Hes arrogant, Kai said after theyd driven a few miles.
Hes kind.
Ive invited him to join our pack too many times.
Daisy swung her head around and met her fathers brief glance. How many is too many? Two? And the one time he was grieving his lost father.
Two too many. Hes refused both times. Says he doesnt need a pack. Thats arrogance, if you ask me. Stay the hell away from him, Daisy Blu.
Beck had every right to refuse her father. Daisy could imagine that if he had grown up with a father who had been a lone wolf, then the idea of a pack must be odd to him. Overwhelming. Perhaps even threatening.
Youre not going to stay away from him, are you? Kai asked softly.
Daisy bit her lower lip to fight the tears that threatened to spill down her cheek. She wanted to do the right thing in her fathers eyes. But her right and his right werent in alignment now. And she was a grown woman. Too old to still have her father tailing after her, approving or denying her choice in men.
Daisy?
I dont know, she finally said.
Kais sigh rippled through her skin and twanged at her heart.
* * *
The afternoon had been designated for research. Scanning the internet, Daisy tried various search words, starting with ghost wolf, which brought up nothing. The data on werewolves provided for interesting reading, some laughs and a lot of head shaking. Eventually she typed in Fenrir, the name of a Norse god who was the son of Loki.
The ghost wolf obviously isnt Fenrir, she said as she scanned the information. But there were some similarities. A monstrous wolf often depicted in paintings as white or ghostlike, he could not be restrained, save by a delicate ribbon named Gleipnir.
Though it was fascinating, it wasnt getting Daisy any closer to results. The article needed facts, or in this case, some kind of legend to compare to the ghost wolf, at the very least. The creature was larger than life. She needed to communicate that on the page.
I need a picture, she said. That would be the ultimate scoop.
When her breed shifted to their werewolf shape, they could not be photographed. Well, they could be, but none had been that she knew of. They were fiercely protective of their secret. And should a hunter manage to snap a photograph? A quick slap of claws destroyed the camera.
What would ultimately show up on film, she wasnt sure. Nothing, much like a vampire? Or a ghost image of the werewolf? If the ghost wolf was already transparent or some kind of filmy state, the results on film were unimaginable.
She eyed her winter clothes hanging by the door. Ill go out early in the evening.
The majority of hunters would be packing up and returning home for supper at that time, yet the ghost wolf sightings had been just after dusk.
Wishing she could give Beck a call and invite him along, Daisy waffled on the idea. Her father had been adamant about her staying away from him. Yet shed been impressed by Beck standing up to her father. Hed cowered initially, to show respect, but hadnt been about to yield to Kais demands without stating his own position.
I could like him, she said to herself, remembering their conversation about love and like last night. Like was the goal. Love would simply be a happy bonus.
* * *
Beck had felt humiliated standing before Daisys father last night. He should have stood up to the elder wolf, but it had been the right choice to show respect for the man, despite his intrusion on their date. Hed learned from his father that a man must never jump to hasty violence or make judgments of a man he did not know. If Saint-Pierre didnt want him to date his daughter...
Hell. Beck wandered the edge of the forest a mile from where hed parked. Hell kill me if I see her again. Or at the very least, tear him a new one with a slash of claw.
But he kind of thought Daisy liked him. Make that love. Like was something even better than love, according to her. He agreed with her definition of it, too.
Man, did he like her hot chocolate.
Did she want to see him again? She hadnt called. But then, she didnt have his number, nor did he have hers. Hed thought about stopping by her place today, but didnt want to push it. Certainly, Malakai would scent him if he showed up anywhere near his daughters home.
Was he going to let some big boisterous wolf scare him away from the girl? Was she worth the risk?
Beck nodded. The kiss hadnt left him. He could still feel her at his mouth, sighing into him. Clinging to his clothing and leaning in closer. Sweetly hungry. And her kisses had tasted like chocolate.
Im going for it, he muttered. Because he knew a good thing when it kissed him.
Now, with the sun tracing a vibrant orange line on the horizon, he shed his winter coat and boots and pulled off his sweater. Steam lifted off his hot skin as the cold assaulted his torso and arms. He stored a waterproof backpack in a hollowed-out oak trunk. The worst thing after shifting back from werewolf form was to find his clothes sitting in a puddle of snow that had melted from the lingering body heat.
Shoving down his jeans, he shuffled barefoot in the cold snow, and when he was naked he stretched back his arms and head, breathing in the crisp night air. The world was gorgeous, and he loved breathing it in. But the very reason he stood here was enough to make him want to punch something.
And then he knew he didnt have to. His shifted form would take care of matters nicely.
A gunshot in the distance alerted him. He judged it a few miles off. This time of day, most hunters were packing it in and heading home.
No time to waste.
Bending forward and narrowing his focus inward, Beck began to shift. His human skin stretched and prickled as fur grew in the pores and his bones lengthened. Claws grew out from his paws, and his hind legs formed into the powerful werewolfs legs. His maw grew long, and ears twisted into long, furred beacons that picked up every movement and sound from mouse to fox, to...hunter.
Becks werewolf rose to an imposing height, sniffed the air and homed onto the scent of human.
* * *
Daisy kept the hunters in view, while hoping to stay out of their line of sight. She wore a vivid orange hunters vest over her winter coat. Shed no plans to shift tonightnot with armed hunters in the forest. But she certainly didnt want to be so incognito that she invited a bullet.
Her camera wasnt the best at taking night shots. And now as she leaned against the base of an oak tree, fumbling with the settings, she wished she did have something more high-powered. Shed never win the internship by handing in grainy night shots.
Thinking it would have been awesome to have someone along to keep her company on this cold dark evening, her mind drifted to Becks sweet smile and those entrancing blue eyes.
So maybe she was getting her flirt on with him. Felt kind of awesome.
He hadnt called her today. She didnt know what his number was. She thought he might have stopped by. Her father must have put fear in the handsome wolf.
Daisy decided if Beck never showed again, then that meant he wasnt deserving of her interest. Only a wolf who dared defy her father would be worthy of her time. At least, that was the romantic version she played in her head. In reality, she knew Beck was better off staying away from her and avoiding Kais wrath.
Too bad. Becks hasty confession to loving her because she had a talent with hot chocolate had won her over. The way to a mans heart was through food. And she wasnt beyond utilizing such tactics. But as well, his kiss was not to be overlooked. If she never felt his kiss again, the world might never again be as bright. Heck, shed seen fireworks during that kiss. It didnt get any better than that.
She knew where his shop was. Nothing was stopping her from driving over to see him. No, she muttered. He needs to come to me.
A gunshot alerted her, and she whipped her head around, along with the camera. Set at its highest zoom, she peered through the lens and spotted movement. Shed turned the flash off.
There were two of them. Hunters. She saw the shotguns they held. Not aimed at anything because the wooden stocks were slung against their shoulders. And they were running for their lives.
Tilting the camera to the right, she caught a blur of white tracking through the birch trunks in the hunters wake.
The ghost wolf. Daisy tracked the blur, snapping shots repeatedly.
The frightened mortals ran within a hundred feet of her. She recognized the hunter in the lead. He had bright red hair and was known in town simply as Red, a Scottish farmer transplanted from his country to Minnesota through love and marriage. She didnt recognize the man behind him, but he yelled for Red to hurry and get to the truck.
Then she scented the wolf. It was angry and feral, and so close she could hear its breathing. Steady, not taxed, and punctuated with vicious growls. Shaped like a werewolf, she estimated it grew two feet taller than even her father when he was shifted. It was indeed white, but a sort of filmy white, perhaps even transparent.
Remembering her mission, Daisy clicked a rapid succession of shots. When the hunters exited the forest and slammed the truck doors, the wolf paused at the tree line. It smashed out its fists to the sides, cracking the tall birch trunks, and howled. It was like no wolf howl Daisy had ever heard. The haunting noise climbed up her spine and prickled under her skin. She shivered, and sank down against the tree trunk in fear.
Her camera hand dropping to the snowy forest floor, she cast her gaze upward as the white werewolf stalked toward her.
The truck peeled away on the icy country road, its back end fishtailing until the chainless tires achieved traction.
And Daisy wished she had hitched a ride with the idiot hunters as she looked up into the ghost wolfs red eyes.
Chapter 6
Werewolf eyes always glowed golden when shifted. Daisy had never seen the likes of these before. This wolfs eyes were redder than a vampires feast.
She swore under her breath. The camera slipped out of her hand and slid across the slippery snowpack. The werewolf must recognize her scent as wolfshe hoped. But was it even the same breed as she? It was like her, and yet not. Bigger and bulkier, its shoulders and biceps curved forward in impossible musculature and ended with talons coiled into fists.
And its coloring was surreal, not of this realm. Glowy and pale, but not see-through, as she had guessed. Iridescent. From Faery? Only Faery things glowed as this wolf did. Or maybe a god such as Fenrir? Couldnt be. According to the legend she had researched, that god had been chained until the end of time.
Its white leathery nostrils flaring, the wolf scented her, then whipped its head back and reared from her. Growling low in warning, the wolf stepped back and stretched out its arms. Emitting a long and rangy howl, it sent shivers throughout Daisys body. She clutched her arms across her chest and tucked her head.
With a stomp of its massive foot, the ghost wolf took off into the forest, leaving its tracks imprinted deep in the snow near her feet.
Daisy breathed out. Holy shit, that was close.
Holding a shaking hand before her, she assessed her heartbeat. Ready to bust out from her ribs. She shook her head. Shed take her fathers wrath over another meeting with the ghost wolf any day.
And then she checked her fear. The wolf hadnt hurt her, hadnt even moved to touch her. For all she knew, it could be of her breed.
I cant be afraid, she said. Only girls cry.
* * *
By the time she arrived back in town, Daisys heartbeat had settled. The fear had segued to an adventurous exhilaration during her walk. Shed stood face-to-face with the ghost wolf! Her brothers would be stunned.
With adrenaline tracing her veins, she wasnt content to go home and crawl into bed. Instead, she headed toward the west end of town where she knew Red lived. She marched up to the front door, passing the truck that hissed out steam from beneath the hood. Seeing a light on inside, she knocked.
Red answered immediately, frowned, then looked over her shoulder. As if she should have brought along an entourage?
You it? he asked.
Uh, Im Daisy Saint-Pierre, Mister Red. I heard about you seeing the ghost wolf, she tried.
You bet I did.
Would you mind answering a few questions for the Tangle Lake Tattler? She whipped out her notepad to make it look official.
Hell no. I aint talking to no one but Kare11 News. I called em. I thought you were it, but apparently not. He pushed the door closed, but Daisy wedged a shoulder against it and shoved inward. Nobody but the big news, he reiterated, and this time managed to shut the door completely.
Daisy stepped back and stared at the door. Kare11 was the most-watched news channel in Minneapolis.
Shoot. I should have gotten here sooner. He must have called the station as they were driving back. Couldnt have been that scared if he was thinking about his fifteen minutes of fame.
Daisy wandered down the path back to her car just as the Kare11 News van pulled up. She recognized the blonde reporter who got out and directed her cameraman toward the house.
The woman rushed over to Daisy and shoved a microphone in her face. Are you related to Red MacPherson?
Daisy shook her head. Im with the Tangle Lake Tattler.
The reporter lowered the microphone. Red didnt give you the scoop, did he? I told him this was my story.
He didnt. But I had to try.
The woman sucked in a perfectly highlighted and blushed cheek and sneered. Tough luck. She spun about and marched across the shoveled sidewalk in her high heels.
Who wore high heels and a business skirt at eleven oclock at night in the middle of January? Daisy sighed. A reporter who was always prepared to get her story, she decided. There was a lot she had to learn about the business of journalism.
But she did have one thing that might scoop them all.
Rushing back to her car, Daisy pulled away with one hand on the wheel and the other clutching her camera.
* * *
The following afternoon, Daisy opened her front door to find Beckett Severo standing there, smiling sheepishly. The frustration that had been building all day as shed tried to understand the Photoshop program to enhance her photos slipped away. A more intriguing distraction had arrived.
And a sexy distraction, as well.
Beck. She shoved a hand over her hair. Hadnt looked at it since stepping out of the shower this morning. Yeesh. I wasnt sure Id see you again after, well, you know.