Chapter Seventeen
Nina didn’t know what to expect, but the low growl that rose from Boone’s throat was not it.
“Boone?” she whispered in the deathly silence.
“Trust me,” he said in a choked voice.
She did trust him. She just— whoa. Was Hunter growling, too? She swiveled her head, watching as Hunter rolled his wide shoulders. A third voice joined them — Cruz, who stretched out his snarl in a low, grumbly undertone.
Nina wondered if that was some strange soldier get-psyched thing, but Kramer growled, too, and his eyes glowed red. Blood red, making her skin crawl. She held the ruby tighter, soaking in its warmth.
You can do this, the warmth seemed to tell her. You can handle anything.
God, she hoped so.
“Ready for the big, bad wolf?” Kramer howled, stepping forward.
Nina stared as he hunched, raised his elbows, then worked his head left and right like a man squirming from a too-tight collar.
“What the hell?” Mike muttered, backing away.
Nina quaked inside, fighting the urge to run.
Kramer laughed again, but it ended in a hyena-like cackle. His tongue hung out of his mouth, and his jaw—
Nina held back a scream as Kramer’s jaw stretched into a long muzzle and flashed a startling row of fangs. Then all hell broke loose, and all Nina could do was press against the bumper of the Jeep and stare.
Boone roared and toppled forward onto all fours, and for a moment, Nina panicked that he’d been shot. His shirt split down the back and fell from his body. His back rounded — his strangely hairy back…
Kramer snarled, dragging her eyes in his direction. Except it wasn’t Kramer there any more. It was a wolf. A huge, dark wolf.
Nina stared. She was seeing things. She had to be.
But Boone was a wolf, too, she realized, looking at the tail swishing just a foot away from her. Cruz dropped onto all fours, shedding his clothes in the same violent way, and his skin took on a strange pattern.
Stripes, Nina realized. Tiger stripes to go with his long tiger tail and terrifying tiger jaws.
She didn’t move. She couldn’t move. Not with a pack of wolves surrounding her — Kramer’s men had become wolves, too — and certainly not with a wolf, a tiger, and — holy shit — a grizzly boxing her in.
Hunter was a grizzly. Cruz was a tiger. Boone was a wolf. Nina saw it with her own eyes, but she still couldn’t process it.
Do you believe in me? Boone had asked, but holy smokes. She hadn’t been expecting this. If it weren’t for the ruby shoring her up with its pulsing heat, she might have started screaming there and then.
“Holy shit,” Mike said, white as a sheet. He stumbled backward and ran for the helicopter.
She gulped as Boone and Cruz stalked forward. At the same time, Kramer’s mercenaries — all wolves — stepped in, tightening the noose around Nina’s position. With no space left to back up into, she scrambled onto the hood of the Jeep. The vehicle’s open cab offered little protection, but she threw a leg over the windshield and jumped onto a seat to gain higher ground if nothing else.
Growls broke into snarls, and the wolves jumped forward, setting off the fight. Two leaped at Hunter, but the big bear tossed them aside with one sweep of his mighty claws. A second pair attacked Cruz, who jumped to avoid them, twisted in midair, and pounced on one’s back. He sank his teeth into the wolf’s flesh, making the beast scream and roll. But the most horrifying sight was that of Boone and Kramer crashing in a whirlwind of teeth and claws. Their lips curled high, revealing rows of ivory teeth that grew red with blood. Boone’s blood? Kramer’s?
Nina hung on to the ruby and prayed.
Tamara stood with her arms folded, observing the battle with an eerie calm. The helicopter pilot did the same, impassively batting away Mike, who’d run up to him, begging to fly to safety. The man towered over Mike, and Nina looked away, afraid of what she might see. Would the pilot turn into a lion? A panther? Another wolf?
Do something, Nina screamed at her frozen body. Do something.
She reached into the back of the Jeep, feeling blindly until she found a shaft of steel. The all-too-short handle to a jack, but she’d take what she could get. And just in time, too, because the second she pulled it out, a wolf leaped at her.
She screamed and smashed at it with the two-foot stick. The wolf howled and rolled away. It had come from Cruz’s side of the car, and the tiger screamed in fury. His yellow-green eyes glowed with anger, and his outstretched claws scraped five deep rips into the enemy wolf’s flank. Nina jerked her gaze away, scanning her surroundings. Hunter seemed to be faring well, with one wolf limping away and the other jumping in and out of reach. Boone and Kramer were locked in furious battle, making Nina wince at the sounds of anger and pain. Had she caused all this?
The air behind her whooshed, and she turned just in time to batter away the same wolf. A moment later, a huge, hulking hand reached down from behind and grabbed her by a fistful of shirt.
“Gotcha, my little pretty,” a voice growled.
Nina kicked and screamed, clawing at the hands that dragged her back. The pilot — he’d snuck over somehow.
“No!” she cried, twisting and struggling as the man clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her out of the Jeep.
Boone roared and made a move to help her, but Kramer immediately attacked his haunches, holding Boone back. Cruz snarled, but he, too, was locked in battle with a wolf, unable to assist. Hunter roared and stepped forward, but two wolves blocked his way.
“Get her over here.” Tamara’s voice rose above the fray, calling to the pilot who held Nina so tightly she couldn’t fight back.
In the blur of action, Nina saw Tamara emptying her backpack — her backpack, damn it! — casting the teddy bear ruthlessly to the ground. “Where is it?” Tamara screamed. “Where is the stone?”
Nina’s fingers twitched — the most she could manage in the arm lock the pilot kept her in — but Tamara caught the movement right away. “Give it to me!”
Up to that point, Nina had mostly felt fear. But at Tamara’s words, fury rose beside the fear. Lewis McGee had given that ruby to his late wife, and he’d given it to Nina to care for in Mary’s memory. How dare Tamara covet that ruby? It wasn’t hers, just like Boone wasn’t hers. Anger swirled in Nina like a whirlwind, building to a full-blown storm. She bared her teeth and bit savagely at the pilot’s hand, making him howl. His grip loosened just enough to let her work an arm free — the side holding the jack handle. She stabbed it backward, and the pilot grunted and fell away.
“Bring it to me,” Tamara ordered, snapping her fingers.
Nina had always hated it when customers snapped their fingers, and though she’d always been too polite to do anything about it, she wasn’t about to be a nice girl now.
“Never!” she cried, brandishing her steel stick.
Tamara’s face went red as she pointed a finger straight at Nina. “Bring it to me, now!” Her voice dropped on the command.
Nina’s arm jerked forward against her own will, and her fingers dipped toward her pocket, unbidden.
“Bring it to me!” Tamara screamed.
Watch out. She’s a witch, she recalled Hunter saying. And whoa — had he meant it literally? A pull acted on Nina’s body, making her quake. The invisible force pushed her hand into her pocket, urging her to bring out the ruby. But the second her fingers closed around the gem, that evil force faded. Nina braced her feet on the ground and clenched the ruby firmly in her pocket.
“I said, bring it to me,” Tamara hissed.
Nina all but spat back as confidence rushed through her veins. “Make me, witch.”
The word bitch had teased her lips, but witch worked just fine, too. Tamara’s eyes went wide, and her fingers clawed in the air. But no matter how she begged, screamed, or cajoled, her words had no effect on Nina.
“Fine.” Tamara stamped her foot. “How about this, then?”
She motioned to the right, and Nina turned slowly, wary of a trick.
“Nina,” Mike cried. The pilot held him in a headlock, one hand on Mike’s chin, ready to twist and snap his neck.
“No!” Nina screamed over the background of animal growls she didn’t dare cast a glance at.
“Give me the stone, or he dies.” Tamara’s eyes flashed in triumph.
“Help,” Mike yelped. “Nina…”
Nina wavered. Mike had betrayed her. He’d tried to kill her. Did he really expect her to give up Lewis McGee’s ruby? The jewel of his heart — to save Mike’s miserable life?
“Nina,” Mike begged.
Nina cried, too, because Mike knew her too well. Tamara, too, had figured her out. Nina wasn’t about to let Mike die, not for a gem. No human life was worth that.
She pulled the ruby from her pocket and turned to Tamara, cursing the woman under her breath. Kissing the ruby, she whispered, “Forgive me, Lewis.” Then she wound the silver chain into a bundle and tossed it to Tamara’s outstretched hands.
“There. Take it,” Nina snapped. “Just let Mike go.”
Tamara brought the ruby up to her face. Her eyes glowed, reflecting the bloody hue of the gem. “Sure,” she murmured, barely looking up. “Let him go, Roy.”
Nina turned expectantly, only to see the pilot wring Mike’s neck and drop his body.
“No!” Nina screamed, falling to her knees.
“What?” Tamara said in her cruel, teasing voice. “You said to let him go.”
Nina held her face in her hands, unable to face the horrors around her. The wolf battle raged on. Mike lay dead, not two yards away. The pilot was coming for her — she could feel his heavy steps approach. When he lifted her off the ground, she couldn’t find the strength to resist. Not even when a canine roar reached her ears.
Boone. It had to be Boone. But Boone couldn’t help her — he was too busy with Kramer, who fought tooth and nail. She flapped her hands weakly, unable to fight back, utterly devoid of hope.
A chilling scream stopped the pilot one step away from the helicopter, and Nina slithered out of his grasp. She looked up, trying to trace the sound of the cry. The beasts battling each other stopped, too, and all eyes swept to Tamara.
“No!” the woman screamed, staring at the ruby. One hand clutched it tight, refusing to let go, while the other clawed at it, trying to push it away.
“Stop! No!” Tamara wailed in pain, falling to her knees.
Nina crawled away from the pilot, but she wasn’t able to drag her eyes off Tamara. What was happening?
Smoke wafted from between Tamara’s clenched fingers, and a red glow flared.
“Drop it!” the pilot yelled.
“I can’t,” Tamara screamed and started writhing. The stone steamed in her hand. Her body shook, and her eyes rolled back as she collapsed to the ground. Flames burst out between her fingers.
The dark wolf — Kramer — roared and jumped toward Tamara. Boone sprinted toward Nina. Her eyes went wide as he approached.
That wolf is Boone. He won’t hurt me, she told herself. Right?
The blue eyes, the tawny fur, the slight tilt of the head — it was Boone for sure, but he still scared her to death.
Get down, his voice boomed in her mind.
She ducked, and he leaped right over her head, knocking the pilot away. There was a sickening crunch, and Nina looked back to see Boone step away from the pilot, who lay in a heap.
Boone whipped around and snarled at Kramer, who howled when the ruby rolled out of Tamara’s lifeless hand. As the smoke wafted away, its mysterious source extinguished, the sun glinted off the stone, creating a brilliant red light — a red light that reflected in Kramer’s eyes as the dark wolf turned to Nina with a furious growl.
Uh-oh. She stood directly between two angry wolves, and Kramer was downright terrifying. Nina scrambled to her feet too quickly and slipped to her knees — right onto the jack handle that smashed her shin so hard, she cried out.
As Kramer advanced, his eyes shifted from her to a point over her shoulder. Boone stepped so close, his breath ruffled Nina’s hair. He and Kramer eyed each other with pure hatred in their eyes, the way they first had back at the hotel — amplified ten times. Boone licked his lips once then jumped forward for what Nina knew would be the final fight.
The wolves went right for each other’s throats, then rolled, kicking up a dust cloud that quickly settled over Tamara’s body. Nina stared. Was Tamara really dead?
Boone drove Kramer left, and the ruby glinted from the right. Nina had been about to run for the Jeep when she spotted it.
Get it, some instinct told her.
She stopped cold.
It’s important.
She pictured Tamara, clutching her hand and screaming. No way. That gem was evil. Cursed.
But then she remembered Lewis’s note. The jewel of my heart…
Lewis had mentioned love, laughter, and joy. He hadn’t mentioned evil or some kind of curse.
A shadow moved on the far side of the lawn, and Nina saw a gray wolf slinking up, its eyes fixed on the jewel as it sidled around the raging fight between Boone and Kramer.
Get it before the enemy does. Quick! Every nerve in Nina’s body sent the same signal.
Nina grabbed the jack handle and ran for the ruby at the same time the wolf did. Okay, so she was crazy. But there was no way she was going to cower in a corner while Boone fought her fight.
The gray wolf’s jaws closed over the silver chain just as she grabbed the ruby, and for one wild moment, Nina found herself in a tug-of-war with a snarling, two-hundred-pound beast. Then something gave, and she tumbled backward. She clenched her hand at the same time, and the hard edge of a gem bit into her hand. Yes! She had it.
She landed on her back and looked up just in time to see the wolf spit the chain out and jump at her.
“No!” Nina cried, swinging the jack handle to smack the wolf’s muzzle. The beast yelped and rolled to the side then came at her again — and again and again until the jack handle flew out of her hand. The wolf loomed, three steps away, and her heart stood still. This was it. She was about to die.
When the gray wolf growled and launched itself at her, time stretched and slowed. There was the wolf, flying at her with wide-open jaws. The ruby biting her hand, warming her one last time. The roar echoing in her ears until they rang.
A second roar joined the first, and Nina vaguely wondered if a second beast was vying to finish her off. Then a black, white, and orange blur streaked into view, knocking the wolf aside.
A long, whiplike tail smacked Nina’s cheek, and she fell. She stared as the tiger wrestled the gray wolf to the ground. Cruz. That was Cruz.
She closed her eyes as the tiger went for the kill, and when she opened them again, Cruz stumbled away from the wolf’s body and padded over to her.
Nina gulped as the tiger circled her, pushing against her knees. Half purring, half growling, it drove her away from Boone’s fight.
“You have to help Boone,” she cried, pushing back.
The tiger refused to relent, driving her farther away. A huge brown shadow moved in front of her, and she looked up to see a grizzly joining the tiger, forming a living wall in front of her.
Nina looked around. Lumpy shapes lay scattered across the lawn — the bodies of the mercenary wolves. Tamara lay dead, as did Mike and the pilot. The only movement came from the two mighty wolves locked in the battle of their lives.
“Help him!” she cried, shoving at Cruz and Hunter. Her left hand landed in coarse fur — Hunter’s thick pelt — and her right on the silky expanse of Cruz’s striped back. “Help him!”
Cruz grumbled under his breath, but neither of them moved.
Nina thumped their backs again, to no avail. Apparently, Boone and his buddies had some kind of honor code when it came to fights. But Kramer hadn’t hesitated to call on backup. Why would they?
The bear chuffed, which Nina took to mean, He can do it.
She stared at Boone. Could he? Would he?
Kramer rose to his hind feet for another attack. Boone rolled, coiled, and sprang for his foe’s throat. They knocked into each other then crashed to the ground, snarling murderously.
She winced, about to cover her ears, but the snarling faded slowly. The wild rolling slowed, too, though the wolves didn’t break apart. They held on to the bitter death. A crimson shadow stained the earth, slowly soaking into the dirt. Nina found herself clutching Hunter’s thick fur, holding her breath. One of the wolves shuddered and went still. The other held on, its eyes glowing with determination.
Nina’s heart pounded as she stared at the deep blue of those eyes, and her overwhelmed mind slowly worked the information into place.
Blue eyes. Boone. Boone was alive!
He released the enemy’s dead body, wobbled to his feet, and looked straight at Nina. A moment before, Boone’s eyes had shown pure fury, but now, they filled with fear. Nina stepped forward, and this time, Cruz and Hunter let her go. But why did Boone look so worried? He’d won the battle.
She stopped in her tracks when the realization hit her. Boone was worried about what her reaction might be. She took a deep breath. Okay, Boone was a wolf. Could she deal with that?
Yes, she decided. Yes, she could. Boone was Boone, right?
He swayed, exhausted, and when he crumpled to the ground, Nina rushed forward and kneeled over him with a cry. “Boone. Please, Boone. Are you okay?”
His blue eyes found hers and shone as if to say, I’m okay. Are you okay?
She buried her face in his fur — yes, his fur — and smoothed her hands over his sides. “I’m okay. Confused, but okay.”
Boone made a snorting sound.
Yes, confused was the understatement of the year, but he could explain things to her later — she hoped. Nina popped up suddenly, looking at the others. Cruz was licking his wounds with a frighteningly long tongue, while Hunter sat on his haunches, sniffing the air.
“You guys can change back, right?” she asked, suddenly unsure.
Hunter let out a low rumble that sounded a hell of a lot like a chuckle and swung his head up and down.
Nina fell back over Boone and held him again. She smoothed her fingers over his muzzle and slowly kissed his ear. “Don’t get me wrong. I like wolves. I mean, I love wolves.” She was blabbering now, but what the heck. “I mean, I love you. I love you, Boone. Man or wolf. But honestly, I’d like to get the man back at some point.”
The wolf raised his head off the ground to gaze into her eyes, and she grinned. “The better to kiss you. Touch you. Hug you. All that.”
Boone’s lips slid into a canine grin, and she buried her face against his fur. The sun seemed brighter than ever, the world peaceful if only for this one fleeting moment. The ruby warmed her pocket, posing questions she refused to face at that moment, because all that mattered was Boone.
“Boone,” she whispered again and again, gently stroking his fur.