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And Sal It s cards, but she set back in the car," Duncan said slowly

She understood his concern as a s in the car and acting like so his life on the line "Why don’t we go around back? I’ll shift, you open the door, then you shift We can check the place out together"

"I’d prefer you’d return to the car," he said gruffly

She wasn’t about to let hi to leave you to face tolves alone"

He took a deep breath and exhaled it in an annoyed fashion "Are all American she-wolves this stubborn?"

"Only e have to deal with equally stubborn males of any country"

He shook his head "Okay, you open the back door while I shift I’ll go in first, and you can shift, then follow reat idea," she said, since it sounded very much like her idea, except that he would shift first She didn’t care as long as she got to go with him

"The greater idea would be that you stay in the car" He moved around to the sheltered back patio with her Once there, he quickly ditched his clothes and then shifted

For his inforreater idea was that she’d stick by her mate

She stripped out of her clothes, unlocked the door, and pulled it open Before she could shift, he bolted inside, tail held straight like a warning flag, ears perked, and hackles raised He paused in the living roo the air He could have waited for her, but she knew he hadn’t wanted to That he wanted to protect her fro just inside the door She loved that protective alpha h her blood as she shifted and followed hiainst tolves She ser and fright ether She wondered ould have been the more terrified? Sal or the other wolf? Had the wolf been in Sal’s employ after all? If so, ould either be afraid?

Maybe of the notion of actually tackling Duncan They did have so to fear when it came to him

She didn’t hear any sounds of a couple of wolves orthat upstairs or in the ain, Sal and the otherto juht moment The men’s presence in the villa probably had more to do with an ambush than a search mission

The men had to know that both she and Duncan would have smelled them and be warned they were here She and Duncan would be prepared for an attack

In hiswolf for her to stay Which was ridiculous He needed her to watch his back She wasn’t staying

She let hiht lead to appease hi her close proxi, he turned his head to look at her, again giving her a silent warning to stay put She stood still,his narrow-eyed expression

He shook his head at her, figuring his order would be ignored, and then turned and headed for the master bedroo his back like a good mate would The men had both been here They didn’t appear to be here now unless they were hiding in the bathroo looked out of place

The bedcovers were disheveled, but that’s the way she’d left the bed this htened them Not because it would have mattered otherwise--she was on vacation, and she and Duncan were going to ain anyway--but she hated that anyone else ht have seen the way she’d left the bed Even if they shouldn’t have been here in the first place

After checking the bathrooet out of his way, and then took off for the stairs Again, he looked at her, willing her to stay downstairs She did this ti there wasn’t a whole lot of roouys were up there, she’d hear their growling She’d race up the stairs and help Duncan then

In reality, she figured neither of them were up there Most likely, they had co out about her and Duncan--and left Maybe Sal wanted to show theo as he pleased, especially once he discovered Duncan’s scent s around his estate It was a testosterone contest between alpha males

But then she sain, then the rug, and found it Drops of fresh blood, a wolf’s blood, on the riser of the carpeted botto suspended, she looked back up the stairs