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Her long and curly, light brown hair was scattered everywhere like a wind had come up or at the very least a battle with three rogue wolves. Yet it suited her face and the light in her eyes. She wore a patterned silk tunic in teal and violet shades. She no longer wore her holster.
He realized with a start that if he’d been in his human form, he would have asked for her number. As it was, he’d no more date a fae woman than he’d put his boots on the wrong feet. He didn’t have anything against her kind, some of his good friends were fae Border Patrol officers. But he was one solid dominance fight away from taking over the Meldorin Pack and wresting it from the worst alpha wolf ever born. He wanted a female wolf for his alpha-mate. A fae was not even on the farthest reaches of his radar.
Still, he kept looking at her. “You’re a good shot and you saved my life. I don’t know if I could have handled all three wolves once they shifted.”
“You were wounded as well. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d make it to the refuge.”
He chuckled. “I couldn’t figure out why, if I had the victim’s abdominal wound held tight against my stomach, I kept feeling all this blood flowing down my chest and under my arm. One of the wolves had a blade.”
“I figured.”
He narrowed his gaze. “You aren’t with the Border Patrol or the Tribunal Law Enforcement service, are you? Because I’m sure I’ve met everyone.”
“No, I’m not.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Then, why were you even out there, with a weapon? When I heard the shot, I thought it was one of my pack-mates or a fellow officer.”
She looked away, her softly-arched brows high on her forehead. “As to that, it seems your wife, I mean her spirit, showed up at my studio, in the middle of a futurist session, and told me to get my ass out to the Graveyard.”
His wife? Renee? He didn’t understand. “My wife?” His voice had dropped almost to a whisper. How many times had he begged for her to pay him a ghostly visit? Six years ago, when she died, he’d spent a small fortune with deadtalkers trying to bring her back, to have one last conversation with her, to apologize for not being able to save her.
Yet, here she was somehow involved in saving a fae female from a Graveyard mauling.
“Well, she said she was your wife. I had no reason not to believe her. She had an attitude, real no-nonsense. I liked her.”
“Sounds like Renee.”
“Sorry for your loss.”
“It was a long time ago. Six years now.”
She remained standing beside him, shoulder to shoulder. They faced the drawn curtain of the emergency bay. He could hear voices now and was pretty sure the victim was awake and talking, if quietly.
“Are they here?” the woman asked. “I want to thank them.”
Natalie pushed away from the wall. He followed suit.
Emma appeared from behind the curtain and waved them close. In a quiet voice, she said, “She’s come around, but she’s very weak and traumatized. She’ll need rest. Just let her lead the conversation. She might need to talk.”
He and Natalie each nodded.
Emma drew the curtain back slowly. The top of the bed had been raised so that the woman was no longer flat on her back. She was covered in a soft, blue blanket as well. She had long, rust-colored hair and light blue eyes. “My name is Talya and I understand together you brought me in from the Graveyard.” A smile quavered on her lips. Blue flames still appeared on her neck and cheeks.
“We did,” Natalie said.
“How are you feeling?” Grant asked.
Her smile broadened. Grant had a sudden sense of a tender, kind spirit. He hated the thought that wolves had done this to her. Rage worked at the edges of his mind, but he pushed it back. She didn’t need to see the resulting wolf-sign if he got mad. He’d sprout fur in a few places and his maw would elongate.
He forced himself to take a sustained, deep breath.
Talya’s gaze became fixed to his. “I know I died, at least for a moment. But there was a woman waiting for me with long blond hair. She kept shoving at me with both hands. She didn’t understand that I wasn’t there to leave Five Bridges. I think I was looking for you.”
“Did this woman also have blue eyes?” He asked.
“She did.”
