Loyal Wolf. Linda O. Johnston

the trees. “What is our next plan of action? Did you learn anything by sending Click to the encampment of those supposed sportsmen last night?”

      “Click’s presence there did give us some ideas,” Jock said. Rather, it was his own presence. And it certainly had triggered what he intended to be their next course of action.

      In wolf form, he had looked for—and found—some portions of the surrounding chain-link fence that were less secure and more penetrable by a canine observer than the rest of it.

      He intended to return tonight under cover of darkness, and in his wolfen form.

      He’d not seen or heard enough to understand what was really going on there, let alone how best to deal with it.

      “What do you smell, boy?” Kathlene was talking to Click, whose nose was all but buried in a stack of dead leaves.

      Jock scented it, too, of course. His sense of smell was much more acute than any person’s besides other shifters, even when in human form. But he was hardly going to tell Kathlene that the dog was fascinated by the odor of a pile of pheasant droppings.

      “Must be something interesting,” Jock said mildly. “But we’d better keep on the move.”

      He nevertheless waited until Click lifted his leg to imbue the area with his own canine smell. And then they continued on.

      “So what are those ideas you came up with?” Kathlene asked, walking directly behind him as they made their way through the towering trees that had a sweet, piney aroma.

      Unfortunately, she hadn’t been fully distracted by Click and his reaction to the odors of the woods.

      “We need more information about what’s going on inside the compound,” Jock said. “For one thing, we’ll want to know where the sportsmen hang out when they’re in town. If possible, we’ll act like we’re of the same hunting mind-set and also want to engage in target practice and have the fun of killing whatever game is in season.”

      Even though that was contrary to his way of thinking. There were plenty of farm animals raised to be meat. He might feel sorry for them, but he was definitely carnivorous. He was a wolf in human form.

      But in his opinion creatures that were wild, like wolves, should be permitted to stay that way. Survival of the fittest would allow them to feed on their own kinds of prey.

      Humans did not need to kill or eat them.

      “I can give you some information about that,” Kathlene said. “There are a couple of bars in town where the sheriff’s department has been called in because of some altercations between our townsfolk and some nonresidents. One’s a sports bar near our headquarters—Arnie’s. At least some of those who’ve gotten out of control came to town from that ranch.”

      “Good. We’ll work that out soon, then.”

      “But not tonight?” She sounded curious. Too curious.

      He knew what was coming next.

      “No, not tonight.”

      “Then what are we doing tonight?” she asked.

      We. Of course she would assume it would be we.

      Which it was. But that we included only Ralf and him. Not her. Not for what he had planned tonight.

      Click stopped to circle slightly before defecating. Good. That gave Jock an opportunity to stop, too, and turn and face Kathlene.

      He drew himself up as much as possible and looked down on her slim, yet official-looking form in her deputy sheriff’s uniform.

      But for this purpose, he was in charge, her job notwithstanding.

      “Ralf and Click and I are going to do pretty much as we did last night,” he told her. “Observation and reconnaissance at the perimeter of the target facility. Just us.” He raised his hand to stop her as she opened her mouth to protest. “I know you’re part of our team. You won that right. But we can’t spend our time worrying about where you are and if you’re okay, especially when we’re just doing our preliminary examinations. You can work with us, participate in other aspects of what we’re doing—but only if you listen to what I’m telling you now.” And obey me, but he knew better than to say that.

      She glared up at him. Damn, but that firm chin, that angry scowl on such a beautiful face...it turned him on. Even more than her presence already generated reactions inside—and outside—him that he’d never have imagined would occur with a woman in uniform, especially when that uniform was not one associated with Alpha Force.

      “Then you promise that this will be the only time you’ll not include me in your plans from now on.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. Her voice was chilly, but not even that forced his body to lose interest.

      “Yes,” he lied as he stooped to clean up after Click. “I promise—as long as you promise not to interfere with what we’re doing tonight.”