Ice Claimed (2 page)

“Sure, I’d love some. Now that you’re home, I’d thought I’d
give you a list of things I need to pick up for around here.”

“No problem. Let’s go into the kitchen.”

Meadow led Taylor farther into the room and went to the
cupboard to take out two mugs. She poured coffee into both, then brought them
to the table before she retrieved a carton of cream from the fridge.

She sat across from Taylor and fixed her coffee the way she
liked it before she said, “So, how were things here while I was gone?” When she
was on a dig she was usually gone for months at a time. That was part of the
reason she liked that Taylor lived on the property.

“Fine. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Meadow watched Taylor take a sip of his coffee. He was a
good-looking man with his shaggy, tawny-blond hair and light-brown eyes that
almost verged on gold. He also had a great body, but she had never felt drawn
to him in a sexual way. She thought of him more as a brother. And he seemed
fine with that. Not once out of the three years since he’d come to work for her
had he tried to hit on her.

“That’s good. Have you met our new neighbors yet? Well, I
guess they aren’t exactly that new anymore. They’ve lived there for almost two
years.”

At one time, the property that bordered along hers had been
part of her acreage. All of it had once belonged to her grandfather. Many years
ago, he’d sold off some of it, and when he’d died he’d left her the rest. He’d
known how much she’d loved this place, spending the summers out there with him
when she’d been growing up.

Taylor shook his head. “No, I haven’t. They pretty much keep
to themselves. And it’s not as if I’ll go out of my way to meet them either.”

Meadow grinned. That was very true. Taylor wasn’t much of a
people person, same as her. To be honest, he didn’t like to talk about himself
a whole lot. And she wasn’t about to pry into his personal life. If he’d wanted
her to know he would have told her.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait for a chance meeting. So
what supplies do we need?”

He gave her a list and an approximate figure of how much
everything would cost. Meadow okayed everything. Taylor never asked for
anything that was too extravagant or frivolous.

“There is one other thing,” Taylor said.

“All right.”

“I noticed around the outside of the front of the stable
there were some wolf tracks. They were fresh. I don’t like the idea of one
coming so close to the house.”

Meadow shook her head. “It’s not a wolf. I made a new friend
today out on one of the trails. It’s someone’s wolf hybrid. You don’t have to
worry about him. He’s friendly and pretty tame.”

Taylor gave her a look that said he wasn’t sure about that.
“A wolf hybrid?”

“Yes. At first I thought he was a wolf as well, but he’s a
little too stocky to be a wild, native one.”

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it, though I don’t
think it was a hybrid. I’ve done a lot of hunting and I know the difference
between a wolf’s and a dog’s set of tracks.”

“Well, whatever he is, he has to be somebody’s pet. He
didn’t act wild or aggressive.”

“All right, I’ll have to believe you.” Taylor stood. “Thanks
for the coffee. There are a couple of things I want to do before I call it a
day. I’ll go pick up those supplies tomorrow.”

Meadow stood as well. “You’re welcome, and that sounds
good.”

She followed him to the back door. Before Taylor left, he
looked at her. “I’m glad you’re home, Meadow. The place isn’t the same without
you around.”

“Thanks, Taylor. With no new digs planned, I don’t know when
I’ll be going again. The way things are looking, it could be another year
before I go on my next one.”

He smiled. “Good. See you tomorrow.”

Meadow nodded, then watched Taylor walk out into the yard
before he headed in the direction of the stable. She closed the door with a
smile. He was a great guy. Too bad neither one of them wanted anything more
than friendship.

Chapter Two

Durlach ran through the trees in dire wolf form in the
direction of Meadow’s property. This was the first part of Carson’s plan to
help Durlach meet his mate as a human. He had to admit his wolf brother had
come up with something that would give Durlach a good excuse to show up at
Meadow’s door.

Once he hit the trail, he lengthened his strides, running
faster. His need to be with his mate again forced him to go all out. After the
erotic dreams he’d had during the night, being in this form had his mating urge
riding him harder than before. It was controllable, but just barely.

He arrived at Meadow’s house and went around to the front
yard. Near to the door, he sat, threw back his head and let out a long,
drawn-out howl. He didn’t have long to wait before his mate appeared at the
entrance and looked around until she spotted him. Durlach got up on his paws
and trotted over to her with his tongue hanging out, doing everything to look
friendly and nonthreatening.

Meadow leaned over and scratched behind his ear once he
reached her. She was gorgeous. Her long, dark-blonde hair fell forward. The
smile she gave him reached her hazel eyes. He wanted to learn every curve of
her slim body with his lips.

“So you came back for a visit, did you?” she asked.

Durlach tilted his head to give her better access. He
enjoyed having Meadow pet him like this, but he would have liked it even more
if her hands were running all over his naked body, caressing and exploring. And
he wanted to do the same to her.

Meadow straightened, then pulled the front door closed. “I’m
not going out horseback riding right now, but you can follow me around if you
want. Plus, if you’re going to make it a habit of coming for a visit I’d better
introduce you to someone.”

He stayed at his mate’s side as she walked around to the
back of the house where the stable was. There was a pickup truck backed toward
the open sliding door with the tailgate down. A man came out of the building
and smiled at Meadow when he saw her approaching. Durlach didn’t like the fact
another male was there on the property with his unclaimed mate. Until he’d made
Meadow completely his, any person of the same sex as he was potential
competition.

“Taylor,” Meadow said. “Come meet someone.”

The other man came around the pickup. The smile Taylor wore
slowly disappeared as his gaze landed on Durlach. “This is your new friend?” he
asked.

“Yes. See, I told you he was a wolf hybrid, and that he’s
tame. Since you work and live here, and he might come back sometime when I’m
not around, I figured it would be a good idea to introduce you two.”

Taylor stepped closer and looked down at Durlach. “I still
have my doubts as to him being a hybrid. He looks to have too much wolf in him.
I’d watch him, though. His kind could turn on you when you least expect it. But
I guess there is no harm in letting him get to know my scent. That way he’ll
know you aren’t out here alone.”

Durlach had the distinct impression Taylor tried to give him
the message that he would act as Meadow’s protector if he needed to. It was as
if Taylor knew what Durlach was, but Durlach doubted he did. The werewolves of
today had done a good job of hiding their true nature from mortals. They had no
idea they lived among them.

Taylor held out his hand to Durlach, who gave it a sniff.
The other man’s scent was different than a mortal’s, but Durlach couldn’t
pinpoint why. It was something he hadn’t encountered before. It had him looking
at Taylor as a puzzle he needed to solve, especially when he tried to read the
other man’s thoughts and came up against what could only be described as a
brick wall.

“Now that you two have gotten to know each other, I guess
I’ll leave you be,” Meadow said to Taylor. “That is if you don’t need any help
putting the supplies away.”

Taylor shook his head. “No, I can manage. You go spend some
time with your new…friend.”

Was that sarcasm he heard in the other man’s voice? Durlach
was pretty sure it was. He had no idea why Taylor seemed to have a problem with
him. It wasn’t as if he’d done anything to warrant it.

Meadow turned and walked away. Durlach held Taylor’s gaze
for a few seconds before he followed her. She headed for another smaller
building that was across the yard from the stable. She used a key she fished
out of her jean pocket to unlock the door, then went inside.

Durlach padded in behind Meadow, his gaze sweeping the one
large, open room as his mate flipped on a light switch. There was a long
worktable at one end with a stool in front of it. Along a wall was a row of
wooden cabinets, each drawer marked by a white card with black writing on it.
There also was a single glass cabinet that held items like the arrowheads he
would have used during his life in the ice age.

Meadow shut the door behind them. “This is what I call my
office. You are welcome to stay as long as you don’t jump on anything.”

He sat on his haunches and stared up at Meadow. She smiled
and told him he was a good boy before she took something out of one of the
drawers and then sat at the worktable. Durlach watched as she used some fine
brushes to clean whatever it was she worked on. It didn’t take long for her to
appear to have forgotten he was even there.

Durlach figured now was a good time to put part two of
Carson’s plan into action. He went over to the closed door and scratched it
with a whine. Meadow lifted her head and looked in his direction. She slipped
off the stool and walked over to him.

“You need to go out, huh? All right. I’ll leave the door
open in case you decide you want to come back in.”

Meadow opened the door and Durlach shot out at a run. He
headed straight for the thick growth of trees that lined the property. Once he
was in deep enough not to be seen he’d shift to his human form before he
returned to his mate.

* * * * *

After letting the wolf hybrid out of her office, Meadow went
back to work on cleaning the artifact she’d found on her last dig. As usual,
she became totally focused on what she did and the rest of the world seemed to
drop away.

So when a knock sounded on the door she just about jumped
off her stool. Her heart beat a little faster from being startled. Meadow put
her brush down and turned on her seat, ready to give Taylor crap for scaring
her. The words she’d been about to say disappeared as her gaze landed on a man
she didn’t know. He quite literally took her breath away.

Meadow slipped off her seat and walked toward him. “Can I
help you?”

He stepped a little farther into the room and gave her a
smile that made her heart beat faster for an entirely different reason. “I hope
so. I knocked at the house but no one answered. I noticed the door was open so
I thought I’d try here. I’m looking for my pet. The last couple of days he’s
wandered off the property.”

As he spoke, Meadow couldn’t stop herself from running her
gaze over him. He was the best-looking man she’d seen in a long time. Obviously
native, he had copper-colored skin and long, black hair that fell to his waist.
His brown eyes were friendly and open. Unlike Taylor, this man fired her libido
and sent it skyrocketing. She looked him up and down, nibbling her bottom lip
as she took in his muscular chest, taut abs and well-muscled legs that his
jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt did nothing to hide. Nor did his pants hinder
her from seeing his impressive bulge.

“Have you seen him?” he asked.

Meadow jerked her gaze off his crotch and looked up at his
face. She forced herself to remember what he’d said. “Ah…I’m not sure. What is
your pet?”

“He’s a wolf hybrid. I figured he might have come over here
since your property borders with ours. I’m Durlach and I’m one of your
neighbors.”

“I’m Meadow. And I did see your pet. You missed him by a
matter of minutes. He and I have sort of been hanging out together. I have to
say he’s really well trained.”

“He might have gone back home. I’ve been out looking for him
for a little while. I’m glad he didn’t make a pest of himself.” Durlach smiled
again. “Maybe his taking off wasn’t a bad thing. He gave me the chance to meet
you.”

Meadow felt her cheeks heat. He flirted with her. Her pussy
clenched, reminding her of how long it had been since she’d slept with a man.
During a dig, it took up all of her attention and sex went by the wayside. It
was also part of the reason why she couldn’t keep a long-term boyfriend. The
men she’d dated hadn’t liked coming in second place to ancient artifacts or the
fact she liked digging in the dirt rather than spending time with them.

She cleared her throat. “If you want, I could help you look
for your pet. What’s his name?”

“Sure, I’d like that. It’s Kèitel.”

“You named your wolf hybrid Dog in Tlingit?”

“Yes. You speak it?”

“Well, I figured I should, considering what I do for a
living. I’m an archeologist and I specialize in ice age Tlingit artifacts.”

“Sounds like an interesting job.”

“I think it is. Shall we go look for Kèitel now?”

Durlach nodded and stepped through the open door. Meadow
joined him and closed it behind her. They set off across the yard in the
direction of one of the trails through the trees. She noticed Taylor stood near
the stable, his gaze seeming to be directed solely on Durlach. It was almost as
if her friend didn’t like the fact that Durlach was with her. She decided to
ignore it and continued on.

Once they hit the trail, Meadow said, “This is where I met
Kèitel yesterday while I was horseback riding. Maybe he’s somewhere around
here.”

“Could be. He does like going for a run in the trees.”

They walked in silence for a bit before Meadow got the
conversation going again. “So you’re one of my neighbors. I heard there was a
group of you living there.”

Durlach chuckled. “Yes, there’s a bunch of us, and our
number keeps increasing now that there are four married couples in the house.
Which I’m not one of, I might add. It’s just Capac, Ryder and me who are still
single.”

“It’s a good thing the house is on the large size and has
six bedrooms.”

Durlach turned his head and looked at her. “You’ve been
inside my place?”

“Yes, many times. I was friends with the previous owners. My
property and yours used to be all one big piece of land that belonged to my
grandfather. Quite a few years ago he sold off your section.”

“Does your grandfather still live with you?”

“No, he died and left me what part of his remained. I always
loved spending the summers with him as a kid. When I got older and started my
career I didn’t have as much time to come here. I think he figured I’d
appreciate it more than any of my other relatives.”

“I know I love living here. It allows me to have as much
freedom as I need.”

Meadow looked farther down the trail and smiled. “Look who
found us.” She pointed to the black wolf hybrid that raced down the trail in their
direction.

Durlach watched Capac running toward them in his dire wolf
form. This was not part of Carson’s plan. At least it wasn’t when Durlach had
left the house. Once his wolf brother reached him and Meadow, he glared down at
Capac, letting him know he wasn’t all that pleased to see him.

Capac returned his stare, then telepathically projected into
Durlach’s mind,
Don’t get grumpy with me. This was Carson’s idea. He thought
it would make your story more believable if another “wolf hybrid” was seen with
you. He would have done it himself, but his fur isn’t close to being black like
yours. So that left only me since the others would have to bring their mates
along, and that wouldn’t have worked.

“There you are,” Durlach said, playing along. “I should have
brought the collar and leash along.”

You try to put any of those things on me and you’re going
to find my teeth sinking into your ass
, Capac said with a slight lift of
his upper lip.

Meadow squatted in front of his wolf brother and scratched
behind his ear. “I doubt you need those. He’ll be a good boy and stay with
you.” She paused, gave Capac a closer look, then turned her head in Durlach’s
direction. “Are you sure this is Kèitel? This one looks a little different.”

It would seem his mate was quite observant. The differences
between him and his wolf brothers while in their dire wolf forms were subtle.
It had taken Cassidy, Haven, Eryn and Jaren a while to tell them all apart.

Durlach stepped between Meadow and Capac, forcing his wolf
brother to take a few steps back. “No, it’s him.”

Meadow straightened. “Well, I guess you don’t need my help
anymore now that Kèitel found you.”

“Thanks.” Durlach paused before he asked, “Are you free this
evening?”

“Actually, I am.”

“What would you think about me cooking you dinner at your
place? My house is a little crowded or I’d invite you over.”

Meadow nodded. “Sure, but can you cook?” she asked with a
smile.

“That wasn’t always the case, but I can now. One of my
friend’s wife is a trained chef. She’s been teaching me. The smell of my food
no longer makes people want to throw up.”

His mate burst out laughing. “That’s good to know. Do you
want me to pick anything up?”

“No, I’ll bring all the food. So you won’t have to worry
about that. How does five thirty sound?”

“That’s fine with me. I’ll see you then.”

Durlach watched Meadow walk down the trail toward her house.
Once she was out of sight, Capac shifted to his human form.

“Your mate seems nice,” his wolf brother said.

He turned toward Capac. “I’m glad you think so. Next time
Carson comes up with a last-minute idea can you at least give me the heads-up?
You could have texted me before you left the house. That way I wouldn’t have
been caught off guard.”