Running Wild

the knocking-on-the-door rule next. One thing at a time.
“Who is that?” Pete demanded when he observed Seamus’s complacency. “Why didn’t we hear him enter the house? I have an excellent sense of hearing.”
Yes, Pete and his excellent senses. How could Seamus have forgotten?
“Uh, just a sec.” Seamus slipped inside the house as Ri exited the bedroom wearing ill-fitting jeans that were too short.
At seeing Seamus, Ri stopped moving, eyes going wide but his expression was one of relief. “Are you okay?” he demanded, as if Seamus had been in mortal danger.
“Of course I am.”
“Good.” Ri nodded. “That’s good.”
“Where’ve you been?” Seamus asked, unsure what he was feeling. Happy that Ri was back or happy that Pete would now leave? Maybe both.
Ri gazed at Seamus, but his face gave nothing away. “You said to come during the day, so I have.”
Seamus didn’t understand the defiance. “Thank you.”
“Who’s here?”
“A friend.”
At Ri’s dubious expression, Seamus found himself asking, “What?”
“You seem uneasy.”
Ri’s perceptiveness surprised Seamus. “Old boyfriend,” he admitted, and watched Ri closely to see if that explained anything to the man who remained doubtful and wary.
“Did he threaten you?”
“No! Nothing like that.”
Ri’s suspicion didn’t abate.
Seamus sighed. “Let me introduce you two.”
Chapter Four
    When Ri exited the house with Seamus, the intruder on the back porch popped up out of his seat. Not only an intruder, and not only an ex, Ri thought, as his nostrils flared.
    Like his horse had feared, this man was a wolf.
Fuck. Ri didn’t understand how a shifter had found him. And Seamus by extension, though this wolf was not one of those who had previously stalked Ri. He would have recognized such a scent.
Oblivious to the presence of shifters, comfortable in the belief that only humans walked the world, Seamus gestured to the wolf. “Pete, this Ri. Ri, Pete.” He placed his hands in his back pockets.
Pete pulled in a long breath, and Ri went very still. In his experience wolves didn’t recognize horse-shifter scent, but there could always be a first time. Or Ri’s different scent, because it registered as not-quite-human, might be enough to provoke the wolf’s aggression. He was ready.
“Hi, Ri.” Pete said his name as if it were peculiar, lengthening the “i” sound. “Kinda like the grain?” He offered a handshake.
Puzzled by the wolf’s fake chummy demeanor, Ri stared at the hand, not inclined to take it. But that would be rude, and his grandfather had instilled some manners in him. He needed to not give himself away to the wolf. So he shook and made a point not to snatch his arm back when they were done.
“Shut up, Pete,” said Seamus matter-of-factly, taking a seat.
Ri realized he was referring to the grain crack, though he’d lost sight of that question when dealing with the handshake. He tried not to wipe his hand on his jeans.
“Oh, hey, you must be thirsty, Ri.” Seamus was watching him. “Grab what you want from the kitchen, okay?”
“I am absolutely fine.” He was thirsty and hungry after the shift, but he refused to leave Seamus alone with Pete.
“Have a seat then,” suggested Seamus.
“I’m great standing.” With that crazy fight-or-flight reaction riding him so hard, Ri had to be ready for anything.
Seamus’s brow furrowed. He clearly didn’t know what to make of Ri’s response. Well, there was only so much he could do to blend in.
“So, Ri,” said Pete, who also remained standing, “where are you from?”
Ri considered the question while Pete glanced at Seamus for…guidance, maybe? Ri was making Pete uneasy.
How odd.
He’d never made a wolf uneasy before, he’d only tripped their predator instincts. Of course, he’d never pretended to have normal conversation with one of them either. He wondered how long Pete had stalked Seamus and what his endgame was.
Seamus scratched his jaw, and Ri decided it was best to answer Pete’s question. “I’m from around here. Where are you from… Pete ?”
“Uh, Winnipeg. Came out here for a country visit.” Pete plopped back down in his chair and crossed one leg over the other—not a threatening pose. “Do you farm?”
“No. I don’t.”
“So, what do you do?” Pete regarded Ri with an air of suspicion, and his glances at Seamus seemed almost protective, which didn’t make any sense. Seamus was human, not wolf, so Seamus was prey.
“Pete,”