“No. I still think we need more data.”
Rylee wasn’t just trying to make him feel better. She never dispensed unsubstantiated theories without all the facts. Lev glanced at his watch. Almost 9 p.m. “Lunara should be here by now.” The wolf shaman along with Chandra and James had information about Andrew Joki, the man involved with the notorious pack. To guarantee Rachel’s safety, the pack must be found and destroyed. He would leave her alone, but a day would not go by he would not monitor her. A loving stalker. Would another alpha dare court a Stallo woman that belonged to another? He could tolerate her with a human male, but never another alpha.
Rylee reached for her mobile. “Let me find out.” She punched a number. “It’s me, Rylee.” She held the phone to her ear and nodded at Lev. “Good. Excellent.” Rylee put her phone away. “Lunara just arrived. She is going to the sanctuary to enter the world beyond.”
“For how long?”
“All night. We’ll reconvene in the auditorium in the morning to learn if Svetlana is dead or still living.”
Rachel slipped into her pajamas and then met Cricket in the kitchen. “Really, I’m okay. Go home.” She said this after sobbing in front of her handler. Not cool. She’d never been this emotional. The gift of a lovely, warm, but light hooded jacket from Cricket had surprised her and for whatever reason made her collapse into a pathetic crybaby.
“Not until I make you some hot cocoa. The real kind.”
“What other kind would there be?”
“Werewolves can’t have chocolate. Since I’m more human than most, I can tolerate it.”
Rachel smiled. “At least I have something in common with one werewolf.”
Cricket stirred the pot. “Don’t believe this crap that you and Lev can never be together. Slade and I heard the same thing and look, we are happily mated.” She sipped a sample and wiped her lips. “Then there’s Mia and Dominic.”
“The major difference is my Chernobyl Werewolf can kill me with his mutant body fluids.”
“Ooh. Enough with the medical visuals.” She poured mugs of hot chocolate. “Here.”
Rachel sniffed the hot chocolate, bathing in the scent of pure and, without a doubt, expensive cocoa. “Yum. Where did the cook get this chocolate?”
“Switzerland.”
Rachel sipped. “Everything tastes so much better when it’s winter.” Even the hospital food had tasted surprisingly good. Then again I was starving like there was no tomorrow.
“Although, this year we have had little snow. Must be climate change.”
“Must be.”
“You know being a Stallo woman you’re free to choose another alpha.”
Rachel shook her head. “Nope. It’s Lev or no one.”
“Well, I can’t say I blame you. I can’t imagine anyone but Slade. If you chose another alpha, I’m pretty sure Lev would rip him to shreds.”
Rachel bit her lip. She’d seen what Lev did to team players at the gym. Imagine him in a jealous mood? “As soon as the rogue werewolves are taken care of, I’ll leave.”
“As long as you occasionally meet with the warden and never blab about our kind, that’ll work.”
“How big of a territory does one warden cover?”
“We try to keep at least two per state, depending on the size of the state and location. We don’t have any in Hawaii, but five wardens in Alaska.”
“And what if I decide on Hawaii or even Fiji?”
Cricket curled up on the sofa with her mug and sighed. “Not allowed.” She cocked her head. “Although, we do have a warden who works Australia and New Zealand, since we have a few loners who moved there.”
Would putting distance between her and Lev make breaking up easier? Yet, she refused to believe there was no other way to stay together. Not until she talked to Lev in person. “I might return to Oregon.”
“Good. We have an excellent warden in the Oregon territory. In fact, he kept an eye on your father during his stay there.”
Hmm. On her hikes around Howard’s property, she sensed someone watching her. “Do wardens watch you in human or wolf form?”