Mark of the Wolf (8 page)

Then she stepped back into the living room,
and a scream lodged itself in her throat.

“
Hello, deary,” the man
said.

She opened her mouth, but then a hand went
around it. Someone grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream,
struggled, but she was already wounded and her head was throbbing.
She was still tender from her concussion.

She forced her eyes open and stared at the
man in her living room. The other one lifted her from behind and
carried her forward, his hands rough and hard on her ribcage. The
man she was facing was short and plump, with an oddly innocent look
about him, like a chubby dog. But there was a glint in his eyes and
made her wary. He licked his lips and grinned, and her eyes widened
in shock – were his eyes turning yellow? Was it a trick of the
light? When he smiled, his teeth drew down into sharp fangs. She
blinked – was she imagining it?

“
So good of you to join us,” the
second man said from behind her. She struggled slightly, but not
too much – she knew it was better to conserve her energy and wait
for the opportune moment. Men were strong, and there was no way she
could overpower them both.

“
So how should we do this?” the fat
man asked, licking a long tongue across his teeth. She shivered in
fear.

The man behind her laughed in a completely
humorless way. “However you want, Gordy,” he said evilly.

Maddy felt shivers down her spine. Suddenly
she wished that she hadn’t been so damned confident about visiting
her cabin. She should have asked Gareth to come with her – this was
a far worse scenario than running into her dad.

“
Wonderful, hold her still,” the fat
man, Gordy, said in a high pitched, excited voice. Maddy stiffened,
not sure of what to expect, whether they planned to rape her or
just kill her on the spot. But then the man took a step back, and
she frowned, confusion crossing her thoughts.

He took another step back, then suddenly fell
to his knees, landing in a strange crouch. It made no sense. Was he
bowing to her? Then she saw something impossible — something she
could have never imagined.

Hair sprouted all over his skin like a ripple of gray
across his body, and his clothes grew baggy and slumped. No, not
his clothes, he was shrinking! Her breath caught, and she stared in
horror as the man before her
changed
, his body twisting and warping, and she could
hear the sickening crunch of bones. She would have screamed at the
horrifying sight, but the one behind her kept a firm hand over her
mouth. His breath tickled her ear.

“
Just a few more moments, sweetheart,”
he murmured. “Then it’ll all be over….”

Somehow she wasn’t comforted.

Finally Gordy was done shrinking, or
changing, or whatever the hell had happened, and in place of the
chubby man stood a large, vicious wolf. She stared, unable to
believe her eyes, feeling like she might faint – perhaps she was
hallucinating all of this, dreaming. Had they slipped her a drug?
Hit her on the head? She couldn't think.

Then the beast shook itself clear of the
loose clothing and growled. A snarl twisted its lips up, displaying
a sharp row of razor fangs.

“
'Oh no, there was another animal
attack,'” the man behind her said, snickering at a mock-news voice.
“Sadly, only chunks of the body were found.”

With a snap of its jaws, the wolf leapt
forward, so fast that Maddy barely had time to blink. She couldn’t
move – only stare, stunned and shocked, as the beast sailed toward
her….

Wham!

Maddy flinched, closing her eyes, but nothing
hit her – instead, she looked and saw a body fly past, a large,
humanoid blur. The third person tackled the beast in mid-air and
threw it to the ground. She watched, still stunned, at the
whirlwind of movement that ensued, and then suddenly there were two
wolves before her, snarling and snapping at one another, each
displaying long fangs. The new wolf was bigger than the other one
and pitch black in color.

“
Oh my god, oh my god,” she whispered,
and put her hand over her mouth. It was only then that she realized
she was no longer being held. She looked around. The man who had
been holding her was now against the far wall, cowering down, a
look of hatred and fear mingled on his face. She didn’t know what
to think – she couldn’t move, couldn’t organize her body to run or
at least find cover. She just stood stupidly, staring at the two
wolves in her living room that were now circling each other,
hackles raised, and the tall, skinny man huddling in the corner.
“What the fuck?” she muttered.

The wolves jumped at each other. It was over
in the blink of an eye – the smaller gray one flew through the air,
letting out a ferocious growl, but the other wolf smoothly
sidestepped and dove for the neck, ripping with its teeth in one
sure stroke. There was a sharp yowl, a splatter of hot blood
against the ground, and a chunk of flesh hit the far wall, most
likely a chunk of throat. The stout gray beast collapsed on the
ground, wheezing helplessly, blood flowing all of the carpet.

Great, a dead animal in her house, and all she could think
of was that she was
not
cleaning it up.

The black wolf turned now on the skinny man,
and she saw him begin to shrink as well, transforming into a short,
hairy body. Maddy watched the second transformation in awe. Her
legs weakened and she found herself sinking slowly to the ground,
her back against the wall. Her head was pounding and her eyes were
glued open, staring at the impossible sight, hardly able to
breathe. It defied reality.

The black wolf lunged before the man had
finished his change, his skin only half covered in dull, tawny fur.
The black wolf didn’t hesitate or show any mercy – rather, he
grabbed the man by the throat and yanked him down to the ground,
blood spurting, a gargling scream ringing around the cabin. But the
wolf didn’t stop, and Maddy had to turn away or risk being sick;
the stench of blood and the sound of tearing flesh continued for
minutes afterward. She pulled her knees up to her face and buried
her head in them, trying to suppress the need to throw up. Her
shock was over and fear began to consume her – this beast had just
killed her two attackers. It was probably the same wolf that had
killed the men of last night. She was doubtlessly next in line.

The noises stopped after a few seconds, and
she held her breath, pushing her forehead harder against her knees.
She felt like praying, but then again, she doubted it would do any
good. She was too much of a coward to look up; she preferred not to
see her own death heading for her.

But more time passed, and nothing
happened.

The silence grew until finally she shifted,
glancing around the cabin. Her eyes widened once again.

“
Gareth?”

Naked?

One look at his broad, tan back, rippling
with muscle, and she turned her face away, cheeks flaming. She had
seen the top of his firm butt from where he was crouched on the
other side of the couch. She couldn’t get the damned vision out of
her head even though her eyes were closed. She had seen the tattoo
on his upper arms too, stretching along the top of his back, an
intricate design over his shoulders. Her fingers itched – she
wanted to trace the patterns.

“
You were late,” he said.

She bit her lip; thank god he was on time.
Her relief was immense. She had half expected him to leave, despite
his promises. Why should she expect anything more from a
stranger?

“
Uh… can I look now?” she said, still
blushing like mad.

“
If you want,” he murmured.

She peeked open an eye and glanced in his
direction, then clamped her eyes shut again. “Oh my god,
Gareth!”

He chuckled. It was the sexiest sound on
earth.

She couldn’t help it; she cracked a smile
too, thinking of the entire situation. Her destroyed cabin, her
missing stepfather, two dead half-wolf creatures in her living
room, and now her rescuer standing naked behind the couch. Not to
mention her throbbing head wound. All of a sudden the whole thing
seemed rather funny. A hysterical giggle fought its way up her
throat and escaped her lips, high-pitched to her own ears. She
giggled again. Then all of a sudden she started laughing, and she
couldn’t stop, couldn’t control it. She didn’t know if she was
about to cry or what.

“
Shh,” Gareth’s voice again. She could
feel his heat before he even knelt next to her, and she buried her
head against her knees, She couldn't look at him, even though she
wished he would come closer. His leg brushed hers, and she felt the
familiar roughness of jeans.

“
You’re okay,” he said quietly, his
hand going to her head, running through her hair and then gently
over the area where her bandage was. “Everything’s
fine.”

“
Everything is
not
fine!” she shrieked, startling herself
with her own voice. “There are two dead – dead –
things
in my living room,
and if my dad comes home and sees this… oh god, he’s going to kill
me.” He really would kill her, she knew it. “And you – you – what
the fuck?” Her eyes opened and she looked at him, a light going on
in her head. “Was that
you?
”

He was still shirtless, his tattoos
stretching down his muscular, broad shoulders, swirling over one
side, above his heart. She ignored it now and stared at him, his
jade-green eyes and black hair, which fell wild and free around his
face in loose waves. It had a slightly damp look, like he had just
ran very hard and was sweating. His face looked somehow strained.
Her gaze caught as she stared at his hair and suddenly she felt her
stomach clench, her belly squirm and her crotch grow warm. Her
nipples hardened. He looked incredible.

But there was blood all over him.

He didn’t answer her question, just continued
to watch her carefully, which was answer enough. Maddy’s eyes
widened and she scooted away, fear mingling with her inexplicable
arousal.

“
Oh my god… it was you! But how – what
– what were those
things?
What the hell? Wait, and then last night, with the wolf… oh
my god….”

He reached forward with one hand as though to
stroke her arm, but she flinched away, scooting even farther from
his grasp. “Stay away from me!” she shrieked.

His eyes darkened. She couldn’t tell what he
was feeling, only that it made her stomach twist. It was a
dangerous look, one that left her heart pounding and her lips dry.
Mmm lips. Suddenly she couldn’t stop looking at his. She couldn’t
tell what she wanted – her mind was screaming at her to run, but
her body was so turned on that she wasn’t even sure if she could
stand up. She felt weak and shivery all over.

“
W-what are you?” she
whispered.

“
Do you really want to know?” he asked
back, his voice dark and soft, a low growl in his throat. Maddy’s
eyes dropped down to the blood that painted his chest, then to the
floor behind the couch where the pool of blood had been growing
steadily larger. She knew there was a dead body behind that couch,
just out of sight – a body that was mutilated and ripped and still
warm. The thought made her stomach churn sickeningly.

Her body moved on its own accord. Panic
seized her and she leapt to her feet, throwing herself towards the
back door before she could look too closely at the rest of the
carnage. He moved faster, though. He hit the door just as she was
tugging it open, slamming it with his hand and leaning his weight
against it. She was between him and the wall now, her back to him,
his chest hovering right behind her – he was so tall that he was
leaning over her, his shoulders blocking out the light from the
window, his body heat intense. She could feel it burning against
her back. The hair rose on her neck.

“
Bad idea,” he said softly. Terror
ripped through her even as she grew wet between her
legs.

She tried to duck to one side, to get around
him and run to the other door, or make a leap for the window, or
maybe the kitchen where she could get a knife and… he caught her
arm before she had moved even a foot away, easily swinging her
around. His grip was rough, and she flinched again, expecting the
blow to land across her face, or in her stomach, or for him to grab
her hair next….

He released her.

She stumbled backwards, slipping in the blood
on the floor and catching herself against the couch. It took her a
moment to realize she was free, then she continued to stumble
towards the opposite door, walking backwards with her eyes wide,
holding the couch for balance. She stared at him. He prowled slowly
towards her, matching her step for step. He moved like a wild
animal, muscles rippling, face dangerous. He looked feral and
vicious and utterly masculine.

“
Don’t come near me,” she whispered
again, unable to make her voice work – it trembled in her
throat.

“
I won’t hurt you,” he
murmured.

“
Bullshit.” She kept inching back. She
could make out a limp hand out of the corner of her eye and focused
desperately on his face instead. His intense green eyes made her
shiver. She licked her lips nervously. “What the hell were those
people, and what the hell are you?”