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He slowly turned his head toward her. His gold irises were enormous. They were no longer the eyes she knew. They were different.
Wolfish.
“Caroline, find a door that locks. Take him with you, and no matter what you hear, donotcome out. I will find you when it’s safe.”
“What the hell? Why? What’s happening?” Her skin itched at the command in his voice. She’d never seen Ryland like this.
He slowly turned toward the opened door, and Caroline gasped.
Four large lynxes were gathered on the front lawn, ready to pounce. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t know much about the Italian landscape, but surely, these four large wild animals were an unusual sight.
But a quick glance at Salvatore and Ryland told her she was wrong.
Neither man was too surprised by the sight. Salvatore was terrified, and Ryland’s nostrils flared wildly.
“Do as I say, love.” Though his words were soft, the tone was cold and devoid of all emotion.
“What are you gonna do? Wrestle four big cats?” she snorted. “We can just close the door and call animal control.”
“I’ll explain everything later,” he said. “For now, you have to go.”
“I am not going anywhere.”
“Fine,” Ryland snapped. “But don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.”
Right there, in front of her, Ryland began to change.
His skin sprouted fur, his face shrunk and elongated all at once until his handsome face was gone and replaced by that of a wolf.
Ryland Wolverton was now a massive white wolf.
TWENTY-FOUR
RYLAND
Ryland was pissed.
This wasn’t how he intended to tell Caroline that he was a shifter. Hell, he didn’t even know if he wanted to tell her.
But the appearance of four lynxes was enough to force his paw.
He shifted into his wolf and stalked toward the door.
“What the fuck just happened?” Caroline cried.
Ryland didn’t turn back, but he continued to stalk. His claws tapped against the wooden porch as he paced its length. The four lynxes didn’t budge.
They were assessing him too.
Not only was Ryland outnumbered, but he had the disadvantage of not knowing who he was fighting and why. He sat back on his haunches and stared them down. Maybe he could try to intimidate them with a withering and threatening look.
No such luck.
The largest of the lynxes, with a missing chunk from his ear and an old scar down the side of his face, nudged his head in one direction, then the other. Two of the lynxes began to move, effectively trapping him at the foot of the stairs. Every instinct was telling him that he had to return to the house to keep Caroline safe.
He couldn’t. Facing the lynxes was the only way to guarantee her safety. Ryland stepped down the porch and growled low before howling high.
The maimed lynx pounced.
