Chris definitely didn’t sound happy to hear that Finn was back, nor that he was looking out for Meara’s welfare. Finn wondered what interest Chris had in Meara. A pack sub-leader’s interest—as in she was the leader’s sister, and if she was in trouble and Chris didn’t watch out for her, he would be in trouble? Or something of a more personal nature?

Baby-sitting Meara wasn’t what Finn had in mind, either. But the assassin had already attempted to kill one of their SEAL team members and was suspected of going after another. Finn had the sneaking suspicion that the assassin intended to go after each of them. Fortunately for them, the assassin was batting zero, and with the SEALs aware of the menace, whoever this was would have a devil of a time succeeding now.

Finn ran around the pine trees surrounding the house to the back patio of Meara’s cabin. He’d checked out the cabin farther down the coast and found it was Hunter’s and Tessa’s. Meara’s sweet scent permeated this cabin. And here’s where he’d stay until he could reach Hunter and apprise him of the situation.

Butting through the wolf door with his nose, Finn entered the kitchen and headed for the master bedroom to dress. If he had judged the time right, Meara would be arriving soon. He’d have a fight on his hands from the outset. Guaranteed.

***

Although thrilled for her brother and his mate and their new beginning, Meara was trying not to show how excited and anxious she was to see Hunter and Tessa off quickly on their flight. Meara impatiently waved as they headed to the waiting area past the security check station, and once they were out of sight, she booked it out of there.

Now was her chance to throw out the red carpet for the prospective bachelor alpha males who had leased the cabins. If none of the men this week appealed to her, she had a new batch of bachelor males coming the next week.

They were her cabins for now. The guests were all hers, too. When Hunter and Tessa returned, Meara intended to convince them to let her be in charge of renting the cabins permanently while they ran the pack. She would insist that would keep her well-occupied and happy, since she’d been none too happy to move here from the redwoods of California in the first place. Damned arsonists. If she could get away with it, she’d locate them and… well, they wouldn’t be setting any more fires. Not unless they did so in hell.

Thankfully, Hunter had two sub-leaders, Chris and Dave, to watch over the pack while she was given the job of maintaining the cabins. That meant the sub-leaders would be occupied as she actively looked over her mate prospects. Two weeks. That’s all the time she had without her brother interfering and saying no to anyone she might be interested in. Not that she’d totally listen to him. But she hated how he always made her doubt herself about the men she’d been intrigued with. And once she’d hooked up with them?

Yeah, as much as she hated to admit it, Hunter had always been right. In every case, they’d been the wrong sort for her. But she was determined to get it right this time. Without his brotherly advice!

Of course, if none of these men were suitable, she’d keep looking. But she didn’t believe she’d ever have a more perfect opportunity to be out from under Hunter’s watchful eye than now.

In her excitement, she rushed home to ready herself for her first guest’s arrival, exceeding the speed limit just a little on the winding road. But she had to be prepared.

Let’s see. Snacks, drinks. Maybe dinner, even though it wasn’t part of the paid “meal plan.” But a light meal—she’d made the perfect homemade German potato salad, just in case—and conversation might go a long way toward quickly finding out as much as she could about each of her prospective guests.

What would be the best way to entertain the male arriving tonight? A midnight, moonlit swim? The Pacific Ocean in these parts was cold any time of the year, but she was up for anything a potential mate might enjoy trying. A moonlit stroll in the woods? A run in their wolf coats? Dinner on the patio with glasses of red or white wine, the moon and a sprinkling of stars glowing overhead?

Getting too cozy too early would be a mistake. She loved to run and she loved adventure, so curling up on the couch to watch a movie wasn’t what she had in mind. Later, sure. But she had to know he’d want to do fun, adventurous activities. Not just lie around watching TV while she cooked meals for him. If he also cooked, so much the better. And if he didn’t mind vacuuming? Even better.

Okay, that was getting a little too domesticated right off the bat. But she did hate vacuuming. And if he liked to vacuum, that would definitely work for her.

As soon as she reached the coast and her rustic redwood cabin, she parked and got out of the car. But something didn’t feel right. The blinds were still closed in the four windows facing the road, and the front door was shut like it should be. Everything seemed in order, but… she could have sworn one of the blinds in her bedroom had moved just a hair.

As wolves, well, part-time wolves anyway, she and her kind could see like wolves could. And catching a glimpse of movement that a human might not notice was one of the perks of being one of the wolf kind. Still, had it been her imagination? Maybe a trick of the pine branches dipping and rising in a graceful dance to the coastal wind’s tune and casting shadows across her bedroom window? As she watched the interplay of light and shadows, she thought that might be the case.

She sniffed the air and smelled the scent of pine trees; the salty, fishy ocean breeze; a hint of sour seaweed; and even the smell of an elk. And, she narrowed her eyes as she shifted her gaze to the north, a cougar. He wasn’t anywhere in sight, but she could smell him a few miles through the woods just the same. It was their territory. Not his.

But then she took another breath and frowned more deeply. Hell, a wolf had left his scent markings in the area. She sampled the air some more. Male. Had to be an alpha, or he wouldn’t have been so bold. Had to be a lupus garou for the same reason. If it was the guy renting the cabin who was due to arrive soon and he’d gotten here early, she’d give him an earful. He was just a visitor unless she decided otherwise. And he had no business marking the territory with his own scent. Talk about having balls.

She looked quickly around. Where was he? There was no sign of a vehicle. No one sitting on the wicker settee on the front porch. No sign of a soul.

The scent markings warned her, though, that an alpha male was claiming this territory. She thought then he must still be running around in the woods in his wolf form. Fine. As soon as he showed up, she’d let him know in no uncertain terms what a mistake he was making.

Meara entered the main cabin that their uncle had given to her and Hunter. Now that her brother had moved into Tessa’s home further down the coast, this place was all Meara’s. But immediately she got a whiff of a male werewolf who had been inside her place. She stood stock still, lifted her nose, and sniffed the air with deeper purpose. A male wolf she didn’t recognize had been in her home. No… the scent seemed vaguely familiar, but… she frowned. Finn Emerson?

No, he wouldn’t be here when Hunter wasn’t.

She glanced around the room, listening more than anything, although she scanned the living area, neat as usual, magazines on the table all about fishing and hunting—the kind of stuff she thought guys might be interested in, although she liked the subjects, too. As a young girl, she had been much more interested in wilderness camping and hiking, playing tug-of-war with the guys, and wrestling with them, than in playing with dolls or shopping with the other females when she grew older.

The bookcase against the wall was filled with knickknacks, photos of the giant sequoia trees that reminded her of home, nature books, and her treasured werewolf romance books by Julia Wildthorn, but nothing appeared out of place. She could hear her heart beating spastically.

She wasn’t easily scared, but her innate wolf sense warned her to be wary. A wolf of a man had invited himself in when she was gone, and the door had been locked.

She swung around to look at the wolf door. He’d marked the territory and then let himself into her house in his wolf form?

Then she reconsidered. Sure, he would have left and returned as a wolf, but if he’d first arrived as a man, he most likely would have used a lockpick.

She thought she heard a couple of footfalls in her bedroom. Her eyes widened and her heartbeat quickened. Great. Her rifle was under the bed, easily retrieved if someone broke into her place when she was sleeping. But right now, it did her no good.

She backed toward the patio door that led to a small stone patio, the cliffside walk to a small beach below, and another walk that wrapped around to the front where her car was parked. Her plan was to make a quick getaway and call the pack for help.

But she backed right into someone solid who hadn’t been there seconds earlier. She screeched and jumped several feet away, whipping around in terror to see one hunk of a male specimen. He was definitely a wolf type, a virile, dark-haired man with almost-amber eyes tinged with green. From the way his casual clothes hugged his chest and biceps, he had a body worth taking a second and third look at. His hair was cut military short, and because of his rugged appearance and the way he had moved so stealthily, he reminded Meara of Hunter’s SEAL team members.

But he wasn’t anyone she knew. And he didn’t have the same scent as the other male wolf she’d smelled.

The stranger’s lips curved up slightly, capturing her attention.

“Hey,” he said in a deeply persuasive voice, putting his hands up to show he was unarmed. His wolfish gaze raked over her in an admiring manner that told her he was already interested in her. “Didn’t mean to startle you, but the sign outside said this was the office, and I’ve got a cabin reserved for a week. Unless I’ve got the wrong place. I’m Joe Matheson.” He lowered his hands slowly, as if to prove he wasn’t going to harm her, and stretched his right hand out to shake hers.

Even though she’d heard him say the words she’d wanted to hear and the notion was finally sinking in that he was supposed to be here and was the first of the male guests scheduled to arrive, she couldn’t shake the sudden chill she felt in her bones. Because?