Hunting Season: Werewolf Bodyguard Romance (Guarded by the Shifter Book 1) by Kate Rudolph (new reading TXT) 📗

his friend would hold them back or back him up. "Do you think she's going to turn into a wolf?" Rowe added.

Owen couldn't stop the growl this time.

Gibson ignored Owen's reaction. "No way to know. But I've been waiting for something like this to happen for a while. I've been tracking us since we first turned. Trying to keep a record of our symptoms and our reactions, the things that have changed since we changed. I'm not a doctor or scientist, but even I can see that we’re becoming… More. Different. I don't think our first change was the end of things for us."

"What do you mean?" asked Andre, sitting straighter in his seat.

Owen wondered what he meant, too. And did it have anything to do with what his eyes and his teeth were doing?

"We've all become more controlled over our wolf forms then we were in those first couple of months. And everyone is lifting stronger weights in human form than any of us were back in the military. And I think some of our wolfishness is bleeding into our humanity, just as our humanity is bleeding into our wolves. Does that sound right?" He looked right at Owen as he asked the last part.

It did. It sounded almost scarily familiar. "I think my eyes shifted when I was in human form. Teeth too," Owen admitted. He didn't need to hide this from his people. They were his team, his pack, and he trusted them.

Gibson nodded as if this wasn't a surprise, but he made a note of something on his computer. "Anyone else?" he asked.

Jackson raised her hand. "I managed to summon my claws in human form. Once. I haven't been able to do it again.” She looked a little sheepish as she said it, as if she couldn't believe that she was playing around with her powers.

Gibson made another note. "So what do we do about Stasia?" asked Hunter, her arms crossed. "We all decided to keep the whole werewolf thing a secret."

"It's a little late for that," Andre muttered.

"What can we do?" asked Rowe. "Stasia and Em know now. And we can't exactly take that knowledge away from them."

They all looked around at each other, as if some magical solution would make itself known. It didn't.

"We wait and see what happens to Owen's mate," Gibson finally declared.

Owen startled as if stung. That word had been knocking around in his own head for the past few days but it was strange to hear Gibson say it.

"Mate?" Andre asked, all incredulity.

"Seems so," said Gibson. He looked at Owen, giving him the opportunity to contradict him. When Owen kept quiet, Gibson continued. "One of those changes I was talking about."

Owen didn't argue, but he also didn't add his own thoughts. That was too raw to share.

"What about the sister?" asked Rowe. "Do we have to bite her?" Owen wasn't sure if Rowe was joking. "And doesn't she look familiar?"

Andre made a noise in the back of his throat that might have been a growl, but he didn't say anything.

"No shit she looks familiar," said Hunter, surprising Owen. "She won a freaking Grammy last year." He didn't know Hunter followed music that closely.

"No shit?" Rowe looked impressed. Owen realized that Rowe didn't know who Em was. They descended into discussion of Em's music career for several minutes until Gibson called them back to order. "If yesterday taught us anything, it's that we need someone with medical training. We don't know what would have happened to Vega. Maybe it would be a good idea to have a doctor with us full-time. Something for Stasia to consider."

Owen liked the sound of that.

But he wondered if Stasia would be willing to stay.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Stasia ended up back in the room she'd shared with Owen the night before. She wished he were there with her, and she had no idea how much longer she had to wait until his meeting was over. And then she kind of hated how she was waiting for him. Who was she becoming? She didn't need a man. She didn't need to depend on anyone but herself.

But that didn't mean she couldn't want Owen.

Before she could get too caught up in her thoughts, her phone rang, and thankfully this time it wasn't her father or any of her siblings. "Hey, Luna. What's up?" The nurse didn't normally call her, but it was good to hear from a friend. It was a reminder that the outside world still existed, one without werewolves or kidnappers or toddler's birthday parties.

"I got the job," Luna said with excitement. "You remember the one I told you about the other day?"

It took Stasia a second to remember. It felt like a lifetime ago, even if it was slightly less than a week. But then she did. "Congratulations!" She was happy for her friend, even if that meant they wouldn't see each other at the clinic anymore.

If Stasia was going back to the clinic.

Could she be a werewolf and a doctor at the same time? What kind of complications would that bring up? She had the strangest image of operating on someone while her hands were sporting claws.

"They're looking for doctors," said Luna. "I want to give them your name. I think you would be perfect for this place."

Stasia probably should have said yes without any hesitation. She couldn't spend the rest of her life working at a free clinic. Well, she could, but she didn't know if that would be fulfilling enough. Getting back into an emergency room would be high-stakes. Exhilarating. She'd be saving lives every day.

Was that what she wanted?

A week ago she probably would have said yes. But an entire new world had opened up to her, and now she was filled with curiosity of a shape-shifting variety.

"You still there?" Luna asked.

Stasia realized she had been quiet for too long. "I'm still here. I need to think about it before you give them my name. It's been a really busy week."

"Okay." Luna