“Who’s her aunt?”
“A member of the Shifter Council.”
“Oh. Good lord.” The seven member council oversaw all matters concerning the various werewolf packs in Florida. Each area of the state had a representative. Every state had a council, and their word superseded that of the Alpha, if they felt that an Alpha was acting against the interests of his pack.
“Don’t worry about it. The real issue is…what happened between us last night.” He was breathing hard, and Ginger stared at him. He looked disheveled, his hair rumpled and a twig caught in his hair. She reached out and plucked it from his hair without thinking, and he let out a low groan at the feel of her fingers.
“Did you shift and run in the woods before you came here?” she asked him.
He rubbed at his face with one hand, the other hand clenching the wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white.
“I had to,” he groaned. “I ran for hours. I felt like I was burning up. Like I was going to explode.”
She stared at him. “What, exactly, is going on with you?”
“Last night, at the club…I scared myself.”
“You scared me too. And that wolf who made a pass at me outside the club.”
His eyes blazed angrily at the mention of it, and he took a deep breath, and then pulled over to the side of the road. “I’ve never reacted like that before with anyone. I’ve taken plenty of women to that club before, and I didn’t care who else played with them. Who they fooled around with. But you…the thought of any other wolf laying his paws on you, any man touching you…it literally made me crazy.”
Ginger’s heart leaped to her throat, choking her. Loch wanted her. And he didn’t want any other man to even come near her.
“I wasn’t going to fool around with anyone else,” Ginger said. “I only want you.” As soon as she said it, she bit her lip. She hadn’t even realized she was going to say it, hadn’t even realized that she meant it, until she heard herself saying those words.
“I mean…”
He took another deep breath, clearly struggling for control. “We need to go out to the dig site right now and deal with the missing professor. Can we talk about it after that? Please?” The normally dominant Alpha was begging her, in a low, sexy growl.
Ginger’s panties suddenly were soaked with the juices of her desire. She squirmed in her seat and bit her lip. She could feel desire pulsing between her legs and jolting through her body.
“Yes,” she said huskily. “We can talk about it whenever you want.”
“Good God, woman. You have no idea the effect you have on me. Can you try not to talk in that sexy voice?”
“Umm…” she lowered her voice to a comical bass pitch. “Is that better?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Much better.”
They drove to the dig site, where several patrol cars were parked. Jax was standing with a group of deputies, glaring at Montgomery. Montgomery was pacing back and forth like an angry cat. A dozen other panther shifters were milling about, and they were clearly angry.
“Sheriff,” Jax said. “There are ATV tracks leading from the site into the woods. We were waiting for you before we follow the tracks.”#p#分页标题#e#
The sheriff nodded. He glanced at Montgomery. “We’d appreciate if you’d accompany us, Montgomery. To ensure that we don’t accidentally encroach on your territory.”
Jax glowered, looking as if he were about to argue, but then his shoulders sank in defeat and he shrugged angrily. “Fine,” he muttered.
“I’ll be back,” the sheriff said to Ginger. “Wait here for me.” She nodded her assent.
The men all strode to the edge of the wood, and then shed their clothes, leaving them in piles. She watched as they shifted, sinking down on all fours, snouts lengthening, fur sprouting, tails lashing, and then dashed into the woods.
The students were milling around uncertainly, not sure what to do. Some of them sat inside a tent they’d set up, drinking bottles of water and muttering among themselves.
About half an hour later, the shifters returned, shifting quickly and changing back into their clothes. The panther shifters left immediately, headed into the woods, and the sheriff and his deputies trotted over to where Ginger sat inside the tent with the students.
“The ATV tracks lead into panther nation territory,” Loch said. “Unfortunately we have no authority there.”
The students let out a chorus of protest. “We need to find the professor!” “They murdered him!” “That’s not fair!”