Tempted (Two Marks 1)

I noticed him. That was for sure. I recognized him from the diner in West Springs. He was one of the ranchers whom Wade wanted to avoid. Wade had even called him the leader of the gang. Tom… Tim… Tim Hollaroy. He and his friends were the guys Wade thought had murdered his mother. Based on what I’d overheard, perhaps other wolves too.

This guy was shooting the animals with trackers? There had been three so far, including White Paw. He was getting their locations from my tracking software from Dr. Andrews? For money?

Oh God. Andrews was selling the location of the wolves to the ranchers so they could find them easily and kill them.

Shooting fish in a barrel. More like a wolf with a tracker.

And it was because of me. If I hadn’t tagged them, they’d be alive. Dizzy, I dropped into a chair and drew deep breaths.

Knowing I’d been a part of this evil arrangement made me sick! I stared at nothing, and tried to figure out what I was going to do.

This wasn’t about Wade or Landry. Or the Two Marks pack. I touched the spot on my breast where Wade had marked me.

As if my thoughts conjured it, a text message came through on my phone. This time, it was from Wade.

Caitlyn, we are so fucking sorry. We should have trusted you and your research. We DO trust you and your research. We will have your back with Gibson and anyone else who questions your loyalty to wolves. Please let us make it up to you. You’re our mate. We can’t live without you. Can we just meet in person to talk?

I closed my eyes against the heat and moisture there. Scratch that, it was about Wade and Landry. I loved them. I might still be angry, but they were my mates. I was loyal to their pack, whether their pack accepted me or not. I wouldn’t let the ranchers kill any more animals. Or another shifter.

I just had to figure out how to put a stop to it.

Once I figured out my plan, I grabbed my computer from my office, lugging it down to my car, returning for every other document I had, leaving my office empty. I carried it all into my apartment and got to work, wrapping up well after midnight. Then, I barely slept. I tossed and turned and thought of Landry and Wade. Of what they were doing. How they felt. About me. About us. There was no us, thanks to me. I’d ended it. Because they thought I had something to do with the wolf murders. Because they didn’t trust me. Because they’d manipulated me in an attempt to block my research.

Except their texts said otherwise.

But after taking two days—two miserable days—I could see their perspective, why they’d been so upset. I didn’t blame Gibson for being so angry. A wolf had been shot. He was protecting his pack, and all wolves. While I hadn’t pulled the trigger, I had been responsible. No matter how well intentioned I was, I’d let my boss use my data for his own personal gain. He didn’t care about the wolves. Neither did the ranchers. They wanted them dead.

I did. I cared about every animal in my study. My updated paper showed it. But it would mean nothing if I didn’t get it past Dr. Andrews, and to the dean. I had to also catch the fucker in his illegal and unethical actions. Until I did that, it was his word against mine. At this point, I didn’t care about my job. I cared about making things right.

I had to protect the members of the Two Marks pack, even if I was nothing to them now.

And so, on Wednesday morning, I finally stopped tweaking my final product and took action.

In an email to the dean, I attached my paper, bypassing Dr. Andrews. It was done. My plan was in motion. She had it in her inbox before I walked into the science building. This time, instead of being stealthy, I walked right up to Dr. Andrews’s door, and knocked. I didn’t wait for him to invite me in, just pushed it open.

“Morning,” I said.

He looked away from his computer monitor. “Caitlyn.”

I dropped into the guest chair with my usual slump. I was crazy nervous, but I wasn’t going to let it show. “Wanted to stop in before my class.”

“Oh?” He finally looked my way.

“I headed out of West Springs on Sunday, but stopped at a diner to grab a coffee. Ran into a friend of yours. Tim Hollaroy.”

A flush crept up his neck, but he didn’t say anything. Yeah, I was right about them knowing each other. Okay, my bluff was working. So far.

“Anyway, I guess that’s where the ranchers hang. Their meeting spot. He approached me with a very tempting offer.”