Page 79 of A Wolf for Winter

She smacked her lips, turned on her heel, and whisked herself out the back door, slamming it behind her.

When she was gone, Allen thrust Talia into the vacated cellar suite. The practitioner caught herself on the bedpost before she could collapse, wheezing for breath. Allen had not once let go of her throat. Shoving herself upright, she whirled around, furious tears tracking down her cheeks.

“You’ve ruined everything!” she shouted at him.

“And I’ll ruin one more thing before the night is through,” he snarled at her.

“I thought you were different, Allen.”

“And I told you, nice isn’t a compliment I normally hear. And this is the reason. You must’ve known what I’d do to you when that poison wore off. How I’d never forgive you for hurting them.”

“I wasn’t going to hurt them! Boar was going to be my lover—”

“Gross,” Boar gagged.

“And Lilac was going to be my friend.”

“I already was your friend,” Lilac snapped.

Talia shook her head, and tears darkened the stone floor at her feet. “Not like you’re Edith’s friend.”

“And Rose?” Allen prompted. “What of her?”

The practitioner hesitated.

His eyes narrowed, then he whipped around, realizing for the first time that there were only two Hawthornes with him. “Where is Rose?” he thundered. “Talia!”

“There’s always a price for happiness,” she whispered miserably.

“Oh my Green Mother,” Lilac whispered, hands flying to her mouth.

“I’ll run a Scouting Spell,” Boar said, shutting his eyes. “We’ll find her and—”

“Don’t go,” Talia whined. “He’s too powerful. You’ll die if you go. I was saving you!” she shouted.

“Oh Talia,” Allen said, disgust and pity lacing every syllable. “You weren’t saving Boar and Rose. You were rendering them lambs to be slaughtered later at his leisure. Now tell me where Rose is.”

When she only blubbered, Allen took one menacing step forward, filling the doorway.

“He’s a werewolf!” Talia shrieked, stabbing at him with a finger. “A shifter! He’s been lying to you this whole time.”

Allen tensed, truly considering violence now that she had betrayed his secret. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lilac cast a fearful glance at Boar, who had snapped out of his Scouting Spell trance. Her brother merely crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes.

“By the Green Mother,” he groaned, “she’ll say anything to keep us apart, won’t she, pumpkin?”

Staring at Talia, Allen’s smile was positively savage as he removed his wolf mask. “Guess I should be thankful you dosed him.” His suit jacket and belt followed next with calm, efficient movements. Then he started unbuttoning his shirt sleeves.

Talia shrank back, shaking. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“I’m not going to shred these fine clothes when I let the wolf out,” he told her conversationally. “Now, you can either tell me where Rose and your colleague are, or you can tell him. Despite his acute hearing, I am the better listener.” He glanced down at his shirt—halfway unbuttoned—and his pants. “You have approximately thirty seconds to decide.”

Talia fainted. Her body hit the edge of the bed and bounced off the mattress, sloughing her right onto the floor.

Lilac wormed into the doorway beside him. “Are you kidding me?”

Allen’s ears confirmed the heartbeat and respiratory rate of someone in a dreamless sleep, so he stepped back and pulled Lilac along with him, shutting the door.

Lilac tried to apply the magic lock and failed with a grimace. So she had been the one to sacrifice her magic and save all those townsfolk from the sleet of shattered glass ornaments. Allen had assumed it was Boar, what with his need to be important, but of course he should’ve known better. His woman was committed to shedding her old reputation and showing the world her true colors.