Then Maverick joined the others, and Adam said, “Okay, all of us were at the Christmas party, so they might have seen us briefly. The police officers were on duty and not at the party, but both are in uniform, so that may make the men suspicious.”

  “But if Gina was worried about her brother, she might have called the police to do a health and welfare check on him,” Maverick said.

  “That’s what I was thinking. What would be the likelihood that they would think the officers were wolves?” Adam asked.

  “Slim chance,” Maverick said.

  “And Weston’s never met us,” one of the officers said. “Sarge will know us, but he’ll guard against his reaction.”

  “Okay, so let’s go with that.” Adam turned to the officers. “You check and see if everyone seems okay. I’ll be in the hallway where they can’t see me. Everyone else will be nearby in case one of the men escapes.”

  “Should we arrest them?” one of the officers asked.

  Maverick smiled. “Yeah, now that would be the way to go. You could arrest them and take them to Leidolf’s ranch.”

  Leidolf arrived then and said, “Okay, do you have a plan in place yet?”

  ***

  Gina hated sitting in the truck waiting to get word. She wanted to see for herself that her brother was safe. Then she got a call from Maverick, and she hoped everything was okay.

  “Hey, honey, the officers are going to make first contact. The rest of us will be waiting in the wings. If this goes as planned, they’ll arrest them and take them down to Leidolf’s ranch.”

  “Oh, that would work.” If nothing went wrong.

  “Got to go. Will update you as soon as I can.”

  “I love you.”

  “Love you too.” Then Maverick ended the call, and she saw the rest of the men moving in different directions toward the apartment.

  She got out of the truck and folded her arms and watched. She had wondered how they were going to shift into wolves and bite the men without announcing what they were going to do at the apartment. But no one was wearing a wolf coat as they moved around the building and waited. She hoped this was all a fluke, that her brother and Sarge couldn’t talk to them for some perfectly legitimate reason, but she suspected that wasn’t the case.

  Chapter 17

  Maverick wanted to be at the door when the police officers knocked. But since he couldn’t, both officers had their body cameras on to capture the conversation while Maverick, Josh, Adam, and Masterson listened in. Adam went with the police officers and planned to wait in the hallway, not visible to the occupants of the apartment, since he officially was a police detective, but they might know him by sight. Leidolf was waiting at his vehicle for word to advance. Maverick knew he wanted to turn one of the men since he was their pack leader, and it would be on him.

  They heard a knock at the apartment door. Then the door opened, and Officer Smith said, “Hi, I’m Officer Smith, and we’re here doing a health and welfare check on a Weston Hutton. Would either of you men be him?”

  Either. Which meant just two men were visible to the officers.

  “I’m Weston Hutton,” one of the men said.

  Maverick recognized Weston’s voice. Josh nodded, indicating he thought it was Weston too.

  “Can I see some ID?” Smith asked.

  “Yeah, sure, Officer. Who called this in?” Weston asked.

  “Gina… Your sister, right?”

  “Uh, yeah, I had a break-in last year, and she had to call the police when I was injured, so she must have been worried something was wrong. In truth, I had eaten something that hadn’t agreed with me and have been having some stomach issues ever since. I had to suddenly end the call with her. And I’ve been in the bathroom several times since then.”

  “That’s understandable. And who are you, and can we see some ID?” the officer asked the other man.

  Either the officer didn’t know the man or it was Sarge and he didn’t want to give away the fact they knew him if someone else was hiding in the apartment.

  “Walter Bromley,” the man said.

  That confirmed one of the friends was in the apartment. But where was Sarge? Were Bromley and Patterson holding the men hostage?

  “Is there anyone else in the apartment?” the officer asked.

  “No,” Bromley quickly said.

  From the tone of his voice and the way he answered so abruptly, Maverick was sure he was lying and he was holding Weston hostage, at the very least.

  “We’ll need to check out the rest of the apartment,” Smith said.

  “You have to have a search warrant,” Bromley said.

  “It’s up to the renter, Mr. Hutton. He’s the only one listed on the lease agreement,” Officer Smith said, quick thinking on his part. “So, Mr. Hutton, do we have your permission?”

  “Hey, Officers, I’ve got to go to the bathroom really quick.” Weston sounded like he was in pain, hopefully making a story up as he went along. He would have known right away that the police officers were both wolves once he’d smelled their scent, and he might have been trying to give them a chance to grab Bromley at least and take him into custody. But only if they could do it quietly enough if Patterson was holding Sarge hostage in another room.

  “Do you mind if I check the bathroom out for you first?” the officer asked.

  Good move, Maverick was thinking.

  “No. Go ahead, but make it quick, please,” Weston said, which made Maverick believe no one was hiding in there.

  Then the officer said, “It checks out. Go ahead, it’s clear. We’ll just wait on you.”

  The next thing Maverick and the others heard was the door to the apartment quietly opening and closing and Adam whispering, “Got Bromley. He was armed with a 9mm gun. We knocked him out before he knew what hit him, disarmed him, zip-tied him, and I’m taking him out to Leidolf’s truck. Leidolf has got a couple of other men with him who will watch Bromley. The two officers are still in the apartment with Weston.”

  Then everything was quiet.

  The apartment door opened quietly and shut again. The toilet flushed, and then the door to the bathroom opened.

  “Okay, so will you let us check the other rooms in the apartment?” the officer asked Weston again.

  “No, I’m fine. I’ll call my sister and let her know I’ve just got a case of food poisoning. Thanks for checking on me.”

  “Okay, sir, goodbye.”

  Then the door shut with a loud thunk, and they heard someone lock it. Maverick hoped the police officers were still there.

  “Hey, the police officers are gone,” Weston called out. “Hell, I can’t believe you think Sarge and I are werewolves. If we were, wouldn’t we have just turned into a wolf monster and come after you?”

  The door to another room opened, and Sarge said, “Patterson escaped through the side window.”

  Maverick and the others leapt into action. He saw Patterson first racing around a bunch of evergreen hollies, recognizing him from the camp and hike in the woods. Patterson was looking back over his shoulder. Total mistake on his part. Don’t look back, just get away. Maverick rushed forward and took him down to the snow-covered grassy area, and Josh and Masterson were there right after that. Masterson quickly used a zip tie on him to confine him.

  “You’re all werewolves,” Patterson said, his voice shaky, his eyes wide.

  Maverick and the others laughed like he was making a joke. Then they hauled him off to one of the police cars, and the two vehicles drove off.

  Adam said, “Weston’s apartment is clear. Both Weston and Sarge are safe, a little shook-up but that’s all.”

  Maverick called Gina. “Weston and Sarge are safe. Bromley and Patterson are in custody and on their way to Leidolf’s ranch.”

  “Oh, good. I’m on my way.”

  “No, I’m coming for you.” Maverick figured she had to be shook up, and he wanted to be there for her. As soon as he reached her, he took her into his arms, squeezed her tight, and kissed her. “He’s okay.”

  She kissed him back, all her worry diminishing in that searing kiss. “Thank you and the others for coming to my brother and Sarge’s rescue. I figured they had to be in trouble.”

  “Yeah, I did too.”

  When they reached Weston’s apartment, they headed inside. Adam was just leaving but paused to tell Gina she’d made a good call and all was well. She thanked him, and he said, “I’ve got a case to work and have to get back to the bureau, but I’m glad everything worked out.” He smiled at her; then he and Masterson left.

  Gina hurried to hug her brother. “God, I’m so glad you’re all right.”

  “Yeah, I hoped you’d figure out that something was wrong. As soon as the cops were at the door, Bromley looked through the peephole; then he told Patterson to take Sarge back into the bedroom and wait until he got rid of the cops.”

  “What were they going to do with you?” Gina asked, taking a seat in the living room with the others.

  “They wanted us to shift, and then they were going to record it and share the news with the public. But of course I don’t have any control over shifting, and Sarge wasn’t about to. We just kept trying to convince them they were wrong. That at first Maverick had said he had wolf dogs when we were hiking because he was afraid someone would report him for having wolves with him on the hike through the state park. Then he was having difficulty with the Calypso Ranch staff trying to steal his sales and so he had a couple of his wolves on display,” Weston said, bringing bottles of water out for everyone. “They knew you wouldn’t verify the wolves were real wolves, Gina, unless they truly were, or you’d lose your credibility with your peers.”

  “Yeah,” Sarge said. “When they realized Weston knew I was alive and had said nothing about it to them, they were certain we were both werewolves.”

  “Why did you even open the door to them?” Maverick would have been warier of that and called for wolf backup right away.

  “We were just going inside the apartment when they rushed us, shoving us inside, and locked the door. Before that, they had been watching Leidolf’s ranch, saw us leaving, and followed us to Weston’s apartment,” Sarge said. “We didn’t know how to deal with the situation. We hoped Leidolf would realize something was wrong when we didn’t return to the ranch after a few hours.”

  “But when Gina called, we had our chance to warn her we were in trouble. We had to be careful that we didn’t spook them, any more than they were already. Both were armed, and they were scared of us,” Weston said.

  “Not to mention we were scared of them,” Sarge said.

  “Did they tell anyone else about us?” Maverick asked.

  “No,” Weston said. “They wanted to prove we were werewolves before they brought anyone else in on this.”

  “Okay, good,” Josh said.

  “Well, I just needed to get some of my work stuff and take it back to the ranch. I never expected this to happen. Oh, and they were sure the reindeer ranch dinner was a setup. That as soon as they arrived at the ranch, wolves would come out and bite them.”

  “Well, they were right about that and everything else.” Maverick smiled. “I’m just glad everyone’s fine.”

  “Is it okay if we return to the ranch now?” Weston asked.

  “Yeah, we can do that,” Maverick said. “I’m sure you want to see your friends and talk to them about us.”

  “I do,” Weston said.

  “I want to go too,” Gina said. “Just for a short while. I just want to see them, talk to them, tell them how wonderful being a lupus garou is.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Maverick understood.

  But first, they helped Sarge and Weston fill up the truck with stuff that Weston had wanted to remove from his apartment and take to Sarge’s house.

  “We’ll see the guys and hopefully everyone will be okay.” Maverick called Leidolf to tell them they were going to his ranch. “How are things there?”

  “We’re talking to Bromley and Patterson all about the world of lupus garous. I’m sure they would love to see all of you.”

  “We’re on our way down.” Then Maverick ended the call. “Who all is going to the ranch?”

  “We are,” Weston said.

  “I’m returning to the shop to help Brooke,” Josh said. “Tell us what happens.”

  “You know we will. Oh, and maybe we can still have our brisket dinner with them, except we won’t have to turn them this time, they’ll be wolves too.” Maverick took hold of Gina’s hand.

  “By the way, what were you calling me about?” Weston asked Gina.

  “We’re mated.”

  Weston laughed, hugged her, and then shook Maverick’s hand. “I guess I just gained a brother or two. Congratulations, you two.”

  “Thanks,” both Gina and Maverick said at the same time.

  Weston locked up his apartment and got into Sarge’s truck, the two of them heading out. Maverick and Gina did the same thing while the others went on their way.

  “Leidolf can give them a choice now,” Gina said, settling back against the seat.

  “What do you mean?”

  “They can be turned by a bite or the saliva in the bloodstream method, since they know what we are, and they have that choice.”

  “Oh, yeah, I thought maybe you were thinking they had a choice about being turned or just being released.”

  “No, I know that’s not an option for them.”

  “Okay, good. How do you feel about it?”

  She smiled. “Relieved. Now it will be done, and we don’t have to worry about them reporting what we are. I hope they’re okay with it. If they hadn’t persisted in trying to learn the truth, it would have been okay. But maybe they can enjoy the irony of it. They found a whole werewolf pack. Except they can’t share the truth about it with non-werewolf types.”

  “And they can still search for Bigfoot during the new moon.”

  She chuckled. “Exactly. What if they exist and are shifters too? That’s why they’ve never been spotted.”

  “Then Patterson has got my vote as being one of them.”

  “Ohmigod, yes, I’ve always told him that! That he was a descendent of one.”

  Maverick smiled.

  When they reached Leidolf’s ranch, the gate guard said, “They’re up at Leidolf’s house.”

  “Thanks,” Maverick said.

  They drove up to the house, and Cassie came out and greeted them just as Sarge and Weston parked as well.

  “Come in. We’re having grilled cheese sandwiches, hot cocoa, and chocolate cheesecake,” Cassie said, motioning for them all to go inside.

  “We had a late breakfast,” Gina said. “But the hot cocoa and chocolate cheesecake sound great.”

  “Okay.” Cassie smiled and served them some slices of cheesecake and fixed some Santa mugs of cocoa. “Congratulations are in order. Leidolf told me you are mated.”

  “Thanks. Neither of us could wait.” Gina heard laughter inside and frowned. “That’s the guys. They’re not upset?”

  “When we told them all the benefits of being wolf shifters, they were relieved,” Cassie said.

  “Oh, I’m so glad they’re good with it,” Gina said.

  “Well, except they are peeved with Weston and Sarge for not telling them the truth in the first place.” Cassie led them into the sunroom where the men were laughing and drinking their cocoa and eating their cheesecake.

  “Oh, hell, here they are,” Bromley said, standing.

  Patterson stood too. He and Bromley hugged Weston and then Sarge.

  “Leidolf told us about the other guys,” Bromley said.

  “Are you okay with it?” Gina set her cocoa and cheesecake on a coffee table and hugged each of the guys.

  Maverick set his plate and mug down next to hers so he could strip out of his clothes, shift, and bite one of the men if that was the option they agreed to.

  “Yeah, Gina. Leidolf told us how Maverick accidentally turned you and then all the rest of the story.”

  “Have you been turned yet?” Gina asked.

  “No, when Leidolf said you were on the way, we told him to wait,” Patterson said. “We were offered a bite or the saliva method.”

  Bromley shook his head. “How could we ever tell our story of how we became one of you to generations to come if all we did was got an injection of werewolfism? We’re opting for a bite.”

  “Ready?” Leidolf asked, stripping out of his clothes.

  Gina squeezed Maverick’s hand, cuing him to be the other one to turn one of their friends, and he began to strip.

  “Yeah, bring it on,” Bromley said, pulling up his sleeve.

  Patterson did the same thing as if that was the protocol.

  And then Leidolf shifted, and the men’s jaws dropped. Weston was standing there smiling, arms folded across his chest. “Yeah, I felt the same way when I saw Maverick shift.”

  Maverick pulled off the rest of his clothes and shifted. Both he and Leidolf targeted one of the men, Leidolf going for Bromley, Maverick biting Patterson, but both men jumped back, a natural reaction to the wolf attack.

  Neither Maverick nor Leidolf bit them hard, just enough to break the skin and lick the wounds, to make sure they turned the men.

  Then he and Leidolf returned to their discarded clothes, shifted, and dressed.

  “Where are you staying?” Gina asked as everyone sat down to eat the rest of their lunch and for Gina and Maverick to enjoy the cheesecake and cocoa.

  “With me,” Sarge said. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  “What about the brisket dinner tonight?” Bromley asked. “We were afraid you’d ambush us at the reindeer ranch, but now that we’re wolves, we want to join you for dinner if it’s still all right with you.”

  “Absolutely. You’re part of the pack, like family now. So, sure,” Maverick said, once they’d both finished their dessert and cocoa. “If you’re all set to go, Gina, I’m ready to return home.”