Her finger traced the rim of her cup as she spoke. “I knew when I saw him six years ago, but I was too young and I was still finishing some of my studies.” She shook her head, wanting to argue against fate. “I didn’t know it was Bram until he walked into the lab that Thursday morning.”
“So what are you going to do?”
She smiled weakly at the brotherly concern she heard in his voice. She let her head fall forward, her hair covering her face in a platinum wave as the enormity of what that question was hit her. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
There was a shared silence between them for a few brief minutes. “I want to meet him,” he told her.
She lifted back up with a snap, her gaze wide. “Morgan…”
He glared at her, his protective side glowing in his dark gray eyes. “Selene, you are the youngest. I’m the oldest.”
“So?” she ground out.
“I want to meet him,” he repeated, an imperialistic demand in the dark depths that stared back at her.
The contest of wills went on for several minutes until she grudgingly relented. She understood why, but she didn’t have to like it.
“Fine,” she snarled under her breath. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“That’s all I can ask, now isn’t it?”
She didn’t grace him with an answer.
When Morgan left for his own home deep in the Cascades, she walked outside, feeling the night air on her tongue. She’d already been out once tonight, but that had been to serve a purpose. She longed for the feel of the breeze against her, the call of the night owl as she sped by. She stripped on the porch, assured of her privacy. She closed her eyes, listening to the earth, the wind, the stars as they enveloped her. She found the beat of her heart as it tripped against her ears.
She was a creature of the night, and welcomed its pull, the nocturnal call as old as time itself as she cocked her head to listen.
She felt the warmth as it spread, urging it, commanding it. She scented the air, the aromas intensified by her long delicate snout as her lupine shape overrode her humanity. She found the family of squirrels locked away high from the forest floor, asleep and unaware. She could smell the rain miles away as it drifted near the coast.
She lowered her head and sniffed the ground, but it was the same as it had always been. It was her home. Her den.
She shot off the porch at a sprint into the tree line and felt truly free. Humanly concerns were not of this world, the one she was a part of, in possession of. Not the need to find a mate, to fulfill a crying urge that had awakened six years ago on the trails of the Sisters. Not the concern that she had work in the morning. None of it mattered.
For a few bliss-filled minutes she was wild. She was wolf.
When she hit the clearing again, barely an hour had passed but she stopped at the edge to cautiously scent the air and the ground to ensure her den had not been invaded. Until Bram’s unannounced arrival a month before, the only male scents she had ever allowed had been her brothers. She prayed it would not be changing anytime soon.
She padded back up to the porch and called on the powers of the Goddess she was named for, the powers of the moon and the night, to reclaim her human form. It took hardly a minute to go from four feet to two, having long ago mastered the archaic nuances of her shape-shifter ability. She gathered her clothes, reentering her still, quiet home. She was restless as she showered and prepared for bed, but it was an achy restlessness, a pervasive feeling awakened when she had found Bram lost and emotionally hurting on the trails. Six years of preparation simply were not enough. That night as she slept, her dreams wandered around Bram. His soft earth-colored eyes, his laughing smile. As the images developed, the wolf appeared, seeming to overlap between herself and then Bram until there was only a single image. A melding of Bram and herself with a shadow of the wolf between them.
She woke in the morning, an uneasy feeling in her stomach, and a shy fluttering near her heart. It was a lot to consider and even harder to believe. Just because it was meant to be didn’t mean it would happen.
Dreams were only images, and in that, she was thankful. Dreams could not inflict pain. She rose, remaining adamant that she was not ready. It was her only safety net. 38
FIVE
Over the next month, Bram’s schedule was full, yet not hectic or demanding to the point of draining. It didn’t bring back the feeling of oppressive burnout that he had needed to escape, either. He slept well at night. Rebecca didn’t call at all hours needing answers from him to questions he wasn’t going to discuss. And he learned to appreciate Selene’s dedication and experience. She wasn’t as young as he had first thought. She was thirty-one, which in his opinion, intensified his respect for her role as hospital director. The hospital ran like clockwork. Everyone was family. She was also a very reclusive woman, as he’d found out. The only thing he had been able to discern from the staff that worked with him was she wasn’t married. Other than that, either they weren’t talking, or there really wasn’t anything about Selene to talk about, which he found highly unlikely.
There was some quality, something almost different about her, drawing him to her. He’d witnessed her calm, a distraught woman with nothing more than a glance and a word. A firm hand clasp and a soft smile were her drugs of choice. She was the most precise surgeon he’d ever run across, and her ability to work her teams like a drill sergeant amazed him.
He had also discovered that she worked outside of the hospital doing house calls and aiding senior citizens who were incapable of seeing a doctor by themselves. Who made house calls in today’s world, anyway? Doctor Aiza did.
While doing one of those house calls, she’d invited him to join her, to introduce him to a few of her patients in case he ever needed to do back up for her, and he witnessed something he knew he couldn’t explain.
The lady they were to see had her son visiting and he had brought his dog, and as he recalled, it was a Rottweiler, a large one. Selene, calm and composed as always walked to the gate and made a sound, a vibration he could barely hear, but the dog stopped growling and barking like it wanted to eat them both for lunch. She opened the gate and waited for the dog to approach them. Bram could only stare in wonder as the dog rolled over on his back and let her run a hand over his chest when she crouched down by his side.
With a final tummy scratch, she stood and walked right up to the front door. “Don’t worry; he won’t harm us, now or ever. He knows we’re friends,” she had said making her way to the house with Bram following, one eye on her and one on the dog, but it was as she had said. When they left, the dog bumped her with his head looking for a farewell pat. And those were just some of the qualities that he had found intriguing about the woman he worked with.
“You’re smiling again,” Selene said as they reviewed the latest cases in her office.
Bram straightened in his chair, unaware he had let his thoughts be so easily viewable. “Is that bad?” He cocked a brow at her, trying to hide his embarrassment of being caught not paying attention.
“Depends.” She pressed a finger next to her place, marking it.
She lifted her head and he was struck again by her beauty. When she smiled, there was something almost familiar in it. He dismissed the notion as whimsical.
“Is it bad to smile?” he asked in a bantering tone.
“We’re discussing a cancer patient. I don’t think they’d appreciate it,” she said, a soft tug at the corner of her mouth that drew his eye.
His smile deepened. “I would have to agree with you there.” He sat up in his chair as he realized he was feeling something akin to attraction again. He started talking, wanting to ignore the realization that it could be. “Actually, I was thinking of how well of a job you’ve done keeping everything smooth, and how much I have enjoyed this. I was right when we met. I did need this.”
Her smile was beautiful and it nearly toppled him from his chair. “I’m really glad you feel that way,” she said. “I knew
you were the right person, and I’m glad you’re happy. More than that, really.”
He noticed a wary cautious light flash across her eyes. There was a hesitation as she looked at him, then passed him.
“Is something the matter?” he asked.
She cleared her throat once. “Well, I have been asked to introduce you to someone.”
He felt a chill settle over him. His voice was cold as he said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”
Her mouth dropped open as she shot him an appalled look. “No! It isn’t like that. I wouldn’t do that to an enemy much less a friend. I don’t set people up,” she informed him with a slightly affronted inflection. “I was asked to introduce you to a major contributor of the hospital.”
“Oh.” Bram shifted his weight and offered an apologetic smile, wondering if his embarrassed assumption was as obvious as it felt. “Sorry. I guess I jumped to a conclusion there.”
Her lips tugged in an odd way. “Pretty sure of your looks there, Doctor?”
He fought the spasm of laughter, stifling it down to a chuckle. “I deserved that,” he said a moment later. “I would be glad to meet whomever.”
She nodded once. “I better warn you, though.” He waved a hand when she hesitated, playing with the corner of the file on her desk instead of looking up. “He’s my brother.”
“You’re kidding?” He was surprised to see her flush, a pretty pink that suffused her cheeks for a brief moment. She looked over his shoulder again.
“No, I’m afraid not. He’s got his finger in a lot of pies and when I started here, he became one of the largest contributors we have.”
“You’re here because of him?” The short lived glare she shot him disavowed that idea. She didn’t need anyone to pave her roads.
He heard a short strangled sound. “Not hardly. He’s helping because I told him to, but he likes to play feudal lord every now and then and make demands. Meeting you is one of them,” she replied, her voice controlled and pleasant again.
“Understandable.” He watched as she visibly relaxed once more. He swallowed as her gaze flickered over him. He had been right. Ignoring it, but right. He did want to kiss her. The smile she graced him with only enforced it.
“Thank you. Would this Saturday be all right?”
“I would be happy to. Just tell me when and where.” His gaze strayed to her mouth and he felt a rush of blood below the waist.
“The cabin at seven ought to do.”
He was having a hard time paying attention, but he made himself do it. “Should I bring anything?” he offered.
She shook her head, her platinum hair flowing in a short, sassy wave around her shoulders as she rose from her desk, closing the file they had been discussing. He lifted himself from the chair to follow her, careful to keep his lab whites closed.
He caught her words as they entered the hall. “You don’t have to. I’ll make sure they know where to find us if they need us.”
“Sounds great.” His gaze fell to hers and felt it again. That tug, becoming insistent. He watched as her eyes darkened a little, a thought just behind the wall of the woman. His body’s reaction was immediate and powerful. This was worse than just a mere attraction. He wanted her. Badly. She licked her lips. The sweeping movement of her tongue leaving a glistening dampness to the light pink of her bottom lip brought the air in his lungs to a standstill. Her voice was breathy. That could’ve also been the thunder of blood as it raced through his body making her sound that way too. He grabbed onto his self-control with a steel strength.
“I better go check on this one.” She twitched the file she held in a death grip in her fingers. He forced his legs to take a step back. “Sure, sure. I, uh, have a few to do myself.” She nodded once, a tilt of her head and then she turned on a heel and left him standing in the hallway. He marched to his office and closed his door, expelling the breath he had been holding, a hard shudder traveling from his shoulders downward when he released the pent-up breath he’d been holding.
***
Selene stood over the oven in her kitchen, checking the roast, timing the bread. Morgan was in the living room watching TV. Bram would be there any minute; she’d heard the thrum of an engine just a few minutes before as he crossed the creek that ran south of the cabin and the clearing. She slid her hands down her jeans repeatedly, then tugged down the hem of her pale blue sweater even though it hadn’t moved. She lifted the lid of the steamed vegetables and wrinkled her nose. Those weren’t for her anyway. The bread was toasting well. She wiped her hands again and released a harsh breath.
“Relax,” came Morgan’s call from the living room.
“Sorry,” she said, forcing herself to calm down. “I can’t help it. I’ve never had a male guest inside.”
“I know,” he answered, a concerned brother’s voice, which didn’t really help her all that much. Her head snapped up as the sounds from outdoors reached her. Bram had arrived. Morgan had walked to the open kitchen doorframe where he stood, inspecting her. “He doesn’t know anything, right?”
She shook her head with a rushed shake. “Of course not.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. We’ll talk, eat and he’ll leave. End of evening.”
Their heads turned in unison to the knock on the door. “I’ll get that,” Morgan offered as he moved toward the door. She gave his back a weak smile. She was too nervous to think, much less try to make small talk.
She heard her brother introduce himself then lead Bram into the living room. Why couldn’t they have done this in town? At a restaurant? Why at her house? She fought down the surge of panic threatening to overwhelm her. She tightened her shoulders, stiffening her spine. No big deal. Morgan was there and the evening would have an end.
She drew a deep calming breath and was unprepared for the effect Bram’s scent had on her senses. It hit her with a force of a fall hurricane, nearly knocking her down to the floor. Selene grabbed for the counter with white-tipped fingers as he filled her entire being, overloading her thoughts.
She’d been fighting this powerful surge ever since he’d arrived. For over a month she’d tried to ignore what he was, who he was. Tonight, he was in her home, her den. She licked dry lips as the heat swelled, blossomed across her body to burst within her with longing. She turned, entranced, toward the sound of his voice, her low-heeled boots making a low click on the wood floor. She needed to see him, just a peek of what he looked like when he wasn’t a doctor. Her memory was strong, but it was six years old, and no matter how she fought it, she could no longer deny or fight the yearning his presence brought out of her.
He was undeniably handsome talking with Morgan, sitting in the matching chairs which fronted the fireplace on the east wall. The large windows on the rear wall let in the last of the evening sunlight and it shined directly on his brown hair. His gaze was focused, glinting in the sunlight like running water. His dark shirt and slacks accented his lean, tall frame. She felt the floor shift.
“Selene!” came Morgan’s sharp call.
Her vision cleared to find them both staring at her. Bram’s worried brown eyes filled with concern, Morgan’s with understanding but issuing a warning.
She clasped her elbows, forcing her body to obey. “Dinner is almost done,” she said. “Excuse me. I need some fresh air.” And before Morgan or Bram could question her, she fled out the front door. She thought she heard Morgan say she had been feeling a little tired today as she hurried out, but any excuse he gave would be flimsy. She knew the real reason behind her discomfort and it was the farthest from exhaustion that she could think of.
She inhaled draughts of the air surrounding her, the scent of the forest, the trees, the ptarmigan nested off to her right, the aromatic earth and found her balance. She breathed deep once more, feeling herself become centered.
This was only dinner after all. With that thought in mind, she turned to make her way back inside, glad to see that Morgan had brought Bram back into a conversation.
>
***
Bram studied Selene out of the corner of his eye as she nodded and smiled at them, gaining his attention when she spoke. “Sorry about that. I got a little light headed.”
“No problem,” Morgan said. “You ready to eat?” he asked Bram.
“Sure. I made sure to at least bring an appetite,” he said with a gentle grin and saw that Selene smiled at the memory of their conversation.
“I’m glad. I cooked enough,” she remarked as they made themselves comfortable at the table. Selene brought out a roast that looked like it could have rivaled his mother’s, it looked so good. She had made a vegetable medley and bread, and he murmured his appreciation as he took a long inhalation.
“Glad you approve,” she said with an easy grin. “I don’t cook that often. I have wine if you would like some,” she offered as she gave herself a large goblet of water.
“That would be great.”
Morgan sliced the roast as Bram watched Selene secretively from under his lashes. “So, Doctor Benedetti, how are you finding Bend?”
He quickly shifted in his chair to focus his attention on Morgan. “Bram is fine, and I like it a lot. I was out here when I was younger and I’ve always wanted to come back.” Bram filled his plate the same as his hosts and waited.
Selene lifted her glass up. “To friends, food and life,” she toasted.
Morgan emulated her with his wine, so Bram followed suit. “That’s refreshing. Family tradition?”
he asked as he tasted the wine. He was surprised at how well it flowed over his tongue. She knew a good wine as well, evidently.
Selene’s light laugh turned his gaze to her. “You have no idea. Dad can go on forever when he has company.”
Morgan groaned with agreement. “Yes, he can. I remember the one time he had that congressman come out, forgive me I don’t remember his name, but the politician had come out trying to persuade Dad’s political affiliation. Only Dad out maneuvered him by being the long winded one.”
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