by Paige Tyler
“I think he wants us to follow him,” Moe said.
“Is he hurt?” Kelsey asked.
“I don’t think so. At least, I didn’t smell or see any blood. Come on.”
Moe must have been too preoccupied with the dog to realize he’d slipped up and hinted at how keen his nose was because he started jogging after the animal. Kelsey hurried to catch up. As a werewolf, no doubt Moe could outrun her if he wanted to, but he jogged after the dog at a casual pace.
They followed the dog to the far side of the shopping district, well away from the street fair. The shops were closed here, so no one else was out and about. Kelsey was still wondering where the little guy was taking them when the dog stopped in front of a store and regarded them expectantly. The sign above the door read Collins Fine Collectibles. The place was dark inside and looked empty to her.
Beside her, Moe frowned.
She started to ask what he thought when she caught sight of a light through the blinds.
“Did you see that?” she whispered, glancing at Moe.
His eyes flashed yellow and he lifted his nose to sniff the air. Other than the glint of gold in his eyes she’d seen whenever they kissed, this was the first time he’d consciously let her see it.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Someone’s hurt in there,” he said. “Come on.”
Kelsey wasn’t sure what she expected him to do, but when he grabbed the knob and turned it with a sharp popping noise, she gave him a surprised look.
“It was unlocked,” he said over his shoulder.
She knew it hadn’t been, but she didn’t call him on it. He’d just snapped the lock on that door like it was nothing.
Taking her hand, he stepped into the shop. The dog scampered past them, leading the way toward the back of the showroom. In the light coming from the streetlamp outside, Kelsey noted the expensive looking figurines and fancy knickknacks.
They’d almost reached the back of the store when Moe stopped so suddenly that Kelsey almost slammed into him.
“Go back outside,” he whispered.
“Why?” she asked. “What’s…?”
The words trailed off as two men dressed in black and wearing ski masks ran out from the back of the store. Moe cursed and pushed Kelsey behind him. She peeked around him just in time to see the men pull guns from behind their backs.
Oh, crap.
“Run!” Moe ordered, pushing Kelsey ahead of him toward the door just as the men started shooting.
She had no doubt Moe could have taken the guys on, but he was obviously too worried about her.
Outside, he grabbed her hand and raced down the sidewalk, shoving her down behind a parked car, then ducking down beside her just as the bad guys ran out of the store. Heart pounding, she watched as he took out his phone and texted someone.
“Did you text the police?” Kelsey whispered.
He shook his head. “Jayna. Becker, Zane, and Brooks are closer.”
That was true. “What do we do until they get here?”
“Hope the bad guys don’t come looking for us.” Moe looked around the edge of the sedan they were hiding behind and cursed. “So much for that plan. They’re heading this way.” He glanced at her. “Run. I’ll distract them.”
He might be a werewolf, but Kelsey wasn’t down with that idea. What if those guys shot him in the heart or the head? She didn’t know enough about werewolves to know if either of those things would kill Moe. The thought made her lightheaded and she put her hand on the car to steady herself.
“Kelsey, go!” Moe urged. “Please.”
She hesitated, torn. If he wasn’t a werewolf, she would never even consider it. Leaning close to Moe, she kissed him hard on the mouth. “Don’t do anything crazy.”
Jumping to her feet, she ran.
Kelsey didn’t get more than half a dozen feet before a growl made her stop and spin around. She gasped as Moe intercepted one of the men rushing him and picked him up, then body slammed him against the building they’d been hiding near. The man’s head bounced off the wall, and when Moe let him go, the guy crumbled to the pavement without another sound.
Wow. Kelsey knew Moe was strong, but didn’t realize how strong.
That should have made the second guy turn tail and run the other way, but instead he aimed his gun at Moe.
Kelsey opened her mouth to warn Moe, but her boyfriend was already moving. She didn’t know how he avoided the bullets, but somehow he did. The next thing she knew, he’d ripped the gun out of the bad guy’s hand and tossed it aside, then punched him in the chest so hard it sent the man flying across the alley, where he crumpled against the wall and then slowly slid to the ground, unconscious.
Relief made her weak in the knees, but Kelsey ignored it and hurried over to Moe. He turned at the same time, and even though she knew he was a werewolf, the sight of him made her stumble a little. Not because she was afraid, but because he was so incredible. His eyes were completely gold and he had fangs and claws. In a word, he was mesmerizing.
Moe must have misinterpreted the look on her face because fear flashed in his eyes and he started to back away from her.
Kelsey opened her mouth to tell him that she wasn’t afraid, but Jayna, Becker, and the rest of Moe’s friends showed up just then, along with the SWAT guys. She almost wished they’d been a little later so she could have talked to Moe. But she lost the chance as everything went a little crazy.
Between checking on Mr. Collins, the man who owned the store, to make sure he and his dog were all right—they were—and giving statements to the police, the next hour was chaotic. It turned out that the bad guys had been trying to steal some original signed graphic novels worth a crazy amount of money.
She’d tried to talk to Moe several times during all the questioning, but if she didn’t know better, she’d think he was avoiding her. Every time it looked like they might get a moment alone, he found a reason to move off and talk to one of his friends, or a SWAT officer, or even one of the uniformed cops. Kelsey was thinking she might have to kidnap him when he finally took her hand and led her down the sidewalk away from everyone. All his friends were staring their way, not even trying to hide their curiosity.
“What you saw before…” he began, wetting his lips nervously. “It wasn’t… I’m not…”
She lifted her hand to cup his face. “What you are is incredible,” she finished. “Moe, I know you’re a werewolf. I’ve known for a while.”
He blinked, looking so stunned that it seemed like he might start to hyperventilate. “You do? Who told you?”
“No one told me. Not directly, at least. I figured out most of it myself.”
He looked even more confused by that. “How.”
She shrugged. “It was a lot of stuff. When we watched football with your friends, your eyes flashed gold—right along with theirs, I might add, which I guess means they’re werewolves as well. And when we kiss, your eyes changed then, too. Oh, and you growl sometimes. Even thought I was already putting two and two together I wasn’t completely sure until I overheard Joseph and Mia talking about whether you were going to tell me you’re a werewolf or not.”
Moe stared at her for a long time. “And you’re okay with it?”
She smiled up at him. “Heck, yeah! I think it’s sexy.”
He shook his head as if in disbelief. “Just like that? You find out I’m a werewolf and all you can say is I think it’s sexy?”
She laughed. “Yeah. What, did you think I’d call you a monster or something? This is the 21st Century. You’re free to be whatever you want to be, even if that’s a werewolf. And yes, I think it’s sexy.”
He stared at her again for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and chuckled. “Wow. If I’d known you thought that, I would have told you I was a werewolf sooner.”
“Why didn’t you?”
It was his turn to shrug. “I don’t know. I guess I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me. And that if I showed you, I’d scar
e you away.”
She went up on her toes to kiss him. “That is never going to happen. If you haven’t already figured it out, I really, really like you, Moe Jenkins. Sometimes, it’s like we’re connected in some crazy way I don’t understand. But I don’t need to understand it. I’m just happy we do.”
He grinned and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m pretty damn happy about it, too. Seriously, it’s like this weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that you know what I am. I hated hiding that part of myself from you.”
“Well, now you never have to,” she said. “And you can tell me everything. Like, do you get all furry during the full moon? Is my silver jewelry a problem for you. If it is, I can ditch it, no big deal. I love gold, too.”
She realized that she was babbling at a hundred miles an hour. She tried to stop, but decided there was one thing she really needed to know. “How did you turn into a werewolf anyway? Did you get bitten, like in the movies?”
“Nah. It doesn’t work that way in real life,” he said with a slight smile. “Werewolves have this gene that turns on if something traumatic happens to them when they’re still human. A bite won’t do it.”
She frowned. Traumatic? She didn’t like the sounds of that.
“What happened to make you turn into a werewolf?” she asked, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“I was on the wrong side of town back in LA when some gangbangers jumped me for walking through their territory on my way home from school,” he explained. “I was wearing a shirt they thought meant I was in another gang—I wasn’t—they beat me up so badly they almost killed me. Jayna and rest of my pack—Megan, Joseph, and Chris—showed up just in time to help. I’m pretty sure those a-holes were too terrified to beat up anyone else after my pack got done with them.”
After seeing how easily Moe had handled those two men earlier, Kelsey could well believe it. If you asked her, the gangbangers who’d assaulted Moe had gotten what they deserved.
Still cupping his face, she gently brushed her thumb back and forth over his full lips. “I’m sorry about what those people did to you, but I’m glad that gene flipped and turned you into a werewolf. If not, we might never have met.”
“Me, too,” Moe said, kissing her again.
“So,” she said when he lifted his head a little while later. “Is that offer to move in still good?”
He grinned. “Hell, yeah! As long as you don’t mind living in a house full of people.”
She laughed. “Not at all. As long as your pack doesn’t mind if I steal you away for some alone time.”
He nodded. “They’ll be okay with that, but we’re going to have to have a serious conversation about personal space and privacy, because when you live with a pack that can hear a mouse’s heartbeat privacy kind of disappears.”
She thought about that for a moment, and decided she could live with that invasion of privacy. For Moe, it would be a small price to pay.
Kelsey went up on her toes and kissed him again. “Who needs privacy when I can have you?”
* * * * *
I hope you enjoyed reading about Kelsey and Moe!
Look for WOLF HUNGER, the next book in the Special Wolf Alpha Team (SWAT) Series, December 5th in stores and online!
https://books2read.com/WolfHunger
If you haven’t read the SWAT Series yet, you can check it out here!
SWAT (Special Wolf Alpha Team)
Hungry Like the Wolf
Wolf Trouble
In the Company of Wolves
To Love a Wolf
Wolf Unleashed
Wolf Hunt
Wolf Hunger
“Wolfishly sexy and terribly addictive.” - Adria's
Romance Reviews
http://paigetylertheauthor.com/books/#wolf
Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today
Bestselling Author of sexy, romantic suspense and
paranormal romance. She and her very own military hero
(also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida
coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog).
Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to
pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males
and the kick-butt heroines who fall in love with them.
She is represented by Bob Mecoy.
http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com