Page 5 of Protecting The Gray Wolf
“About fucking time,” Devlin growled in lieu of a greeting.
“I’ve been busy. What happened?”
“Charles Armstrong and Solange Dupree. Either of those names ring a bell?”
He played them over in his mind and came up empty. “No, should they?”
“He’s the wolf behind this project. She’s the mage helping him.”
He tightened his jaw to keep from swearing, wishing he’d waited until he was in his hotel room to make contact. “You’re sure?” Dead silence. Kade was surprised the white wolf hadn’t hung up on him. If he wasn’t 100 percent certain, he wouldn’t have mentioned them. “Right, so what do you know?”
“Both are obsessed with becoming immortal. Between them, they have unlimited resources and manpower.” He huffed out a breath. “They’re also responsible for the three of us being here at the same time.”
“Son of a bitch.” He’d faced deadly foes before, but this took it to a whole other level. It would have taken incredibly heavy-duty magic to manipulate the essence of the lone wolf to ensure that three of them—a white, a gray, and a black wolf—had come into existence on the very same night. In theory, the power should have been diminished, split among them. In actuality, they were all as powerful as any lone wolf in history.
“That’s impressive and scary as hell.” It would be stupid to underestimate his opponents. He looked out at the street, wondering if someone was tracking his movements, even now. It should be impossible, but he wasn’t arrogant enough to believe it couldn’t happen. Having a mage of that caliber involved changed everything. “Have you contacted Dagen?” The black wolf was an even more solitary bastard than Devlin.
“Yes. No word.”
It didn’t surprise him. Kade had also left a multitude of messages. All had gone unanswered. He couldn’t even hunt him down to try to talk with him in person. The black wolf had an advantage in that no one quite knew what he looked like beyond a general description. His black hair and eyes made it easier for him to blend with the general population—unlike himself or Devlin. The tattoo set him apart, but a shirt easily hid the marking unless he was in wolf form.
“During our encounter, Charles sustained life-threatening injuries. You likely have a day or two before the shit hits the fan.”
“Good to know.” Whatever had gone down between their enemies and the white wolf had to have been one hell of a battle, but the war was far from over.
He had dozens of questions, but there was one that couldn’t wait. “Is Zoe an innocent pawn?” Zoe was the woman who’d come into Devlin’s life. She shared the same eye color as the white wolf and had streaks of the same hair color. She was essentially his Luna.
“Yes.”
The knot in his gut remained. While he wanted Luna to be exactly who she seemed to be—a human artist—he couldn’t assume anything. There was too much at stake.
“We need to meet,” Devlin said.
Okay, this was surely a sign of the end of the world. He never thought he’d live long enough to hear the white wolf say he wanted to meet. As curious as he was, it would have to wait. “Can’t, at least not yet. I’m already on the hunt. Crossed paths with a woman with unique eyes and streaks of gray in her hair. Sound familiar?”
“It does. Listen, there are things you need to know,” Devlin began.
The door to the gallery opened. Luna’s shoulders were hunched as she headed down the street. What the hell? The party at the gallery wasn’t over. “Gotta go.” He ended the call, jumped up, and hit the door running.
…
Chelsea was not happy.
Even the extra commission from the sale of Luna’s painting hadn’t soothed her anger. Okay, so giving an overinflated price on a piece was not company policy. She’d cop to that. But it wasn’t her fault Kade hadn’t taken her boss up on her after-hours offer. Not that she’d come out and said as much. No, she’d hinted that Luna’s conduct might have cost the gallery a potential customer, a rich one.
“Potential customer, my ass. Sex partner is more like it.” It was common knowledge among the staff that she often slept with attractive male clients and artists—single and married. It wasn’t something they talked about, not if they wanted to keep their jobs.
The fact that Luna had personally sold over thirty thousand dollars in art tonight for the gallery—including the sale of her own painting—seemed irrelevant to her boss. That was a lot of money, considering Chelsea handled the repeat clients and big spenders.
Fortunately, she got to duck out early since she was working in the morning. By the time Chelsea showed up around lunchtime tomorrow, hopefully her mood would be better. Otherwise, she’d make Luna’s life hell.
As she waited at the corner for the light to change, she allowed the joy fizzing around inside her to surface. Despite being conflicted about letting go of the painting of her wolf, she’d had her first major sale. Twenty thousand freaking dollars wasn’t chump change. She’d sold sketches and smaller pieces at art fairs and markets, but nothing of this magnitude. Not even her boss’s bad mood could bring her down. This was what she’d worked and sacrificed for, and it had finally happened.
On that happy note, she crossed the street, eager to get home and treat herself to a glass of wine to celebrate. Her entire body hummed. Not all her excitement was due to the sale of her work. Some of it was directly due to the man who’d purchased it. There was no denying the immediate sexual attraction. When she’d seen him standing in front of her painting, it was as though a switch had been flicked inside her. Every cell in her body had come alive.
It was a first for her and had caught her off guard. Her sex life was boring, at best, and had been nonexistent for more than a year. All her past boyfriends had complained she’d spent too much time obsessed with her work. They weren’t wrong, but it was more that the relationship hadn’t been important enough for her to give up her valuable studio time.
God, she sounded like her parents, something she’d fought against her entire life. They were both artistic—her mother a famous actress, her father a respected and sought-after director—and devoted to their careers. They’d had no time for or interest in the child they’d made together.
