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“I’ll bet he’ll love that. I’ll be back as soon as I find out what’s up with the fence.”
Meredith stopped Brandy before she could leave. “Be careful if you go on the other side. Swift is not afraid to shoot anything that moves apparently.”
Brandy gave her mother a short nod and left the house. Reardon hoped she’d give up looking for that gap in the fence quickly.
Because there was no gap.
Chapter Twelve
After spending half the afternoon searching for apparently nonexistent gaps in the sanctuary’s fence, Brandy tended to the other wolves—because, oh yeah, fifteenotherwolves lived at Silver Moon. Her mind had been so ultra-focused on Alator that her other sweet babies had been neglected. She made up for it with some playtime and extra treats, which appeared to be enough reparation on her part. She’d received happy licks and appreciative nuzzles from the pack and had made her way back to the house.
Where her eyes zeroed in on the one wolf who had completely stolen her heart.
Why?What in the world was so freaking special about Alator? Yes, he was bigger than the other wolves at Silver Moon, but it was more than that. Behind those green-gold eyes of his, Brandy saw… something.
“Hey, big boy,” she whispered as she approached his bed and got to her knees beside it.
The TV was on, and Dylan was sprawled on the couch, snoring like a much, much bigger human. Gently, she nudged him over to his left side, getting him off his back and silencing the roaring Mack truck sounds. He mumbled something about not wanting peas with dinner then buried his face in the couch cushions, continuing his nap.
Chuckling to herself, Brandy slid Dylan’s comic book onto the coffee table then turned her attention back to Alator who was now looking at her. His head was slightly raised off the fluffy bed as if to say,I’m not sleeping. Do you want to chat?
“Yeah, I do want to chat, buddy.” She sat on the floor by the bed and ran her hands up and down Alator’s front paws. His eyes disappeared in that face of black for a minute then focused back on her. “I’ve actually got a few questions that need answering.” She moved on to rubbing his jagged ear.
A low grumble vibrated out of him, followed by a tail wag and a paw over his nose, as if he were hiding from her.
“Oh, you don’t want to answer questions?” She grabbed his paw and pulled it off his snout. He licked her hand, his tongue rough yet warm. “Wolf kisses will do you no good. I want to know how you got to the other side of the fence, big boy. Because it’s not broken anywhere.”
She stared at him, half expecting an answer to flow from his canine lips. Of course, that was ridiculous. Wolves didn’t talk. Not with words anyway.
“Are you magical or something? You appeared in the woods out of nowhere. I can’t determine where you came from. You heal quickly from serious wounds. And then you can escape like Houdini. What’s that all about?”
Alator rolled to his back, a small whine sounding as he no doubt moved his injured leg too much. He managed to stay on his back though, his front paws hanging in front of him and his head tilted at a coy, aren’t-I-adorable manner.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re super cute, but that’s not what we’re talking about.”
“And what does one talk to wolves about?” Meredith walked into the living room carrying a glass of iced tea. She handed it to Brandy and sat in the recliner perpendicular to the couch.
Brandy took a swig of the tea, relishing its cool descent down her throat. Walking the entire perimeter of the sanctuary and playing with the other wolves out there in the summer temperatures had heated her up pretty good.
“Right now I’m grilling this one about how the hell he got outside the sanctuary.” She angled her hands at Alator who had rolled back to his side, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, making her laugh.
“Let me guess,” Meredith said. “No fence issues.”
“Not a one. It’s as if he somehow beamed himself out.”
“The new question then iswhyhe felt he needed to be on the other side. What did he see? What did he want? Where was he going?” Meredith settled deeper into the recliner, looking as if she might follow Dylan’s lead and take a nap as well.
Where was he going?That question bugged Brandy. Had Alator been trying to leave? Did he not like it at Silver Moon? Was there somewhere else he’d rather be?
Brandy squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn’t going to get answers to those questions either, so what was the point in thinking them? She looked back down at Alator. He met her gaze directly, and a vision of Reardon looking at her after they’d made love last night zipped across her mind, making her jolt.
What was that about?More importantly, what time was it?
She squinted at the time on the cable box under the TV and popped up. “Oh, shit!”
“What’s the matter?” Meredith opened one eye.
“I nearly forgot Reardon was coming by for dinner. I haven’t even cooked anything.” She pulled at her blood-stained shorts and brushed at her dirty knees. “I need to shower and change and…” She took a step toward the stairs then stepped back to Alator’s bed then pivoted again.
