She kissed him then, just a sweet kiss on the lips, not sure if he was ready for more…yet. “I never believed in werewolves, but when you said you were one, I never expected you to be so…hot.”

  He smiled, pressed his mouth to hers, kissed her lightly, and then pressured more until she opened her mouth to his and their tongues caressed.

  “Hmm,” she said. “I’m really going to like dating you, I think. Before we get too carried away, I guess we need to see your pack leaders.” That worry about her family kept niggling at the back of her thoughts. Not to mention the full moon was in force and that worried her more than she cared to admit.

  “Yeah, we do.” He kissed her lightly on the mouth again, as if to ensure that she would like dating him, and then he grabbed up his boxer briefs and pulled them on. “Are you ready to meet them?” He finished dressing in a hurry.

  “I am.” She figured she really didn’t have a choice and it was better to get this over with.

  Then he took her out to his garage to get his pickup and showed her his 1957 red-and-white Corvette, and she loved it.

  “This is really lovely. It must have cost a fortune.” She was impressed and wondered if the reindeer ranch made enough money to afford the classic car and the beautiful ranch.

  “Brooke inherited a Ferrari, the Corvette, and the 1940 Ford pickup we use for displays from her great aunt, so Brooke gave this car to me for a Christmas present.”

  “That is a really nice Christmas present, and I bet it’s fun to drive,” she said as they got into his truck and headed down the road.

  “Yeah, it’s great when it’s warmer and I can take the top down.”

  “I bet.” If they were still dating each other by then, she’d love to try it out.

  When they finally arrived at Cassie and Leidolf’s ranch, she admired the acres of trees and meadows and mountains, a main ranch house and bunkhouse, and several other homes and barns. She imagined the bachelor males lived in the bunkhouse.

  Cassie and Leidolf welcomed them into the main ranch house, both of them smelling like red wolves—which amazed her to no end that she could tell that—and they were both lovely redheads with expressive green eyes.

  “We’re so excited to meet you,” Cassie said. “I’m a wolf biologist myself and go on lecture tours all over the country, spreading the word about wolves.”

  Cassie had made them cocoa and Black Forest cake just to welcome her, and Gina really appreciated it. They sat in the den with a view of the mountains, forest, and pastureland to enjoy their dessert and drinks.

  “That sounds great.” Gina was all for spreading the word about different animal species and how important they were to the ecology. “I’ve done that too about other species. I’m a zoologist.”

  “Maybe we could do it together sometime.”

  “I’d like that.” Gina couldn’t believe how normal everyone she’d met seemed. It wasn’t anything like what she’d envisioned real werewolves would be like.

  “So we need to discuss what you want to do now that you’re one of us,” Leidolf said, getting down to business. Gina envisioned a pack leader would be just like him. In charge, wanting to set the rules right from the get-go. She figured Cassie would be too when she needed to be, but she was friendlier.

  “Maverick and Josh both invited me to stay at their homes,” Gina said, “to study the wildlife and the reindeer. So I’ll be happy to do that. Plus Maverick has offered to take me on some dates, so I’m looking forward to that. I just have to say that a lot of this doesn’t seem that real because I haven’t shifted. Sure, I have heightened senses and all, but that isn’t like actually turning into a wolf. It still seems unreal.”

  Leidolf said, “You can turn into a wolf at any time, except during the new moon phase, but for new wolves the phase of the full moon will have the strongest pull on you.”

  Gina glanced at Maverick. He hadn’t exactly mentioned that part to her, had he? Just about the full moon.

  “Yeah, it can affect you at any phase of the moon other than the new moon,” Maverick said.

  “That’s why we want new wolves to stay with us so we can help them through all this,” Cassie said.

  That wasn’t good. No wonder Maverick had come back to search for her. What if she hadn’t agreed to go with Maverick and she had turned in front of her brother and their friends? That would have been a major disaster.

  “Maverick says you have an older brother and parents,” Leidolf said.

  “Yes, and we’re really close.”

  “Okay, well, my recommendation is we turn them as well,” Leidolf said. “We don’t take a situation like this lightly though.”

  “In other words, you usually don’t turn a family,” Gina said. “You would terminate them instead?”

  “Only those who are out to harm us. We work hard to ensure humans don’t catch us shifting. And we try not to turn anyone accidentally. In any event, we would take your parents and brother in as well, but how do you think they’ll handle it?”

  “I believe my brother would be thrilled. I can’t be for certain, but I think so. Mom and Dad, I have no idea. They’re open-minded about a lot of things, but I’m not sure about this.”

  “They’ll have to leave their friends behind,” Cassie said. “Being with humans doesn’t work out well for newly turned wolves. For those of us who were born lupus garous and who have very few human genes in our roots, we’re known as royals who can shift at will, even during the new moon. Royals can blend in even more with the population because of this.”

  “Okay, so then how do we work this? Both of my parents are retired. They’d talked of moving from Corvallis to Portland because that’s where I was working as a freelancer.”

  “One thing they’ll probably enjoy, we have increased longevity and healing abilities. I’m sure they’ll appreciate that,” Cassie said. “Why don’t you bring your parents out to the reindeer ranch to see your new boyfriend?”

  Gina glanced at Maverick. She really liked him, but she hoped his biting her didn’t mean he felt he was stuck mating with her. Then she frowned. “And then you’ll turn wolf and bite them?” She felt like she was setting her parents up to be ambushed.

  “We have a more civilized way to do it. But I’m afraid we can’t discuss what we are with them and give them a choice,” Leidolf said. “I was thinking more of letting them meet Maverick, see his setup at the reindeer ranch, see that he and the rest of the ranch hands and Maverick’s brother, Josh, are stand-up guys.”

  Gina figured they couldn’t talk to her family and give them a choice. It was hard to come to terms with all this. “And my brother?”

  “Invite him at the same time. Just make sure no one else comes with him,” Cassie said. “The fewer who are involved, the better. Oh, and we have our Christmas party in a couple of hours. Why don’t you get settled, clean up—since you’ve been camping and hiking and you’d probably like a hot shower. Then we’ll see you both back here with the reindeer for the party.”

  “In the meantime, you can think over what we’ve said and tell us what you want to do,” Leidolf said.

  Gina was surprised they wanted her to help with the decision-making in this case. If she had her parents turned, she felt like she would be betraying their trust. But if she tried to stop seeing them, they’d worry she’d joined a cult or something and try to have them investigated. With her brother, he was already fascinated with searching for werewolves, and she thought he’d be all right becoming one, but maybe not.

  “If you would ever like to stay with us, you’re welcome to,” Cassie said. “Come, see the rest of the house.”

  Gina appreciated that Cassie was trying to make her feel comfortable. Cassie showed Gina the master bedroom and five more bedrooms, all well furnished, each having its own bathroom, sitting area, and patio to enjoy the view of the lands and mountain range.

  When they reached the living room, the place was just as elegant with leather couches, Persian rugs, crystal chandeliers, and oil paintings of the Oregon coastline. All around the room, brass wolf sculptures were displayed in various poses—from resting in packs to nuzzling each other or snarling at one another.

  “It was nice meeting you both,” Gina said, really liking both of them.

  “Likewise,” Cassie said and gave her a hug.

  Leidolf smiled and said he enjoyed meeting her and looked forward to seeing more of her at pack events.

  Then she thanked them for the cocoa and cake, and she and Maverick said their goodbyes and left.

  “I know it’s a lot to think about,” Maverick said on the drive back to his ranch.

  “I just don’t want to force something on my parents that they’ll hate. Then they’d be angry with me for instigating the whole thing. But we’ve all been really close, and if I just distance myself from them, they’d investigate to learn what was going on, afraid you and my new friends were holding me hostage. Maybe they’d think that I joined some weird cult out on a ranch. Who knows what they might do?”

  “You don’t have to make a decision right away.”

  She let out her breath. “What’s the other way they can be turned other than a bite?”

  “A wolf’s saliva introduced into their bloodstream.”

  “Okay, at least that seems more civilized. But then you’d have to discuss this with them to get their approval.”

  “Which we can’t really do. I mean, we could discuss it with them, but if they said no, we’d have to bite them.”

  She sighed. She could imagine them saying no and it being forced on them. “You know you could just take me home and I can get cleaned up there.”

  “Your hiking backpack is still at my house.”

  “Oh, true.”

  “Where do you live exactly?”

  She gave him the address of her apartment, which was about 45 minutes from where he lived.

  “Okay, we’ll drop by my place, get the backpack, and I’ll take you to your place. You can shower, change, and then we can go to my place. I’ll shower and change, and we’ll take the reindeer down to the ranch.”

  “That will work. I worried that Cassie and Leidolf smelled that I hadn’t showered in a while and that’s why she suggested it.”

  He smiled. “No, you’re good. She just knows we were camping and hiking and you’d want a nice hot shower. Me too.”

  “I do. I just forget everyone can smell scents so much better.”

  “You smell like a wolf, and that fragrance trumps all.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  When they arrived at the ranch house, he grabbed her backpack while she waited in the truck. Then he joined her, and they were off again.

  “Are people dressing up for the party?”

  “Everybody wears everything to these events.”

  “I don’t want to be totally underdressed in front of everyone.” She thought about it and figured he might have some pictures of last year’s Christmas party. She reached out her hand for his phone. “Show me pictures of past Christmas events.” She didn’t trust that everyone didn’t come dressed for the occasion. Though what did she know about werewolves when they partied?

  “You don’t trust my word?” He smiled at her, appearing amused more than anything, and handed his phone to her.

  She thought he was brave to give her access to all his photos, but mostly they were of the reindeer and visiting groups at the ranch or out on tour. None of him hugging on a woman in any of them. Then she found the Christmas pictures.

  She flipped through them and saw several people dressed in Christmas sweaters, some in skirts, others in jeans, so he was right. They wore a variety of clothes from casual dressy to casual.

  “See? They wear a little bit of everything.”

  “You’re right. The women dress up a bit more.”

  They finally arrived at Gina’s apartment, and she led him inside. Luckily, she’d picked the place up. He set her backpack on the living room floor. She would do a load of laundry after the Christmas party.

  “Grab anything you’d like to drink from the fridge. I’ll be just a few minutes.”

  “Take your time. We’re not in a real big rush.”

  But she knew they were because they still had to return to his place, he had to shower and get dressed, and they had to take the reindeer with them, and drive back to Leidolf’s ranch. So she was going to make this as quick as she could.

  Still, she felt so grimy, and she didn’t want to leave the shower once she was in it. She couldn’t help thinking of him lathering up in his own shower after seeing his rock-hard body. She finally dried off and started yanking clothes out of her drawers and closet. She thought she knew just what she wanted to wear, but after trying on four sweaters, three shirts, and three skirts, she was totally exasperated with herself. She was never this indecisive!

  It all had to do with wanting to make a good impression on him and on the other wolves too. But especially on Maverick.

  But then she sat on her bed in her underwear, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the whole thing. She needed a breather from all this wolf business. Time alone to think about all the consequences she faced. If she had to do it all over again, knowing what she knew now, would she have attempted to save the wolf?

  She loved all animals, and if she’d known he was a wolf shifter? She would have done it anyway despite how crazy her life was bound to become.

  Yet she was having second thoughts about going with Maverick to the party, of seeing all the other wolves, of facing the reality of her new worldview.

  Truthfully, she didn’t know what she would do. What if meeting the pack members at the party was a total disaster tonight? Or she had to strip and shift while she was there? Or even on the way there?

  Chapter 5

  Still surprised Gina was taking the wolf business so well, Maverick didn’t want her to feel she didn’t have any control over her life or that he was now in charge of it, but he had turned her, and it was his ultimate responsibility to watch over her. He’d listened to her showering, and though she said she’d be quick, she had taken a long, hot shower, and he knew just how she felt. After camping, he always wanted to take a long shower to clean off the sweat and grime, to feel the heat penetrating his skin too.

  Then he’d heard her bringing out clothes, trying on some, starting over again. He wanted to tell her whatever she wore, everyone would love her in, but she sounded indecisive. Worse, when he figured they really needed to hit the road so he could manage a quick shower, he heard her sitting on her bed and everything was silent.

  Then he heard a sob. Ah hell. He felt like he was two feet tall, and he walked across the living room where he’d been pacing, unable to stop himself because he had been anxious about arriving back in time, and knocked on her bedroom door. “Gina? Do you want to talk to me?”

  “No, I…” She sobbed again.

  “Can I come in?”

  “I’m not…not dressed.” She paused. “You might have to help me figure out what to wear too. I’m really not good at it.” She chuckled through tears.

  He figured she wasn’t concerned about what to wear to a Christmas party but how to face a bunch of wolves in a wolf pack at a Christmas party.

  If the roles had been reversed with Gina and him, Maverick would probably have felt the same way as her—overwhelmed and unable to make a decision of any magnitude.

  “I’m going to step outside for a moment and call to get someone else to take the reindeer to Leidolf and Cassie’s ranch so we have a little more time.”

  “No, I’ll…I’ll be ready in a moment.” But she didn’t move from the bed, and he figured she was having an identity crisis.

  “I’ll be right back.” He headed outside and called Josh, needing to express the concern he was feeling.

  “Hey, is everything all right?” Josh asked, sounding like he already suspected trouble.

  “Yeah, I took Gina home to shower and put on something dressier for the party. She’s feeling unsettled about everything.”

  “Okay, I knew you wouldn’t have called while she was visiting with you unless you were concerned about something. Are you afraid she’ll want to skip the party?” Josh asked.

  Maverick sighed. “Maybe.”

  “Look, we’ll get the reindeer to the ranch. You stay with her and make sure she’s all right. I’m sure it’s probably just sinking in. She needs to think about it on her own without anyone influencing her. But you need to be there for her, waiting in the wings until she can sort things out.”

  “She’s worried about her family and what to do concerning them.”

  “Exactly. Don’t worry. We’ll have lots more parties. She’s under a lot of pressure. If you come late, you come late. If you don’t show up, we’ll understand.”

  “I don’t want her to feel like I’m dominating her life.”

  “I have every faith in you. Everything will be fine.”

  Then they finished the call, and Maverick was glad he’d talked to Josh. His brother always felt the same as he did in so many ways and made him feel better about the situation.

  But when he went to the apartment to open the door, he realized it was an automatically locking door and he was locked out in the cold without his parka!

  ***

  Feeling overcome, Gina thought of not going to the party. But she figured she would have fun if she could see everyone as human and not as a bunch of werewolves—just as long as she didn’t shift during the festivities. And she really did like Maverick and wanted to be with him. She wiped away her tears and hurried to choose just anything so she wouldn’t make Maverick wait on her any further when he needed to shower at his home and dress too. Her phone rang, but it was in the living room, and she needed to get dressed, so she ignored it for the moment. She’d call whoever it was back. Probably her brother, checking up on her again.