“Well, come look at this thing, then. It’s a monster.”
A powerfully built man stepped into the beam of the headlights.
The man from the bar. What was he doing here?
My breath caught. It was one thing to see him walking into the crowded confines of the Taphouse. It was another to see him emerge from the darkness of the barren highway with only the sheriff at my side.
Unease coiled around me.
Backlit against the lights, the man was like a statue carved from obsidian. His long shadow swept over us as he approached. Light crept around the corners of his face, highlighting the edges of his strong features. I shouldn’t have been able to see his eyes, but for a second, I thought there was a flash of honey gold in the dark. Then it was gone.
He stopped by the corpse of the wolf and looked down. “Big animal. What happened?”
His voice was practically a growl. My heart strained against my chest, and every fiber in my body urged me to bolt.
“This young lady ran it down,” the sheriff offered.
I opened my mouth to speak but stopped short when I heard a truck door shut gently. I couldn’t see anything beyond the glaring headlights. Had there been someone else with him? Why was DNR even on the scene at this time of night?
Something wasn’t right.
The man stepped close, looming over me. Ruggedly handsome would be an understatement. Breathtaking was more like it. He was six-six at least, and his proximity made the hair on my neck stand on end. “You killed the wolf? What’s your name?”
“Savannah Caine.”
“You from around here?”
I crossed my arms. “Yes. Belmont.”
“Grow up here?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What’s with the interrogation? These are funny questions for someone from DNR.”
His eyes glinted. “Just wondering if you’re familiar with the local wildlife. We have a lot of wolves in these parts—keystone species. They’ve been acting erratic lately. Can you tell me what happened?”
Hey, Mr. Hot Wildlife Guy. I was just attacked by two people with savage claw hands and red eyes. They chased me down at forty-five miles an hour, and I ran them over with my car. Now there’s just a dead wolf where the body should be.
Nope, that wouldn’t sound crazy at all.
I glanced at the sheriff, suddenly doubting myself.
The DNR man followed my eyes, and he cleared his throat. “Sheriff, why don’t you let us chat in private for a minute?”
Trepidation tugged at my chest. “I don’t wa—”
The mysterious man’s eyes flashed gold. “Give us a few minutes, Sheriff.”
His deep voice vibrated with command, and a sense of his complete power and authority washed over me.
“Yes, of course.” The sheriff nodded and stepped toward his cruiser.
What the hell was going on?
Run, the small voice in the back of my head shouted. I started to turn, but the DNR man locked me in place with his intense, unnatural gaze. “Don’t worry, you’re safe. I just need you to speak freely.”
Inexplicably, the tension drained from my body, and I suddenly knew he was being honest. My godmother always said that I had a nose for the truth, but this was something else entirely.
“Tell me exactly what happened. Every detail, no matter how strange.” His voice was low, like the roar of a distant waterfall. His eerie power washed over me again, but differently this time. All I wanted was to obey, to comply, to please him.