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“Amberleigh,” Gina managed, pressing her face into his chest, inhaling the sunshine and oranges scent of him—anything to make the odor of burning fur and flesh go away.

A movement had Gina jerking her head around. Would she ever be able to turn her back on anyone or anything again? The way the world was shaping up, she probably shouldn’t.

The others stood in the entryway—Isaac with his blessed gun, the remaining guests all wide-eyed and pale, Fanny with Jase’s arm around her. Everyone stared at the flaming werewolf, except Jase.

His gaze was on Gina and Teo, and he was no longer as nonchalant as he’d been outside. He was angry again, and she just didn’t care.

“Why did she change?” Teo asked.

“She was bitten,” Gina said. “On the ankle.”

“Guess she wasn’t nuts after all,” Derek murmured, and when everyone glanced at him he shrugged. “She said there was a werewolf in the kitchen.”

“No.” Fanny left the circle of her son’s arm. “They couldn’t get in.”

“Then how was she bitten?” Teo asked.

Fanny hurried to the kitchen, returning a minute later. “The wolfsbane is still there.”

Though Gina would have preferred to remain in the circle of Teo’s arms forever, she struggled to her feet, and he followed, steadying her when she swayed. She didn’t want to be in charge, but this was her place, her people, her guests. She didn’t have much choice.

“And Amberleigh is back to nuts,” Gina said. “Although an imaginary werewolf didn’t bite her ankle.” Or at least Gina hoped not.

“Maybe she was bitten when Ashleigh was,” Derek suggested.

“No,” Teo said. “The first time a werewolf shifts it happens within twenty-four hours of the initial bite.”

“How do you know?” Derek asked.

“Isaac … uh … called an expert.”

Several sets of eyes widened, but no one seemed overly concerned that there even was a werewolf expert, let alone that Isaac had called one.

Gina glanced at the furry bonfire still crackling merrily in the front hall. How quickly the bizarre became commonplace when one was confronted with it over and over again.

“This means the wolfsbane doesn’t work.” Gina was proud that her voice didn’t waver, even though her heart pounded so fast she was surprised she could talk at all.

“Maybe it does,” Isaac murmured. “Like Fanny said, one gun wasn’t going to keep all them wolves out, no matter how much I’d like to think it would.”

“But one of them had to—” Teo began, and then, “Shit. The Nahual is smoke.”

“So he could slip under the door?” Gina asked, and Teo shrugged. “Except … if he’s smoke, how could he bite Amberleigh?”

“Same way he bit Ashleigh and Mel.”

“Shit,” Gina said. “We gotta get out of here.”

Everyone turned toward the door, but Jase blocked their way. “We have a little problem with that.” His gaze met Gina’s over the crowd. “Can’t take the van.”

“Since when?”

“Since they used the tires for chew toys.”

A chill went over Gina. “Truck? Car? Motorcycle?”

“They were obviously teething.”

“Every vehicle we have is junk?”

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