RHYSHer lips had scrambled my mind in the elevator. Her scent, her touch. My body was on fire, straining to sate the appetite she had stroked back to life. I was still rock hard and moments from giving in to this feeling I hadn’t had in six years. I didn’t even care if we made it to my apartment. But when I followed her down the hallway, everything inside me numbed. Completely froze up.What the fuck was going on?The urge to give Rae what she wanted died the second I saw her stop at her apartment. Did she live there?Of course, she lived there. Her scent followed me everywhere in this building; that should have been my first clue instead of believing I was losing my shit again. Fate hated me so much that it put the woman who’d almost killed me right across the hall. My beast howled, his pleasure at the turn of events reverberating through every cell in my body. No. No, this was insane! How could I live anywhere near this woman?Rae was trembling as she searched for her key; I cou

SIX YEARS AGO RHYS The woman’s laugh echoed around us. I sat back on my heels, reeling my head back in case she was contagious. Her body still shook with what I imagine was shock, but she threw her head back and laughed louder. “That was insane!” she laughed. The voice. Fuck me. “What the hell was that thing?” she asked. She met my gaze with the most beautiful coloured eyes I had ever seen. She stole my breath. One second, I’d been thinking how crazy she was; the next, I was hit by lightning. In the dying light, her eyes almost looked gold, like Ares’. They sparkled with a hint of excitement even after what she had gone through. And there was something more. Something terrifying. I thought I was the scariest thing in the forest, but this woman... There was danger coming out of every pore. “You shouldn’t be out here this late,” I growled. “Who are you? The Lake patrol?” the woman snorted, and she giggled again. Wet strands of her hair fell across her face. Most she-wolves p

RHYSRae’s screams had wrecked me. The wolf’s threat was still fresh in my mind, but it wasn’t the beast's emotions that made my heart pound like that. The scent of her fear in the air had twisted everything inside me until all I wanted to do was hunt those rabid rogues.Two of them. How were there two of them?And their desire to rip Rae apart still hung in the air as much as their putrid scent. I wanted to hunt them and finish the job, but I couldn’t shake off what her fear was doing to me. And I couldn’t take my eyes off the blood all over her body. Human blood. Still fresh. Someone was dead in these woods. Rae’s teeth clattered, and her body shook just as much. Her heart was going too fast, her breathing was harsh, and her eyes were unfocused. She was in shock. The sound of humans talking as they walked towards the park spurred me into action. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around Rae. One final look into the park told me the rabid wolves were already near the exit in the

RAE I tried to roll over, but the weight of someone’s arm and leg over me stopped my movement. A smile stretched my lips even before I opened my eyes. Vickie was like a cuddly octopus in her sleep. It felt good to wake up in my bed. I was over the hump for another month. That was the pattern in the last few months. For several days every month, I feared waking up somewhere I shouldn’t be. Then everything was fine again. I opened my eyes and turned to face her. The desire to murder her disappeared once the food had arrived. Her lust for Rhys had turned into pleasure at the mountain of food we had to devour. And then that was replaced by her total concentration on her books when we studied. I loved Vickie’s mind. I loved watching her work. She had a love for knowledge that nothing else could surpass, not even the ‘hunky’ neighbour. My smile disappeared when I remembered I still had to sneak off and talk to Rhys. I couldn’t do it while Vickie was there because she’d asked me several

SIX YEARS AGORHYSVanilla and cinnamon everywhere. She was doing it on purpose. ‘It’s impressive that she can keep up,’ Ares said. Rae had piqued his interest from the first day. Every day before sundown, I sensed her following me. She kept my speed in her human form and was surprisingly great at not making a sound. She didn’t interfere in my hunts. She hadn’t run off after seeing Ares, either.That was probably why the wolf was smitten.I was surprised her pack hadn’t come to find me yet, though. And neither had any of the rogues in the forest. A low rumble had me looking up at the sky above the lake. The dark clouds had already covered the sun, and I could smell the storm coming. I looked back at the trunk that Rae was hiding behind.“It’s going to be a bad one. You should head home before you’re caught in it,” I called out.‘Or invite her to stay dry and warm in the cabin,’ Ares said eagerly. I could practically see the wolf’s tail wagging like a giant dog. No good would come