Rafe
INTERESTING.
A lone wolf running in our territory.
Facing off with four of us to defend a human female. I lead the pack back to our camp at the base of Taos Mountain.
A herd of deer lying between the school bus and the tent camp scramble up and bolt away, their fawns following on spindly legs.
Crazy fucking deer. They shouldn't be hanging around a wolf den. But Allison, the Snow White of misfit shifters, attracts every form of wildlife imaginable to our camp.
We shift in the mudroom, pulling on jeans and t-shirts before we step into a large but rustic cabin. At one time this was someone's winter retreat. Nestled just beyond Arroyo Seco on the way up to the ski valley, it's prime real estate. But we found it even more perfect to set up our operations here, and with our mercenary income, we could afford it.
"Who the hell was that?" my brother Lance voices the obvious question.
"Fuck if I know. Tourist, maybe," I venture.
"What's he doing with a human?" Deke spits. He's half feral. Killing comes a little too easily for him. I'm always watching him in case he loses his shit and becomes dangerous.
"I don't know, but I want you and Lance to keep an eye on him. I want to know why he's here and when he's leaving. Who the female is. Anything you can find out."
"Want me to rough him up?" Deke offers hopefully.
I shake my head. "Nah. Stay in the shadows for now. We don't want word getting out that we have a presence here. Especially with our current menagerie."
"Roger that, boss."
Sunny
I WAKE up to the sound of clanging metal outside the Airstream. The soreness between my legs and the wound on my shoulder brings it all back.
Titus.
My wolf.
I slip on a short, thin robe covered with roses and step outside. The air still has the bite of morning chill and the smell of pine and sage fills my nostrils.
Titus has my bus jacked up and the tires off.
"Good morning." My voice is still rusty, which gives it a husky quality.
He looks over, his expression softer than I've ever seen it. "Morning to you, sunshine."
"What are you doing?"
"Rotating your tires. One of them needs a little air. I can fill it for you next time we're in town."
"I know how to-" I start to say, but he silences me with a frown.
I smile. Okay, he wants to help. Let him help. It's nice to have someone else to shoulder the burden for a change. I just don't want to get too used to it. Because Titus has already become someone I care about very much.
Someone it would hurt to leave.
Don't leave, then.
That's the whisper I hear in my head.
Last time I knew Titus wasn't ready for a relationship. And when we first bumped into each other at the bridge I still didn't think he was. But now?
After last night, now that he sees I've accepted him for who he is? Maybe things really could work between us.
Except… wait. It's forbidden for him to reveal himself to me. That probably means it's forbidden to be in a relationship, too. I open my mouth to ask, but stop myself.
I'm too happy this morning, still warm and glowy from having him in my bed. I don't want to ruin the moment and call an end to this thing we have going.
I'm sure it will come to its own natural conclusion. I don't need to rush things.
Except I don't want to lose my heart in the process.
Already lost, the whisper tells me. Well, better to have loved and lost than never have fucked at all. Never loved at all. Whatever.
I bang my hip on the doorframe as I head back into the Airstream to make Titus breakfast. Gluten-free banana walnut pancakes with fresh berries and cream. Unfortunately I don't have any meat in the fridge, but if I make enough pancakes it might satisfy him.
I chuckle out loud thinking about his appetite. No wonder he eats so much-a wolf's metabolism must be off the charts.
Forty minutes later, I set the picnic table with a pretty cloth and a jar of fresh wildflowers, then serve up breakfast. Titus shovels the food into his mouth enthusiastically. "This is good," he says between bites. "Real good."
"So are you really here on wolf business?" I ask.
He wipes his mouth with a napkin. "Yes."
"You were sent to find other wolves?"
"Not exactly, but yeah, sort of." He considers me for a moment, and I can read his thoughts clearly. He wants to tell me, but he's struggling with his sense of honor. Things are pretty black and white for this guy.
"You've already let me in on this much, you might as well tell me the whole story," I encourage.
"Foxfire's dad Johnny became part of a government research project on shifters. He died in captivity."
"What?" My mouth drops open with horror.
"They came after Foxfire two years ago when they figured out he had a child. Who knows, maybe they were interested in half-breed genetics. Those guys who trashed your Airstream weren't mafia. They were men looking to capture Foxfire."
Icy prickles race down my arms and up my spine. "But Tank protected her." I flip back to the memories from two years ago and see the pieces explode and rearrange.
"That's right. The packs have been searching out these labs and destroying them. We had word there might be one up this way so my alpha sent me on a fact-finding mission. To see if I could ferret anything out."
I generally try not to get too polarized over anything. Right and wrong, good and bad are all subjective, really. I want to be in allowance of all things. To be one with nature and the Universe.
But fuck that. These men killed a man I cared about and came after my child.
They're definitely wrong.