Reaching for another box, she hesitated as the sound of his hammer on the front step stopped, then a few seconds later, it was replaced by the noise of an engine as a vehicle came into the drive. She had made plans for a late lunch with Bonnie, but she was meeting her in town, so whoever had come had to be there for Jaxon. Speaking of which, she’d have to get cleaned up soon if she was going to make it in time. Jaxon was going to drop her off, then get some work done for a few hours while she shopped.
A second later, another engine hummed into the drive. This one, she recognized. It was a lot smoother and less noisy, but she’d know her old Acura anywhere.
Dusting herself off as well as she could, she stepped out into the sun. Sure enough, there was her old car sitting next to Jaxon’s big truck. She couldn’t fail to notice that the body was in much greater shape, as well, with the paint gleaming in the sun.
Emmet stood there with two others, deep in conversation with Jaxon. As soon as she came near, the conversation stopped, and all four of them looked at her.
It would have been uncomfortable had it not been for Jaxon coming to her and pulling her into him, draping his arm around her shoulder. “You’ve met Emmet. This is Luca, and that’s Niko,” he said, pointing to each man that could have been a replica of the other.
Maple reached over and shook each of their hands. “Nice to meet you. I’m Maple.”
“The pleasure is ours,” the one he’d named Niko said as he wrapped her hand in his huge one. The other brother remained silent.
“Thank you so much for bringing my car back, Emmet,” she said, turning her attention to him. “I can tell by the sound of the engine that she’s running a lot smoother. And the rust. It’s gone. I don’t know how you managed it in a few short days, but I appreciate it. How much do I owe you?”
She tried to hide her trepidation. She couldn’t afford body work. Hell, she probably couldn’t afford the mechanical work, either, but she wouldn’t stiff the man.
“Nothing at all. I got all the parts from the yard. If anything, I owe you for taking him out of my hair for a few days. It’s been a treat.” He cocked his head toward his brother.
When she looked up at Jaxon, he just smiled.
“Listen, we have to run, but something came up at work that I need to talk to you about before we go,” Emmet told Jaxon. “Was nice seeing you again, Maple.”
“Same. Thanks again.” The three men headed toward their vehicle to wait for Jaxon. “I’m going to get ready for my lunch date with Bonnie.”
Jaxon took her lips in an all-too-brief kiss. “Okay, I’ll be right in.”
***
He watched Maple disappear into the cabin before going to his packmates. There had been no real need to make the trip to the cabin with her car. “What did you find?” he asked Niko, not bothering with pleasantries.
“There are at least a half dozen shifters in town who don’t belong to the pack. They’ve not caused trouble or given anyone any grief, so there’s no reason for us to approach them,” Niko said.
“They slashed her tires. One of them was here on her property, and attacked her. That’s reason enough,” he said, trying to rein in his anger.
Emmet shook his head. “The one who vandalized her car, and came after her here hasn’t been in town.”
“He’s been all over her property, though. His scent is everywhere. He’s staying far enough away that you can’t smell him,” Luca interjected.
A loud growl rumbled in the back of his throat. The bastard was trying to get to Maple. “Increase the patrols in town. The minute one of them sneezes wrong, bring them in.” The last time they’d had rogues in town, it had ended in senseless bloodshed. He wouldn’t leave his pack or the humans they lived with unprotected.
“What about your mate? She needs to be guarded,” Luca spoke up again, saying more words in the last few minutes than Jaxon had heard him utter in an entire week.
“I’m staying here with her, but we’ll put a couple of wolves in the forest and set up patrols. If things escalate, we’ll add more.” The idea that a male had been lurking around made his wolf’s hackles rise. His need to shift to hunt rode him hard, but he held on.
While he’d been talking, Niko had pulled a duffle bag from the truck and was stripping down to nothing, keeping the vehicle between him and the cabin as he did. “We’re taking the forest.” With a grunt of ascent, Luca followed suit.
“Thank you, and so you know, Maple has a rifle, so be careful if you come close. I don’t know if she can actually shoot it or not, but I don’t want you finding out the hard way.” He didn’t tell them that he’d been on the business end of the gun twice already in his wolf form.
Niko tossed the duffle bag into the back seat before shifting and joining his brother, who was already loping toward the trees.
“You need me in town?” Jaxon asked Emmet once the other two were gone.
“Nah, I’ve got it. I already have more men doing rounds. If I need you, I’ll call. Everything going okay here?” he asked as he looked toward the cabin.
Jaxon ran his fingers through his hair. “She wants to go out to the old Sugar Shack and check things out there.” He left out the part where she wanted to sell the place and leave him for good. His brother didn’t need to know that. Besides, he had a
