that not all Others are unthinking, violent monsters, and that I had unnecessarily given up a good thing. He had stood by my side and protected me while I fought some pretty scary crap over the last year; that, too, showed he was a keeper.
It had taken me a long time to set aside my misgivings and come to the decision to commit. Signing the contract meant, legally, I could be turned into a werewolf. Though Chaz knew me well enough to know I’d never forgive him if he did such a thing, my life would be in his hands. Putting that kind of trust in him would hopefully close the rift that had come between us when Royce bound me by blood.
On the bright side, after we signed that contract, we could do a lot more than hold hands. That might ease some of the tension—in more than one sense—that had been building between us over the last month or so. Considering I hadn’t let things get intimate since I found out he was a werewolf—had it really been almost a year ago?—it was a wonder he wasn’t pushing me harder to jump in the sack, contract or no. The man had the patience and fortitude of a saint. I wasn’t about to risk letting him slip through my fingers again. Once everything was sorted out between us, I could figure out the other, harder issues raised by signing the contract.
Like telling my parents about him. That could wait, for sure. Maybe I’d put off that little surprise until sometime around Christmas. My mom really liked him, but she thought he was human. Considering she’d only just come around to speaking to me after several weeks of being incommunicado, there was no telling how she’d react once I told her Chaz’s little secret.
My mom and dad had listened to my explanation of why I’d been spending time around Weres, magi, and vampires with horror and incredulity once I’d discovered there was no way of hiding it from them. What with reporters and cops following me all over the place, and all the new bumps, bruises, stitches, and scars, hiding what was going on in my life wasn’t an option anymore. The only details I hadn’t mentioned were that Chaz was a Were and Sara’s boyfriend Arnold was a mage. Fortunately, whenever they were around my parents or brothers, Arnold and Chaz minded their manners and kept any hints of their nature as Others carefully hidden. So far, none of my family seemed to have guessed. However, I suspected that my dad knew more than he was telling and was biding his time before confronting me about my “alternative lifestyle.”
“What’s the name of this place we’re going to, again?”
Chaz pulled his hand out of mine to open the glove compartment and pass me a colorful trifold brochure.
“It’s called the Pine Cone Lodge. The owner’s name is Bruce Cassidy. He’s been out there for years. He uses the place as a retreat and hideaway for Weres in the off-season. Dillon says he’s run the place since Columbus spotted land.”
“Yeesh, he’s that ancient? Are you sure he’s a Were, not a vamp?”
He laughed. “No, no. Nothing like that. It’s just a joke. He is a Were, just an old one. From what I was told, he’s in his early seventies.”
“You haven’t been there before?” I asked, perusing the brochure. It had scenic pictures of the forest, snowcapped mountains in the background, and some close-ups of tiny, rustic log and stone cabins nestled into the trees. Oh, they all had fireplaces! That had romantic evenings written all over it. At least until moonrise tomorrow night, when Chaz would have no choice but to shift and hunt with the rest of his pack.
“Not me personally, no. Dillon met him when he was part of the Firepaw pack. I’ve talked to Moonwalker, Ravenwood, and Timber Falls werewolves, and a few of the independent Were-cats,” he said. “All of them reassured me the place is the best Were-friendly deal you can get on a budget without driving across the country.”
My brows arched in surprise as I reached up to tie my unruly curls out of my face. “Were-cats? I didn’t know we had any in the U.S. I thought they were all over in Africa and South America.”
“Nah. There are a few natives here.” He paused, navigating around some jerk who cut him off before continuing. “They’re much more low-key than Rohrik Donovan and the Moonwalker