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 were twins?” he asked in a voice that was too innocent to be believable.
“Yes,” Emily said. “Fraternal, not identical. Obviously.”
“Delightful. Now that we’re all acquainted, could you look at my eyes for a second and tell me what you see?” Paoli 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
