“Cutting logs again,” Lucas said, stepping into his zone.
“Is there a problem with what I’m doing?”
“None,” he said, holding up his hands in total surrender. “You can do whatever you want. You’re the alpha.” He didn’t get any closer and Rocko wasn’t interested in hearing anything more from him.
He chopped more wood. Usually, when he needed time to think, this was where he came to help him to think up strategies and a way of dealing with whatever troubles were going on in his world. So far, nothing worked. All of his thoughts were dominated by one person, Winter.
“Why are you here, Lucas?” he asked.
Maybe the invasion of one of his men into his peace and quiet was too much of a distraction.
“I wanted to make sure you’re okay, sir.”
“Any signs of more attacks?”
“Not as of yet. We are keeping constant surveillance of the area.”
“Good. If anything is out of place, even if it looks like the wires have been bent or held onto, or a scent, I want to know about it.” He wouldn’t put the lives of his people at stake.
“I will.”
“Why are you here then if not to report any damages?”
“I happened to notice you taking the human woman, sir,” he said.
Rocko slammed the axe down. This time, he didn’t pick it up, leaving it embedded in the tree trunk as he gathered up the items he was looking for.
“What about it? Have the humans been asking about her?”
“No, they haven’t paid any attention or even shown any inclination of actually caring if she’s alive or dead.”
“Why are you asking?” He didn’t need an interrogation and Lucas was proving to be exceedingly bad at it.
“Is she dead?”
“No.”
“Ah.”
“Are we done here?”
“Some of the women are curious as to why you no longer come to the bar,” Lucas said.
“Is this what you’re here to do, Lucas, gossip?”
“No, I happen to notice you’re spending a lot more time at home than normal. You’ve also been more … brooding lately.”
Rocko stared at his … friend. He didn’t truly believe he had a friend, not in the real sense. Lucas was one of his men and still had to serve him. He wondered and not for the first time if that put a strain on any potential friendships.
“Can I ask you something?” Rocko wanted some advice and Lucas was well-known with women.
“Sure. Anything.”
“If you wanted to get a woman’s attention, how would you do it?”
“You’re the alpha. It wouldn’t be that hard.”
“Okay, what if the woman knew you were the alpha but didn’t care?”
“Would you even want to be with a woman who didn’t follow traditions and respect?” Lucas asked.
As an alpha, he was supposed to be shown respect at all times, to know his word was law. Winter never showed him any kind of respect. She didn’t bow down to him or look at the floor when he entered the room. Sometimes he even caught a glimmer of a smile when she looked at him. He liked it. The only time he got a rare smile from one of the women was after the proper protocol had been shown. He never thought he’d find his alpha status so irritating.
“Just tell me what you’d do.”
Lucas stared at him for several seconds, maybe even going as far as a minute. “Are we talking a wolf female here or a human?”
“Is there a difference?”
“Yes. A wolf female, you can be rough and hard. Taking her out for a run, rather than a nice long walk. I haven’t been with many human females, and some of them, they want to be wooed. Dinner, chocolates, flowers, even jewelry.”
“And it doesn’t differ?”
“Women are not all the same, Alpha. You’ve got to know what each one is like. Kind of like an equation, I think. I don’t know. The human female is alive and in your house. If you’re wanting sex, there are plenty of women who would gladly sleep with you.”
“With all due respect, most of the women who want a place in my bed also want the spot at my side, on my arm, mated for life. Not going to happen.”
“Has your wolf shown any signs of wanting any woman?” Lucas asked.
Winter.
The name echoed around his mind as if his wolf was talking to him at that very second. He didn’t want to have to deal with his wolf at this time. Keeping a lock on his emotions, he instead focused on the man before him.
“If that’s all, then I’m going to go and do a sweep of the perimeter.”
“A group of women are celebrating Brian and Amber’s upcoming wedding. They’re planning a trip into town. They’ve asked if they can take a couple of men with them in order to keep them safe.”
With Winter and Daphne, he’d forgotten about Brian and Amber’s union. Six months ago, they’d declared their mating but also wanted to join their lives together in marriage. For some wolf couples, they were content to just be mates, but Brian and Amber wanted it to be different. He couldn’t blame them, even though he didn’t see the point of it.