He snickered as he contemplated the outcome of the forthcoming shindig. He could almost hear Jock and Frank now.
“And just where did you take a notion like that?”
Taken by surprise, Grant scurried to his feet. “What are you doin’ out here?”
Chapter Eleven
“Don’t tell me. You have extra-special gifts to go along with that double stuffin’ you received a little while ago?”
“You can’t ruffle my feathers, Grant,” she told him, crossing her arms over her breasts.
In the distance, a loud howl resounded. At first she dismissed the faintly familiar tone, but soon the vocal release gained momentum as it seemingly summoned other wolves around them.
Grant acted nervous then. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and studied her with a fierce gaze.
“What are you doing here, Grant?”
“I’ve come to negotiate.”
“Negotiate with me or Jock?”
“You might have a pearl or two in this deal,” he said, gaping at her breasts then dipping his head to stare at the lower half of her nightdress.
Certain Grant could see through the transparent material, e
ven in the moonlight, Carla clasped her hands in front of her waist, using her palms to cover the apex between her legs. “What do you want, Grant? If you’re looking for booze, you’re out of luck. I don’t keep the devil’s drink around here.”
A pack of barking beasts moved closer and closer as she spoke with more awareness. In a few minutes, Jock and Frank would stir. They’d come looking for her and they wouldn’t wander far.
“Why were you hiding behind my outhouse?”
“Why were you in bed with two men at the same time?”
“You have a fondness for beds,” she said, forcing a smile and pushing aside thoughts of Frank and Jock taking her in the loft. “Don’t ’cha?”
Grant cleared his throat. He shoved his shoulders back as if a team of wild horses had attached a rig to his broad form and forced him to an upright position. “You can’t have two imprints.”
“I do,” she said confidently.
In her periphery, she caught sight of three wolves on the hillside. They approached as if they were ready to pounce on their prey and for a minute, she felt a chilling sense of danger.
Recognizing the body language of the small wolf out front, she immediately knew who and what the approaching wolves represented. They were her protection. Like Jock and Frank had explained, she was under the pack’s care now.
“Call them off,” Grant said, waving his hand off to the side.
“I can’t do that.”
“Is that so?” Grant stroked his chin. “Maybe you can’t stop them because you don’t have Frank’s imprint.”
“You don’t believe me and I don’t care.”
“No demonstration to convince me you’re the Alpha female of this pack?”
“I’m not a shifter.”
“But if you’ve been imprinted upon, they can’t touch you! Now call them off!”
“I asked you a question. What do you want, Grant?”