These were not bears, though, and she’d never thought to fear a wolf attack. Game was plentiful here, and wolves were shy; if it had been mid-winter and a lean year things might have been different.
They didn’t smell like wolves. Cold sweat gathered on her back, and Wiley cast a nervous glance at the fire. Maybe it would be enough to scare the animals off, but if not, a few bullets couldn’t hurt.
“Git!” she yelled, feeling like a fool. Contrary to the tree hugger’s expectations, these were not fat, mellow zoo buddies. Alaskan wolves could take down a lone human if they were hungry enough. The fact that these animals didn’t smell like wolves was still a problem, but there could be a good reason. Maybe they’d rolled in something strange. Maybe this was a bad dream. Maybe reconstituted food was as bad as Jasmine always claimed, and it had finally rotted her brain.
And then the darkness spoke.
“You’ll have to do better than that,” a man’s voice said from the shadows. An edge of dark amusement carried in his tone, and she shivered. He did not sound like a friendly hiker out for a stroll.
As the wind shifted, bearing his scent, she knew he was something much more dangerous.
He was not alone.
Three men melted out of the night into the fire’s glow. A quick glance showed them all to be armed with sheathed pistols and wicked-looking knives. Hunters? She didn’t think so, not running around in their shirtsleeves. If they’d been human, they’d have been freezing.
“What do you want?” she demanded, trying to look tough. Sweat made her hands slippery on the gun. The odds weren’t in her favor. Why hadn’t she heard them coming?
“You’re trespassing on private property,” the man spoke again. He and his companion were both tall, with the third man, the blond, only slightly less so. All three had long hair, though only the speaker’s was clipped back from his face.
“I didn’t see any signs posted,” she said warily.
“Maybe you missed them in the dark,” the dark one on his left said. “Are you alone here?”
“I’m camping. I expect company at any time,” she said coldly. “My roommate is coming with my dog.” No need to mention Jasmine was a petite asthmatic, or that Lemming would rather crawl up her leg than take on a wolf.
“What’s your name?” The leader asked. His steady gaze was unnerving. She couldn’t see the color of his eyes, but they were set in a strong, austerely handsome face. His voice was deep, and rang with authority. This was a man used to getting answers.
She couldn’t think why lying would help. “Wiley James.”
He jerked as if she’d slapped him. It was hard to tell through the smoke, but she thought he paled.
“It couldn’t be her, Jayems,” the blond said quickly. “It’s just a coincidence.” He glanced her way. “The girl couldn’t be more than …” He frowned. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-four,” she answered cautiously. It was only a few days until her birthday, but she wasn’t going to age herself unnecessarily.
The men stared at her. Unnerved, she stared back. “What’s going on?”
“You…” The one called Jayems paused, then seemed to continue with difficulty. “You’re the same age as our cousin, who we lost many years ago. Her nickname was Wiley.”
A sickening slide of premonition made her shiver, and she started to lower the gun. Her arm ached. “I don’t know you,” she said with ruthless common sense. She didn’t want anything to do with these guys. “I’m sorry for your loss and sorry I trespassed. If you don’t mind, I’ll pack up and leave right now.”
The Cherokee look-alike stepped toward her. “Wait.” He looked at her stocking hat, noted the brown hair peeking out in wisps around her ears. “You have dark hair, but many people do.”
“Yes, they do,” she said edgily, keeping her arm loose and ready. One more step and the gun was going up again.
“What was your mother’s name?” the blond demanded.
Sweat trickled down her back. The subject stank, and the situation was extremely uncomfortable. “Don’t know; I was an orphan. Stay back!” She pointed her gun at the Cherokee, who’d gotten too close.
“Keilor,” Jayems said in warning, halting him.
Keilor stopped, canting his head in acknowledgment.
“Do you know where you were born?” Jayems asked carefully, as if he held himself in check. He sounded polite, but there was intensity to the question that made her uncomfortable.
“No,” she replied automatically.
“At what age were you orphaned?” Keilor asked casually. He shifted his weight ever so slightly.
“Young. I’m not the one you’re looking for,” she repeated, willing him to back off.
There was silence for several seconds. Then Jayems said, “We can’t take that chance.”
In a split second Keilor leapt the fire, snatched her gun and tossed it to Fallon. She screamed and struggled, tried to throw him off. Wiley was far stronger than she looked, but he had a surprising strength. He grunted when she stomped his foot, but he wasn’t going anywhere.
So she did the only thing she could, an act of ultimate desperation. She changed.
“Oof!” Keilor grunted as she broke loose and threw him. Barely avoiding the fire, he tucked into a roll and settled into a crouch, one hand braced on the ground as if poised to launch.
Wiley slowly backed up, bathed in cold sweat. She saw her hand, covered in long, silky brown hair. Her thick, strong nails had blackened and her hearing intensified. Her breath came in scared huffs as her sharpened night vision pierced the shadows, counting wolves.
Only they weren’t wolves. The faces were all wrong, and they had ridges on their backs like wild dogs.
“It is you,” Jayems breathed, and his eyes glowed. He stepped forward, his hand out. “Don’t be afraid. See, we’re just like you.” In a blink, he changed, growing dark hair all over, lengthening his nails. His face became the flattened face of a wolf, and his eyes gleamed golden in the firelight.
She screamed, or tried to. She had no voice to shout in that form. She spun and ran, ignoring the threat of the animals, desperate to escape the nightmare. She was so scared that she shifted back to human as she ran, somehow thinking the dream would end if she changed, if she woke up.Strong arms grabbed her from behind, lifted her off her feet. Those arms were human. She cried out.“Easy,” Jayems said, subduing her effortlessly. “Easy, Rihlia.”“L-let me go!” she shouted, freaking out. That name triggered something, and she knew she was dead. The monsters that had haunted her dreams for so long had finally caught her.
Her expression of horror said it all. “Your…?” She couldn’t get the words out.Afraid she would hyperventilate, he snapped, “Breathe! You’re going to make yourself sick, woman.” Concern for her made it difficult to keep his distance. He wanted to touch her, to soothe, and knew she wouldn’t receive it well. He was a stranger to her, and dangerous. He couldn’t go to her.Anger seemed to serve her better than coddling. “You’re not marrying me!” she ground out. She stopped shrinking into the couch.He looked to the side, searching for patience, hoping to steady his nerves. Her distress was affecting him. “We were betrothe
“I believe you’re familiar with apples,” he said, pointing to the poached fruit. “They’re cooked in wine and honey. The juice next to you is a native berry; you used to love it.” It was hard to be patient. She’d once treated him like a beloved brother, and now she thought he was trying to poison her.She shot him a look and went back to staring at her plate. “What’s this sausage made of?” She looked hideously suspicious and a little green. “You don’t eat people, do you?”His eyes widened. “You can’t be serious!” When she just looked at him, he snapped, “It’s an animal. A grazing beast called a deerhare.” When she still wouldn’t eat, he demanded, &ldqu
She flushed and avoided his eyes. She muttered a curse.He raised a brow. “If that was meant to remain private, it didn’t. My ears are as sharp as yours.” Ignoring her evil look, he said, “This is what I’m offering: a new home, a new world and a family who loves you. All I want in return is your willing cooperation. Be pleasant. Try not to view us as the enemy.”“And you’ll let me talk to Jasmine?”“I will.”“And you won’t hurt her?”“I won’t, though it’s not a promising
The kitchens were huge and immaculate. Entire rooms were devoted to baking, butchering and processing vegetables. There were sinks and stoves in each room, as well as various kinds of pantries and cold storage. The staff was polite, though they only stopped when directly addressed. It was hard to believe the amount of food they processed in a day.“The Citadel is vast. The kitchens supply all the food for our garrison, my personal household as well as their own families,” Jayems explained. “There are many young apprentices here, learning how to provide for their own families. It’s not just a kitchen, it’s also a classroom.”“Wow.” Wiley thanked a young man who handed her a tiny tart, then took a bite. Warm citrus curd and
Jayems stood before Lady Nilla’s door. He bowed his head and placed one hand on the stout wood, wishing there was some way he could soften this blow.Nilla was his lover of two month’s standing, but their relationship had started long before. They’d been friends of a sort before the attraction had unexpectedly boiled over into something more. He’d begun to look at her in a considering light for some weeks now, and she had not missed the cues. Even so, she hadn’t clung, just loved him sweetly, silently offering her heart.He’d been close to speaking to her father. Her mother had worn a look of expectation for the last little while. And why not? His betrothed had been accepted as dead for nearly twenty years. He’d felt it was foo
As Jayems prepared to enter, the steward warned him, “You won’t be able to talk in there, milord. May I report out here?”“Make it quick,” Jayems said, burning with curiosity. What a racket! It sounded like an entire raiding party, not one lone woman.“It started out with her banging on pots and pans,” the steward said. “She looked spooked when we burst in, so I offered to get her a drum set.” He winced, as if regretting that idea. “It got out of hand from there. Next, she asked what other instruments we had. I offered to bring her some samples. Somehow the technicians figured out how to make her music play over your sound system...she’s been very busy.”
“Beautiful,” he said softly, and her eyes shot to his in surprise. Surprise? How could she not know she was lovely?“Ah…thanks,” she said. Sending him an uneasy glance, she took a seat on the couch.Jayems tried to think of something to relax her. Before he could speak, Keilor strode into the room unannounced. “She is here.”Relieved to have the subject changed, even by this, Jayems shut the heavy ledger he’d been perusing. His boots remained crossed on the desktop as he waited for more details.Rihlia wasn’t nearly as calm. She leapt up off the couch and demanded bre