"to the clinic to check for injuries."

"i'm fine, really. i was just a little dizzy when - " she gave tino a worried look. "i need to know what happened."

"so do i." howard stopped in front of the clinic. according to the hours posted on the door, the nurse was on lunch break now. that was lucky. tino was guilty of a serious security breach, and howard wanted to keep the matter as private as possible.

the door was unlocked, so tino was able to open it. howard looked around as he carried elsa inside. there was a row of five beds, then an office in the back with a window. he peered through the window and spotted medical equipment and a locked medicine cabinet.

"are you going to put me down?" elsa asked softly.

"do i have to?" his gaze locked with hers. her eyes searched his, reflecting the confusion she had to be feeling. he leaned closer, studying her. yes, he smiled. the desire was still there.

she looked away, her cheeks pink.

he set her carefully on a bed. "do i need to check you for injuries?"

"no." she glanced at him, then mumbled, "unfortunately."

stifling a grin, he sat on the bed next to hers. "so tell me what happened."

"i think you should tell me. how did i magically appear in front of the school?"

"start at the beginning," howard said. "what were you doing with tino?"

she sat up with an impatient huff. "i was walking him home from the gatehouse."

he turned to tino, who was standing between the two beds, looking guilty. "you went to the gatehouse? alone?"

he ducked his head. "you wouldn't go see her, so i thought i should bring her here."

howard sighed. more matchmaking. "you are definitely your mother's son, aren't you?"

tino considered that solemnly, then nodded. "yes." he shifted his weight. "i wanted to do like you and come up with a stragedy."

"strategy?"

tino nodded. "and everything was going just like i planned. except for the animals. there was a bunch of them following us."

"on the road?" howard asked. woodland creatures might cross a road, but they rarely traveled down it en masse. he turned to elsa. "what kind of animals? how many?"

she shrugged with an exasperated look. "deer, rabbits, squirrels, a few raccoons. maybe thirty in all."

"but then they all ran into the woods." tino waved his arms dramatically. "and these huge pigs came out with big tusks like elephants!"

"feral pigs?" howard sat up. "how many?"

"about a hundred!" tino exclaimed.

"about half a dozen," elsa said quietly.

howard jumped to his feet and strode to the door. ever since his trip to alaska, he and his inner bear had been eager to let loose a can of whoop-ass. "i'll take care of them."

"what?" elsa stumbled out of bed. "but i need some answers. how did i get here?"

"hmm." he paused at the door. "the age-old question: how did we get here? there are several theories - "

"i'm serious!" she swatted his arm, but he only smiled in return.

"we'll talk when i get back." he stepped into the hallway.

she grabbed his arm. "you're not going after the pigs, are you? they're dangerous!"

"i don't want them close to the school. we have some young children here." he glanced at tino. "why don't you take elsa to the cafeteria for lunch?"

tino nodded, smiling. "okay."

howard smiled back. the little boy had probably saved their lives. amazing that at his young age, he'd managed to teleport another person. he tousled tino's curls. "you did great, big guy."

tino beamed with a wide grin.

he turned to elsa, who was watching him with worry in her eyes. "will you wait for me?"

she gave him an exasperated look. "i need some answers."

"i understand." although he had no idea how he was going to explain. it would be difficult for sure. taking care of the feral pigs seemed easy in comparison.

"wait for me." he ran toward the front door.

elsa barely tasted her grilled cheese sandwich. she'd called alastair to let him know she'd be late returning. he'd wanted to know what was going on, and she hadn't known what to tell him. it was all too bizarre.

tino sat beside her, obviously enjoying his meal. he looked like such a normal little boy, but . . . he wasn't. he'd grabbed her around the waist, and a second later, they'd appeared in front of the school.

she should be completely freaked out over tino, but she wasn't. not when she was so worried about howard's safety. he'd run outside without any weapons. how could he handle a bunch of feral pigs without a weapon?

she dropped her paper napkin onto her plate, giving up on the pretense of eating. "when do you think howard will be back?"

"i don't know." tino offered her a chocolate chip cookie. "you want one?"

she shook her head, and he wolfed it down. "i want to thank you for rescuing me from the pigs."

he nodded and reached for another cookie. "they were big and scary!"

"yes. what you did to get us here, it was one of your special skills?"

he dunked a cookie into his glass of milk. "i guess so."

"you're not supposed to talk about it?"

he shook his head. "and i'm not supposed to do it in front of strangers." he stuffed a dripping cookie into his mouth.

"tino." she rubbed him on the back. "i won't tell anyone. ever. you saved my life."

he smiled, and a drizzle of milk ran down his chin. "i had to. you're howard's dream girl."

"really?" was that what he called her? she rose to her feet, struggling against a growing sense of panic. what was he doing outside with those pigs? "i - i think i'll wait for him by the door."

"i'll go with you." tino grabbed another cookie off the plate and followed her into the hallway. "you like howard, don't you?"

was it so obvious a child could see it? "i'm just worried about him." she headed toward the large foyer. it was spectacular with its marble floor, large staircase, and ceiling three floors high. alastair would be jealous that she'd seen it without him.

"hello?" a woman called as she slowly descended the staircase with another woman.

"hi, toni! hi, olivia!" tino called out to them. "this is elsa. she's howard's dream girl."

elsa winced. "that's a bit of an exaggeration. i hardly know him. i just met him last night."

the women exchanged looks, smiling.

"i'm toni," the blond woman said.

"and i'm olivia," the brunette said. "we're so happy to meet you."

they were both absolutely beautiful and very pregnant. elsa's gaze drifted to their swollen bellies. were they having special children like tino? children who could travel a distance in the blink of an eye?

"howard's outside beating up a bunch of giant pigs!" tino announced. "and they have huge tusks like this!" he swept his hands forward as far as he could.

"feral pigs?" toni asked as she reached the ground floor.

"a half dozen of them." frowning, elsa glanced out the narrow window beside the front door. "howard went out alone about thirty minutes ago."

"i'm sure he'll be all right," olivia assured her. "he's very capable."

what did that mean? did he have special skills like tino? he was certainly having a special effect on her. his smile, his voice, his beautiful blue eyes - they all made her heart stutter and her knees threaten to give out.

she opened the front door and stepped onto the porch, her gaze searching the woods.

"don't worry." tino joined her and bit into his cookie. "howard is really big and tough."

"he'll be fine." toni waddled onto the porch with olivia.

elsa glanced at them. "i don't mean to pry, but are you teachers here?"

toni shook her head. "i'm the director. and olivia's the counselor. our husbands are away right now on business."

or a secret mission, elsa thought.

olivia looked up at the sky, shielding her eyes with her hand. "it's a beautiful day."

a loud roar filled the air, and elsa jumped. "what was that?"

the pregnant ladies exchanged a look and smiled.

"i think that was the sound of victory," olivia said.

"i think we'll be having ham for supper," toni added, and they both chuckled.

a chill ran down elsa's back. "you . . . you think howard killed them?"

toni gave her a wry look. "i don't think they sat around a campfire singing 'kumbaya.' "

"shh." olivia nudged the other pregnant woman.

"but he didn't have any weapons on him," elsa insisted. "he went out bare-handed."

toni slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. "bear-handed."

olivia's mouth twitched. "behave." she pulled toni back into the house. "we have work to do. don't worry. howard will be back soon." she closed the door.

"oh, i get it." tino grinned.

elsa frowned at him. "get what?"

his eyes widened. "nothing." he stuffed the rest of his cookie in his mouth.

with a huff, she crossed her arms. she hated feeling like everyone was in on a joke but her. and what could possibly be funny about howard facing down a herd of feral pigs? it was downright dangerous.

she studied the woods. what was that roar she'd heard? why was everyone so bloody sure that howard would be all right? her heart lurched when she spotted him running toward them.

she hurried down the steps. "are you okay?"

"i'm fine." he stopped beside her and smiled.

her heart fluttered, and she drank in the sight of him. his thick brown hair was messy, and some strands clung to his damp forehead. his face and arms glistened with sweat, but his clothes were still clean and crisp. shouldn't they be dirty? ripped or bloody?

dammit, the more stuff happened, the more she was confused.

"i need to shower." he sprinted up the stairs. "i'll be right back."

she ran after him. "but we need to talk."

he glanced over his shoulder and grinned. she halted. damn him. with just a smile, he made her heart pound.

"you can have me for the rest of the day." he jogged down the hallway.

she watched him go. so large, so strong, yet so light and quick on his feet. had he really killed some feral pigs with his bare hands? tino seemed to think he had. but wouldn't his clothes be ripped and bloody? besides, who did something that crazy? that violent? and then smiled afterward?

did he seem wild or crazy to you? aunt greta's words came back to haunt her.

she swallowed hard. maybe it shouldn't matter that he was incredibly handsome. or that she was wildly attracted to him. the real question was: could she trust him? a man who worked at a mysterious, secret school of special children? the man who had made her birthmark burn?

chapter ten

howard opened the passenger door of his suv for elsa. "hop in."

she regarded his vehicle and then him with a wary look. "you're not going to magically zap me back, like tino? or fly me there like superman?"

he smiled. "i usually drive."

she hesitated.

his smile faded. he was doing a lousy job of earning her trust. "are you afraid to hang out with me?"

"of course not." she climbed into the passenger seat.

liar. he closed the door and circled to the driver's side. he couldn't blame her for being cautious, but he hated the thought that she would fear him.

luckily, she hadn't seen the blood on him after battling the pigs. he'd undressed in the woods before shifting, and even though he'd incurred a few cuts and scrapes, those had healed when he'd shifted back to human form. he'd put his clothes back on before leaving the woods and finding elsa on the front porch.

she seemed suspicious now. and annoyed. he'd showered and dressed as quickly as possible, but she'd been forced to wait on him. and wait on the answers she wanted so badly.

he shoved his damp hair off his forehead. the truth was the pigs could have waited. he had deliberately delayed his talk with her. killing a few pigs was easy, but answering her questions would be damned hard. it was his job to protect the vamps and their secrets. if he did his job well, he'd tell her nothing. but then he would never gain her trust. he would lose her.

what a mess. he'd desperately tried to come up with a strategy while in the shower. his decision: play offense instead of defense.

he climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. "where to? the gatehouse or cranville?"

she buckled her seat belt. "the gatehouse. i called alastair, and he's waiting for me there."

"all right." howard headed down the driveway to the main road.

she shifted in her seat to face him. "are you going to answer my questions now?"

"will you answer mine?"

her eyes widened with surprise. "what do you mean? i'm not involved in anything weird."

"no? why did your shoulder burn when i touched you?"

"i - i don't know."

"it was your birthmark that burned, right?"

she stiffened. "how did you know that?"

"i heard you talking on the phone."

"i was inside a car. how did you hear me?"

he turned onto the main road. "i have super good hearing."