Grant Wolves, Tome 3: Grave Threat

Chapter 1

Five, six, seven, eight…

Joey’s childhood dance instructor had once told her that one day she’d get to the point where she didn’t need to count, that the music would tell her what to do. That had never happened. The counts were always in her head, had been ticking away in the back of her mind through every turn, every glide, every lift for the last four hours.

One, two, three, four…

The best thing about being in rehearsal was the way the rest of the world fell away. It was just her, Chris, and the dance. The way it had always been. The way it was supposed to be.

It’d been nearly six weeks since their world had been turned upside down again, and things were finally starting to settle into something that felt normal. Well, sort of normal. They lived in different houses and belonged to different packs, but they were back in the studio. There was something to be said for that, and when they were in the studio, nothing else mattered. Nothing but the dance.

The music ended, and with it the parade of numbers through Joey’s brain. She looked in the mirror, studying their lines. She was bent back, way back, over Chris’s arm in a graceful arch with one leg extended. His eyes were on her rather than the mirror, and he had a big smile on his face that hardly conveyed the drama of the pose.

“You’re not supposed to be grinning,” she said, eyes still glued to the mirror.

“Sorry.” His mouth twitched as he attempted to school his expression into something else and failed.

Joey lifted her head to look up at him, all set to deliver her best lecture about perfect practice equaling perfect performance, but his smile was infectious. She drew herself upright and rested her hands on his arms as they curled around her.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll bite. Why are you smiling?”

“Because I’m happy.” He leaned down and brushed his nose against hers. “And I like it when you bite.”

Joey’s face heated, and her already fast-beating heart kicked it up a notch. “You’re not supposed to be happy here,” she chided, but couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “You’re supposed to be serious. This is a serious place.”

Chris chuckled. “I can be both.”

He kissed the tip of her nose, then lifted her off the ground, hands at her waist. She laughed and slid her hands from his arms to his shoulders, though it wasn’t necessary to hold herself up. He had more than enough strength to keep her aloft, but a lifetime of concessions for the sake of appearances made the action automatic.

“Put me down,” she said.

His eyes twinkled with mischief as he complied, lowering her until her chest pressed against his. Rolling her eyes, she curled her arms around his neck and glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Again?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.

He may have been asking about the routine, but the way his lips brushed her skin made her crave another sort of dance. “I think that’s enough for the day.”

“We’ve still got five minutes. That’s enough time for one more run-through.”

“I know, but it’s not like we’ve got a deadline looming. I should hit the shower and get on the road. You know what traffic is like going out of town this time of day.”

Chris’s breath blew across her neck as he breathed a resigned sigh. “Can’t keep the Alpha waiting, eh?” He started across the room toward their duffel bags with her still dangling from his neck.

“You’ve got an appointment too, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He lifted his head, and Joey threaded her fingers through his short hair. The look in his eyes made her heart constrict, and she hated that she’d pricked his happy bubble. “Maybe her research went better this week?”