Changeling Dawn by Dani Harper Page A

kept him away from home, but he finally had a place worth coming home to—a luxury loft in Manhattan, not far from NYU. There was a sleek Audi in his private parking space these days. His tenure at the university was assured for life with the kind of funding he’d been able to bring in lately—after all, being able to wine and dine the big dogs meant big donations. Gone were the days of a crummy apartment in a crummy neighborhood, with a long and crummy commute. And everything was paid for in full, thanks to IBC.
    He didn’t owe them a thing of course. He’d fulfilled their orders, provided them with what they needed, and they’d paid him on the spot each time. There was no contract, no obligation to do more. Only his own desire to have more. And he could have as much as he wanted if only he had more items to deliver.
    Too bad there were only so many of those....
    There was the one delivery that had gone missing—he could definitely go looking for that. Those idiots employed Kiotm"> by IBC couldn’t find their asses with both hands, but he had no doubt of his ability to find the lost item himself. The reward would be substantial too, more than enough to pick up that second home in Mendocino. It’d be a luxurious retreat, and the redwood forest there would be a great place to turn his lupine side loose. After all, his inner wolf didn’t really care for the whole Manhattan scene.... In fact, that little romp with Kenzie had been the most fun he’d had, well, since the last time their wolves had run together. God, how many years ago had that been?
    Only this time, there’d been no sex at the end of it. Make that stupendous sex. He’d been with plenty of women, including two last night in this very bed. None of them compared to Kenzie Macleod. And then she’d gone and decided to live like a nun. Sorry Nate, we’re just friends now... .
    What the hell was her problem anyway? Sure, she was older than he, but damn she was hot. And thanks to her lupine genes, she was likely to stay that way. They looked good together, a matched set, light and dark. Nate groaned with pleasure as he imagined walking into a room of potential donors with Dr. Mackenzie Macleod on his arm. Whatever wallets couldn’t be loosened by his charm and their looks would be opened by her reputation. Their social success as a couple would be nothing short of stellar. He headed the archaeology department now, but who knew how much further he could go?
    It was perfect. Meant to be, even. So why did Kenzie refuse to see it?
    Well, maybe it was about time he made her see it. And if she still insisted on brushing him off, maybe she could be useful in another way. She just might be able to help him solve his little supply problem with IBC.
     
    Kenzie felt like cheering when she emerged from her tent and found the cub curled close to the fire pit. Its head was resting on its front paws, one white, one black, and she couldn’t help thinking of her brother Culley. In wolfen form, he was pure black, but an odd white snippet on his nose gave him a comical look. His tail was tipped with white and there was a white star on his chest. Trickster that he was, he delighted in utilizing those unwolf-like colors to the max by pretending to be a monstrous dog among unsuspecting humans. He’d even learned to make his pointed ears flop like a collie’s—although how, she couldn’t imagine.
    “Good morning,” she whispered. The young wolf pricked its ears and opened its eyes. Yawned and stretched. And looked at her expectantly.
    “Breakfast time, right?” She considered the problem. A Changeling in wolfen form usually couldn’t eat people food—not without causing an upset stomach. Culley insisted on eating pizza whether human or wolf, but he had a cast-iron digestive system so he didn’t count. As for herself, Kenzie had never had much luck with it. “You know, if you were a little girl, I could make breakfast for you.” She rifled through her freeze-dried