Page 22 of Squirrel Hunt
He put everything back into the bag. He’d give it to Myka tonight, but first, he needed to head into the office, and he’d had a missed call from Roan while he was in the shower, so he should call him back. He should talk to Jyran. What did squirrels do when wolves found them in their beds? Where did they run?
He left the cabin and drove into town to the office. More tours to book, customers to reassure, and he suspected the news about there being a squirrel on pack land had already spread. It would be the talk of the day.
He sighed.
When he entered the office, Sewell and Oswald looked up from their coffee cups. Konrad nodded in greeting.
“Is it true?”
Konrad took a deep breath. “Is what true?”
“That a squirrel was squatting in Farris’ cabin.” A look of disgust spread over Sewell’s face, and Konrad did his best to swallow his growl.
“He wasn’t squatting. I’d given him permission to be there.”
“A squirrel?” Oswald gave him an incredulous look.
“Yes, a squirrel. He’s a friend of Myka’s.”
“Roan’s human mate?”
Konrad didn’t like the way Sewell emphasized human. “Yes, Roan’s mate.”
He got a head shake in reply. “It was better when we only were wolves.”
Anger burned hot in Konrad’s veins. “We’ve never only been wolves.”
“We were. Before.” Sewell met his gaze full on, something he hardly ever did, and Konrad didn’t like the anger visible there.
“Only because people left the pack to live with their mates elsewhere instead of staying where they belonged.” Having mixed couples brought on a different set of problems than leading a pack with only wolves, but Konrad didn’t want to lose people over something they had no control over. You didn’t choose your mate. You could deny them, but doing so never did any good.
“Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing.” Sewell dropped his gaze, but Konrad continued to glare at him.
“You’re free to leave the pack if it doesn’t suit you.” Losing Sewell wouldn’t only hurt the pack, it would hurt the business, but right now, Konrad didn’t care.
“He didn’t mean it like that, Boss.” Oswald clapped Sewell’s shoulder and gave a stilted chuckle.
Konrad wasn’t sure he didn’t, but it was a problem for another day. “I’ll be in the office.” Where he planned on hiding until he could leave for the day.
* * * *
Dahy woke to a car door opening. Fear instantly clogged his throat, and he burrowed down underneath the fleece throw in hopes that whoever had entered the car wouldn’t see him and wasn’t a shifter and therefore couldn’t smell him.
The engine came to life.
“I’ll drive us out of town, then you can shift back.” Myka’s voice was low and a little muffled as if she tried to speak without moving her lips. The car turned, and Dahy guessed they’d left the parking lot behind and was out on the street.
“Feel like a fucking prisoner with people watching my every move.” She spoke louder now, and Dahy pushed the blanket off him. He wouldn’t change in the middle of the town, but he could at least look at her.
“At one point I went to the bathroom, and when I got out, I almost collided with…Dolph, I think his name is. I mean, come on, let a girl use the bathroom without an audience.” Her voice rose the more she spoke. “Roan can go fuck himself if he believes I’ll put up with this. I had no idea shifters were this neurotic.” She was quiet for a few seconds. “Granted, I didn’t know there were shifters, but it doesn’t matter. I have the right to personal space.”
Dahy chattered his agreement. It earned him a quick glance over her shoulder and a grin.
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
Dahy hesitated. He should disappear, leave Doson behind, but Jyran was the reason he’d come here. He glanced out the window, and when he couldn’t see anyone near the car, he shifted and wrapped the fleece throw around his naked body. “Do you—” He cleared his throat. “Do you know Jyran?”
She looked at him again, then she shook her head. “Or I know where he works, but I don’t know him. I’ve never been there. Roan doesn’t want us to, says it isn’t safe for me. Did you know there are vampires?”