Savage Betrayal: Savage, Book 2 (36 page)

Yes. Fascination. Good. Much better than the fear he’d sensed coursing through her as Cole threatened her.

He approached her slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. When he reached her side, he gently stroked her thigh with his massive head, unable to prevent the rough, happy grumble that leapt to his throat.

“Oh boy.”

Her soft whisper sent shivers down his spine. His tail curled in pleasure, waving back and forth. Her hand came to rest tentatively on his broad back, her fingers digging into his fur.

With a yip he turned. Gently he gathered her hand in his mouth, careful of his sharp teeth, and tugged her toward his home.

“Um, okay. Go with the big doggie. Got it.”

He rolled his eyes but did his best to ignore her words. The breathy, scared tone of voice matched her scent—frightened, wary and brave. Christopher felt pride in his mate. She followed his lead, barely sparing Cole a glance. It pleased him that she made no move to give his enemy aid.

Certain now she followed, Christopher let her hand go and stalked into the cold, wet night.

I’m following a wolf through the woods in rural Pennsylvania after it attacked a man who told me he was going to kill me, and somehow my inner warning signal is okay with that.

Lana pinched the fleshy part of her arm hard. “OW!”

The wolf stopped and looked at her curiously, its head tilted to the side.

“Nope, not dreaming.” Lana rubbed at her arm, hoping it wouldn’t bruise. She hadn’t meant to pinch quite
that
hard.

The wolf huffed and turned, heading off once more. Of the two strangers she’d met in the woods tonight, Lana considered the wolf far less dangerous, at least to her. The way the big wolf had acted after she’d hit the man on the head with that branch had been surreal, but not very frightening at all. The sense of safety she’d been heading toward had centered itself on the wolf, and she’d felt compelled to follow wherever he led.

The big wolf led her through the woods, his footfalls silent and sure. The few times she lost sight of the wolf he returned, tugging on her hand to lead her forward.

I hope wherever we’re going I can take my boots off. My feet are killing me.

“Are we there yet?”

Up ahead the wolf gave a strange chuffing cough.

“And I’m sure I’d understand that if I spoke fluent woof.”

The wolf stopped, staring at her again. “What?”

The wolf gave a shake of his head before moving forward once again.

“Yup, you’re male.”

Once again that proud head turned toward her. She could almost sense the question he wanted to ask.

“You haven’t once stopped for directions and you don’t make a lick of sense.”

Those golden eyes narrowed, almost as if…
Nah. Not possible.
Grammy had told her a long time ago that shapeshifters were a myth.
Although he could be someone’s familiar. That would explain how he seems to understand me.
But even familiars didn’t have the level of intelligence this wolf seemed to possess, unless he was under a compulsion spell of some kind.

And anyone who put a compulsion spell on someone else wasn’t someone she wanted to meet.

She felt the magical barriers before they passed through them, early enough that she stopped before going in. “Wait.”

The wolf, on the other side of the barrier, yipped impatiently.

“No way. I have no clue what’s on the other side. For all I know you actually work for tall, blond and dorky. You could be luring me into his evil lair.” Not that she actually believed that, but for some reason her instincts were telling her that crossing that border meant nothing would ever be the same again. She wasn’t certain yet if it was a good thing or a bad thing, since her insides were currently filled with butterflies doing a crazy, half-scared, half-excited mambo.

The wolf lowered his dark head, golden eyes closed. She could almost hear the pleas for patience.

Guess that answers that question.
A familiar, then. At least she knew for certain now she was dealing with someone magical. “Besides, judging from the look and feel, whoever’s on the other side is a wizard.” The wolf’s head snapped up. “Not sure I’m so eager to meet up with another one of those any time soon.” The wolf slowly shook his head. “Well, what would you do if you were in my—” she looked down at her feet, “—boots?”

The wolf snorted.

“Yes, I know, Pup in Boots, doggie drag, call it what you will. The question remains. Would you put your life into an unknown wizard’s hands?”

The image of the wolf blurred until a tall, wet,
naked
man stood in front of her.

“You already did.”

Lana blinked. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, other than a whimpered “Ugh.”

The man’s lips twitched. “Are you coming through or do you like getting rained on?”

Lana squeaked.

Hot, wet, naked male, with dark hair and golden eyes.
Golden
eyes.

The same eyes as the wolf who’d led her through the forest.

Sorry, Grammy, looks like you were wrong.

Savage Betrayal

Shelli Stevens

Someone wants her. And someone else wants her…dead.

Savage, Book 2

If life as a not-fully-human has taught Agent Grace Masterson anything, it’s that she’ll never again be anyone’s sitting duck. Whoever is deftly evading the traps around her remote sanctuary outside Seattle, she intends to shove his easily sensed self-confidence way,
way
up where the sun don’t shine.

When she comes face to face—and body to body—with Darrius Hilliard, relief and lingering guilt over past choices weaken her knees. Plus something bad.
Really
bad. A surprising, intense desire for her fellow agent.

Darrius knows what Grace needs, and it’s not the kid-glove treatment. If she’s ever to overcome her past trauma and return to full active duty status with the P.I.A, she needs a strong shoulder. Yet he’s shocked at how quickly he’s become physically and emotionally entwined with her.

Fighting their growing attraction to one another becomes secondary, though, when it becomes clear that someone not only isn’t thrilled at Grace’s return, they want her gone. Maybe even dead…

Warning: This book contains an alpha male who likes to take control, federal agents that can be a little primal, sex that’s steaming, lives at risks, and nearly orgasmic maple bars.

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They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Savage Betrayal

Copyright © 2012 by Shelli Stevens

ISBN: 978-1-61921-256-5

Edited by Tera Kleinfelter

Cover by Kanaxa

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: November 2012

www.samhainpublishing.com