The Legend of the Werewolf by Mandy Rosko

asked.
    Anne went through a mental list of the
people Gordon trusted. She stopped when she couldn’t think of
anyone. “I don’t know.”
    She sighed and stared out the window at
the setting sun.
    It had been hours since Chris’ crash and
she had yet to visit him. Gordon’s orders.
    Between the lack of sleep, Chris'
accident, and listening to the loud yelling match between Gordon
and Westley that later ensued, from all the way across the ranch,
dealing with Mike's questions were torture. She was
beat.
    She couldn't wait for the other pack
members to arrive. She wanted to get her plan up and running. The
sooner she and Westley got out of this sham of an engagement, the
better.
    She couldn't keep her eyes from
traveling along Mike's body. He half lay, half sat in the chair
opposite her with his feet next to hers on the coffee table. Even
relaxed, his muscles made him huge.
    “Anne?”
    She shook herself. “Hmm,
what?”
    He was eyeing her as though wondering
where she went. “You okay?”
    Anne blinked. "Oh, yeah. Uh, Gordon might
have given the stone to Bill, but it’s doubtful. I’d bet he just
hid it somewhere."
    Mike sank further into his seat and
rubbed his eyes. "Great."
    She launched herself from the couch by
the window. "Don't give up! I'll go talk to Bill right
now."
    She made a half turn to go directly to the
door before his voice halted her. "Look, I know you want to get out
of your marriage. I also know the opinion of a pack master is
usually a strong incentive, but why can't you just say no? I don't
think he'll grab a shot gun and force either of you down the
aisle."
    She clenched her fists. "Knowing him,
he probably would."
    Her eyes met Mike's. He had a single
eyebrow raised at her.
    She relented. "Alright, he probably
wouldn't, but disobeying him means leaving the pack."
    “I know that. Disobedience usually
does, but nowadays pack masters are more open to letting that rule
slide.”
    Anne crinkled her nose and went to the
fridge, popping it open. “You don’t know Gordon.”
    She moved the OJ and water jug
out of the way until her hand found the cold neck of a Coors bottle. The fridge
had been stocked for her and their guest. There was an almost whole
chicken inside. Half of it was missing, along with half of the loaf
of bread that had been wrapped up. Mike must’ve eaten while waiting
for her to get back.
    Probably pissed him off, being stuck in
a cabin by himself with a wolf watching outside to make sure he
went nowhere. Anne figured she was lucky he left her anything at
all.
    She twisted off the cap of her beer and
took an angry swig when Mike’s voice came to her.
    "You must really love your
pack."
    She swallowed, lowered the bottle, and
nodded as painful memories floated up from the haze where she
buried them. "They took me in, risking a lot to do so."
    He nodded. "Right, you're a turned
wolf."
    Since he was a Griffon City cop, she knew
telling him exactly who turned her would be a mistake. She’d be an
idiot to assume he didn’t suspect though. "Right."
    Mike settled more comfortably into his
seat. "When you explained your plan to Westley, you didn't look too
concerned when he mentioned that it wouldn't prevent him from
having to get married."
    Her face heated with bitter rage. Her fist
shattered the bottle she held, beer and glass rained down on her
feet. "You've been here a day so don't look at me and hint
something like that."
    The high octave of her voice didn't faze
him. He didn’t even look down at the broken glass at her feet. "So,
if your plan works, what will you do to stop him from being married
off? He and the dragon looked pretty close. What will happen to
them?”
    Anne gaped at him. How in the Hell did
he—?
    “I’m a cop, remember.” Mike tapped the
side of his head with his finger. “I notice things.”
    For the first time in … ever, Anne
examined her behavior throughout the course of her engagement to
Westley.
    All of the secret meetings they’d had with
Chris