Page 60 of Shifter's Homecoming

Rex snorted like he didn’t believe him. “All I know is I want to deliver something good to the boss, and I want to do it soon. You’ve got inside information, let’s hear it.”

Grey watched him for a long time, and then he said. “I can give you a name.”

“Go.”

“Leilani Kaina.”

“Found,” Soren said. “She’s mated to Jaggar already.”

“I’ve got another, but she’s from New York.”

“What’s the name?” Rex said. “She probably moved out here when she turned 25.”

“I don’t know the first name. Last name is Atenboro.”

Rex looked at Soren. Soren shook his head.

“Let’s start there,” Rex said. He pulled a phone out of his pocket and typed in the name.

Grey only watched him, thinking that was a long shot that probably was not going to pay off, but in only a few moments, Rex was grinning triumphantly.

He looked up. “I’ve got her. Her first name is Rowan and she just took a job at Danark Environmental Cleanup. She’s working and living out at the old Harlem Reservoir.”

Grey nodded. “I guess we know where we’re going, then.”

But in his mind, he was already giving these two the slip so he could figure out just what was going on with his hand.

41 - Destiny

Trent found an apartment with a bed upstairs. He put his female in the bed and covered her, scenting deeply as he did so. The place smelled like her, and he could not get enough of that scent. She snuggled into her covers and he let her sleep.

He looked out the window at the forest and the fence. He pulled the curtains shut, then walked around the room a bit. It was one large room, almost like a loft, with a kitchenette. There were no decorations on the walls and there were moving boxes piled in the corner, their tops open, showing books and clothes. She was still moving in.

Trent headed downstairs and walked around Rowan’s lab a few times, testing the locks on the windows and doors and looking for any security risks. Machinery clicked and beeped softly on the counter.

Trent thought hard as he paced. He laid out everything that he needed to do, then calculated how long Rowan might sleep for. If she had been up all night, he thought he would be safe guessing six hours, and that would give him plenty of time to do everything he had to do.

He got to work.

***

Rowan woke hot and disoriented. She got up and turned on the air conditioning then fell back into bed and was almost back asleep until—

Rowan remembered everything that had happened that morning and she sat up like a jack-in-the-box holding a hand to her lips, unable to remember if she had actually kissed that man. She had wanted to very badly but no… she never had.

For a split second she thought maybe she had imagined him… or dreamed him, and the thought made a sadness spread through her that felt strong enough to drown her.

She listened to the sounds around her. The place sounded empty but she heard men talking outside. She got out of bed and went to the window.

She sawhim, tall and strong, with his shirt off, working near the forest. She watched the muscles in his broad back move for a few moments before she realized what he was doing. He had a shovel. He was digging a deep hole. The dead fox, still wrapped in the towel, was nearby, and he was about to bury it.

She covered her mouth with her hand and took a step back, then sat on the bed, hard, her thoughts racing.

Who exactly was he? What was he doing there? Was he staying all day? Did she really not even know his name?

How could she not know his name when he felt like … like … her mind kept wanting to say the word destiny to her, but she didn’t believe in destiny, only hard work, and so she didn’t let the word come.

She thought about the necklace he’d given her, the one he’d said was hers, and the fact that he knew her name, and about the dream she’d had just before he’d shown up.

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