Pack Security (Were Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF Page B

he couldn’t very well be stoned during the day.
    Max pushed himself off the bed then pulled on the jeans from earlier. He would get a bottle of water from the kitchen and look over the plans for the Wilson ranch. He’d already gone over everything with Alex the night before, but another look wouldn’t hurt.
    He opened his bedroom door quietly, not wanting to wake Cassie, who slept only a few doors down.
    There was no doubt he’d been shocked when he’d first seen her again. He wasn’t sure why he’d still pictured the young girl from his memories, but Cassandra Wilson was in no way a little girl.
    She was a beautiful woman.
    It had thrown him off balance when she’d looked at him with those expressive chocolate eyes. He hadn’t been prepared for the punch he’d felt from the pixie woman.
    She was much smaller than his big frame. And every single part of him had wanted to wrap her up and protect her.
    It had just about killed him when they’d entered her studio and he’d seen the devastation on her face. Yes, the room had been cleaned, but he could see that she was picturing the way she’d found it before.
    With her in his arms, he’d wanted to kill whoever had hurt her. His normal quiet and calm wolf had not been any happier. The itch under his skin had been an experience he had only felt a few times in his life.
    Since he couldn’t actually shift into his animal, he could sometimes pretend it wasn’t even there. But sometimes, when he was stressed or emotional, there was an extra awareness of his wolf.
    Just as he’d started to wonder about his wolf’s response to Cassie, she had shut down.
    She’d excused herself from the room and told him she was tired and wanted to lie down. A door inside the studio apparently led to the bathroom that then connected to Cassie’s bedroom.
    Alex had shown up about thirty minutes after Cassie left him. When he asked about Cassie, Max explained what had happened. Alex had finished the tour and told him about the adjoining doors to Cassie’s rooms.
    While Alex went and checked on his sister, Max had started drawing a map of where he wanted the extra cameras installed.
    Cassie’s studio had a balcony door that linked to the sliding glass door of her bedroom. He made a note that both of those exits needed a camera above them. Cassie would still be able to open them when she wanted, but they would be able to see if anyone tried to enter that way.
    He didn’t turn on any lights until he reached the kitchen. There, he flicked on the switch and saw a half-empty bottle of wine on the marble counter. So Cassie must have gotten up in the three hours he’d managed to sleep.
    He pulled a cold bottle of water from the fridge and drank half of it down. He was starting to calm and felt better already.
    Thoughts of the woman replaced the aftershocks of the nightmare.
    Since Cassie had been holed up in her room, he’d had a simple meal of a burger and some chips with Alex earlier in the night. He wished he could offer the family more reassurance, but he still didn’t know what was going on.
    The worry Alex had for his sister had been evident as they’d talked over dinner.
    Max had vowed that he would get to the bottom of the break-in. And he would keep that promise.
    His laptop still sat on the island top. He checked the alarm and cameras Alex had given him access to.
    The blinking red light showed him that one of the balcony doors was open. He frowned. He grabbed his water and hurried down the hall. All of the interior doors were still closed. Not wanting to go into Cassie’s bedroom without invitation, he paused at the studio door.
    He listened but couldn’t hear any sound coming from inside.
    Slowly, he turned the knob and, as silently as he could, pushed the door open. The first things he spotted were several large canvases tossed on the ground half-completed. One of the easels held a blank sheet and paint lay scattered around on the wheeled table.
    He peered further in the