Last Wolf Watching. Rhyannon Byrd
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I need something to keep me busy.â
Torrance gave Michaela a quick hug, then slipped into a chair beside her husband. Together, they began talking with Cian about Jeremy and Jillianâs wedding, which would take place later that week in the Alley. Michaela began to lose some of her tension as she listened to their easy, quiet chatter, when she suddenly became aware of Brody standing beside her. His left hip rested against the counter, long arms crossed back over his chest, and she felt that little catch in her breath again. She tried to act natural, but his strangely seductive presence speared through her system like the residual traces of a fine wine, making her senses hum.
From the corner of her vision, she watched his gaze settle on her mouth, before lifting to her eyes. âI know youâre probably afraid of me,â he stated in a quiet rasp.
âAfraid of you?â Michaela shook her head as she looked toward him, wondering where heâd gotten such an idea. âWhy would I be afraid of you?â
He arched one auburn brow in an expression that reminded her of his partner, wearing a cynical look of disbelief, as if the answer should be obvious. But the truth was that she didnât fear him, at least not in a physical sense. Noâ¦her caution came from a different sourceâa basis more intimate than mere intimidation. It came from one that played his scarred, seductive image across the darkness of her mind when she closed her eyes at night; that made her pulse flutter whenever he was near. That reminded her time and again that men werenât to be trusted.
Not that she was going to explain any of that to him.
âI mean it, Brody,â she told him in a soft voice, the armor around her heart breaking a little at the shadow of vulnerability she could see there in that dark gaze. âIâm not afraid of you.â
For several moments, he looked as if heâd argue, those compelling green eyes narrowed on her profile as she turned her attention back to the dishes. Finally, he sighed and said, âThis isnât going to work the same as it did with Pallaton and Reyes. Iâm not going to waste time watching you from the outside looking in.â
A shiver slipped down her spine, but she managed to keep her voice steady. âHow do you mean?â
âFrom what Wyatt told me, they tried to keep a reasonable distance, but Iâm going to be on the inside with you at all times. If something happens, I need to be close enough to make a difference. Like it or not, Iâm going to be like your shadow.â
She slanted him a sideways look as she asked, âYou didnât agree to watch over me just to keep me from causing trouble for the pack?â
He shook his head, and she watched, mesmerized, as the auburn tips of his thick hair shifted over the soft cotton of his black T-shirt, the material hugging the firm muscles beneath. âThereâs more going on here, Doucet, and you know it. Iâm doing this for you, not them.â
âMy name is Michaela,â she sighed, shifting her gaze back to his, irrationally irritated by the way he continually called her by her last name. It was so impersonal, which was exactly why she figured he did itâand it occurred to her that they were like two opponents circling one another, wary of the otherâs motives.
âI know your name,â he muttered, his tone dry.
Michaela lifted one shoulder. âCouldnât prove it to me, since you never use it,â she countered, noting the strange blend of exasperation and wariness in his sexy, almond-shaped eyes. âSo you plan to protect me while keeping me in line, then?â
âI doubt anyone could keep you in line,â he snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching in a reluctant grin. âWhat I am going to do is keep you safe.â
âThatâs not whatââ
The green of his eyes flashed with emotion. âForgot what they said at the clearing, okay? As much as I donât care for Riggs, he knew that one of the Runners would accept responsibility for you so that we could keep you alive. There isnât a goddamn chance that Drake plans to let you live,â he rasped, the softness of the words in no way lessening their impact. âNot when he knows he can use you to get to us, just like they did with Max. The only problem is that Max lived. Now I think theyâll come after you even harder, or turn it into a game and play with us.â
âBy keeping me scared?â
âYeah.â
Grabbing at another plate, she ignored the shaking in her hands. âDrake really is the one behind all the trouble, then, isnât he? The one Anthony Simmons was working for, whoâs tempting Lycans to turn rogue, teaching them how to shift during the daytime?â
Michaela knew the past few weeks had been chaotic for the Runners. On top of learning that a traitor was working to expand the number of rogue wolves in the area, theyâd discovered that those who had turned had been taught how to dayshift. That was the first clue that had pointed the Runners toward an Elder, once theyâd learned that the ability to teach a wolf how to take his shape beneath the sun was a power possessed only by those who served on the League, meant to be used as a defensive weapon during times of war.
After the Runners had realized they were hunting a traitorous Elder, Stefan Drake had become their obvious suspect. Drake and his followers made no secret of their fanatical hatred for humans and Bloodrunners alike, but it wasnât until Jeremy had accepted his place within the Silvercrest pack and returned to Shadow Peak that they were truly able to investigate Drake.
Thanks to Pippa Stanton, the lone female Elder, Jeremy had learned about Drakeâs grudge against the League itself. According to Pippa, Drake had never forgiven his peers for forbidding the assassination of his wife after she left him for a human. They also knew Drake was responsible for the recent attack on Jillianâs life. Using his own daughter as a weapon, Drake, along with the help of an unknown Elder, had performed a task believed impossible by most Lycans, pulling Eliseâs wolf from her body against her will. Once the change was complete, Eliseâs beast was controlled by Drake, and would have killed Jillian if it werenât for Jeremy and Masonâs intervention. When Jeremy later confronted the Elder, accusing him of the crime, one of Drakeâs followers, a man named Cooper Sheffield, had tried to kill him, dying instead by the Bloodrunnerâs hand.
To make matters worse, Drake wasnât the Runnersâ only problem. Over the course of the past month, Michaela knew that Brody and Cian had been investigating a series of gruesome killings. Four human females had been found murdered, three in the mountains and one in the city. At each scene, there had been no trace of Lycan muskâonly the acidic scent produced by a Lycan who had dayshifted, which was untraceable. Each of the victims had clearly been a rogue kill, their hearts eaten from their chests in some kind of psychotic, symbolic gesture. Only one of the victims had clearly been the work of Anthony Simmons, the rogue who had targeted Torranceâs life, and who had been killed by Mason in a Challenge Fight shortly afterward. The other three crimes were still unsolved, and the Runners couldnât be sure that Drake himself was behind them, his accomplice on the Leagueâ¦or one of his twisted followers.
âDrake all but admitted his guilt to Jeremy after the attack on Jillianâs life,â Brody rumbled, his deep voice suddenly pulling her from her troubling thoughts and back to their conversation. âHe already hated us before, but now he has a reason to risk taking us out. Itâs either get rid of the Runners, or accept that weâre going to destroy him and whatever he has planned.â He shrugged, and Michaela found herself momentarily fascinated by the way the casual gesture traveled across the broad width of his shoulders, his muscles flexing beneath the thin cotton of his shirt.
She tried to keep her focus, but damn, she couldnât get enough of those shoulders. Hoping she didnât sound dazed with lust, she managed to say, âSo what happens now?â
âWould you like me