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“It might have been a kidnapping. Or payback against your brother for this faulty shipment.”
“I was almost asleep.” She yawned.
“I thought you said this was a dream,” he pointed out.
“Payback?” she asked, her brain still foggy from sleep.
“Chase’s visit wasn’t planned?” Mal asked. “But this happened at your university?”
“Right.”
“Then they were there for you.” The razor-sharp edge in his voice jolted her awake. His hand slid beneath her shirt, pressing his palm against her back, as if he understood she needed comfort—that his touch would give her what she needed.
There for you. What did that mean? What would they have done to her?
Clearly these people were capable of horrible things. She felt her wrists, remembering the sting of the rope—the feel of the needle in her flesh.
When she’d first seen Mal, he’d been chained to the wall, beaten and bruised and so menacing she’d wanted to hide from him—if she’d been able to move. They’d done that to him. And yet, he’d rescued her.
“Why did you save me?” she asked, holding her breath.
“I almost didn’t,” he said.
She smiled. “But you did. With a knife in your shoulder. And no clothes. Not knowing a thing about me.”
He stayed silent.
“Mal?” she pushed.
“I had to,” he whispered.
Chapter Four
He bolted awake. Something was off. How long had he been asleep? Not long, surely.
It was cold. Damn cold, even for him.
A sound? Animal.
A predator. Big.
Screaming.
Mal sat up, his senses sharpening instantly.
He glanced at Olivia—Olivia. The place beside him was empty. She was gone. His heart stopped, the world grinding to a complete stop.
Fuck no.
Where was she? He jumped, scanning the site, ears reaching, nose seeking. A trough in the overnight snow. She’d been pulled away? Some blood—her blood—leading away, into the trees.
It was her screaming. He could hear her. Olivia. Goddammit.
The sound gave the wolf permission to take control. Mal welcomed the wolf, embracing the burn of stretching muscles and snap of rearranging bone. The wolf would find her, bring her back, and make sure whatever had her would regret taking her from him. He was running before the shift was complete, his claws still splitting through the new fur of his paws as he covered the ground.
The scent was animal. Not human.
Whatever had Olivia, it wasn’t the Others.
