I have no doubts about who they are. The dogs. I'm not going to inquire who Monica is. Or was."How did you get in here?" I inquire, moving back, my gaze darting behind him. Did he enter by the back door, or did he come around the side of the house?As he approaches, I recall that not all shifters are predators, and not all humans are safe."You should run while you can." He smiles at me, nearly as thin as the skeleton hand he extends towards me. "If you come with me now, then—""Angel, get inside."Jade was tucking me behind his back before I realized who he was.He's put on a pair of grey sweatpants, but that's all he's done. I look around to see whether the weird man is walking away, but Jade places a palm on my tummy and nudges me back. He never takes his gaze away from the skeleton figure. "Go.""Amanda."I startle and spin around. Dan. He blinks at me through half-lidded hazel eyes, and I know he couldn't have been awake for more than a few minutes, but he at least bothered to p
Dan would be aware.When her footfall receded away from the door, I turned to go wake him up. She's going farther into the garden, which is a bad idea."You'll think of something," I murmur to myself. "But she needs you now."I walk to her, not knowing what the fuck I'm going to say to soothe the shadows hiding in her thoughts, shadows that scared her away from me and Dan even though I know we provided her pleasure.We made her happy.She wouldn't have cuddled us so tightly after that.Then I notice it.A masculine voice that shouldn't be in this room. Garrett. Mona's elder brother, and the one who frequently shows up to accuse us of murdering his little sister.Fuck.I run. Push the entrance door open. They're just ahead. Amanda steps back, a biting edge of terror infusing her beautiful jasmine aroma. Garrett is approaching her, his achingly familiar blue eyes filled with a crazy, grief-stricken gaze.Whatever instinct Dan has must have awakened him because his amber and licorice sme
Perhaps he's simply passing the time until he has something definite on us. In any case, we need to keep a tight check on this officer in the future. I'm trying to sleep. "I have a feeling I'll need it." He takes a few steps up before coming to a standstill. "And next time Amanda wants to go for a wander in the garden, do us all a favour and go with her."I soften my tone. "I still say we should kill him."Do I envision myself severing the throat of a man with Mona's eyes?My wolf has no objections to it. However, the man recalls me carrying Mona's body in my arms. I recall her blood pouring through my trousers. I'll never forget her lifeless gaze.But if it must be done. It must be done, therefore I will do it."Leave Garrett to me," Finn whispers quietly, his voice barely audible."If you believe talking would make him go, you're mistaken. Every every year he—""She was his sister," Finn says as he climbs the stairs. "He's in mourning. He'll move on in time.""You didn't see him," I
Finn isn't picking through the filthy clothes, so it can't be him. If Dan does the cooking, it's most likely him. "Perhaps normal isn't the best word. Human." I move my hand to grasp the bottom of his shirt.When I feel the darkness drawing me beneath, touching Jade and Dan seems to help. It keeps me in the present moment. "He said I lived through things most humans wouldn't.""Like the bites," says Jade.I nod, my gaze still fixed on Jade's pristine white shirt. "Like the bites."Even if no one had commented on the state of my neck, they would have all noticed I had more of them. But Dan kissed them when he brought me to bed and didn't back down. Jade also touches them often. Light, lingering caresses, as when he touches the scar I cut into my left wrist with Felix's steak knife. As if he wants me to know he sees them and doesn't find them repulsive.I hesitate since there is so much about Darius and his pack that I haven't told them. "As well as the bridge." "I..." my voice trailed
In his tanned palm, the dull silver firearm with a black grip appears little. Aside from the machine gun, it's the only revolver I know the name of, and only because of the old cowboy movies Dad used to watch.Dan pokes his finger inside the silver projecting cylinder on the side. That's when I realise what he's been doing — or has been doing — all this time. Checking that each chamber has a bullet. If somebody walks through the door, he won't have to load or reload his weapon; he'll just take up a gun and shoot.Swallowing hard, things suddenly feel much more real than they were five seconds earlier."Finn and Jade know what they're doing down there," Dan says as he clicks the chamber back into place and returns the rifle to the table. "I know what I'm doing up here," he says, not picking up another weapon. "This attic extends the entire length of the house." All that's up here is dust and insulation, so there's lots of places to hide. We've got—""No.""Amanda, we're doing this—" he
"What makes breathing so important?" I inquire, disregarding the aching in my left arm. It's only been a minute, yet I'm already trying to stay up."You could have lined up the most perfect shot in the world, but what if you get excited and your breathing changes?"I thought for a moment, but I didn't have a response for him. "No."He takes two deep, leisurely breaths. But his third breath is a bit faster, and the cannon slips to the left by about half an inch. "Did you notice that?"I nod. "Breathing made you move.""Move it just enough to throw off your shot." With a body shot, you can get away with it, but with a headshot, you can miss it entirely. "Calm and control will save the day here.""Are you not angry?" I inquire, intrigued by this aspect of Dan. I had no clue he knew how to shoot, much alone be so enthusiastic about it."There is a time for rage." Isn't it when you have a pistol in your hand?" He softly presses down on my finger. "This is exactly how it should feel. Breath
On my left, there is some movement.With a snarl, I spin around, swiping my claw at a wolf with a piercing blue gaze who hisses in agony and bounds back, the copper tang of his blood strong in the air.Behind.I'm not sure if that was my warning or my wolf's.It makes no difference.We've already whirled around to confront the danger.The door behind me means I'm not in danger of injuring anybody who matters anything to me, so I stop battling my wolf the way I've been doing for years and start fighting with him.And our adversaries perish one by one beneath our jaws and claws.It makes no difference that others are rushing into the room, assaulting in pairs, one at a moment.It makes no difference if they pierce my flesh with their fangs or cut open my back with their claws.All that matters is that they perish.The floor is slippery with my adversary's and my own blood, but the pain is a distant second—or is it third?—to the wrath erupting within me.Then it's only me, my breathing r
We tripped over each other to follow as they rushed him out of the attic, the house, and finally into a flashing ambulance waiting outside.“Sorry, no room,” they said when we moved to follow.None of us dared argue. Not when Dan’s heart could stop again any second.So we let the bland-faced EMTs who’d shocked Dan’s heart into beating call out a hasty direction for the hospital, slam the door shut, and then they were just…gone.A hand closes high on my right arm.I startle, whipping my head that way."Angel?” Jade’s gray eyes search my face as I search his.Dan once said he looked like a brawler, and he does. I study him, taking my time. Shaved dark hair. Intent gray eyes which dare you to look away first. A nose with a tiny bump on the slope from a break that didn’t heal right. His raw strength makes me feel stronger in a way that shouldn’t make sense, yet it does.“He’s a fighter. Like you. Like all of us. He will survive this.”I wish I could believe you.“Darius is a killer.” I an