Page 4 of Squirrel Hunt

“Ah…Alpha Konrad.” She made a little bow, and Konrad concealed a frown.

“Konrad is fine.” People would think she was insane if she went around and called him Alpha Konrad—wolves and humans alike.

She waved a hand. “Sorry. I never know how to act.”

It had to be hard for humans. A shifter was always aware if they were in the same room as someone more dominant, they’d sense if they should lower their gaze or not, cower or not. Konrad worked hard to be an easy-going leader. He’d been young and full of himself once, and when the situation called for it, he made people crawl, but he wanted his wolves to feel safe to come to him when they ran into trouble.

Like now. He didn’t give a shit about some human running from an abusive boyfriend and needing a place to hide. Myka’s human friends didn’t matter to him, and while he felt for the poor girl needing to disappear, there were people suffering everywhere.

Myka took a step closer, and Konrad almost choked. She stank of some terrible perfume. He took a breath through his mouth, but it tickled his throat, and he had to clear it. How did Roan live without breathing?

“I appreciate—”

He held out the key, wanting her to leave before he started coughing. “Here’s the key.” He cleared his throat as the tickle grew more insistent. “You know where it is?”

Farris had taken Roan’s position in the Ordbury pack. Or not his position, really, since he’d gone there pretending to be a lone wolf. Farris was strong enough to be a lone wolf. He could have a pack of his own had he wanted to, but he’d never shown any interest in being a leader. This was the first time Konrad had sent him on a mission, but he needed someone who’d never been seen with him, and he and Farris didn’t hang out. He didn’t hang out with anyone, but people would’ve seen him with Sewell and Oswald whom he worked with.

“Yes, I think so.” Myka smiled. “The small red cabin next to the lake. I went there with Roan once.”

Konrad nodded. He’d asked Roan to give Farris as much information as he could. “Good. I’ll be by in a couple of days to make sure she’s settled in all right.” He turned toward the door.

“Oh, you don’t have to.” She took a step back, but her voice was a little too high-pitched. “I know you have a lot to do. I’ll make sure they settle in.” She grinned and, in an almost manic manner, nodded too fast. “Don’t worry.”

Konrad narrowed his eyes. Don’t worry. He followed her with his gaze as she more or less ran to the car. Don’t worry? Now he’d worry. He looked into the passenger seat, but there was no one there. Had she dropped the poor girl somewhere? Maybe she was afraid. Made sense if she’d been abused. Visits by strange men most likely wasn’t high on the list of things she wanted to do. Konrad would give her a couple of days to settle in, but the don’t worry was still ringing in his mind…and it made him worry.

* * * *

“Got the key!” Myka hopped into the car as if hunted by wolves. Dahy looked at her from the backseat where he’d been curled up underneath a green fleece throw and fought the urge to cough. The perfume she wore was disgusting. They’d picked the smelliest thing they could find in the store next to the coffee shop. Dahy had believed he’d die in there, so many scents and chemicals everywhere. No wonder humans were insane. Or he assumed it was the reason at least. He didn’t know any humans, so he couldn’t tell for sure.

Myka turned the key in the ignition and stepped on the gas pedal with a little too much force. He winced as the wheels spun on the gravel.

“Fuck.” She took a deep breath and waved at someone through the window as she turned the car around.

“What is it?” A tremble shot through Dahy. Maybe they really were hunted by wolves. He cleared his throat in a failed attempt to get rid of the perfume getting stuck there.

“He said he’d be by in a couple of days to make sure you’ve settled in all right.”

“What?” He flew up into a sitting position and coughed since it brought him closer to Myka.

“Yeah, and in my haste to assure him he didn’t need to, I might have…eh…come across a little desperate, and then I revved the car.” She winced. “He makes me nervous.”

“He makes you nervous? You’re part of his pack. I’m here trespassing.” He fumbled to get the window open. He couldn’t breathe. As the cold winter air filled the car, he sucked in a breath.

She met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Are there laws against it?”

He scrunched his nose. He needed nuts or something to snack on. “Not laws exactly. There are territories, but they’re not forbidden areas.” Shifters could go wherever they wanted to. And suffer the consequences. Dahy normally stayed far away from any population.

“Have the perfume at the ready. If you hear someone coming, spray yourself. It’s working, right?”

He almost choked and took another breath. “Yes, working. Dying here.” It wouldn’t work if they came into his living space, though.

Her laugh filled the car, and Dahy smiled for the first time in ages.

They drove through the city again and Dahy’s teeth were chattering from the cold, but he couldn’t make himself roll up the window. Better cold than suffocating.

“I don’t know if there’s any food in the house, but I’ll get you something as fast as I can.”

“It’s okay.” His stomach rumbled, but Myka’s hearing wasn’t good enough to pick up on it. He could always shift and try to find something edible in the surroundings.