Wolver's Reward (29 page)

His Babe was a wonder. After what she'd
heard, after holding him while he blubbered like a baby, she'd
taken his hand and led him to bed, where she took control.

Embarrassed, he'd been a baby about that,
too. "I don't do pity fucks, Reb," he'd told her, mostly because by
the way he'd felt, he didn't think he could get it up. He was wrong
about that, too.

She'd giggled at his sulky response. "Good to
know, but this has nothing to do with pity. This is hunger for
fudge, and let me remind you it's not wise to argue with a woman
who has her teeth near your more delectable parts."

She touched her tongue to the base of his
sagging cock and before she'd licked it from stem to stern, his
mast was fully erect and ready to sail. She'd ministered to his
needs as well as her own, and damn, wasn't it hot to watch her
fingers play at the juncture of her legs while she rode the waves
and made herself come.

River foiled her plans to do it again by
flipping her to her back and driving himself into her softness. Her
tender call as she reached her peak made him forget how much he
hated his name. On her lips, it sounded like music and he reached
his own climax with it ringing in his ears.

He kissed the shoulder he'd cried against in
the shower. Reb was beautiful, and wonder of wonders, that beauty
was his. "Never want to let you go, Babe, never want to let you
go."

"You never have to, River."

Lying there, in the satisfied afterglow of
spent passion, River wished that could be true.

"
Mate
," his wolf
whispered.

"I know," River whispered back.

Reb's revelation in the shower had eased his
mind and freed the ghosts of the Mates from his dreams, but it
hadn't changed his current situation or, more importantly,
hers.

He understood now why he'd felt the need to
keep those long ago Mates to himself, but he was no longer a pup.
As much as he wanted to keep Reb for himself, he knew that he
couldn't. Reb was a Mate in need of a strong Alpha who would love
her in the way she deserved. Until one was found, River would
protect her as best he could, with his life if he had to, but as
long as she was unmated, she was as vulnerable to the monsters like
Donavan as were those Mates of his past. She wouldn't be able to
resist the Alpha's touch. She would be the one crawling back broken
and ashamed.

If that happened, Reb's would be the one face
in his nightmares whose accusing look he couldn't survive.

When they opened the door, ready to leave,
Darla was standing outside it with breakfast. She frowned. "You
spoiled my fun. I was hoping to catch you with your pants
down."

"Pervert." River took the offered sandwich, a
fat one filled with eggs and sausage. "How's the Alpha?"

"Girl's gotta get her drink somewhere and
this well is pretty dry." Darla looked around at the mostly female
wolvers packing their cars. "Alpha's doing okay, I think. His
color's back, a little pale, but pale beats gray. He ate a little
and went back to sleep. Margaret says that's the best thing for
him." She looked expectantly at River.

"I guess it is, but he's got to eat. Keep his
strength up." His eyes were on the RV only because they were
talking about the Alpha, so he was looking that way when the door
opened and Ben step out. The wolver held out his hand for the Mate,
who followed him. "What's he doing?"

"Kissing up." Darla's frown deepened. "He's
offering his services. That's what he said. They need someone to
look out for them while the Alpha recovers, someone strong." she
rolled her eyes at this last. "He wants to drive."

"Darla." Reb cautioned, but she was smiling.
"He's not casting aspersions on your abilities. He's only trying to
look out for the Alpha and Mate."

"Yeah? Well, he said a bunch of other stuff,
too, about needing someone who could handle emergencies. He also
pointed out the dangers of riding a motorcycle without the proper
gear, particularly for young, inexperienced females. Mentioned
something about precious cargo. Just looking out for the family,
you know. Precious cargo. Hmph. How's it feel to be compared to a
suitcase?"

Reb flipped a length of hair behind her and
twitched her shoulders in a show of pique. "It doesn't matter what
he says, or what they say. I'm riding with River."

The Mate laughed at something Ben said, and
then touched the wolver's arm. Both turned their heads to look at
the trio watching them. The Mate waved. Ben gave them a serious
nod. River nodded back.

"No, you're not. You're riding in the RV," he
said absently. He was watching Margaret and Ben, but glanced over
at Reb when she spoke.

"No, I'm not. I want to ride with you." She
pouted. Her foot rose an inch off the ground and returned with some
force.

This was a side of Reb River hadn't seen. He
spoke to Darla as if Reb wasn't there. "Never was impressed by
females who pout and stamp their feet."

Darla snorted and coughed into her hand.
"They all do it when they're young. Most grow out of it," she said
in the same conversational tone River used.

Neither comment affected Reb's pout. "Why
can't I ride with you?"

River was tempted to say "Because I said so,"
but caught himself in time. "Because Ben's right." Damn him. "And
even if he wasn't, you're not used to it. I'm not going to stop
every five minutes because you're butt sore and need to stretch
your legs. You ride in the RV. Darla, you drive. I need Ben on the
road."

"Fine," Reb said, though she made it clear
she didn't mean it. "I'll be in the RV." She started to flounce
away.

"Hey. Babe." River crooked his finger and she
walked back. Her pout remained, but her eyes said she'd won.

"What?"

River hooked his hand around the back of her
neck and drew her in. He touched his forehead to hers. "We've got
enough shit on our plates. Think about that, and don't pile on
more."

"Oh." She got the message and her face
changed. "I forgot."

"I didn't," he said, and then he kissed her,
just a quick one before turning her around and sending her on her
way with a hand at her ass. "Tell Ben I need to see him and don't
forget to save me some lunch."

"I think I like you," Darla said.

"I'm flattered," River returned flatly. He
returned to business. "Pick someone you can trust to ride shotgun,
someone who won't fold in an emergency. You drive and you don't
stop for anyone you don't know, and that includes the new comers
when we pick them up. A car breaks down, I don't care who it is,
you keep going. I'll send someone back to help."

Darla raised her eyebrows at his orders.
"What's going on?"

"Nothing and that's the way I want to keep
it. Your Alpha and Mate look for the good in people. You all do.
Well, maybe not you," he amended with a laugh and then became
serious again. "I look for the bad and I don't trust anyone until
they prove that I can."

River shrugged and looked around at the
wolvers loading and rearranging their cars. Not one of them looked
like they could handle themselves in a fight.

Darla must have understood the look on his
face. "They're out of shape and they know it. This new life is
going to be different from their old one. They know that, too." She
spread her feet a little apart, folded her arms across her chest,
and settled into a more comfortable position. "They had a choice,
you know. When this all began, the Alpha gave them a choice. He
released six families and another half dozen single males. They're
back home trying to make their own fresh start as a pack."

"Will they make it? Do they have an Alpha?"
If so, why wasn't he in the running for Reb? Did he already have a
Mate?

Darla snorted her version of a laugh. "One
thing you need to know about this pack. Every last one of them can
talk a subject to death. That doesn't mean they do anything about
it. Those wolvers will be sitting around the table for the next ten
years discussing who's best suited to be their Alpha."

"No Challenge?"

Darla laughed again. "If they do, it'll be
death by chess and only after they discuss the merits of the game."
She shook her head. "Nope, they'll never choose an Alpha, but they
might make it for a while. Roland gave them some money. They
managed to put a down payment on a small apartment building. We've
got the best of the lot right here."

"Isn't that just peachy." He wondered if the
Alpha was a talker, too. Reb had called him a dreamer.

"They want this, River, and they'll do
whatever's needed to get it. They were unhappy with the life they
were leading. No, not unhappy, unsatisfied. They had a pretty good
life, but it wasn't enough. I figured you'd understand since
Margaret says you're just like 'em."

River looked over the women loading the cars.
Most wore summer dresses. Some wore shorts that came to their
knees. All wore makeup and had their hair fixed nice and no doubt
sprayed stiff to keep it that way. What in hell could a wolver like
him have in common with them?

"My job's to get you there in one piece. The
two groups need to come together if this thing is going to work.
You take the women. I'll take the men. I want them worn out at the
end of the day. Less trouble that way."

This many unmated females brought together
with a pack of unmated males, there was bound to be trouble.

"The Mate needs you to stay until we're
settled and the Alpha's back on his feet."

They needed a helluva lot more than that.
"We'll see," he said.

But he'd already seen. Reb was standing by
the RV smiling up at Ben. The big wolver leaned with one hand
braced on the vehicle's side, looming over her, penning her in. She
didn't seem to mind. The Babe-in-the-woods had no idea what was
going on and that was only part of it. This pack was going to need
an Alpha who was more than back on his feet. They needed a leader,
and Reb needed a mate. It would be a cold day in hell before he let
Ben worm his way into either position.

River hated the thought and knew he would
hate it more with each passing day, but he knew what had to be
done.

"
Mate
," his wolf snarled.

"I know that," he silently told the wolf,
"And I know the wolver who can find her an Alpha."

To Darla he said, "Let's get this show on the
road. I need you to arrange a meeting for me with the Alpha and
Mate once we're stopped for the night and I'll need you to keep Reb
busy while we meet."

"Atta boy." Darla's grin spread to both sides
of her face. "I'll be happy to arrange it. Margaret said you'd take
care of things."

River didn't grin back. He'd take care of
things all right, but only until Eugene Begley found Reb the right
Alpha to mate.

Chapter 23

The trip went more smoothly than River
thought it would. After four days, he was beginning to think his
worry was for nothing. Like cowboys, he, along with Scar, Ben, and
the two cubs, rode herd on the caravan of vehicles all moving
north. They pushed the slower groups that lagged behind, and forced
the speeders to temper their need to be the first to arrive. It was
impossible to keep that many cars and trucks together in one line,
but they managed to keep the clusters within a few miles of each
other.

They rounded up a few strays, too, mostly
flat tires and one overheated engine when they hit a long stretch
of highway construction. Their main job, though, was to watch for
suspicious vehicles that might be following them.

River didn't know whether the wolvers he
killed were sent directly to the Paradise Motel, or if they were
random scouts sent by Donavan to search the back roads when the
Sweet Valley pack didn't show on the main ones. He regretted losing
control of his anger and killing them. The information they carried
would have been useful. Ryker would be pleased to know he'd learned
a lesson and paid a price for it. River now had to wonder and watch
and wait.

Watching for signs of Donavan or his wolvers
wasn't as easy as they thought it would be. Long stretches of
highway, with exits few and far between, meant other travelers
stayed with them for hours at a time. Each of those vehicles needed
to be checked out and here the bikes came in handy. It was easy for
a motorcycle to maneuver through traffic. Several times, at the
signal from one of the scouts, River led the four wheeled herd off
the highway while one of his cowboys hung back to make note of who
got off with them. Another would stay with the few who always
missed the message to exit.

These were usually newbies who had no mental
connection with the Sweet Valley pack. They had no communication
with each other, either. That ability was lost with Dennis' death.
It was inconvenient, but expected.

The newcomers themselves were a surprise to
River. There were no other motorcycle riders. In attitude and
appearance, most of them fell somewhere between Scar and Ben. Had
he not known their story in advance, River would have had a hard
time recognizing many of them as rogue.

"They're wolvers," Reb said simply when he
brought the subject up. "What did you expect them to be like?"

They were lying in bed, River stretched out
on his back with his hands locked behind his head, Reb curled
against him with her head on his chest. This time together had
become River's favorite time of the day.

After a late supper, the pack would be
exhausted from running miles every afternoon and the vigorous
training River put them through. Ryker would be proud of that, too.
They were getting into shape with the added bonus of being too
exhausted to stay up late. That meant River would be free to join
Reb.