The Black Wolf. Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

Weres to your father’s aid before it was too late.”

      Cara eyed the wall in the distance and the trees topping it. “That park?”

      “The same one,” Rafe said.

      “So close?”

      “The vampires had infiltrated a section of the park that’s still some distance away.” Rafe was eyeing her intently. “Does being near to it disturb you?”

      Cara shook her head.

      “No one mentioned those things to you?” he asked.

      “My parents don’t speak about the past,” she replied.

      “Not even to explain why things are the way they are?”

      She turned to look at Rafe. Getting to the heart of her parents’ past had been a burning desire for as long as she could remember, and Rafe was telling her things she had long waited to hear, but how much of what he knew was the truth, and how much of it was either hearsay or exaggeration?

      Rafe probably hadn’t been born when her father and mother had been here, and neither had she. To Rafe, the past was just tales. To her, the real story of what had happened and who she was had become the main puzzle of her life.

      “Vampires,” she said. “Vampires made my father a ghost.”

      “It took a hell of a lot of them to do so, I’ve heard,” Rafe agreed. “Colton was one of the strongest Lycans around in those days, and also a damn good cop.”

      “Cop?” Cara echoed.

      He nodded. “Your father was a cop, like my mother. They protected Miami’s population from bad things that dwelled both in and out of the shadows.”

      “Until those shadows gained strength,” Cara noted.

      When Rafe smiled, she was taken aback. There was no humor in anything that had been said, yet his smile was spontaneous and sat as easily with Rafe as his wolfishness.

      He said, “We’ve both sprung from some pretty good genes. My mother was a badass, too, I hear. She’s actually pretty formidable even now.”

      His smile dissolved into a more serious expression. “How did you know that vampire would be after me? I’m asking you because I’m wondering if maybe you purposefully gave me a trail to follow that took me away from her tonight. Could that be right, Cara? You lured me out of my apartment in time to prevent those fangs from reaching my neck?”

      When she broke eye contact, Rafe seemed to read into it. “Well, then I doubly owe you, don’t I.” he said. “And I’m not going to ask how you managed it, because whatever you did worked.”

      She let that go. Had to. Rafe was looking at her differently now—more warily. Her earlier show of tricks might have scared him. Either that, or he was perplexed by what seemed to be an overly complex plan.

      She could read in his expression that he had more to say on the subject. Instead, he changed tack. “We can walk in the grass. In the evening, and this far inland, it’s the coolest place around.”

      “Where are the others? Your packmates?” she asked, wanting more of her parents’ story but not ready to ask. What Rafe had already told her was food for thought, and better than any dinner the Landaus could have served up. Her parents had both stayed here, in this house, and some of these Weres had fought beside them.

      “The others will be waiting to be called,” he said.

      “Will they come tonight?”

      “A few of them, especially because of the vamp sighting. They’ll keep a close watch on the park. You won’t have to meet more of them until tomorrow.”

      So, she had been wrong about being a freak show for this pack. There was no crowd. She wasn’t going to be the main event for tonight. Rafe’s immediate family members and the Were who had accompanied the alpha were the only wolves present at the moment. She could breathe easier, and almost relax.

      Maybe not too much relaxation, though. Because there was a new scent in the air, and a sense that someone on the other side of the wall was silently calling her name.

       Chapter 7

      A chill reached Rafe as he watched Cara turn toward the section of stone wall not far from where they stood in a way that made it obvious she sensed something he didn’t.

      After years of having to protect herself, Cara was probably a master of the art of self-preservation. He’d hate for it to be another bloodsucker out there, though. His grandfather’s pack had culled vampire-nest numbers years ago. As far as he knew, there hadn’t been a vamp sighting near here since he was a kid.

      Rafe maintained his neutral expression while keeping a cautious eye on Cara. The electrical current she radiated eased after he took a few deep breaths, testing the air the way most Weres did when their inner fur was ruffled by a disturbance. Her frozen stance had produced waves of anxiety in Rafe that made his muscles twitch.

      Reluctantly, he tore his focus from her to check out the wall. Cara took a step toward it. Though it was only one small step, Rafe sensed that she wasn’t going to be chained by any rules governing her confinement, even if they were for her protection. Actually, he couldn’t imagine who might stop her. The memory of Cara Kirk-Killion in action tonight wasn’t going to fade any time soon.

      Ebony lashes fluttered over her eyes. Strands of midnight-hued hair, still damp from her swim, looked like streaks of ink against her ivory neck and the shoulders of the borrowed shirt, which was too large and made her look waifish. In his jeans, Cara seemed even more like a kid playing dress-up.

      “What is it?” His voice was low and steady.

      “No one is watching us now?” she asked, her gaze intent on the wall.

      “I wouldn’t say that—” He didn’t get to finish. Cara was already heading for the barrier at a sprint. She was more like a streak of lightning than anyone moving on two legs.

      Rafe swore out loud. Then he gave chase, hoping to God that he could catch up with Cara before anything else did.

      He didn’t see her top the wall and didn’t stop to analyze his actions in following her. There were eyes on them from the windows in the house and also from somewhere else nearby. He and Cara hadn’t truly been on their own, and she must have known this.

      He breathed a sigh of relief with the knowledge that backup would be right behind him if it was needed. Uttering oaths beneath his breath and pushing the limits his patience, he followed her into the park.

      She was fast. Cara ran like she was on all fours, much like their ancient wolf ancestors. He had never seen anyone go from zero to thirty in just a few seconds on foot. But he was also no slouch when it came to running. Pack training readied all Weres for speed a few nights each month after the sun went down. Plus, he spent a lot of time sprinting after bad guys in the day job.

      In his favor there was the fact that he knew every corner of the park that lay beyond his family’s property. Most of the officers in law enforcement did, because the western section had a notorious reputation as a gathering place for gangs and criminals. There would be a cop or two on duty out here tonight, keeping watch for illegal activity. There would also be a party of Weres scouting around. It was unfortunate that a place so haunted by an unsavory past was connected to the estates beyond its borders, but that was part of city life.

      He ran without breathing hard or breaking a sweat. Cara, just ahead of him, had slowed to a jog. She darted from tree to tree like a bloodhound on the scent, and he still had no idea what she was after.

      Damn it...why didn’t he know what she was doing? He was supposed to be a good detective.

      After nearly tripping over something on the ground, Rafe slowed. Cara had removed the jeans, possibly in order to get around more freely...which