“I think about wildlife a lot,” he said.
“And did you hear the wolf howls last night?”
“I did, from my hotel room. They must have been pretty close to town.”
“You could say that,” she said.
“Hey, would you join me for breakfast?” He looked so eager that she considered saying yes to this wildlife aficionado who’d come here because of WHaM. But that wasn’t how she wanted to spend her morning.
“Sorry, I can’t. I have other plans.” And she did, even if they didn’t work out the way she hoped. “I hope to see you later, though.” Maybe. Especially if she had an opportunity to give another talk on behalf of WHaM.
For now, she said goodbye to the guy, who appeared disappointed. She felt bad, at least a little, as she strode away. But if he truly was flirting with her, and not just because he liked WHaM, she didn’t want to encourage him.
And right now she wanted to find out if Ryan and Piers had heard the wolves, too. They were the ones who’d been defending her and cheering on the return of those canines to this area. And if they had heard the wolves—well, she would enjoy the opportunity to describe her own adventure last night to them.
Should she tell others, too? Maybe. What she could do, after she reached Ryan and his crew, was to talk loudly enough that people around them could eavesdrop and hear it all.
Before she reached them, Ryan looked toward her. She couldn’t quite interpret his smile, though. Oh, yes, there was a smile on that really great-looking face of his, and yet it didn’t look exactly humorous or welcoming or glad to see her, the way she expected. Well, hoped, at least.
Instead...she couldn’t quite interpret that smile, but the first thing she thought it conveyed was irritation, maybe. Scolding? Wry, certainly.
“Good morning,” she called out, feeling somewhat annoyed herself. Why should she have to interpret this man’s expressions?
“Good morning, Maya,” Piers said. The smile on the shorter, heavier guy’s face looked a whole lot more friendly. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?”
“Yes, I did. But not before—”
“Have you had breakfast yet?” Ryan interrupted. “If not, why don’t you join us?”
Somehow his words, and his now-challenging expression, definitely turned Maya into the one who was irritated. Maybe she should tell him she already had plans and go find Trev again.
But she really wanted to tell them about her night and at least find out if they’d heard the wolves.
She first hurried toward Rocky. “Good morning, boy.” She greeted the friendly wolflike dog by patting his head and scratching behind his alert ears. “And, no.” She turned to face the men. “I haven’t had breakfast yet. I’ll be glad to join you. I had a very interesting evening and would love to tell you about it.”
“And we’d love to hear about it,” Ryan said. The expression on his face didn’t change.
“How about Andy and Family’s?” Piers gave the name of a restaurant Maya had noticed a couple of blocks from the hotel, the opposite direction from the park.
“Sounds great to me.” Maya strolled around Ryan to stand beside Piers. She’d walk beside him, and hopefully Rocky, too, till they got there. Her conversation with Piers was likely to be a lot friendlier than if she spent the time with Ryan. Although she’d like to understand why. “Let’s go!”
Chapter 5
As he walked along the sidewalk behind his three companions toward his upcoming breakfast, Ryan wondered if this was a good idea.
Oh, yes.
What he’d really wanted to do, upon first seeing the lovely, upbeat—and foolish—woman was to grab her by the shoulders and shake her and tell her she could have been killed.
But he would give too much away by doing that. No, he’d have to be a whole lot more subtle, yet still find a way to get that chastisement across to her.
The sky was somewhat overcast this September day, the air a little brisk, although it would warm up later. He felt warm enough now, though, partly because of his suppressed anger—and concern.
What would have happened if she’d been attacked by the wolves? Those wolves would have undoubtedly been considered feral and dangerous and possibly hunted and killed.
And would Maya have survived such an attack? To his surprise, that mattered as much to him as—maybe more than—whether the wolves who might be fellow shifters would have gotten out of the situation okay.
They reached the restaurant. Unsurprisingly, Andy and Family’s was family style, and on this Friday morning it was crowded.
“Hey, there are a lot of people here,” Piers said unnecessarily. He’d turned to look back at Ryan, clearly giving him the opportunity to decide to go elsewhere.
“The food must be okay.” Ryan gave a brief nod to his aide. He was fine with staying here to eat.
“Probably.” Piers glanced toward Maya, who was still beside him, but instead of giving her the opportunity to say no Ryan moved past her to the glass front door.
Sure, they’d have to wait even to tell the people seating customers how many of them there were. But at the moment, having a lot of people around to eavesdrop on, after last night and the full moon and those howls and barks, could be pretty interesting.
And maybe he and Piers would be able to determine what to do next, who else to get chummy with, to confirm that at least some of those wolves were shifters.
They needed to go chat with the people they’d suspected were shifters anyway. If they had more ammunition, all the better.
But he believed he had a good idea of the wolves’ human identities thanks to their scents while he—and they—were shifted.
Would the Sharans be here for breakfast today, for example? It didn’t matter. Ryan had believed it was their scents he’d smelled last night. But he wouldn’t confront them here anyway.
He’d also had Piers check online to learn if there’d been any indication that the media—those who’d claimed to be members yesterday at Maya’s talk or others—had mentioned Maya, or last night’s wolves, in any paper or blog or broadcast somewhere but he had found nothing. Not yet, at least.
“What’s the wait time?” Maya asked the middle-aged lady holding menus who’d come by to check on how many people there were in each party.
“We’re pretty fast,” the lady said. “Probably no more than five minutes. You can wait right here and we’ve got an area on the back patio where we can seat you with your dog.”
Five minutes up here, in the crowd, with lots of gabbing people even before they took their seats. That could work in their favor, Ryan figured.
“Let’s wait,” he said, looking first at Piers. He turned to Maya and asked, “Are you okay with that?”
“Sure,” she said, then repeated, “Let’s wait.”
* * *
Standing behind the rest of her group in the waiting area line leading up to the rows of tables, Maya couldn’t help looking around at this crowd. The place resembled nearly every other busy family style restaurant she’d ever eaten at, with servers in the aisles and tables filled with people of all ages, some dressed as if they were heading to work on this Friday morning, and others as casual as she was in her shirt and jeans.
No, not all ages, she contradicted herself. The kids were fairly young. Their older counterparts might already be at school for the day.
But the conversations created a low-key roar, and she also heard the clink of silverware on plates and the clunk of glasses on tables.
Hey, if she didn’t know better, she’d wonder if her visit with wolves had elevated her own senses the way theirs were—like her hearing. But she had no doubt they’d enjoy the aromas around here more.
In fact, she looked toward Rocky. Sure enough, his canine nose was elevated and sniffing and—
She glanced up to find that Ryan was smiling at her, and this time it seemed genuine. Surely he couldn’t read her mind...could he?
“You hungry?” he asked. “I am.”
Apparently he couldn’t—although his question was definitely pertinent here. And her answer, partly thanks to the low-level aromas she could inhale, was, “Me, too. This is a good place to be hungry. But what about Rocky? Will he also eat here?”
“He had his breakfast back at the inn,” Ryan said, “but I won’t be surprised if he talks one or more of us into giving him some of what we’re eating, too.”
“Bet on it.” Piers was also smiling but his gaze drifted around the busy dining area as if he hoped to glom on to a table they could request. Which would have been unlikely even if they didn’t have Rocky along, since, although a few more people had been seated since their arrival, there were still a couple more groups ahead of them.
Maya made herself tear her gaze away from Ryan’s great-looking, angular face with just a hint of beard shadow, as if he hadn’t fully shaved that morning. Though those dark brown eyes looked a little tired, they seemed to be studying hers. Why? Hadn’t he slept well—and had he been out looking for wolves? And now, was he trying to figure out if she was telling the truth, that she really was hungry?
Absurd. And yet she thought she sensed some kind of question, or message, in his expression.
Her mind began churning around possible ways to lead into a conversation with him, get him to reveal what he’d done last night and what he was thinking. But before she got very far the restaurant hostess invited the last groups ahead of them in line to follow her.
They should be next to get a table—at least assuming the patio area designated as appropriate for Rocky to join them had a vacancy.
Rocky. He’d been sitting, examining the air around them and behaving like a well-trained dog, despite his resemblance to wild wolves. But something, maybe the movement of the people ahead of them, apparently got his attention, and he stood.
Ryan immediately tautened the leash attached to his collar, drawing closer to the dog. “Easy, boy,” he said.
Maya noticed then the people hurrying toward them from between the nearest tables, people who’d been at the bar yesterday and indicated their support of what WHaM stood for. The Sharans. Kathie and Burt, right?
Kathie was ahead of Burt and she looked first at Rocky, then at the people with him.
“Hi,” the short, attractive woman said as she reached them, smiling toward Maya. “So you brought that adorable dog who resembles the wolves you talk about to breakfast with you?” She moved her hand slowly in Rocky’s direction as if making sure he knew she was friendly.
Rocky started to rear up on his hind legs, but Ryan, pulling the leash gently and also pushing him with his other hand, got him to settle back down. “Sit, boy,” Ryan said, and the dog obeyed, though he began sniffing the air even more than Maya had noticed him doing before. Interesting. She didn’t smell even a hint of a difference in the food aromas around them and wondered what Rocky smelled.
He pulled sideways again when Burt, a beefy guy with a short chin and long nose, got close and put out his hand, too, as if he also wanted to pat the dog. Rocky seemed pretty interested in these people. Maybe they were the reason his sniffing had grown more pronounced, and Maya wondered what they had just eaten.
“I’m delighted to have Rocky’s company for breakfast,” Maya said. “Oh, and Ryan’s and Piers’s, too.” She lifted her eyebrows as she passed her gaze over the two men, waiting for their reaction.
Surprisingly, neither was looking at her. Ryan had one hand on Rocky and was watching him, and Piers was regarding the couple who’d just joined them here as they’d been leaving the restaurant.
Maya sensed something going on that she didn’t follow, but no matter. She’d ask about it later.
For now, she wanted to say something nice to these friendly folks who appeared to love wildlife. “You said before that you own a grocery store, right?”
Kathie nodded. “Yes, we do. We sell pet food there, too.” She grinned as she looked toward Ryan, obviously knowing who was in charge of Rocky.
“We brought enough for a while,” Ryan responded, “but we’ll still check out what you’ve got.”
“Well, I’m sure I’ll need some snacks while I’m here,” Maya said. “I’ll definitely come to visit your store.” And buy something there, in support of these people who seemed truly in favor of the idea that wolves had returned to this area.
The hostess returned then. “We’ve got a table for you on the patio, where your dog is welcome,” she said, menus still plentiful in her arms.
“We’ll let you go now,” Kathie said. “We’ve got to get back to the store anyway.”
“See you there later,” Maya said, earning another smile from Kathie.
But before Kathie and Burt had taken more than a few steps, another woman stepped in front of them, blocking them—Vinnie Fritts.
Rocky, still under Ryan’s control, remained standing—and growled, not a good thing, Maya thought.
But Maya considered growling herself, and more, when Vinnie began talking. “How dare you bring that damn dog here!” she spat toward Ryan. “And how dare any of you say that it’s a good thing that wolves are back in this area? What happened last night is at least partly your fault, damn you.”
Maya didn’t really want to ask but said anyway, “What happened last night?”
“Those damned wolves. Did you hear them howling? My husband did, and he decided to go check them out, make sure the town was safe. And it wasn’t. He wasn’t.”
Maya had a sinking sensation that she knew what was coming, but she had to ask again, “What happened?”
“Morton was attacked. Mauled. Fortunately, he’s going to be okay, no thanks to you. But those horrible creatures don’t belong here. One way or another, they have to go.”
* * *
Ryan couldn’t help it. His first reaction, rather than sympathy—feigned or otherwise—was to glance at the Sharans. They were blocked from leaving by Vinnie but now faced her back as she looked furiously toward Maya.
He felt fairly certain that the Sharans were the wolves he’d confronted last night to protect Maya, shifters with no human cognition or control. He couldn’t recognize their scent for sure while he, and they, were in human form, but he did sense that they weren’t ordinary humans—and Rocky’s reaction to them also suggested a different aroma from a regular person’s. The dog hadn’t acted that way when they’d been around the Sharans before, but he might sense now that they had recently shifted. Did all cover dogs have that ability? Ryan wasn’t sure.
The Sharans’ reaction was what his should have been. Both maneuvered around Vinnie so she could see them. They began expressing how sorry they were to hear of Morton’s injuries. No admission that they’d had any part in them, of course. But they acted like concerned fellow townsfolk.
Even if they were the cause of the man’s injuries, they might not even know it, since they wouldn’t have had human awareness—but might they have recalled their attack anyway?
Ryan recalled a lot of what he’d done while shifted before he had joined Alpha Force and learned about the elixir—mostly visualizing, not consciously thinking about what he’d done, or analyzing it.
But would the Sharans? Assuming it had been them. There were probably some truly feral wolves in the area, too—and possibly more shifters.
“Thanks,” Vinnie muttered at their sympathetic words, but she still kept her focus on Maya.
Heck, Maya was the last one here who should get any blame for a wolf attack. Ryan moved around this group so Rocky was behind him. He whispered to Piers, as he passed, to take the dog to the table the hostess had found for them. “We’ll catch up.”
Then he joined Maya at her side. Her expression appeared stricken. Horrified. And remorseful.
“I’m so sorry,” she finally managed to say to Vinnie. “But—well, I did remind people that wolves are wild. I gather that poor Morton was outside, and—”
“Like I said, he went out when he heard those howls last night. He wanted to make sure that those damned wolves, wherever they were, were not about to hurt anyone. I don’t know exactly how it happened. Maybe he was protecting another person. Maybe he just happened to cross the wolves’ path at the wrong time. But fortunately he yelled and ran and somehow got away from them. I’d been worried about him so I called Carlo Silling and he picked me up in his car and tried to follow where the howls were, too. When we heard Morton yell we went after him and got him to the hospital.”
“Is he going to be all right?” Maya asked.
“Yeah, we think so. No thanks to you.”
At Maya’s cringe, Ryan stepped between Vinnie and her. “That’s enough. We’re all sorry that your husband was injured, but Maya’s right. She did warn people that wild wolves are...well, wild. She didn’t encourage anyone to face them.”
But with herself...? He looked down at her then, attempting to put a chiding expression on his face, but only for a moment.
For now.
“Yeah, they are,” Vinnie said. “They’re dangerous. They don’t belong here. And if they stay around here, near Fritts Corner, well, yeah, they’re supposedly protected under the law. But I know we can get around that if we figure out which ones attacked my husband. And if that kind of thing happens again you can be certain we’ll do everything possible to make sure none ever gets near this town again.”
She pivoted and nearly knocked over some people in line behind them who weren’t hiding the fact they were eavesdropping.
“That’s such a shame,” Kathie Sharan said. “No one likes to hear that, especially not those of us who care about wildlife.” She looked at Maya, and Ryan thought he saw tears in her eyes. In both women’s eyes, in fact.
“But she shouldn’t threaten any protected species,” Burt Sharan interjected, putting his arm around his wife.
“No, she shouldn’t,” Maya said, “though I can certainly understand her position.” Her head drooped—and Ryan found himself beside her, his arm around her the way Burt had done with Kathie.
He felt something amazing, something indescribable, when Maya turned and put her head on his shoulder. He faced her, held her even closer, wanting to comfort her—and more. His whole body was reacting to her closeness. And it didn’t hurt knowing that this woman was someone who gave a damn about wolves.
But Ryan’s shoulders stiffened at that thought. She cared about wolves, sure—but what would she think about people who turned into wolves, and back again?
Most regular humans, unless they’d had contact with shifters, didn’t believe in them. And once they had something like that, which they considered weird and paranormal and scary, happen within their consciousness, they backed away.
Might even become particularly fearful of those creatures, real or shifted.
Even so, for now, he didn’t loosen his grip.
But he couldn’t help wondering how Maya would react knowing that the wolves who’d nearly attacked her last night were likely shifters.
Or that he was a shifter, too.
Chapter 6
How could she be so very aware of this man’s nearness? His arms around her.
His lower parts hard as he pressed against her.
Absurd to even think about it. He was simply being nice. Kind. Sympathetic.
She shouldn’t need sympathy. Morton Fritts did. She felt just terrible about what had happened to him, as if it was her fault.
But she hadn’t brought the wolves here. She was merely an advocate, excited that a wonderful protected and endangered species appeared to be making a resurgence here.
Enough of a resurgence that she, perhaps acting foolish in her delight, had nearly been attacked, too.
If anyone should have been mauled, it was her.
“Thanks,” she finally said in as decisive a voice as she could muster. She pulled back, immediately feeling somewhat bereft as Ryan no longer held her, no longer touched her. But it was better this way. “Let’s go find our table—although I’m not very hungry now.”
“Don’t let any of this get to you.” Ryan’s tone sounded like an order, and she looked up into his face. His brows were knitted, but there was something in his expression that suggested caring. She started to smile, though a bit weakly she figured—but then he added, “Of course I gather you also did something as foolish as Morton Fritts, but you’re just lucky you weren’t hurt, too.”
She took a step back, bumping into someone standing there in line. She excused herself but didn’t take her gaze off Ryan.
How did he know that? She hadn’t left a message when she’d tried calling him at the hotel. And all she’d really said on the subject this morning was that she’d had an interesting night.
Still, under the circumstances—the howls and barks in the distance and her obvious love of wolves—he could certainly have guessed what she’d done.
And since he apparently hadn’t been in his room when she called last night, maybe he had done the same thing. And maybe he had seen her, though she hadn’t seen him.
She needed some answers. “Yes,” she said, “I’m lucky, and maybe you are, too. Did you do anything after you heard those howls last night?”
When he frowned and opened his mouth to reply, she shook her head. “Let’s go sit down and order breakfast—and we can each tell our reactions to those sounds and what we did about them.”
* * *
Okay, so he’d gone a little too far in his initial chastisement of Maya. So what?
He didn’t have to get into specifics.
As they made their way between tables, with him in front, Ryan spotted Piers sitting at a table outside just beyond the glass door. He couldn’t see Rocky at first but figured the dog had been there long enough to relax and lie down on the patio.
“There they are,” he said and finished leading Maya to the table.
Rocky stood up, and Ryan couldn’t help smiling at the way Maya immediately went over and petted him before taking her seat facing Piers. That was a good thing, since one of the remaining chairs had its back to the far patio wall, and if Ryan sat there he’d be able to keep an eye on the crowd.
Ears, too—although he hoped he didn’t regret too much that he was there as a human, with limited ability to eavesdrop. But if someone happened to mention the word wolf he was sure he would hear it.
Piers picked up the menus near him on the tabletop. Ryan noticed he’d already gotten a cup of coffee. As he handed a menu to Ryan, Piers looked at him quizzically, as if asking what he’d missed.
But he’d heard the worst of it before heading to the table: Morton Fritts had apparently been attacked by a wolf.
Ryan didn’t want to bring that up now. There was nothing they could do over breakfast to research which type of wolf had attacked the man, let alone fix that situation.
As a result, he just gave a brief shrug and opened his menu. “Great! They have a good selection, and I’m hungry.” Which he actually was, after his busy night on the hillside.
Not to mention the energy used for shifting. That burned a lot of calories.
As he read the menu, he did hear the word wolf and several times with his heightened hearing. He allowed himself to glance in those directions. Other seated diners, both here and inside, seemed to be discussing the events of last night—at least the howls, since he heard that word a few times, too.
He also heard the word attack at least once...
News had apparently spread about Morton Fritts. Not that it was likely to be hushed up for any reason—not even by shifters, if they were the source of the problem. They could discuss it while in human form, but would they know who did it—shifters or not? And if shifters, which ones were involved?
But with all the various conversations, many of which seemed to be on that subject, and the fact that there was a curious woman at his side so he couldn’t simply sit there listening, Ryan gave up on the possibility of learning much that was useful right away.
Nor did he get any sense, via scent or conversation, that anyone here was a shifter—not that his belief was conclusive.
