Page 9

Did I dare?

I debated with myself for an hour, the internal argument spinning in circles. My civilized brain told me to stay behind the unlocked door, to remain in the safety of the perimeter he’d defined.

I hadn't been raised to sit still.

I reached for the heavy brass doorknob. My hand trembled. I yanked it back as if the metal were white-hot. But I was not a scaredy-cat. I grabbed the handle again, twisted, and yanked the door open with my eyes squeezed shut. I half-expected a set of jaws to close around my neck.

Nothing happened.

I heard the high, sweet trill of a songbird. The rhythmic thrum of crickets in the tall grass. The scent of pine and expensive mulch. I opened one eye, then the next. The world was still there. No wolves. No blood. Just a sprawling, manicured wilderness that felt like a vacation I hadn't taken time off for.

I took a tentative step onto the porch. The wood was warm under my toes. Still no growling. I took another step, then another, descending the stairs until my toes hit the grass.

Was Magnus even here? Or had the business of crime finally caught up with him? I doubted it. A man like that didn't just disappear; he was a mountain. You didn't move a mountain; you climbed it, or you were crushed by it.

I wandered further into the garden, my eyes darting toward the tree line. I was looking for the golden eyes, the shadows that moved too fast to be human. The woods remained still. I let out a breath, feeling a strange, jagged sense of freedom.

"Hi!"

I screamed; an ungraceful sound that tore through the quiet, and nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun around, my heart hammering against my ribs so hard it hurt.

Standing near a massive rhododendron bush was a boy. Or rather, a young man. He looked like a softer, younger, less-ruined version of Magnus. He had the same dark hair, but his eyes were bright and curious rather than cold and calculating. He was wearing a casual sweater.

"Are you my brother's secret lover? Because if you are, you're way prettier than any girl he could pull."

So many things hit my head. Brother. Lover. Pretty.

"Actually, I don't know what kind of girl he can pull. Magnus doesn't date much. At least not out in the open."

"That's enough, Ivar."

I had been enjoying Ivar's chatty voice and the information he was divulging. The second voice sounded like it was Mount Everest. Cold. Deadly. Unforgiving. The mountain range moved closer, dark gaze narrowed on me as if he would crush me if I took a wrong move.

This man looked like Magnus would in two decades. Which to say was still devastatingly attractive. "This isn't Magnus's friend."

The way he said it made me want to be sad. Why should I feel sad about not being Magnus' friend? Couldn't be because Magnus Blackwood, even though he'd technically kidnapped me, had taken better care of me than any partner had in years.

"This is Addie's friend, Nell. Is that right?"

"Yes, sir." I have no idea why I called Mr. Everest — I mean Mr. Blackwood, sir. It just felt appropriate.

What I knew about wolves I'd learned from Twilight. There was an alpha right. It was usually the father. This was Magnus's Carlos. Or wait? Wouldn't that be Billy Black? But Mr. Black wasn't an alpha. Alpha Blackwood's smile wasn't the patronly sort from one played by the actor in the film. His hand around his young son's shoulder was one of protection. He looked at me as if I could be a threat. A threat he smiled at. That felt even more dangerous.

"Any friend of Addie's is a friend of mine." Ivar came closer, reminding me of a puppy with a wagging tail, eager to make a new friend.

Alpha Blackwood let him, but he kept that unfriendly smile focused on me. I felt as if I was walking into a trap. But at least I wasn't in the cabin any longer.

"We should let Nell get some rest, Ivar. She was there at the park the other day with your brothers. She's had a shock."

"Oh," Ivar's face became compassionate. "You just found out there are werewolves. You look like you're holding up okay. I think most of my human friends would piss their pants — especially the jocks who play Call of Duty."

"Any guy who sits on a couch playing with a video game gun would piss their pants in a crisis," I said.

Ivar threw back his head and laughed at that. I caught a slight glint of approval in Alpha Blackwood's eyes.

"Well, Addie's a wolf, so I figure you can't all be bad."

Ivar wrinkled his nose. "You haven't met my brother Gunnar, or you wouldn't say that. Wanna come to the house? Ma's baking ginger cookies."