“You asked if I heard a dog bark. I said no. Technically, she’d shifted into a wolf.”
Debbie took a deep breath, thinking about what had happened to her, Tara, and Sarah. “I…I want to help bring the shooter down, Allan. I know it’s going to be harder for me with the problem of shifting, but I want to help. I don’t want to be left out of the loop. It’s not a case of revenge either. I think of Lori and Rose and them being pregnant, well, now with Rose having her triplets, and their mates losing them and…well, maybe if I can still do this, I won’t feel so…discombobulated. If Otis did try to kill Franny and her baby, we need to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”
“I understand. You’re staying on the case. We’ll just be more careful about when we go out to search for clues.”
“Was I too rough on you last night?” She felt a mix of emotions about that. Satisfaction that she had scared him a little, but she did worry he’d believe she was untamable and a danger to everyone. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than being confined to his cabin for months on end without visitation rights.
“You were having a rough time of it. Nothing I couldn’t handle. And you might not think so yourself, but you’re a beautiful wolf.”
She gave him an annoyed look. She couldn’t help it. She appreciated that he thought she was a beautiful woman. But a wolf?
His phone rang and she suspected it was Paul, as close as they were and as much as she assumed Paul was dying to learn how it went with her last night. Now she realized it didn’t all have to do with having been raised as brothers either. He was Allan’s pack leader. And hers now too? She groaned.
It was one thing to not like a boss and quit a job, but what if she didn’t like the pack leaders’ rules and wanted to just…leave?
She doubted they’d let her.
*
Allan answered the phone and said, “Yeah, Paul, we’re both still alive.”
Then he smiled and Debbie smiled back, though he thought her expression was a bit devious.
Allan had to be careful about what he said to Paul so he didn’t antagonize Debbie, even though she left him in the kitchen and said she was getting dressed. She might still be able to hear him talking if she made the effort to eavesdrop on his half of the conversation.
“Any trouble?”
“Nah.” Allan didn’t want Paul to think he had to call on anyone else to help with Debbie. He thought if he and she kept an open dialogue, they’d be fine. Eventually. “Everything’s fine. We just finished having a delightful breakfast that she prepared for us this morning.”
“Really? She’s back to being her normal self?” Paul sounded surprised and Allan didn’t blame him.
“Yeah. She wants to keep searching into this business with the lake murder and find the shooter who nearly killed her and Tara. We can work it out.”
“Are you sure? What with the phase of the full moon being out for several days?”
“We’ll figure it out. She needs to do this. It’ll help her to adjust if she feels some part of her life is still the same. With her enhanced wolf abilities, she’ll see the usefulness in that aspect of her life.”
“Okay, I trust you know what you’re doing. Is she comfortable staying with you, or do we need to make some other arrangements?”
“I’d say after we managed to get through the night in one piece and she made a lovely breakfast, we’re doing fine. But I’ll ask her anyway.”
“Can you do it now? That way I can line up someone else if she wants to move.”
“Yeah, sure. She’s in her bedroom getting dressed.” Allan padded down the hall and knocked on her door. “Are you fine with the arrangements here, Debbie? Or do you want to stay with someone else?”
“You’re going to work with me to find the shooter and you’re my partner, so I’m fine with staying here,” she said, not sounding pleased, but it was a start.
“Good.” Allan told Paul, “She’s staying with me so we can work out the details about the shooter.”
“Just remember she can shift at any time, and she could get growly about it. It’s got to be a frustrating time for a newly turned wolf.”
Tell me about it. “I understand.” Allan swore he heard a low growl from the bedroom. “Got to go, Paul. I’ll give you an update later.” Before he hung up, Debbie howled and slammed into the bedroom door, sounding pissed off…again.
So much for keeping her progress a secret from Paul.
And so much for helping her get through this so she wouldn’t feel so frustrated with her lack of control.
Allan stripped out of his boxers and opened the guest bedroom door. Instead of lunging at him this time, she sat still, like a statue, looking at his naked form, then lifted her gaze to his, puzzled, as if she wondered just what he was up to.