“I know how you downplay things,” the younger of the two men said, his face easing into a few smile wrinkles as Rex struggled to get away from me. “‘Fine’ can be anything from a bruise to almost comatose. And when I get a call from the I.S. about my alpha female, I’m not going to take that at face value.”

His eyes lingered on the faint mark on my neck where Al had gripped me. Dropping the wildly wiggling cat, I gave him a quick hug. The complicated scent of Were filled my senses, wild, rich, and full of exotic undertones of earth and moon that most Weres lacked. I drew back, my hands still on his upper arms, peering into his eyes to evaluate his state of being. David had taken a curse for me, and though he said he liked the focus, I worried that one day, the sentient spell would risk my anger and take him over.

David’s jaw clenched as he reigned in an urge to flee that stemmed from the curse, not himself, then smiled. The thing was terrified of me.

“Still got it?” I said, letting him go, and he nodded.

“Still loving it,” he said, dropping his head briefly to hide the need to run shimmering behind his dark eyes. He turned to the man beside him. “You remember Howard?”

My head bobbed. “Oh, yes! From last year’s winter solstice,” I said, wiggling my foot at Rex so she wouldn’t come in and reaching to shake the older man’s hand. His grip was cold from the night and probably poor circulation. “How you been doing?”

“I’m trying to stay busy,” he said, the tips of his gray hair moving as he exhaled heavily. “I never should have taken that early retirement.”

David scuffed his boots, muttering a quiet “I told you.”

“Well, come on in,” I said, waving my foot at the disgusted cat so she’d go away. “Quick, before Rex follows you.”

“We can’t stay.” David hotfooted it inside, his old business partner quick on his heels despite his accumulated years. “We’re on our way to pick up Serena and Kally. Howard is driving us out to Bowman Park and we’re going to run the Licking River trail. Can I leave my car here until morning?”

I nodded. The long stretch of railroad track between Cincy and Bowman Park had been converted to a safe running surface shortly after the Turn. This time of year, you’d only find Weres on it at night, and the rails-to-trails path ran fairly close to the church before it crossed the river into Cincinnati. David had used the church as an endpoint before, but this was the first time he had the ladies with him. I wondered if it was their first long fall run. If so, they were in for a treat. To run full out and not get hot was exquisite.