Jake saw Ryan, stopped playing the game, and stalked toward the outsider, his eyes narrowed and his jaw taut. Ryan figured Jake would tell him to leave. But instead, Jake joined him, leaned his backside against the table next to Ryan and then folded his arms.
“What are you doing here?” Jake’s voice was dispassionate, which surprised Ryan, as if Jake had half expected Ryan to show up and didn’t care one way or another.
But Ryan didn’t take Jake’s tone for complacency. All three of the brothers could easily be provoked if they thought any of their pack members’ welfare was in jeopardy.
“I’m here to finish my report. Couple of details I wanted to clear up with Carol.”
“Nothing more than that?” Jake sounded skeptical and turned his attention back to Carol. “I never expected her to be like this… so spirited. Or to enjoy herself so much. I’m glad to see it finally.”
Surprised she’d been unhappy with the pack, considering how cheerful she looked, Ryan frowned. His first thought was that Darien’s pack members weren’t treating her well. He quickly reconsidered, thinking it might have to do with her having been so recently turned.
“She’s not content with being one of us?”
“She’s learning to adjust.”
That didn’t bode well. When Jake didn’t say anything more about the matter, Ryan asked, “What are the problems?”
“Everyone’s different in how they handle being turned. Some embrace the changes. Some don’t.”
That didn’t settle the unease Ryan felt about the situation. “And she’s fighting it.”
“You could say that.”
Ryan had never considered that Carol might not like being a werewolf, nor that anyone would be unhappy with his or her newfound abilities. Quicker healing properties, the ability to see at night, and heightened senses of smell, sight, and hearing. Increased longevity. Wolf’s stamina. Of course, he’d been born a lupus garou, so it was hard imagining someone dealing with the changes overnight.
He rubbed his chin and watched her further, seeing the way she really was getting into the game. From his observations of her, he couldn’t visualize her as a woman who was at odds with her werewolf half. She looked like she was having the time of her life. Even last night when she had hunted him down, she had to have appreciated her wolf’s nocturnal vision and enhanced sense of smell, which had helped her to locate him in the dark.
Carol went after Darien’s ribbon again.
Ryan smiled at the determination she exhibited and the way Darien appeared not to mind and even seemed amused. “I didn’t think Darien would look so pleased that she’d attempt to best him, even though he appears to be fighting against showing his feelings.”
Jake laughed. “He wants to encourage her to be one of us. I believe if anyone else tried for his tag, other than Lelandi, you’d see some real aggression. Not that he’s making it easy for Carol, mind you. It’s not our way. If she grabs his tag, she’ll have to earn it. But it’s been difficult getting her to open up since she was turned. And Darien can’t help but be relieved.” He looked at Ryan. “Did you know that she hasn’t shape-shifted yet?”
Ryan schooled his look of disbelief. “Someone who’s newly turned isn’t able to fight the change for that long. Maybe for a couple of weeks at most, plus the time period when the new moon is out and only royals can change. But five months? She must be shifting when no one’s around.”
Jake shook his head and watched her again. “I don’t believe so.”
“In her room at night, then?” Ryan asked. “You can’t be watching her 24-7.” He folded his arms. “She’s changing.” No way could a newly turned werewolf possess the inner strength to fight the moon’s strong pull for that long.
Ryan watched the barber trying to skirt around Tom and a couple of other men on Carol’s team, but the man was unable to make any headway. She deserved someone better than a man who dressed as if he were still living in the past.
Figuring he’d better address another concern that would interest Darien and his pack, Ryan said to Jake, “When I came by the house last night, I discovered a red wolf in the vicinity, male persuasion. He took off running west when he saw me. I tried to locate him to learn who he was and what he was doing in the area, but I lost track of him. Any relation of Lelandi’s? One of her old pack members who might be trouble?”
Jake’s expression showed raw disbelief. “We didn’t catch wind of him. Just you. Trying to conjure up phantoms to explain your reason for skulking around the woods near the house last night?”
“Research.” Ryan shrugged. “I like to tie up all loose ends before I close a case for good.”
“Like?”
Ryan gave him a small smile. “A matter Carol can clear up for me.”
Jake nodded. “You don’t think she’s psychic. No matter how much we want to believe otherwise, she knew things that should be impossible to know. Trust me on that. I wasn’t sure I accepted her claims right away either, although Darien did. He was concerned that what she had envisioned could get herself and Lelandi killed.”
“Everything can be explained scientifically. She overheard conversations, saw things she wasn’t meant to have seen. But not as a future vision.” Yet, what if she truly had envisioned what she said she had?
“Have fun proving otherwise. So what happened with the red wolf? Lose him?” Jake’s voice dripped with cynicism.
“Like you said, you couldn’t detect his smell. Too many of our kind are beginning to use hunter scents to prevent detection. Which can mean only one thing— he’s up to no good.”
“Not like you, eh?”
Ryan smiled broadly and straightened a bit. “Finding the bad guys is my business, whether they’re cheating on their spouses—humans mainly, of course—or perpetuating insurance fraud or some other socially unacceptable deed. It’s my job to expose them. I do happen to be one of the good guys.”
“Come on, McKinley. Don’t tell me you’re not intrigued by the unmated red. She’s unique, interesting, and easy on the eyes. But you’ll never score with her if you don’t believe in her abilities.”
She was a hell of a lot more than easy on the eyes, and Ryan couldn’t understand why Jake wasn’t interested in having her for a mate. Unless he didn’t want to deal with a woman who supposedly had second sight.
“So tell me the truth. What’s keeping you from pursuing her?” Ryan asked.
Jake gave a sly smile.
What the hell did that mean?
Chapter 5
ON THE PLAYING FIELD, ANOTHER BRUISER OF A GUY ON Darien’s team lunged after Carol with a wicked gleam in his eye as she again tried for Darien’s tag. Perseverance had always been a way of life for her. Target what you want, and get it. Although getting a job at the hospital meant becoming a werewolf first, which wasn’t quite what she’d thought she’d have to go through.
Sam was on his feet, intent on tackling the new threat to her, when Silva distracted him. Smiling, dodging around him, she tried to grab Sam’s ribbon. The bartender grinned at her, but instead of attempting to get her ribbon, he mounted a full frontal assault and tackled Silva in a sexy way. Pinning her to the ground with his body, he nestled between her legs. Forget the tags. Their lips locked together, and they were busy with a new form of entertainment.
Carol sighed. One guard down. And what a way to go.
She lunged for Darien’s ribbon. Her fingers latched onto the slip of silk. She tugged, sheer elation boosting her mood, and pulled the tag free.