Publicly Exhibited [Werewolves of Hanson Mall 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Cara Adams Page B

feel a whole heap better as well. Do we have many answers?”
    “Quite a few. I’m working through them now.”
    Rhion sat down beside him and they both worked in silence for another half hour. When Cadfael leaned back in his chair, stretching his spine and rotating his shoulders, Rhion was already staring into the distance with a thoughtful look on his face.
    “What?” he asked.
    “It doesn’t seem like anyone is trying to appropriate their house. There’s no interest by developers or realtors, and no sign that area is going to be purchased for any reason. Also the neighbors report no one appearing to peek at the property. They said to reassure Willow and Hawthorne their house is being looked after.”
    “I guess that’s one avenue we can cross off the list,” said Cadfael. It was a good thing to eliminate possibilities, but he would rather have had a clear answer instead.
    “What have you learned?”
    Cadfael sighed and rubbed his face. Dammit, five and a bit hours’ sleep didn’t feel as refreshing as it used to anymore. “None of the business associations have heard of him and he’s not listed in the business ‘Who’s Who.’ Of course that doesn’t prove he’s not a business owner, but most people do join up just for the potential benefits of networking. Even being listed on their annual calendar and the like is free advertising. Since Hawthorne said he’s proud of being a businessman it’s strange he isn’t a member of any of the organizations.”
    “I’d call it suspicious,” said Rhion.
    Yes, that’s what he’d been thinking. “I hope he’s not involved in something illegal.”
    “But if he was involved in trying to harm shape-shifters he’d have wanted to catch the werewolf Hawthorne saw. Not to catch Hawthorne,” argued Rhion.
    “That’s what we need to do next. While Willow and Hawthorne search Facebook for the psychiatrist, we need to talk to some of the local packs about who she saw and why he shifted in public.”
    Rhion stood up. “As Alpha, that’s your purview. I’d better go check on the mall. We’ve ignored it long enough for one day.”
    Cadfael nodded. Rhion was right, again, as usual.
     
    * * * *
     
    Willow and Hawthorne had slept long and deeply, not waking until early afternoon. They made a sort of brunch to eat and Eilidh had joined them, although dressed in her uniform.
    “Why are you going to work? Cadfael gave you the day off,” said Hawthorne.
    “I’ll just go down and check on everything, and answer my e-mails, then come back to be here when Georgia and Wynn arrive to talk with you about the family research project. I’m really very interested in that.”
    Willow hoped she wouldn’t offend the woman who’d cared for them both so well, and who she now considered her friend, but she wanted to know. “Are you a wolf, Eilidh? I’m sorry of it’s rude to ask such a question.”
    Eilidh picked up her coffee, sipped it, and then put it down. Willow wondered if she used the coffee as a means to give herself time to think through how she’d answer the question. I hope I haven’t hurt her feelings. She’s been so helpful to us.
    “I am a wolf. The reason I’m working here, a long way from the pack I was born into, is because it was just assumed I’d mate one of the many bachelors there. Don’t get me wrong, I liked several of them. But I didn’t love any of them. So I studied nursing in a state far from my home, and there I met another student nurse, a man who assumed I belonged to this pack, because of my name. It seemed the perfect answer to come here and I’ve always felt as though I belonged.”
    “But you still haven’t married one of them,” said Hawthorne.
    “No I haven’t. However, there’s not the intense pressure on a female to mate anymore now wolves are allowed to have ménages and to marry human women.”
    Willow wondered if Eilidh was in love with any of the wolves here. It wasn’t her place to ask though, so she said nothing.