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tensed, and without a thought Gemma placed a hand lightly on his arm, a reminder of his surroundings. He put his hand over hers, acknowledging it, and his anger subsided. "If someone is trying to implicate us, I’d like to know who it is," he reasoned. "I have my clan to protect."
    "They’re an old enemy of ours, and not something you can fight against. We couldn’t find a trace of them here, but it doesn’t mean they’re not behind this, pulling the strings."
    The vampires wouldn’t say more. Nicholas fished a calling card from the pocket of his leather jeans. "Here’s a contact number, should you find anything interesting." He offered it to Gemma and she accepted automatically, too used to the gesture to question why a Circle warrior would want her to call him. Surely he didn’t believe the killer wolves would return?
     

Chapter Eight
    Kieran relaxed visibly after the warriors left and Gemma breathed more easily for it. "Do you want to come back for tea?"
    The meadow was closer to the Greenwood clan estate than her home, so she was sure he would refuse and head home, but he nodded. "I’d love some." Her smile held all the relief she felt.
    Kieran’s attention was on her during the walk back, not on imaginary threats. Having that intensity directed at her was baffling, but not unwelcome. He smiled and chatted with her about small things, his work as an architect in London and hers as a PA, as if the fierce wolf had never surfaced. She could get used to this man.
    They fetched Polly and Maura on their way past their meadow. The dogs attached themselves to Kieran, following his every move with keen eyes. He picked up a stick and threw it for them to fetch. They shot after it, squabbling over which one could pick it up, and returned it with a devout look on their faces.
    "I really thought dogs would be afraid of shifters," she noted.
    He smiled, throwing the stick again. "Most people do. Maybe it’s because we seldom have pets. Although I believe cats are very popular among feline shifters of all types."
    Gemma tried to picture a tiger-shifter she knew from work with a cat and failed. "Pets are often very wary of vampires."
    "I think it’s because of our different impacts on Might. The way shifters resonate with it makes animals more comfortable around us."
    "Or maybe it’s because we’re the ultimate predators?"
    He put a hand on his chest, as if wounded. "Ouch. Wolves like to think we’re the biggest bad there is." But he didn’t deny her words.
    Back at the house, Gemma let the dogs into their pen. Rissa greeted her offspring enthusiastically, like a young dog despite having trouble walking properly. Gemma studied her worriedly and wondered if she would have to call a vet for her.
    She filled their bowls with fresh water and then led Kieran into the house through the small porch at the back that opened to the kitchen. They took their muddy boots and coats off and she offered Kieran a pair of Tom’s slippers and donned her own as well. They would help ward off the coldness of the stone floor.
    She filled a kettle and put it on the stove to boil. Tom didn’t have an electric kettle, but at least they had a gas stove instead of the old coal burner from her childhood. Her father had got them one when he installed the electricity and running water in the 1940s. This wasn’t the same stove—Tom had replaced it at some point—but it was still old.
    Everything in the kitchen was old, like it had always been. The few modern additions stood out, like the brand new fridge and freezer. The previous units hadn’t been terribly old either, not by this kitchen’s standards, but they didn’t make them like they used to, as Tom had rued over the phone when he told her about the purchase.
    The surface of the limestone floor was worn soft after centuries of use. The walls were whitewashed, a new layer added over the old one periodically. A trestle table stood in the middle of the room, its surface polished white from