And also no matter that she found him attractive. And sexy.
And way out of her reach. He was Canadian. She was American. He was a high-ranking police officer in the RCMP. She was a lower-ranking officer in the US military.
Most of all, she was a shifter, and he wasn’t. If nothing else erected barriers between them, that certainly did.
“You’re entirely right,” Owen said. “I’ll be cautious on my end, and you might remind your fellow Alpha Force members to observe as well as teach.”
“Will do,” she said, then paused. “Thanks for calling, Owen, and giving me at least some sense of reassurance.”
“You’re welcome. And like I said before, sleep well. Just remember, though, that I’ll be thinking of you.” His voice grew lower and hoarser. “And wishing you were here. Good night, Selena.”
Before she could say anything else, he hung up.
She fortunately didn’t have time to mull over what he’d said and how he’d said it—with that deep, sexy tone. Not then, at least. A knock sounded at her door.
She opened it to find Patrick standing there. “Want to go on a brief patrol with me?” he asked. “I want to shift and walk around this compound to check for any apparent dangers.”
A pleased feeling coursed through Selena. He had chosen her over those who’d been with Alpha Force longer, whom he knew better?
“Of course,” she said, smiling.
“Since you’ve been here an extra day, you might have a better sense of what’s supposed to be around here.”
Well, all right. That made sense, although it burst her bubble a little. Her commanding officer had a rational reason for selecting her above the others. But that still was good. She would get to shift that night. Soon, in fact.
And wouldn’t have time to think any more about Owen.
At least not now.
* * *
He hadn’t meant to add those last comments as he’d said good-night to Selena, Owen thought after hanging up the phone.
He knew he wouldn’t sleep. Not yet.
Instead, he decided to take one last drive to the CAs compound now occupied by the Alpha Force members. That included Selena. He wouldn’t drop in on her, though, or any of them. He wouldn’t even go into the meeting house to make certain it was ready for tomorrow.
He simply wanted to ensure that everything looked okay around that important training area.
Or so he told himself. He wouldn’t see Selena, after all. That would be a bad idea.
But he knew she was there. And he hopefully would confirm that she was safe.
As if she wouldn’t be, with a whole team of Alpha Force members—her own kind—backing her up...
The drive through West Columbia was fast this time of night. Most of the downtown stores were closed, and the bars that remained open—the Yukon and others—even seemed fairly quiet, judging by the few cars parked along the street. It wasn’t long past midnight, but apparently this town went to bed early on weeknights.
A good thing to know, especially considering the types of training sessions the CAs would soon be holding.
Owen drove slowly so no one would notice him. In a short while he turned into the driveway up to the compound.
He stopped there. Maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to drive up the hill. Any Alpha Force members would recognize his car and question his being there.
Even he questioned his being there.
He parked along the street in front of a nearby house. If he walked up the driveway in the dark to check things out, he was less likely to be noticed.
By normal people, at least. But most of the Alpha Force members there had extraordinary senses for humans, or so he’d been told. Plus, the cover dog Lupe, too, might catch his sound or scent.
As a result, he decided to compromise. He wouldn’t go all the way to the top of the hill. Instead, as quietly as he could, he would stand at the bottom of the driveway before deciding how far up it he would go, and he would let his own, very normal senses work on seeing and hearing anything that might be even a little beyond usual.
Good thing his sweatshirt and jeans were dark colors. He got out of the car quickly so as not to be illuminated long by its inside lights. He glanced around and saw no movement, no indication anyone was aware of his presence.
After waiting for only a minute or two, he started walking up the hill.
* * *
She led Patrick out the back of the house, leaving Rainey and Jonas inside.
Their shifts had been fast and hassle-free, as always. Selena had recalled, while drinking the elixir, how Patrick had accurately described the most recent taste as somewhat citrusy. Then Rainey had shone the bright battery-powered light on her, and now she was in wolf form.
So was Patrick. Together, side by side, they prowled down the porch steps, circled both houses, then entered the surrounding woods.
As before, even when not shifted, Selena heard the sounds of small nocturnal creatures. Scented them as well—mostly rodents and owls. The feel of fallen leaves and pine needles tickled the bottoms of her paws. She turned her ears one way, then the other, still listening. The lights from the houses illuminated the clearing, but not here, beneath the trees.
A sound! A footstep? A human?
It seemed to come from the base of the driveway. Patrick must have heard it, too, since he stopped walking and looked at her. She nodded quickly, and then the two of them, still within the cover of the forest, headed in that direction.
Then Selena picked up a scent. A very familiar, very appealing scent. Human and tangy, not sweaty or menacing or anything that suggested a need to approach and attack.
Owen’s scent.
She moved slightly sideways as she continued walking, butting gently against Patrick. They both stopped, and she stared into her CO’s pale brown eyes, looking down, then shaking her head slightly. Telling him by motions, not words, that there was no danger.
Or so she believed. They had to check, of course, and so she took the lead.
In moments, as she stood halfway down the driveway, remaining tucked into shadows, she saw him.
At the same time, he saw her. His chin rose, his eyes widened, and she heard him mutter something, although she could not make out the words. Despite her acute hearing, he was too far away, his voice too low.
Was he saying her name?
He had seen her before like this, before they had departed from Vancouver. But even if he might recognize her, could he here, in the darkness?
She wasn’t certain. Even so, she walked slowly from beneath the cover of the trees. She nodded her wolfen head slightly, as if in greeting. Heard Patrick’s growl behind her, a warning to be cautious.
She was. That was definitely Owen, and he was no threat to her or to any of the shifters.
Owen remained motionless where he was, except that he, too, nodded at her.
And then he turned and walked back down the hill.
Chapter 10
It was her. Owen was certain of it.
He could think of nothing else as he drove cautiously back toward his hotel.
Certainly wild wolves could have shown up in this area, but he knew better. The animals’ demeanors, their actions when they had seen him, had convinced him they were shifters.
Even so, there were three Alpha Force wolf shifters. The two canines he had seen could have been the two males who had come here together. One could even have been the cover dog Lupe, he supposed.
Yet the way the one wolf had looked at him, had appeared to react to him, had seemed to communicate with him...
That had to have been Selena.
He turned onto West Columbia’s main street once more.
He was tired but doubted he would sleep well that night.
Not after seeing those two shifted wolves.
Not after seeing Selena.
Of course it had been her. It hadn’t just been her actions that convinced him. He had worked with dogs at the RCMP police-dog
service. Many of the German shepherds who were part of their canine force resembled one another, yet Owen had taught himself with no effort at all to tell them apart.
That canine who had appeared at the edge of the forest near the CAs’ enclave had looked exactly as Owen recalled Selena appeared after she had shifted in the isolated room in Vancouver. Like Lupe but more aware, more connected.
He hadn’t been close enough, hadn’t been at an angle to confirm it was a female wolf, but if nothing else the resemblance to Lupe convinced him who it was.
He had anticipated seeing Selena changed again someday as she helped to train the CAs in his charge. He just hadn’t anticipated it here and now, this night. But he’d been the one to show up at the enclave unannounced. Why wouldn’t she have shifted while anticipating no Canadians would be around to spot her?
She—
Damn. He had overshot the entry to the parking lot for his hotel. He was overthinking this situation.
As if he could do anything else.
Well, tomorrow would be a big day. The first training day. That was what he needed to concentrate on—and how vital his team would be in rescuing the latest kidnap victim and preventing any more.
Pulling into another driveway, he turned the car around to return to his hotel.
* * *
They hadn’t talked about it at breakfast. They hadn’t talked about it at all.
Now Selena was in the meeting house’s closed-off study with Rainey and Lupe, sitting on the small sofa while waiting for their morning’s assignment to begin.
She was no longer in Owen’s presence and wouldn’t see him again until sometime later.
Had he known she was one of the wolves he had spotted last night? Somehow she didn’t doubt it.
The fact he hadn’t mentioned it, had simply acted cordial this morning with everyone else around, hadn’t erased the likelihood from her mind.
Would he confront her with it sometime?
Would he simply ignore it because though he might need shapeshifters to fulfill his professional assignment, he didn’t especially like them?
Didn’t especially like her?
“When can we get started?” Andrea had just hurried into the room and shut the door behind her. As she’d been directed, she wore a loose T-shirt and jeans that could be removed quickly.
Rainey and she were also dressed casually, though Selena had no intention of shifting today.
No, this was the day to start training the CAs.
“Right away,” Rainey said, then looked at Selena questioningly, which was entirely appropriate. Selena was her commanding officer.
But for what was about to occur, Rainey was in charge.
“Fine with me,” Selena responded, glad her focus was now redirected as it should be. “Rainey’s going to be the one who’ll help you, Andrea. She’s not only my aide—and now yours—but she has also checked with another Alpha Force aide who’s worked with our avian shifters.” That was Ruby Belmont, whom Selena hardly knew. “As you’ve probably already been told, there’s only one right now, a hawk.” Autumn Kater, whom Selena didn’t know well, either. “The amount of elixir she takes to cause her change is different from what a shifting wolf takes.”
“Should a falcon take the same amount as a shifting hawk?” Andrea asked Rainey, her thick brow angled into a worried frown.
“We’ll start with a little less, just in case. But it should be quite similar. Your human weights are around the same, less than ten pounds’ difference.” Rainey’s smile was reassuring beneath her curly, dark hair, and she undoubtedly knew what she was doing. “Are you ready to give it a try?”
“Absolutely!” Any hesitation on Andrea’s part had disappeared. She looked excited and ready to go.
Selena remained seated, holding Lupe’s collar. Her dog had been present while she and others had shifted into wolf form, but Lupe hadn’t seen shapeshifting into other forms. On the other hand, she was a very sweet, fairly calm dog who had never been known to chase other animals.
“Okay, here’s what we do.” Rainey had gotten a sealed container of the special elixir from the basement refrigerator and brought it into the room along with a wrapped plastic glass. “First, please take off your clothes. We’re not sure how soon the process will start after you drink the elixir, so it’s better for you to be ready.”
That was why there were only women in this room. All the men CAs were in the basement with the male Alpha Force members.
Andrea barely took a minute to strip. Though Selena turned away, the glimpse she got told her that Andrea was as reed-thin as she appeared in her clothes.
Rainey handed Andrea a half-full cup of the liquid. “Now drink this, not too fast and not too slow.” Andrea did so. That was when Rainey removed the battery-powered light from her backpack, turned it on and aimed it at the nude woman. “Now we’ll wait,” she said.
Selena’s shifts always began as soon as the light was focused on her. The same thing happened with Andrea. It worked just fine. Despite the length of her limbs, they began to contract nearly immediately. Her face contorted and shrank as well, and feathers began to emerge from her skin.
Fascinating, Selena thought. But then, she thought all shifting was fascinating. She was just a lot more familiar with the change to and from wolfen form.
Lupe moved slightly beside her, but didn’t otherwise react. Selena patted her. “Good girl,” she said in a low, fervent voice.
In less than five minutes, it was over. A gorgeous falcon of no more than a few pounds, with a determined stare through golden eyes and a curved, sharp beak, perched on avian legs on the far edge of the sofa that Selena occupied.
“Wonderful!” Rainey exclaimed. “Do you feel okay?”
The falcon’s head, covered with mottled gray-and-white feathers, bobbed as if nodding yes. Her throat was white. In a moment, the bird raised her wings and began flying around the room making the sound “cack, cack,” as if triumphantly calling out in success.
“I’ll take that to mean yes.” Rainey smiled at Selena, who could only grin back. “Then let’s go out to the living room and wait for the men.”
“Good idea.” Selena looked toward Andrea, who seemed to be listening despite her flight, and as soon as Rainey opened the door the bird soared through.
The living room was empty when the female contingent arrived there, but Selena was pleased that Lupe soon wasn’t the only canine present. In fact, three dogs resembling wolves with different backgrounds, including possibly a shepherd, a malamute and an Akita, loped into the room and sat near one another on the wooden floor. As they panted, their mouths resembled smiles. Not surprising, Selena thought. She wasn’t certain which was Craig or Tim or Sal—but at that moment it didn’t matter.
What was important was that they had all shifted, without a full moon.
Right behind them came Patrick, Marshall, Jonas...and Owen.
“I see all must have gone well with Andrea,” Patrick said, watching the bird soar around the room’s ceiling.
“It sure did,” Selena said. “And I gather that the wolf-shifting CAs had no problems, either.”
“Right,” Jonas said.
Selena stole a glance toward Owen. Had he enjoyed watching? Hated it?
Thought about her as the humans morphed into wolfen form?
Wondered about possibly having seen her shifted last night?
Her mind was back on that subject. Maybe Owen and Patrick had already discussed it, since her commanding officer had been shifted and at her side. She wasn’t about to ask, especially not now.
“Time for you to give a few instructions, Selena,” Patrick said. “You’re our teacher, after all. It’ll all work better when we do this sometime at night, but for now teach these shifters about their human cognition while in animal form.”
Selena had known Patrick would direct her to do this. In fact, they had discussed it last night—once they had both shifted back into human form.
Patrick had
mentioned seeing Owen at the base of the hill. He hadn’t expressed an opinion or anything else, though.
Now Selena turned her attention to her charges, who’d just had their first experience with a shift brought on by the Alpha Force elixir. She started with Andrea. Selena told her to go and gently alight on Rainey’s head.
Her aide laughed. “Good idea, but don’t even think about providing me with a bird-poop sample.”
The other humans laughed, too. The falcon who was Andrea immediately followed orders and perched atop Rainey’s head, then squawked once more.
“Good job,” Selena said. “Now see how gently you can fly away. No pulling hair. Next, go perch on Owen’s shoulder.”
Selena met his gaze with a smile. He looked fine with it. He looked fine, period, in his navy sweatshirt and jeans, his blue eyes sparkling over his aquiline nose and strong chin. Selena kept her expression neutral and pleasant.
No need for him to realize he was stoking her sexually just by being there and being a good sport around shifters.
“Now, if you know what I’m saying and you like your current shift, Andrea, give Owen a kiss on top of his head.”
The falcon turned her head and lowered her beak to touch Owen’s short black hair. She obviously was cognizant of what she did, since her touch was gentle despite the pointed end of her beak.
Selena let herself sigh softly in relief. She certainly wouldn’t have wanted the bird to hurt Owen in any way. But she did want to prove to everyone in the room who had human cognition—which should be everyone but Lupe, who lay on the floor near the sofa—that Andrea knew what she was doing.
“Okay, next I want each of you shifted wolves to do as I say.” She told the three canines to stand and turn around, one at a time. Next, they were to sit beside one another, then each stand up on hind legs, turn around and sit again. “Then, if you like being shifted thanks to the Alpha Force elixir and know what you’re seeing and doing, I want you to each bark, in this order—Sal, then Tim, then Craig.”
They did so, and everyone who still had hands clapped in glee.
The plan had been for this first shift to last for about an hour, and the amounts of elixir had been given accordingly—and so had instructions about how to will themselves to start changing back.
Canadian Wolf (Paranormal Nocturne Romance) Page 9