Page 33 of The Vampire in the Potting Shed

“Safe isn’t a word I would use lightly at the moment.”

Though, oddly enough, I was coping well with being cut off from my dad and my pack.

Had I been a wolf, able to manifest a pack bond, I might have struggled when that link winked out. But I wasn’t, and I hadn’t, and I was fine. Even Sloane had only popped a few ibuprofen to take the edge off her headache.

“Looks like we’re open for business.” Sloane tipped her head to one side. “The lights are already on.”

“The window has been fixed.” I rushed to inspect it. “I haven’t even filed a claim yet.”

“You can thank Rían for that,” a soft voice drifted from the side yard. “He replaced it himself.”

“Any idea who broke it?” Sloane scanned the landscaping for the rock, which had been returned to its spot, as one of the women from last night came into view. “Our side or yours?”

The dividing line her words had drawn caused the woman to clam up tighter than a dog after hearingdrop it.

“Oh. Hey.” I crossed to the chain link fence. “We met last night.” I trawled my memory. “Jessica?”

“Close.” A hesitant smile spread across her face. “Jess.”

The name clicked the rest into place. “You’re the vet tech.”

“I am.” Pink stained her cheeks. “I hope it’s okay I’m here.” Her chin drooped to bump her chest. “I know you said for one night, last night, but it’s not like I’ve got anywhere to be.”

“You’re trapped too,” I realized, kicking myself for not considering how this impacted everyone else.

“No.” Her head jerked up, and her eyes sprang wide. “I’m not—” She tugged on her collar. “I mean that I don’t have a job lined up in Brentwood yet, and my stuff hasn’t arrived for my new apartment. I still had the keys to GSG, so I thought I would make myself useful.”

“You’re moving here?”

“Yeah.” A hint of pride warmed her voice. “Rían requested me specifically.”

“He uprooted you from your life…” I mentally swatted the buzzing in my head, “…forme?”

“Yes?” She shrank back. “I thought you knew?”

The urge to touch her hand, just a brief reassurance, the way shifters soothed one another, floored me. I hadn’t experienced that tug in my gut in… I wasn’t sure I ever had. I learned to avoid my peers so young, I hadn’t adopted those animalistic bonding habits. Without a wolf craving reaffirmation from packmates, I hadn’t sought that comfort for myself either. Except for the occasional baking spree to force proximity, I had learned to do without it.

For it to sneak up was unsettling, and I curled my fingers into my palm to keep my hands to myself.

A stranger would be even more put off than my own pack if I touched her.

“I didn’t know,” I said, gentling my tone, “but thanks for telling me.”

“You’re welcome?”

Sloane elbowed me in the ribs, her eyebrows winging higher, but her facial gymnastics confused me.

“I appreciate you coming in, Jess.” I looked at Sloane to see if I guessed right. “Yesterday was chaotic. I’m glad someone with your background was here in case the animals reacted badly to the scents of new predators in their midst. They’re used to wolves, well,me, but you can’t predict how even small changes in their environment will affect them when they’re already in a foreign place.”

“Yes,” she gusted out, relief sagging her frame.

“I’m going to do my morning walk-through.” I backed up a step. “See you in there.”

“Um, Ana?” She worried the edge of her thumbnail. “I think I maybe heard a Sartori sentinel threw the rock and broke the window. Her blood was on it when Rían returned it to the yard. She must have cut herself on its edge.”

As soon as she resumed her duties, whatever task she had assigned herself, I exhaled through my teeth.

“Do you think Zoe did it?” I would have laughed at the notion yesterday, but today I was feeling more open-minded, and Sloane had scented her blood on the projectile. “Threw the rock and cut herself in the process?”

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