“I’m hearing a ‘but’ in there.”
Killian sighed. “But she’s not just a rabbit. I... I don’t actually know what her other species is. But sometimes she bites me and... she likes to lick off the blood?”
Crush’s face gave a complicated twitch. “Vampire?”
“I think she sprouted a patch of fur once, and it wasn’t the same color as mine.”
“So... a predator shifter?”
Unease crept into Killian. “Maybe? Gods, I don’t know how to care for a predator baby. What if she tries to eat me? Do I smell like prey?”
Crush reached over, folding his large, warm hand over Killian’s. “You do smell like prey—” Killian’s shoulders sagged “—but she probably thinks of you as pack. She won’t eat you. She might nip at you, though.”
Killian rubbed his chest. “Yeah. I... might have a few scars from that.”
Crush growled. “Tell you what. Let me try something, see if she responds to it.”
Curious, Killian nodded. “Okay.”
He thought Crush might pull over on the road shoulder and speak to Naddie.
Instead, Crush tipped his head back and howled.
It wasn’t a loud howl; they were in a car, the howl’s intended recipient right behind them.
Electricity rippled across Killian’s skin anyway. Crush’s howl sent a wild shiver down his spine, reminding him of full moon nights in shadowy forests, hiding in a warren while a wolf pack frolicked above.
To Killian’s surprise, Naddie barked, then howled back.
“She’s a coyote,” Crush said, a smile tugging at his lips.
Killian turned, suddenly wary. What if Crush tried to steal Naddie from him? “How do you know that?”
“She barked before howling. And her howl is pitched higher than a wolf pup’s.”
Despite his unease, something settled in Killian’s chest. This was a question that had nagged at him for several months. His mouth betrayed him again. “Do you want her for yourself?”
Crush slanted a look at him; it was an expression that Killian didn’t know how to read.
Killian narrowed his eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You asked a complicated question.”
“How is that complicated?!”
Instead of answering, Crush pulled up in front of a general store, a sprawling log cabin with yellowed ads on its windows advertising soda in glass bottles. Rocking chairs decorated the porch, and climbing ivy hung from its roof.
Crush looked over. “Do you and Naddie want to come in with me? I’m doing a supply run. The car is spelled to suppress your presence, so the choice is yours.”
Killian eyed him. “You haven’t answered my question.”
The alpha blinked. Then he smiled sheepishly. “I’ll give you my answer some other time. We’re in a bit of a hurry right now.”
He was in the middle of turning away when he paused, sniffing. His gaze dropped to Killian’s arm.
Crush growled, wrapping his hand around Killian’s elbow. “You’re bleeding.”
Killian blinked and looked down. There was a rip in the sleeve of his hoodie, on his upper arm. It was edged in dried blood. “Oh. Yeah. That was from earlier. Someone was shooting at me and Mathlin. But it’s not a big deal. That’s already dried up.”
