“Yes,” he whispered. “I can tell. I feel the same way.”
“Give me time to accept my wolf?”
“Anything you need.” Quickly he rinsed away the evidence of their loving. Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed two towels and handed her one. As they dried off, an idea occurred to him and he grew excited. “How about we go for a run tomorrow, in our wolf forms?”
“I don’t know . . .” Her brown eyes were worried.
Through their bond, he sensed her fear of the physical pain and hurried to reassure her. “The first shift hurts like a bitch, but it’s never like that again, I promise. The more practiced you get, it’s like breathing. And when you let your wolf out to run, the rush is like nothing you’ve ever experienced.”
“Really?” She began to show some genuine interest.
Letting his towel fall to the floor, he pulled her to him. “Yes. We’ll be together, too. It’ll be fun, you’ll see.”
She bit her lip. “All right, you’ve talked me into it.”
He gave her a sound kiss. “You won’t be sorry.”
“What about the creature that’s out there, and the white wolf?”
“We’ll keep an eye out and be cautious.” He thought about the other wolf. “I don’t think the white wolf meant to harm you when she pushed you.”
“She did a good job of it anyway, even if it was an accident.”
“She led me to you, after you shifted and were in pain,” he said thoughtfully. “I think maybe she was trying to protect you the other day.”
“From the creature?”
“It makes sense.”
“But what’s she doing here in the first place? If she’s a shifter, why doesn’t she simply approach the compound and request entry?”
“I don’t know. But I have a feeling we’ll find out, sooner or later.”
“You’re probably right.”
Padding around Ryon’s place, they took their time getting dressed. Daria enjoyed picking out his clothes, which consisted of a pair of soft, worn jeans, shitkickers, and a snug black T-shirt with a swirly gold pattern embossed on it that she claimed set off his blond hair. He rolled his eyes, but let her have her way. Whatever turned her on was fine by him.
Daria had brought over a pair of snug jeans and a button-up plaid shirt with a brown pattern that went well with her coloring. She looked like a yummy piece of chocolate, and shook her head, grinning, when he told her that she would make a tasty dessert.
Once he and Daria were dressed, they met the others at the hangar where they would take three SUVs to the Grizzly. Everyone was going except for Nick and Micah, and of course Zan and Phoenix, who were still on vacation.
As usual, Ryon took the wheel and motioned for Daria to ride shotgun. Jax, Kira, Aric, and Rowan climbed into the back.
“Do you have your own car?” Daria asked as he pulled out, leading the caravan.
He glanced at her. “I’ve got a new Challenger, red with black stripes.”
“Nice,” she said. “I prefer the old ones, though.”
“Me, too, but old muscle cars are for people who have a lot of time to tinker with maintenance, and I’m not that handy in the garage.”
“You’ll have to show it to me sometime.”
“I will.”
The six of them chattered all the way to the Grizzly, Ryon’s friends asking Daria about herself. They were especially curious about her job, and thought it was cool that she studied real-life wolves. They stayed away from the subject of her being turned into a shifter, however, and for that he was grateful. He was working on getting her to embrace that side of herself, and didn’t need them stressing her out.
The bar was hopping when they arrived, but not too crowded. Ryon and the other guys found an unoccupied corner and pushed several tables together to give them plenty of room, then seated their ladies and elbowed in. Ryon sat beside his mate and put an arm around her, pleased when she leaned into him comfortably. After watching three of his friends pair off and being nagged by envy for months, it was awesome to have his own woman at his side.
After ordering a round of drinks, they settled in, laughing and talking to those in their immediate vicinity. Ryon couldn’t keep the smile off his face. His friends seemed to genuinely like Daria, and were very welcoming, making sure she was included in the conversation. She, in turn, got along well with them. Especially Blue and Noah, both of whom she seemed to be a bit sweet on. He wasn’t bothered, though. He and his wolf knew Daria belonged to them.
They had a great time, eating, drinking, and making merry as one hour became two, then three. The evening out was a hit—until two seedy-looking men approached their table. The newcomers zeroed in on Kalen, eyes narrowed. Not everyone noticed them at first. But Ryon did, and he set the nacho he’d been munching on down on his plate, wiping his hands. Then he scooted his chair back a little, ready to spring into action if he needed to.
Jax and Hammer noticed the men, and did the same. One by one, the Pack became aware of the tension, and the lighthearted talk stopped. By now, Kalen was leaning back in his chair, sneering at the two rough, dirty men. Clearly, they’d met.
“Hello,” Kalen said with deceptive pleasantness. “You guys didn’t learn your lesson before? Back for more?”
Well, crap. Just what they needed, Kalen’s hillbilly tormentors of a few weeks ago coming around to spoil their evening.
One of them spoke up, showing an unfortunate set of bad teeth. “Our friend Billy seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. We been lookin’ for ya for a while now, figured you might shed some light on where he’s at.” For emphasis, he spit out of the side of his mouth—and the wad landed in the middle of Mac’s salad.
Kalen’s poor mate stared at the food, paling. Kalen’s chair scraped on the floor, and he stood.
The Sorcerer was an imposing sight in his black leather duster, raven hair falling around the green kohl-rimmed eyes glittering with cool anger. Only an idiot would’ve messed with a man like him, and Ryon knew these two more than qualified.
“Why would I know anything about Billy?”
The two assholes had no clue that their stupid buddy had ended up as demon food, literally—Malik ate him. Kalen knew damned well what fate had befallen the town’s most unsavory character, and he wasn’t sorry.
“’Cause you fought with him right here in this bar. You had reason to want him gone,” the man said in a nasty tone.
“From what I hear, so did half the county.” Kalen cocked his head. “Billy was a thief, a liar, a bully, and he physically abused his family. I don’t know anybody else who’s all that concerned about him.”
“I think you’re a liar! Why don’t you step outside so me and my buddy can kick your ass!”
At that, Ryon and his Pack friends stood. Ryon grinned. “Well, as long as you want to make it an unfair fight, you two can take on all of us. Sound good?”
The men stepped backward, not looking so eager in the face of those odds. Ryon knew how they must look, a wall of muscle against two scrawny dickheads.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
Ryon had never been so glad to see the sheriff. Deveraux stomped up to the group and took in the standoff. Waving a hand at the two miscreants, he boomed, “You two? You’re banned from the Grizzly, you idiots! Get the hell out of here before I haul you in for disturbing the peace, public intoxication, and anything else I can think of.”
“But, Sheriff—”
“Get out!”
Muttering, the pair shot Kalen a glare before shuffling for the door. Once they were gone, Deveraux shook his head and frowned at their group. “Once again, you people are in the middle of the shit. I’m going to have an ulcer the size of a fucking watermelon in no time flat. And you.” He pointed at Daria, then at a man across the bar before continuing.