The older man clearly did not know what to expect.
She lifted her paw and touched the door frame, which cued Rainey, who knocked to summon the two Mounties.
Selena heard footsteps on the hallway floor. In seconds, she heard the sound of the key in the lock. The door was pulled open, and Owen stood there, looking in.
On one side of him was Anthony Creay. On the other was Lupe, who pulled on her leash.
Selena walked forward and traded nose sniffs with her cover dog.
“Care to come in and look around, gentlemen?” Rainey sounded smug.
“Yes,” said Anthony, and he strode through the open entry.
Owen just stood there, looking into the room and down at her. She could not read his expression. It wasn’t admiring, but neither was it full of scorn.
“It is real,” she finally heard the older man say. “No Selena here, just the dog. The wolf. Whatever.”
“Yeah,” Owen agreed. “It’s real. And that’s a good thing, since our guys have a lot to learn to accomplish our underlying mission.”
She might help to teach them a lot—but she needed to know exactly what that mission was. And soon.
It was morning, the day after the three Alpha Force members, including the dog, had arrived in northwest Vancouver.
Now Owen was ready to drive them up to their new headquarters, where he—and they—could get to work.
For the moment, he had parked his SUV in front of the hotel where both he and the visitors had spent the night. He settled back in the driver’s seat, waiting for them.
Last night, when their sort-of demonstration had ended, it had been too late to head out. Besides, Selena had looked tired after what she had been through. Once Anthony acknowledged that she must indeed be a shifter—Owen hadn’t doubted it by then—she, her aide and her dog had remained in that conference room while Anthony and he went back into the hall.
Owen hadn’t locked the door that time. He’d figured Selena, changing back from a wolf-dog into a human—a naked human—might have wanted that option, but she hadn’t asked for it before shifting back, and neither had her aide.
Of course neither he nor Anthony had attempted to peek. Even so, Owen, who never considered himself to have much of an imagination, had still somehow visualized what her slim but curvaceous body might have looked like without any clothes on...
Well, he could imagine anything he wanted, including sexual attraction to a female shapeshifter in human form. That fantasy would remain far from reality, for a whole lot of reasons, not the least of which was that she was a professional colleague...and—oh, yes—she was a shifter.
The good thing was that Anthony now believed—which meant their operation could move forward.
Plus, Owen hadn’t had to strip to get the dispute resolved. It had been a dumb offer on his part. He knew that. He’d recognized it even as he’d suggested it, Anthony’s attitude notwithstanding. Worst thing now was that it might negatively affect his professional relationship with Selena. He’d have to be careful and treat her with total respect from now on.
And keep his clothes on.
Before they’d adjourned last night he’d called this hotel and made reservations for them and himself for the night. His current home was in Ottawa, since he’d been most recently stationed at the RCMP main headquarters there—until now. But he would become a resident of West Columbia as soon as they got there.
He scanned the front of the hotel and saw the trio emerge. He got out of the car to open the doors for them.
The women rolled suitcases behind them and carried bags over their shoulders. Rainey seemed in charge of the dog.
As they got closer, Selena blatantly looked him up and down. Interesting. Did she approve of what she saw?
“You’re not wearing your Mounties uniform,” she said. “Not even the casual kind you had on last night—although someday soon we’re going to insist on seeing you in one of those classic and formal red jackets and rounded hats.”
She had a smile on her face. She looked well rested and seemed clearly in teasing mode. Good. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he thought.
“Only if you earn the right to see me that way,” he said, keeping his face expressionless. “I have to admit that I like you in the civilian clothes you’re wearing today a lot better than the camo uniform.” The jeans and T-shirt she wore hugged her curves.
Why was he noticing such things? Especially after cautioning himself to resist any sexual attraction to her.
He quickly opened the rear hatch and helped them load their suitcases and backpacks, then watched as Rainey ushered Lupe into the backseat and followed the dog inside. Lupe was obviously a well-trained dog, one he’d enjoy working with, given the opportunity.
He doubted that the humans, while shifted, would be as well behaved.
By the time he closed the door after the woman and dog, Selena was already buckled in the front seat. He hurried to the driver’s side and got in.
“So where, exactly, is our destination?” Selena said as he turned the key in the ignition.
“West Columbia.”
“How far is it?”
Owen maneuvered the car away from the curb. It was his own vehicle. Even though this was an official mission, the whole operation was to be done undercover. Plus, he was moving to this area to be in charge of the new covert team. He would not drive his prior on-the-job vehicle, an RCMP sedan, around here.
“About an hour from here,” he finally answered as he pulled into traffic. “It’s a somewhat remote, moderate-sized town where tourists come and go, so we won’t stick out as being intruders. It abuts some forested mountains and seems like a good location for our new detachment, but we’ll see. The location is also part of our experiment. The new RCMP members who are part of my team are already located there, and to everyone they talk to they’re on vacation but considering moving there. That’s what all of us are to say, if anyone asks.”
Owen drove north toward Highways 1 and 99, the Trans-Canada Highway nearest to where they started out, although it would turn into the Upper Levels Highway and Sea-to-Sky Highway before they reached their destination.
“Sounds good,” Selena said. “Since you’re national police and not military, you shouldn’t need something like Ft. Lukman, which is Alpha Force’s headquarters. It’s an actual military facility in Maryland and has units stationed there besides ours. We’ll tell you more about it, if you’d like, as we undertake our training sessions. By the way, what’s your new team to be called?”
“It’s
