Werewolves of Forever 06 - Wild Lust

“Let’s hope Shannon can talk them out of going after you. It should help that you’re her sister and our—” He broke off, shutting his mouth fast.
    “Your what? What were you going to say?”
    “Our guest and our friend.” Blane paced away from her, and Reese turned back.
    “Will you two stop tag teaming me? Is there anything we can do? Shouldn’t we call the police or the highway patrol? Maybe even the National Guard? Shouldn’t the authorities know about the werewolves?”
    Her gut told her that they weren’t telling her the whole truth. But did that mean they’d protect their neighbors even if they were werewolves?
    Reese pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Sure. You make that call. Then call your sister and tell her what you’ve done. Tell her that they’re coming for the men she loves. She’ll do everything she can to protect them, but, hey, if your sister gets hurt in the ruckus, it’s no big deal, right?”
    “Crap. I didn’t think about that.” If she made the call, her sister could wind up getting killed along with her two lovers.
    Blane pushed Reese’s arm, moving the cell phone he’d offered her away. “No one’s calling anyone. I’m sorry if this is rough for you, Charlie, but Daniel and Anderson Holms are our friends. Anderson’s my partner in the bar. We’ve known about them being shifters for a long time.”
    She sat back on the couch. “You guys have kept so much from me. But why?”
    Reese snorted. “Simple. To keep you from killing or getting killed.”
    “And we have to keep doing that until we can figure out what to do next.” Blane took her hand. “We have to make sure you’ll stay safe.”
    “And not shoot anyone else,” added Reese.
    She took the hand Blane offered her. “Fine. But I’m not giving up on getting Shannon home safe and sound.”
     

     
    “We keep lying to her.” Reese brushed Ripcord’s neck, using his fingers to comb through the horse’s mane. Rupert would do a more thorough brush down, but just being with his horse helped relax him.
    “Yeah. I don’t like it any better than you do, but until she finds out about her sister and accepts her as a werewolf, what chance have we got that she’ll accept us? Not to mention wanting her to change and be our mate?
    “I’d say about a thousand-to-one odds.”
    “What happened after we hightailed it out of there?” Blane rested on a rugged bench they’d placed next to the door of the barn.
    “Let’s just say you should’ve stayed behind and let me get her to safety. You’re the smooth talker.”
    Blane blew out a hard, short breath. “Maybe. So what’d they say?”
    “Daniel was so angry that he shifted without meaning to with Anderson shifting along with him. I had to do some fast talking to keep them from chasing after her. Shannon helped keep the men from going ballistic.”
    Reese chuckled. “I know it sucks and all, but ya gotta see the humor in it.”
    Blane nodded and smiled. “Yeah. What are the odds of Daniel getting shot by the same woman not once but twice? He’s damn lucky she’s a lousy shot.”
    Reese slid the brush down Ripcord’s flank and muttered soft words to make the horse stop dancing. “Ain’t that the truth.”
    “So, here’s what I’m thinking.”
    Reese patted Ripcord on the neck. “That’s what you do best, bro.”
    “I wonder sometimes. Anyway, I think we’re going to have to take her back to meet with Shannon and her men.”
    “No way. You want a do-over? Maybe give Charlie another chance at Daniel? Even a bad shot gets lucky eventually.” He glanced at his brother. He didn’t doubt Blane had thought his plan through several times, but it still made his spine stiffen.
    “Not this next time, because we’ll be in control and she’ll be unarmed. She doesn’t know you’ve got her gun and let’s keep it that way. All I need you to do is to check with them and make sure they can maintain their human forms around her. I don’t want them to use the chance to rip her apart.”
    “I’ll call Jackson Carr to talk to them and smooth things over. If anyone can do it, he can.”
    Jackson Carr was the unofficial leader of the pack since his ancestors were among the founding fathers of Forever. They’d brought other werewolves and even other paranormal beings to the town with the idea that all of them would be accepted and live in peace.
    “Good idea. If they’ve got any ideas about hurting Charlie, he’ll sniff it out and put a stop to