the invite to dinner she discovered in her inbox would be enough to distract her. Keep her mind off what she’d lost, and give her the chance to focus on all the good things it meant for her future.

Moving ahead with her plans—change might have come sooner than she expected, but she’d survive. A turn in the path, that’s what Evan had called it.

If only she could peek to see what was around the next corner.

Chapter Five

Tyler stepped from the limo and into his brother’s encompassing hug.

Frank didn’t seem to care they were standing on the sidewalk outside the Takhini pack house, or that there was a horde of wolves watching with great interest as the two of them pounded each other on the back. Justin had a close eye on the crowd, so Tyler concentrated on enjoying being reunited for the first time in ages.

When the affectionate greeting was over, he paused to examine Frank closer. The years of hard living in the remote north had left a mark, but his brother seemed happy enough. Far better than when he’d left his broken heart behind and retreated from the family. “You’ve put on a few pounds.”

“All in the last week, I swear.” Frank jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “These wolves? They cook up a damn good table.”

Tyler gestured toward their vehicle. “Climb in and we’ll hit the restaurant. You can tell me all about your hosts while I do my part to fatten you up.”

Frank settled opposite him, his honest face showing his curiosity. “You’re all spiffy dressed. I told you it was a casual place.”

“Can’t be helped, I’m afraid,” Tyler explained. “There are too many other delegates in town. I have to be on my best behavior at all times.”

Frank made a rude noise. “Politics.”

Tyler smiled. “Trust me, there are times I agree with you one hundred percent, only this one is important. It’s not just people acting bigger than their britches, which is what I think you called politics when you were young. It’s conclave, Frank. If I don’t take it seriously, our people could get hurt.”

His brother stopped playing with the automatic windows, returning his focus onto Tyler. “I hear you. Which is why I decided I should come after all.”

Tyler had wondered about Frank’s presence in town. “When I didn’t see you in Dawson City, I figured you were too far into the bush to make it. Or tangled up with the strange illness that swept the north. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.” Frank widened his smile, relaxing back in the seat. “I’m here to enjoy the good parts while you get to do the hard labour. Sounds like a wonderful distribution of work.”

Tyler laughed. “We each have talents. Use them as necessary.”

Frank nodded. “Speaking of talents, I’ve been thinking. This whole
brouhaha
—formal, you say?”

“Very.”

“You need a bit of help.” Frank leaned forward. “You need to know how to read these people, and who to impress, right?”

Diplomacy was what Tyler was good at, but he wasn’t about to boast to his brother. Maybe Frank wanted to assist in the mediations. If he behaved it could work to their advantage. Frank wasn’t the kind of bear anyone wanted to piss off unintentionally. Nearly seven feet of quick-tempered brute? Tyler and Justin were big, but Frank was in a class all his own.

“You want to join me?”

Frank brayed out a laugh. “Ha. Are you fucking kidding me? I’d have the peace talks down to wrestling and blood before the hour was out, and you know it. No, gentle massaging of egos and shit—not for me, big bro. Not anymore.”

If Frank wasn’t offering to help, Tyler was confused, but before he could get clarification, the ride was over. Justin pulled open the door and they crawled out, the Klondike Rib and Salmon Barbeque to their right. A long row of customers stood waiting to get in, the line wrapping around the corner and disappearing from sight.

“Come on, we have reservations.” Frank cleared a path by simply pacing forward.

Tyler eyed the restaurant as he excused himself to the patrons they were butting in front of. Frank had said the place was casual, but this was lower on the relaxed scale than he’d imagined. Two disproportional buildings were smooshed against each other. The larger one vaguely looked like a tent, as if the original Whitehorse-gold-rush settlers had slapped up four walls and raised canvas over the top to make themselves a shop.

They paused inside the doors as the front desk staff cheered at the sight of Frank. Even the servers weaving between the tables with full hands grinned and called out greetings.

“Your brother doesn’t give himself enough credit for knowing how to get along with people. He obviously has a way with them.” Justin stood at his back, speaking over Tyler’s shoulder as they waited for the spontaneous celebration to die down.