“But if they found me here, won’t they find me in this new place?”
Willow could have sworn Rome said, “I’m counting on it,” in a low growl and, justifiably confused, she shook her head to clear her ears of any wayward salt water, asking, “What?”
“We’ll be packing for cold, snowy weather. Ah. Will.” A long pause. “You’re not afraid of wolves, are you?”
This time when Willow fell back onto the chair, she didn’t get up. “Wolves?”
Chapter Two
Ben Anderson knocked once on the heavy front door of the house before turning the knob and stepping inside. Mindful of the snow clinging to his boots from the short trek to the door, he leaned down to untie the laces before toeing them off. Even if he hadn’t been a conscientious person, the sight of eleven other pairs of boots in similar condition lining the foyer wall would have clued him in.
Based on the number of shoes here, he was the last to arrive. Though not uncommon, it made him recall why he was late. He and a buddy of his had planned to take a group of tourists night skiing. A group that had included two hot, single, and very interested females.
Yet when Dean Kinigos called an emergency meeting of his leaders of the Woodcliff Pack, Ben couldn’t refuse. Not only was Dean pack alpha, Ben was one of the eight leaders, and pack came before everything, including the potential for sex.
Well, almost everything. Pack didn’t come before one’s mate. While it wasn’t a written rule, it most certainly was a “duh” rule, and since Ben didn’t have a mate, he couldn’t opt out of the meeting simply because of other plans. An emergency meeting meant exactly that. It was a rare event and tantalizing enough that Ben didn’t truly mind the lost chance to get naked with a pretty blonde. Or brunette. Either worked for him.
Besides, if the meeting didn’t last too long, he might still be able to meet up with Pete and his paying customers. Especially the lovely Linda. Or was it Lisa?
With a soft chuckle he shook his head. He wasn’t one to forget names and faces, which was why Dean placed him in the position Ben was in. So the fact he couldn’t remember the names of two females took him a bit by surprise. Then again, all day long he’d felt just a bit off. As if something profound was about to happen and he was getting a front-row seat. Thus his interest rather than irritation at the unexpected meeting.
Grinning to himself, he padded down the hall, running a hand through his dark blond hair in an attempt to straighten the damp curls brought on by the light snowfall. A haircut was in order; otherwise he risked hearing “Goldilocks” bantered around in his presence. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about it now and, giving up on trying to tame the thick locks, he stepped into the living room.
“It’s about time,” Zan Sutton drawled from his slouched position against the far wall. Possessing the keen senses of a shifter, Ben already knew of Zan’s presence. He’d seen the other man’s vehicle out front though he wasn’t sure why the other male was there. Zan wasn’t a leader in the pack, but he was Dean’s brother, a fellow shifter, and a cop, one of three that lazed about the room. The other two cops were Brandon Dermot and Caleb Bennett, the latter the town sheriff.
“Holding up another wall, I see.” Ben drawled back, eyes lighting with amusement as he studied Zan. Zan had been with the pack less than a year, having been separated from his brother when the two were just kids, each thinking the other died in a vicious attack that had destroyed their smaller pack. A community fair and a photo by one of Zan’s former military buddies had brought them together once again, which also resulted in Zan finding his mate in Ben’s friend, Jacklyn Chavez, a doctor and female shifter.
To Ben, the female shifters got the short end of the stick. They might have some heightened strength and senses, but neither skill was as keen as the males’. The women also couldn’t shift. At all.
Most males shifted from human to wolf under the full moon, an instinctive pull that allowed the beast the joy and freedom to run wild. Some of the males, like Ben, not only gained enough control over their animal to suppress the moon shift, but they retained the ability to change forms outside of the full moon.
The caveat was that the creature hovered just beneath their skin. These men were a little more dangerous, a tad more assertive, and extremely fierce in their protection of those they cared about.
And most of those men were all in this very room.
In an overstuffed chair situated at an angle so he could oversee the room sat his alpha, Dean Kinigos. It was in his house that Ben now stood. On the brown micro-suede sofa perpendicular to a massive stone fireplace where an inviting fire popped merrily away sat the owner of the local hardware store, Jack Hodgins, the silver in his hair starting to outpace the thick brown. Next to him was Josh Renner, his lanky frame and youthful appearance belying his strength, both of body and mind. Josh taught at the local school and during the fall, also coached the school football team. It afforded a strategic position to keep an eye on the rough-and-tumble juvenile shifters. Crazily enough, Josh enjoyed it.