If it hadn’t been for Kintail, David could have made the trip to see Elizabeth and her grandmother from time to time. But she knew spies in the pack were always watching, waiting, making sure David didn’t show up. And she was certain they would ensure Elizabeth didn’t slip away from the pack once her grandmother died.
Only two places offered funeral services in Yellowknife, so it would be hard to keep her grandmother’s death quiet when the time came. The pack would eventually find out; they always did. But Elizabeth promised her grandma she would keep it a secret as long as she could. The longer the pack was in the dark, the better chance Elizabeth had of escaping.
Her best friend, Sheri Whitmore, had said she would take care of the cremation when the time came and would spread Ada’s ashes in her rose garden, just as she wanted. Elizabeth hadn’t wanted to tell either David or her grandmother of Sheri’s offer because no one in the pack was supposed to be in on their plans. But Elizabeth loved Sheri like a sister, and she was her best shot at buying some time.
Still, involving Sheri came with risks, not the least to Sheri herself. If the pack ever found out Sheri had helped her, she would end up in the same position Elizabeth was in now. Friendless. Her family under suspicion. Watched.
Elizabeth shook off her dark thoughts and refocused on her call with David. She couldn’t believe he had waited for her all this time, though she’d been doing the same for him. If he’d had a chance to find a mate, she had wanted him to take it. To find love.
And at the same time, she hated the very thought of that.
“Still no she-wolves on the horizon?” she asked David. She always asked.
“You’re the only one for me. To think I’ve waited this long and then I would just give you up? No way. You need me and I need you.”
She smiled. He had never wavered once about waiting for her. Even when his other PI partners had all found mates, he continued to wait for her. She couldn’t help but appreciate him for it. She so longed to be with him.
“How is it out there today?” She pictured all the forested land they had around his pack members’ homes. He’d taken her and her grandmother on a video tour of the house and shown them the views of the lake and forest, just so Elizabeth could see the area, could envision herself there when she moved to the Minnesota pack to be with him. And Elizabeth loved every bit of it. Her grandmother had been glad to know how beautiful everything was in the area too. She told them she saw it when she worked on their plans after their calls, adding it to the details in her mind, imagining Elizabeth there with him, happy in the woods and by the lake and in the home he’d built.
“Sunny and warm, perfect for us to go swimming,” David said. “We will take the canoe out, paddle to the island. We can shift and have a nice run through the woods.”
“Hmm, it sounds delightful. And I’d make brownies for dessert.”
“Yes, I love your brownies and the way you always made extras for me.”
“You were always so grateful for them.”
“And for you for freeing Owen and me and for coming with us.”
“I miss that. I wish I was with you now.”
“I don’t miss the danger, but I sure miss you.”
“Yeah. Hopefully, we can do it this time without the chase scenes and all. Okay, I need to speak with you about something else. I know we talked about not getting anyone else involved—especially from my pack. But my childhood friend has offered to help me with Grandmother when she passes. I didn’t talk to her about it, I swear. She just knows me too well.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, and Elizabeth continued. “It might give me a chance to slip away. It might give me a little bit of a head start.”
“Would she say anything to anyone about it?”
“No.”
“But they would learn soon enough that she had helped you with your grandmother.”
“Yeah. They would.”
“Can you get someone else to do it? Someone you trust? Someone human, instead of a pack member?”
“It would be hard to explain why I had to ask someone else to do it. And even if I said something about having an emergency I had to attend to, I wouldn’t want to leave Grandmother’s ashes to a total stranger to take care of.”
“I understand.”
“You know they’re going to be watching me all the time anyway. As soon as I start leaving the house for more than a trip to the grocery store, they’re going to know something’s up.” Then Elizabeth had another idea. “Wait, maybe we’ve been thinking about this all wrong. What if we let it be known that you have a mate already and there’s no way you’re ever coming for me, or that I’m ever going to join you either?”
A long silence followed her suggestion. His face went still, but his eyes spoke volumes. Finally, he said, “It’s a good idea. That could be our answer. I’ll start working on it.”
She was so relieved they might have finally figured out a way for her to leave without anyone being the wiser. “I’ll call Sheri with a sob story, make it sound as realistic as I can.”
“But we keep on with our weekly chats.” He sounded like he couldn’t do without them, just as much as she couldn’t.
“Oh, absolutely. I’ll let my grandmother know what’s going on.” This would work. It had to. “I can’t wait to be with you, David.”
“I can’t wait to be with you either. I love you.”
“I love you too.” They ended the call, but Elizabeth didn’t feel the same sense of letdown she usually did when they hung up. They had a plan! She checked David’s Facebook page and saw right away that he had posted a picture of a woman who didn’t look anything like Elizabeth. Fast worker! She hoped that would be the first step in getting everyone in her pack to believe he had wanted someone new in his life. Someone not Elizabeth.
Another update popped up. “Candy” was listed as his wife. Candy?
Half an hour later, she checked his Facebook page again and found all kinds of pictures featuring David and the blond—Candy—hugging and being together at the lake, swimming, eating a meal together. It wasn’t real. But it would be someday, with her.
Then she smiled, realizing who the woman was. She’d only seen her once; she’d dropped by while David was sitting on his deck at the lake doing a Skype session with Elizabeth, and the woman had to come over to say hi. She was Owen’s mate, Candice-now-Candy, a romance author.
David must have contacted her the moment they hung up to come and help him with the deception. Elizabeth was so thankful for David’s pack; she couldn’t wait to be part of it. She loved all of them. She just wished her grandmother had wanted to go with her and be with them. She would have loved them too.