They’re Here for Business

       The men quickly tossed their packs into a couple of rooms. They were sure that this division of space would end quickly once Ebony was on board with, their unique arrangement. 

       They tromped up the ladder and into Tower Twelve. Ebony was sitting at a table with a heavy duty laptop in front of her. They designed it to fall off sides of mountains.

       “Oh, good you’re here.” Ebony wouldn’t admit to them she’d just finished reading the file their boss sent her. These three had impressive resumes. “Okay, I was checking the minute details the boss sent over. We’re stuck with the food we have here until lunch tomorrow, when the supply drop arrives. We’ll need to share the chores. I’m afraid I’m no chef. So, we’ll trade off so there’s less chance that I’ll accidentally kill someone with my cooking.”

      “That shouldn’t be a problem. I assume the drop’s made in the meadow? Peter’s good with food. He can help with the cooking while Franco and I bring the dropped supplies here.” Benedict asked. He’d already looked the entire area over. It was difficult not to mark his new territory. “You wanted to move your things into the cabin. When you’ve got them packed, we’ll take them down for you.” There’s a winch system we use to haul large things up the tower. 

       “I was going to use the winch.” Ebony stopped speaking. He was trying to be nice, and she was stomping all over it. “Fine, thank you. Once we have the daily chores divided and done, I’ll take you out and show you some of the land features. Oh, and a quick warning. We’ve got some new wolves in the area. I don’t know their personalities yet. Meaning we don’t have a gauge of their temperament. Just be careful.”

       Peter did a double take at Ebony’s back. Did she not sense her mates’ presence?

       Ebony was struggling since she caught the scent of the male wolf shifter, and it was causing havoc with her instincts. She was now at the point of considering jumping one man. She didn’t know which one, though. No, boinking a co-worker was unprofessional. She didn’t have to see them again if they were strangers. This was the first day. There is no chance for her to deal with personal needs. She would have to escape into the woods to care for her personal needs.

       “Ranger Dover will check-in with us in three days. I would like to conduct research studies with wolves again. Any progress will be a feather in our cap.”

       Benedict sat down beside her. He looked at the laptop screen and nodded. “We should make progress after they put away the supplies. We should get the food settled. Then we’ll acquaint you with the area. Come back for sunset and start again the next morning? As for the wolves, they usually don’t like our size. They just move on.” He avoided saying the size of their wolves made them back down. 

       “Well, you’ve been warned. Right now, the camping area is full. Unless they get lost, we shouldn’t have them this far out. The weather report says we have dry days coming with a few evenings of rain with potential lightning strikes. That means we have to keep our eyes open for delayed smouldering.” That was never good. Basically, lightning would strike and start a fire. The rain moistens the ground cover, but the ground cover protects the embers of the fire. When the wet ground cover dries out, the fire starts in earnest. Which could be hours or days after the lightning strike. She’d heard of locations going weeks before the fire reveals itself.

       “Mind if I start something for lunch we’ve not eaten?” Peter asked as he moved to the small portable kitchen in the corner. “Have you eaten?” At that question, Ebony’s stomach answered rather loudly.

       “I’ve been busy and missed breakfast. I’m afraid when I’m alone here I’m not the best housekeeper, so I needed to clean up some.”

       “Give me some time. I’ll have something on the table.”

       “You shouldn’t starve yourself. It’s not healthy. The last thing you need our here is a suppressed immune system.” Franco sat down on the bench to her other side. His hand brushed hers as he looked at some of her hand-written notes. “How do you identify the wolves?”

       “I’ve got a list of known wolves in the area and their names with their different markings on them. I couldn’t see the new wolves to get their markings, but they aren’t afraid of humans. The night before I returned, a grey wolf walked up to the tower.” Franco looked pointedly at Benedict, and he responded with a slight shrug. 

       “Now, we also have to be careful with everything. When I arrived, I found the tower trashed. I don’t believe they took much, but some food. I’m hoping it was a vagrant passing through and not poachers.”

       Peter frowned at Benedict now. Benedict wouldn’t feel guilty about snooping on his mate for a common ground or a way to score points with her.

       “Well, we’re here now. You can breathe a little now because we have your back.” Benedict reassured her. All three men couldn’t get over her inability to sense her mates. 

       Ebony could feel Franco’s hand on hers. Teasing and discreet. She was sure he’d not noticed what he did. But gods, she was running on empty. Ebony felt her entire body react, and she struggled to stay professional with these men.

       A few minutes later, Peter set down plates of food for everyone. “Enjoy everyone. Eat you.”

      Ebony felt like a failure. She was acting like the stereotypical female enforcer-type alone on a job with all men. She was in full protective mode from her peers. Being all work avoided anything that might label her different or feminine. It was a fear of losing respect and physical danger. These guys were here to work. It’s her imagination that they flirted with her. She was just emotional because of the dreams the male wolf’s scent gave her last night.