“When are they due?”

  “February next year.”

  Hanna smiled. “Congratulations to both of you.”

  “Thanks,” Michael and Carmela said.

  They cleaned up after lunch, and Phoenix repacked his bags in the guest room where he was staying. He couldn’t believe he would take Hanna to a job interview and end up with a job of his own and a new pack to join.

  Before he left, he gave his sister a hug and shook Michael’s hand, then gave him a warm embrace. Carmela hugged Hanna, too, and she looked like she appreciated it.

  Then Phoenix and Hanna drove back to Ryan and Carol’s house in Green Valley. “Are all your things out of the hotel and at Ryan and Carol’s place?” Phoenix asked.

  “Yeah. I checked out completely.” Hanna frowned. “I wonder who called the cops on the motorcycle gangs at the pub. And why they thought we had something to do with it.”

  “I phoned them.”

  “What? You never mentioned it to me when we got arrested. I told the biker you hadn’t notified the police.”

  “Anyone at the pub could have called the police.” Phoenix let out his breath. “So you’re irked that you didn’t tell the gang member the truth?”

  “Of course not. I thought that was the truth. I wouldn’t have said you had, if I had known. You could have told me that you called them, though.”

  “You had your phone in your hand when I pulled you out of there. I thought you had called the police and that’s why the biker came after you and me, because I had been with you. Wait, you were recording the fight, weren’t you?”

  “I’m sure several people were.”

  He passed another car on the road to Green Valley. “And you’re irritated with me for calling the police. What if one of the gang members had seen you documenting their illegal activities? And captured their faces in the event the police had warrants out for their arrest?”

  “I had to get my facts straight.”

  “And you didn’t turn it in to the police when they questioned us.”

  “No. I did later, though.”

  “And?”

  This time, she let her breath out in exasperation. “They were grateful.”

  “What did they say about the delay in turning it over to them?”

  “I told them why I had and they understood. You know, if you’re going to date me, you’re going to have to get used to being with a—”

  She hesitated to say anything further, and he figured she remembered being a reporter was no longer her job.

  “Well, you’re just lucky I’m not,” she said.

  He smiled. “Sorry.” He didn’t comment any further about her taking the video.

  She smiled. “Okay, now that’s been said and done, I like your sister and her mate. That was fun. And I can’t wait to go to the fall festival.”

  “With me.” He wanted her to be with him. Yeah, he’d done about a one-eighty from the first time he met her, but she was the kind of woman who made things exciting for him. He’d been waiting a long time for someone like her who could keep him on his toes.

  She chuckled. “Yeah. With you.”

  “Maybe we could get a place to rent together so we won’t be on top of Carol and Ryan at their place,” Phoenix said. “I mean, when we feel we like our jobs well enough and plan to stay.”

  She glanced at him. “You’re moving awfully fast.”

  “I’ve waited a very long time to meet a she-wolf like you. You’re the one I never saw coming.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, Phoenix. I guess you saw me ogling you at the pub when you first arrived.”

  “I did.”

  “So tell me, why do you have the name Phoenix?”

  “Uh, that. When I was on a mission, a bomb hit a building we were checking out, and when it did, the place exploded in flames. Everyone but me had made it out, and when I finally managed to get to my feet and exit—luckily—I got the nickname Phoenix, for rising from the ashes.”

  “Wow. Okay, I truly need you by my side if I have any trouble with bikers or anyone else. Let’s see about the rental after we’ve been at the jobs for a while. I feel like we don’t want to overstay our welcome.”

  “Yeah, I agree.”

  They arrived at the pack leaders’ house, and she helped him move his bags in.

  It was brisk outside, and they pulled on their jackets and were ready to have fun at the festival.

  “What do you want to do first?” he asked.

  She looked like she was excited about this, her gaze glancing around at the pumpkin patch, the sign for the cornfield maze, the booths of food, the bobbing for apples, craft booths, and a bounce house for the kids. She grabbed his hand and hurried him to the maze. “I have never been in a cornfield maze before.”

  He laughed. “Then the maze it is.”

  “Bobbing for apples after that.”

  He smiled. “I want the apple with the longest stem.”

  “You’re a Green Beret. You can have the shortest one.”

  Then she was pulling him through the maze at a run.

  “We’d better slow down or we’ll find our way out of it too quickly.”

  “The sooner we’re out of here, the sooner we’ll get to bobbing for apples.”

  He had to admit he was having fun with her and felt more lighthearted, like when he’d been a kid on an adventure. He was having nothing but pure fun with a she-wolf, and he felt he was making memories with one who might one day be his mate. He pulled her to a stop and kissed her.

  * * *

  Hanna couldn’t believe she was kissing such a rare, mythical bird as Phoenix again. He was cupping her face and kissing her mouth in a way that was both precious and memorable, and it made her think that perhaps moving into a shared apartment sooner rather than later would be something they would have to do.

  She was giving the kiss her all just as passionately. Well, maybe she pushed for more, making sure that he knew she was all in when it came to showing him some intimacy. They heard voices of people coming toward them in the maze. She pulled her mouth away from his and kissed his cheek, then took off running with him, her hand in his.

  Phoenix smiled at her. “I think we’re going to have to get our own place very soon.”

  “Oh yeah, I believe so too.” The way their pheromones had jumped in to tell them just how much they were interested in each other was a clear sign of their deeper attraction.

  While they were racing through the maze, they ran into several dead ends, entered another path, turned a corner, and found yet again a dead end. Others behind them somewhere in the maze were laughing at their own folly. If others had found the right path and stayed on it, they all could have gotten right out of there just by following the first wolves’ scent. But everyone was having as much trouble making their way out of the maze, and Hanna loved it.

  “This is so much fun.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun in a good long while.” Phoenix seemed to be enjoying this as much as she was, which was important to her.

  No stick-in-the-mud wolves for her.

  When they finally found the exit to the maze, she hugged and kissed him. “Yes! We made it.”

  He laughed and kissed her back. It was chilly out, though they were wearing jackets, but she was full of energy, and he was warming her right up. “Bobbing for apples next.” She took his hand and led him to the activity’s station.

  He let her go first, and she tried and tried and finally got hold of an apple and pulled it out of the water. When he tried, he had to struggle to get his apple out of the tub for much longer than she had. Hanna was glad that she outdid the special forces guy, and then they were off to ride the horse-drawn hay wagon that took them all over the property while they sipped hot apple cider and were covered in a pretty green-and-black-plaid blanket. She snuggled up next to him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

  “I’m glad I went to the pub,” she said.

  “Because it led to a job.”

  “Because I met you.”

  He smiled. “Yeah, you know I had thought of just stopping to get gas and grabbing an energy drink there, but I saw the pub and something just drew me in.”

  “Me?”

  He laughed. “I couldn’t help but notice you sitting there all alone, looking like you needed some company, but then I saw the bikers, learned you were a wolf, and things worked out differently than I had planned.”

  They ended the ride, and he asked her what she wanted to do next.

  “We should have worn costumes. But I didn’t bring mine with me,” she said as she looked at participants dressed as everything from superheroes to cats, witches, elves, and warlocks.

  “Yeah, I don’t have one either yet. So what’s next?”

  “They have guided trail tours. Since I’ve never seen the property, I’d love to do that. How about you?” she asked.

  “Sounds like a great idea. And then we’ll know where to run.”

  “Oh, and they’re having a howling contest. I want to do that too.” She saw little kids making wolf masks on paper plates, with others face painting or striking at a wolf piñata.

  They took the walk on the hiking trails hand in hand, which was fun, the trail lined with battery-operated candles in orange sacks, while their tour guide gave them a nature talk about how long the property had been owned by the wolves and how they had expanded the acreage to allow for their pack members to run.

  Hanna loved the river and all the forested land. “We can come here and run later tonight.”

  “Yeah. That would be good. After we have apple cider, turkey legs, and pumpkin pie, or whatever else appeals to us, we’ll have to work some of those calories off.”

  They headed back to the main activity area and watched a man dressed in a skeleton outfit being dunked.

  “Have you got a good arm?” she asked Phoenix.

  “Yeah, the rest of me is good too.”

  She chuckled. “Go win something for me.”

  “You got it.” He started throwing the ball at the target and knocked the skeleton into the water.

  “Betcha can’t do that again,” the skeleton taunted.

  Phoenix smiled and threw another ball. He hit the target and sent the skeleton into the dunk tank again.

  Hanna clapped her hands. “Yes! I want the big stuffed wolf.”

  “Ten shots without missing,” he warned.

  “I’ll go home with you tonight if you get it for me.”

  He chuckled since they were staying at the pack leaders’ home together already. He threw the next ball and sent the skeleton dropping into the water.

  “You can’t make the next one,” the skeleton said, climbing back out of the water.

  Phoenix threw the next four balls and dropped the skeleton every time.

  “Okay, give someone else a chance,” the skeleton said. “Sheesh.”

  Phoenix smiled and threw another ball. A crowd was gathering to watch now and cheered when he dunked the skeleton an eighth time.

  Ryan joined them and folded his arms and smiled. “Next time we choose teams for baseball, you’re on mine.”

  Phoenix laughed. Two more times, he hit the target and won the prize for Hanna.

  “My hero.” She hugged and kissed him and then took her stuffed wolf in a hug. It was four feet long and she loved it. The wolf toy would make it an even more memorable night.

  Everyone clapped, and the skeleton said, “Anyone else? You there, Robin of the Hood. Why don’t you try?”

  Robin Hood looked like he was about five. The skeleton must have needed a break from being dunked in the water.

  Phoenix and Hanna grabbed some turkey legs and wandered around. They saw the ladies and their handmade quilts and the maple-syrup booth where pack members were demonstrating how to produce syrup from the maple trees. They watched a man doing hand-tooled leatherwork and a woman carving small animals, predominantly wolves, from wood. Another man was carving animals from soapstone.

  Others were carving pumpkins, and Hanna and Phoenix had to try that. He carved a phoenix flying. She carved a bear, to do something different. They carried their pumpkins to the McKinleys’ deck and set them there to decorate it. Afterward, they stopped by a booth for sugary pecans, bottled water, and pumpkin pie. Hanna had thought of leaving her stuffed wolf on the deck, but she didn’t want it to wander off, and she was enjoying cuddling it. Though while she ate her treats, Phoenix was good enough to tuck Wild Thing under his arm so she could have her hands free.

  They finally sat by the bonfire where a man was telling ghost stories.

  “This is the best.” She had her wolf on her lap, and she was snuggled up to Phoenix.

  “Yeah, I agree, but it wouldn’t be this much fun without you.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

  Hanna should have known that it was all too perfect and trouble would turn up.

  Some of the pack members had motorcycles, so Hanna really hadn’t paid attention to the sound of additional motorcycle engines rumbling out in front of Carol and Ryan’s house and cutting out.

  Soon, they saw that six members of the Hells Angels had come to their pack fall festival. Only the wolves were allowed to be there. Their wolf-pack parties weren’t open to the general public. Hanna worried the reason the members of the biker gang were there was because of her, and maybe Phoenix too.

  Sure enough, the men began walking through the activities, looking like they owned the place, and headed straight for the bonfire where Phoenix and Hanna were sitting.

  Phoenix was on his feet in an instant.

  She was worried, but she needn’t have been. Women and children had suddenly slipped away like wolves in the woods seeking safety, all but her. She was sticking by Phoenix. If she had brought the trouble here, she didn’t want to lead any of these men to the women and children.

  Ryan and several armed men in the pack headed to the bonfire to speak with the gang members. “This is a private party,” Ryan said, his voice razor sharp. “You’re trespassing on private property.”

  “I want to talk to that woman and her boyfriend,” one biker said, pointing at Hanna and Phoenix.

  Phoenix moved forward to confront the biker. “You’ve already spoken to her, threatening her. We have security video of it. We know who you are—your background, your brother’s, and the reason he’s in jail—and you and your gang are under surveillance at all times while in Green Valley.”

  She loved that Phoenix would be a PI and could do that kind of work, even though he hadn’t been involved in it yet. She knew Ryan would have had his men on the case from the moment she’d called about the trouble.

  The man looked like he wanted to kill Phoenix right then and there. But one of the men slapped him on the shoulder. “Come on. We can’t afford to end up like your brother.”

  The blond was still staring Phoenix down as if he hated to give up the confrontation, like one alpha wolf to another. But Phoenix wasn’t backing down, and more of the male wolf-pack members showed up with guns to emphasize the point that they had the firepower to end this confrontation in their favor.

  “Come on,” the other man said to the blond again. “Anyone could have called the police on us. And your brother knew what would happen this time if he got caught.”

  The blond scowled at Phoenix and Hanna. Then he growled, turned on his booted heel, and left with the other men. Ryan’s men followed them to ensure they left the property peacefully.

  The party resumed after that, and Ryan said to Phoenix and Hanna, “I’m glad you told them the PIs have been investigating everything there is about those men. Rest assured, the sheriff is just waiting for any excuse to throw them back in jail. None of this group are innocent, and we don’t want them harassing anyone, wolf or otherwise, in Green Valley.”

  “Thanks,” Hanna said. “I was worried they might have been after me because I turned over the video to the police that showed who started the fight.”

  Ryan smiled. “You two will fit right in.”

  Chapter 6

  With the full moon shining brightly in the night sky, orange lanterns lighting all the paths and trails, a couple of wolves getting a start on being wolves by howling in the woods, a band playing in the background, and the man telling stories as Phoenix warmed Hanna up at the bonfire, this couldn’t be more perfect. Not to mention he’d really lucked out when he’d managed to knock the skeleton into the tank ten times in a row without a miss to win Hanna her stuffed wolf. He knew he’d made her night.

  Hanna made his. He hadn’t done anything like this since he was a kid, and certainly not with a she-wolf wrapped in his arms. He couldn’t think of a more special way to spend the night with her in Green Valley.

  He was glad that they had Ryan for a pack leader and the whole pack to back them if they had trouble with motorcycle gangs or anyone else who might cause trouble for them in the future.

  “Hey, are you ready to run as a wolf?” Things would be winding down soon, and he really wanted to run as a wolf with her before it got to be too late. He realized they hadn’t even talked to Ryan about when they would start work.

  “Oh yeah, I’m ready,” she said.

  He stood and helped her up, then they walked to the house and she dropped off her stuffed wolf in her guest room.

  “You’re staying with me, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “Yeah, sure.” Hell yeah.

  He began stripping off his clothes, and she was doing the same. They were eyeing each other with small, appreciative smiles. Then she shifted, and she was a beautiful red wolf with white fur legs, chest, and under her chin. He had a black fur band around his chest, red and gray fur under his chin, and a darker tail. But she was just beautiful.

  She licked his face, and he nuzzled and licked hers. Then they pushed through the wolf door and ran toward the woods where they heard other wolves barking and playing.