adams spoke first. "matt's in custody and will be charged with first-degree murder in the cases of sutter and larson. the blond dude we chased in the atv, survived the accident and he's up on charges also. apparently," adams smiled a little as he spoke, "the group was heavily into drugs. anyway, there's tons of evidence to prove they were and now it's their word against ours that they were tripping out when they spied the werewolves. a woman, mary mcnichol, never believed in werewolves, according to sarge. i questioned her, but she seems sincere, so for now she's off the hook. but we'll keep a close eye on her. sarge is staying with leidolf until he turns into a red wolf. so far leidolf hasn't seen any evidence of a change. probably too soon. leidolf said he'll take him into his pack. although if he gets out of hand, leidolf said he'll either take care of the matter personally, or hand him over to you for disposition."

kintail gave a small smile. "he didn't mean it."

"no. he was trying to emphasize the importance of the guy obeying him while he spoke to me in front of him. he might kill him, that much was evident. but he wouldn't turn the responsibility of the job over to you."

"leidolf's too much of an alpha for that," kintail said. "what about gavin?"

"leidolf said he'd be turned."

"all right. and kenneth o'malley?"

"already changed, so no more problems with him giving lectures on werewolves, unless he uses old mythologies in his talks."

"good. chris's body will have to disappear."

"done. by the time the spring thaw comes, he'll be nothing but worm food. matt didn't see what had happened to him. we cleaned up all the evidence that anyone had been killed in the house. we'll be sure to concoct a good story about how chris went out on one of his crazy werewolf hunts, without his partners, got lost, froze to death, and the animals in the wild found his body a delicious smorgasbord of sorts. sarge will go along with it, since he was one of his best friends. believe me, about now the guy is willing to say or do anything to keep on breathing."

"any other loose ends?"

"leidolf's making sure there aren't any, and we've got a couple of men with him to help watch his back. but other than that..."

a silky feminine voice called from upstairs. "kintail."

everyone turned their attention to the stairs.

maybe lila didn't need any more time to get over her past. "good job, men," kintail said. "keep me informed." but the way he said it, he was certain his people got his meaning. don't disturb him unless the building was on fire.

then he headed for the stairs, ready to take a mate. for the first time in years, he felt lighthearted and ready to conquer the world.

thankfully, cameron, faith, and gavin were able to sneak david into leidolf's room at the lodge without anyone seeing him half naked, only wearing gavin's parka, his legs and feet bare, while elizabeth ran beside david in her wolf form. and cameron carried a still knocked-out owen, in wolf form, inside.

"have any trouble, you know our room number," cameron said to david and gavin.

"i can see now why lila was pissed that kintail was interested in faith." david smiled at faith in a congenial way, sitting down on the bed, still looking a bit wiped out. although even so, he managed to take down matt just fine.

elizabeth was sitting next to him still in her wolf form while he stroked her back.

"i'll get elizabeth a change of clothes in a minute. i don't think kintail was too happy with me once i shot him with a tranquilizer dart." faith smiled and wrapped her arm around cameron. "there's only one wolfish guy for me."

"you should see what she did to cameron's snow mobile. the rental people weren't too happy about it," gavin said, "but cameron, being the big sport he is, said it was his fault when he was trying to stop the guys who stole the machines."

faith chuckled. "yeah, cameron was just afraid what the clerk would think if they knew he had such a violent girlfriend."

cameron headed for the door with his arm around her waist. "which is just the way i like you. i get into a fix again, you can rescue me."

david and gavin laughed. "and us," gavin added. "wouldn't hurt my feelings none to have you save my butt."

"i'd say she's been approved as one of the partners." cameron opened the door. "when owen wakes, let him know."

"he'll be agreeable," david said. "we're just glad to be kicking for another adventure." he glanced at gavin. "what are we supposed to do about you?"

"he won't talk," cameron said.

gavin shrugged. "i told faith she could bite me, but she didn't want the job."

david laughed. "the lady's got selective taste." he rose from the bed. "i'll go with the two of you so you don't have to make another trip down here with clothes for elizabeth."

"night all," cameron said to the others, then closed the door. the situation with gavin could be resolved another day, or left the way it was. all he cared about was being alone with faith and getting on with the really important business that awaited them.

as soon as cameron, david, and faith headed down the stairs, cameron said, "you know the rules about mating for life, right, david?"

"you're talking about elizabeth and me?" david shook his head. "we've hardly gotten to know each other. we'll take our time." he raised his brows at faith as if intimating that cameron might want to do the same with her.

"it's a done deal where we're concerned," he said, although officially it wouldn't be until cameron got rid of david. not wanting to delay the inevitable a moment longer, cameron hurried faith to their room.

their room. not his or hers any longer, but theirs.

inside the room, faith fished through her bag until she pulled out a pair of jeans and a sweater. "will these fit elizabeth all right?"

"she's about your size," david said. "it should be fine. and welcome to the team."

"thanks, i look forward to helping you guys out. guess i need to give notice in portland. tell elizabeth i'm thrilled she's with us. she can teach us what we need to know."

cameron hadn't considered that, but he agreed the woman could be a real asset to the group.

david said his good nights and with the door bolted, cameron eyed faith. she smiled at him knowingly. ever since he'd seen the angel who had ended up in his room while he was taking his shower after he'd first arrived in millinocket, he'd known what he wanted to do. now, he was ready to actually act on that urge. he shoved the cart of cold salmon out in the hall, too late to order anything else.

"i'm going to take a shower, faith." he wanted to wash the night's activities out of his mind and get a fresh start. although he hoped faith might join him.

she nodded and stared out the window at the northern lights, their spectacular display still lighting up the sky. he thought about what charles had said about the magical wolves coming down from the streams of lights. charles was right. they were magical, and despite being newly turned and not able to keep the shifting perfectly under control, he felt as though he'd always been this way, and he wouldn't give it up for anything.

he took his shower, longer than usual, hoping faith would walk into the steamy room any minute, but she never did. finally, he shut off the water, toweled dried his body, then began working on his hair and stepped out of the bathroom.

just hanging up the phone, faith had removed her boots and coat and turned to smile at him. "i called my father while you were in the shower. he's fine." he noted she'd been lying on the bed, the covers pulled aside, an open invitation to join her there. she motioned to the ice bucket filled to the rim, a couple of sodas, and two packages of chips. "dinner. no room service inter ruptions this time," she said, her gaze taking in every bit of his body, and she looked hungry. he definitely was hungry, and for a hell of a lot more than paltry snacks from a vending machine.

she stood against the windows now where she'd left the curtains open, the aurora borealis still providing a brilliant blending of lights as a backdrop, their room dark otherwise, although he could see with his nocturnal vision as if the lights were on in the room. "beautiful, isn't it?" she said.

"beautiful." but he wasn't talking about the lights. he stalked toward faith just as if he was a wolf on the prowl. only she wasn't some meek little prey. she was every bit the predator he was: just as clever, just as undaunted in her craving to come out on top. and she was all his.

her eyes and lips smiled, but before he could pull her sweater off, she was jerking it over her head. he slid his hands around her back, lower to her sweet ass, but didn't feel any panty lines underneath the skintight ski pants. he raised his brows and smiled a little. worked for him.

he slipped his hands under the elastic waistband, no zippers or belts or buttons to thwart him, and cupped her bare buttocks in his hands. her sweet flesh was soft and malleable in his greedy grasp. already, he was hard with need, just the smell of her, the willingness, the way she touched him in return, her fingers tracing his hard back, her body pressed against his. he pulled his hands free and slipped her shirt over her head, revealing a lacy peach bra, her nipples hardened to stiff peaks. moving a little as if to tease him with her sexy body, her lace covered nipples brushed against his bare chest, her belly gently rubbing his arousal.

she was his, not kintail's or hilson's or anyone else who'd ever had the notion to be with the vision. and she was a vision-from her sparkling green eyes clouded with lust, her peach skin soft and sensuous to touch, her golden curls sweeping her shoulders, and the sweet fragrance of her desire for him, soliciting his further attention.

he lowered his mouth to hers as she ran her fingers over his back, her head tilted up, her lips readied for his kiss. and she kissed him back just as rabidly, and licked, and softly bit, then speared him with her tongue like he wanted to do with his cock between her legs. his hands molded to her lace-covered breasts, his fingers tweaking her nipples, her breath coming faster, her heart beating harder, and his own at virtually the same frantic rhythm. then her hands slipped down his back. lower, until she was squeezing his ass, and when she did, he unfastened her bra, dragged the straps down her arms and covered her nipple with his mouth. god in heaven, she was perfect.