He saw the opportunity present itself at once. He dropped the towel and dove out the door, slamming it closed on his exodus. His heart racing, he hurried to throw some boxers on. She was snarling and banging against the door, sounding like she would rip him to shreds if he let her out.
He had no intention of doing so. Until she turned into her human form, and he could talk to her more reasonably, she was confined to his bathroom.
*
Debbie couldn’t have been any more incensed than she was right this very instant. She’d woken to hear what she thought was Allan in the shower. She was surprised he’d left his bedroom and bathroom door ajar, maybe to listen for her if something happened. She couldn’t believe how much she could smell things now, like the water from the shower in the next room—or the fluoride in it, she should say. And his scent everywhere in the place as he had walked through it. She thought she also smelled Paul’s scent, because he’d come to see her in the clinic, and she recognized it.
God, why did Allan have to be so damned hot and a wolf? Seeing him washing himself, running the soap all over his glorious body, she had stared at him in awe. She had sensed he was nervous. Some devious part of her had wanted to push the envelope and show him she wasn’t going to be pushed around, forced to do things that she didn’t want to do. To show him he wasn’t her boss.
On the other hand, as stressed out as he was, he had been so good with her—firm, letting her know how serious her biting him could be, but at the same time, gentle, reassuring—not all SEAL wolf tough. Which she imagined he could turn into in a second. She couldn’t tamp down the anger she felt, but she did concede that he was trying hard to be good to her, even when she must have looked seriously dangerous. She sure sounded that way to herself.
So now she knew why he had been so reluctant to date her. And why the family had disapproved. Probably the whole pack. But now for her to date him? He had to be nuts! She wanted to take a bite out of him.
“Debbie,” he said, and the bedsprings sank, so she suspected he was sitting on the edge of the bed while he was talking to her, “I didn’t turn you. None of us bit you. They gave you our blood in an IV. But believe me when I say it was the only way to save your life.”
She paced back and forth in the beige bathroom. It was nice and big, but not big enough for a pacing wolf.
“We have a wolf pack, as I’m sure you’re well aware. The flowers in your guest bedroom are from all the members of the pack and a few from law enforcement friends. Everyone in the pack wants to welcome you and help you adjust to your new way of life. Our SEAL team leader’s wife was recently turned, so she could speak to you about what you’re experiencing. But everyone in our pack was born as a lupus garou. We don’t turn into vicious wolves. We keep a low profile and run through the woods as wolves, which can be tricky with genuine wolves, cougars, grizzlies, black bears, or hunters around. Which is why we stick together to keep everyone safe as much as possible.”
And they had multiple births. That’s why Lori and Rose were having twins and triplets! They were a bunch of wild animals. Or half of them was.
Debbie groaned, but it came out a low, menacing growl.
“The worst part is the shifting when you least expect it as a newly turned wolf. The worst time for that to happen is during the full moon.”
Great. How long did that last? Ohmigod, she couldn’t dive any longer? Or only when the full moon wasn’t out?
This was so much of a nightmare. If she was supposed to have died…
Then again, no, if she’d been given the choice, she probably would have opted for something to help save her. Like a bionic heart or something. Being a part-time wolf? She shook her head. She wasn’t sure she would have gone that far. Maybe. She’d have to see how badly this all turned out before she could make a final judgment.
“When you’re up to it, we can run as wolves together.”
Was Allan the one who had recommended she be turned so he could date her?
She growled again. Dating wasn’t going to happen. Not with him or any other wolf in the pack. How many were there?
Ohmigod, the wolf killer. He really was a werewolf hunter. There really were werewolves. The woman who had been murdered? Most likely she truly had been one. And what about the other case? With the bank robbers? The shoot-out? A wild wolf biting into tires and killing one of the men, the other naked in the lake after he fell off the cliffs?
All the bizarre happenings all made sense now, if they all had been werewolves. Rowdy. He’d been right all along.
No wonder Rose and Lori had been upset to find the murdered woman! And for Allan to be upset about Tara nearly dying.