Free Forrest, Dawn - Alphas' Prize [WeresRus] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Dawn Forrest

all week, avoiding them and staying in the office or library, but Will needed all hands to the pump at the moment.
    “I know it’s not normally your job, Brad, but I don’t want to disturb Angela and Mike in their pre-bonding time. You’ll have to organize and lead a trip for the unmated Alphas tomorrow. A visit, including lunch, to the main village of the Pack should keep them occupied for an hour or two.”
    A few lovely, unmated Were females lived in the village, and more women than usual were around because of the college spring break.
    Brad looked decidedly uncomfortable, even more so than when he’d agreed to give a communications-technology talk to the Council tomorrow, but he nevertheless nodded his compliance. Will huffed, because he was now reduced to asking a submissive male to take on the role of cupid to a bunch of Alphas. Whatever next?

    * * * *

    Joanna Akara sat in a quiet corner of an Internet café in the airport, nursing a coffee and writing down the coordinates for The Den. She had purchased new dry clothes and was waiting for a plane to Denver. The Prime Alpha lived in north Montana, which is why she had never gone near the place. It was mountain and forest country with mile upon mile of trails to run. It was the perfect location for werewolves. She sighed and hoped that the Council would not hold her captive because she was a werewolf female. Prime Hawke seemed reasonable enough, although that could be an act.
    She was worried about her mom and checked their emergency e-mail box, but there was nothing yet. She left a brief message about what she was going to do. Jo decided not to contact her mother directly in case Khan tried to use her as leverage to get them both. She’d wait until she knew whether or not the Were Council or Hawke would help. After contacting the Pack she used a public pay phone to call her best friend, Lynne. Again she was glad that her mother made her memorize important numbers, because her cell phone had been in her pocket and not the waterproof pack when she’d dived overboard. She sadly thought that she would not be seeing much of Lynne in the future because she didn’t want to place her in danger.
    There was something about Lynne that Jo found platonically attractive. Her scent was comforting and suggestive of the stable, settled home she’d never had. She had even visited and stayed at Lynne’s parents’ house a few times and found them to be kind and friendly people. Unfortunately her mom had never met her friend, but if Lynne found it odd she never let on. Her mom had always stayed away from Denver in order to not compromise Jo’s home. It would also be tricky to explain how she looked so young.
    Lynne was waiting for Jo at Denver International Airport, and her face lit up with delight when she spotted her.
    “Joey,” she yelled and ran to embrace her.
    Jo had to lean down to fully engage the enthusiastic hug that Lynne gave her. She had to make a conscious effort to relax because she was not a touchy-feely person, and Lynne, well, Lynne was tactile, a real cuddle cat. It actually felt good to be held. Lynne knew that she wasn’t totally comfortable with close physical contact, but it didn’t stop her. Uncharacteristically, Jo wanted to hang onto her friend and pour out her problems, but she couldn’t.
    “You okay, Joey? You only stayed stiff for a few seconds, you must be loosening up, girl,” her friend half joked with concern.
    The two women were best friends and had similar interests, but they were different in personality and appearance. Jo was organized and, by necessity, very independent. She was six foot tall with an athletic, almost muscular figure. She had golden skin and dark-brown hair with more than a hint of red, especially when the sun shone on it. Her mom said that her dark eyes were well deep, and her last boyfriend had said that they were like limpid pools, but Jo just thought it was a young man’s poetic attempt to get into her pants. It