“Wait.” Selene gripped Nick’s forearm as he bent to adjust his bootstraps.

She was anxious to be free of this dark and congested space. Anxious to escape the deserted town to be back in the city she hated for being so crowded and unsafe. She would have given anything to turn back time, but now that the moment had come to escape, doubt ran through her like a virus.

Would he see her safely back on the road toward her hometown, or would he discover that she was too much of a hindrance and leave her out in the middle of nowhere?

Nick stood to face her, giving his full attention. “You have reservations?”

“Those men seem dangerous.” She swallowed. “I think we need a weapon.”

Selene thought she saw the corners of his lip upturn into a grin, but if he had done so, the expression was gone in an instant.

“Whatever happens, Selene, you stay close to me.”

“I’m just scared is all.”

“We have a clear shot now. You remember our initial plans…we run until we reach the forest.”

“Right,” she whispered, and handed him the key.

“You’re a strong woman.” He took her hand, and squeezed gently. “You’ve made it this far.”

Selene nodded. It had been a long journey. A journey that she suddenly wished she hadn’t taken alone. It was time to face the consequences. She’d gotten herself into this… “Let’s do it.”

He led the way quietly up the stairs, and slid the key in the lock. It fit perfectly in the slot, but when he pushed up on the overhead door, it didn’t give easily. From the way he applied force to it, she could tell that there was something else preventing the door from opening.

“What’s wrong?”

“They slid something over it.”

Turning back, Nick pushed up again, harder this time. Dirt escaped the cracks as he lifted. The hinges creaked and the object scraped the floor above them as he shoved. Something crashed and shook the stairs where they stood. The door finally gave way and banged into the floor on the second level above them.

Selene took a deep breath as Nick grabbed her hand and helped her up the stairs and out of the dungeon.

“Hey!” A big grisly-looking man emerged from the corner of the room and rushed them. He had a canteen in one hand and held the other hand up to stop them.

Selene’s heart twisted in fear, and her gut feeling told her that they would not escape without some serious effort.

Nick moved to stand in front of her and they backed up toward the door. “Let us go and there will be no problems.”

Grisly threw the canteen to the ground and some of the beverage splashed on the floorboards. The smell of strong liquor wafted under Selene’s nose.

“Oh, we definitely have a problem,” he remarked, and then rushed Nick in response.

It happened so fast she barely had time to focus on the scene before her. Nick captured the man, twisted him around, and snapped his neck. He fell like a limp mummy. She was frozen in place, until Nick took her hand again.

“Let’s go,” he said.

They made a break for it, dashing toward the fields. She could tell that she slowed him down. His long legs ate up the distance before him, while her shorter one’s fought to keep up. Not once did he let go of her hand.

Her lungs burned as though they were on fire. Her throat was dry as though someone had made her swallow dust. As the wind picked up around them, dirt flew in her face and into her open mouth. She pressed her lips together, but that only caused her to lose her breath even quicker.

Selene thought she heard a howl in the distance, behind them, but it could have been that her ears were playing tricks on her. Her thoughts were incoherent.

Just run. Run.

She never wanted to see the scarred face Darius again. As soon as she reached the highway and a pay phone, she was taking the next bus out of here. Damn her old beat up Honda, purse, and luggage. Her life was worth more.

Her shoes connected with something hard on the ground and she toppled over. Her knees hit the earth and her hands came out in front of her to lessen the impact. She cried out more from aggravation than the pain shooting through her kneecaps.

“I….” She panted, fighting to speak on rapid breaths.

“Selene.” Nick knelt down to help her. “I am so sorry. This was too much too fast.”

“I’m slowing you down.”

“No—”

A wolf howl sliced through the atmosphere around them. She didn’t know what it was…maybe intuition. A warning…

They were being chased.

“We have to keep going,” he urged. “We’ll need to make it across the main highway.”

He helped her up and looped her arm across the top of his back. She limped a couple feet, biting into her lips. The pain was unbearable and she couldn’t bring herself to apply pressure to her right leg, which must have taken the brunt of the fall.

“I can’t.” Selene stopped. “Go without me.”

“No,” he said, angrily.

“One of us should go for help.”

“I’m not leaving you.” He bent and scooped her up in arms, and began half-walking half-running.

She pushed against his chest. “There is no way you will escape them while carrying me.”

He ignored her.

“Nick, put me down, and go get help.”

“I won’t do that.”

There was an animal growl and rustling behind them. She turned her head in the direction the sound, but only saw dusk settling in behind them. “Nick…?” She said, slowly.

He must have sensed it too, because he slowed his pacing and turned around. His grip became tighter around her. “Whatever you see tonight, Selene, just know that I will never ever hurt you.”

Why was he telling her that? Selene tightened her hold on him as well. She might have urged him to leave her only moments early, but the sad fact was that she needed him. She didn’t want to be left alone.

A large black wolf came out into the clearing with fangs barred and ears drawn to the back of its head. It circled them slowly, the yellow eyes piercing them like daggers.

Damn it! Not only were they being chased by some small town lunatics, they were also being cornered by a wild wolf.

Another wolf emerged from the shadows. This one’s fur was deep brown, but the eyes were the same—yellow and menacing.

“Nick,” she whispered, her voice shaking in morbid fear.

The black wolf bucked and snarled, spittle dripping from its muzzle on the ground.

Nick’s gripped loosened on her at the moment, and she wound her arm around his neck seeking his protection.

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise,” he whispered, as he turned her loose and made her stand behind him. “Stand back.”

The two wolves looked hungry and ready to kill. They encircled them like vultures scouting around an injured animal. Injured. Oh, no. She looked down at the blood on her knee. The animals must have been drawn to it.

She fell back slowly, eyes on the threat before her. Fright overcame her more than the pain in her knee.

Nick immediately took a fighter’s stance, prowling like a predator similar to his opponents. It occurred to her that he had not an ounce of terror in him.

The black wolf lunged at Nick, snapping its massive jaws. Nick sprung back, but not before the wolf captured his boot by its fangs.

Her back hit the trunk of a tree, as her eyes shifted on the fight before her.

Nick wrestled the wolf to the ground, taking the oversized head between his hands. Was he insane? What human would wrestle with a rabid wolf and not be fearful of being bitten?

It was clear that the wolf was gaining the upper hand as it took Nick’s arm in its mouth. Her stomach churned at the first site of blood at the corner of the wolf’s mouth.

Nick jumped up , flinging the wolf off his arm and it slid across the dirt until it came within a few centimeters of hitting an adjacent tree. It got back up and charged at Nick, eating up the distance between them rapidly.

A burst of white light erupted where Nick once stood.

Her breath caught in her throat when she glimpsed a wolf in his place. It was as massive as the other two. There was sort of a majestic beauty to its sleek muscular form. The fur was a chocolate brown with hints of white throughout.

She shook her head, and dug her nails into the bark of the tree.

When the two wolves collided, the blow seemed to vibrate the ground where they all stood. Her gaze shifted frantically from left to right as she tried to focus on the fight. From her days of volunteering at an animal shelter, she wasn’t a stranger to two wild animals fighting. But this was pure insanity…

Only moments ago, Nick had not been an animal.

And she was pretty damn sure that his body had flashed into a wolf as if by magic right before her eyes.

What the fuck?

Had they drugged her?

The second brown wolf stood on the other side, growling and barking, as though waiting his turn to join in. She hoped that he stayed on his side of the field. If someone had told her she’d die from being mauled by a wolf, she might have laughed in their face. Now, the possibility wasn’t that far-fetched.

She should have taken off a long time ago, but her feet were planted to the ground.

The black wolf yelped. Her gaze focused in time to see Nick’s wolf as he pinned his opponent and ripped a chunk of flesh from the neck.

Selene doubled over and dry heaved. Whatever sense she did not have earlier, she gained it back at that moment. Her feet began to move.

She walked. Stumbled. Then ran.

She did not want to die. Not tonight. Not like this.

At this point, it didn’t seem to make a difference where she ran. She only wanted to get away from the bloodthirsty wolves. She only prayed that her legs would lead her to a safe place.

* * *

Nick flashed back into his human form when he caught scent of Selene again.

He couldn’t believe he’d given himself away like that, but it had to be done. He could never have beaten a Caedmon wolf while in human form. The only options back there were to either reveal himself or be defeated. Being defeating meant allowing Selene to be captured again. He couldn’t let that happen.

He’d have gladly faced Darius again. He yearned to do just that—to defeat him. But Selene needed his help a whole lot more than he wanted to kill that bastard.

Nick scented her sweet fragrance before he heard her. And he heard her muffled cries before he saw her. She was huddled against a tree under thick overhanging branches. Her arms were wrapped around her torso, as though she were consoling herself. He wanted to be the one to comfort her and erase the bad memories that she would undoubtedly gain from this.

“Selene—”

Her scream of shock cut through the atmosphere and lingered on the strong night winds. She stumbled several feet away from him, and held up her palm. “Mantente alejado!”

He didn’t need to be fluent in her native language to know she wanted him to stay away. “I won’t hurt you.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re an animal!”

It was the truth, and she seemed repulsed by it.

His gaze dropped to the ground, and for the second time in his life he was ashamed of what he was. “Yes. Yes I am.”

“How could this be happening? I feel like I’m in some kind of bad dream.”

What he didn’t want to do was frighten her again, so he made no attempts to move any closer. “Even bad dreams come to an end.”

She lifted her gaze to study him. “What are you?”

He swallowed. “I’m wolf…and man.”

“You’re kidding.” She laughed nervously. “Right?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Then you’re really serious…”

“Selene, we’ve got to move. Others will come looking after what they discover.”

“The other wolf back there…what did you do to it?”

“I think you know.” He did not take threats to his life lightly. “They would have killed both of us.”

“How do you know that?” Her voice rattled with anger.

“Look, Selene, I’ll tell you about all of this—any of this—but right now, we need to leave this area.”

“How do I know you won’t turn on me?”

“You’re not really afraid of me,” he said, and inched forward toward her. “You’re afraid of what you saw. I understand that.”

“Stop right there!”

“They had no plans to let you go. You had already seen too much. Those things had to happen in order to save you.”

“No.” She clenched her fists. “Don’t blame this on me.”

“You misunderstood me,” he whispered, moving a little closer. “I did what I had to save you, but none of this was your fault.”

“It was my fault. All of it. I shouldn’t have come.”

He didn’t understand what she meant, because she spoke in riddles. She regretted coming into this town. That much he knew.

One thing was certain, if they didn’t make a move now their lives would be on the line yet again.

“I made a promise to you.”

“I know.” Selene's expression changed from one of reluctance to one of hope.

“I can’t help who I am…what I am.”

“I don’t really understand what I saw.”

“Do you want to?” He asked.

She nodded.

“Put your hand in mine, Selene.” He held his palm out. “Come with me.”

Her fingers were warm and gentle when they touched his. Her palm was soft against his. The grip she gave in answer was confirmation enough.

He picked her up and draped her over his arms.

His wolf spirit still lingered on the surface as if she’d somehow called out to it. It refused to retreat, no matter how hard he fought to battle it.

As he carried her across the dusty field, their gazes connected on more than one instance. She studied him intimately, a worried but curious expression etching her delicate face. His heart beat nervously in his chest and his blood quickened as his wolf fought to emerge. This side of him had never yearned for so much control before. He could not help but think that it had something to do with the beauty in his arms. She was tempting, yes, but to partake in what was forbidden could cost him everything.

Damn, he wanted her.

But who wanted her more…the man or the wolf?