The Finding (27 page)

He hastily
removed his hands from her oh-so-tempting rear and grasped her
upper arms, pushing her away. She mewed in discontent, straining
forward, trying to reconnect. Bryan ignored her protests and looked
around. Thank heaven there was still no one about.

“Cassandra!
Hey, Cassandra!” Bryan gave her shoulders a quick shake. She gave
him a dazed look and he realized that her wolf side was still
foremost in her mind. “Cassandra, snap out of it.” He tapped her
cheek lightly and watched as her eyes lost their unfocussed
appearance. Blinking, she gave her head a shake and he noted that
the human half of her seemed to be regaining the upper hand.

Bryan made a
mental note that he’d really have to work with her on integrating
the two parts of herself. Right now it was as if she were two
different beings. He’d never encountered a case like that; it
reinforced his suspicions that she was probably completely
uninformed about their species. Most werewolves conversed with
their wolf as if it were a friend that was constantly with them.
They shared thoughts and feelings, but the human half never
completely submerged even when they shifted. The wolf within
recognized and accepted that its human held the superior position
in the relationship. Only a totally repressed wolf would seek to
become dominant in order to be heard.

“Nice to have
you back.” He gave her a crooked grin and rubbed her arms
soothingly knowing it might be difficult for her to reorient
herself.

Cassandra
stared at him in surprise for a second before trying to escape his
hands. “Oh no, it’s you again!” She pressed her hands to his chest,
perhaps intent on pushing him away, but something made her glance
down at herself instead. Her face flushed red and an embarrassed
squeak emitted from her lips as she realized she was naked. “Oh my
gosh! What did you do with my clothes, you...you...pervert?”

She shot him an
accusing glare while quickly removing her hands from his chest and
trying to cover herself with her hands in an age old gesture of
modesty. Bryan was tempted to protest that it wasn’t his fault, but
she backing away from him and at the moment, hiding her from any
prying eyes was more important than defending himself against her
accusations.

He tightened
his grip on her upper arms and pulled her closer despite her
resistance. “It’s better if you stay close to me.” Casting a wary
glance around the park again he explained his logic. “Less of you
is exposed to prying eyes this way.”

Upon hearing
his words, she too flicked a glance around and then froze, a
horrified expression on her face as she realized she was outside in
full view of anyone who happened to be passing by. He could see the
fear and confusion in her eyes as she tried to decide what was the
biggest threat; being near him or running naked through a public
park.

“Relax, there’s
no one about right now, though we don’t want to push the situation.
If you promise to not run, I’ll let go of you and give you my
shirt, okay?”

She stared at
him wide-eyed, but gave a quick, jerky nod.

Slowly, testing
the fact that she wouldn’t run, Bryan released his hold on her. He
left his hands hovering in the air on either side of her for a
moment, thinking back to how she’d duped him earlier in the day.
When she didn’t move, he quickly unbuttoned his shirt and held it
out to her. “I guess you forgot to think about clothing when you
changed.” He cocked his head. “Or are you a half?”

Cassandra
snatched the shirt from his hand and turned her back. He watched
with disappointment as the dip of her spine and her cute rear end
disappeared from view. As she covered up, she talked over her
shoulder.

“What do you
mean, ‘think about clothing?’ And a ‘half-what?’ You’re not making
any sense! And why are you following me around? And how did I get
here?” She peppered questions at him like a rapid fire machine gun,
not waiting for him to answer. Now that she was somewhat covered,
her fear seemed to be replaced by indignant anger.

As she swung
around to face him again, her hair fell in front of her face and
she lifted a hand to brush it away. The buttons on the shirt gaped
open and Bryan got an interesting flash of breast. He forced his
eyes up; ogling her wouldn’t put her at ease and calming her down
was his main priority right now. Reminding himself to focus he
tried to answer her questions.

“Just a few
minutes ago, you came running past me like your tail was on fire. I
shifted and followed to make sure you were okay, then things sort
of got out of hand.” He gave her a crooked smile and shrugged. “Our
wolves like each other.”

“My tail...?
Our wolves...?” Her face turned ashen, her eyes wide. She stretched
her arms out in front of her and looked at them, shaking her head
in denial. “Oh God, you mean I was a...a...wolf?”

He nodded,
puzzled by her reaction, but her next statement explained it
all.

“No! It can’t
be! I’ve never done that before, never completely given in!”
Cassandra clamped a hand to her mouth and stumbled backwards until
she bumped into a tree. Her back pressed to the trunk, she put one
hand on its rough surface, seemingly trying to brace herself. Bryan
thought she looked as if she might be sick and stepped closer,
concerned at her extreme reaction. She held out a hand to stay him.
Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears and she blinked rapidly,
probably trying to hold them back.

“You mean
you’ve never changed before?” He lifted his brows in surprise.

She bit her lip
and shook her head. “No! I mean... Almost, but... I’ve always
stayed in control. Oh God I can’t believe...” She looked around
frantically as if searching for answers before locking eyes with
him. “But how? It’s still a few days until the full moon! I should
have still been safe! It must have been because...” Her voice
trailed off and then she gasped, a look of shock and dawning
understanding sweeping over her face. “Oh no! Kellen! I left him
with that goon, Hugh!” She suddenly pushed off from the tree as if
to run and Bryan barely caught her by the arm, stopping her from
another headlong flight.

“Slow down, you
can’t go running through the streets half-naked, not even in Vegas.
You have no shoes on and my shirt barely makes you decent.”

“But I have to
get back home. Kellen’s there. He might be injured!” She pulled
against his grip, trying to free herself.

Bryan
compressed his lips, not at all pleased that she seemed so
concerned about this other man. However, he sensed arguing with her
would be a waste of time. “Okay, we’ll go back to your house, but
you’ll have to go as a wolf until we can get you some proper
clothes. Shift back.”

“No!” For some
reason she seemed horrified by the idea. “I’m not some filthy
animal. I don’t want to be a werewolf!” Her struggles increased and
definite panic was rising in her voice.

He pulled
Cassandra closer in an effort to subdue her, forcing himself to
ignore the way she squirmed against his body, the way the shirt
rode up allowing his hand to brush against her bare thigh...

Firming his
jaw, he focussed on his duty. Bringing her under control was his
main concern and he wrapped his arm around her, threading his
fingers into her hair to hold her head still. He hoped no one came
by. If they did, they’d likely think he was assaulting her.
Frowning, he tried to figure the woman out. How could she call her
own wolf a ‘filthy animal?’ And why wouldn’t she want to be a
werewolf? It made no sense to him. There were definitely some major
underlying issues to be dealt with here, but first things first. He
hardened his voice.

“Listen to me.
Stop fighting. We’ll check on your boyfriend, but we’re doing it my
way. My shirt isn’t that long; it doesn’t even completely cover
your rear so there’s no way you can parade down the street in it”
He gripped her chin and stared into her face, letting the Beta in
him come to the forefront. There was a stirring in the back of her
eyes as the animal within awakened again, recognizing his
dominance. “Shift!”

A shocked look
flashed across her eyes, as the human part of her subsided and the
wolf inside responded to his command. In less than a second, a
chocolate brown wolf stood before him, looking up at him with a
submissive gaze, its tail swishing slightly from side to side.

Bryan rocked
back on his heels and gave a satisfied smile. He’d never had to do
that before; forcing a lycan to shift against it will. It was
gratify to know that it actually worked. And at least this way, he
seemed to have Cassandra under control. He took a moment to examine
the wolf before him. She was a beauty. Thick, chocolate brown fur,
fine boned yet quick and strong. Her deep green eyes followed his
every move as he circled around, looking her over.

Hmm... This
might work to his advantage. They’d head back to her house and she
could listen without interrupting as he explained his plans for
her. Anyone who saw them would assume he was just taking a stroll
with his pooch. He took off his belt and looped it around her neck.
“I’m pretty sure there’s an off-leash law in this city.”

If looks could
kill, hers would have had him buried six feet under. He chuckled at
her feisty spirit and barked out the command “Heel.” She gave him
another disgusted look, but immediately got up and followed him as
he walked out of the park. Yep, this might not be a bad arrangement
at all.

Chapter
12

The sun beat
down on his back as they strolled towards Cassandra’s house, the
warmth actually feeling good on his tense muscles. Bryan rolled his
shoulders and took a few minutes to just enjoy the moment.
Everything was quiet except for the buzz of insects and the faint
click of Cassandra’s claws on the sidewalk. The neighbourhood
appeared to be a deserted, each house seemingly empty, the owners
no doubt off at work. Still, Bryan kept alert, scanning around
looking for signs of danger. This wasn’t his home territory and he
felt somewhat ill at ease being so out in the open. After being
used to the thick forests of Stump River, Las Vegas appeared almost
barren.

He swatted at a
fly that buzzed past and glanced down at Cassandra. She was
trotting obediently at his side and he smiled at how right it
seemed to have her with him. Exactly why he wasn’t sure and he
spent a moment trying to analyze the feeling before giving up.
Enough time for that later. Right now, he needed to bring her up to
speed on the workings of Lycan law.

As succinctly
as possible, he filled Cassandra in on the Finding clause;
explaining that since his pack had found her, she was their
responsibility and that was why he needed to get her to Canada. She
wasn’t pleased about the news; the occasional droop of her tail
conveying that fact clearly enough. He suspected her wolf side was
happier than her human half and he tried to work with that,
painting a verbal picture of life in Stump River..

He talked about
the pack members, relating funny anecdotes and then spoke of the
vast woods which were perfect for running and hunting. He described
the large home Ryne had for them and all the renovations they’d
done, but nothing he said seemed to capture her imagination.
Finally, he stopped, feeling affronted by her reaction; the pack
was his family. What reason could she have to not want to be a part
of it?

Watching her
out of the corner of his eye, he puzzled over her reactions. She
seemed more aware, as if her human half wasn’t as overwhelmed by
her wolf as it had been earlier. What was she thinking? Why had she
panicked when he said she should shift? Was there a reason she was
reluctant to join a pack or was she just one of those oddities; a
natural lone wolf?

Perhaps she was
too concerned about her friend to really hear what he was saying.
He gave a nod. It made sense. Okay, he’d reassure her about this
Kellen fellow and then they’d have another talk. Once he understood
her concerns, he could set her fears to rest and they’d be on their
way back to Canada.

The house came
into view and she whined by his side. Bryan slowed his pace then
came to an abrupt halt as he took in the scene before him.

A large blond
haired man was dragging another man from the house. The first
fellow had blood stains on his shirt and looked shaken, but angry.
The second man appeared to have his hands tied behind his back and
seemed considerably the worse for wear. Was that Kellen?

Bryan glanced
down at Cassandra. Her ears were flattened and her lips were drawn
back, low growls emanating from her throat. He crouched at her side
and put a restraining arm around her shoulders and neck. “Shh...
You can’t just go rushing in there. Werewolves take great pains to
ensure their existence isn’t discovered by humans.”

She whimpered
and pranced in place. He rubbed her fur soothingly. “Don’t worry,
we’ll find out what’s going on and see what we can do to help your
friend. Looks like he really pissed that guy off though; drew some
blood, too.”

A sudden
stiffness in her body, had him looking at Cassandra with dread. “Oh
no. You didn’t attack that big lug did you?” He shook his head and
looked at her with pleading eyes, already suspecting the answer.
“Please tell me you didn’t do that.”

The wolf hung
her head and Bryan swore under his breath, his shoulders slumping
tiredly. “Great. Now the guy’s going to go around telling everyone
this big wolf-like dog attacked him. Rumours will start flying and
lord only knows how long it will take until things settled down.
I’ll have to contact Damage Control and see what type of story they
can concoct; maybe a rumour about an animal escaping one of the
magic shows at the big casinos...” He let his voice trail off and
rubbed his forehead, feeling the beginning of a headache then
winced when he touched the spot where she’d walloped him with the
lamp. Cassandra Greyson was turning out to be more than a bit of a
pain and he was starting to question his inner wolf’s sanity in
being attracted to her.