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  “Which only made it more obvious?” Kurt guessed.

  “Yeah,” Clint confirmed. “As soon as I left, they followed, although they are still keeping a pretty good distance.”

  “I’m already on my way,” Kurt told him. “Try to act like you haven’t seen them.”

  “No problem,” Clint responded. He stopped in front of the candle shop and leaned closer like he was looking at the display.

  In the reflection, he could still see the two men across the street watching.

  “Where are you?” Kurt asked and Clint could hear Kurt’s tire squeal over the line.

  “Still on First Street,” Clint answered.

  “Good. Head down to the park. It should be almost empty this early. I’ll be there shortly. Don’t kill anyone.”

  Clint snorted and pocketed his phone before starting to slowly stroll to the park at the end of the block.

  It wasn’t like he just went around and killed people. Well, people who didn’t deserve it, he amended. And he couldn’t cause trouble in the middle of town anyway.

  Clint actually liked the area. Loved the park.

  He’d always felt comfortable coming into town. His dad had spent years working with the Alpha Council while Clint was young. His mom, brother and Clint had officially stayed in their birth Pack but came to visit often. He didn’t know how his parents managed such a strong marriage with his dad being away so much, but his mom and dad were happily married and still very much in love, in his opinion.

  The small park was open to the public but was mainly used for festivals. It did have a well-kept playground, several benches to sit on and even a large, open space where some of the residents played football, Frisbee and other games.

  He sat on one of the benches close to the street. The two men had fallen back even more, but they were still within his sight.

  Clint stretched his legs out and massaged his calf, acting like it was bothering him.

  The two men started to get closer and he prepared himself.

  They were speaking in low tones, and Clint cursed that he couldn’t make out the words. He waited until they were a few feet away before standing and facing them.

  “Can I help you gentlemen?” Clint asked in his most menacing tone.

  They jerked back but didn’t say anything.

  “You’ve been following me for some time,” Clint said directly. “What can I do for you?”

  The younger one, with black hair and a sneer on his face, straightened his shoulders. “Are we supposed to be afraid of you, evil creature?” he replied, turning up his lip.

  Clint leaped over the bench and immediately grasped him by the throat, lifting him off the ground. The man struggled in his hold. His partner took a step toward Clint, but Clint just growled. He froze and Clint heard Kurt’s truck skid to a stop.

  His friend was beside him in seconds. “What seems to be the problem here?”

  Clint shook the guy he still had a hold of. “We’re evil creatures,” he shared with Kurt.

  Kurt shrugged. “Okay?”

  The older man started to sputter. “You…you p-put him down right now.”

  Clint scoffed, “I don’t think so.”

  “Talk and talk fast before my friend here loses his temper,” Kurt ordered.

  “We just want a meeting!” he cried.

  Clint lowered the younger guy but didn’t release his hold. “So you insult me?”

  The man shook his head. “No, no…he didn’t mean it.”

  Clint snorted and glanced at Kurt. Kurt crossed his massive arms over his chest. “Meeting with who?”

  “Your boss. We have an associate that would like to have a word with the Alpha,” he said, still clearly upset.

  Clint and Kurt exchanged glances. There was no Alpha there. That was not how the Council worked. So at least these two men didn’t know about the Council Alphas. That was a relief.

  “And how do you know one of us isn’t the Alpha?” Kurt asked with a smirk.

  “The Alpha never leaves. No one has ever seen him. You two have been around town and only in the last month,” the man replied smugly.

  Kurt narrowed his eyes. It was obvious they had been under surveillance. “We’ll pass along the message,” Kurt stated.

  “No, that’s not good enough,” the man argued. “We must present this to your Alpha ourselves. We demand you take us to him.”

  Clint snorted. “You have no idea who the Alpha is, and you think we’ll just take you to meet him? Either you two are the biggest dumbasses I’ve ever met or you think we are.” He lifted the man higher then launched him several feet, making sure both strangers understood just how strong they were.

  The young man flew into the street where he landed hard. He groaned and rolled into a ball.

  “Your card?” Kurt asked, holding out his hand.

  The older man scrambled to pull out his wallet and slapped a card into Kurt’s hand then hurried over to his partner.

  Kurt motioned his head to his truck and he and Kurt climbed inside. Clint kept his eye on the two humans until Kurt had driven them out of sight.

  Once he couldn’t see the strangers any longer, he sat back in his seat and grinned at Kurt. “Man, that was fun.”

  Kurt chuckled. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. If you don’t get to choke someone every few weeks you seem to get cranky.”

  Clint flipped his friend off but was still smiling. “So what was that really about?”

  Kurt shook his head. “They had to know that we would never have taken them into the compound. Maybe it was just their way to let us know we’re being watched?”

  Clint chewed on his bottom lip. They had tracked him down at the coffee shop. That meant they knew his schedule. He didn’t like that one bit. He didn’t want to put Sara in any danger.

  That thought worried him above all else.

  “So how’d it go with your girl? Did you actually talk to her this time or did you just grunt at her like you normally do?” Kurt asked, eyeing him with amusement.

  Clint slumped in his seat. “I don’t grunt at her,” he argued.

  Kurt laughed. “Sure, man, you don’t grunt at her.”

  Clint ignored his friend. He was pretty sure that Sara didn’t think he just grunted at her. The two strangers’ eyes weren’t the only ones that had been on him. While Sara had been cleaning, she had also been checking Clint out. Of course, that didn’t cause the same unsettled and aggressive feelings that the two men had. No, when Sara watched him it was different. His cock perked up and his blood pumped in his veins.

  For ten years he had followed every order and given every second of his time to protect what he believed in. Now, as he moved out of that responsibility to another phase in his life, he wanted someone to share it with.

  He didn’t know if Sara was the one he was meant to settle down with, but she sure was who he wanted. But he couldn’t exactly say that to Kurt.

  Kurt had given up his first love, had only recently seen her again, and he’d had to watch her with another man.

  Clint didn’t believe that Kurt still loved Becca. He thought it was more that Kurt had reached the point where he was looking back on his life and seeing his mistakes.

  They reached the gates and the same two guards as earlier waved them through.

  Kurt stopped the truck in front of them. “We ran across some trouble in town. Make sure you keep an eye out. No one gets through without one of the Council’s approval.”

  Both men nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  Clint grinned at the eagerness of the two guards. They had been scared shitless of Kurt and Clint when they’d first arrived. Now it had turned mostly to awe.

  “Stuff it. They’re just kids,” Kurt grumbled as he drove toward the house.

  “Yes, sir,” Clint said as seriously as he could.

  Kurt ignored his cheekiness. “I’m going to take this card to the Council. You wanna come?”

  Clint trusted the guards but he wanted to check out th
e property himself. Plus shifting would help calm him after the spike of adrenaline from the encounter with the two humans.

  “I think I’ll check around the property. Make sure everything is secure,” Clint replied.

  Kurt pulled the truck up to the compound and stopped. “Sounds good. I’ll let them know you’ll be available if they have any more questions.”

  They went their separate ways. Kurt headed inside the house and Clint continued on around the side of the building. He jogged toward the line of trees and once under cover started to strip.

  He knew the rotation of the guards and had timed it where no one would come up on him in the middle of his shift.

  He breathed deeply, double checking he was, in fact, alone. Satisfied, he dropped down and started to shift.

  In wolf form he was huge. Kurt had taken a picture of him once and Clint had been impressed with his animal form. He loved to shift. The freedom of being able to do so anytime he was in the compound was one of the reasons that he was thinking of accepting the Council’s job offer.

  Once he was on all four furry paws, he took off to run the length of the fence that surrounded the property. He kept his attention on the scents around him, making sure no one and nothing had come over the barrier and only those that belonged where present. He also kept an eye out for any weakness in the fence.

  He was proud that the security was still holding strong. The compound was secure. Once he was certain everything was in place, he trotted back under cover. Instead of shifting back right away, he decided to lay under the shade of one of the trees to rest.

  The events of the morning hadn’t been too bad. He had handled worse. But the possibility that he could be putting Sara and the coffee shop in danger really bugged him.

  It pissed him off, as matter of fact.

  He would shift later and sneak back into town. He knew that Kurt would go with him if he asked, but this was something he wanted to do on his own.

  Kurt would understand. His friend had been pushing Clint to make his move on Sara for a while now. Clint had been waiting until he’d made a decision whether to stay or not before he approached her for anything more than coffee.

  The strangers in town had taken time away from his plan. But he knew he could protect Sara. Watch over the entire town if he needed to. It was what he was trained for.

  He was the hunter of the unit. His senses were the sharpest of them all, and the unit he’d been assigned to had never been ambushed in all their years of service. He had experience blending in with his surroundings and knew he could get to town and back without anyone seeing him.

  Resting his head on his paws, he closed his eyes and just let the sounds of the leaves in the breeze sing him to sleep.

  Chapter Three

  Sara closed the door of the dishwasher with her hip, then remained leaning against it. She gazed out of the kitchen window that overlooked her back yard. Her night ended as most people her age were just beginning theirs.

  Having to get up at four every morning and be at the coffee house by five, she rarely stayed up past nine-thirty or ten.

  She poured a half glass of white wine before she walked to the back door. It was dark out, but the light from her porch illuminated her garden and flowers.

  Her backyard was one of her favorite projects. All her extra money went to having an oasis to relax in day or night. She had several wicker chairs and couches that were just perfect to snuggle in and read on the big wood deck. She even had a couple of wood benches close to her planters.

  This late in the evening, she enjoyed sitting outside and just relaxing. Nothing to do and no one she had to talk to.

  The cool night air felt like a caress as she stepped out of the back door. The last days of fall were approaching and soon winter frost would cover her yard.

  Since it was such a nice night, she moved to the bench at the edge of the property. There was a small opening that led to a trail she liked to hike on her days off.

  She had a perfect view of the snow-covered mountains during the day, but even though she couldn’t seem them clearly just then, she didn’t mind. She’d stared at the view so many times that she could paint it with her eyes closed. That was, if she could paint at all.

  She tucked her legs under her and brought the wine glass up to her lips. Another soft breeze blew over her and she shivered a little even in her pajama pants and long-sleeve Henley.

  She heard a rustling sound by the trail and bent forward. Her eyes had adjusted to the low light, but she couldn’t make out the shape. She squinted to see if there was any movement.

  Yes, something was there.

  She straightened but kept her eye on the spot where she could see the shadowed figure. It was some sort of animal, a dog or something.

  She grinned. “I know you’re there, and you know that I know. Why don’t you just come out of hiding?” she called. She didn’t feel stupid talking to an animal. It wasn’t like anyone else could hear her.

  She almost dropped her wine glass when the animal started crawling forward. As soon as she got a good view, she knew it wasn’t a dog. It was a wolf!

  And the size of it. Wow!

  She lowered her feet to the ground and the wolf stopped.

  “Oh no, baby, don’t stop now,” she murmured.

  She should be out of her mind with fear, but she was so excited. She hadn’t seen anything so gorgeous in her life.

  The wolf crept forward. Pure white—not a spot of another color that she could see. She sat her wine glass on the ground next to her and gripped her knees to keep from reaching out to the animal.

  She stared down at the wolf and when he lifted his head she noticed the deep chocolate eyes.

  Her breath caught. Could it be Clint?

  She scooted to the very edge of the bench. The wolf crawled forward a few more inches.

  She tried to remember everything she had read about shifters. If she talked to him, would he understand her?

  “You are so pretty. Can you come closer?”

  The wolf moved forward and she gasped in surprise. Did he understand her?

  “Do you…?” she stumbled over her words. How could she ask?

  The wolf cocked his head to one side and the movement surprised a laugh out of her. She had no doubt he knew exactly what she was saying.

  She waved her hand, asking the animal to come closer. Finally he was on his stomach right in front of her. She bent and with a shaky hand petted his back.

  The hair—or was it fur?—was super soft, much like dogs’ fur, and she buried her hand deeper, rubbing harder. The wolf made a sound, something between a moan and growl, but it didn’t scare her.

  Very carefully she slid off the bench and down next to him. He remained low and let her guide him to his side.

  It was awesome having the wolf laid out like a pet while she ran her fingers over the muscles and toned flank.

  “I never would have believed I would be petting a wolf like this,” she said.

  The animal lifted his head and looked back at her.

  “But you’re not just an animal, are you?” she questioned.

  The wolf shook his head.

  “Clint?”

  The wolf actually nodded.

  She laughed. “Wow!” she said in awe.

  They sat there for a long time, the wolf on his side and her next to him, rubbing his fur up and down. The night got cooler and she started to shiver.

  She was disappointed when he rolled back to his feet and stood. He nudged her shoulder with his head.

  “I know—I should go in, but this was just so cool.” She stood and stretched. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

  The wolf ran his head under her hand and she patted him.

  “I hope to see you for coffee tomorrow?” she told him. She hoped this appearance didn’t mean Clint was leaving. Maybe this was his way of saying goodbye or something.

  She wanted to get to know him better. And his sharing this secret side had to mean
he wanted the same, right?

  She gave him one last stroke before walking inside. At the door, she paused with her hand on the knob and looked back. Clint, still in wolf form, remained in the yard. She smiled and went inside. She locked the door behind her and only then did the wolf turn and trot out of view.

  Sara, floating from the wonderful experience, turned off the lights and made her way to bed. She had a feeling that she would be dreaming of Clint again that night.

  She undressed then slipped beneath the covers. With a smile, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

  * * * *

  Clint stood in front of the coffee shop with Kurt and braced himself to see Sara again.

  He hadn’t planned on letting her see him in his shifter form the night before. He had just been checking on her, making sure no one else was around and watching her.

  But when he’d caught a glimpse of her standing at the kitchen sink, he hadn’t been able to make himself leave. So he had crouched down as she’d made her way to the door.

  In his shifted form he’d been able to see clearly and watch. When she’d started outside, he had frozen, wanting so badly to be close to her.

  He’d known he was taking a chance. She was human and didn’t understand the world that he lived in. He didn’t want to put her in danger, but she called to him. Never before meeting Sara had he felt the intense attraction that swept over him every time he was close to her. He wanted to know more about the woman, though he knew it wasn’t safe.

  Clint opened the door to the coffee shop and stepped inside with Kurt on his heels. The first thing he noticed was the two men from yesterday. They didn’t glance in his direction, but they were most certainly aware of him and Kurt.

  He then noticed that two other tables held patrons who were dressed like the two men. All the patrons watched him and Kurt openly.

  There were no other customers in the place.

  Sara stood behind the bar talking with her employee and when she caught sight of him, something like relief spread over her features. She nodded over at them.