come and talk to the local authorities and try to make sense of what had happened. I traveled there, and that’s when I learned that one of those killed had been a distant family member by marriage who’d been a wolf shifter. He was shot with a silver bullet while shifted, after he’d killed my blood relative, a third cousin. Despite attempting to dredge out the details and help, I didn’t get a lot of information on motive or anything else, other than that it was a family tragedy, and I never did make any sense of it. The cousin who was killed was apparently a prominent business owner in the area, and the details were hushed up so the shop he owned would survive. His wife and kids still own it and we stay in touch at the holidays.”
It was something he almost never talked about, and neither did anyone else in the family, except maybe those in Minnesota. But letting Selena know that he genuinely believed in shapeshifters—and why—had seemed appropriate.
“Look, Owen, I understand that it’s a difficult topic to discuss, but—”
“Glad you recognize that.” He realized he sounded curt, but she apparently got the message and didn’t push. In fact, they didn’t say much as he continued onward until he reached the houses. She might not be satisfied with his silence, but that was the way he wanted it.
He pulled his car in front of the larger house, where she and Rainey would spend this night and should be joined by the rest of her Alpha Force team tomorrow. They had left the lights on, and the two homes were illuminated.
He saw a half-moon off to the east. Not a full moon. It nevertheless seemed symbolic of what was to occur here.
As he parked, Selena opened her own door. He quickly exited the SUV and hurried around to hold it for her and to reach out for her hand as if to steady her.
“I’m really okay,” she said, not touching him and giving him a stubborn look. Her full bottom lip stuck out obstinately. Sexily. “But—”
“You definitely are okay,” he said. And then, as if he had planned it—maybe to keep her quiet—he bent down, put his arms around her curvaceous, struggling body and put his lips on hers.
Struggling? No. Maybe for a moment, but then she reacted. Positively. Hotly. She leaned in and placed her hands on his chest, and he relished the feel of her so close, her warmth.
The kiss went on for hours, or was it only seconds?
Didn’t matter. Didn’t matter that it was inappropriate, or that his body was reacting in a way that made him both uncomfortable and eager all at the same time.
She wasn’t the one to pull away. He was, and he regretted it.
“Rainey could get back here anytime,” he said breathlessly, looking down into Selena’s face.
She looked bemused. And hot. And even inviting.
He declined the invitation. “Let me walk you up to the door,” he said, taking her arm once more.
She seemed to realize who and where she was at that instant. Her expression hardened; her cheeks reddened in the pale light.
“No need,” she said, pulling away, and he watched as she ran up the porch steps and used her key to enter the house.
Lupe greeted her enthusiastically, whining as Selena walked into the house and jumping up and down in the kitchen behind the chair Selena had set up as a gate.
The wolflike dog had been alone for a while and needed to go outside for a walk.
Selena needed to go outside, too, to cool off in the Canadian breeze after that kiss. That hot, suggestive, sexy kiss that made her insides so aware that Owen felt like a lot more than a professional contact.
She also wanted to ponder some more, on her own, Owen’s brief tale of how he had learned of shapeshifters—and his reason for not thinking much of them. Could she get him to discuss it further with her? He hadn’t seemed inclined to do so. And she certainly couldn’t fix the situation.
After Selena released Lupe from the kitchen, she cautiously opened the front door and looked outside to make sure Owen was gone.
But his vehicle was still there, parked on the pavement linking the two houses.
Lupe whined—she didn’t want to wait. So Selena figured she had better take her dog outside now.
She fastened the woven yellow nylon leash to Lupe’s matching collar and picked up a recyclable bag for anything Lupe might leave. “Let’s go,” she said, smiling at her eager dog.
On the front porch, Selena looked around before closing the door behind her. No sign of Owen. Good. But she’d have to try to hurry since she’d no idea when he might reappear, most likely from the other house.
Lupe seemed interested in going to the area between the two buildings, which was mostly grass edged in neatly trimmed bushes. Needles from the nearby fir trees decorated the lawn.
Lupe pulled gently, her nose to the ground, and Selena followed. Since it was dark outside and the illumination from the lights around the driveway wasn’t very bright, this area remained shrouded in shadows. That was fine. Selena stayed alert, all of her enhanced senses attuned to ensure that nothing perilous was around.
Selena detected the scent of some kind of small feral animal, although it was light enough to suggest that whatever it was had come and gone. But that explained why Lupe seemed extremely interested in smelling the grass and its light needle covering. The dog soon produced what she needed to, and Selena scooped it with the bag she’d brought.
That was when she heard a sound other than the branches of the nearby trees blowing in the light breeze and the very distant sound of an occasional automobile.
No, this was soft footsteps on pavement. Lupe heard them, too, since she raised her head, and her pointed, erect ears moved like antennae toward the direction of the sound.
Had Rainey returned? Selena hadn’t heard any car noises.
No, it was probably Owen heading toward his car. Selena remained still, listening. There was no reason to believe that whoever it was constituted a threat to Lupe or her.
Lupe pulled her lead and dashed toward the sound. “Wait!” Selena commanded, keeping her voice low. She didn’t want the person to hear her, especially if it was Owen.
But Lupe didn’t wait. Her leash taut, she kept pulling Selena in the direction of the driveway. She was usually quite obedient. Not now. Did she sense a danger from which she wanted to protect Selena? Or a friend she wanted to greet?
Selena found out in moments as the back-lit figure of a tall, well-built male appeared in the gap between the buildings. Lupe headed toward him, and Selena released her leash.
It was clearly Owen.
Selena followed her dog, knowing she needed to work to get Lupe even better trained here. Yes, she was mostly obedient, emphasis on mostly. Alpha Force cover dogs did get a significant amount of training, but they weren’t necessarily expected to act as official K-9s who sniffed out explosives or cadavers or anything like that. Their function was to
