Canadian Wolf

“Did you ever think, when you decided to join the RCMP, that you’d find yourself in such an unusual situation?”

He hadn’t. Not really. But he had previously become aware that shapeshifters existed, and the experience he’d had suggested that illegal, even violent, situations could result from contact with them.

“No,” he said curtly as the light changed and he stepped too quickly on the gas.

He glimpsed Selena’s movement beside him, as she was jolted back into her seat.

“Sorry,” he added, but didn’t explain his discomfort.

“You had a bad experience with shapeshifters, didn’t you?” she asked quietly.

Damn, but the woman was perceptive. He would have to watch himself around her.

“No,” he said only somewhat truthfully. He realized then that this might be a good time to tell her—and vent a little. “Not me personally. But a short while after I joined the RCMP I had a couple of family members killed in the States—in Minnesota—and others there asked me to 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.

Chapter 5

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 be there for their shapeshifter counterparts so that if anyone saw an animal in wolfen form, they wouldn’t be surprised—even if that particular wolf happened to be a shifted human.

Same went for other types of cover animals, such as those for felines or birds or whatever.

Selena knew that the Canadians would soon need to find cover animals for all of their CAs, including a falcon counterpart for Andrea. But that was far from being her current concern.

“What are you doing out here?” Owen demanded as she got closer.

“Since Lupe’s all over you, I’d imagine that’s pretty clear. She needed to go out.” Selena purposely made her tone sarcastic. That would certainly reduce any further possibility that he’d want to kiss her again, wouldn’t it?

“Sure. But...well, even up here, you need to be careful. One reason we chose this area is that we don’t know of any problems, but there are no guarantees.”

As she got nearer, he wasn’t silhouetted now and Selena could make out his features. Handsome features—with his brow knitted in apparent concern.

And that made him look all the more appealing.

She suddenly had an urge to rush toward him and be the one to instigate the next kiss.

Fortunately a noise sounded behind him. An automobile was heading up the driveway. Rainey was probably returning.

That sound also gave Selena an instant to calm herself—and her very human hormones. “I appreciate that,” she said. Then, to remind him—and herself—of who and what she was, she added, “You may not be aware of it, or even if you are you might not be thinking about it. But shifters’ senses are very much like the animals’ they shift into. I heard you come outside the other house probably a lot sooner than another person would, for example. I’ll stay wary, but you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Right.” He didn’t sound entirely convinced.

Rainey parked the car she had driven—a rental, Selena figured, although she wasn’t sure whose—and came running up. “Hey, you two. Three, I mean.” She bent to pat Lupe. “I’m ready to go off to bed so I can get up early tomorrow. How about you?”

Selena glanced toward Owen before answering. His gaze was on her, and it was probably a good thing that Rainey remained somewhat in the shadows behind him.

She hopefully couldn’t see the very hot, very suggestive gaze that Owen leveled on Selena. But she caught it. And quite possibly she thought the same thing he did.

Yes, she was ready to go off to bed. Alone.

But the idea of sharing it with Owen?

After their earlier kiss, it definitely crossed her mind.

* * *

Off to bed. Oh, yeah, Owen had heard that. Thought about it as he regarded Selena. Sexy Selena. Hot Selena, whom he’d definitely enjoyed kissing.

Werewolf Selena.

She and her dog walked with him to his SUV as if she hadn’t sensed the gist of his thoughts about bed when Rainey had mentioned it. Maybe she hadn’t—although her expression seemed to say otherwise.

No matter. He could always act now as if Rainey’s words hadn’t triggered his imagination—not to mention a reaction from his most private body parts. Selena had, after all, reminded him earlier of why he wasn’t fond of shapeshifters.

“I’ll be back here first thing with the rest of the group,” he said, slipping into the driver’s seat of his SUV. He’d decided to stop in at their hotel to speak with them briefly before heading to his own room that night. “I’ll make sure we get here early for them to get breakfast ready for all of us. As Canada Alphas, they’ve already begun to learn that their duties are diverse, and preparing meals can be among them.”

He liked how Selena smiled under the faint lights. He was also amused when she shifted her dog’s leash to free up one hand so she could grab hold of the car door.

“My turn,” she said, starting to close it.

“Hey, you’re a gentleman, too,” he teased as he settled into the seat.

“You got it.” She slammed the door shut.

But as he turned the key in the ignition, his mind rebelled against what he had said.

Selena was anything but a man, gentle or not.

And her very womanly characteristics just might drive him nuts as he continued to work with her on this assignment.

* * *

Once they were all inside the house, Selena went upstairs with Rainey and helped her choose the room she would stay in while they were here. Rainey opted for the one overlooking the front of the house. Selena then left Rainey upstairs and returned to the room that was now hers.

She had already changed into her long-sleeved navy pajamas, washed her face and settled herself beneath her bedcovers when Rainey knocked on her door. “Come in,” she called.

Rainey, too, had put her on pj’s, a frilly pink outfit that contrasted pleasantly with her dark, curly hair. She grinned as she sat at the foot of Selena’s bed.

Selena leaned back on both pillows that were resting against the plain black headboard. “Well, we’re here,” she said.

“Yep, and I gather that we’re really supposed to start our assignment tomorrow.” Rainey paused. “Are you ready to show these Canadian folks what real Alpha Force shapeshifters are all about?”

“That’s what we’re here for.” Now it was Selena’s turn to smile. “We’ll teach them what being a US shifter—and an aide—is all about.”

“And a cover dog, too.” Rainey slipped her backside from the bed so she could kneel to pat Lupe, who lay on the floor nearby.

“Exactly.” Selena didn’t want to kick out her aide, but she did want to try to get some sleep. “So...” she began.

At the same time, Rainey asked, “So did you have fun tonight?”

It was all Selena could do to hide her startled reaction. Surely nothing on her face, in her demeanor, revealed that she’d shared a kiss with the man who was in charge of the Canadian group that Alpha Force was here to help.

No. Rainey must just be making conversation. Wasn’t she?

Nevertheless, Selena made herself respond as if Owen was just some ordinary guy whom she didn’t find attractive at all—maybe married and twice her age. Or at least that was what she attempted.

“Sure,” she said nonchalantly. “I had a drink with Owen at one of the other bars in town before we found you guys. He wanted to know more about what Alpha Force was about, but I doubt he got it from our limited conversation there in public. He, of course, knows that shapeshifters exist and that I’m one of them, but I still have the impression he finds them—us—weird.” She wasn’t about to reveal to Rainey how Owen had formed his opinion of shapeshifters. “I hope he gets over that enough to work well with his own CAs.” That was the truth, at least. “He got a phone call that apparently suggested they’ll be needed sooner than anticipated, and he’d better be ready for it.”

“Well,” Rainey said, “we’ll see how he is at breakfast tomorrow. The rest of them, too. I had the impression that they’re way different from our Alpha Force members, even though they’re shifters. They were fun to be with, sure, but they struck me as being kind of wild kids. Good kids, though. Tim even let me use his rental car overnight. I just hope that giving them more control of their ability to shift will help tame them down.”

“Guess we’ll have to make sure of it,” Selena said. But she was glad she wouldn’t be the only shifter there as things progressed. She wouldn’t be the most senior, either.

And surely having other Alpha Force members here, like Captain Patrick Worley and Lieutenant Marshall Vincenzo, as well as their aide, Captain Jonas Truro, would also make it easier for her to remember who she was and why she really was here.

And to remember to stay far away from Owen Dewirter except to teach him what she could as an Alpha Force member.

To ignore any attraction she felt for him and, definitely, to make sure she never touched him again, let alone kissed him.

When Rainey left a short while later, and after Selena gave Lupe a good-night hug and settled herself back into bed, she couldn’t help rehashing those intentions and told herself she needed to focus on her assignment.

She just hoped she could.

In the meantime, she lay in bed conscious of the quiet here in the Canadian countryside, except for occasional hoots from local owls.

She mulled over all that had happened over the past couple of days, including Owen’s tale of his family and shapeshifters.

She was concerned about what would happen tomorrow, and if Alpha Force—no, if she—would be able to do all that was expected to help the CAs start their team and deal with the kidnappings that Owen had mentioned.

Not to mention her concern about her absurd attraction to Owen Dewirter that she needed to find a way to turn off. Permanently.

* * *

Owen saw Selena almost as soon as he reached the CAs compound early the next morning.

She was outside again, with her dog, in the crisp early air. He knew that had to be a frequent ritual. Dogs had needs that had to be fulfilled often, especially last thing at night and first thing in the morning, no matter what the weather, no matter what the temperature.

No matter what the dog’s responsibilities, such as acting as a cover for her owner.

Under the brightening morning sky, it was easier for Owen to remain less concerned about Selena’s safety in daylight. Besides, he wasn’t alone. All four of the CAs who needed to be trained and sent into the field were exiting the vehicles behind him.

They weren’t trained at all, let alone as his special team—yet—but he figured they’d do something if he needed help.

He waved to Selena as he hurried up the front steps of the house. It was dumb, but he felt glad to see her wave back.

“Hey, sir, er, Owen,” Andrea called from behind him. “What are we going to do today?” She, like the rest of them, had dressed in casual clothes—jeans and a sweatshirt.

Before coming here, the CAs had been given a brief amount of preliminary training as Canadian police officers and instructed in some of the formalities. Owen had nevertheless told them that, although he was in charge, informality was fine here.

When he had visited them at their hotel last night, he had briefly described to them part of what they’d be up to today, but it wouldn’t hurt to repeat it, drum it into their heads, so they would be ready once the rest of the Alpha Force team arrived to teach them their methods of shapeshifting.

“First thing, I’m going to brief you about our assignment and the update I received last night that I didn’t mention to you before. Then the rest of the day will depend on when the other Alpha Force members arrive.”

“Got it.” She was surrounded by the other CAs on the porch, their gazes all trained on him. Each watched him with concentration, a couple of them nodding.

They all looked interested and eager.

But that didn’t mean they’d be able to do the job—especially with all the tweaks that needed to be added to normal, rational, predictable RCMP constable duties. Not that they were the usual RCMP constables.

Turning his back on them, he hurried into the house. Maybe he was just being naive, but he believed that Selena would be the ideal trainer—and not just because she was a shapeshifter. They’d studied her background, and since she’d been a teacher before joining Alpha Force, she should be able to take these young shifters and instruct them on exactly what was needed to fulfill the RCMP’s needs here.

That was why she was here—not to create impossible sex fantasies in Owen’s mind each time he saw her.

And at night when he tried to sleep...like last night.

He shook off the thought. Heading into the kitchen with the gang behind him, Owen began asking questions before giving orders for breakfast preparation. “Who’s good about cooking eggs? Sal? Great. There are some in the fridge along with butter, and the frying pan is in the drawer beneath the stove. Who’s our go-to toast guy?” Tim Franzer raised his hand, which left Craig Neverts, Andrea and him. Owen decided to brew the coffee, so he told Craig and Andrea where the items were to set the large dining area table.

“Now, let’s get to work,” Owen said.

“Need any help?” Selena, along with Rainey and Lupe the dog, had just come through the kitchen door.

“I think we’re good,” Owen said. But he watched as Selena immediately approached Sal and started helping to cook the eggs.

Was there anything that woman couldn’t do? She was a US soldier, a teacher, a cook...and a shapeshifter.

And sexier than any other woman Owen had met.

With all that in her favor, he’d no doubt that she’d be one hot partner in the bedroom.

But that was one scenario he’d never see realized.

He walked over to the large coffeemaker, glad he had something entirely neutral to accomplish.

Something that allowed him to keep his back toward the rest of his cohorts—so no one would be able to notice the bulge at the front of his jeans.

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