“True.”
Joshua opened his door, then closed it again. “I’m going to go back on foot.”
Michael lifted an eyebrow at him. “You sure?”
“You know better than to ask that.”
Michael shrugged, chuckling. “Suppose I do. See you in town.”
Joshua stripped down and bundled his clothes before shifting to his wolf form. He grabbed the bundle and started through the forest. The tall pines swayed in the wind. The resinous scent of the forest filled his lungs. He set a steady pace toward town, letting the quiet of his surroundings empty his mind.
He was almost to town when he caught Kira’s scent. Automatically, he turned toward the scent and followed it to the beach. He recognized the place instantly. It was a favored space for bonfires, but it also held other, more intimate memories for him. Kira sat next to the circle of stones just above the tideline, her hands resting on her knees.
Her body was relaxed, her face tilted toward the sky. A breeze wafted off the ocean, rustling her hair. She looked so serene that Joshua sat, watching her. It didn’t surprise him that she looked more at peace when he wasn’t around. If only he knew how to open up to her, to share the truth…
He was just about to sneak away before she could see him when a shiver ran down his spine. A shadow speared through the water, and a dark energy surged through the air.
A demon. It was heading straight for her.
Chapter 9 - Kira
The headache that had lingered behind her eyes since she woke up that morning was just starting to disperse when a howl came from behind her. Kira jerked, falling out of meditation. She whirled to find Joshua’s wolf charging toward her. His dark fur glistened in the sunlight, and he was so beautiful that it took her breath away. Her heart jumped to her throat.
Joshua skidded to a stop just past her, snarling and growling. He side-checked her, knocking her into the sand.
“Hey!” Kira shouted, scrambling to her feet. He knocked into her again, pushing her up the beach. His growls made goosebumps break out along her arms. She hurried backward, away from the sea. “What are you doing?”
Once they’d transitioned to the rocky shoulder of the road, Joshua shifted to human form. He bent to grab the bundle of clothes he’d left, and Kira’s eyes dropped to the well-formed shape of his buttocks. Heat pooled between her legs, and her stomach tightened.
Don’t stare!She averted her gaze, then yelped when Joshua grabbed her arm.
“Demon,” he growled. “I’m going to take my wolf form again. You take this.” He thrust his clothes into her arms. “Run back to town. Don’t stop. If we’re attacked—” He cut off, twisting his head this way and that as he scanned their surroundings. His nostrils flared, and a growl built in his throat. “Go!”
Kira didn’t question him. With her arms tight around the bundle of clothes, she rushed along the road. She cursed her decision to walk to the beach in the first place. Her legs soon started to ache, her lungs burning with the need for air. Joshua shifted back into wolf form and loped alongside her, keeping aconstant surveillance. Whenever she started to slow, he nipped at her ankles.
It wasn’t until they were back at his house and Kira had collapsed to the floor in the entrance, chest heaving and hair sticky with sweat, that Joshua shifted back to human form. This time, she didn’t have the strength to get angry at herself for enjoying the view.
“We need… to… tell Gwen,” Kira gasped out.
Joshua shoved his clothes on quickly. Then, he swooped down, picking her up. Kira groaned. He carried her into the kitchen, where he put her in a chair and got a glass of water. Then, he soaked a clean cloth and laid it over the back of her neck. The coolness helped. She sipped at the water, mindful not to take too much.
“Gwen needs to know,” she said when she got her breath back. “A demon that close to town… they’ll be going after Lianne again.”
“It wasn’t after Lianne. It was afteryou.”
Kira lowered her glass, one hand on the back of her neck, mopping up her sweat with the cloth. “What?”
“Why would the demon be there unless you were its target?” Joshua asked, his voice low and harsh.
Kira shook her head slowly. “Maybe it was coming after me, but I’m not going to be their prime target.”
“Aren’t you?”
A chill wrapped around Kira like a hug gone wrong. She swallowed hard and lifted her chin, tossing her hair as she did so. “I know as much about the demons as you do. They’re not interested in me. Remember how they were after Lianne?”
“Remember how they were also aware enough to mess with you, Chelsey, and Gwen as children? They must have sensed our marriage in some way. They think we’re going to have children. Lianne is always within the protection of the town. Joshua moved closer, his eyes narrowed until his gaze sliced through her. “They’re after you. I know what I saw.”
Kira huffed as she yanked her phone from her pocket. “We still need to tell Gwen. And you should tell Rafael,” she added.
