Hunting Season: Werewolf Bodyguard Romance (Guarded by the Shifter Book 1) by Kate Rudolph (e novels to read online .TXT) 📕

Willa Hunter had managed to pull actual clothes on while the others were teasing him. She gave the major a nod before hurrying up the stairs without a word. Owen tried to wave, but she was already out of sight. Oh well. At least she knew the pizza order.

Owen went to find his clothes before anyone else could rib him for his grumbling tummy. He checked his phone and wasn't surprised to see no new messages. He'd called his mother earlier in the day so she had no reason to call, and if something had gone wrong with Vega or Rowe they would have called Gibson or Gordon. Owen wasn't anyone's first call.

The cabin was big enough that he and the others weren't stepping all over each other to store their clothes or move around. Since it was already past midnight, they'd probably be staying the night. It was more than an hour's drive back into the city, and it wouldn't be the first night they'd all slept over. Owen suspected that Gibson came from money, but he'd never asked. He was pretty sure the major could still majorly fuck with his life even though they'd all been retired from the army for two years. He wasn't about to test the man.

The cabin had two large bedrooms in the basement and another two upstairs. The major took the master; no one questioned it. Hunter and Jackson both managed to snag their own rooms, which left Owen and Andre to share. He didn't mind. It wasn't like Andre snored.

Owen considered taking a quick shower, but his skin felt all fresh and new from the shift so there was no need. Some of the tiredness from running around on all fours all night was starting to catch up to him, and he wanted to crawl into his bed, but Gibson would want a check in.

And Owen wanted pizza.

He went upstairs and found everyone dressed and sitting around the large kitchen island, devouring the first of four pepperoni and mushroom pizzas. Owen cracked into the next pizza and took four pieces. That was another thing about being a werewolf. They had to eat all the time. Their bodies devoured calories like it was going out of style. And Owen ate the first slices so fast that he barely tasted them.

"Any update on the Bradley job?" Jackson asked. She took dainty bites of her pizza and dabbed at her lips with a napkin to wipe away the grease after every bite.

Gibson nodded to the cell phone sitting beside his plate. "Rowe texted. Job's wrapping up. They'll be home in a couple of days."

Some of the tension—tension Owen hadn't quite realized he was feeling—leeched out of the unit. It was good to know they'd all be together again. "Any issues?" he asked, mouth full of pizza.

Gibson glared at him and Owen grinned wider. "All was well. The ex did not show up to the wedding and the happy couple are on their way to Aruba."

The news wasn't exactly momentous and no one cheered. "Anything more interesting that babysitting a couple of brides come up?" asked Andre. He was slouched in the corner and somehow managed to be half cloaked in shadow despite the brightly lit kitchen. There was just a hint of menace in his voice and Owen wanted to roll his eyes. The guy was all drama and needed to learn to chill. They'd just gone for a run. They had pizza. What was there to complain about?

Two years before, after they'd been unceremoniously dumped out of the army in an attempt to keep what had happened to them hush hush, Gibson had gathered them all together with an idea: protection. They could provide it to those in need all while figuring out what it meant to be impossible creatures in an ordinary world. Their bodyguarding outfit had gotten off the ground eighteen months ago, but they were still making a name for themselves. That involved taking small jobs and networking. Owen didn't mind it. He was pretty sure that Andre would rather jump off a building than make nice with potential clients.

"You'll be the first to know," Gibson promised, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Andre glared from his dark corner.

Just as Gibson was ready to stuff another piece of pizza in his mouth, his phone rang. He looked at the screen for a moment, eyes narrowed, then put the pizza down, picked up the phone, and walked outside.

He shot Andre a look and then glanced at Jackson and Hunter, then they all looked out at Gibson. He was standing on the balcony and had closed the sliding glass door. Owen wished being a werewolf had given him super hearing. His research—if watching Teen Wolf counted as research—had suggested he should be able to do a lot more than he could. He was a bit stronger, a bit faster, his senses were a bit more acute, but nothing inhuman. Nothing that would allow any of them to actually hear what the major was saying.

"He's being secretive," Hunter muttered.

Owen had to bite his lip from saying something. Hunter wouldn't even tell them her birthday or hometown. "The major's allowed to have a private call."

"No, that was weird," Jackson agreed. She glanced at each of their plates as if counting the number of pieces they'd had and then reached for the next pizza box.

The four of them stared at Gibson through the glass as they chomped on their pizza. Only once he hung up the phone did they swing around to pretend they hadn't been shamelessly snooping.

"You're all very subtle," Gibson said once he slid the door shut. "Myers, with me." He nodded down the hallway towards his bedroom.

Owen had the strangest sense of being called to the principal's office. He had to remind himself he wasn't in school or the army anymore and no one could hurt him.

Yeah, right. The major could make his life hell if