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“No.” But maybe my tone was too harsh, too soaked with venom.
Was I mad about it? Maybe. But I wouldn’t readily admit that to her.
Besides, none of my feelings were sorted out. Where was my alpha when I needed a proper baseline?
“I’ll get you some water,” she offered while wandering into the cabin. “You seem like you need to cool off.”
Protestations built up behind my lips as she swept past me, her fingers drifting over my bicep and inspiring me to shake. A shudder like that in the middle of this heat? That was ridiculous. It was witchcraft, honestly, which seemed utterly stupid considering she was just a wolf.
Andonlya wolf.
Nothing more or less.
So, why does it feel like she’s bewitched me?
Henry cheered and hopped excitedly after he threw all the daggers. I clapped as he lunged across the lawn to retrieve them. He held them carefully, mimicking Charlotte’s stance as he approached me.
“Dad, did you see?”
I nodded. “I did, champ. You did a great job.”
“Maybe I can use these in battle someday.”
Jesus, my heart couldn’t have sunk any deeper if I had given it a never-ending well. “Oh, maybe, uh…” I shook my head and forced a laugh. “Maybe you can defend us from the Black Wolf that lives in the mountains, right?”
He shuddered. “That story scares me, Dad.”
“What story?” Charlotte asked when she reappeared. She handed us each a water bottle. “Are you telling him ghost stories?”
“Nah, it’s this old urban legend we’ve had around the farm since I was a kid,” I explained. “Something about a lone black wolf that lives in the forest and steals little kids at dusk.”
Henry whimpered. “Dad.”
“Sorry, kid,” I apologized. “I’m just teasing you. I won’t do it again.”
The sun rubbed elbows with the horizon, reminding me about the curfew. Charlotte knelt next to Henry while he lined up the daggers on the ground. As they spoke, my ears prickled with awareness, inspiring me to step toward the tree line. My nostrils flared and my muscles tensed as my hackles rose.
“Adam?” Charlotte sounded like she was sailing away from me, an ocean rising between us. “Adam, are you okay? Hey, you’re growling.”
She grabbed my shoulders and shook me out of my trance.
“Adam!”
Adrenaline flooded my system when the ranch’s sirens went off. Charlotte glanced at the tree line, her pupils blowing out to absorb the details of the branches. The light was fading fast. And there was an enemy in our midst.
“Take Henry into the cabin,” I demanded while shoving her toward the porch. My kid clutched one of the daggers, half-raised to defend himself. While it was a proud sight, it also demolished me in ways I couldn’t yet articulate. “Now, Lottie. Please.”
She growled. “I’m not weak and helpless.”
I took her face between my hands and forced her to look into my eyes. “I know, cherry. That’s why I want you to protect Henry.”
Whatever argument she might have had disappeared behind me as I fled toward the trees, ripping my clothes from my body and leaving a trail of them behind me. Vampires—that was the only explanation.
And that meant things were about to get messy.
Howls directed my attention until I shifted into my wolf form where I discovered Donovan and Lucius barking orders.
I’m coming!I shouted in our mind-link.Where are you?
