Lycan Packs 1: Lycan Instinct Read Online Free Page B

Could be someone new in the city, and the cops got the first call.” A slight curve twitched at the corner of Gabe’s mouth. “Not surprising, since they have 9-1-1 and our numbers aren’t exactly listed.”
    “For good reason. Heard from Lucian?”
    “Yes, he’s heading home on the next flight.” Gabe accepted a snifter of brandy and sat in the plush leather seat opposite him. “Another successful mission.”
    Rafe lifted his glass in salute. “Any fallout?”
    “No more than your little confrontation with that politician last weekend garnered.”
    “Few gossip rags were interested.”
    Gabe snorted.
    “What about the mission?” Rafe pressed, not wanting to discuss his daily dealings with the ever-present paparazzi. Such publicity was why he was no longer an L.I. field agent.
    “There was a small article in that tabloid, Global Examiner . A villager claims to have given birth to a werewolf’s baby.”
    “Oh?”
    “Included a photo, obviously doctored, of a very hairy, chubby infant.”
    “Entertaining, I’m sure,” he said dryly.
    Gabe chuckled. “I’ll give your compliments to our team. Seriously though, there were a few local stories, but nothing on legitimate global news sources. A couple in a remote village killed by a supposedly rabid wolf doesn’t make international news, especially when that wolf is stopped.”
    Rafe rose to pour himself another drink. He faced the large glass wall that opened onto a spectacular view of the city, always changing but silent from the top floor of his corporate offices. “Let’s keep Lucian stateside for a while.”
    “The homicide?”
    Rafe savored the taste of his own brandy before nodding. “Did you contact Detective Lyons?”
    “Left a message. Nothing yet.”
    He felt Gabriel studying him and fought to relax the tension in his shoulders. His brother was often too observant for his own good.
    “What am I missing?”
    “There’s nothing to miss,” Rafe answered. “She’s investigating the murder of someone apparently mauled to death. It would be in our best interest to consult on the case.”
    “She?” Gabe’s eyebrows rose. “You never mentioned the detective was a woman. Is she Lycan?”
    Rafe remembered her scent. Female, attractive, but definitely human. “No.”
    “Is she pretty?”
    His grip tightened on the snifter. For some reason he couldn’t fathom, his brother’s sudden interest grated. “She’s off-limits.”
    “Possessive, are we?”
    “Don’t even think it.”
    “Yep. I bet she’s sexy.”
    “What she is, is a homicide detective, the last person I’d want to uncover our secret.”
    “Who says she has to know? There’s no harm in dabbling with a willing female, especially a pretty one. And if you aren’t claiming her, I might like to give her a try.”
    Rafe shot his brother a quelling look.
    Gabe wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Think of what she could do with handcuffs...”
    “No.” An unexpected growl burned in Rafe’s throat. The thought of Gabe and Mackenzie together made him see red, which only infuriated him more because he knew he shouldn’t care. Although his entire being wanted to howl against allowing Gabe to “give her a try,” he hadn’t staked a claim on her. And he wouldn’t. He needed a mate, sure, but not a human—a female cop—who could jeopardize everything. The danger she posed to the pack outweighed all else.
    “Hey, bro, you know I’d never risk...”
    Rafe held up a hand, took a steady breath. The fierce tension in his body made him weary. He needed a weekend on his estate, a chance to run free, away from the city and all its demands. The older he got, the harder it became to postpone the search for his mate. But postpone the search, he must.
    “I know.”
    Gabe would never intentionally endanger the pack; neither could he.
     

     
    The medical examiner removed his glasses and frowned at his paperwork when Mackenzie and Cooper walked in. His half-eaten chilidog lay within easy