Page 48 of Wild Wolf
In the truck as they headed out, she turned. “Talk to me, Nolan. I’m your mate now. What affects you, affectsme.”
Jaw tightening, he stared at the tree-flanked road, the sweeping vistas as they passed scenicviewpoints.
She tried again to engage him in talk about the farm. “Who are you sending to work in the winery today? Palmer, Todd and Logan? They’re young enough, arrogant, could learn a few things fromGalen.”
The three Lupines were only two years younger than Nolan, who was young himself. Yet they lacked Nolan’smaturity.
He shook his head. “I need those boys in the vineyard. They’re good workers, when they’re not arrogant and full of themselves or busy taking selfies and putting themselves onInstagram.”
She laughed. “Lupine selfies. At least they’re too busy taking selfies to challenge yourauthority.”
“They’re not. Palmer and Todd wanted to fight me lastmonth.”
Alarm filled her. “For control of thepack?”
He nodded. “I put a stop to it with twothings.”
Raising his hands off the wheel, he curled them into fists. “One and two. Took ten minutes before they cowered andapologized.”
“I have no doubt you could easily lick ‘em,” she murmured as he gripped the steering wheel once more. “You’re bigger and stronger and they’re dumber than a bag ofrocks.”
Hegrinned.
Still, it worried her that Nolan had younger Lupines itching to move up in power and take over thepack.
“What’s your biggest problem? Controlling the pack?” Jordanpressed.
Nolan’s muscular arm tightened as he gripped the steering wheel. “Arson.”
Her breath hitched. She knew that fire had been a concern in the past, but ones deliberately set? “Howmany?”
Nolan’s gaze flicked to her. “Too many. Someone’s been setting fires in my territory. The Fae have managed to put them out, but my gut says it’s a matter of time before it gets out of control and burns. Reason why I’ve arranged a meeting with Brandon Harlow and Adam. It’s talk now orwar.”
Jordan frowned. “Why would they burn forest that borders theirs? It’s so risky. Your father was always quarreling with their alpha. But they have Brandon now. That Lupine more reasonable than hisfather?”
Nodding, Nolan rubbed the back of his neck. “Things are still tense between our people. Feud’s been going on many years and that’s hard to forget. They might have set fires near our land to threaten our territory. No one in our pack would risk losing theirhome.”
Troubling news. An out-of-control wildfire could destroy all in itspath.
“I can help flush out the arsonist,” sheoffered.
“How?”
Jordan rubbed her nails on her shirt. “I’ll sit every last one of them down and have a little talk, Jordan style. You know, the way I’d do it in thepast.”
Nolan’s mouth twitched, but he shook his head. “Threatening to spike their dinner with cayenne pepper isn’t the answer. Stay out of it. I’ll handlethis.”
He said little more during the drive, preferring to crank up the country tunes he played on his iPod in the truck. Jordan put her feet on the dash, not caring that her boots marked the fine leather. She resented his silence, resented the way he ordered her around, even though deep inside, she suspected he wasn’t beingmean.
Just…Nolan.
Nolan who was probably told by his cousin Aiden how to keep her inline.
When they pulled into Dillsboro, the small town charmed her. People thronged the narrow streets, eating ice cream cones, shopping and sightseeing. The train, a big steam locomotive, idled on the tracks that paralleled a slow-moving river flanked by trees. It was all country and homey andrustic.
Nolan parked in the driveway next to the store with a bright red sign saying RED PORCH WINES. A red bistro table and lopsided chairs sat on the grass. The store was ancient, with a faded red porch, red rocking chairs and two wood tables painted like sunflowers. Bay windows displayed wineglasses, bottles anddolls.
“I get the wine and glasses. But dolls?” she asked as they started up the walkway to thestore.
