“God, you’re so fast,” I gasped in astonishment. Fresh tears spurted. How could I ever get away, if he moved this fast and there was a town full of more creatures like him?
“You’re going to be OK, Marlee,” he said.
No, I wasn’t. I was trapped in a strange place surrounded by creatures that weren’t supposed to exist. My old life might not have been all champagne and roses, but no one had the right to rip me away from it without my consent. The enormity of what I’d lost between yesterday and today slammed into me. I didn’t care any more that the tears wouldn’t stop, or that I started hitting Daniel. My grief was too sharp to worry about embarrassment or consequences.
Four
Wolves were chasing me, biting at my ankles, snarling as they crowded around me, letting out howls that made my blood turn to ice. I ran, twigs stinging me as I darted between the trees, gasping for breath, crying out with each new flash of pain in my legs. They were toying with me. My death was only a matter of time.
The full moon came into view between the trees, illuminating more wolves in my path. I screamed at them, but it came out as a howl. Horrified, I looked down to see that my feet had turned into paws. Fur slithered up my body, replacing my skin. I fell forwards, claws shooting out of my fingers . . .
“NO!”
I woke up screaming the word, flinging the sheets away like they were animals attacking me. It took me a second to orient myself. Wood ceiling, wood walls, an antler chandelier above me. Right. I was in Daniel’s cabin. All the better to make sure I couldn’t escape.
He sat in the reclining chair on the opposite side of the room, his eyes slitted. Watching me. He’d slept in the chair last night. I guess I should appreciate him giving me the bed, but my gratitude was in short supply.
“Another nightmare?” he asked quietly.
I’d had them all night. Either I was getting eaten by wolves, or I was turning into one. Terrifying no matter which way you sliced it.
Daniel stretched. The afghan he’d thrown over himself slipped, revealing that he’d taken off his shirt. Cords of muscles flexed beneath taut, tanned skin.
Despite everything, I looked. I’d never seen such a perfectly muscled body before - at least, one that wasn’t on TV advertising gym equipment. Daniel didn’t have the bloated look associated with steroid users, but he had a thick, brawny frame that usually spoke of many hours in a gym. Absurdly, the image of a werewolf bench-pressing flashed in my mind.
I glanced up to find Daniel staring at me. He didn’t wink or make a comment, but there was no doubt he knew I’d been staring at his body.
I managed to shrug. “Stockholm syndrome,” I said. “The whole ‘bonding with your captor’ thing. I’ve already cried in your arms, now I’m checking you out. Just ignore it. Of course, I can’t be your first captive, so you’re probably used to this.”
A faint smile touched his mouth. “You’re the first female I’ve had to quarantine, and none of the men looked at me the way you did.”
There was something deeper in his voice with that last sentence. I shivered, both from unease and other things. Yes, Daniel was very attractive with his russet hair, thick brows, full mouth and piercing hazel eyes - not to mention that body. But this wasn’t a first date. This was a hostage situation, and a macabre one at that.
“Don’t let it go to your head. I’m scared to death and looking for any form of comfort,” I said, regaining control. “Speaking of that, since a certain murderous grey wolf keeps appearing in my nightmares, I need to know. What happened to Gabriel?”
Daniel’s face became shuttered. “He’s under arrest. If you shift, he dies for infecting you against your will. If you don’t turn, Joshua said Gabriel losing his eye was punishment enough. Joshua had liquid silver poured into Gabriel’s eye so it wouldn’t heal.”
Their harshness apparently wasn’t limited just to outsiders. I felt mildly sick over what I’d heard, but under the circumstances, pity for Gabriel was beyond me.
“And the others?” Gabriel hadn’t been alone.
“They run the gauntlet.”
Daniel said it lightly, but I swallowed. “As in, the thing Native Indians used to do with captives, where they line up on both sides and beat the shit out of the person as he tries to dash down the centre?”
There was that hint of wildness in Daniel’s gaze again. A primal, untamed gleam I’d never seen except in the eyes of an animal. On a full-grown man, it was both mesmerizing and frightening.
“Something like that. Except we’ll be in our fur, and they won’t.”
I couldn’t help but gulp. That sounded barbaric, and it was on my account.
Something occurred to me. “But it isn’t the full moon. How can you . . . you know?” In fact, how had any of the werewolves changed form the other day, if I had to wait until the full moon to see if I was infected?
“Once we’re past the first year, we can shift at will. New pack members are dependent on the full moon to change though.”
I digested this. “So, right now, you could turn into a—”
“Wolf,” he finished for me. “Yes.”