"You're awake," Thompson said, observing Leidolf. "He's a good-looking red wolf for living in the wild, don't you think, Dr. Chavez?"

"Healthy, good weight," the doctor agreed. "Good-looking teeth." He waved a hand at Cassie. "Same with the female. The mother wolf's half-starved, though. Can't figure it out. Her mate would have been bringing her and the pups food."

"What if he's not the mother's mate?"

"You said they're the only red wolves you've found. The male and female have to be the alpha pair."

"It would seem so. What about the other? She's of breeding age. Health-wise, can we mate her to Big Red soon?"

"We'll have to put them together and see how they take to each other. In the wild, she wouldn't have had a chance to mate, unless she'd started a pack of her own. Here, if she's agreeable, he's all hers." The veterinarian smiled.

"I think this one's Rosa," Thompson said, peering into Cassie's cage at a crouch. "She didn't want Big Red before. But maybe now that she's a little older, she'll be more interested in him." Thompson stood. "She wouldn't find another red male in the wilderness. She's lucky to have Big Red as a mate."

Leidolf rose to his feet. Hell, they planned on giving Cassie to a real red wolf? And Leidolf was joining the mother and her pups? When his people learned of his being paired off with a regular lupus, accused of being the father of the pups...

He shook his head, irritated with himself. He didn't even want to think of what they would say. Not to his face, of course.

"When are you going to let her see Big Red again? Maybe since she's been away from him for a while, she'll be pleased to see a familiar face." Thompson glanced back at Leidolf. "He looks anxious. Maybe we should let him go to his mate."

"As soon as she wakes, we'll move them to a holding pen."

Cassie lifted her head, and Leidolf saw the look of disbelief in her eyes. He felt the same way, only he was responsible for her. How did he get himself and her in such a bind? More importantly, how was he going to get them out of it?

Cassie rose to a sitting position in her cage as Leidolf desperately wanted to go to her, to comfort and protect her.

Thompson rubbed his whiskered chin as he looked her over. "She looks in as good a shape as when we found her last year, despite getting shot."

Someone knocked on the door to the room. A young woman poked her head in. "Pups need their mom. Can they join her?"

As if on cue, the she-wolf sat up. She still looked a little groggy, her eyes a little dazed.

"Let's move them to the holding pen," the doctor said. "Rosa looks ready enough to pay Big Red a visit. Have you got a name for the alpha pair, Henry?"

Thompson rubbed the beard on his chin and then folded his arms as he looked at the she-wolf. "I'll think on it." He turned and observed Leidolf. "Same with him."

The woman had disappeared and suddenly reappeared with a bunch of men. They loaded the cages on carts and pushed them out of the room, down a long hallway, and then to a metal door.

"She goes into the next holding area," Thompson said, motioning to Cassie. "We'll have Big Red join her here once she's settled."

Leidolf thought for the first time since he'd laid eyes on Cassie that she looked really stricken. He wanted to tear anyone to shreds who took his mate away from him, but his human half warned of the consequences. Instead, although it killed him to do so, he behaved himself and held her gaze as long as he could to reassure her, until his cage and hers were rolled into their respective pens.

Inside the room, the walls were metal, the floor concrete. A trough of water sat against one wall. There were no windows, no bars, just a room to get to know his "mate," the supposed mother of his pups, who was already there. And a viewing door, with a nice-sized window.

The men opened the cage doors, and a couple of more men brought in the she-wolf's pups, leaving them next to her, and then the men all stood back, watching the reunion. The she-wolf checked out her pups, inspecting them as they eagerly stepped on each other, trying to get to her teats for supper. She was so absorbed in the return of her brood that she ignored the men in the room and the alpha male who stood far away, watching her.

"Something isn't right," Thompson said, his voice low, as if to avoid disturbing the wolf family reunion.

Joe shoved his hands in his pockets. "The male should have greeted her and the pups."

If Leidolf had, he'd risk the female tearing into him and upsetting her pups. Best to be standoffish and let the zoo staff sort it all out by themselves.

"Maybe we're upsetting him," Joe said. "Maybe if we leave them alone, he'll join her. Notice the way he keeps watching us? Not her. He doesn't like it that we're in here with her and the pups."

Thompson folded his arms. "Something more isn't right. I can't put a finger on it... but, well, if I were to put it in human terms, it is almost as though he has something going on with Rosa."

Joe's brows shot up. "Well, hell, if that's the case, maybe we should put the two of them together."

Thompson shook his head. "He has to be the alpha male, and the female wouldn't have had pups if she wasn't the alpha female. Look at his stance. Tail high, ears perked up, back rigid, gaze focused on... me. In fact, the whole time we've been speaking, he's been watching me. Even when you spoke, he continued to stare me down."

Joe chuckled. "He knows you're always in charge."

Thompson smiled at Leidolf. "All right. Let's check on Rosa and see how she's getting along with Big Red." Thompson turned, and one of the staff members opened the door. Then the four of them filed out and Thompson closed the door.

Leidolf didn't take his eyes off the door, and sure enough, Thompson soon looked through the window. Thompson grinned as Joe took a peek also. "See, he's still watching me, almost as if he thought I'd check on him."

"Yeah, we'll have to give them some privacy for a while and then come back later and check on them. But I halfway suspect he'll still be watching the door for danger, or maybe an escape route. Eventually he'll let down his guard and join his mate."

Not in this lifetime. But Joe was right. Leidolf continued to watch the door. And knew just what he had to do next.

* * *

Cassie shook off the tranquilizer's effects and stared at the wolf observing her in an enclosed room. She sniffed the air. He was a male and a red, but because of their genetics, he smelled just like a wolf, as much as she did to him. Which wasn't good. A few times when she'd been with a real wolf pack in her wolf form, some over-rambunctious male had thought to mate her. If it hadn't been for the alpha leader of the pack discouraging the junior males--only one litter per alpha couple in the pack--she might have been in trouble.

For now, she was on her own, which she'd never been before when facing a situation like this. Big Red looked awfully interested. Still, he held back and sniffed the air.

She stood her ground, her back to the door. It was definitely a standoff. Neither moving an inch in any direction, their gazes locked, hers saying stay away, his saying he was already love-struck.

Footfalls headed in the direction of her cell, but she continued to watch Big Red. Whoever was approaching wasn't half the problem the wolf could be.

She wondered how Bella Wilder had handled Big Red. Probably snarled at him to back off. A male wolf wouldn't usually attempt to take advantage of a female if she wasn't willing. That didn't mean he wouldn't keep trying if she was ripe for the action.

The door opened, and Thompson and Joe stood in the opening watching her.

"She doesn't look like she's any more interested in Big Red than she was earlier," Thompson said, sounding disappointed.

Joe added, "She's still wearing the pants in the family."

"Let's switch them and see what happens."

"Are you sure?"

Thompson nodded. "If it doesn't work, we'll switch them back."

As soon as the men took Leidolf in a cage into the hall, he overheard their plans to move him in with Cassie. Even though he didn't want to be on exhibit for the zoo staff, he had to show them Cassie was his mate, not the mother with her pups.

When they rolled Leidolf's cage into the room, Big Red's ears perked up. Leidolf exited the cage and hurried for Cassie. But Big Red made a move toward her, and Leidolf growled low and got in between them.

Big Red bared his teeth, but Leidolf advanced so suddenly, Thompson said, "Holy shit, get one of the males out of here, now!"

Brandishing tranquilizer guns, the men stalked into the room. Leidolf backed off and corralled Cassie against the wall. Hell, he didn't want the men to shoot him and make the mistake of keeping Big Red with her.

She quickly licked Leidolf's face in a show of affection. And again.

"Him. Take Big Red out. These two are together." Thompson smiled. "Hot damn, looks like we'll have more wolf pups soon--if not this year, next for sure."

Joe slapped him on the back. "I swear the way they gaze into each other's eyes, they're speaking volumes in wolf language."

"They are." Thompson motioned to one of the men. "They've been checked out. You can move them into their exhibit."

* * *

The earlier nightmare had Cassie worried about when Thompson and Joe first tranquilized her and talked about putting her in the zoo had now come true. A lion roared in the distance, and Cassie snuggled next to Leidolf, sleeping on a bed of straw. How in the world were they going to get out of this mess?

At least they had a pen free of other wolves, and she had Leidolf to cuddle up to. In Bella Wilder's case, her hero had come to her rescue. In Cassie's? Her hero needed rescuing just as much as she did!

Cassie rose to her feet and stretched. Sleeping on a bed of straw was not her idea of fun, even in her wolf form. She'd have much preferred having a dog bed.