Halfway through her shopping, she stopped in the frozen food section. She grabbed a box of frozen waffles and a bag of pre-formed dinner rolls when something had her bristling. Despite the cool temperature of the freezer she stood in, her elbow propping open the door, she was suddenly flooded by a familiar warmth. It was the same warmth that had consumed her the day before. Panic struck, Oh G.o.d, don't do this again. Not now! She turned to eye the aisle. Not here! When she turned she tensed. Her escalated breathing fogged the chilled gla.s.s of the freezer door. Did I just see what I think I saw?" She lifted a hand and swiped it slowly down the gla.s.s clearing the foggy gla.s.s to reveal Dell standing at the end of the aisle staring directly at her.

f.u.c.k! She stepped back, letting the door slam closed as she gripped her cart and steered it in the opposite direction. She kept her eyes down, hoping he hadn't noticed that she'd seen him.

When she cleared the aisle, her arms were literally shaking. She took deep breaths trying to calm herself as she skipped four aisles, opting to put some distance between herself and Dell.

Clearly they'd both not gotten any shopping done yesterday and had decided to finish it up today. Great! She considered leaving and coming back tomorrow, but knew it would heighten her mother's suspicion so much that she'd be forced to confess to a second encounter with Dell. I am not doing that!

Deciding to stand her ground and just ignore him if she saw him again, Chloe cruised down the aisle at a supermarket sweeper's pace. She s.n.a.t.c.hed a jar of peanut b.u.t.ter as she quickly pa.s.sed by. She didn't stop to peruse brands or debate on chunky or smooth, she simply grabbed the first jar she saw and kept on walking.

She finished three aisles in this manner. In the fourth, she grabbed a jar of cherries and froze as the warm sensation swept over her again. She looked up and was relieved to find the aisle in front of her empty.

"How are you?"

Dell's voice behind her had her tensing.

She didn't answer at first, but turned to find him towering directly behind her. "What do you want?" She watched as his dreamy amber eyes slid up and down her frame, making her suddenly self-conscious about her attire. She hadn't intended on leaving the house that day so she'd dressed comfortably that morning in a pair of old, form fitting jeans that were ripped high on each thigh. Her white t-shirt was just as old, and the way it stretched too tight across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s was a testament to her smaller size of yesteryear. The only thing that was even close to suitable for a day out were the new white tennis shoes that shone too brightly on her small feet. She fidgeted uncomfortably and turned away from Dell when his gaze lingered a fraction too long on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "Good bye Dell."

"Wait."

Chloe looked back just in time to see him reach for her. She jumped back and in doing so dropped the jar of cherries she held, sending a loud crash reverberating through the aisle. Her eyes were large as she scowled up at him, "Don't touch me!"

A store employee arrived in the aisle just as Chloe said the words. The employee was large, and thick, reminding her of one of the wise-guys she'd seen on a TV show about the mob. He wasn't close to being as large and muscular as Dell, but he didn't seem deterred.

The employee stopped and eyed Chloe then focused on Dell. "You alright lady? This guy bothering you?"

"I'm fine," Chloe kept her scowl on Dell, "he was just leaving."

Dell tore his eyes from Chloe and didn't even look at the employee as he turned in the opposite direction and stormed angrily down the aisle.

Chloe watched Dell stalk away. Even with his jacket on, she could see the muscles of his back and arms bunch. Her belly fluttered. Why does he have this effect on me? She'd forgotten all about the store employee until he crossed in front of her and dropped to a knee to start picking up the larger chunks of broken gla.s.s.

"I'm sorry, it just slipped."

"That's alright," the employee kept his head down. "Happens all the time."

She left the employee in the aisle and finished the rest of her shopping; stopping only to call her mother and say she'd be slightly longer than the promised twenty-minutes. The call ended up lasting much longer than Chloe had hoped when her mother instantly a.s.sumed she'd had another spell. After five minutes, Chloe was successful in convincing her mother that she was fine, just taking a little longer than she'd antic.i.p.ated. She'd been tempted to tell her mother that she'd run into Dell, but decided against it in the end. She knew her mother couldn't possibly like the Blackbird's after what they'd done to Donnie. Why her mother felt the need to pretend in front of her, she had no idea, but she knew in her mother's heart, just as in her own, hatred for the Blackbird's would live eternally.

After the call, she checked out and pushed the cart to her car. The parking lot was dark when she finally popped the trunk with the remote on her key chain and began transferring her groceries. When she heard footsteps approaching, she a.s.sumed it was another shopper until Dell's voice had her turning quickly.

"Chloe, we need to talk."

"What are you doing?" she scanned the parking lot, hoping to find other shoppers near-by. There were none and panic flared to life. "Are you following me?"

Dell's dark brows pinched, "No. If you have a minute I'd like to talk to you."

She turned back to her task and worked faster moving her groceries. "I don't have anything to say to you."

"Chloe we need to talk, there's something happening and I..."

"Wait," she finished moving her groceries and slammed her trunk closed. "I do have something to say to you." She jerked the keys from her purse and stared at him. "Stay away from me." She watched as his expression darkened. His typically amber eyes now nearly black, sparked with fury. He looked dangerous and she knew she should have been afraid, but once again, she only felt safe and protected in his presence, and she hated admitting to the feeling. She didn't want to feel this way for him. G.o.d, anyone but him!

"We will talk Chloe. Maybe not tonight, but our confrontation is coming."

She gasped and stepped back, "Is that a threat?"

"No," he responded. "I am no threat to you Chloe."

She eyed him, letting her eyes rove his features, wishing to G.o.d she could see the truth of his words. Instead, she turned from him, got in her car, and drove away. She watched in the rearview mirror as he disappeared from sight.

Dell stood alone in the parking lot cursing himself as he watch the rear lights of Chloe's car slowly dim from sight. Our confrontation is coming! He admonished himself. It did sound like a threat. What in the h.e.l.l was I thinking?

For some reason his logic seemed to fly out the window when he was around her. He couldn't explain it and it certainly wasn't his typical behavior. He wondered if his elevated Alpha status wasn't having some adverse effect on his brain.

She'd asked if he'd been following her, and he'd denied it but that had been a lie. He had been following her. He'd been outside her house all day, circling it to spy on her from whatever window gave him the best vantage point. When she'd taken out the trash earlier, he'd considered approaching her, but knew he'd have no way of explaining his presence. Finally, when she'd gotten in her car, he'd shifted and followed her to the market.

He'd run through the town in his wolf form, which was asinine. He'd have killed any member of his pack that had done anything so foolish. If anyone called the authorities, he could've been shot. It was an incredibly stupid move, but one he couldn't prevent himself from making. He had to follow her, needed to talk to her, hoped to touch her. Instead, he'd outright threatened her.

After he'd made the mistake he'd expected to scent her fear. He hadn't, but he had scented something else, something new. He'd been around her enough to know her scent. h.e.l.l, it was all he ever thought about, but it had been different this time, only slightly, not enough that any other shifter would have noticed, but he had. His lips quirked, it had been female interest. It was often emitted by the females of his kind when they wanted to be pursued.

Chapter 8.

Sleep eluded Chloe again that night. 'Our confrontation is coming'. The words played over and over as she tried to decipher their meaning. While the implications were terrifying, she was slightly relieved that Dell too had realized that something strange was happening between them. She couldn't explain her sudden fainting spells when he touched her and that odd warm sensation that washed over her whenever she was in his presence. For the first time, she actually entertained the idea that he might actually be a shifter and that her reaction to him had something to do with the fact. "Great! Now I'm buying into their bulls.h.i.t."

The remainder of the night was spent tossing and turning and thinking of Dell and for the following week, the days pa.s.sed at an agonizingly slow pace.

Chloe had taken all her vacation at once, knowing that her mother would need her for as long as Chloe could afford to be away from the office. She truly didn't mind missing work. As an investigator for the state's child support enforcement division her job was as monotonous as it was draining. She'd accepted the position with great enthusiasm. She'd had high hopes of doing work that mattered. Unfortunately, her heart just wasn't in the work but it paid well and offered sick leave and vacation. Between both Chloe was able to take two-weeks off to spend with her mourning mother.

She and her mother had spent the first week entertaining the stream of visitors that stopped by with cards or flowers. Donnie had been well known and even more well-liked. The townsfolk, like the family, were still having great difficulty coming to terms with the fact that he was gone.

When the second week came, Chloe preoccupied herself with cleaning her mother's home, preparing meals, and helping her mother come to terms with the loss of her son.

She awoke one morning to find Bea fully dressed and sneaking out the door. She confronted her mother.

"Mom! Where are you going?"

"To work."

"Work? I hardly think you're ready."

Her mother turned a frown on her, "I hardly think you're qualified to offer up such an opinion."

Still in her pajama bottoms and a loose t-shirt, Chloe attempted to smooth down her disheveled hair. "You took two weeks off. You still have a few days. Why are you rushing this?"

Bea reached around to lock the door from the inside, her car keys jangling in her palm. "Because when you get to be my age you have to keep your mind pre-occupied." She took a step out the door.

"Mom!"

Bea halted, her shoulders sinking as she stared up at Chloe in resignation. "I've gotta keep moving baby. If I stall out now, I'll never get re-started."

Chloe recognized the vulnerable truth in her mother's words. She dropped down to sit on one of the carpeted stairs, her own shoulders slumping as the fight left her. "You sure?"

Bea smiled, "I'm sure." She eyed Chloe then, "Maybe just a few half days to start." She eyed her watch impatiently, "Call me around noon, we'll have lunch."

Chloe stood to quickly descend the stairs and place a warm kiss on her mother's cheek. "Lunch. Noon. Got it."

Then her mother smiled and left for work leaving Chloe standing in the doorway wondering if she too shouldn't cut short her leave and return to the office.

f.u.c.k that! I've got vacation days and I'm gonna use 'em.

Now that she didn't have to make breakfast for her mother, and not hungry herself, she bounded back up the stairs to throw on her freshly washed running gear.

Ten minutes later, she stepped into the woods. She opted to keep her I-pod in her pocket this time. Hoping that if she paid more attention, no wildlife would sneak up on her.

She didn't push a full on run, but settled on a steady jog. Thirty minutes in she'd broken a sweat and slowed to a walk.

She heard the crunch of pine needles behind her and turned to eye the forest. Seeing nothing, but feeling slightly spooked she faced forward and resumed her jog.

Movement in the corner of her eye had her stopping. Red fur? She focused and saw the movement again, verifying that it was in fact red fur. Fox. Too small to be any real threat, Chloe ignored the fox and continued her jog, but after a few moments she noted that it was shadowing her.

She wasn't some fanatical animal rights activist, but she did believe in not disturbing an animal in its own habitat. She veered left, hoping to leave the fox to its portion of the woods. She jogged a few minutes and didn't spot the animal. Satisfied that she'd left it undisturbed she focused on her jog when she caught sight of the red fur again. Still on her right, the animal was a little closer. She ventured further left and jogged a little faster.

Unfortunately, the fox seemed determined to shadow her. It pressed closer, forcing Chloe to go further off the path than was comfortable. She wasn't familiar with this portion of the woods and knew she could easily get turned around, yet she figured a few more minutes of jogging then she'd turn and head back.

She was just about to stall out and turn to head back to town when the fox crashed through the brush and lunged at her. Shock tore through her when she realized it wasn't a fox at all. It was a small red wolf.

The wolf nipped at her heels, forcing Chloe into a dead run. She looked back and saw the wolf giving chase.

s.h.i.t! This wolf was nothing like the other she'd encountered. While smaller, it was more threatening. There was no calm serenity washing over her when she looked in its eyes, instead terror lanced through her when the wolf lunged at her feet.

Chloe jumped and sprinted faster. She had no idea where she was heading, but pushed harder. She jumped downed logs and was slapped by more than a few branches as she ducked and raced through the foliage.

She checked behind her again and the wolf was still there. It appeared to be restraining itself from attacking her. She knew it could outrun her and couldn't understand why it didn't take her down.

She crashed through a clearing and faced forward just in time to throw her body to the ground. She slid a few feet along the dewy gra.s.s as both arms snaked out and clawed into earth. She twisted her body until she was on her belly and kicked at the ground with her feet as she continued to slide toward a cliff that dropped G.o.d only knew how far.

Her hand snagged a tree root and her body was jolted to jarring halt. Pain tore through her shoulder as it bore the brunt of the full force of her weight jerking to a standstill.

Instantly, her eyes turned to find the red wolf, but it was gone. Her breath sawed back and forth and her body shook from exertion as realization slowly dawned. She pulled back her left foot, horrified that it hung just over the cliff that very nearly just killed her.

She forced herself to a sitting position, her hand reaching up to cradle her throbbing shoulder. She stood on trembling legs and tip-toed to peer over the ledge of the cliff from where she stood. She couldn't see the bottom and the revelation had her belly convulsing. She dropped to her hands and knees and coughed as her body tried to wretch. She didn't have anything to eat or drink that morning so there was nothing for her to throw up, so she dry heaved a few moments until the wave of nausea pa.s.sed.

Shakily, she got to her feet and took a tentative step towards the tree line. She kept her eyes intently focused searching for any sign of the wolf. When there was none, she dropped her arms and broke into a dead run, heading back down the mountain toward home. I am so done running in these woods!

Back home, she showered and debated calling her friend Eden who worked for the local Fish, Wildlife, and Parks department. She'd been sure the wolf was stalking her, and if she didn't know any better she'd have actually thought the wolf was forcing her to run in the direction of the cliff.

She considered explaining the story to Eden then decided it sounded so foolish that she didn't want the embarra.s.sment. She didn't mention it to her mother either when they met for lunch.

Chapter 9.

Later that evening Chloe was going stir crazy. She'd cleaned her mother's entire house and then with nothing else to do, she cleaned in again. She'd cooked dinner, fed her mother and cleaned up the dishes so her mother could turn in early. She sat in front of the TV flipping through the channels quickly with the remote, not really watching the TV at all.

"Ughh, I gotta get out!" She picked up her cell off the coffee table. She hadn't talked to her best friend Marissa since the morning of the funeral and because the two were also co-workers, Chloe dialed her friend with high hopes of being distracted by work-place gossip that she'd missed over the past few days.

"h.e.l.lo?" Marissa answered.

"Hey," Chloe didn't attempt to disguise the relief in her voice. "it's me. What are you doing?"

"Chloe! How are you doing?"

"Fine," she winced at the pity in her friends tone. "I'm going f.u.c.king stir crazy. You busy, wanna have a drink?" She crossed her fingers silently praying that Marissa was free.

"h.e.l.l yeah I wanna have a drink. Who's car we taking?"

Chloe smiled her relief. She could always rely on Marissa to be there when she needed her. The two had been friends for years, and Marissa's boisterous nature was the perfect compliment to Chloe's more reserved att.i.tude. "Do you just wanna meet me at that new Irish pub on main and seventh?"

"Betcha I beat ya." Marissa hung up and Chloe smiled to herself thankful that her best friend was always there when she needed her.

She touched up her make-up, and laced on some boots before checking on her mother and sneaking out the door. She left the TV on so that if her mother woke, she'd think Chloe was still zoning out on the couch.

Fifteen minutes later she pulled her silver car into the parking lot of the Irish pub and noted that Marissa had indeed beaten her to the bar. When she entered the establishment, Marissa waved to her from where she stood at the bar. She leaned casually against it, one hip jutted out in form fitting jeans while two men hovered over her, drooling over her low cut shirt and exposed ample cleavage.

As Chloe approached, Marissa let her eyes rove her friend disapprovingly before she whispered to one of the men then stepped away to meet Chloe. "Seriously? That's what you're wearing?"

Chloe's brows shot up. She knew better than to be offended. "Sorry, I'm not really in the mood for male company right now."

Marissa turned her eyes and plucked a pretzel from a bowl on the bar before popping it in her mouth and shrugging one slim shoulder. She turned to Chloe and smiled broadly before winking. "More for me." Then she turned and sauntered back to her place at the bar with Chloe on her heels. "Sorry guys," Chloe heard her offer, "girl's night only."