Awakened by the Wolf by Kristal Hollis

the emergency door handle. “Hurry up. I don’t have all night.”
    â€œIs the alarm busted?” Brice slipped past her.
    â€œI think someone disabled it a long time ago.”
    â€œYou think?”
    Ignoring what he believed must be his most incredulous look, Cassie shoved him into the laundry room, where ample uniforms stocked the shelves.
    Owned and operated by the Walker’s Run Cooperative, Maico General not only provided state-of-the-art medical services to the town’s human residents but also maintained a private ward for sick or injured pack members. If uniforms or linens stained with wolfan DNA ended up in the wrong hands, well, the fallout would be disastrous.
    The Woelfesenat, the international wolf council governing the Wahya populace, had made significant political strides in recent years. Although some governments had acknowledged the wolfan population in secret negotiations, Brice knew revelations to the public-at-large would be a long time coming.
    â€œPut that on.” Cassie pointed at a white lab coat.
    â€œSomething tells me that you’ve done this before.” He shoved his arms into the sleeves.
    â€œWhen my mom got sick, I had to work after school to help pay the bills. Visiting hours were over before I could get here, so I’d sneak in.” Cassie yanked a pair of yellow scrubs over her clothes.
    â€œDid she get better?”
    â€œNope.” Cassie handed him a green surgical cap.
    â€œI’m sorry, Cas.” Brice wanted to pause a moment to let her know his sympathies were sincere, and it tweaked him that Cassie seemed indifferent to them.
    â€œAct normal and don’t make eye contact.” She cracked open the door. “Most people will only see the uniform unless you give them a reason to notice. Count to thirty before you follow me.”
    Brice’s stomach lunged. “Wait!” Pinning Cassie against the industrial dryer, he nuzzled her with abandon. His entire body sparked from her tantalizing scent and the soft suppleness of her skin.
    â€œHey, what happened outside was sweet, if not a little awkward,” she said. “But this is getting creepy.”
    â€œYou’ll get used to it.” Brice couldn’t stop his grin.
    â€œHolster your nose, Benji , before someone catches us.” The fire in Cassie’s cinnamon eyes counteracted her unamused frown.
    â€œOh, that hurts, Cas. Calling me a scruffy little dog when you’ve seen how big my wolf is.”
    She flicked him a whatever wave and left. Brice counted to eight before the impulse to follow her won out. He stayed far enough behind so it didn’t appear they were together.
    Cassie confidently navigated the corridors. The determination in her steps, the no-nonsense sway of her hips, the steel in her spine—all of it was a pretense to conceal her tender heart. Beneath the bravado, this woman was far more delicate than she looked, and she looked fragile enough that a gust of wind might blow her to smithereens.
    The human ward clerk looked up from her computer. Brice slowed his pace, lowered his head and sharpened his senses.
    The woman squinted her eyes and lips at Cassie. “Are you the loaner from Chatuge Regional filling in for Rita?”
    Cassie veered toward the station. “Is she the ER nurse who broke her ankle?”
    The ward clerk’s broad, snaggletoothed grin plumped her cheeks. “Yeah, the old biddy should’ve had more sense than to skateboard at her age.”
    Brice shook his head. One of the blessings and pains of small-town living was that everyone knew everybody’s business to some degree. Miracles or pure luck had helped the Wahyas of Walker’s Run avoid discovery.
    Then again, Brice suspected some of the pack’s longtime neighbors knew of their duality and kept their secret out of loyalty and respect. Such as Cybil’s owner, Mary-Jane McAllister.
    She lived on the fringe of the co-op’s wolf