He'd been in chasing after Cassie and how he wouldn't have hesitated if his second-in-command hadn't come to him with urgent pack business, even though Cassie was the wrong object of his desire.
Elgin was still smiling, and Axel Ash hoped his sub-leader wouldn't spread the word about his interest in the woman. Everything a leader did was important to the pack.
He didn't feel this tidbit of news needed to be shared, but he figured it would be anyway. Still, he had to let Elgin know the woman wasn't a wolf of any variety.
Thankfully, not a soul had said a word about her when he returned to his ranch, and none of the men here with him now had been at the club last night, so they wouldn't have recognized her.
"The wolf I smelled wasn't the woman."
Elgin's smile faded, and he frowned deeply. "Oh. Was the one you smelled one of us?"
"Possibly."
Elgin didn't say anything for several seconds and then finally said, "Do you want me to go after her?"
Hell no. Axel Ash tried to curb the disagreeable expression he cast Elgin, but from the concerned look on his sub-leader face, he didn't veil it well enough.
"I can't make Sarge mind me. You're the only one who can," Elgin warned.
As if Axel Ash would neglect his leadership duties when it could mean exposing their kind to the world just to chase down a possible female lupus Garou. "I'll track her down later after I've taken care of this business."
Appearing relieved, Elgin nodded. "There's... well... another situation that needs to be addressed. Irving and Tynan are off somewhere again without telling me or Fergus. God knows where. I seriously think they're pulling something, and not anything that's good.
"When you first came to lead our pack, we got rid of the four who were really running things. Unfortunately, there were a few more who went along with Alfred's rule.
The rest of us couldn't fight against them. But some holdouts from the old regime who received Alfred's favours for... well, bringing women to him may very well still exist in the pack."
"You think Irving and Tynan might have been some of Alfred's henchmen?"
"Possibly. Alfred's henchmen were secretive. We were always looking over our shoulders, wondering who might tell Alfred what we were saying about him and his thugs.
Five men took off immediately after Alfred and his cohorts died, so we figured that they were part of his network and thought that was the end of it. Now I think these two men were also involved."
"What's their background?"
"Part of the pack in the beginning. They were bitten and turned in California a couple of hundred years ago. They're cousins."
Hell if Axel Ash didn't already have a truckload of problems to deal with. "They know the rules. If they work for me, they have to let you know if they're going to be out of the area."
Elgin gave a stiff nod.
"When they return, have them report to me."
An eerie howl reverberated through the vicinity, originating more than five miles away.
"Satros," Axel Ash said under his breath. The oldest member of the pack and the least agile, Satros should never have been wearing his wolf coat in broad daylight in the woods.
Hell, what now?
Her heart racing with excitement, Cassie hid in the thick brush, watching the highly agitated, scrawny female red wolf pace back and forth in front of a tangle of blackberry brambles.
What was she doing? With her back to Cassie, the wolf stopped, her ears twitching, listening to the sounds in the breeze.
The air was thick with moisture, and suddenly a mist of rain began to pitter-patter on the leaves around Cassie.
Then she heard a noise that made her heart nearly quit beating. The sound of wolf pups mewling. The wolf was a mother. And protecting her litter. No wonder she'd been on the move so much.
In wolf heaven, Cassie watched the mother sniff the air. Cassie strained to hear any sound of the pups again, but they were quiet now.
Then the awful realization hit her. The mother appeared to be alone. Cassie hadn't seen a sign of any other wolves in the area. Alone, the mother and her pups couldn't fend for themselves.
Even though it was broad daylight, and her lupus garou instincts warned her not to shift, Cassie had no other choice. Not when she had to protect the mother and her brood, and also bring them food so the mother could stay near her litter and feed them.
Cassie listened again, this time for any sounds of humans in the area. She lifted her nose and sampled the breeze. No human scent either.
Reasonably assured she could shift without anyone spying on her, she pulled off her backpack and her Indiana Jones hat. Then she freed her hair bound in a ponytail and shook it out.
After sitting on her butt on the cold, damp earth, she removed her boots and socks, observing the wolf the whole time.
She couldn't help wondering about Axel Ash, the image of a sea god still imprinted in her thoughts, and what he would think if he spied her stripping before she shifted.
If she hadn't been wearing hunter's spray, would he have tried to track her down? Most likely.
The wolf's back was still turned to Cassie, so the female didn't notice her. Cassie continued to strip, then stuffed her clothes into the backpack, at least keeping them dry from the light rain drizzling down on her.
Buried the waterproof pack underneath leaves and a labyrinth of branches. Naked, Cassie shivered. Then she began the shift, stretching her muscles.
Luxuriating in the feel of the change, she trembled as the cool air swept over her nakedness until the heat of the shift warmed her thoroughly and fur covered her skin, her body transforming into the shape of a red wolf instantly.