That seemed cruel, but it was the only way their kind had survived for a millennium or two. Carol could just imagine what would happen if werewolves were found to be real. They’d be treated differently—like outcasts— and most likely examined ruthlessly.

The worst of it? They were virtual fountains of youth, living much longer than their human counterparts. What if humans could manufacture whatever anomaly gave werewolves their increased longevity and bottle it? What if everyone wanted to be werewolves?

Hmm, that could be a good thing, she supposed. No more hiding what they were.

“Carol? Did you hear me? I want grandkids,” her mother repeated over the phone.

Carol took a deep breath. How could she tell her mother that grandkids were out? That they’d be were-kids—and who knew what kind of trouble they could get into? How could she raise little lupus garous when she hadn’t grown up as one and was still fumbling around with her own identity?

“Mom, I’m working at the hospital and need to go.”

“You do plan to have children, don’t you? You’re the only daughter we have left now.”

The guilt trip again. “I need a guy in my life first.”

“I shouldn’t have hung up on Ryan, should I have?” Her mother sounded really sorry for what she’d done.

Carol smiled. “Probably served him right. Got to go. Talk to you later.”

“Next time you visit, bring Ryan along. I haven’t met him, and I want to make sure he’s all right for you. That is if you’re hell-bent on dating him. I’ll give him a talking-to about your uniqueness.”

Uniqueness. Even now, her mother couldn’t bring herself to say Carol had psychic abilities. “He lives in Green Valley.”

“I know, I know. He told me. Just bring him by sometime. Soon.”

“All right. Bye, Mom.”

“Ask him if he wants kids. It’s important to discuss such things with a guy you’re interested in.”

“All right, if I get interested.”

“He’s interested, Carol, or he wouldn’t have called me.”

Her mom might not have psychic connections, but she was fairly intuitive when it came to understanding people. Still, Carol figured Ryan had only had one thing on his mind when he called her mother.

“You don’t think he was just going to ask if I truly had a vision about the doctor’s wife?”

“Of course he was. That’s what made me mad. He shouldn’t have to ask. But he wouldn’t have bothered calling me if he wasn’t intrigued with you. And I loved his sexy voice.”

Even though her mother didn’t like that Darien had moved Carol into his home, or that he or his brothers or Lelandi were always watching her, her mother loved Darien and his brothers’ sexy voices also. There was something about alpha males’ voices that made everyone take notice.

Call waiting warned Carol that she had someone else on the line. “I have another incoming call, Mom. We’ll have to talk later.”

“All right, dear. Good-bye.”

“Bye, Mom. Thanks for giving me a ring.”

Carol hung up and then stared at the Caller ID. Rosalind McKinley? Was she Ryan’s sister? It seemed to Carol as though she truly was dating Ryan, the way everyone was calling her about him. At least, that’s what she suspected his sister wanted to talk to her about since Carol had never met Rosalind… or spoken with her before. The day just got weirder and weirder.

“Hello, this is Carol Wood. How may I help you?”

“Hi, Carol, this is Rosalind McKinley, Ryan’s sister. I wonder if Ryan has told you how much he wants you.”

Carol glanced at Tom, who was trying to listen to her conversation. He set the ice pack down on the counter and folded his arms, his look annoyed. He didn’t budge from the room.

“What makes you think that?” Carol asked Rosalind. She already liked the woman for having the gumption to call her. But she wondered if Ryan’s sister really knew what she was talking about or just thought she knew her brother that well.

“Oh, Carol. I can call you Carol, can’t I?”

“Sure.”

“Well, Ryan hasn’t been able to think of anything since he met you five months ago. It was Carol this and Carol that, and dark brooding looks, chopping wood, pacing back and forth, wearing out our carpeting, impossibly distracted whenever I tried to talk with him.”

“He said nice things about me then?” Carol felt a warm glow.

“Oh, no… not at all.”

That hit Carol like she’d just been sprayed with a cold shower, dousing the warm, fuzzy feeling at once. “No? What then?”

“My brother was obsessed with you. Still is. Mate the poor fool and put him out of his misery. I can’t wait to meet you. No other woman has had this kind of effect on him. It’s wonderful.”

“But what did he say exactly to you about me?”

“He had taken tons of pictures of you. He keeps them in the top of the folder, and despite the case being closed, he keeps the file out for handy reference. Not to study the case but to get another look at you. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Not exactly.” Carol noted that Rosalind did not exactly say what Ryan had told her about Carol, either.

“He’s in love. I’ve never seen him fall so hard for a woman. But I was worried he might not get the message across to you, so I thought I’d better call and let you know how he feels. Just in case.”

“Um, thanks.” I think. Carol could just imagine telling Ryan that she understood he loved her and was thrilled he felt that way. He’d look at her like she’d lost her mind.

“Don’t thank me! I’m getting a sister!”

Her comment made Carol smile.

A commotion ensued in the lobby, garnering Carol’s attention, and Tom moved into the hall to check it out. “We’ll have to have this conversation later, Rosalind. Thanks so much for calling me.”

“Can we have lunch soon?”

Carol already really liked Rosalind, her friendliness, enthusiasm, camaraderie. She seemed like someone who’d be in Carol’s court if she needed her. “Lunch sounds great.”

“Hell, I’m fine, damn it,” Ryan growled in the waiting area down the hall.

Carol furrowed her brows and glanced back at the hall, but she was unable to see Ryan. The thrill of seeing him back without a scratch was tempered by worry that he’d be angry with Tom… or her… for letting North into the exam room with her.

Jake said in a scolding tone, “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who is a horrible patient. If you won’t go peaceably, I’ll have to send you to Matthew to check you out instead of Carol. And you definitely won’t make brownie points there. Guaranteed. Your choice.”

Her heart tripping, Carol looked at Tom.

He gave her a wry smile. “Guess that makes four times. Unless he was wounded in some other fashion.”

“Is that my brother growling about something?” Rosalind asked.

“It’s him. But I’m not sure what about. I’ve got to go. Trouble at the hospital.” Concerning your brother, but Carol wasn’t about to tell his sister that, in the event it wasn’t anything. “I’ll call you later.”

“Look forward to it.” They disconnected.

Her blood running cold, Carol shoved the next patient record into the holder. If Ryan had been shot because he was trying to protect her, she didn’t want to even think about it.

She hurried in the direction of the waiting room.

Chapter 18

WHEN CAROL SAW RYAN’S SHIRTSLEEVE BLOODIED, she frowned and quickened her pace toward the hospital waiting area. “Let’s get you into an exam room.”

“I’m fine. It’s just a graze, for Chr—”

She gave him a look to curb his tongue. He noted the two small girls in the waiting area and snorted. Then he wordlessly went with her down the hall as she held his arm, his whole body tensing. Touching him made her feel so much more secure. Although she was afraid that once he saw Tom and the goose egg he was sporting, Ryan would be more than furious with the both of them.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I was chasing one of the reds as a wolf, and when I located him, he shifted and held a gun on me.”

They approached the exam room as Jake followed behind. “And then he fired a shot at you?”

“A couple, but he missed all three times, dove into his pickup, and vamoosed.”

“Missed all three times?” She touched the sleeve of his shirt, blood spotting the blue and white print.

“He got lucky. One ricocheted off a tree, or he would never have hit me.”

She frowned at him. “You went after him even when you learned he had a gun, didn’t you?” Not surprising, but she didn’t like that he took such risks, either. “You shouldn’t have.”

He gave her a hard scowl back, his hands clenched into fists. She felt his muscle tighten beneath her fingertips. “By lunging at him, I threw him off guard. If I hadn’t, he could have fired several steady shots at my retreating backside.”

“I hope you didn’t continue to chase him,” she scolded.

“While he was driving a pickup? Not likely.”

“I would have thought you might continue to look for clues of the other guys. At least you came straight away here to be treated.”

He didn’t say anything.

She looked back at Jake. “You did come straight here, right?”

Jake shook his head.

Ryan said, “If Jake hadn’t insisted, I wouldn’t be here to be examined by you or Doc. I have a job to do, and being a patient is not on the schedule.”

“Were you this bad the other times?”

His expression puzzled, he frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

“When you were shot the three other times. Did you behave as unruly as a patient before?”