Maya was excited. She was thrilled.
A week had passed since she’d last seen Ryan, and they had stayed in close touch.
She was now in the main administration building at Fort Lukman.
The home of Alpha Force.
Ryan had picked her up at BWI Airport in Baltimore. He was dressed in military fatigues in camo style, greens and browns and altogether official-looking.
He looked great in it, though no better than he’d looked in the casual clothes he’d worn around Fritts Corner.
She had dressed up a bit, in a gray suit and heels. This was, after all, going to be an interview of sorts. She had checked a suitcase with several additional outfits in case more than one day was needed here to get things settled, which was what she hoped. It was now in the trunk of Ryan’s car. He’d said he had booked her a room in nearby Mary Glen.
Ryan had driven her here to Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He’d talked nearly all the way about who she would be meeting, and what she should expect.
Lots of interesting people she gathered—some who were shifters.
And lots of questions, too.
They’d eventually reached the facility, and Ryan had pulled his car up to a kiosk at a gate beside a large black metal fence that undoubtedly kept the place private. He talked to a guard there whom he appeared to know and was permitted to drive inside and park. Then he’d led Maya into this small but official-looking building.
Now, they were in a waiting room of an office on the top floor. Piers joined them with Rocky, who leaped over to Maya and wagged his tail. “Great to see you, guys,” she said, patting the wolf-dog on his head and behind his ears. And it was.
Not just because he reminded her of a shifted Ryan, either. She simply loved canines that were, or resembled, wolves.
“And great to see you,” Piers said. “Ryan told me what’s going on, and I think the idea’s a good one.”
So did Maya. But would these guys’ commanding officers agree?
Another soldier in camo, probably in his early forties, entered the reception area from the office door. He was tall, with dark hair that had lines of silver within it. His eyes were golden, his eyebrows dark and he had a hint of dark beard on his nice-looking face.
She couldn’t be sure, but Maya believed he could be a shifter. He at least had some features with coloration resembling a wolf.
Ryan and Piers both rose to greet him. No salutes, but Ryan had said that generally Alpha Force tended to be less formal than most military units, at least in that way.
“Maya, I’d like you to meet Major Drew Connell,” Ryan said, motioning for her to join them, which she did. She offered her hand, and the major shook it. “Drew, this is Maya Everton.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard a lot about you, and I’ve liked WHaM for a long time.” That statement somehow convinced Maya even more that this man was a shifter.
She’d anticipated meeting quite a few of Ryan’s kind here.
They all went into the room behind the door, and she was introduced to the man whose office it was—and quite an office it turned out to be, with bookshelves lining the wall behind the main desk. Its featured contents appeared to be classics, and in the center, under glass, was what appeared to be an original script of the movie The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney, Jr.
It belonged to General Greg Yarrow, who apparently was the driving force in the military behind Alpha Force. He knew and helped to select its members, even though Maya gathered that he wasn’t a shifter himself.
The general sat behind the desk, rising to shake her hand. Like the other military men here, he wore a camo uniform. He also appeared fairly senior.
“Welcome, Ms. Everton,” he said. He introduced the other men who sat in chairs facing his desk.
Then Drew introduced her to Lieutenant Patrick Worley, his second in command at Alpha Force, as well as Drew’s wife, Dr. Melanie Harding Connell, a veterinarian—and, apparently, not a shifter, Maya gathered.
“Welcome,” Melanie said. “I think we’ll have lots to talk about if all goes well here.”
Which it seemed to do.
Ryan’s idea had been to form an alliance between Alpha Force and WHaM. Although the fact that many of Alpha Force’s troops were shifters was definitely private, its reputation was now being allowed to grow as a unit that used K-9s and other animals for military purposes.
Many of them appeared to be wild animals, like wolves and cougars and birds of prey.
Having an organization like WHaM as an unofficial partner in the protection of wildlife seemed like an excellent idea.
Giving one of the founders of WHaM an office at Fort Lukman could only add to the cover story. That’s what Ryan had suggested, and his commanding officers seemed willing to give it a try.
They seemed to like and respect Ryan. In fact, he’d promised that Pete Sharan would meet them when they left here. His parents had come, too, but had left for home. Pete definitely was joining Alpha Force in the near future.
It didn’t take long before an initial agreement was reached with the others in the room with her. They’d need to come up with a more detailed plan before putting it into effect, but everyone seemed pleased with the idea of an alliance, at least to some extent, with WHaM.
Maya soon said goodbye to her new friends here, except for Ryan, who walked out the office door with her.
She felt a bit overwhelmed, but definitely delighted.
Especially since she would get the opportunity to see more of Ryan. Potentially a lot more.
As they exited the building, Ryan said to her, “This is a great beginning.”
“It sure is,” Maya agreed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it, but only for a moment. They both had to act professional, especially here.
“Now, I’d like to show you more of Fort Lukman,” Ryan continued, “like the kennels and training facilities for our cover dogs, the labs where our elixir is made and improved, and more.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Maya said.
“We can grab dinner a little later at the cafeteria—and then, if you’d like, I’ll show you around our Bachelor Officers Quarters, my apartment in particular.”
His smile grew wide and suggestive, and Maya could only grin back. “I’d love to see it now—and visit it in the future when I move here, too.”
“Count on it,” Ryan said, putting an arm around her shoulders and, despite the fact that other soldiers were out there on the grounds of the military facility, he pulled her close.
She didn’t object. In fact, she did the same with him.
And definitely looked forward to the future.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from TOUCHED BY PASSION, Book One of the STRANGERS OF THE NIGHT Anthology by Megan Hart.
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