The men quickly tossed their packs into a couple of rooms. They were sure that this division of space would end quickly once Ebony was on board with, their unique arrangement.
They tromped up the ladder and into Tower Twelve. Ebony was sitting at a table with a heavy duty laptop in front of her. They designed it to fall off sides of mountains.
“Oh, good you’re here.” Ebony wouldn’t admit to them she’d just finished reading the file their boss sent her. These three had impressive resumes. “Okay, I was checking the minute details the boss sent over. We’re stuck with the food we have here until lunch tomorrow, when the supply drop arrives. We’ll need to share the chores. I’m afraid I’m no chef. So, we’ll trade off so there’s less chance that I’ll accidentally kill someone with my cooking.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I assume the drop’s made in the meadow? Peter’s good with food. He can help with the cooking while Franco and I bring the dropped supplies here.” Benedict asked. He’d already looked the entire area over. It was difficult not to mark his new territory. “You wanted to move your things into the cabin. When you’ve got them packed, we’ll take them down for you.” There’s a winch system we use to haul large things up the tower.
“I was going to use the winch.” Ebony stopped speaking. He was trying to be nice, and she was stomping all over it. “Fine, thank you. Once we have the daily chores divided and done, I’ll take you out and show you some of the land features. Oh, and a quick warning. We’ve got some new wolves in the area. I don’t know their personalities yet. Meaning we don’t have a gauge of their temperament. Just be careful.”
Peter did a double take at Ebony’s back. Did she not sense her mates’ presence?
Ebony was struggling since she caught the scent of the male wolf shifter, and it was causing havoc with her instincts. She was now at the point of considering jumping one man. She didn’t know which one, though. No, boinking a co-worker was unprofessional. She didn’t have to see them again if they were strangers. This was the first day. There is no chance for her to deal with personal needs. She would have to escape into the woods to care for her personal needs.
“Ranger Dover will check-in with us in three days. I would like to conduct research studies with wolves again. Any progress will be a feather in our cap.”
Benedict sat down beside her. He looked at the laptop screen and nodded. “We should make progress after they put away the supplies. We should get the food settled. Then we’ll acquaint you with the area. Come back for sunset and start again the next morning? As for the wolves, they usually don’t like our size. They just move on.” He avoided saying the size of their wolves made them back down.
“Well, you’ve been warned. Right now, the camping area is full. Unless they get lost, we shouldn’t have them this far out. The weather report says we have dry days coming with a few evenings of rain with potential lightning strikes. That means we have to keep our eyes open for delayed smouldering.” That was never good. Basically, lightning would strike and start a fire. The rain moistens the ground cover, but the ground cover protects the embers of the fire. When the wet ground cover dries out, the fire starts in earnest. Which could be hours or days after the lightning strike. She’d heard of locations going weeks before the fire reveals itself.
“Mind if I start something for lunch we’ve not eaten?” Peter asked as he moved to the small portable kitchen in the corner. “Have you eaten?” At that question, Ebony’s stomach answered rather loudly.
“I’ve been busy and missed breakfast. I’m afraid when I’m alone here I’m not the best housekeeper, so I needed to clean up some.”
“Give me some time. I’ll have something on the table.”
“You shouldn’t starve yourself. It’s not healthy. The last thing you need our here is a suppressed immune system.” Franco sat down on the bench to her other side. His hand brushed hers as he looked at some of her hand-written notes. “How do you identify the wolves?”
“I’ve got a list of known wolves in the area and their names with their different markings on them. I couldn’t see the new wolves to get their markings, but they aren’t afraid of humans. The night before I returned, a grey wolf walked up to the tower.” Franco looked pointedly at Benedict, and he responded with a slight shrug.
“Now, we also have to be careful with everything. When I arrived, I found the tower trashed. I don’t believe they took much, but some food. I’m hoping it was a vagrant passing through and not poachers.”
Peter frowned at Benedict now. Benedict wouldn’t feel guilty about snooping on his mate for a common ground or a way to score points with her.
“Well, we’re here now. You can breathe a little now because we have your back.” Benedict reassured her. All three men couldn’t get over her inability to sense her mates.
Ebony could feel Franco’s hand on hers. Teasing and discreet. She was sure he’d not noticed what he did. But gods, she was running on empty. Ebony felt her entire body react, and she struggled to stay professional with these men.
A few minutes later, Peter set down plates of food for everyone. “Enjoy everyone. Eat you.”
Ebony felt like a failure. She was acting like the stereotypical female enforcer-type alone on a job with all men. She was in full protective mode from her peers. Being all work avoided anything that might label her different or feminine. It was a fear of losing respect and physical danger. These guys were here to work. It’s her imagination that they flirted with her. She was just emotional because of the dreams the male wolf’s scent gave her last night.
Ebony sent the guys out to get comfortable with their surroundings of the camp. She’d already ensured they knew all the communication equipment. Where to first aid kit, and other equipment for their various jobs. The satellite radios they’d carry were charged, and they ensured we’re working so they could contact her if they had questions or got lost. But she got a funny feeling this wasn’t needed. If they got lost, they could get themselves straightened out. With time to think, she returned to the male wolf. He couldn’t have moved on because she could swear his scent was stronger. When she entered the cabin, its air was warm and on the verge of stale. Ebony entered only when she needed to. But it quickly became obvious to her that his scent was there, too. But she’d locked it like the tower. The door wasn’t damaged when she checked. His scent was stronger now in here. Ebony couldn’t figure it out. She couldn’t shift to improve her tracking skills. This was one
Benedict was the last one in the tower. Franco punched the tabletop. “She hates us. What were we thinking not to approach her as wolves rather than humans? Benedict, what were you thinking coming here and breaking into the tower?” “I wanted to know more about who she was. Her likes and dislikes. How do you think I found out she’s, our mate? The moment I lay down in her bed, and was surrounded by her scent. Gods, the way my body reacted so fast to it. I knew she was ours. I couldn’t control my reaction to her scent.” “You didn’t.” Benedict raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I marked her bed, so she’d know who was coming for her.” “Benedict, you came on her bed. Gods, no wonder she’s pissed at us. You need to apologize to her.” “I can smell her in here. Everything Carrie’s her scent.” Peter mumbled as he sat in a chair. He’d opened his pants. “Think she’s orgasmed right here.” His hand rubbed the front of his pants. The other two men watched him
Ebony ran a short way. It wasn’t enough to run as a human. She shed her clothes and shifted. Leaving her satellite phone with her clothes, she ran on four feet. Just ran for a few minutes. When she’d calmed enough, Ebony slowed and noticed her surroundings. She picked up scents and thought about what happened. Should she send them packing? They were the first team she received in four years. If she fired them without a reason, she might not get another team for a long time. Or she might not have a job. It wasn’t like she couldn’t tell Alan about them being shifters. This wasn’t pack lands. Even if she felt territorial about it. Maybe she was tired. She’d not slept well. She caught their scent in her nose and it struck the right cords to give her some kinky dreams. She’d dreamt of several wolves in different scenarios taking her. Some they were wolves and others faceless humans taking her willing body until she woke up sweating as her body throbbed from her climax. There
Dinner that night, Ebony sat with her laptop, going over the pictures she took of the campsite. “Benedict, your discovery of the poachers. Do you know how many there might be that we’re dealing with? I can’t find anything at the camp that tells me definitively how many there are.” “I wish you’d taken one of us with you when you went back. As for numbers, I would hazard a guess of two to four, but I could be underestimating. You know how they work in big operations. With several camps and smaller groups.” Benedict said this while he ate. Peter was still at the stove retrieving seconds of a stew he made earlier that day. Franco was eating and listening. Clearly, they were staying out of this conversation for now. She was feeling if they commented she’d be placed in at a disadvantage. “They were long gone. I made sure of that before I came back for my camera.” “Still, if one of us was there, it would have been a second set of eyes to find more evidence.
Ebony lay asleep by the time Benedict went on shift. She was dreaming. Dreaming that, she got out of bed for a drink and as she returned to her bed; she found it occupied by three hunky wolves. Their bodies entwined provocatively, and Franco looked up at her and smiled. “What took you so long? Come join the party.” All three were naked, with a smooth skin over bands of muscle. Benedict’s hands were toying with Peter’s balls lazily and Franco lay back against the headboard toying with himself. “Come here. I want to taste you. Lie down right here.” He pointed to the bed before him. As if on autopilot, she moved to lie down. Somehow, she was naked when Peter parted her thighs for Franco and held them open. Benedict reached out to caress her breasts, teasing her nipples to hard peaks before his hot lips tasted them. Suckling them to swollen, needy things. As he did that, Franco’s face disappear between her thigh and then she felt him. Gods, she felt him. His tongue licking a
Ebony got back to sleep and awoke to her alarm, which was a rare occurrence. That meant she needed to get up and get herself going. She was running late. Then she remembered she wasn’t in the tower alone. There were three others about. Dang it. Three men who were probably still asleep, too. When she peaked into their room that the three were sleeping in, she found only Benedict asleep. It was now nine in the morning, late for her starting the day. He must have been asleep for only two or three hours. He needed more than that. So she left him sleeping and, once she was dressed for the day, Ebony went to the tower. Once she opened the trap door quietly as she dreaded interrupting another intimate moment. The smell of breakfast cooking hit her like a physical barrier. “Morning. I was just coming to get you for breakfast. You’ve got perfect timing.” Franco smiled down at her. Peter was at the table setting out breakfast. It seemed all so normal. Peter wa
Ebony got back to sleep and awoke to her alarm, which was a rare occurrence. That meant she needed to get up and get herself going. She was running late. Then she remembered she wasn’t in the tower alone. There were three others about. Dang it. Three men who were probably still asleep, too. When she peaked into their room that the three were sleeping in, she found only Benedict asleep. It was now nine in the morning, late for her starting the day. He must have been asleep for only two or three hours. He needed more than that. So she left him sleeping and, once she was dressed for the day, Ebony went to the tower. Once she opened the trap door quietly as she dreaded interrupting another intimate moment. The smell of breakfast cooking hit her like a physical barrier. “Morning. I was just coming to get you for breakfast. You’ve got perfect timing.” Franco smiled down at her. Peter was at the table setting out breakfast. It seemed all so normal. Peter wa
Franco watched Benedict and Ebony return to the station. He knew as soon as he saw Benedict’s face what happened in the bush while were out. “Well, well, looks like Benedict didn’t wait for us to dip his wick and have a taste of our girl.” Peter turned from what he was doing to look at Franco. “What? You’re kidding.” “He’s got that just got laid look on his face.” “Let me see.” Peter took the binoculars from Franco and trained them of the two as they approached. “Well, he better not complain when we have some dessert tonight.” “Ooo... That sounds good. We can lay her out on the table, and he can watch us send her over the edge.” “It’s not a competition. She might be sore. You know how wild Benedict can be.” Peter wanted to know their mate in every way, but he wanted to take their time. He knew they were a lot to handle, and they could easily overwhelm a woman. “Maybe being gentle and slow with her, then? That has its own appeal,