She had a feeling she knew why. Misty unlocked and opened the hatchback, reached in, and lifted two wolf cubs out by the scruffs of their necks.
They didn’t want to come. The cubs curled in on themselves, trying to cling to Misty.
The Shifters closest to her saw. They stopped, eyes and ears fixed on Misty, the ones in human form freezing to look.
The awareness that Misty had the cubs spread like a ripple, rolling outward from her and around the giant black wolf who’d stopped and stared at her before she’d opened the hatch.
The Shifters weren’t rejoicing. Not laughing in relief that Misty had brought the cubs back home. They were angry. She heard growls, rumbles, the soft snarls of animals debating whether or not to attack.
If this had been Misty’s first ever encounter with Shifters, she’d be diving back into the car and racing the hell out of there. These Shifters were enraged Misty had the cubs, and they didn’t look as though they cared about explanations.
Misty tried anyway. “I found them. I didn’t take them. I’m bringing them back.”
She tried to gently set down the cubs so she could back away, showing she meant no harm. But as soon as she turned loose their scruffs, Matt and Kyle scrambled back into her arms, their little bodies shaking. They were terrified.
The black wolf had started forward as soon as Misty lifted the cubs from the back. Now he moved rapidly between her and the Shifters who were advancing on her.
The Shifters in front of the pack, mostly wolves, drew back a little, but their growling didn’t cease. Graham turned to face them, baring his teeth, his snarl menacing. The Lupines moved backward, heads lowering, but still they growled, unhappy.
One Lupine didn’t obey. He stood up, anger in his eyes, his ears flat on his head, wolf snarls matching Graham’s. With a harsh sound that was almost a roar, Graham went for the wolf, his charge swift, his jaws opened for the kill.
Graham landed on the wolf and had his body flipped over in the space of a second, Graham’s mouth going toward the wolf’s throat. At the last moment, Graham snapped his teeth an inch from the wolf’s fur, then eased his jaws around the wolf’s throat. Graham held the wolf there for about thirty seconds, then released it and touched its nose with his.
Graham stepped back, then began to shift. His legs and arms became human as he rose on his hindquarters. In a short time, Graham stood over the wolf, who also had morphed to human—a dark-haired man—both of them stark naked.
The man remained on the ground, curled in on himself, his defiance gone. Graham stepped to him and laid his hand on the man’s head. Graham said nothing, only kept his hand there, until the man finally looked up at him. The man’s eyes, wolf gray, held contrition.
“Sorry, Graham,” he said.
Graham leaned down, putting both hands on the man’s head now and ruffling his hair. “We’ll both get over it. Misty!” Graham straightened up and turned away from the Lupine, finished with him.
Misty couldn’t speak. She’d been staring at Graham’s muscled back, which tapered to a firm mound of bu**ocks. Now he faced her, which meant she saw his equally firm torso, his strong arms, and the c**k that hung, thick and long, between his legs.
Graham was a large man, his body sculpted for running, hunting, fighting. No polished edges on him. He was raw, rippling with strength, beautiful.
“Misty, what the hell is this?” he demanded.
Graham’s voice was gravelly from all the snarling, the hint of the wolf still in it. And he sounded dry. Thirsty.
“I found the cubs,” Misty said, making herself raise her gaze from his hips. “Obviously.”
Graham’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what you were trying to tell me on the phone?”
“No. I didn’t find them until I went out to my parking lot. I was trying to tell you something else on the phone, but you hung up on me.”
“Because I was looking for these damned cubs!”
Graham reached for them. Kyle and Matt shrank back, whining, clinging to Misty. One of them had climbed onto her head, his claws raking through her hair.
“Who are terrified of you,” Misty said. “Look at them. What did you do to them? Ow, Matt—or Kyle—stop that. Which is which?”
“Kyle,” Graham said, pointing to the cub on her head. “Matt.” His finger moved to the other one.
“Why are they so scared of you?” Misty asked. Not that she hadn’t seen Graham a few moments ago terrorize another large wolf into cringing submission.
“I don’t know. Where did you find them? That’s not your car.”
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” Misty tried to cuddle Matt and pet Kyle so they’d quit with the clawing. “Matt and Kyle were in the back of that car. One of the DX Security men found them in there when he was at the end of his shift. No idea how they got there—his car didn’t leave the lot all day.”
Graham looked over the dark red hatchback with its curvy lines and dented fender, his brows drawing together. “That belongs to a guy from DX Security?”
“It’s his mom’s. He was borrowing it for the day. I told him I’d bring the cubs back to you. Well, actually, I just grabbed his keys while he and the others were debating how to return the cubs, and I brought them back. I figured you’d be worried.”
Misty decided worried wasn’t a strong enough word. Most of the Shifters were relaxing now, especially the wildcats, who were changing back to human form, strolling home, or loping off in their animal forms. Kyle and Matt were all right, and Graham apparently wasn’t going to kill anyone over it, at least not now. The Lupines who’d confronted Misty were still there, but not looking directly at her or Graham.
“Did they think I’d kidnapped them?” Misty asked Graham. “Or that I would hurt them? I never would.” She raised her voice to carry to the others. “I’d never hurt them. Or any kids. Or cubs.”
“They know that in here.” Graham tapped the side of his forehead. “At least, they should. But instinct is a bitch. They see someone with cubs who’ve been missing, and they want to kill first, ask questions later. But they won’t do it again.”
“I called when I was on my way,” Misty said. The cubs were calming now, tails moving a little as she petted heads. “But you wouldn’t answer your phone.”
“I was a wolf, trying to hunt a scent. Had to leave my phone at home.” He turned to someone behind Misty, across the street. “Nell! Come and take these brats. I need someone to look after them for me.”