Page 68 of Shifter's Dream

Reed didn’t know whether to hug him or shake his hand, but he curved an arm around her quickly, putting an end to her internal debate, Track squeezed between them. “Get in,” he said, letting go of her and opening the passenger door. “We need you out there asap.”

Reed climbed in the big truck, and so did Trevor, still holding Track. Track tried to escape from his dad, tried to dive into the back seat, but Trevor grabbed him by the scruff and dangled him out the window to Ella.

“Trevor,” Ella scolded.

“Sorry, hon, it’s just easier sometimes.”

“It’s undignified.”

“So is wearing a diaper.”

Ella laughed and climbed up on the running board for a kiss. She caught Reed’s eye. “Bring Troy home safe.”

“I’ll try.” Reed hoped desperately that she was ready, while knowing she was not.

Ella climbed down and went to stand by the door to the station, waving Track’s paw at them, while Trevor got them turned around and pointed out of the parking lot. He turned right and got them on their way, not speaking, but glancing at Reed a few times.

“How are you holding up?” he finally asked. “It can’t be easy being mated to my brother.”

Reed snorted. Out of anything he could have said, that was the one thing that made them instant friends. They exchanged a look.

“It’ll be worth it though,” Trevor said. “There isn’t anybody in the world quite like Troy. He’s always been loyal, fierce, funny, and special, and it had nothing to do with him being stuck as a wolf for so long. It’s just who he is.”

Hot understanding, plus a thick emotional pain settled in on Reed’s chest. “He’s still ok, right?” she asked.

“Lemme check,” Trevor said. He cocked his head slightly to the left and was silent for a few moments, then he turned to her, his face set. “Yeah, he seems fine. A bit cramped, was all he said. He says to tell you he can’t wait to see you.”

“Ok,” Reed said, smiling a little at that, staring straight ahead. But in a moment, she realized something was wrong with Trevor. He’d gone rigid and seemed to be having more conversations in his head.

She turned to him again, worry spreading through her midsection. “Are you sure he’s fine?” she asked.

Trevor nodded once. “He is, but one of our officers is unaccounted for, and they found blood on the trail.”

“Oh no,” Reed whispered, not wanting to interrupt Trevor from his internal conversations anymore. She kept quiet and let him do his thing.

Trevor flipped a switch and his lights and siren came on. They sped down the road, passing everyone. Reed held on tight to the door handle, thinking she didn’t know enough about what she was walking into, but at least she knew why Troy had only been talking for a month.

He must have been a wolf his entire life.

That explained a lot.

***

Reed thought Trevor would drive her to her place, and they would enter the woods there, but he didn’t. He went one road past her place. She peered down the road as he turned, surprised to see all the SWAT vehicles parked in the driveway of the veterinarian clinic where she thought Wiz lived.

She counted six men in the yard dressed in full SWAT gear, helmets and big guns and everything. They were in a tight circle, a map spread out between them, one of the men speaking and gesturing to it.

“This is Remington’s clinic,” Trevor explained, pulling in between two obviously bulletproof vehicles. “He’s a cat.”

He’s a cat. Reed didn’t know what to do with those words, and the way Trevor said them, like he liked Remington, but didn’t understand why, because,he’s a cat. So what did that mean, anyway? Was Remington an actual cat? Like a housecat? Or was he a man that turned into a cat like Trevor was a man who turned into a … a … Reed forced herself to say the word inside her head. Trevor turned into a wolf. Reed tried to imagine how she would act when she first saw someone turn into a wolf that wasn’t a cute little puppy. Whatever she did, she would not scream, and she would not run away, she promised herself that.

Trevor threw the truck into park and hurried out of the vehicle into the house. “Let’s get you suited up. The faster we can get Troy out of those trees, the faster we can launch an all-out manhunt for Grey, Rex, and Soren.”

Reed hurried out of the truck and ran to catch up with him. “Do they… turn into animals?” she called after him. She knew Grey did. He was the wolf from her dream, and if she really saw him, she would probably pee her pants. Unless Troy was there. Troy would never let him get to her. Troy would kill him first.

“Grey is a wolf,” Trevor said, in a voice that was tight and laced with hatred. “Rex and Soren are fox, but they’re marked, so they are foxes the size of bears.”

“Marked. Fox. Bears. Got it.” What she really needed was a cheat sheet, and two Tylenol.

---