Brand of the Pack - Tera Shanley Page 0,3

his home and waited with a rakish smile while Morgan tried to remember how to use her legs. One touch and a few naughty words and that man turned her into a noodle.

The interior of the log cabin was a different world. It looked like a Colorado mountain retreat right here in the middle of Texas. To the right was a great room, and on her left were the kitchen, dining room, and living space. Nice and open, just like her wolf preferred.

Despite the large area, there were enough furnishings and home decor that it didn’t seem overstated or cold. The place still smelled new, like sawdust and leather. The ceiling over the entryway was lower than the vaulted one in the great room, and she padded forward and tilted her head up. On the left, wide wooden stairs rose out of the floor and led to an open room above them, surrounded by wooden railings.

“It’s a loft,” he said. “I figured Lana could make a play area up there and have her own space where we could still watch her from the kitchen and living room.”

Lana was her niece and now her ward. She had taken over guardianship of the three-year-old when a werewolf had attacked her sister on a camping trip last year. Grey had been able to save her and Lana, but was too late to protect Marianna, Lana’s mother. The monster had Turned Grey as its last revenge, but human or no, Grey had been wrapped tightly around Lana’s little finger from first sight.

She would love the loft.

Across the great room, a beautifully rustic, curving wooden staircase led to a second floor. Grey’s hand was warm and steady as he pulled her toward it. He started taking them two at a time in his haste, but slowed when she failed to rush. She was too busy looking around, amazed at the home he had built. He waited for her at the top, then led her down the hallway to a bedroom door. After he opened it, he stepped back and stared at her intently.

As she entered, the door creaked open to reveal a fairy princess bedroom. A white canopy bed loomed on the far wall, and a purple cartoon tree and bird drawings graced the wooden walls behind. In addition to the dresser and antique white nightstands beside the bed, there was a child-sized makeup mirror and chair and a toy kitchen perched on a thick white rug in the corner. A large white rocking chair sat next to a full bookshelf.

Sinking into the rocker, she pulled out the first book. She flipped through the worn pages of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Marissa had been reading it to Lana whenever she got the chance. She ran her finger along the folded corner of the page they had last read. A chandelier hung from the exposed rafters above, casting soft light across the page. There wasn’t a more magical place on earth for Lana to call her own.

Grey watched her with indecipherable golden eyes. “Do you think she will like it?”

“It’s perfect.” She blinked away stinging tears. “But, how did you know we would come back?”

“I didn’t. I just hoped.” He shrugged and looked away as if the emotion swimming in his eyes would be too much to share.

He strode to an open space in the wall between the dresser and the play kitchen and put his hand behind the bulky chest of drawers. It clicked. A thick panel opened up to reveal a secret room. Inside were miniature cushioned chairs and a small television on a wooden stand with a shelf of Lana’s favorite cartoons. Against the wall was a cupboard of art supplies with a small table and chairs nestled beside it.

“I know it seems like too much, but it’s not only for fun. I built this house to be big enough for a pack someday, but I wanted it to be safe, too. I have to be able to protect you guys. This is a safe room. Lana’s scent will saturate this room, but no one will smell her if she is in the secret room. There is a button to open the door on the inside, too, and when the door is closed, it’s impossible to tell there is a secret door there. I even rigged it so if someone knocks on the wall, it sounds the same as the other walls.”

He took her hand and led her out Lana’s door to