Page 13 of Handcuffs & Honey

“Was a shifter.”

“That explains why Deputy Lowry was talking to it.” But it still fucked with Julian’s mind.

Dominic traced circles on Julian’s thigh. “I’m not sure why he chose your house, but the only way to stop his attacks was to kill him.”

The wolf had been a person once. Julian had no clue why he’d chosen to stay in his animal form, but that choice had nearly cost Julian his life.

“If Deputy Lowry is a lion shifter, how did he go to the hospital when he was hurt? Wouldn’t the doctors find out somehow?”

“He didn’t go to the hospital for treatment,” Dominic said. “Cannon went home. When shifters are hurt, they heal by shifting into their animal form.”

Julian let out a shuddering breath. “I’m glad he’s okay, but no more surprises, okay? I can’t take any more.”

“No more surprises,” Dominic said, pulling Julian until he was nestled against his chest.

Julian felt safe in Dominic’s arms, and he realized then that he was no longer running from this man. He was accepting it. He had accepted the fact that there were supernatural creatures in the world and that Dominic was one of them.

And if he’d accepted all of that so easily, he decided he definitely needed therapy.

* * * *

“Are you sure?” Deputy Cannon Lowery asked Ajax Forester, the wolf who owned Bluebird Café.

Ajax crossed his arms and shrugged. “Saw the guy this morning. He seemed edgy, constantly looking around the café as if he was expecting trouble. He smelled like a wolf. I asked if he was okay, and he ignored me.”

“And he was just sitting there drinking coffee?”

Ajax shook his head. “He ordered a coffee, but he never drank it.”

That didn’t make any sense to Cannon. If the guy had gone feral, there was no way he could have shifted into his human form. Feral shifters were lost to their animal counterpart. “You didn’t catch his name?”

“No.”

A thought struck Cannon. “Do you have the cup he used?”

He might still be able to lift prints off of it and find out who the stranger was. The sheriff, Cannon’s boss, had been pretty damn protective of Julian. That made Cannon’s brows rise. Dominic was a nice guy, well-liked by the community, but he definitely hadn’t been that protective of anyone before.

He wanted to ask his boss, who was also his friend, if Julian was his mate. But Dominic hadn’t been to work, and Cannon wasn’t going to drive to his house while he was helping Julian recover.

Cannon wanted to give him answers and also wanted to ID the wolf because it had attacked him. He was still pissed about that, but at least his arm had healed.

“Sorry, I already washed it,” Ajax said.

Cannon cursed. Just when he thought he had a lead, he hit a dead end. “Did you see where he went when he left?”

“A few customers had come in by the time he took off. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“Thanks.” Cannon shook Ajax’s hand. “Let me know if you can think of anything else.”

“Will do.”

Cannon walked out of the coffee shop and looked around. Someone else must have interacted with the stranger. He just had to figure out who else he could talk to.

“Anything?”

His partner, Denali Davis, was leaning against the hood of the cruiser, his arms crossed as he watched people walk by.

“Nothing.” Cannon told his partner what Ajax had told him. “It’s like we’re chasing a ghost.”

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