“Henry believes it was you, Devlyn, fearing for Bella’s safety; you couldn’t explain the situation to the police adequately, so you knocked them out and stole her away.”

She paused, waiting for confirmation of what she said, but when they remained silent, she continued. “The real problem is the zoo. If Volan didn’t release the wolf and leave Bella in the pen naked, who did? Henry knows you wouldn’t have, Devlyn. You would never risk Bella’s life like that. The only conclusion he can come up with is that you’re protecting someone else. Maybe this Argos, your adoptive father? Maybe he’s a bit crazy and he — “ “No,” Bella said.

Devlyn rubbed her hand. “Why is Henry so sure Volan wasn’t at the zoo earlier? What proof does he have?”

Chrissie swallowed hard. “The police arrested Volan early this morning.”

Bella sat upright, her heartbeat racing.

Chrissie studied her. “He had airline tickets.”

Devlyn took a steadying breath.

“The airline verified that Volan’s flight was delayed in Denver, so he couldn’t have made it to Portland in time to free Rosa, the red wolf, or to leave Bella there. He was still stuck in Denver when someone rescued Bella from the hospital. Henry wondered if perhaps Volan had an accomplice. He figures if Volan flew to Portland and then showed up at the dance club, he really had come after Bella.”

“Is Volan still in jail?” Bella asked, her voice hollow. Already her cheeks had grown as pale as the fresh fallen snow of the Great Rockies.

Chrissie shook her head. “Once he could prove he had nothing to do with the zoo or hospital incident, the police couldn’t hold him any longer.” She sat forward on the couch. “Listen, I’ve known you for a long time, and I’ve never seen you so scared. I know what you say about this Volan guy is true. Henry believes it, too. But nobody can help you if you don’t go to the police and make a statement about what he’s done to you.”

Devlyn grunted. What had happened to Bella had occurred way before Chrissie’s grandfather was even born.

“Oh, and Henry knows Volan’s connected to the zoo somehow, because he’d tried to get Rosa transferred to the Denver zoo. That’s why Henry mentioned that maybe you knew of an accomplice Volan might have had working for him.”

Devlyn couldn’t think of what to say. Bella’s hand turned ice-cold, and he rubbed it, trying to warm it.

“No one gave Volan any indication where Bella lived, did they?” he fairly growled.

“Henry wouldn’t tell the police her address. He feared someone might leak it to the press, to Volan, or to his accomplice, because he must have one. Unless... “ Again she swallowed hard. “Unless, the two of you freed Rosa and... “ She shook her head. “But you wouldn’t have left Bella to freeze to death in the pen. So what really happened?”

Chapter Sixteen

Bella gripped Devlyn’s hand as if an ocean current tugged her out to sea and she would drown if she let go. Her mother had always warned her to stay away from humans. They’d never accept the lupus garou’s ways. Now, so many years after her mother’s untimely death, those words haunted her.

Bella could never explain the truth to Chrissie. Yet she’d cherished her friendship with her... until now. But protecting her mate and the lupus garous took priority.

Immediately, she wanted to return home, to the grays that had taken her in, to a life where she could run with the pack and share the bonds that made them alike as well as the differences that made them unique. She wearied of hiding who she was, wanting nothing more than to be Bella, lupus garou, free to run on the wild side on moon-filled nights and enjoy the gifts being human meant, too.

On the other hand, the notion that volan was confirmed to be perfectly alive, searching for her, and that he would kill Devlyn filled her with dread. Hell, after she shot him, he probably wanted to kill her, too.

Chrissie wrung her hands while the silence stretched between them. Devlyn waited for Bella to answer Chrissie’s question as to what had really happened at the zoo that night when Rosa escaped and Bella was left to freeze to death in the pen.

Weaving a new story, like a black widow spider ties the silken strands together into a web full of holes and deceit... how could she spin another lie like that?

“I don’t know what to say.” Sometimes the truth was better off said.

“Henry told me you’re hiding the truth. That you’re afraid of more than just Volan. I’ve been your friend for a long time and I want to help. So does Henry.” Chrissie looked at Devlyn and then faced Bella again. She rose from the couch. “But Henry and I can’t help if you’re not totally honest with us.”

Henry and Chrissie couldn’t help even if they were totally honest with them. Despite liking the two of them so much, Henry and Chrissie couldn’t refrain from being terrified if they knew of the real existence of lupus garou. No, Bella and her Rosa, one and the same, would have to remain a mystery to Henry, Chrissie, and any other curious human. Although Bella contemplated telling Chrissie that she feared the killer of redheaded women was after her, to give Henry and his police friends another reason why she was so concerned, she worried their interference could delay Bella and Devlyn’s locating the murderer and ending his terror.

Chrissie sighed. “All right, if you change your mind, I’ll be next door as usual. Um, do you think I could borrow some flowers from your greenhouse to make an arrangement? Henry really loved the way your house is filled with plants — like an extension of nature’s beauty. He’s genuinely into that sort of thing.”

“Take whatever you’d like. And thanks for all of your help, Chrissie. We’re just really tired, and neither of us can think straight,” Bella said.

“Yeah, all those late-night movies,” Chrissie said, winking.

Bella looked at Devlyn. He smiled back at her.

“See ya.” Chrissie headed out the back door.

Devlyn pulled Bella from the couch. “Now, we get some sleep. But now I’m worried things are getting too hot around here for us.”

“We have to catch the killer.” Bella had no intention of leaving the Portland area until they did. Yet Devlyn had made no mention of her going to California with his cousin again, and she wondered — although she wasn’t about to bring it up — why he had let the matter drop.

Devlyn walked with Bella to the hall and then made a detour to the front window. He peeked out and then turned and faced her.

Her heartbeat quickened when she saw the concerned look on his face. “Company?” she asked.

“Yeah. Seems we have some guard dogs on our tail.”

“The police?”

“Plainclothes stakeout. Maybe Henry’s worried that Volan’s accomplice will show up unexpectedly. Or Volan himself.”

She swallowed hard at the thought that Volan truly lived and could arrive any time on her front doorstep and that the final scene would play out between Devlyn and him...

Devlyn crossed the floor to join her. Taking his hand, she enjoyed the strength, warmth, and size of it, knowing he’d always be there to protect her if he could. They walked toward the bedroom, their steps betraying the tiredness they both felt.

Bella yawned. “Henry must have assumed that the jeep pulled up in front of Chrissie’s house in the middle of the night meant trouble.”

“Yeah. He probably wishes he’d had someone watching us before this.”

They stripped out of their clothes, intent on getting sleep. Both considered the other’s body with interest. The knowing look they shared turned into grins.

Devlyn drew her into his arms. “Sleep. Then I’ll have something ready for you.” He rubbed his cheek against hers.

His touch triggered interest, yet she yawned again. Both chuckled. “Can’t wait to see what gifts you want to bestow on me.”

She wished, as they climbed into bed and snuggled together, that nothing else mattered. That the red who killed the women had already been caught and put out of his misery, and Volan, too. That they were again home with the pack and Devlyn now served as the leader. But none of those wishes would come true without a fight, and the fear that the one left standing might not be the right one sent a shiver down her spine.

Later that evening, Bella woke to find Devlyn gone. Lightning flashed across the darkened sky and distant thunder grumbled. A steady rain beat against the bedroom window at a slant, a perfect setting for snuggling longer under her down comforter. Listening for sounds of Devlyn in the shower, she touched her wet hair and remembered showering with him already. The memory of his large hands massaging her breasts, slippery with peach soap, heated her body. She tilted her nose up and smelled for any signs he was cooking dinner, although she vaguely remembered licking whipped cream and blueberries off his chest sometime earlier. Worried she might grow weak from lack of food, he’d enticed her to eat a bite. Heaven knows how her snack had ended up on his chest.

Domestic life with Devlyn was anything but domestic.

The email butler announced a new message. The office.

Slipping out of bed, she peered into the oval mirror hanging above her dresser. Her hair rested about her shoulders in a fiery-red, tangled mess. Well-loved... that’s the way she appeared. The image sparked a secret little thrill. Her left cheek wore a faint redness... the result of his nuzzling her with his scratchy stubble of a beard at sometime or another in their bedtime romps.

A telltale hickey graced her right breast. She quirked a brow, trying to recall when he’d done that.

Without dressing, she wandered into her office. Devlyn sat at the desk, staring at her computer, intensely reading the messages.

Running her hand over his naked back, she felt his muscles instantly tighten. He turned and pulled her into his lap. “Bella honey.”

“Find anything?”

He slipped his fingers between her legs. “Hmm-hmm, nice and wet, too.”

She chuckled. “I mean about the reds, or the killer or something. You sure have a one-track mind.” She was damned thankful she’d deleted Volan’s message to her earlier.