“Yeah. She was so disoriented, I was afraid she was going to strip out of her clothes right then and there and turn into her wolf. Instinctively, she would have known her wolf coat would give her more protection from the cold. But she wasn’t really thinking clearly because you would have seen her do it. Well, and you were cradling her baby, and babies shift when their mother does—”
“She would have suddenly turned into a wolf pup? I would have had a heart attack.”
“Yeah, that was another reason to keep Franny from turning.”
“So what about Franny and the red Camaro she said caused her accident? Was it Otis? Or just a really bizarre coincidence? Then again, if he killed Sarah, did he know that Franny was also a wolf?”
“I’m thinking there’s got to be a common denominator,” Allan said. “We need to have Franny come up here to speak with us.” He couldn’t have been more pleased that Debbie was focusing on the case and not completely on her werewolf issues now. She had made a valid point—something they needed to learn more about.
Debbie frowned. “Oh. My. God. The report I read about Sarah’s autopsy—she had bitten her attacker. I was thinking with her human teeth, naturally, because his blood was on her teeth and mouth, and we never saw his bite marks. If she had bitten him as a wolf…has he been turned?”
“Possibly. Which may be why he disappeared for so long—he’s been unable to control the shifting.”
“And they said wolf fur had been caught on the trap. They believed that he had caught a wolf first and the fur was just stuck to it. But it had to have been Sarah’s fur.” Her mouth gaped. “I called Rowdy’s office about the red Camaro when I found it in conjunction with Otis shooting Tara. What if he or any of his men had seen Tara shift?”
“That’s a concern we always have to face. It’s a real danger for us. Luckily, she arrived at the clinic well before Rowdy checked on the two of you and she had shifted back to her human self.”
Debbie’s thoughts were jumping from one scenario she’d witnessed to the next, realizing now how so much made sense. “And when the ambulance picked up Franny, I did hear a bark when she and her baby were inside.”
“You asked if I heard a dog bark. I said no. Technically, she’d shifted into a wolf.”
Debbie took a deep breath, thinking about what had happened to her, Tara, and Sarah. “I…I want to help bring the shooter down, Allan. I know it’s going to be harder for me with the problem of shifting, but I want to help. I don’t want to be left out of the loop. It’s not a case of revenge either. I think of Lori and Rose and them being pregnant, well, now with Rose having her triplets, and their mates losing them and…well, maybe if I can still do this, I won’t feel so…discombobulated. If Otis did try to kill Franny and her baby, we need to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”
“I understand. You’re staying on the case. We’ll just be more careful about when we go out to search for clues.”
“Was I too rough on you last night?” She felt a mix of emotions about that. Satisfaction that she had scared him a little, but she did worry he’d believe she was untamable and a danger to everyone. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than being confined to his cabin for months on end without visitation rights.
“You were having a rough time of it. Nothing I couldn’t handle. And you might not think so yourself, but you’re a beautiful wolf.”
She gave him an annoyed look. She couldn’t help it. She appreciated that he thought she was a beautiful woman. But a wolf?
His phone rang and she suspected it was Paul, as close as they were and as much as she assumed Paul was dying to learn how it went with her last night. Now she realized it didn’t all have to do with having been raised as brothers either. He was Allan’s pack leader. And hers now too? She groaned.
It was one thing to not like a boss and quit a job, but what if she didn’t like the pack leaders’ rules and wanted to just…leave?
She doubted they’d let her.
* * *
Allan answered the phone and said, “Yeah, Paul, we’re both still alive.”
Then he smiled and Debbie smiled back, though he thought her expression was a bit devious.
Allan had to be careful about what he said to Paul so he didn’t antagonize Debbie, even though she left him in the kitchen and said she was getting dressed. She might still be able to hear him talking if she made the effort to eavesdrop on his half of the conversation.
“Any trouble?”
“Nah.” Allan didn’t want Paul to think he had to call on anyone else to help with Debbie. He thought if he and she kept an open dialogue, they’d be fine. Eventually. “Everything’s fine. We just finished having a delightful breakfast that she prepared for us this morning.”
“Really? She’s back to being her normal self?” Paul sounded surprised and Allan didn’t blame him.
“Yeah. She wants to keep searching into this business with the lake murder and find the shooter who nearly killed her and Tara. We can work it out.”
“Are you sure? What with the phase of the full moon being out for several days?”
“We’ll figure it out. She needs to do this. It’ll help her to adjust if she feels some part of her life is still the same. With her enhanced wolf abilities, she’ll see the usefulness in that aspect of her life.”
“Okay, I trust you know what you’re doing. Is she comfortable staying with you, or do we need to make some other arrangements?”
“I’d say after we managed to get through the night in one piece and she made a lovely breakfast, we’re doing fine. But I’ll ask her anyway.”
“Can you do it now? That way I can line up someone else if she wants to move.”
“Yeah, sure. She’s in her bedroom getting dressed.” Allan padded down the hall and knocked on her door. “Are you fine with the arrangements here, Debbie? Or do you want to stay with someone else?”
“You’re going to work with me to find the shooter and you’re my partner, so I’m fine with staying here,” she said, not sounding pleased, but it was a start.
“Good.” Allan told Paul, “She’s staying with me so we can work out the details about the shooter.”
“Just remember she can shift at any time, and she could get growly about it. It’s got to be a frustrating time for a newly turned wolf.”
Tell me about it. “I understand.” Allan swore he heard a low growl from the bedroom. “Got to go, Paul. I’ll give you an update later.” Before he hung up, Debbie howled and slammed into the bedroom door, sounding pissed off…again.
So much for keeping her progress a secret from Paul.
And so much for helping her get through this so she wouldn’t feel so frustrated with her lack of control.
Allan stripped out of his boxers and opened the guest bedroom door. Instead of lunging at him this time, she sat still, like a statue, looking at his naked form, then lifted her gaze to his, puzzled, as if she wondered just what he was up to.
“We’re doing this together,” he said, thinking maybe if he was a wolf too, she wouldn’t feel so alien. He hoped that he wouldn’t scare her. He shifted and she watched, staring at him as if she were in awe, shocked, or surprised. Maybe a little of all three.
The shift was painless, just a quick warming of the muscles, a blurring of forms, and he was a wolf. A bigger wolf than she was. He hoped that didn’t intimidate her.
She sniffed at the air, smelling his scent and gathering what he was feeling, which was a lupus garou’s interest in another. Because that’s just what she was now. He didn’t know if it would ever work out between them. She had to want him too, forever, and she may never be prepared to mate with one of his kind.
He stood still, not getting any closer, letting her come to him. She remained where she was.
He wanted to smile, but he was certain she wouldn’t understand that showing his wicked wolf
canines in this instance meant he was smiling. He sighed, then moved forward. Her ears went back. She wasn’t trembling, but she was unsure of his intentions. Or maybe just what it was to feel like a wolf getting to know another wolf. Again, he realized what a huge undertaking that was for her also.
* * *
Allan was a huge wolf. Huge! Before he had shifted, he had dropped his boxers, and she’d wondered what in the world he’d planned to do. She hadn’t expected him to shift into a wolf. The sight was extraordinary—so fast, the blurring of one form into the other—until he dropped to his feet as a very real wolf.
He was beautiful in a very handsome wolf way. His coat was shiny and thick. Striking silver and tan markings on his face, his chest white and his back a silvery, golden saddle. But he was so big!
He towered next to her and she tried not to cower before him. She didn’t think she’d be some beta wolf, but this was a totally new experience for her. So maybe as a human she was alpha, and as a wolf, sort of beta?
She had to snap out of this and stand right up to him. Only she was afraid her legs would shake.
He licked her cheek. She bowed her head a little, and she was afraid that was cowering. She lifted her head and looked him in the eye, forced her ears to perk up, but she didn’t lick him back. Wasn’t that a sign she was interested in more? Like courting? Or mating? Dating?
No way did she want to go there.
She didn’t know what to do in response to show there were no hard feelings right now. And that she appreciated he was trying to make her feel better by turning into a wolf. But she didn’t want him to get the notion she wanted to do any mating nonsense.
So how was she supposed to react?
He moved away from her then. She was afraid she’d hurt his feelings, but then he bowed in front of her, his butt in the air, his tail wagging. She recognized it as a play bow, like the German shepherd they had raised when she was growing up did. He would do that in front of the neighbor’s husky. She thought if she could relate what her dog had done to how a wolf would react, she could figure out some of this canine psychology.
The problem still was that she didn’t know how to react. She wasn’t ready to bow down to Allan and play with him. This was just too bizarre.
Good-naturedly and with lots of patience, he waited for her to respond.
Oh, all right. What could it hurt? Well, lots, if she bit him too hard or he bit her too hard. Then again, he would know not to. She wouldn’t.
She twisted around and tackled him, growling fiercely because it just came out that way, even if she didn’t mean to growl so wildly. He rolled onto his back in a purely submissive way and opened his mouth to play bite, but he was so gentle that it taught her to be gentle. Maybe they were supposed to do this in a rougher way, but for now, it was like taking baby steps.
She realized then that she couldn’t have had a better teacher.
She was on top of him, going for his neck, mouthing him, when she couldn’t have imagined anything yuckier than grabbing a furry beast by the neck before, but it felt right. All of it. Tackling him. Biting him. All in fun. Nothing sexual about it. She didn’t think.
She noticed his tail wasn’t tucked submissively between his legs, but straight out, showing he was allowing her to be on top, to feel empowered. She moved off him, giving the play bow a try to see what he would do in reaction. He watched her, then rolled off his back and rested on his belly for a moment, his ears up, his gaze on hers. Then he jumped up and she whipped around and ran. She hadn’t meant to. She knew you never ran before a wild animal. And she knew he was so much bigger than her that he wouldn’t have any trouble catching her.
He nipped her butt and she yipped in startled surprise. He did it again, but this time she rounded on him, and they were in his bedroom, standing on their hind legs, teeth biting at each other’s mouths.
They played like that for half an hour, her tackling him, him tackling her, and then they sat panting in his living room, studying each other. He stood, then motioned to the hallway with his head.
He looked as tired as she felt after the restless night they’d had. He loped off toward his bedroom, and she followed him, only this time she nipped him in the butt. He barked at her, a happy kind of bark.
She’d like to think this was all there was to it. But she knew better. If she shifted outside his cabin, it could spell disaster.
* * *
Allan couldn’t think of a better way to end their play than to take a nap with each other. Thankfully, Debbie seemed to like the idea, and he was proud of her for playing so well. He thought at first she wouldn’t play with him. Or that it was too difficult to understand what he was trying to tell her while he was in his wolf coat. But she picked up really quickly on cues, so he thought this might not be so hard after all. The shifting without warning? That was another story.
They curled up together in bed, her head over his body, his head tucked close to hers. He thought they might even go for a run together tonight in the woods. But what if she turned into her human form in the frozen cold? He’d have to shift and carry her home, and they’d both be naked. If it were summer, it wouldn’t be quite such a bad an idea.
He could take her for a walk in the woods as a human and carry a backpack of winter clothes for her so that she could dress if she shifted. It wouldn’t be the best plan, but it would be nice for her to get out and smell the woods and animal scents. To get used to them as a wolf. He’d be with her so if any hunter showed up, he’d set him straight about his pet wolf. And he’d be armed.
He’d talk about it later with her to see what she’d like to do. He thought being confined to the house would drive her batty after a while. It would him.
His phone rang, but Debbie didn’t stir, and he wasn’t getting up and shifting to get it. It was probably Paul to see if he was all right. Allan didn’t want to disturb what he and Debbie had for the moment. Peace. Quiet. Naptime. Until she woke, and then who knew what would happen next.
* * *
“Do you think Allan’s okay?” Lori asked Paul again. She couldn’t help it. She wasn’t a worrywart, but she had been concerned when Paul said that Debbie had shifted and was growling in the background, and Allan had ended the call right away.
“I think they’re fine. Maybe they didn’t sleep well, and they’re taking a nap now. I don’t want to disturb them if he’s making any progress with Debbie. They need the alone time.”
“Like we had?”
“Well,” he said, pulling Lori into his arms so her back was against his chest and he could gently caress her swollen breasts and her swelling tummy. “Our alone time was a lot different.”
She sighed. “I thought maybe if I went over there and talked with her, she would be less growly, you know, because I’m so pregnant, and she’d behave better.”
“I think she’s in good hands with Allan. You know how much he cares for her. He’ll handle this right.”
“I hope she’s not too angry with all of us. I wonder if he told her that she has my wolf genes.”
“As long as it didn’t make her pregnant and it saved her life, I’m certain she’ll be all right with it. Speaking of napping and having a rough night of it…”
She sagged against him. “If you’ll give me a back rub.”
He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll give you much more than that.” Then he led her to their bedroom.
Chapter 18
Allan woke to find a naked woman curled up against him, only he was still all wolf. He shifted and pulled the covers over them, wondering what the next phase in training would be. He realized that’s what this was going to be for a while. An in-house boot camp for a lupus garou until Debbie could get her shifting under control. He’d never really thought anything about the full moon, except that he loved how it lighted the whole sky at night.
Because of the situa
tion with Debbie, he was counting down the days when the new moon was here, and she wouldn’t be able to shift for a week. He planned to pack in a month’s worth of outdoor activities in that week—searching crime scenes, diving, shopping trips, eating out, and movies, anything that she wanted to do that she couldn’t during the rest of the month until she could control her shifting better.
Maybe if she had a week of scheduled activities crammed in, she’d be ready for three weeks of not going places as much. At least he hoped that’s what they could do. He’d propose it to her when she woke.
Her naked body resting against his had stirred longings again for something more. He felt driven to make her see the benefit of having him for her mate. Someone who could protect her, show her the ropes, and love her unconditionally. They would be perfect for each other, he thought, as much as they had been compatible before she was turned. He really believed if she hadn’t been turned, and he hadn’t been a wolf, they would have been perfect as human companions.
So he wasn’t giving up on the notion.
He thought about what she’d said earlier. That she’d woken as a woman, naked against him. She must have fled the bed right away or he would have noticed.
Would she flee the bed when she woke this time? He hoped not. If not, he figured she had to agree they were dating, of a sort. Wouldn’t she?
* * *
Debbie couldn’t believe she had woken and found herself naked against Allan again, except this time she was sleeping against his naked body. And he had to have known it or she wouldn’t be wrapped up in his arms underneath the covers in a totally human way.
She had to admit she loved being held in his arms like this. Loved the way he was so tender. She wished they could have done this as humans and she didn’t have to deal with this wolf business. But she was glad she was alive and better than fit. She had to remind herself of it every time she shifted and was furious over it.