smile appeared again and the tail started to thump.
“Holy shit .”
Magic. The word flitted around in her head as she tried to grasp the concept.
She didn’t believe in magic. Her mom had never read her fairy tales at bedtime. Her mom had barely been around at bedtime because she’d been working a second job so they wouldn’t starve.
Tam hadn’t grown up with dreams of falling in love with a man and having him whisk her away from her drab life. That just never happened.
At least not to people like her and her mom. Her mom had scrimped and saved and worked, sometimes seven days a week.
She’d ingrained in Tam the necessity of taking care of herself. Of believing in herself. Of trusting what she saw with her own eyes.
Her mom had raised her to be practical.
And that training had gotten Tam through the worst weeks after her attack, with her sanity intact. Sure, she had issues. Who wouldn’t?
But Tam knew she’d seen Cat disappear and this dog reappear in the exact same spot. So either she’d finally lost it…or her eyes hadn’t lied.
Cat had become this little dog.
No, not a dog. Wolf.
“Werewolf.”
She said the word aloud and when she didn’t hear maniacal laughter, she took a deep breath and said it again.
The dog barked, startling Tam, but the dog’s happy grin and tail wagging didn’t seem at all menacing. In fact, she got up and licked Tam’s face.
“Cat, it is you, isn’t it?”
The dog barked again and did an entire body wiggle, those blue eyes gleaming.
Tam started to grin, shaking her head and let her butt hit the floor before she just toppled over. “Holy shit.”
* * * * *
Kyle refused to think about the situation he’d left at home.
He knew if he didn’t put it out of his mind, he’d never be able to leave Cat and Tam.
The look in Tam’s eyes…
No.
A growl rose up but he swallowed it. They needed silence. Already shifted into his wolf, he ran low to the ground and fast, Tivr at his heels.
Rage flowed like lava through his veins. Someone had invaded his space. Someone who didn’t belong here. He didn’t tolerate trespassers. He couldn’t. He had too much to hide.
And too much to lose.
It didn’t take them long to reach Tam’s house but it wasn’t soon enough. The two men Tivr had seen earlier were already inside.
As he raced for the front, Tivr cut off behind him, heading for the rear.
Even though he now wore his wolf’s pelt, he thought like a man. And the man knew he didn’t want to rush in there and start ripping out throats. This wasn’t a kill mission. They needed information.
So he slowed, keeping to the shadows where his black pelt made him invisible as he made his way to the porch. He smelled Tam’s scent all over it, now mixed with two other men. He’d make them pay for that.
As he got closer, he heard voices, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying. By the time he got to the window, though, he heard them clearly. And he didn’t like what he heard.
“Fuck, where the hell is she?”
“She’s supposed to be here. She never fucking goes out.”
“I don’t think she’s gone for good. Her stuff’s still here.”
“We’re gonna have to wait her out. Shit.”
Kyle fought back a growl. They were here for Tamra .
But why the hell would they want her? Something related to the rape? She’d testified against the man who’d hurt her. Were these men here for retribution?
“She wants us to bring the girl back tonight.”
“Yeah, I don’t wanna go back empty-handed.”
She? They were working for someone? Who?
He needed to know.
Slipping around the back, he found Tivr sitting at the back door, head cocked to the side as he listened.
Since he needed to be able to talk, Kyle had to retake his human body, and that little hitch in his chest forced him to take a deep breath.
He was a man and his body knew its true form. But there were tales, told to scare young children, of how some versipelli became trapped in their animal
“Holy shit .”
Magic. The word flitted around in her head as she tried to grasp the concept.
She didn’t believe in magic. Her mom had never read her fairy tales at bedtime. Her mom had barely been around at bedtime because she’d been working a second job so they wouldn’t starve.
Tam hadn’t grown up with dreams of falling in love with a man and having him whisk her away from her drab life. That just never happened.
At least not to people like her and her mom. Her mom had scrimped and saved and worked, sometimes seven days a week.
She’d ingrained in Tam the necessity of taking care of herself. Of believing in herself. Of trusting what she saw with her own eyes.
Her mom had raised her to be practical.
And that training had gotten Tam through the worst weeks after her attack, with her sanity intact. Sure, she had issues. Who wouldn’t?
But Tam knew she’d seen Cat disappear and this dog reappear in the exact same spot. So either she’d finally lost it…or her eyes hadn’t lied.
Cat had become this little dog.
No, not a dog. Wolf.
“Werewolf.”
She said the word aloud and when she didn’t hear maniacal laughter, she took a deep breath and said it again.
The dog barked, startling Tam, but the dog’s happy grin and tail wagging didn’t seem at all menacing. In fact, she got up and licked Tam’s face.
“Cat, it is you, isn’t it?”
The dog barked again and did an entire body wiggle, those blue eyes gleaming.
Tam started to grin, shaking her head and let her butt hit the floor before she just toppled over. “Holy shit.”
* * * * *
Kyle refused to think about the situation he’d left at home.
He knew if he didn’t put it out of his mind, he’d never be able to leave Cat and Tam.
The look in Tam’s eyes…
No.
A growl rose up but he swallowed it. They needed silence. Already shifted into his wolf, he ran low to the ground and fast, Tivr at his heels.
Rage flowed like lava through his veins. Someone had invaded his space. Someone who didn’t belong here. He didn’t tolerate trespassers. He couldn’t. He had too much to hide.
And too much to lose.
It didn’t take them long to reach Tam’s house but it wasn’t soon enough. The two men Tivr had seen earlier were already inside.
As he raced for the front, Tivr cut off behind him, heading for the rear.
Even though he now wore his wolf’s pelt, he thought like a man. And the man knew he didn’t want to rush in there and start ripping out throats. This wasn’t a kill mission. They needed information.
So he slowed, keeping to the shadows where his black pelt made him invisible as he made his way to the porch. He smelled Tam’s scent all over it, now mixed with two other men. He’d make them pay for that.
As he got closer, he heard voices, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying. By the time he got to the window, though, he heard them clearly. And he didn’t like what he heard.
“Fuck, where the hell is she?”
“She’s supposed to be here. She never fucking goes out.”
“I don’t think she’s gone for good. Her stuff’s still here.”
“We’re gonna have to wait her out. Shit.”
Kyle fought back a growl. They were here for Tamra .
But why the hell would they want her? Something related to the rape? She’d testified against the man who’d hurt her. Were these men here for retribution?
“She wants us to bring the girl back tonight.”
“Yeah, I don’t wanna go back empty-handed.”
She? They were working for someone? Who?
He needed to know.
Slipping around the back, he found Tivr sitting at the back door, head cocked to the side as he listened.
Since he needed to be able to talk, Kyle had to retake his human body, and that little hitch in his chest forced him to take a deep breath.
He was a man and his body knew its true form. But there were tales, told to scare young children, of how some versipelli became trapped in their animal
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