Paul chuckled. “Lori, you are a worrywart.”

* * *

The day was nice and hot, perfect for practice dives, if that’s all that was going on between Allan and Debbie. But Lori knew she wasn’t just paranoid. She knew Debbie was interested in Allan and he returned the interest right back. What was not to like about Allan anyway? He was sexy and fit and loved to do what Debbie loved to do—dive. They had an easy way with each other, like they already knew each other intimately, not like people who had just started to work together. No formality between them. No getting to know each other.

Paul was trying to calm her fears, but he too worried about Allan. How could he not?

Debbie was a lovely brunette, vivacious, something that totally appealed to Allan. She was definitely an alpha, ready for adventure. She loved the police work, loved saving people and animals, just like Allan. Worst of all, she was single.

“You need to talk to him,” Lori told Paul.

“He’s a grown man and knows what he’s doing.”

“He’s human, well, and wolf, and both are going to get him into trouble.”

“I’ll talk to him—but he’s going to wonder what all the fuss is about.”

Lori was certain he’d know just why they were concerned.

* * *

Allan was just as concerned about working with a human woman as Paul and Lori were, but he knew he could handle this. It sure was a hell of a lot different going on dives with Debbie than with Paul.

He was so used to working with Paul over the years that they just did everything in perfect sync—the hand signals, body movement, the awareness of their partner. Though some signals were universal, he and Paul, along with the other members of their SEAL wolf team, had developed some over the years that were distinctive to them.

Allan knew Paul and Lori were warily observing them. He had to admit watching Debbie swim was a hell of a lot more attention-grabbing than watching Paul. And when she smiled at him, she made him feel as though he was dating her and not just working a job. He had to remind himself to act professional and get the training done. On an assignment, they had to concentrate on the mission so they could get the results they needed—evidence from a crime scene, people or animals to safety—while ensuring they came out of it unscathed.

If he’d been assigned to a human male dive partner, no problem. But working with a single female, one who fascinated him like she did, he could see it would take a lot of diligence on his part to keep his mind on business and not on Debbie. If he could just become interested in one of the new single females in the pack, that would solve all his problems.

But when he swam next to Debbie in the clear blue lake, she fired his testosterone sky-high. That didn’t happen when he was around the single women in his pack. He hoped he could deal with this without getting them both into dangerous waters.

Chapter 2

Four months later

The tires of Allan’s hatchback slid on a patch of ice on the bridge just as he spied tires sticking up out of a deluge of water in a culvert. A rush of adrenaline poured through his veins, readying him for the frigid conditions and a rescue mission. In the cold of winter in Northern Montana, he and his dive partner were the first to arrive on the scene of the accident and had to act quickly.

Debbie was requesting emergency backup and an ambulance as she held on to the dashboard, looking just as alarmed when the tires lost traction on the ice. He worried that they’d end up down the embankment, crashing into the upside-down SUV.

Frantically, a woman jerked at the back door of the SUV without success.

As soon as he saw who it was, his heart took a dive. It was Franny White, wife of the new chef at their wolf-run Italian restaurant, Fame da Lupo. She didn’t go anywhere without her daughter. But the baby wasn’t in her arms and Franny was trying so hard to get into the backseat, he knew little Stacy had to be buckled into her car seat and submerged underwater.

“Cancel the call for the ambulance!” he said to Debbie, knowing that this was a risk he had to take. “Call this number!” He gave her the number for the medical clinic that catered to his kind, though Debbie would be clueless. “I know the woman—her baby is in the car. Just…call it.” He didn’t have time to make up a cover story.

Debbie hesitated, and he knew she had to be thinking his request was a dangerous mistake. That precious time could be wasted. But lots more was at stake if the human-run hospital’s ambulance picked up Franny and Stacy and they shifted. Debbie quickly called for the other ambulance and canceled the one for the main hospital in Bigfork.

As soon as he could safely brake the car and stop, Allan and Debbie were out of the vehicle, dashing down the steep incline on the crunchy snow and ice. Debbie had grabbed the emergency medical kit on the way out.

Seeing Allan and Debbie, Franny screamed, “My baby’s in there! She’s in a car seat in back.” She was soaking wet, her tearful words were slurred, and she was stumbling around as if she were drunk. She was wearing just a sweater and jeans, standing in the nearly waist-deep water. Allan was certain she was hypothermic. Confusion and the natural instinct to warm herself could cause her to shift too. Between that and rescuing the baby, they were in a hell of a fix.

“She’s only three months old!” Franny added, as if she didn’t recognize Allan—another sign she had hypothermia.

“Get the mom out of the water,” he said to Debbie as her boots crunched in the snow and ice behind him.

She slipped, her boot kicking the back of his. He swung around and grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.

“Thanks,” she said, looking a little embarrassed.

“It’s slippery.” He was having a difficult time staying on his own two feet, but with bigger boots and more weight than Debbie had, he was managing better.

When he reached the moving water, he waded right in. The icy cold sent a jolt of adrenaline straight through him, and he wished he were wearing a wet suit.

The driver’s-side door was open where Franny had managed to get out. Allan pushed through the strong currents to the SUV, while Debbie went after Franny. When he reached the car, he tried to get the back door open, but couldn’t. He scrambled into the driver’s seat and squeezed through the front seats to access the baby’s carrier. Upside down and buckled firmly into her carrier, the baby was unconscious. The cold water covered her, and Allan feared the worst.

He shined his light inside the vehicle to give him more illumination in the dark, though he could see well enough with his wolf night vision in most conditions. But this was so precarious, and with a life hanging in the balance, he didn’t want to make any mistakes.

Praying he could revive the unconscious baby in time, he yanked out his knife. The icy water made his hands so stiff and numb, he feared he would drop it as he cut away the straps to the car seat, careful not to injure Stacy. He yanked at the straps until they gave way. Pulling the baby free, he cradled her against his chest and backed out of the vehicle. He held the lifeless infant close as he waded through the icy water toward the snow-covered shore.

Debbie was still struggling to guide the mom out of the water. Franny was stumbling, shivering—though they all were—and instead of moving briskly out of the water like Debbie and he were doing, Franny kept stopping and turning. Debbie kept reassuring her she was taking her to her baby, holding the woman close to share body heat, and trying to rush her out of the water as fast as she could.

If he could have, he would have given Debbie the unresponsive baby and carried Franny from the water. But he had to resuscitate the baby pronto. Every second counted.