“He doesn’t have a girlfriend or wife. I did check that before I got involved.” She grimaced slightly. “I’m not a home-wrecker.”
Although it sounded as if it didn’t really matter if she was, especially if werewolves considered sex and love to be two entirely different things. While she wasn’t sure she would ever understand the differences, it really didn’t matter. She wasn’t a werewolf. And she wouldn’t ever be anything more to him than a means of release.
Which was kind of sad, given the level of intimacy and understanding they’d reached during their lovemaking last night.
“What’s in his past?” Gwen asked.
She shrugged. “Something, I’m sure. He views women in a somewhat harsh light, and he certainly doesn’t trust us.”
“Us? As in you and me, or women in general?”
Kat grinned. “Both.”
“Someone’s hurt him in the past.”
“Obviously.” The question was, had he given his heart to that someone?
And why did she even care? It wasn’t as if there could ever be anything more between them than there now was. Because of their jobs. Because his instinctive hate for his werewolf half would undoubtedly extend to shifters like herself. And because he hated kids and, above all else, she wanted them.
Gwen patted her hand again. “Just enjoy your time with him. Werewolves can give you that, if nothing else.”
Maybe, but she was getting a little tired of being nothing more than a good time. She wanted something else. But she wasn’t going to find that with Ethan. Wasn’t likely to find it with anyone in the near future, either.
She finished the rest of her meal, then picked up her coffee and leaned back in the chair. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“I think you should fly around those hills this morning and have a look around. Those zombies didn’t spring from nowhere. They must have a nest up there somewhere.”
She nodded. “This soul-sucker has vampires, werewolves, and zombies at its beck and call. That’s a little unusual, isn’t it? I mean, both vamps and werewolves are fairly strong-willed. I can’t imagine them being yoked to another for long, so they’ve got to be getting something out of this situation.”
“More than likely. But until we have some idea what this thing is up to and just what exactly it can do, we won’t know.”
“Well, it can obviously raise the dead.” Not that that in any way benefited either a wolf or a vampire. And even vamps had more sense than to feed on a zombie.
“And if it’s ancient, it might have a lot of dead it can raise, so be very careful out there.”
“You tried to scry yet this morning?”
Gwen sighed. “Yes, but I couldn’t see a damn thing. I get the feeling they’re waiting to see what we do next before they decide their next move.”
“Which would mean they consider us a threat.”
“This thing is not stupid.”
“I never thought it was. Anything else?”
“Just be careful when you’re up there. This thing knows you’re a shifter, so it might have set traps.”
She nodded and pushed away from the table. “I’ll bring back lunch.”
“Do that. And get yourself another box of condoms while you’re at it. You must have used most of his supply last night.”
Heat touched her cheeks again. She might have grown up in a sexually liberated household, but her grandmother still had the power to embarrass her. Though after thirty years, she really should be used to it. “I thought you said you were deaf?”
“Not that deaf.” Gwen’s eyes twinkled. “You’d better get going before your wolf begins to stir.”
She left. Clouds crowded the sky, and the breeze was cool and steady. An almost perfect day for flying. She shoved her hands into her pockets and walked down through the trees toward the road. When she was sure she couldn’t be seen from any of the cabins, she shifted shape and flew skyward.
She drifted toward the sea, watching the waves roll in and wishing it were summer so she could go for a swim—though a good soaking in icy water might be just what her tired muscles needed to revive them. But later, when she had more time. She flicked her wings and soared sideways, flying toward the mountains.