signs of intruders.
Only found normal forest animals.”
Despite his relaxed hold, she could feel the underlying
tension humming through him. “Were any of the humans
attacked specifical y associated with your pack?”
His shoulders lifted slightly. “Sort of, but no one with a
close relationship and no more so than anyone else in
town. The first man kil ed was a hunter who shops in one of
the pack’s pawn stores. The second was a tourist in town
on one of those paid big-game hunting trips and the last
was a rancher who lives on the outskirts of town. He buys
bags of feed for his horses from our feed and garden store.
As far as I know, none of them have any relationship with
each other and definitely not anyone in my pack. Of course
the sheriff isn’t looking for stuff like that because these are
animal attacks as far as she’s concerned.” There was an
undeniable spike of anger in his words.
Gabriela traced circular patterns across his chest. The
randomness of it al was frustrating. Jaguars weren’t native
to this area and she hated that someone was not only kil ing
innocent humans, but making her family a target in the
process. “What’s Sharon like as sheriff?” She knew what
Sharon was like as her friend but was curious for a
multitude of reasons. One being that Sharon had not so
subtly told Gabriela she had a standing job offer any time
she decided to move back to Bear Mountain. Something
she’d never considered until now.
“She’s fair and wel liked by just about everyone. A few of
my pack members have shown interest in her.” His voice
was resigned and she knew why.
If a shifter mated with a human, that human would be told
everything about their species. Bringing humans into the
loop on anything about them went against every fiber inside
shifters. Of course for Gabriela, she’d gotten over her
issues with that a while ago. Some of her bosses had been
humans and they knew pretty much al they needed to about
the different shifter species around the world. Many
branches of various governments did. It wasn’t something
that could stay hidden forever and it was the reason she’d
been recruited in the first place. “Sharon would handle
knowledge of us wel , I think.” When Owen didn’t respond,
she splayed her palm over his chest, wondering how he’d
respond to Sharon’s job offer. Gabriela cleared her throat.
“She offered me a job.”
Owen went impossibly stil . “Are you considering it?” he
asked careful y.
She shrugged against him, feeling confused about
everything. “It’s sort of an open-ended thing. I don’t even
know if she stil —”
“Detective McGowan is retiring this month.”
Gabriela was silent for a while, unsure what to say. Wind
whistled outside the cave, though with Owen’s body heat
and the leftover warmth from the nearly burned-out fire she
was more than comfortable. Owen’s grip tightened on her
as he stroked a hand down her back. She might have told
him that she could only give him one night, but now she
wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
“What was it like coming back here to be Alpha at such a
young age?” Not exactly light conversation but she wanted
to know. “It was difficult. I’d planned on a long military
career but Ethan, Skyler and my mom needed me.”
“And the pack?”
His chin brushed against her head as he nodded. “They
needed a leader, too, but I came back for my family more
than anything.”
“I’m so sorry you had to give that up.” He was silent so
she didn’t say any more. Just tightened her grip on him and
closed her eyes. The feel of his steady heartbeat was
grounding and familiar. She wasn’t sure how long they lay
there in each other’s arms, but when a vibrating sound
interrupted the quiet, they both stirred.
Owen cursed under his breath and grabbed his
discarded jeans. He dug out his cel phone then let out
another curse before answering. Thanks to
Only found normal forest animals.”
Despite his relaxed hold, she could feel the underlying
tension humming through him. “Were any of the humans
attacked specifical y associated with your pack?”
His shoulders lifted slightly. “Sort of, but no one with a
close relationship and no more so than anyone else in
town. The first man kil ed was a hunter who shops in one of
the pack’s pawn stores. The second was a tourist in town
on one of those paid big-game hunting trips and the last
was a rancher who lives on the outskirts of town. He buys
bags of feed for his horses from our feed and garden store.
As far as I know, none of them have any relationship with
each other and definitely not anyone in my pack. Of course
the sheriff isn’t looking for stuff like that because these are
animal attacks as far as she’s concerned.” There was an
undeniable spike of anger in his words.
Gabriela traced circular patterns across his chest. The
randomness of it al was frustrating. Jaguars weren’t native
to this area and she hated that someone was not only kil ing
innocent humans, but making her family a target in the
process. “What’s Sharon like as sheriff?” She knew what
Sharon was like as her friend but was curious for a
multitude of reasons. One being that Sharon had not so
subtly told Gabriela she had a standing job offer any time
she decided to move back to Bear Mountain. Something
she’d never considered until now.
“She’s fair and wel liked by just about everyone. A few of
my pack members have shown interest in her.” His voice
was resigned and she knew why.
If a shifter mated with a human, that human would be told
everything about their species. Bringing humans into the
loop on anything about them went against every fiber inside
shifters. Of course for Gabriela, she’d gotten over her
issues with that a while ago. Some of her bosses had been
humans and they knew pretty much al they needed to about
the different shifter species around the world. Many
branches of various governments did. It wasn’t something
that could stay hidden forever and it was the reason she’d
been recruited in the first place. “Sharon would handle
knowledge of us wel , I think.” When Owen didn’t respond,
she splayed her palm over his chest, wondering how he’d
respond to Sharon’s job offer. Gabriela cleared her throat.
“She offered me a job.”
Owen went impossibly stil . “Are you considering it?” he
asked careful y.
She shrugged against him, feeling confused about
everything. “It’s sort of an open-ended thing. I don’t even
know if she stil —”
“Detective McGowan is retiring this month.”
Gabriela was silent for a while, unsure what to say. Wind
whistled outside the cave, though with Owen’s body heat
and the leftover warmth from the nearly burned-out fire she
was more than comfortable. Owen’s grip tightened on her
as he stroked a hand down her back. She might have told
him that she could only give him one night, but now she
wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
“What was it like coming back here to be Alpha at such a
young age?” Not exactly light conversation but she wanted
to know. “It was difficult. I’d planned on a long military
career but Ethan, Skyler and my mom needed me.”
“And the pack?”
His chin brushed against her head as he nodded. “They
needed a leader, too, but I came back for my family more
than anything.”
“I’m so sorry you had to give that up.” He was silent so
she didn’t say any more. Just tightened her grip on him and
closed her eyes. The feel of his steady heartbeat was
grounding and familiar. She wasn’t sure how long they lay
there in each other’s arms, but when a vibrating sound
interrupted the quiet, they both stirred.
Owen cursed under his breath and grabbed his
discarded jeans. He dug out his cel phone then let out
another curse before answering. Thanks to
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