Gabriella smiled happily up at the ceiling, still relishing in the feeling of Cameron inside her as she lay on the bed. It was the first time she had felt safe in a long while, and she wanted the feeling to last forever.

He really will protect me, she thought happily. He cares about me even after our rocky start. Maybe there is an out to this hell after all.

“I said no!”

She heard Cameron’s voice rise angrily from the living room, and the sense of security she had felt disappeared. She wondered what was happening and quickly located her clothes. Gabby slid toward the half-closed door of the bedroom, listening to the voices.

“You have some explaining to do, boss,” someone said.

The voice was vaguely familiar, but Gabriella could not place it. Cautiously, she peered into the hall. Her heart caught in her throat as she recognized Deputy Brewer standing in the living room, but he was not alone. Her attorney was also there, as well as four other men she did not recognize.

“What did you just say to me?” Cameron snarled, suddenly coming into view as he advanced on the older man. “I do not need to explain myself to you.”

The tension was palpable, and Gabriella knew she needed to hide, but she couldn’t bring herself to move, watching the scene with fear.

How much trouble will he be in if I am discovered here? she wondered. Did Cory tell the police department how Cameron helped me? Isn’t that a violation of attorney-client privilege?

“Where is she, Cameron?” Brewer asked softly. “She shouldn’t be here.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cameron snapped quickly.

She watched as her lover glanced at the lawyer. Cory shifted his gaze downward.

“We know she is here, Cameron,” Cory said flatly. “I brought her here, remember?”

“Just leave her,” Cameron snarled. “She’s not harming any of us by being here.”

“What the hell has gotten into you? How could you be so reckless?” one of the strangers demanded, beginning to pace the small room.

“If this is such a problem, why didn’t you just take care of her this afternoon?” Cameron whirled and glared at Cory. “You had the chance to do it.”

Cory laughed mirthlessly. “You know exactly why I didn’t touch her.”

A feeling of dread swept over Gabby as she began to understand what they were discussing—killing her.

“Because I am still in charge around here,” Cameron said firmly. “Now get the hell out of my apartment. If anyone touches that girl, I don’t need to tell you what will happen.”

The men began to shake their heads, and Gabriella drew back, her heart thudding.

“No, Cameron,” Brewer replied. “This is not something you can simply ask us to dismiss. You have endangered all of us with your recklessness. Jesus Christ, you have always been the voice of reason! That is why you lead. But I think we all agree that you’re slipping if you can kill and cause so much publicity to chase a skirt.”

There was a low, menacing laugh that sent chills through Gabriella as she looked about the small room for a means of escape.

“What are you going to do about it, Brewer? Cory? Bram?”

There was silence. Gabriella’s blood ran cold as a familiar but hideous sound filled the space. Unable to stop herself, she returned to the doorway and watched as the men drew into a circle around Cameron, a feral growl emitting from their collective throats. They sounded like the creature in her apartment, the one who had killed Andrew Bell.

“You can’t lead if you can’t think clearly,” Cory told him conversationally, but Gabriella could see his grey eyes take on a yellowish tint, his chest beginning to heave in anger. The half dozen men seemed to grow larger, and Gabriella could no longer see Cameron in their midst.

What are they doing? She screamed silently, watching in horror as they enclosed upon the sheriff.

“No!” Gabby shouted. “Stop!”

Instantly, they spun, their faces an identical mask of anger.

“Kill her,” Brewer spat, and before Gabriella could react, they had started to advance upon her, fangs enlarging.

“Oh, my God,” she gasped. “You… It’s true. You’re—”

A white blur jumped between her and the pack of men, who were turning into animals.

It was the wolf who had saved her life.

He threw his huge head back and released a howl filled with rage, rising onto its hind legs. One of the men cowered, his fangs retracting at the sight of the furious dire wolf. He turned to look behind him, but he had no chance to change his mind. The white wolf’s enormous paw reached out, swatting the man through the air and into the far wall where he collapsed, whimpering as he cowered, but the beast was not finished. He spun to administer three more furious smacks at the others, sending them into various stages of consciousness, finally turning to Cory and Brewer, who held their ground, challenging him with yellow eyes. They had fully transformed into wolves now; Cory a dark brown, mangy looking creature, and Brewer, a wide-shouldered grey wolf.

They were not speaking, but in the depth of her panic, Gabriella could sense them communicating with one another, the white wolf standing protectively between her and the others.

The white wolf. The white wolf is Cameron, she realized from somewhere sane in her mind. Cameron killed Andrew Bell. He knew it all along and he still arrested me. He is a werewolf. What kind of hellish nightmare am I living right now?

The three animals stood, glaring at one another. Cameron unleashed another violent howl. Like a whirl of light, he pounced, knocking both his companions down in a single bound. It was impossible to see which paws were whose as they fell into a mass of hissing and spitting fur, the noises erupting from the trio that could only be described as otherworldly.

I have to run, Gabby thought, but she was frozen in place. She was having déjà vu of being in her house, watching Andrew Bell being devoured. There was nowhere to go anyway; the pack blocked the only exit, and she dared not run past them.

In a daze, she watched the flurry of activity, the four men slinking in the corners of the apartment, waiting to see who would survive the fight.

At once, Cory slunk back, his face a slash. He lowered his body in submission, his head down, but Brewer was relentless. Over and over, he and Cameron were a bundle of multi-colored hair, splashes of plasma flying about to paint the walls until one figure was unmoving. His form became human again and Gabriella exhaled. She had not noticed she had been holding her breath, but tears of relief sprang to her eyes as she realized that Cameron had won the battle.

The white wolf became the sheriff once again, and he stared at the group, his chest heaving wildly as he caught his breath.

“Anyone else?” he snarled, flashing his teeth to the group.

The looks of contrition were tangible as the men backed away from the irate pack leader. All but Brewer, who lay dead on the floor.

“I am not your leader by democracy,” Cameron spat. “I am your leader because I am stronger, faster, and more cunning. You would do well to remember that before you all end up like Jasper.”

There was a collective whimper.

“You will leave the girl alone,” he told them fiercely. “She is under my protection. Am I clear?”

A murmur of agreement sounded through the apartment.

“Clean this mess up,” Cameron ordered, spinning away from the group as they sprang into action to oblige. His eyes had lost their amber tinge, and he stared at Gabriella, whose mouth was parted in shock.

“Gabriella…”

She did not allow for him to finish, pushing past him, fleeing the man she had trusted to help her. Cory reached out to stop her, but Cameron’s voice rang out.

“Let her go,” he ordered.

“Cam, if she goes to anyone—”

“I said, let her go.”

Cory drew back, staring warningly after her, but Gabby did not heed his expression.

Her only concern was getting as far away from Montana as she could.

Deep night had fallen upon Great Falls, and Gabriella was no further from the sleepy town than she had been when she had fled Cameron’s apartment hours before.

How the hell am I going to get out of here?

In her haste to leave, she had left behind her purse. She had no phone, no money, and no car.

I have to go back to the apartment and get what I can before I go anywhere.

But Gabby knew there was another reason she had not headed right for the highway to hitchhike her way out of town: Cameron.

The consternation that wracked her body was making it difficult to breathe.

He saved my life—twice, she thought. But he’s not who I thought he was and he arrested me for a murder he knew I had nothing to do with.

She wondered why he had put himself at risk with the others to save her, but she remembered what Cory Seaver had said at Chappy’s Grill.

“Then the only other option is that the creature has feelings for you. There’s no other reason he should have kept you alive.”

Knowing that Cory had known the truth all along only caused her more confusion, and Gabriella did not know which way to turn.

There is literally no one to trust anymore. Anyone from New York could want me dead. This town is filled with superhuman beasts who are worried I will out them. Cameron is the only one who has proven himself to be out for my best interests, and yet he was the one who placed the cuffs on me directly.

She reminded herself that he had also risked everything to keep her safe and get her released from jail. Sighing, Gabriella rose from her spot on the park bench where she had been sitting for over an hour. After what she had seen, she was sure that the wolves would not come after her, not when Cameron had overtly threatened them, but she could not shake the intense feeling of terror that seized her.

Being with Cameron is the only time I have felt safe in months.

One way or another, she knew she had to return to his apartment.

I’ll sneak in, get my stuff, and get the hell out of here.

Slowly, she shuffled out of Gibson Park, keeping her head low lest anyone recognize her. She was only a few blocks from Cameron’s home. Stealing through the shadows, she made her way back, her pulse quickening with each step she took. Climbing the stairs to the second story residence, she tried the handle, hoping it wasn’t locked. To her relief, it opened in her hand.

They will be back if they aren’t already here, she thought, listening for signs of life inside the apartment. She heard nothing as she eased the door open. Quickly, she made her way inside, her eyes glancing about in the dark while she searched for her purse and burner cell.

Jasper Brewer’s body had been removed, and all evidence of the bloodshed that had occurred earlier was gone.

I wonder how many times they have had to cover their tracks in this sort of situation. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

As she rounded the corner to the bedroom, she froze. Cameron sat on the bed, staring at her, his dark blue eyes piercing through the darkness.

“I just came for my stuff,” she whispered. “I’m leaving.”

She remained still, waiting for his approval, recalling the ease with which he had torn into the flesh of Andrew Bell and Jasper Brewer.

“I know,” he told her. “That’s why I left the door open.”

Gulping again, Gabby hurried toward the bedroom, looking about for her purse. Cameron held up a hand, revealing her bag. Reluctantly, she drew toward him, snatching it from him and then backing away.

“I put everything I took from your safe in there,” Cameron said without emotion.

Gabriella nodded, not trusting her voice. She held his gaze, wanting to say so much but unable to speak.

“I know you’re confused—scared, even,” Cameron muttered. “I don’t blame you for running away.”

“I am not running away! I am running for my life!” Gabriella snapped hotly. “Don’t make it sound like I am a little girl afraid of commitment!”

“You have nothing to fear if you stay,” Cameron told her gently, rising from the bed. “You are under my protection. I won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

Gabby shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.

“What are you?” she blurted out. “Are you a werewolf? Really a werewolf?”

Cameron gave her a wry smile. “That is one name for it, yes,” he agreed. “I am a Lycan.”

“How? How can this be a real thing?” His eyes seemed to darken.

“There are many theories about how we came to be. I was born in this skin; my father was one, as well as his father. We believe it is genetic, of course, but how it started, none of us are entirely certain.”

“It’s unbelievable,” Gabriella sighed. “If I hadn’t seen it…”

“That is how we have managed to survive for centuries. We don’t leave witnesses.”

A chill ran through her, but she stared at him steadily.

“Why did you arrest me when you knew I didn’t do it?” she demanded. “How could you have me locked up like that if you claim to care about me?”

Cameron’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t you see? I had to protect both of us. My pack was already suspicious about the way Andrew Bell died, and there was someone looking to kill you. Someone out there still wants you dead, Gabriella. The safest place for you was behind bars, where no one could get to you.”

It made perfect sense, and she was suddenly filled with a sense of relief so great, she almost cried. He has always tried to protect me, she realized, choking back a sob. She hurled herself into his arms, burying her face in his chest.

“I don’t know what to do!” she blubbered. “What should I do?”

Cameron reached up and stroked her dark tresses lovingly.

“You will stay here with me where you are safe,” he told her. “I will tell the district attorney to drop the charges because we have a new suspect: Jasper Brewer.”

“Where is his body?” Gabby asked tentatively, but Cameron shook his head.

“You don’t need to worry about anything. Brewer’s DNA will be at the scene and on Bell’s body when we demand a new autopsy. Our only concern now is getting to the bottom of who hired Andrew Bell.”

Gabriella looked at him, her eyes dark with sadness.

“I have caused you nothing but problems since the day I arrived here,” she told him mournfully. “Why do you want to continue protecting me?”

Cameron set her back and stared deeply into her eyes.

“Because you are meant to be with me.”