“I–I didn’t mean to. We’re not supposed to,” Luke said.

  “Yeah, that’s what they said. I–I didn’t know you and the wolf were one and the same. No hard feelings.” Rusty shook Luke’s hand and slapped him on the back.

  “We’re the pack leaders of the Silver Town wolf pack,” Darien said. “Darien and Lelandi Silver. Since Luke is a gray wolf shifter, that’s what you are. Lelandi is a red wolf. I’m a gray. We’ve adopted Luke, and we want you to stay with us until we find you another solution to your living situation.”

  “I’m not going to be a prisoner?” Rusty sounded surprised.

  Darien smiled, albeit a little evilly. “You have a job to do. Testify along with Luke against Fennel who killed Eddie. Fennel also attempted to murder Dylan. So the hunter needs to be sent to prison. I’m sure Luke will feel better about having bitten you if he can get to know you. We’ll also find you work to do in the pack that will help you to feel like you’re one of us.”

  Though Darien didn’t mention it, Lelandi was sure to be important as their psychologist in helping Rusty to deal with everything he’d gone through since being bitten. And even help him to cope with his PTSD.

  Roxie and Dylan gave Luke hugs. He looked so relieved that Rusty had forgiven him. The pack leaders and their new charges left. Peter smiled at Dylan. “Forget training tomorrow morning. You’re ready for work. With the snowstorm coming in, I’m sure we’ll be in rescue mode.”

  Dylan nodded and wrapped his arm around Roxie’s shoulders.

  “See you at work tomorrow,” CJ said, and he and Peter left the house.

  Kayla, Blake, and Nate gave Roxie and Dylan hugs. Kayla said, “Do you want us to take Rosco and Buttercup for the rest of the night?”

  “Nah,” Dylan said. “If it wasn’t for taking Rosco for his nighttime walk, who knows how long it would have taken us to catch Rusty.”

  “Oh, we’ll have dinner tomorrow night at seven at the Silver Town Tavern—the whole family,” Kayla said.

  Roxie smiled. “We’ll be there.”

  Then they all said their good nights and Rosco and Buttercup settled down in his bed. Dylan put out the fire and raced Roxie up to their bedroom.

  “You got closure tonight,” Roxie said, pulling off Dylan’s plaid flannel shirt.

  “So did Luke.” Dylan helped her out of her sweater.

  “Yeah, he looked really relieved. Wait. Before the snowstorm hits, we need to go to the pool,” she said, hurrying to remove her pants and opening a drawer. “You have your swimsuit now too.”

  “Are you sure that’s what you want to do right this minute?”

  Roxie knew Dylan wanted to make love to her, but she really thought this was important. For both of them. “It’s just like the night we first met. I haven’t been swimming since I found you sinking in our pool. Don’t you want to experience your dip in the pool in a good way?”

  “Sure.” He finished stripping off his clothes and grabbed his swimsuit out of a drawer. Then he pulled it on and dressed in sweats like she was doing. “Just for a little while.”

  “We’ll have a good time.” She hurried to get beach towels for them, her beach bag, bottled waters, and then they bundled up.

  Rosco looked up at them from his bed as they headed for the door.

  “You stay here tonight,” Roxie said. Then she and Dylan left the house and walked the short distance to the lodge. It was snowing, but not real hard yet.

  Inside, they both said hi to the night manager, Eliza, and went inside the pool room. After stripping off their outer clothes, they both dove into the pool.

  “Now this is more like it,” Dylan said, pulling Roxie into his arms.

  “Yeah. I came over here that night because I was lonely. Then I met you and all that changed for me.”

  They kissed each other, then finally swam to the pool divider to the outside of the pool. She hesitated and had a flashback of seeing Dylan sinking in the water, fully clothed, facedown. Then he took her hand, and they swam under the divider.

  When they surfaced, they saw Rusty running as a wolf, headed straight for the pool, Luke and the Silver triplets chasing after him in their wolf coats.

  He wasn’t going to be able to stop in time. She just knew it. Rusty tried to stop, but he wasn’t used to running as a wolf and being able to turn on a dime. Unable to keep his footing, he fell right into the pool. The teens slipped on the wet patio and ended up falling in too.

  Roxie and Dylan just treaded water, staring at the five wolves swimming in the pool. Darien and Lelandi would have a fit when they learned of it.

  The wolves swam under the divider and made their way up the stairs. When Dylan and Roxie reached the indoor pool, the wolves were headed for the registration desk. Thank God the lobby was empty at this time of night.

  Eliza called out to Dylan and Roxie, phone in hand, “I’ve got this!” She let the wolves into the office and shut the door. Then she said, “Um, Lelandi, this is Eliza at the Timberline Lodge…”

  Dylan smiled at Roxie. She smiled at him.

  “I think I’ve had enough swimming for the night. What about you?” Roxie asked him, climbing out of the pool.

  Dylan joined her and started to dry her off. “I’m all for what comes next.”

  They might not have had a long swimming session, just like the night she’d found Dylan in the pool, but now she knew she could swim to the outdoor pool without feeling too much stress—especially when he was with her. By the time they were dressed, the snow was really coming down.

  “Is Darien coming to pick them up?” Roxie asked Eliza at the front desk.

  “Yeah. The kids were running with Rusty, playing tag, showing him how much fun it could be running and playing as wolves. They didn’t expect him to fall into the pool, nor for them to follow him. Luke wanted to know if they could stay with you tonight.” Eliza winked.

  “Another time,” Roxie said. Tonight was her and Dylan’s night. The kids—and Rusty—would have to deal with Darien and Lelandi on their own. “Night, Eliza.”

  “I don’t blame you two. Night, Roxie, Dylan,” Eliza said.

  “I was afraid you would say yes to allowing Luke, Rusty, and the triplets to stay with us,” Dylan said to Roxie as they headed out into the snow.

  “Nope. If we get snowed in, I want it to be with just you, well and Rosco and Buttercup. I love you with all my heart, Dylan.”

  He smiled. “Just the way I want it. I love you to the moon and back, Roxie.”

  Epilogue

  It wasn’t long before Roxie and Dylan were decorating the lodge for the upcoming Mardi Gras party. And they decided that a St. Patrick’s Day–themed party would have to be next.

  “Thanks for being my sweetheart at the Valentine’s Day party,” Roxie said to Dylan.

  “Once you were my sweetheart, I was all in.”

  Luke and his friends arrived at the lodge to help with making decorations for the Mardi Gras party, and Dylan had been a great role model for him by giving him tips as a deputy sheriff. Even Rusty wanted to help with the decorations. She swore he had become a kid again.

  They’d learned he was thirty, had lost his family in a flood, and had been living mostly in the woods from then on, though he had an inheritance and sometimes would go into Loveland and buy new clothes. They’d even all gone skiing together—the teens, Roxie and Dylan, and Rusty. It was as if the kids had to keep him out of trouble since he was a newly turned wolf, but he had it in mind he was keeping them out of trouble since he was the adult among them. Rusty had totally turned his life around and everyone was glad for that. As far as Dylan’s former boss knew, the trapper was gone, vanished, never to set traps again.

  When they stopped for lunch, Roxie and Dylan each had a roast beef sandwich, grapes, and celery sticks at the restaurant. She loved how he could relax now that he was working as a deputy sheriff—get the job done, willing to work any hours, take care of problems, and help others out, but when he had time off and he was with her, he was the perfect mate. Her family adored him just as much.

  Kayla and Nate joined Roxie and Dylan. “Well, when are the two of you going to have kids?” Kayla asked.

  “Don’t tell me. You’re pregnant,” Roxie said.

  “Yes!” Kayla said.

  “Woo-hoo!” Roxie gave her sister a hug and kiss.

  “So you’re up next,” Kayla said. “We’re excited about your June wedding too.”

  Roxie would love to have kids, but she was enjoying the time as a newly mated wolf with Dylan. “You know it seems strange to be putting on our own weddings in our ballrooms. I never thought when we started to run this lodge that we would end up marrying there.”

  “I know, right? And everyone in Silver Town is attending.”

  Roxie hugged her again. “Well, eat up. We’ve got to get back to work.”

  Dylan congratulated both of them and then they went back to decorating.

  Nate looked just as thrilled, and Roxie was glad for both of them.

  “You know, the pressure is on,” Dylan said.

  “Right.” Roxie smiled. “But we are not in a rush. I know we’ll be great parents, but I enjoy being a couple too. Are you in a rush?”

  He laughed. “With making love to you? I’m always ready for that. But I’m fine with whenever we have the kiddos.”

  “Do you ever wish you were working for the FWS? I know you loved the kind of work you did there.”

  “No. Never.” Dylan drank some of his water. “But until you came into my life, I would never have considered working at anything else. You made the change worth it. I love working with the wolves here and all the celebrations!”

  “Hmm.” She paused to give him a hug and kiss. “After St. Patrick’s Day, we’ll have the May Day celebration. You know, rebirth, spring, flowers…”

  “Dancing around the poles because they represent fertility.”

  She laughed.

  Dylan was looking forward to the rest of the year, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with Roxie’s whole family, his now too. He never would have guessed his near-death experience could turn into a whole new way of life with family, friends, a wolf pack to belong to, a new job, and a mate he couldn’t live without.

  Luke, Rusty, and Dylan were still waiting to be witnesses at Fennel, Jim, and Xander’s trial. The wheels of justice moved way too slowly, but at least the perps were behind bars.

  Everyone finally finished decorating the lodge, and then it was time for Roxie and Dylan to run as wolves. Afterward, they were heading back to the house, showering and making love, just like two newly mated wolves would do.

  Love reading Roxie’s love story? See how her sister Kayla made her match in

  WOLF ON THE WILD SIDE

  Chapter 1

  Early that summer morning before heading into work, Kayla Wolff and her quadruplet sister, Roxie, were running as gray wolves on their wooded acreage, not expecting any trouble. Except for a cougar they had to chase off once and a black bear another time, they usually didn’t have any wildlife difficulties. They’d had to sic Sheriff Peter Jorgenson on hunters last fall though.

  Kayla was excited about getting together for dinner tonight with Nate Grayson, the only wolf she’d dated since moving to Silver Town, Colorado, a wolf-run town. Nate’s sister, Nicole, had actually mated their brother Blake.

  Kayla loved it here, and she was planning to mate Nate on the Fourth of July in a little over two weeks if he didn’t ask her beforehand.

  Along with their two brothers, she and Roxie owned and managed the Timberline Ski Lodge nearby. She had been busy serving as the catering manager for a wedding yesterday, so she was glad to get back to working on promotional stuff today.

  As wolves, she and Roxie had been playing with each other when they heard the sound of two men speaking on their property. Other wolves in the pack were welcome to run here anytime, but the others usually ran in the pack territory. And their brother Landon had property with his mate, Gabrielle, around her veterinary clinic, so they often ran as wolves there rather than at the lodge.

  Kayla didn’t recognize the men’s voices. She and Roxie drew nearer, circling around and keeping low so the men wouldn’t see them, trying to get a whiff of the men’s scents before they alerted the sheriff that they had human trespassers. They could be just wolf guests from somewhere else, and Kayla and Roxie certainly didn’t want to alienate wolf visitors to the area. Unless they were causing trouble.

  The hot summer breeze kept shifting, and they had to keep circling when they normally would avoid humans at all costs. Though Kayla did have the notion of just chasing them off as wolves. That was definitely her wilder wolf side coming to play.

  She listened to the men’s conversation in the meantime, and finally, a black-haired man with a curly beard and reddish sideburns came into view. He was a stocky figure wearing a T-shirt that stretched tautly over muscled arms and chest, jeans tight on bulky thighs, a black cap shadowing his features, mirrored glasses, and hiking boots. It was early morning and there was no need to wear sunglasses at this time. The woods were shaded and dark and the sun still just dawning. The other man was tall, not as muscled, with short blond hair; he looked about the same age as the bulky guy—mid-to-late twenties—and was wearing a blue-jean ball cap, a gray T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and polarized aviator sunglasses.

  “I told you. With your experience, it’s a piece of cake. He’ll pay us good money to do it,” the blond guy said. “His uncle is good for his word.”

  “You’re sure you can trust the others?” The muscled guy sounded dubious.

  “Hell, yeah. We grew up together. We’re all friends. They’re eager to do it and to follow your lead since you’re experienced at this kind of thing. It’s copacetic.”

  “It better be. You know what happened the last time.”

  “Yeah, and you didn’t know those guys. This time it’ll be different.”

  “I’ll talk it over with his nephew first.”

  The blond guy didn’t say anything more, but he looked annoyed, his mouth pursed, as if he expected the bulky guy to go along with the program based on his words. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea,” he finally said, as if he had no choice in the matter.

  Roxie was on the move again, trying to get closer. Kayla wanted to woof at her sister to stay with her. She didn’t want them to move any closer to the men, afraid that if the two of them did, the men might spy them more easily. Sure, she and Roxie hadn’t been able to smell them to see if they were human, but she was all for circling them further. If they were wolves, no problem, unless they were up to mischief. But humans? They could be unpredictable.

  “All right, but it better work out.” The muscled guy turned around and saw Roxie.

  For a moment, everyone froze. Kayla ran at the men to give Roxie time to move, then turned quickly and bolted out of there, hoping her sister was gaining on her and the men were running in the opposite direction and not planning to shoot them if they were armed with guns. Kayla heard movement in the woods behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Roxie catching up to her, her eyes filled with excitement.

  Relieved it was just her sister and there was no sign of the men, Kayla thought she could use less excitement in her life. When she had to serve as a wedding caterer and deal with a bridezilla like she’d had to a couple of weeks ago, that was enough of a “thrill” for her. She and Roxie both managed the brides, but Roxie could get growly with an unreasonable one, so Kayla often just took care of them to avoid problems.

  Roxie nipped at her in fun. Kayla nipped back at her, glad everything had turned out fine. Though she was going to lecture her when they returned to their home next to the lodge. She was glad their sister-in-law Nicole hadn’t been with them because she was pregnant. She and their brother Blake would run with Roxie and Kayla most mornings, but Nicole had been under the weather with morning sickness of late.

  After Kayla and Roxie reached the house and ran in through the wolf door, squeezing in at the same time—their usual routine—they raced up the stairs to their respective bedrooms to shift and dress for work.

  Once Kayla had shifted, she called out to her sister, “You shouldn’t have gotten so close to the men!”

  “You shouldn’t have tried to grab their attention so I could get away.”

  “What if they’d been armed?” Kayla pulled on her panties.

  “They weren’t. They didn’t have anywhere to hide a gun, holster, nothing.”

  Kayla sighed, glad to learn that. She had really worried about it. She fastened her bra. “All right, but you shouldn’t have gotten so close. I was going to circle around them further to catch the breeze headed in a different direction. So did you smell their scents?”

  “Human. But since they seemed to be there having a private meeting and then saw a couple of wolves, I figure they won’t be hanging around, so no sense in calling Peter to try to locate them and fine them for trespassing.”

  “Okay.” Kayla buttoned up her blouse.

  “Hey, you’ve got to admit that was an interesting aside to our normal morning jaunt through the woods.”

  “Yeah.” Kayla laughed. “It was memorable, all right. But don’t tell our brothers. If we do, they’ll leave their pregnant wives home to run with us to ensure we stay safe. Even if the guys wanted to stay home with them to make sure they were fine, Nicole and Gabrielle would make them go with us.” She finished dressing.

  “Absolutely. Mum’s the word.”

  Kayla wondered how long that would last! Within a pack and with them working so closely with their brothers at the lodge, she suspected the word would get out one way or another.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks so much to my beta readers, Donna Fournier, Darla Taylor, and Lor Melvin, who help me with the final touches before I turn the manuscript in. Also, thanks to Deb Werksman who gave me the chance to share my world of wolves with all my readers. And to the cover artists, your work always wows me and helps to get my wolves noticed!