“The girls.” She nodded. “They’re all human and don’t have a clue that shifters exist. It’s Bella, who you’ve met, and some of her friends, and a couple I’ve met through work. I never would’ve made it without them because the wolves…” She grimaced. “I love Roan with all my heart, and I think Konrad is a good guy, but there are others.”
Not good, this was not good.
“Maybe we shouldn’t see each other for a couple of days.”
She nodded slowly.
“If they’re after me, they’ll perhaps move on if they realize we’re not in contact. If they’re there for you…” He stared at her. “Can Roan spend a day or two at the coffee shop?” He might be a stupid wolf, but he could protect her better than Dahy ever could.
“I don’t know. I’ll tell him about it. He’s overprotective, and it wasn’t a guy I’ve seen before. It doesn’t mean he isn’t part of the pack. Some leave to visit other packs or go on jobs for a couple of months at a time. Maybe he only wanted to swing by and have a look at Roan’s human mate.” She winced.
Dahy put the bag down, grabbed the one Myka held, and put it next to the first one before pulling her into his arms. “I’m sure it’s nothing. We don’t know if he’s a shifter, right? But if he is, and if he was there because of me, I’m so, so sorry.”
She pushed at him only to hug him back. Dahy almost groaned. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d hugged someone, and it felt so good.
“Don’t be stupid. I wanted to help you. I still want to help you. No one deserves to spend their lives being afraid, Dahy. I’ll help you find a safe place.”
A lump grew in his throat, and he wished he’d been honest with her from the beginning. He gripped her shoulders and took a step back. “I’m not a bear. The reason I’m on the run is that I’m not a bear or a wolf or a lion.”
She frowned. “You’re not a shifter?” Then her frown grew deeper. “I’ve heard you make non-human sounds when scared. You’re a shifter.”
He nodded. “I am, but I’m a non-predatory shifter, which means most other shifters think I should die.”
“What?” She increased the distance between them, and he lowered his arms.
“The reason we couldn’t tell your alpha what I am is because he’d most likely eat me.”
She huffed a laugh, but when Dahy didn’t join in, she sobered. “You’re serious?”
Nodding, he took a step back. Maybe it would have been better to let her continue to believe he was a bear.
“So what are you?”
“Squirrel.”
She barked a laugh. “Seriously, what are you?”
He sighed and shifted. The one good thing about being a squirrel shifter was you didn’t need to undress before you shifted. Since you got smaller it was easy to get out of the clothes once you’d completed the shift.
It took a second or two for him to get his bearings once he’d completed the transformation, and he gazed upon Myka who gaped open-mouthed at him. “Oh my God, you’re so cute!” She bent down and scooped him up. “Not that you aren’t cute in human form. You are.” She giggled, and he chattered at her. Mostly for show. He didn’t mind being called cute.
* * * *
Konrad groaned as he tossed his clothes on the bathroom floor and stepped into the shower. The mountain tour had gone well, but he was frozen to the core. It had been colder than he’d anticipated. Goes to show that he shouldn’t do these things. He wasn’t properly prepared, and he couldn’t change into wolf to protect himself from getting chilly when he was surrounded by humans.
As he reached for the shampoo bottle, his phone rang on the sink. Sighing, he continued to wash his hair, but when it rang again as soon as it had gone quiet, he hurried things along. Growling, he rinsed off. He’d been looking forward to a long, hot shower, but with the phone ringing and ringing and ringing, it wasn’t relaxing.
He stepped out of the shower when he believed he’d gotten all the suds off him. He glanced at the screen. Roan. “Yes.” He hadn’t meant to snarl, or yeah, he had.
“Someone came into Myka’s work and made her uncomfortable, and she reeks of squirrel.”
“What?”
“She claims she knows nothing about squirrels, but she hugged a guy right before she left work.”
“Maybe it was Jyran who came to her work?”
Roan was quiet for a few seconds. “No. She said the guy was big and predatory. She believed he was a shifter because he gave her the chills.”
