Wolf's Desire by Ambrielle Kirk Page A

needed me to keep away from Jonathan.”
    “I need your trust, Keira.”
    “What did you mean back there?” She waited for his reply. “What’s forbidden?”
    “You don’t want to know. Believe me in this one. There are some things that are better left unknown.”
    She sighed. “I wish I could truly believe that.”
    “Keira, we don’t have much time. If you know what J onathan could be after, and it’s in this house…tell me now. My job right now is to protect you, but I also want to help you.”
    “ There’s no question in my mind that whatever it is, he’s learned that it’s here, and it’s the reason he wants me out.” A minute passed with them in complete silence except for her panicked breathing. “I don’t know what it is, but I think I know where it is.”
    “Show me.”
     
    ***
     
    There was uncertainty in Keira’ s steps as she led him past the study where she’d taken the call. By the time they reached the door leading into her bedroom, Aiden’s blood pressure had returned to normal. If Keira hadn’t been standing in the hall with them, things would have turned out differently.
    Jonathan Ellis was Other . He wasn’t an enemy for that reason, but because of what he and his family represented. If only he had done adequate research on the family before taking the job, he would have known. Would he have accepted it then? Probably. But had the information been readily available about who Keira had actually been married to, there definitely would be no question—he would have been prepared.
    Other s were part of the human branch of Caedmon. Non-shifters. Humans, but not entirely. The most potent powers, including the power to shift between man and animal, existed only through the wolf bloodlines. If one parent could shift, then the gift was passed on. Others possessed supernatural powers of the Caedmon, but only a limited amount of them remained in the world. Their bloodline, along with any powers granted them, had become muted by decades and decades of reproduction with regular humans as a result of the decree that isolated them from the original Caedmon Pack. When both branches were together with one united mission, they were stronger against those who allied against them. For this reason and many others, the current Alpha had welcomed Others back into the Pack.
    But when Others allied against Caedmon, that was a different story. Jonathan and his family were allies.
    Keira led him into the room, closed the door, and turned around to face him. “I thought I’d been confused before, but on the night the intruder broke in, I became even more puzzled.”
    The master bedroom was open and airy, just like the rest of the home. The whole room smelled just like her.
    “Did you recognize this intruder?” he asked, as he moved toward the windows and glanced outside at the front of the home. The driveway was empty.
    “No. He wore a cloth over his face. It was dark that night. My gun misfired and he ran off.” She came to join him at the window. “Is he gone?”
    “For now.” Aiden hadn’t known that she was equipped with a gun, but what did he expect? Walk around unarmed? The woman’s life was in danger. Now more than ever. “Did you shoot him?”
    “I fired by accident. I had no intentions of shooting him…I think.”
    He couldn’t help but grin. “Remind me to give you firearm training.”
    H er eyes narrowed. “I have adequate training. Not as extensive as you, I’m sure. If I wanted to shoot him, I would have.”
    “ Where did he break in? This bedroom?”
    “ No, the study.”
    “ Then he knew what he was after when he came here…?”
    Keira nodded. “He knew something was there.” She paused near the bed and opened the top drawer of the end table. “For the longest, I have been unable to sleep in the master bedroom. I was sleeping in the study on the daybed that night. I’m sure the intruder thought the room was empty, and everyone had gone to bed. It was late, and nearly