Hungry Like a Wolf by Christine Warren

question shook him out of his meditation. “Right. Sorry, Miss. Yeah, I do need to talk to Graham. Is he around?”
    “Sure. He was just showing Ava the door. She stopped over to see Roarke, and Graham never rests easy until he’s seen her taxi pull away. I imagine he’ll be back any second.”
    Logan could hardly blame Graham. Of all Missy’s close friends, Ava Markham inspired the greatest sense of fear and awe. An unrepentant matchmaker, she’d tried her hand at setting up just about everyone she knew at one time or another. Now, her erstwhile victims spent most of their time praying for the day when someone would turn the tables on her. “Right. Should I call back?”
    “No, don’t worry about it. Here he is now.”
    He heard a shuffling sound as the receiver was passed from one hand to the other, then a rough growl replaced Missy’s light, feminine voice in his ear. “What’s up?”
    Logan felt his eyebrow arching. “Nice to talk to you, too. I’m fine, thanks. Didn’t sleep that well last night, but somehow I’m not feeling all that many ill effects. Must be the water up here.”
    “Can it, Hunter. It’s been a lousy day.”
    “I heard. Ava paid a visit, huh? Having the place fumigated?”
    “Not yet. Maybe when Missy takes Roarke to the park later. So what’s the news?”
    “I’m here.”
    Pause.
    “That’s it? That’s the news?”
    “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
    “Yeah, but they could at least say, ‘We’re here and we put down some rocks,’ right?”
    “Okay. I’m here, and I’ve met Tate’s daughter.”
    Another pause.
    “And?”
    “There’s not much else to tell. I’ve only been here”—he glanced at his watch—“fifteen hours, and most people around here were asleep for a good eight or nine of those.”
    He and Honor hadn’t been asleep, but he saw no need to bog the conversation down with details.
    “Yeah, but you’ve had time to form a first impression, haven’t you?”
    Logan paused, reluctant to say anything. On the one hand, he didn’t want to hurt Honor’s chance to prove herself, but on the other, he couldn’t lie to his alpha. “Yeah. She’s pretty together, considering what she’s just been through. I think she has potential.”
    “Potential or ability?”
    “It’s really too soon to make that kind of call.”
    “What about the pack? Have they settled in to the idea of having a female alpha, especially such a young one?”
    “I’m going to start talking to them once I’m off with you. So far I’ve only met a couple of them, and I doubt that’s much to go by.”
    “It’s a start. What did they have to say?”
    Logan gritted his teeth for a second before answering. “There have been three challenges since she took the title Alpha.”
    “Really? Well, she’s alive, so I guess that means she can handle herself in a fight. How is she taking the deaths?”
    “I don’t think her father’s death has had a chance to sink in yet. She’s been too busy keeping things running to shed any tears over him.”
    “Understandable. But what about the challenge deaths? Is she holding up after those?”
    Shit. He knew this answer was not one his friend was going to like, so he hesitated for a second.
    “There haven’t been any deaths,” he finally admitted.
    Again, Graham paused. “What does that mean? If there were challenges…”
    “She chose to end them without slaying her opponents. The first showed her his throat, and the other two she crippled. But she hasn’t killed anyone.”
    There was a moment of silence.
    Not the reverent kind, but the are-you-fucking-kidding-me kind.
    “And you still think she has the potential to lead that pack?” Graham asked carefully.
    “I think it’s possible. She’s strong enough. Two of those challenges came from grown men, and she defeated both of them, death or no. She’s also damned smart from what I can tell. True, she’s got a bit of a feminine notion of mercy, but I believe she would do what