LITMIR.BIZ

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      He sheathed his knife irritably, then crossed the room with quick strides.

      “There’s no time to spend arguing with you,” he said.

      He lifted Amber from the bed in one arm.

      Emily breathed a sigh of relief, but he strode past her and toward the door with a doubtful shake of his head.

      “Let’s see if you think it’s such a good thing after you face him on this,” he warned darkly.

      Back in the main room, the wolves continued to ring the huge one in the center, but they didn’t appear any closer to him than when they’d left.

      Emily watched as the man carried Amber to the large wolf and threw her across his broad back. When the wolf rewarded him with a low growl, he growled back in clear frustration.

      “The other one wouldn’t come without her,” he snapped. “And I’m not getting in the middle of this one.”

      Emily stiffened her spine while he got Amber situated. She made her way along the wall to the dead man on the floor, keeping her eyes firmly on the wolves. Her gun protruded from the waistband of the dead man’s pants, and she wanted it back. With everything happening around her, she had a feeling it would come in handy.

      Careful not to look at the gory stump where his head should have been, she knelt down beside the body. With her face twisted in a grimace, she pulled the gun free and stuffed it into her own waistband. She tried to hide a shudder when she got back to her feet and headed toward the others, careful not to move too fast and look like she was fleeing.

      “Don’t fire that gun in here. The sound will deafen him,” the man warned when she stepped beside him.

      She started to nod in understanding, but without so much as a warning, he threw her atop the wolf’s broad back behind Amber, a bit unceremoniously. She grabbed at the fur to keep from flying off the other side and threw him a dirty look, which he ignored.

      “Sorry,” she whispered into the nearest furry ear, then scooted up as far as she could manage to make room for the man.

      He gave her a slight smile and shook his head.

      “I have my own way,” he said cryptically. “Just don’t be afraid of me. If it bothers you, don’t look.”

      With those words, he seemed to dissolve into a thick stack of black fog. His face peered from the center and took on a horrifying, almost demonic appearance with glowing red eyes and elongated features made of the same fog.

      Emily opened her mouth in a silent scream, but the only sound that emerged was an almost inaudible squeak.

      “Don’t look,” he commanded, his voice sounding like a haunted howl of wind. “Hold on tight,” he cautioned as the group barreled through the line of werewolves and into the night.

      Chapter 4

      Emily gripped with her knees and buried one hand deep into the thick pelt to keep herself from falling off. Her other hand was clamped around Amber’s ever‐changing waist in a desperate effort to keep her upright so Emily could use her body as a brace. It was sort of like the world’s most dangerous juggling act, with the threat of certain death if any of her body parts gave out too soon.

      Her thighs began to shake with the effort of holding on, but the sound of howls closing in as the wolves gave chase seemed to lend her exhausted muscles the strength she needed.

      When the massive wolf came to a sudden halt, she nearly flipped over his head. She was only saved by the appearance of strong hands on her waist. She jerked away in surprise and turned to find the blond man standing beside her, a man again.

      With reluctance and a wary look, she allowed him to pull Amber down. It was only when she saw him move toward it that she realized they were standing right beside a gray car. It was nothing impressive, just a plain sedan. But right then, it looked like a haven to her.

      “Come on,” the man ordered, stuffing Amber into the backseat and following her in.

      Emily had no idea how close the wolves chasing them were, and she had no intention of waiting around to find out. She swung her leg over the wolf’s head and slid to the ground.

      The force of her landing brought her to her hands and knees in the mud, but she was scrambling toward the car even before she had fully settled onto her feet.

      She jerked the passenger door open at almost the exact same time the dark‐haired man opened the driver’s door. With a start, she looked back to where the wolf had just been standing a moment ago. Of course, it was gone.

      She knew it would be, since the man on the other side of the car was the wolf, but she couldn’t imagine how he’d gotten back into human form, fully dressed, and around to the driver’s side in the time it took her to stand up.

      “Get in,” he commanded with his rich baritone voice, following his own advice.

      She didn’t need to be told again. Even though she had a weird feeling she was sealing her own fate, she leapt in and slammed the door firmly as the engine fired to life.

      “Hold on,” the dark‐haired man advised as the car began speeding in reverse, mud and rocks flying as it spun back onto a dark road.

      Through her window, she watched the pack break through the corn right behind them.

      She swallowed hard.

      One of the wolves was close enough she could have reached out and touched it if she wanted.

      She did not.

      She was slammed back against her seat as the car shifted into drive, and the distance between them and their pursuers began to grow rapidly. In the matter of a few seconds, the wolves were no longer visible. They were left far enough behind to be nothing more than an unpleasant memory.

      Still, Emily stared through the window at the darkness in silence, afraid to believe it was actually over.

      “I’m William,” the dark‐haired man said, breaking into her musing and reminding her she hadn’t escaped all the monsters yet.

      She turned toward him slowly. His arm that was nearest to her had scars that ran from his wrist all the way up until they disappeared under his sleeve. They were too numerous to count and created a strange crisscross pattern across the muscles and skin.

      “That’s Paoli,” William said, inclining his head toward the backseat.

      “I’m Emily,” she heard herself say in a voice that was shocky and hollow. She cleared her throat nervously before continuing. “That’s my twin sister, Amber.” It was her turn to motion her head toward the backseat.

      “Well, that could not have gone more differently than I expected,” Paoli suddenly piped up. “Can you please explain what the hell happened back there?”

      He scooted forward and perched both arms on the seats in front of him, his head right between the front passengers.

      Emily shrank back against her door to keep as much space between herself and Paoli as possible. She had a strong suspicion she knew what he was and wanted him nowhere near her neck.

      With a quick glance at her, William answered the question. “I don’t know.”

      “You don’t know?” Paoli repeated, his voice incredulous. “I’ve never seen you so out of control in an execution. You barreled into that house without paying any attention to what you were getting into . . . getting us into.”

      “I am well aware,” William said in a tone that clearly meant “drop it.”

      Paoli watched William for a moment. Then his irritation disappeared, and a much more concerning look sparkled in his eyes.

      Mischief.

      Without warning, Paoli’s attention turned to Emily, and he gave her a boyish smile.

      “You said you

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