Much as he enjoyed the meal, and getting acquainted with the alpha couple and the pack, Troy disliked being apart from Jenny. As a storm rumbled outside, he couldn’t help but worry about her.
Jenny can take care of herself. Always could.
He couldn’t help the nagging feeling that maybe she didn’t need him after all they had been through together.
Because Jenny seemed to have a little secret of her own she hid, only Troy suspected hers was far more powerful. As lethal as his skills were as Lupine, as quickly as he could slash and claw and kill if necessary…
Jenny could do worse. Much worse. Maybe soon she’d open up and trust him.
Before it was too late.
Chapter 5
Spying on her friend was not how Jenny intended to spend her day. Yet this pack had appeal to Troy, and for that reason, she decided to let curiosity get the best of her.
It killed the cat, they said, but she was a wolf.
Or at least she thought so. Didn’t want to think about the other mysterious powers lurking below the surface.
Powers she knew existed, and frightened her. Powers that had flared that day her pack died…
But that was in the past. Today her focus remained on Troy.
From a perch in a pine tree near the meadow she’d watched Troy ride a horse as the wranglers rounded up cattle, taking them to another pasture. He presented a fine figure on horseback, a brand new black Stetson perched at rakish angle on his head, shading his lean face from the brilliant yellow sun. Those jeans hugged every inch of his long legs and the blue chambray work shirt rolled up his forearms showed his sinewy, muscled arms.
Those arms had held her with utter confidence as he’d kissed her good-bye.
Wonder what he’d be like naked in bed?
She adjusted her position and rubbed against the tree in sexual frustration. Hormones made her crazy, this yearning to lie down with Troy and tangle together as he slid in and out of her naked body.
Fantasies were one thing. Reality another. What if they got naked and these odd magick powers surfaced? Getting naked meant being vulnerable.
She’d made a vow to never be vulnerable after what happened…
Yet from her observations today, the Mitchell Ranch seemed like a good place to settle down. The Lupines had an easy, friendly relationship with each other, and even Troy seemed to be cautiously accepted.
Except for that wrangler called Snake, who seemed to dislike him.
The ranch itself, nestled in a valley surrounded by jagged, forested mountains, had an aura of peace and goodwill. She’d seen the alpha himself earlier ride out, a rugged Lupine who treated others with respect, but kept everyone in line.
The smell of juniper, freshly-mowed grass, horses and cattle filled the air. This smelled like a good place to live, and for Jenny, who tried to rely more and more on her Lupine senses, scent was most important.
The longer she remained in Skin, the more her odd powers were likely to surface. She had to keep them at bay, like a dog straining to be off-leash.
Long after Troy and the other wranglers herded the cattle out of the meadow she remained in the tree. Something tingled on her skin. The smell here was off as well.
Jenny jumped ten feet down to the ground, landing on her feet. Letting her Lupine senses surge, she shifted into wolf and followed the trail.
It light up like green phosphorus to her vision. But if someone here saw her as wolf…
Shifting back to Skin and clothing herself as a cowgirl, she continued on. Immediately her powers surged, as if sensing the opportunity to act. Jenny thought of normal human activities to restrain her magick powers.
If anyone saw her, well, she was part of the pack, or looked like part of them, anyway.
The trail ended where a line of cabins stood at the meadow’s edge. Housing for the pack, perhaps. But the trail circled around, as if this something nasty were casing all the houses.
For what purpose?
Maybe she should warn the pack. No sentries were posted here, and inside some of the cabins she heard woman and children.
Why would they leave their women and children unprotected? Unless no one sensed a threat. Maybe it wasn’t seen or smelled by Lupines.
To her the evil stalking this land was clear as black ants on white wedding cake.
At the largest cabin closest to the forest, the smell increased and the trail lit up like a Christmas tree. Something had been here. Something nasty. A miasma of thick foulness, like sewer gas. Her wolf wanted to howl and run away.
Jenny shifted back, clothing herself by magick. The smell was just as bad to her human senses. Doubling over, she coughed, fighting the nausea.
She went around to the back. Tall pine trees shaded a child’s swing set and sandbox decorated with toys. Hearing a door on the back porch open, Jenny ran and hid behind one of the trees.
A blonde woman carrying a baby came onto the porch, and headed for the sandbox. She placed the baby on the sand, and pushed a green plastic toy truck at him. The baby, who looked about a year old, babbled as he picked up the truck and waved it.
“Don’t eat the sand this time, Hunter. Stay here and I’ll be right back after I check on those pies for tonight’s dinner.”
The woman, Hunter’s mother she assumed, ran back into the house. Hunter looked around and babbled again. Then the baby pointed at the tree where Jenny hid.
She stepped out. “Got me, kid. Can you tell me why this nasty thing is hanging around your house? I should tell your mama. I bet she wouldn’t leave you out here alone if she knew what lingered.”
The child’s eyes widened. He pointed again to the tree. Interesting. Jenny turned and examined the
