Page 54 (1/2)

Ryan had barely entered the old, rickety house, its wooden floors creaking as they walked inside, when he heard lols co roo room, where faded floral wallpaper peeled off the walls in sheets, three sofas with sagging cushions were covered olf fur and reeked with the odor of olves A little wolf bark eht of the living roo to check it out Dealing with a she-wolf and her pups could be a dangerous proposition, especially while the three of them were all in human form The wolf could easily tear into the in the rooo-ahead

They walked down the short hall, and when they reached the room, Tom turned the doorknob Locked Sam watched their backs while Tolanced at Ryan, waiting for his approval Ryan nodded

To squeak

A lol carowl

As huainst a wolf’s teeth If it was a she-wolf and her pups, he had no intention of shooting her But he couldn’t risk Tom’s life if the feht

"Shift first," Ryan whispered to Toaped

"If she attacks, you can pin her down I’ll do the talking"

Toreed and quickly stripped out of his clothes After shifting, he butted the door open with his nose before Ryan could push it aside, and stood in the entryway Ryan was at Toe that he’d shoot if anyone attacked, but only if he had no other choice

Ato reach her teats for supper Another ferowled low as she stood nearby in a protective stance, her belly bulging with pups She was due to birth her own litter soon

Ryan holstered his gun "We’re not here to hurt anyone"

The nursingfro for a , wary and protective As a gray male wolf, Tom was still a threat to a couple of red females

"Can you shift back?" Ryan asked the fe mother shook her head Just as Ryan had suspected That meant either they had shifted after they locked the door, or soot movement in another room," Sam warned

"We’ll be back for you," Ryan said He motioned for Tom to come with him Once he was out of the room, Ryan shut the door so that the females couldn’t try to rescue their mates if a confrontation resulted

Ryan, To area and then a kitchen Surprisingly, the kitchen was spotless, although coffee and tea stained much of the counter near a teakettle, and part of the backdrop was coe cleanser wafted in the air; the counters were clean with no dishes; and the porcelain sink sparkled He wondered if the females had recently shifted

Another short hall led to two more rooms The door was unlocked and yielded to show a bedroom furnished with a queen-sized bed that was richly cloaked in a velvet comforter and velvet decorator pillows, all dark brown The walls were freshly painted, and the place appeared to be under renovation No pictures hung on the walls, and new carpet covered the floor

A red male had slept here, but Ryan didn’t detect any scent he’d smelled before

They moved to the next door and found it locked Ryan pulled out his set of lock picks, as Sam said in a hushed voice, "I s all the trouble"

Ryan nodded Then as the door lock clicked open, he hesitated

He envisioned North or hisas soon as he opened the door Or standing as wolves, ready to lunge and rip their throats out This was their territory, and Ryan, Sam, and To here

"We’ll ith you to cure this curse you cast upon all of us," Ryan said, his voice softly threatening, play the game or die, "and you can live Your females and your pups need to live with a pack One that offers more than what you have here--filth and no protection Hell, the place ought to be condeain…" Ryan let them draw their own conclusions

"This isn’t where we normally live!" a ry but shaky, too

Ryan suspected he was holding a gun

"I’un," Ryan warned, in case this was the guy who’d shot him, via a ricocheted bullet off a tree

Silence