The wolves were confusing. They should have reveled in their new freedom. They should have gone in search of a new pack or new hunting grounds away from people.
Instead, they remained close to Bel.
Snow continued to fall. It was a late start to the snowy season this year, but the temperatures had been low enough recently that the snow was sticking to the ground and bare tree limbs, gilding the world in glistening white.
With the snow came a fresh twisting of emotions from the wolves. Panic. Cold. Hunger. Doubt. Desperation. And fear. So much fear that Bel couldn’t think of anything else but the damn wolves.
Why the hell were they so afraid?
The fear was coming from both of them in sickening waves.
He should call his brothers. They were good at dealing with messy things like this. Bel preferred the neat and organized comfort of his laboratory and his books. This…this…thing with these confusing wolves was too messy.
But he didn’t want to call Marcus or Rafe. Both brothers were currently wrapped up in their new mates. Marcus’s lover, Ethan, was still figuring out what it meant to be a vampire, though the young man seemed to be taking to it far easier than any of them had. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Ethan had grown up with all the vampire mythology available in books and movies. All the same, Marcus and Ethan deserved to have time together uninterrupted.
And then his twin, Rafe, had only recently discovered his mate in Philippe Arsenault.
No, Philippe was a Varik now.
Bel rolled his eyes at himself. He really shouldn’t have trouble keeping this straight. He did like Philippe, and he adored how happy Philippe made his twin. They were still recovering from their fight with the MacPhersons, enjoying those early days as a couple. Bel did not need to drag them into a mess he should be able to easily handle on his own.
Aiden and Winter were busy handling clan business, attempting to determine not only who was threatening the Ministry but also the Varik clan. Not that Bel had any love for the Ministry since the ruling vampires seemed determined to end his life for one silly reason or another. But still, no one wanted chaos.
No sane person, at least.
He didn’t have time for this. He needed to return to his experiments. He’d failed to find a cure for their mother’s illness before she was killed. Over the years, he’d hoped to simply reverse her vampirism, allow her to finally find a natural end to her life and end her pain, but that wasn’t to be.
But Bel’s search for a cure to vampirism wasn’t over. After talking to Philippe, he’d learned there were many vampires in the world who had never wanted to be turned and would very much like to be human again. A cure could help those people.
A cure was only going to be found if he stuck with his research.
No, he wasn’t able to save Julianna Varik, but he very much wanted to save someone with his work.
With a sigh of irritation for himself and the wolves, Bel turned away from the window to find an appropriate pair of shoes for trekking through the woods. He had to have a pair of old boots somewhere. Not that they’d go with the dress slacks and button-down shirt he was wearing, but he didn’t want to change. He’d been in a good mood when he woke at sunset with plans of starting a new line of experiments. He’d even put on his favorite navy-blue bow tie with the gold swirls.
All of that would have to wait until he finally took care of the wolves.
Grabbing his long wool coat from the closet, Bel stepped outside and into the falling snow. He loved his new house in Connecticut. Yes, it was more than a little out of the way and tucked back into a deep swath of woods, but he liked his privacy. He liked being near the animals that chatted with him. It made leaving to hunt a bit of a hassle, but he needed to hunt only once every two or three weeks. Otherwise, he was only drawn from his home and research when he needed to see his family.
A loud throaty caw echoed through the silence of the woods, and Bel smiled. A couple of seconds later there was a flapping of wings, and two taloned feet landed on his shoulder. Bel looked over at Ozzie, the large black raven perched on him.
Finally.
Okay, so maybe Ozzie didn’t communicate in actual words. Like all animals, he communicated in images and emotions, but Ozzie’s emotions were very complex. He had a lot of personality, far more than any other animal Bel had spoken with over the long years.
“I know. I know. I’ve been putting this off,” Bel muttered to the bird. He reached up and stroked the front of Ozzie’s chest with the side of one bent finger. “I just don’t know what to do about them. How am I supposed to convince them to move on?”