Free Force of the Dark Wolf (Force of Nature Series) by Kathi S. Barton

file. “He’s also a vampire. Which explains a great deal.”
    Phil spoke up then. “That does explain some, but there’s more. He’s been converted by a rogue vampire, someone that has been changing without permission. I thought… well, I had thought that Booth was something more than wolf when I smelled him on Alexis the first time I met her. You should know, Gordon , that he has beaten the children on occasion and once he hit Gladys. I’ve seen firsthand what he’s done to the little boy Tim. Alexis nearly killed him then. I have a suspicion that he may have a clue as to what his sister-in-law can do.”
    Gordon looked at her again as he took off his shirt. He wasn’t sure when she’d wake , but he needed to touch her. Needed to be with her. Crawling into bed with her , he smiled when she moved closer to him then wrapped her arm around his waist. He had a feeling that when she woke she wasn’t going to be so easy to be with. She was going to be one pissed off woman.
    He lay there for some time thinking. He’d read the note that had been with her when she’d been found. It wasn’t very helpful in figuring her out , but he could smell the person who’d written it. The writer ’ s scent was as much a part of the paper as the woman lying in his arms was to him. And they were related.
    Gordon wondered , not for the first time , what she was. Phil had hinted that she was something special. He already knew that. Gordon thought maybe the vamp already knew but was almost afraid to tell anyone for fear of being wrong. What on earth could make him think that he wasn’t sure, but he could almost smell the fear. When she stirred he tightened his arm around her , fearful that she was pulling away.
    He closed his eyes and smiled. Gladys had told him that tomorrow she would more than likely wake enough to go to the bathroom and then it would be a couple more before she took food. Alexis had given so much of herself to him that he couldn’t help but want her to wake now. But also knew that her awake would mean an end to his sleeping arrangements. He slid into a deep sleep thinking about the child Darcy and her fear of her father.
    His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was that Patrick Booth had a great deal of explaining to do and even more to be sorry about. And Gordon was planning to make the younger wolf feel sorry for a very long time.
    “Come in,” Gordon said to the office door when someone knocked the next morning. He was distracted or he might have looked up soon er when no one said anything. When he did finally realize d he wasn’t alone he looked at Tim and Jake.
    “We come to talk to you. You hit me or my brother and I’ll who o p your ass.”
    Gordon fought the smile and leaned back in his chair , motioning to the two boys to take a seat across from him. He decided to ignore the cussing. This was going to be a serious conversation between men and he thought that it deserved serious words. “For the record, I don’t hit. I punish , but not hit. You think I might have a reason to hit you?” The boys looked at each other and it was then that Gordon realized that he’d never heard the other boy speak. “You have something to add to this , Jake, or are you the strong silent type?”
    “Our mom is dead.” Jake glanced at his brother before he continued. “We don’t have nobody to keep us ‘cause the mean bastard won’t let them.”
    Okay, he thought, he was suddenly in over his head. Gordon looked at each boy and knew without a doubt that this was going to be the changing of their lives. They would either trust him after this or not and he wanted their trust. He had a feeling he was going to be a huge part of their lives from now on.
    “Why do you think your a unt Alexis won’t want you? The bastard, I’m assuming you mean your father?” Both nodded , looking relieved he was sure , about not being in trouble about the name calling or , for that matter , the word itself. “I’m very