Free Heart of the Highland Wolf by Terry Spear Page B

something out of place, an indication that a hidden entrance into the castle was here somewhere. If she could find the secret entrance, and it was still a viable way into the tunnels underneath the moat and castle walls, she’d have a better chance at exploring the place without detection. She thought.
    Listening for sounds of humans in the vicinity, she still heard none.
    She sighed. Time to shape-shift because she’d never get anywhere with her search as a human. She stripped off her clothes, buried them as best she could under leaves and pine needles, welcomed the heat that pervaded every tissue as the change took place, and in a couple of heartbeats, she shifted, the motion fluid, fast, and painless.
    As a human, she felt comfortable in the woods; as a wolf, even more so. Except for the worry someone might try to shoot her. But she was lower to the ground and could run faster, and with ears that could twist this way and that, unlike human ears, she could detect where sounds were coming from better. Although in her human form, she still could hear sixteen times better than a human could.
    The warm coat of the wolf covered her in fur that not only kept her body heat from escaping but also had long guard hairs that kept the moist air from penetrating. Her wolf’s coat was lighter because it was summer and she’d shed her winter coat already, but if she were to stay in these colder temperatures, her coat would grow thicker to accommodate the weather in Scotland.
    Nose to the ground, she sniffed the area, wanting to search every square inch of land and find the secret trapdoor, if there was still one, that would lead through underground tunnels and hidden passageways into the keep. To her frustration, she’d searched for probably a good hour and a half and was almost ready to give up. Not wanting to worry Maria, Julia intended to head back to the cottage so she could accompany her and the rest of the staff to meet with the MacNeills.
    But first, she wanted to do one last thing—get a look at where the postern gate was located around the rear of the castle. Was it still a viable entrance? Used still? Less fortified and not half as secure as the tower gate in front of the castle? Or was it blocked or, worse, walled up?
    Running through the forest still on all four paws, she remained hidden in the shelter of the aspen and Scots pine. She had just made the turn at the southeastern tower when she saw movement on top of the curtain wall. A man had been looking out at the woods with no particular focus, as if admiring the beauty of the forest, but now he quickly shifted his gaze to her.
    Ian MacNeill . He was dressed in brown trousers and an ivory polo shirt. He couldn’t see her, she didn’t think. Not from the height he was at. Not from the distance to the trees. Not with the forest providing a leafy canopy. Or the mist that continued to drape the area in ghostly overtones.
    Yet his eyes focused directly on her, his gaze looking straight into hers as if he could see her. Not only her, though, but her eyes, as he locked onto her gaze. But he couldn’t see her. She swore he couldn’t. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Caught in the act.
    He stood so still, gazing so long at her—his lips parted as if he was surprised, every muscle in his body filling with tension, his hands clenched into fists on top of the curtain wall—that she worried he did see her. That he didn’t want to scare her away, but that if he could, he’d call up the cavalry and order them to hunt her down.
    She didn’t dare move, just in case the movement might verify that she was here, although no matter how much she considered that he seemed to see her, she knew he couldn’t. It just wasn’t physically possible.
    But then she reconsidered. He was a wolf. And if she could see him… damn .
    â€œIan, we got a call.” A man hollered to him from a long way off, his voice dark and gruff, but