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“I’m so fucking crazy about you,” he growled, hauling her close and lowering his mouth to her throat. The sweet peppermint scent of her surrounded him, exploding on his tongue as he licked her throat and touched the mating marks with his tongue. She shivered with a soft moan, her arms wrapping around him as their bodies connected.
“I’m crazy about you, too. Head over heels, send-me-to-the-nuthouse crazy.”
He chuckled. “Let’s shift, sweetheart.”
They separated just enough so they didn’t bump into each other as they stripped, after she took off her engagement ring and put it in the front pocket of her jeans. Because he’d been there when she got dressed earlier, he knew she wasn’t wearing anything under her sweater and jeans. Her beautiful body was bared to him, the moon highlighting the curves he knew intimately.
“I love when you look at me like that,” she said huskily.
“How?” he asked as he draped his clothes over a chair next to hers.
“Like you could eat me up.”
He glanced toward the house. “I could.”
“Hold that thought until later.” She chuckled and touched his face, going up on her toes and kissing him. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, Dani.”
Hands clasped together, they walked out into the snowy backyard and shifted. He’d only ever seen wolves shift, so watching his beautiful mate turn into a reindeer captivated him. She was beautiful, with a pretty brownish-gray hide dotted with paler patches of white. Her nose looked like it had been dipped in white paint.
He stretched to warm up his muscles. Dani watched him intently, steam billowing from her nostrils. He shifted as soon as he was able to, his muscles burning as they normally did, but he wasn’t burdened by them anymore. He’d found acceptance with his mate. He’d stopped looking at his scars as a liability their first night together, when Dani had kissed them tenderly. He knew she didn’t see him as an injured male, and he had decided to stop looking at himself that way, too.
He pawed the ground as he stretched, his claws digging into the snow and cold earth as his tail snapped back and forth. He lifted his muzzle and scented the air, loving the way the night smelled on the full moon. Among the scents of trees, snow, and frozen ground was the sweet peppermint of his mate, which was his very favorite scent.
Dani nudged him gently with one horn, scratching his fur with the blunt tips. If he could have, he would’ve smiled as she hopped away suddenly, the snow fluffing up around her. He chased after her as she tore around the yard. She tried to hide behind a shrub, her head bowed and her haunches in the air, as if he wouldn’t be able to see her. He chuffed at her and she peeked around the shrub, her ears twitching and her eyes glimmering with happiness.
He flicked his tail at her and bounded off in the opposite direction. She gave chase, her long legs eating up the distance between them. He’d never been happier.
Suddenly Dani made a soft, pained sound and Adam spun and rushed to her side. She swayed, shaking her head and trying to remain upright. He could see a feather-tipped dart sticking out from her neck and he growled in alarm.
Something whizzed by him, and he felt a stinging pain as his skin was grazed. He looked to see a second feather-tipped dart embed in the side of the house. He spun with a growl toward the sound of feet hitting the ground. His vision swam and he heard Dani fall to the ground with a thud. Baring his teeth, he struggled to remain upright, but his paws began to tingle and paralysis swept quickly through him. He felt himself fall into the snow, and saw four figures racing through the yard to them. Inhaling deeply, he found the intruders to be humans and shifters, smelling of cigarettes and whiskey. Then his brain shut down and everything turned black.
CHAPTERTEN
Dani woke to tingling in her limbs and a metallic taste in her mouth. Her vision was blurry, but it sharpened as she blinked. She was still in her shifted form. A heavy collar sat around her neck; she could feel spikes digging into her throat, and knew it was meant to keep her from shifting back to human.
A man she didn’t recognize squatted down in front of her. The man had a thick scar along his cheek, and he reeked of cigarette smoke and booze. “The collar will hurt you if you try to shift. You seem like a smart girl, so you probably figured that out already.”
Another male voice said, “I can’t get her into the harness while she’s lying down.”
“I don’t think her legs are working right,” the scarred man said.
The other man grunted and then kicked her. She bellowed, her legs unable to move more than a few pathetic times because of whatever they had used to drug her.
“See?” the scarred man said.
They left her alone. She moved her head as much as she could to see her surroundings. She was in what looked to be a horse stall in a large barn. A wooden gate enclosed her stall, and through the slats she could see antlers moving around and heard curious noises. She tried to move, but her legs were still numb. Dropping her head to the straw-covered floor, she closed her eyes and thought about Adam. It had happened so fast. They’d been playing in the snow, and then something had hit her and she’d passed out. She didn’t know if Adam was okay or if he’d been hurt. Worry over her mate made her struggle to get to her feet, despite her wooziness and the painful sensation in her legs. Her head spun as she struggled to her knees and pushed herself up by leaning against the rough wooden wall.
Panting for breath, she shook her head and waited for the spots in her vision to clear. She tried to put all of her weight on her legs, but her knees buckled, so she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, willing her body to force whatever drugs she’d been given out. The sooner she was able to stand, the sooner she could figure out a way to escape. She might be stuck in her shift, but she sure as hell wasn’t sticking around.
* * *
Adam swam out from under the drugs by sheer force of will. His wolf had been snarling for what felt like hours, angry that they were paralyzed while their mate had been taken. As his vision returned and the paralysis left his body, he began to howl for help. He couldn’t move yet, but his voice worked, and he made as much noise as he could, hoping that his pack members would hear him and come help.
After an eternity of anxious waiting, he heard someone come into his house and race to the back, throwing open the door.
“Fuck, what happened? Where’s Dani?” Malachi demanded. He looked around, his eyes darting as he took in the scene. Wolves surrounded them, scenting the air and growling.
