LITMIR.BIZ

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asked, leaning toward her.

      “No!” William cried, but it was too late.

      The instant Emily looked into the depths of Paoli’s gaze, she was lost. Her eyes glazed over, and her posture went relaxed.

      Paoli waved his hand in front of her face and got no reaction.

      “I just love that,” he said with a chuckle, turning to face William. “It’s the simple things that make life worth living, don’t you think?”

      “I think you better release her before I help you shuffle off your immortal coil,” William said, surprising himself with the fierceness of his own reaction.

      Paoli hadn’t harmed her, he knew. But for some reason, her being under the power of someone else triggered the rage in his wolf.

      Paoli gave a surprised smile to his would‐be attacker.

      “Oh, relax,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like I’m going to make her cluck like a chicken or anything. You know I don’t like to treat humans like meat puppets.”

      “Then release her,” William demanded.

      “After we talk,” Paoli agreed, ignoring William’s dark tone. “What’s the deal with this woman?”

      William looked at Paoli, then away.

      Silence stretched out while he considered the question. The truth was, he couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t something he knew how to put into words. It was more about feelings and instincts than logic.

      He glanced toward Emily and looked at her, long and hard. There was no denying she was beautiful. But he’d known many beautiful women in his long life.

      This was different.

      More.

      It wasn’t about sex. He hesitated, his gaze drifting over the curve of her throat to the outline of her full breasts, straining against the material of her shirt. Her creamy skin looked satin soft. He turned his attention back to the road and cleared his suddenly dry throat.

      Well, he couldn’t deny he wanted her in that way, too. But it was more than that.

      “I just need . . .” he trailed off and shook his head, unable to find the words. “I don’t know.”

      Paoli looked at him with a frown. “You’ve never had a human in your company for anything good. Tell me you didn’t bring her for a midnight snack.”

      “I don’t know why I brought her,” William said defensively.

      Except that he couldn’t have left her if he’d wanted to.

      “If you just risked both our lives because you’re feeling peckish, I’m going to knock you in the head. I won’t sit back and watch you kill an innocent woman. Humans have value, remember?” Paoli demanded, and what promised to be a full‐blown rage began to gather steam.

      The very idea of her death left William with a cold knot in his stomach.

      “I’m not going to hurt her,” he said with certainty.

      “Are you serious?” Paoli’s tone was clearly skeptical. “You aren’t exactly known for your control when it comes to humans. I hate to point out your history, but your record isn’t exactly good.”

      William couldn’t argue with that. “This one’s different.”

      “Why?” Paoli asked doggedly, watching him as if trying to ferret out something he wasn’t saying.

      “I don’t know,” William said in exasperation.

      Leave it to Paoli to never stop asking questions.

      “You better figure it out, and fast. We’ve now stolen a woman from a pack of werewolves and kidnapped a woman we were supposed to execute. This is getting messy in a hurry. When the Coven finds out—” He shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about it. Maybe we should just finish the job we were ordered to do. Then you can figure out what the deal is with the other one.” He pointed to the woman in the backseat. “I mean, look at her.”

      Instead, William looked past Paoli to Emily. He considered Paoli’s suggestion and quickly discarded it. If she woke from the trance to learn they’d killed her sister, she’d be crushed. She’d never forgive him.

      “No,” he said firmly.

      Paoli gave a deep, frustrated groan and threw himself back against his seat.

      “All right, but if it comes down to her or me, I’ll kill her myself,” he warned. “It’d be doing her a favor, if you ask me.”

      “It won’t come to that,” William promised.

      “It must be nice to be so sure,” Paoli said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. “This is the Coven we’re talking about, remember? The immortal government. The ones who own us. They aren’t going to be forgiving about their orders being ignored.”

      Having his own concerns voiced aloud made William’s temper flare.

      “You think I don’t know that?” he demanded impatiently. “You just have to find something to stop the shift. Then we might be able to get the sentence rescinded.”

      Paoli slid forward so that his head was level with William’s again and stared at him, mouth open.

      “That’s a big maybe,” he said with a scoff. “And what do you mean by I have to find something?”

      It was William’s turn for a frustrated groan. “You have a ton of herbs in your damn fortune‐telling shop—”

      “New‐age bookstore, thank you,” Paoli corrected matter of factly.

      “Fine,” William conceded irritably. “New‐age bookstore.” He looked at Paoli pointedly. “There must be something in there that can help.”

      Paoli was quiet for a minute.

      “I hadn’t thought about that,” he admitted. “And I’m not saying it’s a bad idea.”

      His voice was thoughtful, his brow furrowed in a look of consideration.

      “I have books on every herb and healing plant. It’s possible there might be something in there. But even if we stop the shift—” He paused and looked at William. “And that’s a big if, mind you,” he said, before he gestured to the woman in question. “She’s still marked for death, and we still failed to follow an order.”

      Paoli was right. As much as he hated to admit it, the Coven didn’t tend to take individual situations into consideration. Even if they managed the impossible and found a way to reverse the change, there was no guarantee the Coven would care. An order had been given, and the Coven tended to see in black and white.

      “Then we can take her to the Coven and ask them to reconsider,” William said.

      It was the only chance they had.

      “Are you serious?” Paoli gasped. “You want to walk right into the belly of the beast? You know how they feel about you.”

      William did know how the Coven felt about him. But there was no other way.

      “It’s been centuries,” he said, remembering the last time he went before the Coven.

      It had been after a human kill he wasn’t exactly . . . discreet about.

      “But we have to try.” He glanced at Emily again, unable to stop himself.

      Paoli followed his gaze and gave a loud huff.

      “You’ve been near this woman for half an hour, and you’re ready to risk the wrath of the Coven for her? What if she’s bait for some trap?” Paoli said.

      “I don’t think so,” William said confidently.

      His wolf would have smelled a trap.

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