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She had been in the gym for maybe an hour when the door opened, letting a cool burst of circulated air from the outer hall enter. From the mirrored wall in front of her, she could see a tall, slim blonde with a regal air enter the room.
Her nose told her the woman was another wolf. Zee smelled pack on the woman. Niko’s pack.
It was a light scent, subtle, interwoven with the woman’s natural scent but it was enough to make Zee’s heart clench, because the closest she’d ever come to having a real pack, a real home, had been the time she’d spent here in Durham-Starfell.
As the woman moved to a hybrid treadmill, one that operated off a mix of solar and user-generated power, her gaze met Zee’s for a brief moment.
She hesitated near the machine, still studying Zee as her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Zee arched a brow.
The other woman’s body language transmitted a great deal in those few seconds, most of which Zee tucked away when the woman finally offered a curt nod and mounted the treadmill, powering it on.
It was a silent machine, even when in use and the woman’s breaths came in a steady rhythm as she started to run.
The mirror mounted on the wall in front of them showed the sleek, clean lines of her and the pretty, soft blue of her eyes as she stared hard at Zee.
Among predatory shifters, it was a blatant challenge.
The wolf inside Zee paced restlessly, but her other nature watched in patient, practiced silence, taking everything in. It was only the human part of Zee that was wary.
Sixty seconds passed before the woman spoke. “You must be Samuel Day’s daughter. Zennia?”
“Yes.”
The blonde just nodded and kept running, her study of Zee no longer quite so intense. No, Zee thought, the intensity remained, but she’d become far less obvious about it.
Zee decided to let it go for the time being, focusing on her own workout. It helped to some degree, the weight machines set for a stringent arm workout, calculated to push her hard in an effort to help drain away the accumulated adrenaline that still practically choked her.
Nearly five more minutes of silence passed.
“I heard Shale Kalu was with you when he was injured.”
The softly spoken words caught Zee off guard, but maybe not as much as the other woman might have expected. Zee had been almost painfully aware of how closely the woman continued to watch her, hiding her scrutiny under a fringe of lashes or from the mirror when she thought Zee wasn’t watching.
But Zee felt that gaze, like a fiery burn on her skin.
“Yes. I needed a break from the crowds at my father’s wake. Shale was kind enough to take me for a walk. It didn’t end well.” Zee never looked away from her own reflection as she rose from a seated position and adjusted the machine so she could do pull-ups unassisted.
“Especially not for him,” the other woman murmured.
“No.” Zee didn’t offer anything else.
The door swung open to admit Boone and he scowled at the blonde, eyes narrowing on her long, supple back as if the sight of her personally offended the lieutenant.
“Hannah, what the fuck are you doing in here?”
If Zee hadn’t already been watching the other woman so closely, she never would have noticed how the other woman stumbled ever so slightly in her smooth, effortless pace.
Hannah...
She knew that name.
