Page 27 of Ice King

“Whew,” I whistled and swirled my glass. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little apprehensive about buying the entire story. I like to consider myself a woman of science. Are you sure all this hoopla isn’t one big hoax?”

“What if I told you I’ve seen one shift?”

A gasp left my mouth before I could stop it. “You have?”

Her frown was exaggerated. “No, and I so want to. Even Jake won’t shift for me.”

“I see.”

“If you don’t believe me, go online. You can find a lot of information on the internet. Just keep in mind that there are a lot of rumors and lies about them. A lot. Even the team still faces criticism and what many believers call pure bigotry. People are on both sides of the fence, which is why if you go to an away game, you’ll learn just how divided some people can be.”

“Humans.”

Roxanne folded her arms on the table, nodding. “Yes, but also some wolves. I’ve lived in North Bend long enough to know there are some older packs that are none too thrilled their existence has been shoved into the open. There’s been some violence between packs that has become very bloody. They mostly take care of their own situations, but sometimes, it crosses over.”

“Wow. I can imagine what doctors are thinking.”

“They have their own medical professionals, although not in every city. From what I heard, Ford has a human doctor who wasn’t quite certain what to do with his physical needs. The weird thing about his injury is that he should have fully healed by now.”

“Why?”

“Another one of their unique attributes. Rapid healing. For some reason though, Ford isn’t healing like a shifter, but like a human instead.”

That was an interesting dilemma. “Look, even if I buy all this mumbo-jumbo, which I’d not certain I can, I don’t know if I can help him.”

“Something tells me you’re exactly what he needs. My father believes in you and I realize there’s more to your skills than you’re sharing with anyone. The Wolfman needs more than just physical help. He’s hurting inside and if what I heard was true, that’s for him to tell you.”

She picked a fine time to be an honorable human being. Now I was more than curious. Plus, I was hot all over. How was that possible?

“I need to think about what you’ve told me. Not that I’m leaving. I’m just overwhelmed and unsure I’m going to be helpful.”

“You don’t know him like the rest of us do. You’ve sparked something in him. Don’t give up. Besides, I’ll let you in on a little secret about shifter men.”

“Uh-oh. Do I want to know?”

She rolled her eyes slightly and the look on her face was priceless, full of the earlier mischief. “That depends on just how close you get to Ford.”

“Your spidey sense was wrong. We aren’t getting along. At all. As in oil and water.”

“My spidey sense is never wrong.” She leaned so far over the table I found myself doing the same. She even lowered her voice to ensure wolf ears weren’t listening to what she was about to say. “They are all extremely well hung.”

“What?” Her comment was something I never would have thought I’d hear coming out of anyone’s mouth, let alone someone I just had an initial conversation with.

Not that what we’d discussed had been conventional in any way.

“I’m not kidding.” She sucked in her lips, her eyes sparkling in the dim lighting. Then she used both hands indicating size and God help me, not only did I blush in several crimson shades, but I also felt myself swooning just a tiny bit.

Not because I didn’t know, but because I already did.

Oh, what a very bad girl I’d been.

* * *

“Run, little Red Riding Hood. Run.” His voice came from everywhere, deep and husky, evoking dark and sinful desires as he’d done from the beginning. “But you won’t escape me.”

“Yes, I will,” I retorted, laughing softly as I did.

“Think again. I’m going to find you.”