Nic by Jordan Summers

if they continued to pursue her. Unless of course they were just after sex.
    Sex she could live with. It was an emotional attachment that would be unbearable.
    Cold settled around Celina’s heart. Maybe it was time she told Mindy that her sister wasn’t crazy. That the monsters Izzy warned her about were real. If she did that, Celina wouldn’t have to worry about losing Slade or the other wolves coming around. Mindy wouldn’t want anything to do with any of them.
     
    * * * * *
     

 

Chapter Eleven
     
    Mindy made a quick trip to the grocery store after work before rushing home to get ready for Nic’s arrival. She fed all her animals and talked to each one about their day, then put the cooked roast and potatoes she’d picked up into the oven to warm.
    She threw together a salad and set the bowl inside the refrigerator. Mindy didn’t know if Nic would want to stay for dinner, but she wanted to be ready just in case. She walked into her bedroom and found a dead mouse on her pillow.
    “Hannibal!”
    Her one-eyed orange tabby came strolling into the room. He rubbed against her leg, arching his back and purring with pride. Mindy rolled her eyes and scratched him behind the ears.
    “You have to stop bringing me presents, or in your case, displaying your kills.” She stroked him again, then picked up her pillow and carried it to the back door.
    Mindy unlocked the door and tossed the dead mouse outside, then stripped the pillowcase off and threw it in the laundry hamper. She retrieved a clean pillowcase from the dresser drawer in Izzy’s old bedroom and grabbed one of her sister’s sweaters while she was at it.
    With the clean pillowcase in place, she walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on. Mindy had just tugged on the end of her shirt when she heard scratching at the back door.
    Hannibal was perched on her bed. Had Tart somehow gotten out when she removed the mouse? God, she hoped not. She did not need a litter of puppies.
    Mindy dropped her shirt and walked down the hall. She moved the curtain aside and gasped. What was he doing here? She turned the lock and opened the door. The wolf-hybrid she and Celina had rescued stared at her with startling amber eyes. At first she was scared, then he whimpered.
    “How did you get here, big boy?” Mindy slowly stepped out onto her small back porch and looked around. She didn’t want to startle him. “Celina was supposed to have taken you to the preserve.”
    They’d decided that he wasn’t someone’s pet, but he also wasn’t entirely wild. He’d obviously been around people at some point, but given his size it would be better if he had somewhere safe to roam.
    He nudged her hand with his massive head.
    Mindy’s fingers sank into his thick fur. “Are you hungry?”
    His tail wagged.
    “Well, come on in. Let’s get you something to eat.”
    Tart, her rescue poodle, came running out of the living room straight at them. Mindy had completely forgotten that she was loose.
    She tried to cut her off, but the large, three-legged poodle was in heat and easily snaked around her. She immediately whimpered and spun around to entice the big male. If the hybrid mounted her, there was no way Mindy would get them apart without losing a hand.
    The wolf-hybrid sniffed Tart’s bottom and growled. The sound sent chills across Mindy’s skin. Not the reaction she expected from a male canine, especially one who was part wolf. Tart yelped and scampered away. He watched her go, but made no move to follow.
    “You are an odd duck, my friend,” Mindy said. She’d never seen a male dog of any kind turn away a bitch in heat. “Let’s get you some food.”
    His massive paws were silent as he trailed her to the kitchen.
    “Sit,” she said, then grabbed a plate out of the cupboard. Mindy pulled the roast out of the oven.
    The hybrid shoved his nose between her legs and sniffed, then licked her jeans.
    Mindy almost dropped the roast on his head. She quickly set the pot on the