whine.”
She hesitated, as if debating whether to get into it. Then she groaned and covered her face with both hands. “It’s my big brother, although right now I feel years older than him.”
“So what’s he doing?” Jake felt a pang of envy that she had a brother to be upset with. He had no siblings and would have loved having them, but he was his parents’ only offspring. That fact made him doubly determined to carry on the legacy of his mother’s pack as best he could.
Giselle sighed and settled back in her chair. “Bryce is going crazy, apparently. He’s in line to be the next Landry alpha, but last week he ran off to Vegas and has no immediate plans to come back.”
“But he will eventually, right?”
“Who knows? He texts every day so we know he’s alive, but he’s not talking—not to me, or my parents, or Miranda, who’d agreed to become his mate within the next year. She’s announced that she’s free again, which only makes sense considering how he’s behaving.”
“What about his friends? Can’t they get through to him?”
Giselle shook her head. “He’s cut them off, too. The only clue I have is that he’d started reading Duncan MacDowell’s blog, because he mentioned it to me and wondered what I thought about Duncan’s ideas on Were- human mating.”
Jake cursed softly under his breath. The Scottish Were had organized WOOF—Werewolves Optimizing Our Future—the previous year to promote MacDowell’s belief that Were-human mating was inevitable and should be encouraged. He’d made serious inroads with that agenda during WereCon2012.
His popular blog continued to rally support for Were-human mating, and it looked as if he might have another well-placed convert. The heir apparent to the Landry pack would be a feather in Duncan’s cap.
“I’m sure hearing that doesn’t make you happy.”
“Nope.”
“I haven’t told my parents about my suspicions because they’d hit the roof if they thought Bryce might consider a human mate. I hope his Vegas adventure is nothing more than sowing some wild oats and he’ll come back ready to mate with Miranda and assume his responsibilities. But I don’t know if he will or not.”
“I’m sorry, Giselle. I wish there was something I could do.”
“If I thought you could talk him into coming home, I’d beg you to go down there. But he has a stubborn streak, and he’d dig in his heels if he thinks we’re coercing him in any way. I—” She paused as the waitress approached. “Good. We have wine.”
“I didn’t realize how much we might need that tonight.”
Giselle chuckled. “I realized it. I’m really glad you suggested this, Jake. I’ve wanted someone to talk to. You were at that conference. You saw how charismatic Duncan MacDowell is.”
“I did.” Jake tasted the wine and signaled the waitress to fill both glasses. “He got Kate Stillman to change her tune, after all, and I thought she was firmly in the Were-Were camp. Hell, I even like MacDowell, myself. It’s hard not to when he’s so sincere. Misguided, but sincere.”
“Well, let’s drink a toast to my wayward brother and the possibility that he’ll resist going over to Duncan’s side.”
Jake raised his glass. “To Bryce Landry. May he fulfill his destiny with Miranda, the Were mate he’s pledged to.”
“Hear, hear.” Giselle touched her glass to his and drank. Then she put it down and picked up the bottle on the table. “Paradigm Shift is her parents’ label. Among other things, the Randolph pack owns a winery in Napa, so naturally the Den will always recommend Were-made wine.”
“They should. It’s good wine.” Jake took another swallow.
“It is, and until last week, Miranda’s folks kept my folks well stocked with it. Understandably, the Randolph pack is being less generous with their wine. It’s all a mess, and sad, too. My parents get along great with her parents, or at least they used to. Now everyone’s tiptoeing around the subject of Bryce’s defection.”
Jake topped off their glasses. “If he comes back, can he fix this?”
“Probably. He can be a charmer.”
“So he could show up and convince everyone to forgive him?”
“Oh, yes. But he could also mate with a topless Vegas dancer simply to prove a point. When we were children he’d go along quietly for months, and then something would hit him wrong and he’d blow his stack in a rather spectacular fashion. I thought he’d outgrown that pattern, but apparently not.”
“I think we should blame it all on Duncan MacDowell.”
Giselle laughed. “Wish I could, but we all have free will, Jake.” She took another sip of her wine. “Let’s change the subject. I happen to know you didn’t fly all the way down here to talk about my brother. What’s up with WARM?”
“It’s growing.” He briefly described the trips he’d made and the network he’d created. After their food arrived, she encouraged him to elaborate, and he became so engrossed in his subject that he barely noticed what he was eating.
When the waitress came to clear their plates, he realized that he’d talked nonstop through the entire meal. “Sorry about that, Giselle. It’s a wonder I didn’t put you to sleep with that monologue.”
“I love listening to someone who’s passionate about a cause.”
“Yeah, for five minutes, maybe. After that it’s overkill.” He grinned at her. “I’m blaming Duncan MacDowell. The thought of that Were and all he stands for gets my blood pumping.”
“Well, it sounds like he has a worthy opponent in you.”
“Thanks for that. And now that I’ve bored you to death, can we stay for coffee so I can ask you what I came down here for?”
“Sure.” Giselle caught the waitress’s eye and ordered two coffees. Then she gazed across the table at Jake. “I’ll bet I know why you’re here.”
“Wouldn’t be hard to guess. I want you to head up the WARM organization here in San Francisco.”
“I can’t.”
He didn’t want to hear that. “Giselle, at least think about it.”
“I have.” She reached across and touched his arm as if in silent apology. “I knew that’s why you were coming down, so I’ve given it plenty of thought, but . . . I have several issues. One is that I’d have to resign from the council.”
“I know.” They’d served together on the council of the Worldwide Organization of Werewolves under Howard Wallace, the council’s first president. Although Jake had resigned, Giselle was still a member.
“I believe in WOW, Jake. I think I can do some good by being on the council.”
“I used to think that you could help balance the scales, but I’m not sure that’s possible. Considering that Howard’s two sons are mated with humans, we can guess how the organization is going to evolve.”
“You might be surprised. Now that Kate and Duncan are mated, she’s having a steadying influence on WOW and on Duncan, too.”
“You’re sure that’s not wishful thinking?” Jake still felt betrayed by that union. Kate used to be a powerful leader in the movement to end Were-human sexual involvement. How she’d ended up with Duncan, who held the opposite view, was a mystery to Jake, and he didn’t see how any good could come of it.
“I know he’s still fire and brimstone on his blog, but privately he’s less convinced he has all the answers. I know you think he’s corrupted our Kate, but the sword cuts both ways. I also trust Howard not to send us off a cliff.”
The coffee arrived, which gave Jake a chance to regroup. He waited until she’d doctored hers with cream before throwing out a revised suggestion. “Okay, so forget heading up the San Francisco division of WARM. You can work in the background and we’ll put someone else in that position, someone you handpick.” He lifted the coffee mug to his lips.
“I can’t do that, either.”
He set the mug back down without drinking. “Why not?”
“It’s all tied in with my brother. Before he left, I had my hands full as the chief accountant for Landry Enterprises. Now I’m doing that plus some of the board duties Bryce handled. Both Mom and Dad had to step back into positions they’d turned over to Bryce, as well.”
“You must be ready to wring his neck.”
