A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas Read online

  Also by Terry Spear

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  Silence of the Wolf

  A Silver Wolf Christmas

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  SEAL Wolf In Too Deep

  SEAL Wolf Undercover

  Heart of the Jaguar

  Savage Hunger

  Jaguar Fever

  Jaguar Hunt

  Jaguar Pride

  A Very Jaguar Christmas

  Billionaire Wolf

  Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing

  A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas

  White Wolf

  Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas

  Flight of the White Wolf

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  Books. Change. Lives.

  Copyright © 2018 by Terry Spear

  Cover and internal design © 2018 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Cover design by John Kicksee

  Cover images © halayalex/Fotolia, Vera Kuttelvaerova/Fotolia, frappe/Fotolia, alpinetrail/Fotolia

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.

  Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

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  Contents

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Epilogue

  A Sneak Peek at You Had Me at Jaguar

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  Thanks so much to Mindy Seal, who gave me the kernel of a great idea for Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas! She loves the wolves, and I’m thrilled to be able to dedicate this Christmas book to her.

  Chapter 1

  Gray wolf physician Aidan Denali stared at the blood sample under the microscope and the notes scribbled on paper nearby. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with this. Not without new wolves to test. As much as it killed him to do so, he was delaying his search for a cure for the lupus garous’s reduced longevity until after the Christmas holiday. Maybe his twin brother, Rafe, was right, though Aidan hated to admit it. Perhaps joining Rafe and his family early would give Aidan the break he needed, and he might gain new insight into what was happening with their kind. He could even bounce ideas off his brother and Rafe’s mate, Jade. Normally, Aidan wouldn’t have considered leaving his research behind for that long. Not until Jade and her son, Toby, had come into their lives. They had given him and his brother even more of a family, and Aidan enjoyed the change in dynamics.

  Still, he couldn’t help but worry he was going to fail in his mission when so many people were counting on him. The concern among the wolf shifters was that if something in their environment or genetics had caused them to live shorter lives, their longevity might continue to shorten and they would eventually age even more quickly than humans. He just wished all the time he’d spent on his work had resulted in some headway.

  As to the matter of his brother having found the perfect she-wolf… Well, Aidan had to get out of his lab to pursue female interests if he was ever going to be successful at having a family of his own. And when he did go out with a she-wolf? His date invariably would ask about his work and if he was getting anywhere with it. He’d say no and explain the reasons, and then he’d be back to thinking about the issue and forget all about the she-wolf!

  Frustrated with his lack of progress, Aidan put away his notes and locked up the lab. When he made his way to the living room of his home in the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California, he saw Ted Gallagher, one of his bodyguards, raising his brows in question. Ted was an even-tempered, muscular redhead who could take down the meanest of wolves.

  Yeah, Aidan normally never left his lab at this hour. He was known to be a bit obsessed and a workaholic. “I’m going to the chalet earlier than planned.”

  “Hell, Doc, that’s good news. I mean, I guess if you’re not bursting at the seams with news of a cure.”

  Aidan understood what Ted meant. “I can work on it at the chalet, if I’m not too busy playing with Toby and visiting with my brother and Jade.”

  As soon as Aidan spoke the words, Ted got a call. “Uh, yeah, this is Ted Gallagher, Dr. Denali’s personal assistant.” Ted eyed Aidan, waiting to see if he wanted to take the call.

  Aidan had told both of his bodyguards to call themselves personal assistants if they had to explain who they were. They took his calls while he was in the lab and wouldn’t interrupt him unless it was important.

  His other bodyguard, Mike Stallings, joined them.

  “Yeah, just a minute.” Ted covered the phone’s mouthpiece. “Everett Johnston is calling from th
e gray wolf pack in Bigfork, Montana. He was originally with the Seattle pack led by Ronald Grayson.”

  Aidan perked up at hearing from the wolf. Anything to do with the Seattle pack interested him, since it was the only pack he’d located that hadn’t allowed him to test members’ blood. “Let me speak with him.”

  Ted handed the phone over, and Aidan said, “This is Aidan Denali. How may I help you?”

  “Hey, Doc, this is Everett Johnston. You checked my blood when you came out to Montana. You tested my mom’s and sister’s too. But Dr. Holly Gray, who is with the Seattle pack, called my sister, Tara, and told her she was worried about a pack member who has been banished. He’s currently living in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Holly and my sister are friends. They were just talking about him and how Holly keeps searching for him when she can, but she hasn’t been able to locate him.

  “I thought since you have a cabin in the Wilderness, if you could find him, maybe he’d give you a sample of his blood.” Everett cleared his throat. “What I’m really hoping is that if you can find him, you’ll bring him here to live with the Montana pack. I’ve talked with our pack leaders, and they said they’d be willing to take him in. He’s a good guy, and he needs a home with a pack.”

  Aidan opened his mouth to say he’d be glad to, but Everett continued to talk, sounding worried he might not be able to convince Aidan to look for the lone wolf.

  “We know the Seattle pack has refused to allow you to sample their blood. Who knows? Nick Cornwall’s blood might give you the break you need, if you haven’t had any success yet. I suspect that all you’d have to do is tell him the Seattle pack refuses to allow you to gather samples of their blood and he’d be agreeable.”

  Thrilled with the prospect, Aidan had only needed the call to action: offer Nick the opportunity to find a home among the wolf packs Aidan knew and take him there, and possibly get a blood sample from him too.

  “Why did the pack leader banish him?” Making sure the wolf was in good health would be Aidan’s first priority. Getting a sample of his blood could be a boon. But if Nick was a problem wolf, foisting him off on a pack could prove troublesome. Aidan wasn’t about to do that. He’d take him in and deal with him the best he could instead.

  “He wasn’t banished for any good reason! It really was a shame Ronald kicked him out. Poor guy lost his mate and was having a difficult time coping. Ronald said Nick was causing trouble for the pack. I can’t imagine anything being further from the truth. If you search for Nick, just be careful. Holly Gray said several members of the Seattle pack are staying at a group of cabins south of the peak and running in the area this week. She’ll be looking for him again. Alone. There are grizzlies and wild wolves out there. She shouldn’t be by herself. Then again, maybe it would be best to avoid running into their pack and, if possible, go to Glacier Peak Wilderness after they’re gone. At one time, Ronald had declared the Wilderness a free zone for other wolves to visit, but he could have changed his mind. He’s like that.”

  “Thanks. I’m free at the moment, but I have a family gathering in a couple of weeks. I need to get this done now if I’m going to do it before the holidays. I’ll try to locate Nick.” Aidan couldn’t believe what a rotten ass Ronald was.

  “Good luck, Doc. I sure hope you find him. If you do, tell him he’s more than welcome to join our pack in Montana. Also, we have several widows that we took into the pack.”

  “Okay, sounds good. One other thing. Why is he living in the wilderness? Why not just move out of Seattle and find a home someplace else?”

  “He had to sell his home and sold off everything else. At least he’s retired and has an income, but he’s been so distraught over everything that he just left and is living out there for now. He probably doesn’t know where other packs are located. Even if he does, he might feel that with the stigma of being banished, no one would take him in anyway. Not to mention he’s lived all his life in the Seattle area. He’s older and more set in his ways. Oh, I asked Holly if there was a chance you could get the pack leader to change his mind and agree for the pack to give blood, but she said no.”

  That would have been the best Christmas present ever. “Okay, thanks. I’ll let you know if I locate Nick and can convince him to allow me to fly him out to Montana.” They ended the call, and Aidan felt he had some direction in his research again. And hope.

  Ted was frowning. “Must be a combination of good and bad news.”

  Mike folded his arms across his chest. “Yeah, his intermittent frowns and an elusive smile say so.”

  “Scratch my last comment about going to the chalet. We’re packing for a cold-weather camping trip. We’re going to the cabin near the Glacier Peak Wilderness. A lot of equipment is always there: snowshoes, climbing gear, cross-country skis, and snow bikes, and I have a lab there. Though I suspect we’ll be running as wolves. The Seattle pack is staying at cabins south of there, but we need to locate a wolf they banished from the pack. And possibly convince him to fly with us to meet the Montana pack.”

  “I’ll arrange for transportation.” Ted pulled out his phone.

  “Actually, you don’t have to go with me,” Aidan said, heading for his bedroom to pack and thinking maybe if he ran into Dr. Holly Gray, her pack wouldn’t object as much to a lone wolf.

  “Like hell we don’t.” Mike pulled out his phone. “You might just need us this time… Hey, Chet, we need a car dropped off at the private airport near Glacier Peak Wilderness… Just be on standby. If Doc says we need you for additional guard detail, we’ll let you know. Thanks.” Mike turned to Aidan. “You sure we don’t need Holloway on this mission?”

  “No, Hugh’s sister is due to have triplets anytime, and he told his twin he’d be there for her. We don’t need three bodyguards.” He didn’t need even one.

  The Wilderness area was vast, and locating the wolf probably would take much longer than the two weeks they had to search for him—unless Nick wanted them to find him. Aidan couldn’t envision why Ronald had kicked the widowed wolf out of the pack. He couldn’t imagine anything worse than losing the comfort of other wolves during a time of deep sorrow.

  If Nick didn’t want to join the Montana pack, Aidan was certain one of the others would be eager to take him in. Though the one in Montana could be a good start for him. Like Everett had said, they had taken in several females who had lost their mates. Who knew where that could lead? In any case, Aidan would fly Nick to every pack location he knew until he found the pack Nick felt comfortable with.

  This might be just the break Aidan needed to find a solution for his research and a way to reach out to an emotionally wounded wolf.

  As soon as the men all had their bags packed and had joined one another in the living room, Ted asked, “Do you think the guy will even want to talk with you?” He began hauling the bags out to the SUV.

  “If we’re lucky and can even locate him.” Aidan gathered anything else he might need from the lab. Every getaway place Rafe and Aidan had purchased for their use had a room dedicated to Aidan’s research. Aidan loved his brother for knowing how important this was to him.

  “What about shopping for your nephew for Christmas presents? You said you were going to do that before you left, and there might not be much in the line of shopping out there,” Ted said as they loaded into the vehicle.

  “Yeah. Right.” Aidan got on his cell phone and looked for the shopping mall closest to where they’d be staying. “We can drop by the mall, pick up what we need, buy groceries at a store nearby, and then drive to the cabin and settle in. Once we’ve done that, we can start doing a grid search of the area surrounding the volcanic mountain and learn if Nick’s still there.”

  “What about the Seattle pack?” Mike asked.

  “Everett said his former pack considered the area a free zone for wolves. We’ve never had any issues when we’ve stayed at the cabin before.”

  “We
re they in the vicinity at the time?” Ted asked, because he and Mike had never been to the cabin.

  “Maybe not.”

  Mike snorted. “That pack hates outsider wolves. I bet you if we run into them in the Wilderness, there will be trouble.”

  “Don’t give Doc any ideas. He’s liable to scrap with them just to get them to bleed on him so he can test it,” Ted joked.

  Mike and Aidan laughed.

  “Why haven’t I thought of that?” Aidan smiled, but he was serious. It could work.

  They drove to the private airport nearby and loaded the plane with their gear. As soon as they arrived at the private airport in Washington, a car was waiting for them. Because of Rafe’s and Aidan’s wealth, all they had to do was call ahead to make arrangements for anything they needed and it was done. Rafe’s billions had been made in real estate deals. Aidan’s billions had mostly come from the pharmaceutical research he did for years before he became so caught up in the longevity issue.

  At the mall, the trees in the parking lot were decorated with white Christmas lights, and every parking spot was filled. They drove around and around and around, looking for a free parking spot, while other cars were doing the same. Then Aidan saw a sign for valet parking. “There. Valet parking. Go for it.”

  Christmas lights sparkled all around the mall too. Aidan had never bothered to decorate his place. There was no need, since he never planned to be there for the holiday. Rafe had always gone all out because he held a charity ball at his place every year right after Thanksgiving weekend. That was all the Christmas decorating Aidan ever needed. A quiet gift-giving on Christmas morning and the brothers and their bachelor friends doing whatever they wanted made for the perfect Christmas: flying off to another location, running in the woods as wolves, fishing, hiking, exercising in Rafe’s gym, partying—whatever they were in the mood for.

  This was the first year Rafe had a mate and son. It wouldn’t be quite the same. And Aidan was looking forward to that. He could envision the tyke’s wide-eyed expression when he saw all the wrapped packages under the tree. Many years ago, Christmases had been homespun affairs for him and his brother, with everyone making something special for everyone else. He’d always thought fondly of his mother for making such a big deal of loving a tea towel he’d created for her after her favorite one caught fire. She’d used that towel until she died. Rafe had made her a bread box, teasing Aidan that sewing was for girls.