Free Rachel's Totem by Marie Harte Page B

hadn’t been “The One”.
    She had no doubt, however, that life with Burke would be nothing so tame. A man like Burke would want sex often, and he’d want it hot.
    Shit. Again with the libido. She fanned her chest and then said to hell with it. She was alone and in her home. The sun had set. Who would see her up in her aunt’s 58
    windowless attic? Shrugging out of her oppressive shirt, she continued to clean the attic, looking for any sign of instruction pertaining to the totem.
    During the past week, she’d learned more from Burke and his brothers, and Gerald as well. Though, as the lawyer had stated, he refused to answer any questions she had about the totem, he told her a lot about the town and its inhabitants. Gerald was a silver fox Shifter. A “wily bastard,” as Burke often pointed out, and a ladies’ man. Gerald had been a perfect gentleman with her, however. Maybe due to the hissing and rumbled warnings Burke sent the man anytime they ran into him.
    Dean and Grady still voiced their worries that she’d choose another clan to bond with. And they made it plain they wanted her. Maybe it was a power thing with the totem. Yet the looks they gave her, the ones that spoke of carnal hungers they’d love to assuage, made her wonder just what kind of sexual practices the catamounts observed.
    Burke seemed the possessive type, but she remembered the sexual vibes coming off of him and his brothers that day at his house. She shivered at the thought. Three men who looked like the Chastells and Rachel? Wow. She could just imagine taking them all on, and had used the inspiration to cool her jets a time or two.
    The temperature rose and she shed her jeans. Though it had to be around fifty outside, the attic sweltered. Thoughts of sex with the Chastells didn’t help any either, and she told herself to flat-out stop it. Focus, Rachel. Sex is not one of your priorities right now. She couldn’t help her wicked conscience that added , But it should be.
    Taking a deep breath, Rachel stood and crossed her arms over her chest, staring around her. “Okay, Aunt Charlotte, help me out here. How do I find your totem and take care of Cougar Falls?”
    Several times during her visits into town she’d seen more of the hairy, unkempt wolf clan loitering around. They threatened with just their presence, and they always seemed to be near when she walked anywhere. Gerald had noticed just today and remarked on the fact. But she refused to say anything to Burke, afraid he’d stop taking her into town. And come on, not being able to sample any of Millie’s ice cream was just plain cruel.
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    She felt Burke’s urgency daily, and wanted to find the totem as much for the town as for him. According to Burke, the magic in the relic would keep the wolves away, and those “pesky humans”. How the heck a piece of old wood could hide an entire town from society she didn’t know. But she didn’t understand shifting either, and she’d seen it with her own two eyes.
    Sighing, she looked behind several boxes, glad she’d batted down the cobwebs and dust balls earlier. Rachel found a box tucked behind an old mirror she hadn’t previously seen and dusted the grime off the top. The cardboard ripped as she opened it, and she stared inside at old pictures. Interesting stuff, but not now, not when she had a mission to fulfill. If only that damned totem would turn up. No one had seen it anywhere on Charlotte’s property. It had just vanished from its position in a shaded glen when Charlotte passed away. Very, very strange. And her aunt had ordered Burke to help Rachel find the thing.
    Honestly, how could Burke guide her to find the missing totem when he had no idea where to look? No passwords, no maps, just Charlotte’s frustrating letter telling Rachel to
    “trust yourself, look deep into your heart and follow your beast, for he’ll show you the way.”
    So did that mean she had to choose an animal soul to find the blasted totem? Because it