Linda O. Johnston - Protector Wolf

But Piers, great aide that he was, was the one to ask, “Really? What did you see?”

Her eyes narrowed, and then she looked down at the table. “They were beautiful,” she said almost reverently.

Ryan shouldn’t feel so happy to hear her words, her attitude. Maya might be one gorgeous woman with a laudable attitude toward wolves—but she had no idea who and what he was, along with the probability that there were at least a few others in this area.

She might not be so pleased about the proximity of wolves if she did.

“How many wolves did you see?” Piers continued. “Where were they? I assume you didn’t get near any of them, right?”

Piers hadn’t been close enough to see the encounter among Ryan and the two other wolves he believed to be shifters, but Ryan had filled him in once he had shifted back to human form—including how he had kept the wolves from attacking the lovely and foolish human who’d tracked them down.

“Well...” Maya looked toward Ryan as if attempting to judge how much he knew. He’d already suggested that she might have done something as foolish as Morton Fritts and was therefore lucky she’d not been hurt.

But he wasn’t about to tell her why he believed that to be true.

He looked straight back into her soft hazel eyes. “Why don’t you tell us what you did and what you saw?”

“Because I’m both happy and embarrassed about it.”

Their food arrived then, and Maya looked pleased at the interruption. But a short while later, when they’d all taken their first bites of food—and Ryan had given Rocky a taste of his sausage—he said, “Okay, tell us about your night.”

She took a deep breath and raised her light brown eyebrows as if she actually did feel discomfited about her anticipated response. But she described having followed the howls and other canine sounds into the woods, using her flashlight and camera—and being confronted by a couple of wolves.

“But then there was a third one,” she said, “who distracted the two that seemed as if they might attack me. I ran away then.”

“I hope you sent thoughts of thanks to the wolf that helped you,” Piers said, taking another sip of his coffee before glancing toward Ryan.

Ryan couldn’t help a small smile although he aimed it at his own cup rather than toward his aide.

“I definitely did,” Maya said. “He might have saved me from...from being mauled like Morton Fritts.”

“Quite possibly,” Ryan agreed. “You need to be careful. In fact, once we find out the details of the attack on Fritts, I’d suggest you give another presentation on behalf of WHaM, or just in general if that’s better for you. You should emphasize to people to stay far, far away from wild animals, because they are wild. They don’t know even to stay away and not hurt wonderful people like you who give a damn about them.” Unless they happen to be shifters with access to the Alpha Force elixir, he thought, but of course he wasn’t going to mention that.

“That sounds like a good idea.” She looked him straight in the eyes again.

Damn, but she was one beautiful woman. He was attracted to her. Very attracted. Would like to do more, a lot more, than just have breakfast with her...and save her from other wolves.

But any thoughts beyond encouraging her to be a wildlife proponent were inappropriate.

And so, after exchanging gazes with her, he gave a goofy grin and dug back into his breakfast.

* * *

Oh, that look on Ryan’s face. It was as if he forgave her foolishness in seeking out the wolves—yet he cared about her, was glad she was okay.

Or was she reading too much into it?

Maya reached over and picked up her last piece of toast, slathering a little apricot jam on it. That gave her an excuse not to look directly at Ryan, at least for this moment.

But she remained fully aware of his closeness. And how she felt glad about that.

But only because the guy also liked wildlife. And maybe he seemed a little attracted to her just because he was glad she was out there promoting the return of wolves to this area and championing all creatures.

“I like the idea, too,” said Piers, sort of interrupting the mood, but that was a good thing.

Maya took a decisive bite of her toast. She had no intention of getting interested in any man, let alone one who lived outside Washington, DC.

And just the fact that Ryan appeared to love wildlife, too, didn’t mean they shared anything else in common. Or that the way they cared could coincide.

She had gone through that before with her ex, who’d turned out to be the opposite of what she’d believed. She had even developed what she’d believed to be a relationship with him, a reporter who seemed to support her pro-wildlife position.

But just the opposite. He had turned on her in a number of articles lambasting WHaM for not just documenting and counting an influx of wildlife but acting as advocates, too. She’d been hurt and angry and determined not to get involved with someone like that again.

US Fish and Wildlife undoubtedly had a different agenda from WHaM, despite their few similarities.

And Maya figured she had a different agenda from Ryan—although his suggestion about a modified topic for her next talk actually made sense.

“So how long are you staying in town?” she asked Ryan, turning back to face him again. Maybe he was leaving today and she wouldn’t see him again.

That should make her feel relieved, shouldn’t it? But it didn’t.

“Not sure yet,” he replied, which did in fact give her a sense of relief. A small one.

Being in his presence, getting to know him better—would that be a good thing?

Possibly...but only as long as they helped each other in their quest to ensure that wolves remained welcome and safe in this area.

And hopefully didn’t attack any more people. But neither of them could guarantee that.

She, though, by giving another talk on staying far away from them might be able to help, at least a bit.

But would she convince herself...?

“How about you?” Piers asked. “How long will you be here?”

“I’d originally thought just a couple of days,” she said. “But it sounds as if there is a lot more I can do here, both by informing people and maybe even finding out about the wolves here and how dangerous they might be. If they attack people, that’s bad for them as well as for the humans near them. It gives people an excuse—maybe even a good one—to hunt the wolves, even though they’re protected in this area.”

“I think we’re on the same wavelength,” Ryan said, his tone decisive and his expression now not particularly warm but highly businesslike—a good thing.

“Then let’s work together,” she said. “Find out about that attack last night and try to determine the wolves’ location. And despite the danger those wolves may present—well, I’m hoping to find a way to make sure they’re left alone.”

“Sounds good to me,” Piers said, nodding, then looking toward Ryan.

“Absolutely,” he agreed.

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