Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

juicy.”
    She didn’t bother explaining herself. “How do you know him anyway? He hasn’t been in town that long.” Liam had moved to the Fontana Mountain community less than a month ago. She still didn’t understand all the dynamics of his pack, but his brother was some sort of leader. An Alpha, she thought he was called. Now Connor was leader of the local pack.
    Suddenly Kat looked uncomfortable. “Uh, something happened and…I don’t want to lie, so just ask him about that, okay?”
    A thread of unease wormed its way through her, but she ignored it. Apparently they both had secrets. Instead of pressuring her friend, she changed the subject. “I’m sorry I haven’t been to the center lately. I promise after the New Year I’ll be volunteering again.”
    Kat shook her head and peered inside the open boxon the table. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I just appreciate all these books.”
    When she gave up teaching and started her own bookstore, December had volunteered her free time at the local literacy center. But when her only two employees had quit within weeks of each other, she was still trying to find at least one decent replacement. Volunteering for anything at the moment was out of the question.
    “Well, I’ve still got a couple more stops to make before my first class, so I’ll get out of your hair and let you get back to your
friend
.” Kat stood and lifted the box.
    “Liam and I aren’t—”
    “Yeah, yeah. Save it. Why don’t you bring him to the party tonight?”
    “Party?” She stared at Kat in confusion.
    “I can’t believe you forgot.”
    December racked her brain. It sounded vaguely familiar. The past couple weeks she’d had a lot on her mind. Someone had broken into her house, roughed her up, and Tased her, some other jerk had tried to mug her, and then last night…She shuddered as she remembered it. Partying wasn’t on the top of her to-do list lately.
    “We’ll be there.” Liam’s voice jerked her out of her thoughts. She turned to find him walking out of the kitchen. And he now had a sweater on. She hadn’t even heard him go upstairs. The man really was stealth personified.
    A huge grin broke over Kat’s face. “Great. It’s at the ski lodge, so just come by my cabin around seven and we’ll head there together.”
    December wanted to argue but knew it was pointless. After the last few weeks maybe she needed to relax anyway. And if Liam was with her, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything bad happening.
    “So what’s this party for?” Liam asked after Kat left.
    “I have no idea but it’s probably a birthday for someone Kat works with. It should be fun, though, if it’s at the ski lodge.”
    “I kept a plate warm for you.” He motioned toward the kitchen.
    She didn’t want to be affected by what he’d done, but the gesture was sweet. “Thanks. So, how do you know Kat?” Kat’s cryptic answer had piqued her interest.
    He shrugged but looked just as uncomfortable as Kat had. “Ah, it’s a long story.”
    She lifted an eyebrow at him as she sat at the table. “I have time.”
    “I can’t tell you and I’m not going to lie to you.” He placed her plate in front of her.
    “Excuse me?”
    “We met under…illegal circumstances.”
    “Illegal?
Kat?
” They hadn’t been friends long and she was really private about her past, but her friend volunteered most of her time when she wasn’t working at the ski lodge as an instructor. And once a spot opened up at the local elementary school, Kat planned to start teaching again. December couldn’t see her engaging in anything bad.
    “I didn’t say
she
did anything illegal. Just that the circumstances were…. Listen, I don’t want to lie to you and I can’t tell you, so let’s leave it at that.”
    Pushing down her annoyance, she speared a piece of sausage with her fork. Did he think his answer made her any less intrigued?
    “I didn’t sleep with her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
    “I know,” she muttered.
    “How do you know?”
    “Because I asked her.” Damn it! Admitting that was as good as telling him she cared.
    A wide grin spread across Liam’s face. He looked positively smug. At least he didn’t respond. The man was smarter than that.
    Edward moved closer to the fireplace. The heat in his house had kicked off last night and the place was only now starting to warm up.
    “Attempting to take the Saburova woman is crazy. Do you know who her father is?”