Penelope pulled on the tape binding her hands behind her for approximately the thousandth time, knowing it was futile, but refusing to give up.

She'd woken hours ago with a massive headache and a fire in her belly that wouldn't be squelched no matter how long she tried to get loose.

Her captors had left her in this shack and hadn't returned. As far as she knew they might not be coming back and her survival depended solely on her ability to get free.

Although, she had some sick sense of dread in the back of her mind that made her feel suspiciously like bait. For what she didn’t know.

One of those men had clocked her in the head from behind and knocked her out cold before she could get much out of them. So, thanks to that, the fate of Sawyer was also unknown to her. He could be holed up somewhere nearby or he could already be dead. She had literally no intel to go on.

Her stomach twisted and bile rose in her throat at the mere thought of his death. Something akin to grief threatened her, making it difficult to keep her mind on her options. She had to push through it.

To give her aching arms and shoulders a rest while keeping her mind occupied, she opted to listen for any sounds of life outside these four walls. She'd already deduced she was near the water due to the unmistakable sound of water lapping at the shoreline.

Unfortunately, this entire region was comprised by the Puget Sound, countless bays, peninsulas and dozens of islands leaving the possibilities of her location far too vast.

She held her breath hoping that would help her hear something more useful to no avail. After a few minutes of hearing nothing new she went back to struggling with the tape. And thus her cycle continued. Fight the tape. Listen for clues. Fight the tape. Listen for clues.

More hours passed and with her body drenched in sweat from her struggles and every muscle seizing with pain from her efforts, she finally heard something different.

Her eyes snapped open and she turned her head toward the door. She held her breath waiting to hear it again to confirm she'd not been imagining it. At this point, it wouldn't surprise her if she heard something that simply wasn't there. She'd gone straight past hopeful and into desperation hours ago.

And then she heard it again. A long howl rang out in the far distance. The wind maybe, she thought. Or possibly an animal. Before the next howl ended another one joined it, sounding much closer and Penelope perked up further. That did not sound like the wind.

Something or someone appeared to be riling up the local wildlife. That could mean her captors were nearby and/or possibly on their way back. With the thought of her possible death imminent, a burst of adrenalin had her fighting once again to get free. The tape had curled against her skin in several places, but it had yet to stretch enough for her to work even one of her hands free.

As she struggled, the animal noises got louder until they sounded like they were right outside. She stared at the door, waiting for something to happen when a series of gunshots filled the air and replaced the yipping animals that ironically sounded a lot like wolves.

The idea that her captors were shooting at innocent people or animals made her blood boil. Whoever the hell these assholes were, they were crazy. She hoped they got bitten—or maybe worse. Wolves were ruthless when provoked.

Tired, hurting, hungry and thirsty she wasn't thinking about right or wrong. Only that if she were free, she'd happily shoot every last one of them. In fact, the blood lust coursing through her at the moment demanded a different kind of justice that had nothing at all to do with the law.

The gunfire continued as did the fierce growls that now sounded right outside her place of captivity. A louder shot rang out and a distinctive yelp made her scream.

She didn't have much time to think about it though. A few seconds and growls later, the door slammed open and Sawyer appeared in the doorway. Dirty, bloody and completely naked.

Her mouth fell open at the sight. So overwhelmed at what stood before her and what she'd been through, her eyes didn't know where to land as she stared at him.

Golden skin wrapped around layers of hard muscles that ran across his entire body. From the thick bunch of his shoulders to the bulging curves of his arms and all the way down flat abs and—oh my God—she was pretty sure her eyes were bugging out of her head right about now, but she couldn't stop staring.

If not for the sudden growl that erupted from him, she might have never come out of the trance his appearance had put her in. Instead her head jerked up as a slice of fear worked down her spine.

"Sawyer?" It was then she finally noticed that his facial features were a little off. His brows were thicker and heavier than before and his nose and mouth seemed—different. And there was blood running down his left arm.

“What's going on?" she asked. "How did you get free? Are you hurt? You have blood on your—”

"Mine," he said, the rumble of his voice filling the small shack.

That slice of fear from before grew and she sat helplessly as he fell to the ground, his arms and legs contorting while making horrible noises that sounded like his bones were breaking into pieces.

She screamed at the horror show happening before her eyes. One minute she'd been staring at an exceptional specimen of a man and the next a very large wolf had emerged and began advancing on her. She thrashed against the chair she was tied to, more frantic than ever to get free.

“He won't hurt you, I promise.” Another naked man had entered the room, this one she recognized from her case file as one of the three owners of Club Diablo. Dante, if she remembered correctly. They had a dossier on each one of the brothers and she’d studied them all.

As the wolf sniffed at her leg, she sucked in a breath, unable to even form a scream.

“Try and relax and just let him sniff you. The wolf needs to make sure you're okay.”

She leaned back, pressing her back against the chair as far as she could, waiting for an attack any second. This could not be happening. Men could not…

The wolf's eyeteeth were visible at the edges of its mouth and she could only imagine those sharp teeth biting into her femoral artery and killing her almost instantly. Not exactly the way she’d envisioned her death.

Penelope sucked in air. “Easy for you to say, you're not the one he's sniffing.”

“I would hope not. I'm certainly not going to mate him.”

Not understanding, she glossed over his words. “Can you get me loose? And then give me some sort of rational explanation for what I just saw?” She could feel her brain beginning to shut down, making a total freak out imminent if she couldn't figure out what had just happened.

“I don’t know about rational, but I can fill you in. However, I’m not going to promise you’ll like it. In fact, I’m pretty sure you won’t.”

The wolf shoved his head between her legs, making her jump and shriek all over again.

“Seriously. If you just let him finish, we’ll both be better off.”

“Finish what exactly? I’m not looking to die by an animal attack. Why aren’t you helping me?” Her panic rose with each passing second.

“He scents your distress, which is only going to make it worse. Now he’s got to check for any injuries.”

She looked down at the wolf head still in her lap. “Between my legs. Seriously?”

Dante shrugged and held up his hands. “Just the messenger.”

“This is insane. You’re insane. He’s insane. Everyone is insane!”

Dante laughed, a hearty sound that did little to soothe her frazzled nerves. “I can see why he likes you. Sassiness is a great trait in a new mate.”

“Why do you keep calling me that? Stop it. Do I look like a wolf to you?” She shook her head. “Forget it. We’re going to have to straighten this out later, but can you do something about this?” She gestured towards the wolf now sniffing seriously close to her backside.

Dante shook his head and grinned, “Sawyer, that’s enough. You know she’s not hurt and now you’re just freaking her out.”

In another macabre display of freakishness, the wolf snarled at Dante as his bones began to make those horrifying crunching noises again. Penelope stared, her mouth agape as once again the beautiful golden skin of Sawyer emerged from behind the thick layer of tawny fur.

Honestly, if she hadn’t seen it happen with her own eyes, there’s no way she would believe anything like this could ever happen. Although her brain still couldn’t quite comprehend all of it. Part of her thought she had to be dreaming. Yes, that had to be it. Apparently, she’d fallen asleep during her struggles and was in the throes of a strange nightmare. What other explanation could there be?

You know it’s not a dream.

“Can someone please get this tape off of my wrists?” she said through her clenched jaw. She couldn’t decide if she was angry, petrified or relieved they were here, but for now she would take freedom anyway she could get it.

“Sorry,” Sawyer said. He walked behind the chair and ripped the tape between her wrists. She heaved forward and freed her ankles too.

"Penelope," he started.

“NOPE! I don’t want to talk about it. Not now. Maybe never. Let’s just get the hell out of here before anyone comes back.”

Sawyer and Dante exchanged glances, their eyebrows raised.

“What?”

Sawyer turned back to her. “The two guys guarding over you aren’t coming back.”

It took a few seconds for his meaning to sink in, but when it did she shook her head.

“What exactly am I going to find out there?”

“Does it really matter?” Dante asked.

“It might. I’m the one who has to explain all this shit. In fact, I can see it now. All right down to the nitty gritty details of my captors being mauled to death by wolves that magically turned into men." Her voice had turned shrill, but she couldn't stop it. Her brain had gone into hyper drive. "I’ll be laughed right out of the agency.”

“You won’t have to tell them anything. You’ll be with us.”

Penelope turned and glared at Sawyer. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means—”

“Enough,” Dante interjected. “We don’t have time to do this here. There is no telling how many are out there or when they’re coming back. Getting in here was way too easy. It’s time to regroup and meet up with the rest of the pack before any decisions are made.” He pointed at Penelope. “And that includes you, Agent Bishop. While I agree the method in which you just learned that shape shifters exist leaves a little to be desired, the fact remains that you now know. And that information is extremely dangerous.”

“Is that some sort of threat?” She did not like the sudden direction of this conversation. Not to mention both men were still completely naked and impossible to take serious in that state.

Sawyer growled.

“No, Ms. Bishop, I am not threatening you. However, the situation is tenuous at best. We have secrets that need to be maintained for the sake of everyone. That at least warrants a lengthy discussion, wouldn’t you agree?”

Reluctantly, she nodded. “What would be really helpful right now is if the two of you could put some clothes on.” She waved her hands in their direction. “This is not normal.”

Sawyer grinned at her. “I get why looking at him makes you nervous, but me too?”

She rolled her eyes. Men and their egos. Apparently that applied to all species. “I think I have more important information to digest than simply how hot you are, don’t you think?”

His grin widened. “As long as you think I’m hot, I can live with that.”

Dante shook his head. “I think I’m going to throw up. Fortunately, I think our backup has arrived and should be equipped with extra clothing. Believe it or not, this kind of thing happens often enough we know to be prepared.”

Sawyer tried to take her hand, which she jerked away from him as he led the way out of the building, with Dante taking up the rear. She tried not to look, but she couldn't help it. He walked right in front of her! And Sawyer naked was a sight to behold. Had she ever seen a man with a tighter ass than his?

She rolled her eyes at her own ridiculousness. She definitely needed to get her head examined and pronto. Fortunately for her, as soon as they got outside a Jeep pulled up with more men she recognized from her FBI files. Creed Donovan, one of the men who along with Sawyer served as security for Club Diablo before it was burned down. The other was one of Dante’s brothers although she couldn’t remember exactly which one.

Creed opened the door and jumped out. “Need a ride?” While he said it with a smile, their tight body language and glances at each other said they were anything but relaxed.

Dante reached into the back of the Jeep and pulled out two packs, one of which he tossed to Sawyer. While Creed offered her the front passenger seat and she got in, the other two finally put some clothes on.

In a strange way, that managed to put her even further off balance. At least when they were naked they were impossible to take seriously, and she hadn’t stayed focused on the fact she’d witnessed Sawyer turn into a wolf and then back to human again. Something her brain still refused to process.

“What’s the situation?” the driver asked.

“Only two men were left to guard agent Bishop here and both of them have been neutralized. No idea yet where the others are holing up, but they can’t be far. In fact, it’s as if they wanted us to find Ms. Bishop.”

“You think they sacrificed two men for something bigger?”

Damien. That was the name she couldn’t remember. Dante and Damien. That left only Diego missing from this family pow wow.

“I wouldn’t put anything past those hunters. They’ve gone way beyond too far this time. The situation needs to be resolved tonight.”

Penelope did not like the sound of that. “What are hunters?”