Free Without Reservations by J. L. Langley Page A

Bit.
    What did that mean? How did John know Keaton was his mate? Before he could ask, John patted Bit’s shoulder and smiled.
    “I have to admit, I’m a little leery of your power, but you can sense that already, can’t you?”
    Keaton nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m used to it.”
    John smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes becoming more pronounced. “I bet you are. Because of Chay, I’m going to do something I don’t usually do.” He extended his hand toward Keaton again. “Welcome to the pack, Keaton.”
    Keaton shook John’s hand again. “Thank you.”
    “Come, let me introduce you to my wife Mary and then I’ll take you outside so you can meet the pack. Then we can all eat. It’s nice outside, we decided to set up tables out back. I figured this may be the last nice day we have this autumn. Don’t you agree, Chay?”
    “Yes, sir. It is nice.”
    John led Keaton over to Mary while Chay stood there, shell-shocked. How had John known about them? Did his dad somehow guess? And how in hell had he not realized Bit was as powerful as he was? Chay had never met a wolf with all three forms before, but he was sure he’d recognize it if he had. He could tell when a wolf was an alpha wolf or not, and he hadn’t even realized Bit was that dominant. It was clear he wasn’t an omega wolf, but Chay hadn’t thought Bit was even more of an alpha than he and his dad.
    “Chay? Would you mind helping me carry this stuff out?”
    Chay looked up at Mary and blinked. When had Keaton and John left the room? “Sure, Mary.” He grabbed the ice chest she indicated and opened the door, allowing her to pass with the plates and a picnic basket full of condiments.
    “I like your friend, Chay. He’s very polite. He looks very young though. Such a pretty boy.”
    Chay grinned. Yeah, Bit was pretty all right. Prettiest man he’d ever seen, with that smooth pale complexion, those big blue eyes… Oh damn, his cock stirred. “Yes, he is.” He wasn’t sure which statement he responded to, but Mary didn’t question it, and he didn’t bother clarifying.
    After helping Mary set up, Chay was bombarded by questions about Keaton by pack members. Everyone wanted to know where he was from and why he wasn’t a pack leader. And the most frequent question was about his age. Chay decided not to tell Bit about that, knowing he wouldn’t be amused.
    “Chay.”
    Chay turned to find his father, John Carter and Frank Red Hawk standing behind him. “Yes?”
    John motioned him over. “Chay. I talked to Keaton about the shooting the other night and he seems to agree with Frank that it was poachers. What do you think?”
    “Well, we haven’t had poachers on pack land, or in the reservation in years, but I don’t see any evidence that says it’s not poachers.”
    His father nodded. “That’s what I said.”
    John dipped his head. “Given that Keaton’s new here and no one has a reason to want him dead, I think that is the most logical conclusion too. We need to keep an eye out though, just in case. Chay, you let us know if you get any more animals with gunshot wounds.”
    “Yes, sir. I will.”
    “And, Frank, you’ll keep us updated from your end as well?”
    “Sure will.”
    “Good, good. I’m going to go find my mate.” John waved and left, leaving him with his father and Frank.
    Frank smiled. “It looks like our little white wolf is grown after all. A college professor, huh? Nice fellow. When John introduced us, I apologized to him for tranqing him.”
    Chay grinned. Yeah, his mate was a nice fellow when you got to know him. It made Chay feel good that others could see that too. “Yeah, he teaches Ancient Civ. Beware. He has quite an interest in the Apache. He’s relentless with his questions.”
    Frank laughed. “I know. John told him my brother was tribal chief when he introduced us. Bobby came to my rescue. Said they met the other night at a poker game.” Frank’s stomach growled, making him chuckle. “I guess