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She noticed Micha first. He stood fully upright on two uninjured legs as he wrestled a pair of pants on. The skin of his calf was merely smooth and tanned. Awe robbed her of some of her frustration. No wonder they’d been gone so long—if this was what shifting could do to them. Heal.
With renewed interest, she turned to McGoven. He ignored the T-shirts in favor of another pair of sweatpants which he already had on. Mud streaked him from head to toe, and he looked exhausted, but oddly…satisfied at the same time. The exercise of running obviously agreed with him.
But…
“Where’s Naomi?”
The two men shared a look.
“She’s home,” Micha blurted finally.
“Home?” The remnants of the girl’s clothes were right in front of her, by the door. Loren suspected there wasn’tamallout in the woods, stocked with clothing suitable for Naomi Tanner.
Considering hewasn’tarrested, she figured that it was unlikely McGoven had marched the girl up her front walkway, completely butt naked, either.
“Home,” McGoven insisted, tightening the drawstring to his pants. “She’s safe.”
“She’s pretty, too,” Micha gushed around a crooked grin. “You think I have a shot? You know, once she gets used to the wholeTeen wolfthing.”
McGoven ignored him. As the thrill of his change wore off, his frown returned. Those gray eyes found hers, and for the first time, she sensed an emotion in them that wasn’t stern, or determined. Just…exhausted.
“Loren—” He sighed and nodded to the back door. “We need to talk.”
“Okay.” She followed him without hesitation.
As she slipped onto the porch, she could hear Micha shuffling into the kitchen. “Wow!” he exclaimed. “Is all this food for us?”
Loren felt too uneasy to answer him. It was freezing out,though before she really had the chance to feel it in full force, a fierce heat was there to displace the chill.Pine.He stood behind her, not quite touching, but when he spoke, she could practically feel his voice traveling right down her spine in a low, deep rumble.
“Let me explain…”
“What?” She whirled to face him, not knowing what to expect. What shefoundin his expression completely threw her off.
He looked…vulnerable.There was an aching softness to that stern jaw that she had never seen before. Unlike earlier, those eyes were a soft, wistful shade of gray that seemed hesitant to meet hers full-on.
“Ask me whatever you want,” he said seriously. “I’ll try to explain. I know it wasn’t easy for you to see that. It looked violent. Barbaric, even.”
Loren bit her lower lip. In hindsight, barbaric wasn’t the word she’d use. Perhaps just…primal. “Where is Naomi?” she asked.
“She’shome. I wasn’t lying about that—” He broke off to run a hand through his hair. Then, he gestured for her to follow him over to the steps, where he sat down on the top one.
Loren shuddered. The stair wasn’t all that large, and she had to sit close enough for her shoulder to brush his. Not that it was exactly a bad feeling...
She felt warm for a change. The icy, evening air barely affected her at all.
“So, Naomi’s home?” She risked sneaking a glance at him.
“Yes,” he said emphatically. “I swear. Her parents were there, but I managed to come up with a…plausible story to explain why she didn’t come home last night.”
Loren glanced at him sharply. “Naked?” Even now, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he was the type of person who could draw notice wearing a sweater.
“That didn’t matter, trust me.” Something that could have been a frown tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I can be very…persuasivewhen I want to be. I was able to tell the Tanners a plausible story to explain why Naomi didn’t come home last night—afterMicha snuck into her room to get her clothes.”
Loren felt a flicker of amusement. Despite his“powers of persuasion,”he wasn’t stupid.
“If you’re curious,” he added, “I told them she didn’t want to risk driving in the storm. So, you suggested that she stay the night.”
“So, what happens next?”
