Chapter Three
“Right this way,” Boone said, gesturing ahead.
Tessa hung back a little. Was she really going to follow a werewolf into the night? She glanced up at the moon, then at Boone’s broad back, and finally over her shoulder to the open-sided building they’d just left.
Kai. Something kept pulling her back to Kai. But, damn — he was a dragon, just like the one who’d attacked her.
Dragons are insanely possessive, Ella had warned her. Once they see something they want, they never give up.
Ella had been talking about Damien Morgan, of course, but surely that applied to Kai, too. Still, Tessa hesitated. Every instinct drew her toward Kai, just as every instinct had told her to keep away from Damien Morgan.
She forced one foot in front of the other and followed Boone, watching him closely. At that point, a werewolf seemed like the lesser of two evils — as long as he didn’t start howling at the moon.
Boone caught her upward glance and chuckled. “Don’t worry. The moon isn’t what makes us shift.”
Shift. She turned the word over in her head. He said it so casually, like any creature could transform from human to animal.
“What does make you shift, then?” she asked, following him warily down the footpath.
Boone ducked under a leaf the size of an umbrella and paused, holding it up for her to pass.
“We can control when we shift.” That made her feel slightly better — until he added, “Well, most of the time.”
“Most of the time?” She stopped in her tracks.
Boone just strode on like it was any other Sunday in Hawaii. But it wasn’t. It was midnight of the day she’d had her world turned upside down.
“You’re not so different, I bet,” he said as the sound of waves breaking over a coral-strewn shore grew louder.
“I’m pretty sure I’m very different. I’ve never sprouted fur or fangs.”
“I mean controlling it.” He stopped and looked at the moon. “Like when you’re mad. Most of the time, you control it, right? But every once in a while, something happens, and you snap.” His voice grew hushed. Regretful, almost.
Tessa looked up, too, trying to find a star that might orient her to this new place. It was so unlike Arizona — so alive, so green. So full of noises, like the swish of leaves against each other and the whisper of water over the beach.
Yes, she knew a thing or two about losing her temper. As a child, she’d had uncontrollable outbursts.
She’s fiery, like her hair, her mother used to say.
Fiery, like our ancestors, her grandmother would add, though her mother always scoffed at that.
“Every human has an animal side,” Boone said quietly. “Being a shifter just brings it to the surface.”
Tessa furrowed her brow. “Like Ella?”
“Desert fox.” Boone grinned. “Cunning as anything. Great legs, too.”
Tessa snorted, but Boone just laughed. “What can I say? I’m a wolf.”
The trail wound on, and Tessa wondered how big the estate was.
“What about dragons?” she asked when her thoughts drifted back to Kai.
“What about them?”
“Does something suddenly make them snap, too?”
Boone stopped and turned, scratching his brow. “Look, I know what you’re thinking…”
Tessa doubted that, because her mind kept flipping back to the moment she’d brushed shoulders with Kai. To the pop of electricity that had zipped around her body. The rush of warmth. The feeling of security.
“You can trust Kai and Silas. They have their rough spots, but hell, we all do.” He scratched his chest, looking rueful. “It’s guys like Damien Morgan you need to watch out for.”
Tessa laughed bitterly. “If only someone told me that before I went to his house.”
Boone shrugged. “Anyway, I’m guessing you’ve had enough to digest for one night. Time to catch some rest.”
He motioned ahead, and she followed in spite of herself. The foliage thinned gradually, and the sound of the sea grew louder, drawing her on. Then Boone turned a corner and—
“Wow,” she breathed when they stepped into the open.
A row of palms stood like so many flagpoles along the beach, their fronds swaying in the night breeze. Moonlight glittered over the ocean — not just in little glimpses but in a long, silver line drawn straight across the sea. The moonlight sparkled and danced over the water, casting everything in an indigo light.
“Beautiful,” she breathed.
“Welcome to Hawaii.” Boone grinned. “Now get some rest.”
He waved to the right, and her jaw dropped. “That’s the guesthouse?”
“Yep.”
“And I get to stay there?”
He laughed. “All yours.”
She took a step forward, then stopped again, staring at a vision from a travel magazine. The beach bungalow was tiny, but perfect. It started right where the beach ended, with a small step up to a low porch. A banana-colored kayak was pulled up beside the porch, inviting her to switch her inner clock to island time. The long, curved roof of palm fronds swept high in the middle and down at each end, sheltering a deep porch with two lounge chairs. The entire structure screamed time to relax.
Boone rolled a sliding door aside. His height made the place look even smaller and cozier.
“It’s like a hobbit hole with a thatched roof,” Tessa exclaimed.
He laughed and flicked the light switch, revealing a blue-and-yellow interior that soothed her nerves. “Don’t tell Silas that.”
She didn’t have the energy to wonder what he meant.
“Good night,” Boone murmured, turning back down the path.
“Wait — what about tomorrow?” she cried, gripping the doorframe.
He shrugged. “What about it?”
“I mean, what happens next?”
He tilted his head left and right. “I’m a wolf, not a soothsayer. But don’t worry. Everything will be all right.”
How did he know that? How could he be so sure?
“Aloha po. Good night,” Boone said and disappeared down the path.
Tessa hugged herself and gazed out over the sea. Was she really going to spend the night among perfect strangers who turned into wild beasts?
Did she have a choice?
Briefly, she considered the kayak. No one would notice if she hopped in and paddled away. She could make her way to someplace down the coast, hitch a ride back to town, check herself in to a hotel, and figure out what to do next.
The moonlight winked off the sea, reminding her of the real problem. Morgan. The evil dragon was out there, and if he was searching for her…
She backed away from the kayak, studying the shadows. Maybe staying was her best bet. If she left now, she might walk right into her true enemy.
A bauble hung in a window, glinting blue in the moonlight — a pure, clean blue, just like Kai’s eyes.
If you leave now, it seemed to say, you’ll never discover the mystery behind those amazing eyes, either.
Her whole soul warmed, and her cheeks flushed as if Kai were actually there asking for a goodnight kiss. A kiss her soul yearned for, even if her mind resisted.
He’s a dragon. He’s dangerous, just like Morgan, who thinks he can take what he wants.
He’s nothing like Morgan, a little voice in the back of her mind protested. You can trust him. You should trust him.
She took a deep breath, undecided. Then she checked the sky — no sign of dragons, thank goodness — and hurried inside, just in case.