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She’d landscaped following a simple Mediterranean design with straight gravel paths, Italian Cypress trees, and a purple flowering ground cover. Several large stone pots dotted the patio and contained a mixture of citrus trees and yellow hibiscus. Closer to the master bedroom end of the yard, she had a rectangular stretch of lawn which her human gardening service maintained along with the rest of her property.
She entered through the sliding patio door to her kitchen. By habit, she poured herself a glass of Pinot Grigio and prepared a small plate of parmesan, sweet grapes and salty crackers. She took her feast, including the bottle of wine, back to the patio. In the early hours of the morning, the late September temperature was about perfect.
As she ate, Grant came to mind like a sudden breeze. Memories surged as they had off-and-on all night.
What kept drawing her back was the kiss at Boulders Beach and how, because the dreamglide had lowered her inhibitions, she’d almost made love to a wolf.
She felt so many things that her mind reeled.
She took a long drink of wine then lifted her gaze skyward, to the few scattered stars. Only the brightest showed through. There was too much city-light.
A few more swallows and the wine began to ease through her veins. She felt her limbs start to relax.
The kisses had been heaven, the first she’d had in six years. The first she’d allowed herself.
She’d forgotten the immense comfort a man’s arms could offer. She’d even forgotten the quick, exhilarating burst of desire she could feel. She’d wanted sex with Grant like the wind craving space to gather speed.
Something about the wolf had electrified her body.
She took another long sip.
She didn’t want to want him, but oh, God, she did.
Settling her wine glass on the table, she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
She couldn’t be with a wolf. There was a part of her that loathed Savage Territory and the nature of the wolf alter. Each time she saw the results of wolf teeth and powerful wolf jaws, her dislike grew.
When Alexis had disappeared during the Fae-Wolf Wars, she’d broken her vow to stay removed from the conflict. She’d used her futurism to predict the location of the next wolf attack. The fae victory that followed, as well as the deaths of several wolves, had been shouted to the heavens.
But she’d seen the bodies of the dead and had known that these weren’t rogue enemies, but members of one of the twelve packs. She’d been misled and had ceased her involvement then and there. It was one thing to be attacking vicious wolves who lived apart from pack life and were a law unto themselves, but quite another to be engaged in an ongoing battle with hard-working pack members. She knew the difference and was angry with those fae officers who had told her they were dealing with rogues intent on killing fae.
She’d shed countless tears and eventually had gone to the Tribunal begging for an intervention. She didn’t stop pleading her case until finally the Trib relented and stepped in to end the conflict.
She ate a few grapes and stacked thin slices of parmesan on the crackers. She refilled her glass and drank more wine.
When she lifted her glass to her lips, she noticed something very odd on the backs of her hands. She set her glass down and held her hands up at eye-level. She didn’t know what she was looking at. A rainbow-like luminescence floated across the surface of her skin and seemed to be in motion.
Oddly enough, she wasn’t frightened or distressed, which she should have been. Instead, the iridescent movement felt like part of her.
She sat back in her chair and the colors began to fade then disappeared. Where had it gone, and could she bring it back?
She sought about in her mind for some clue as to why she’d suddenly developed such a strange physical symptom in the first place.
What had she just been thinking about?
The answer was simple: the wolves of Savage.
Just like that, the iridescence returned and moved over her skin once more. She brought Grant forward within her mind and held him there. The colors intensified. She explored her desire for him, then pondered what she thought of his character and his worth, about his former life as a science teacher, even about Renee. More movement, more color.
She switched her focus to some of the fae Border Patrol officers she knew and gradually the odd colors and movement faded. But the moment she brought Grant back to mind, the colors returned.
She tried another experiment and settled her mind on Talya, who was fae. The signs disappeared. Then she focused on Savage Territory and the two alphas who were doing good things for their packs, Alphas Warren and Fergus. The iridescence strengthened once more.
She continued doing this, losing the sign when she thought of anything other than wolves and Savage, but regaining it no matter which part of wolf-life she began to think about.
There was only one conclusion and it felt like a blow to the back of her head: Whatever this was on her hands, it was wolf.
She blinked. It couldn’t be.
