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Bill had spent all morning trying to ignore the inevitable—the Eislander bastard had a point. There was a way to enter her memories. A way to learn the truth without traipsing out to Elkton…
Though, he wouldn’t have long to weigh the ethics of such a method. Sonia had to be back by now, but she hadn’t called him. Putting Loren aside for a second, he tried her cell phone, but no one answered. To say her silence was bad news was a grievous understatement.
Either Sonia was in danger, or Lukka had tightened his leash. The bastard was planning something.
Bill groaned as the threats against him stacked up. His head ached. Would the visit from the Eislanders be capped by a direct assault from Lukka? Who the hell knew?
For the time being, he needed to focus on one dilemma.
Without letting himself overthink the act, Bill cleared a space on a table near the back of the room, fetched the file they had on Loren Connors, and prepared to read.
18
“Let’s do one more lap,” Micha insisted.
Loren groaned internally. He might as well have asked her to jump off a cliff for fun. They had been at it for hours, and he barely seemed winded, despite speaking almost constantly in addition to running.
“It’s good to get some exercise,” he chirped. “It can clear the head, you know. Put things into perspective. I used to run at least two hours every morning—”
To conserve her sanity, Loren tuned him out, though she couldn’t deny feeling some guilt for his sudden chattiness. It seemed to be his desperate attempt at preventing her from asking him anything else. Like about mates and how that particular connection was forged.
But she needed to know. The craving for information burned beneath her skin, growing into an almost painful ache that plagued her every waking second. Contrary to Micha’s insistence, running didn’t distract her any. Neither did his steady stream of conversation. She was almost grateful when Naomi’s sports car zoomed down the main road, and the blond stormed out, carrying a pink duffle bag slung over her shoulder.
“Who does he think he is?” she demanded as Micha and Loren approached. “Lie to your parents. Gather up some of your designer clothes to hand out to the paupers. Don’t ask any fucking questions, and certainly don’t waste time on preparing your college admission essays or community service projects. You know, the things that actually matter in my life? Though, hell, I guess I’m just lucky that school went on break this week, or he’d have me blow that off too just to squat in a house with a loser freak and wolf boy.”
Micha whistled through his teeth. “Bad day?” he asked without a hint of mocking in his voice. Either Naomi’s insults went right over his head, or he had way more patience for cruelty than Loren gave him credit for.
Naomi scoffed at him anyway. “Here—” she practically threw her duffle at Loren. “Make use of my charity. Though I suppose you’re used to it by now. Living off the kindness of others. Crawling around like a sniveling little worm afraid of its shadow. You know, he told me you’re lycan or whatever. I’m calling bullshit.”
“Naomi…” Micha’s voice suddenly dropped an octave, though Loren wasn’t sure what caused his sudden alarm. She didn’t smell any outsiders nearby. Just the cloying stench of Naomi’s perfume.
“Oh, what is she going to do?” the blond demanded with a harsh laugh.
Only then did Loren realize she’d impulsively taken a step toward her.
Not that Naomi seemed cowed one bit. “She can’t even change. As far as I’m concerned, she’s totally fucking useless!”
Micha sprung toward her, sensing something Loren didn’t. “Naomi, don’t!”
Ignoring him, the blond lunged. Loren felt a pair of manicured hands collide with her shoulders. She went sprawling, nearly losing her balance. Then everything went black.
Her next coherent observation was watching her own fingers lash at a beautiful, tanned cheek. Again. Again.
The scent of blood tinged the air, beautiful and vibrant. It drowned out the sickening perfume—but barely. She needed more.
“Loren, stop!”
She couldn’t. It was as if her body moved separately from her mind, wrestling on top of a squirming Naomi. The only action she consciously had control over was shouting. Screaming. The words echoed nonsensically, and only snippets actually registered.
“Kill you… I’ll kill you!”
“Enough!”
Suddenly, a force hooked around Loren’s waist, wrenching her back and off her feet entirely.Micha.He barely managed to insert himself between her and Naomi before the blond charged again.
Loren forgot her rage for a heartbeat, and genuine awe rendered her frozen. There was something undeniably beautiful about the way Naomi threw herself forward, and a golden wolf took her place.
It wasn’t an instantaneous transformation when viewed up close. More…violent. The muscles in Naomi’s slender jaw protruded and burst. Her green eyes widened while her body expanded three times its normal size, and her designer clothing shredded around the lupine form. Even so, it was a breathtaking thing to witness. So much so that Loren missed the moment Micha transformed as well.
