Page 26 of Kin of the Wolf

“Well, they’ve figured out not to attack when you’re by my side.”

“That’s something at least.” Duncan lifted a hand to my shoulder, as if to say he would be pleased to remain by my side.

I didn’t want to need a man, to needanyone, but I caught myself leaning into his touch, glad for his presence.

“Do you want to come with me to visit my mom?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said promptly.

“Even though you’ll probably be attacked?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” I asked softly, looking into his eyes.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I’m kind of into you.”

“Because you looked at my chest with the X-ray goggles on?”

He grinned. “I don’t need goggles to notice your fine attributes, but I also like the way you snark at me, and I’m having allkindsof adventures simply because I’m in your orbit.”

“My adventures didn’t start until the day you showed up. It’s possible your presencecausesthem to occur.” Admittedly, I couldn’t blame him for more than finding the wolf case, though thatwasat the core of a lot of the chaos. Even if he’d somehow been responsible for everything, I couldn’t wish he had never ambled into my life.

“I do strive to make the world an interesting place. I…” Duncan looked off to the north, a troubled expression replacing his grin.

“Is that device calling to you again?”

“Yes, but I can resist it.” Duncan nodded firmly and pointed to his van. “I’ll drive you up to see your mom. I’m eager for another wolf to jump on my hood and leave claw marks on it.”

“We could take my truck. Additional scratches in the paint wouldn’t be noticeable.”

“Would I then have to leave gas money on your dashboard?”

“Obviously. That’s how it works.” I smiled but waved away the idea—he’d bought me far more groceries than he’d eaten, so I couldn’t charge him for anything.

Before we’d taken more than a few steps toward the truck, Bolin’s SUV rolled into the parking lot.

I didn’t think much of it until I spotted additional people inside. His earlier warning that his parents might come by came to mind, and I groaned. If only Duncan and I had cleared out five minutes earlier. We would have been gone when they’d arrived.

9

“These are my employers,”I said as Bolin’s SUV parked, his parents gazing out the windows in my direction. “Try to keep your clothes on and be… normal.”

Duncan’s eyebrows arched. “Normal?”

Yeah, that would be a stretch for him even if he tried.

“Maybe you could wait in your van.” I waved toward the Roadtrek.

It would be easier if I didn’t have to explain his eccentricities. Or his feral vibe.

What if Bolin’s dad had enough magic in his blood to sense what Duncan was? When I’d had meetings with my employers in the past, I hadn’t noticed Rory Sylvan had a paranormal aura, but unless the druidic talent skipped a generation, he had to have some power. It had probably been because my senses had been dulled by the potion that I’d missed it before. Now, as they climbed out of the big SUV with their businessperson Ed Kuznetsov, who was my usual contact, I wiped my palms on my jeans, nervous. Rory Sylvan might have known all along that I wasn’t any more normal than Duncan.

“I’ll wait in your truck,” Duncan said. “We have a date, remember?”

“Going to see my mom counts as a date?”

“Maybe she’ll make us dinner. Is she domestically inclined?”

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