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  A Touch of Sass

  by

  USA Today Bestselling Author

  Bianca D’Arc

  Chapter One

  Dr. Maria Rojas knew that this observation would be the making of her career. If she could just get eyewitness information about the werewolf shifters and their mysterious rituals, her name in the academic community would be made. The tipoff had come from blatant eavesdropping on her part, but she tried not to let that bother her too much. If the townsfolk wanted to talk overly-loud in her presence, then that was their problem, right?

  Maria had been trying to research shifters for years, but had run into roadblocks at every turn. Tonight, though… She was finally going to get a good look at the goings-on tonight. Even if she had to peer through a damned telescope to do it!

  Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, though she had a backup high point picked out and a borrowed telescope mounted in the back of her vehicle, parked not too far away, if worse came to worst. For now though, she’d selected a suitable tree and erected the tree stand she’d bought from the local hunting supply store. She’d told the helpful clerk that she was an avid bird watcher and wanted to keep watch on a nest of rare raptors on her property. He seemed to have bought her story, probably chalking up her strange purchase to her supposed eccentricity.

  Ever since coming to the small town of Clay Ridge, she’d been stuck with that label. Could she help it if she drove an Army Surplus World War Two era Army surplus utility vehicle? She loved that vehicle. It had been her grandfather’s and she was never going to give it up. It was the last connection she had with him and she wouldn’t let that go lightly.

  Likewise, the house she’d just inherited was her last connection with nutty Aunt Lulu, her grandfather’s youngest sister. She’d died a spinster who had still been raising hell in town well into her eighties. She’d been the real eccentric in the family, but since Maria had moved into Aunt Lulu’s house, it seemed the title had transferred to her.

  It hadn’t helped that Aunt Lulu insisted on introducing Maria as her spinster grandniece every time she’d visited. Then in the next breath she’d tell anyone who cared to listen that her grandniece was following in her footsteps and would die an old—but happy—maid. Besides, she had important work to do at the university and didn’t have time to devote to cooking or cleaning, or picking up after a man, Lulu had usually added.

  Maria had visited often because in spite of Lulu’s quirks, she was still a lovely old lady with a true spirit of mischief in her eyes, even at her advanced age. It was Aunt Lulu who had first told Maria all about the shifters who lived up on the mountain behind her property. Lulu had once been courted by one of the young shifters boys, but he’d died young and broken Lulu’s heart. She’d never married and Maria had often thought it was because that poor, lost boy had been Lulu’s one true love.

  Romantic nonsense, she told herself now, but still… Wouldn’t it be amazing if that kind of love really did exist? Maria had been a delusional young girl who had believed in the fairy tales, but she was older and wiser now. If her Prince was out there somewhere, he sure as hell was taking a long time to come find her already.

  *

  The woman was absolutely maddening. She’d been annoying him ever since she’d shown up in town. Annoying him and causing his inner wolf to howl in need.

  Son of a…

  It couldn’t have happened at a more inconvenient time. Shane was still establishing himself as Alpha, after the death of the old, childless Alpha. There had been no clear successor to old Ivan, so when Shane had drifted through town looking for a place that wasn’t so crowded that he’d have to fight every damn day for dominance, Ivan had invited him to stay.

  The Clay Ridge pack was spread out over wild country, but they’d all answered to Ivan for so long, they didn’t know any other way. They were a wild bunch, used to living rough in the back country, but they had all been loyal to Ivan. Not so much to Shane. At least, not yet.

  He’d been Alpha for a couple of months now, since Ivan’s death, but the nature of the pack—spread out over many square miles of mostly empty country as it was—didn’t allow for quick change. A lot of the younger wolves wanted to challenge Shane, and there were plenty of dominance fights, but none were able to best him. None were Alpha enough to lead this pack and Ivan had known it. Which was why he’d invited an outsider to stay and take over after he died.

  Shane had fought for the right to lead Clay Ridge and won every time. Eventually the older wolves started to accept him, if not exactly welcome him with open arms. There would likely always be a contingent of old curmudgeons who wouldn’t totally accept him as Alpha, but he was fighting tooth and claw for the younger generation’s respect. Anyone his age or younger had better toe the line or be looking for a new pack.

  Which was why Shane didn’t have time to claim his mate right now, even if his inner wolf wanted the haughty professor with every fiber of his being. His human side wanted her too, but she was all wrong in so many ways. His pack was barely tolerating his leadership and he figured bringing in a mate—a human mate who knew nothing of pack culture or what was expected of an Alpha female—would destabilize his position even more.

  But the heart wanted what the heart wanted. And the wolf wanted prissy Professor Rojas.

  Shane had even gone so far as to speak to his friend, and fellow Alpha, Aric Wolfe of Blue Creek, about the whole situation. Aric and he had become friends during Shane’s drifting years. He’d passed through Blue Creek a few times and had made friends with the Wolfe family. They had a strong pack, with the kind of values Shane wanted to see develop in his own. Loyalty, family values, honor and trust were things Shane was working to build—or perhaps, rebuild.

  At one time Clay Ridge had most likely been exactly like Aric’s group. Ivan had been a strong man in his youth, and only in his later years had uncertainty crept into the pack. Uncertainty about the pack’s future, and who would lead it, had caused the structure of the group to deteriorate. At least, that was Shane’s theory.

  He had talked it over with Aric a few times. Aric had turned out to be a good friend, and a wise source of counsel when Shane needed the opinion of a fellow Alpha that he trusted. Shane hadn’t yet been able to collect a group of trusted advisers around him. Aric had his brothers—his whole family, in fact. Shane had been alone up ‘til now, and the new pack was just getting to know him. He hadn’t yet formed the strong bonds with any of them that were necessary for that kind of trust.

  That was not to say that his new pack didn’t have certain people in it that Shane would like to befriend. There were a few he had his eye on, but it would take time for the relationships to develop into true friendships.

  Aric had recently mated to a human spitfire of a woman, by all accounts, so Shane had carefully broached the subject of Maria Rojas during one of their recent phone calls. Aric’s response had been unexpected. After laughing his ass off for a few minutes, he got down to the nitty-gritty kind of advice Shane needed.

  Aric had been full of all sorts of instructions on how to deal with human women—and potential mates i
n particular. It all sounded somewhat complicated to Shane, and he’d come away from that conversation resolving to just keep his distance. At least for now. When the pack was more stable, he might have time to figure it all out then. He hoped... Maybe.

  But the woman just kept showing up. She seemed to be everywhere. In town. Driving down the country lanes. At the diner. In the grocery store. Walking in the woods behind her Aunt Lulu’s old house. In Lulu’s old kitchen garden, pulling weeds.

  Or maybe it was just that Shane’s inner wolf kept tracking her down, even without Shane’s conscious consent. Maybe he was the problem, not her. And didn’t that beat all?

  He knew he should stay away. It was just easier for all concerned. But instinct kept drawing him to her. No wonder Aric had laughed at him. Shane was a goner.

  Chapter Two

  Shane ran a final perimeter check of the area, as he did almost every afternoon or evening. He didn’t necessarily expect trouble, but with the sorry state the pack was in right now, he had to be extra careful. The pack lands butted up against a few homesteads on the very edge of town, including old Lulu’s place, which now housed the sassy Professor Rojas.

  He scented her before he saw her. Luscious, lickable, Maria Rojas. Grade A thorn in his side. The woman who could be his mate—if he had the luxury of time for such things.

  Shane had just about decided he would die a lonely old man, letting the chance at lifetime happiness wrapped up in a sexy package pass him by. It hadn’t been an easy decision, and his inner wolf was still pissed as hell at his human half. The conflict made for an uncomfortable situation. He was in chaos within himself. Just like the pack was in chaos around him.

  Fitting, really. But how could he bring Maria—a human with no experience or knowledge of pack life—into the center of the maelstrom that he had inherited, and fought for ever since? It wouldn’t be fair to her. She’d be dead within a week, and he would still be a lonely, miserable man.

  At least this way, there was some small shred of nobility in his actions. If he left her alone, she would live. The pack need never know that his inner wolf would only be satisfied by the sexy professor. The upstarts and hooligans would leave her alone and she would still exist in the world. That thought gave him small comfort.

  But she was here. Now. Standing below a tree far from the edge of her property that contained, of all things, a hunter’s tree stand. What the hell?

  She smelled ripe and luscious, a delight to his senses and he wanted to growl. A man could only be pushed so far. Shane had to keep as far away from her as possible or he just might succumb to the incredible temptation of her. Unfortunately, in this situation, he had no choice. He had to confront her. Shane moved closer.

  “You’ve been warned before, professor. You’re trespassing.”

  The low rumble of a man’s voice made Maria jump. And cream her panties. She knew who it was, of course. She’d had a run-in or two already with the hot Alpha of the local werewolf pack. He had also starred in some of her most scandalous dreams and fantasies, but with any luck, he would never know that particular deep, dark secret.

  Maria whirled around to face the wolf-man who had crept up on her. Damn silent werewolves. She could’ve sworn she’d covered her tracks really well this time, but still, he’d found her. And it looked like he was going to mess with her plans for the night.

  “That’s such an ugly word, don’t you think? Trespassing. So biblical. I prefer to think of myself as just visiting. After all, we are neighbors. I mean no harm. Really.” She held up her hands in mock surrender. Maybe playing coy would gain her a bit of ground in this confrontation where she knew she was clearly in the wrong.

  “You may not mean any harm, but my pack deserves its privacy. We’ve asked you to back off repeatedly, and yet here you are, on our land, attempting to spy on us. Again.”

  “I’m not a spy. I don’t like that word either. Spying implies that I’m going to do something nefarious with my observations. I can assure you, that’s the farthest thing from my mind. All I want, as I’ve explained before, is to document something—anything—that will help broaden understanding of your culture.”

  “And further your career at the same time, no doubt.”

  He had her there. Maria squirmed uncomfortably.

  “Okay, I’ll admit that being the first to document one of your rituals wouldn’t hurt my standing in the academic community. Oddly enough, nobody has published first-hand observations with any credibility. You folks are going to make people think you’re unfriendly or something.” She tried for a joke, but it fell flat as the Alpha advanced on her in a sexy prowl that made her want to move closer…or run away…as long as he chased her.

  What an odd thought. Her brain seemed to short circuit whenever Sexy Shane was around. She called him that in the privacy of her own mind, but was almost afraid one day she’d slip and he’d know just how much she was attracted to him. A rebellious part of her wondered if that would be such a bad thing.

  “So what exactly do you think is going to happen here tonight? Or are you setting up for some kind of long-term surveillance operation?” Shane folded his arms and leaned against the tree she had set up her stand in. Damn. He was so hot, it amazed her that he didn’t start forest fires wherever he went.

  “I heard there was going to be a ritual tonight.” She knew her chin went up in defiance, but she couldn’t help herself. She decided to face him head-on. Showing fear to a wolf would only end in disaster, so she had to be strong.

  But Sexy Shane just shook his head. “Honey, there’s nothing happening up here tonight. I don’t know where you’re getting your information—or misinformation, as the case may be—but you should probably ask yourself why someone sent you way out here on a wild goose chase.”

  “If it’s such a wild goose chase, why are you here?” She suspected he was trying to throw her off the scent, but she wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded.

  “Just scouting the perimeter of our lands, like I always do. Part of being Alpha is keeping my people safe.”

  “So you’re implying that someone sent me out here to wait in the dark for nothing to happen?” She folded her arms, mirroring his stance.

  “Or maybe they lured you out here for some other reason.”

  A chill ran down her spine as his eyes narrowed. He looked as if he didn’t like the sound of his own words either, but why he should care about what happened to her, she didn’t know.

  “I see you’re getting the idea now. Is somebody interested in harming you, professor? Maybe getting you alone in an out of the way place? Or worse, hurting you and blaming my pack for it?”

  She gulped. “Not that I know of.”

  She had to admit, if anyone was going to try anything, this would be the place for it. Desolate. Isolated. She could scream her head off and nobody would hear. Her house, which was on the very edge of town, was more than a mile away, over a ridge too steep for her old car to drive down safely. She’d come down the steep hill on foot, carrying her gear, and left the vehicle parked behind some trees on the ridge.

  “All the same…” He straightened and unfolded his arms. “You probably ought to go back into town and sit tight ‘til dawn. Although, as I recall, old Lulu’s place is pretty isolated.” He scratched his chin, frowning. “How exactly did you come by the information that led you up here tonight?”

  She really didn’t want to admit to her slightly shady methods, but now it looked like her safety might be at risk. She needed an ally and unlikely as it seemed, Sexy Shane seemed to be offering to help her figure out what was going on. He probably knew the people around here better than she did—at least, he knew the shifters better than her.

  She knew the townsfolk from her visits, but she’d never really met any shifters before inheriting the house. And it had been shifters she’d overheard talking about tonight’s ritual. She was almost positive about that.

  “Um… I sort of heard some people talking at Maude’s,” she admitted, nami
ng the popular local diner.

  “What people? Humans or wolves? Did they tell you directly or did you just happen to hear what they were talking about?” His gaze was all too knowing for her comfort.

  “I can’t be sure, but I think they were shifters,” she said hesitantly, feeling like a naughty schoolgirl caught smoking in the bathroom. “And they weren’t talking to me, but they were loud enough that I heard them from where I was sitting in the next booth.”

  He shook his head. “Honey, if they were shifters and they were loud enough for you to hear in the next booth, then they were speaking that way on purpose, baiting you. We have excellent hearing and aren’t usually overheard by humans if we don’t want to be.” His brows drew down in increased concern.

  “Why would anyone want to lure me out here? I’m not doing any harm. I just came—”

  “To spy on my pack,” he cut her off rather rudely. He blew out a gusty sigh. “I hate to say this, but my pack is somewhat unstable right now. I only took over as Alpha a few months ago and am still not universally welcomed. If someone’s after you, you’re probably not safe at Lulu’s right now, isolated as it is. Not until we figure out what’s going on.”

  His statement rang in the quiet of twilight, making her shiver. Was someone really out to get her? And if so, what chance did she stand against a shifter? They were fast, strong, and deadly. She had some defensive skills, but she’d never been tested against someone who had the enhanced senses of a wolf.

  “You really think I’m in danger? Maybe they just wanted to send me on a wild goose chase so they could laugh at the gullible human?” She could hope that was all it was, but something told her nobody would go to all the trouble of sending her out into the middle of nowhere for a simple joke. She was starting to think something else was going on, and it gave her the creeps.

  He looked around pointedly. “There’s nobody out here to laugh at you right now except maybe a few raccoons and a family of deer. He looked off into the distance. “How long were you planning to sit up in the tree?”