“You don’t know how many times I thought about escaping to Africa, surrounded by wild game. Fear of recapture always curtailed my plans. It wasn’t until you came that I realized they kept tabs on me with the RFD tracker.”
“At least you convinced him you escaped from our pack.”
“That’s our advantage. He thinks I’m alone and angry.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I was kept as the lowest rank in your pack, and worse, broken-hearted that you chose a proper princess mate. So I escaped.”
“Don’t think for a second I ever stopped wanting you.”
Any doubt she had about him giving her up after he found out his true identity disappeared like a bad dream. She gripped his hand. “My life started when I met you.”
He chuckled. “As did mine.”
Before she shed a tear, he gently kissed her.
Steele released her, moved a hair from her brow and smiled. “Let’s start our life together by clearing your name.”
“Should I call Tomlin now?”
“Let me talk to Rylee about that. In the meantime, I’ll find out if there are any leads about an agent loyal to Kiara’s pack.”
“Okay.”
Steele put away his mobile. He spent an hour talking to Rylee and then Manny about a possible mole in the agency. He wiped sweat from his face. Too damn hot for his kind. As much as Gaby enjoyed the Everglades, his body could no longer take the humidity. In wolf form, it felt like being trapped in a sauna while wearing a fur coat designed for Arctic conditions. After Tomlin was taken out, they’d head far north where the only neighbors were polar bears. He stepped out where Gaby stood near the marsh. Bird watching. “Hey.”
She turned. Her smile radiant. Lips that reminded him of their lovemaking. “You talked for a long time.”
“Got some possible leads, at least about the mole.”
“Oh?”
“There were two LIA members associated with Kiara’s pack. One is Paige, a beta female who works in surveillance, and claimed to escape her pack’s brutish ways. The other member is Caden, an alpha male who married into Kiara’s pack.”
“Special ops?”
It seemed odd Caden chose computers over soldiering, but he excelled in tech so why not? “No. He’s worked in Manny’s tech department for six years. He is also a helicopter pilot and occasionally joins Team Greywolf as tech support. Quiet, but always reliable. If he turned mole, it must have been recent.” Maybe Caden found out about her charm and he had a deep-seated hatred against charmers.
“How lon
g ago did he marry into her pack?”
“Two years ago. A beta he met during a mate circle.”
“Sounds like a dating service.”
“It is. A family member sets up a circle for local packs to meet available partners. They form a large circle and meet while in wolf form. The next day, the aroma that attracts the wolf is combined with the human form. A few find love that way. I heard Caden will move and have pups with his mate.”
“Does his wife live at headquarters?”
“No. Makayla happens to be a midwife and because of it, she’s in wolf form a good chunk of the time.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Midwife to wolves?”
“Yep. In human form, she is an expert on herbs and potions.”
“Probably a witch during the Middle Ages.”