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   Something was different tonight, though. It wasn't anything obvious, more a feeling of disturbance. All the regular sounds of nightlife were there, the scuttlings of tiny creatures in the undergrowth, the hiss of air flowing under the wings of a swooping owl and, over everything, the breeze. He paused, his nose raised to scent the wind, and waited while his mind sorted through the different sensations.

   Humans. They were close or, at least, they had been. The wind brought details to him; of where they'd been, what they'd been doing. He could sense their trails, fading now, but still bright enough to be clear. There was something wrong too.. Overriding it all had been the acrid orange stench of triumph, of adrenaline-laced sweat.

   Cold wind ruffling under his fur brought his mind sharply back to the present and he padded a few paces into the lee of a clump of bushes, thinking furiously. Two men, both reeking of beer and sweat, and a woman. Fear radiated from the woman, saturating her too-familiar scent.

   And pain. Always pain. The fear came and went, almost like she was only there part of the time. Odd. Ears pricked, he strained for any further information. A short lull in the wind had reduced the amount of information flowing towards him right when he desperately wanted every smallest detail.

   A fresh gust carried the information that the men were gone, leaving the woman behind. In the forest? At least three miles from the nearest habitation? He shook his head roughly, certain he was wrong. It was too long since he'd changed regularly, practicing the skills that should have come naturally. There was no way that Gina was out here by herself.
There was
absolutely nothing wrong.

   He hesitated, then, ignoring his own admonitions, turned tail and ran. Nate streaked through the forest, for once heedless of the joy he found in his wolf shape and the way his muscles responded so effortlessly to his commands as he slewed around the occasional boulder, galloping headlong up the rise.

   Within minutes his heart was pounding; not from the exertion, but from sheer fear. He could no longer fool himself. It was Gina—not just his over-fevered imagination—and she was in trouble. He could hear her heart rate fading with every beat, could almost feel her labored breathing.

   For a second he paused, lifted his head and howled into the wind. If he was lucky, one of his family would be close enough to hear, but with the wind whipping his voice away from him… He repeated the call, relief flooding over him as he heard a faint, answering echo. Another ware had heard, and the cry would be passed from wolf to wolf until Sebastian knew of his need.

   Nate raced onwards, leaping logs and streams, for once grateful for the fact he was both wolf and man. He glanced up at the stars that flashed between the foliage, laughing sardonically at himself even as he sent a vow whizzing upwards to whichever deity had decided to entangle his life so thoroughly with Gina's. Whatever it took, he'd do. Obviously, they were meant to be together and apparently he wasn't going to get any choice in the matter. If this kind of heartslamming fear was what he was going to feel every time she was in danger, how was he ever going to let her get far enough away from him to even cross the road by herself? He'd do whatever it took to save her.

   Soulmate. It was a word he wasn't keen on, something his mother had told stories about when he and Sebastian were young. He hadn't really believed

Gina's head throbbed. Actually, most of her ached, but her head was the worst. Every time she tried to lift her head, to straighten her awkwardly bent neck, bolts of pain stabbed through her skull. At first she'd wondered about the strangled cry that had echoed nauseatingly around her every time she attempted to move but gradually she figured it out. The animallike whimpering was coming from herself.

   After the third attempt to move, she gave up. It hurt too much.

   Time passed slowly, fingers of cold gradually creeping under every last fold of her flimsy nightgown. She shivered, the uncontrollable movement sending new flares of pain into her head. And through it all, Gina drifted, only half aware that she was alone in the Oldham Forest. It could almost have been a dream if she weren't so cold.

   As the minutes passed—or was it hours— consciousness crawled back. God, she was cold. There were pins and needles where her toes should have been. Slippers, she realised vaguely. She was sure she'd been wearing slippers.

   Outside?

   She slumped back against whatever it was that was holding her upright, wishing she could just lie down for a while. Warm covers would be nice, too. Maybe even a feather pillow, a luxury she hadn't indulged in for years.

   Her eyes flicked open as a cramp started to swell in her shoulder. Impatient with herself—how hard could it be to lie down and stretch out, anyway—she twisted, trying to untwist the knot that was sending fresh pains up her neck to throb and echo around her head. What she wouldn't give for some Tylenol.

   Damn it! Why wouldn't her arms move? She yanked irritably at whatever they were caught on, only to gasp in agony as the soft skin on her wrists shredded. There was something rough and unyielding behind her and, whatever it was, she couldn't move away from it.

   When she concentrated, she could feel something digging into her chest and stomach, too. At least her skin hadn't been rubbed raw there, but still… A rope, maybe? The idea filtered its way through her jumbled thoughts. It didn't make sense.

   Gina relaxed back, her eyes still closed, and tried to make her sluggish brain work properly. It was getting harder to breathe. The air was so cold that every breath felt like she was gasping in a lungful of tiny, sharp icicles.

   She tried inhaling deeply, only to find herself coughing wildly. Shallow panting was more comfortable, but then she felt like she was hyperventilating. She couldn't win.

   Suddenly, she realized what had been nagging at her for the past few minutes. Every breath was sweet, redolent with damp pine needles and rich, dark soil. There was no way her little back yard had ever smelt like that.

   But it was getting harder to breathe, and her heart was thumping in her chest, every beat noticeable. Too lethargic to be bothered thinking, she collapsed back,

Nate skidded to a halt, his heart still pounding, anger vying with his fear. In a small clearing—really just a turning circle at the end of a fire trail—Gina was slumped against a tree, thick ropes holding her upright. He couldn't see her face; her loose hair had fallen forward to hide her features, but he knew she was alive. His wolf's ears were still picking out the irregular rhythm of her heart. He could smell fresh blood and could see where blood from a slightly older wound had congealed in her hair

   Within seconds he was bounding across the clearing, his nose pressed against her as he judged just how badly injured she was. She was cold. Too cold. Anything else would have to wait.

   It was obvious someone had left her here on purpose, probably someone who at least knew about the existence of werewolves in the area, even if they didn't know very much about them. He was shaking his head in disgust, even as his limbs extended and his torso stretched back into human form. She'd been left as an old-fashioned sacrifice. He'd heard stories of some of the earliest pioneers leaving a sacrifice for the wares, but in this day and age?

   Totally unaware of his nudity, Nate pressed his body close into Gina, sharing his warmth as he struggled to untie the ropes that held her standing upright against the tree. In other circumstances, he could see it would have been very erotic—a half naked woman tied to a tree and left for the pleasure of the werewolves. Just this particular were wasn't thinking thoughts about dinner, but about sex…

   A shudder traveled through her, physically rocking him as he stood chest to chest with her, her slight figure dwarfed by his heavier frame. If nothing else, it reminded him that now was not the time to be letting his imagination run wild. Her nightgown was almost transparent in the moonlight, and delicious as she looked with every curve lovingly outlined by the clinging fabric, she had to be cold.

   Even with the warmth of his body pressed against her, her nipples were hard little buds that teased at his senses—and at his self-control. He desperately wanted to bend down and take one into his mouth. It was no longer only the cold that was making him uncomfortable.

   Hell, she was the very image of the naked sacrificial victim of his fantasies. Perhaps when it was summer, he could persuade her to come back here to play?

   As if that was likely to happen after tonight's trauma. She was more likely to scream in fear than pleasure if he so much as suggested tying her down. He heard his own groan of disbelief echo round the clearing. He was an insensitive brute to even be
thinking
like he was at the moment, and he knew it.

   Nate's jaw clenched at the effort it took to banish the images of her writhing under his tongue. Her pale skin would be translucent, checkered by shadows as the breeze riffled its way through the trees, her eyes would be closed in ecstasy, and all the time she'd be struggling fruitlessly against her bonds, helpless to

escape his marauding mouth and hands…

   Where the hell was Sebastian? He couldn't keep Gina warm and untie her at the same time. And he certainly couldn't keep his way-too-vivid imagination under control while he was forced to stand here with his cock jammed between her legs, and her breath fluttering so softly against his neck. He could actually feel the life flowing through her now, his heightened senses still able to hear the flow of blood in her veins and the painful gasping as she drew in air.

   And Rafe and Rob, too. He definitely wanted them to show up soon. Still huddled as close to her unconscious body as possible, Nate lifted his head and howled at the moon. He needed them all, and he needed them now.

   He'd accepted his fate, and he refused to lose her to whatever prick had decided to use her as live wolfbait.
Do you hear me?
He breathed the words into her ear, needing to tell her, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "You're mine. And I'll not let you go."

   Never.

   Nate wrapped himself even more tightly around her, closed his eyes and did something he hadn't done for years. He prayed.

Gina didn't bother opening her eyes, but snuggled closer to the warmth surrounding her. Nate. He was here after all. She felt her lips curve in a tiny, satisfied smile and tried to reach for her quilt. There was still a cool patch to one side where it had slipped from the bed.

   Mmmm. Her muscles sagged against him as she tried to relax. Warm again. Finally.

   She nuzzled her face into Nate's chest, enjoying the pleasantly masculine feeling of his hair scraping against her skin. He smelt good, too. Like the outdoors. Like pine trees.

   Pine trees? That wasn't what he'd smelt like when he'd come for dinner. Maybe he used more than one cologne. Still, she couldn't quite remember what he was doing in her bed right now. Actually, she had a vague memory of spending Saturday night at home, by herself.

   An icy breeze glided over the curve of her hip. She shivered and tried again to reach for the covers. Her arm was caught somewhere down behind her, and Nate was on top of her, squashing her.

   "Gerr ooof." What should have been a sharp command came out as a murmur. Doubting he'd even heard her, she tried again, only to find herself coughing and coughing as she swallowed a mouthful of the frigid air. Why was it so cold?

   "Shhh, honey. Just stay still. I'm here now." Nate's voice soothed away the kaleidoscope that had been whirling behind her eyes as the coughing continued.

   Strong fingers caressed her neck, calm and warm, but definitely Nate's.

   Gina made an effort to force her eyes open. Why were all her thoughts centered on the concept of 'warm'? And why the hell was Nate talking to her like he would a frightened child? All she wanted was the quilt. There was nothing too scary about that, was there?

   She blinked and suddenly realised he was right there in front of her, so close she had to refocus her eyes to actually see him. He smiled down on her, gently, and she shifted awkwardly, for some reason wanting to put some distance between them.

   "Stay still. You'll hurt yourself if you move."

   Huh?

   Those melted-toffee eyes were staring down at her, the obvious tenderness doing nothing to conceal the worry he was trying to hide behind his smile. Hurt herself? In bed?

   Well, whatever he'd meant, it didn't seem like he was going to move away from her, or pass her the blasted quilt. She squirmed, trying to escape his closeness, before she realized what he'd meant.

   She couldn't move her wrists, her skin was burning, and there was something horribly hard and rough behind her. That was all forgotten in the moment she shifted her head to look over his shoulder. A glimpse of nighttime and pine trees was lost as the agonizing pain sent the darkness sweeping over her.

Poor little thing. Her head must really have been pounding if that small a movement was enough to make her faint. Maybe she was better off that way—at least she wouldn't feel it when they had to move her. Nate grunted. If, that was, the family ever bothered showing up.

   His fingers were still stroking her neck, the rhythm as hypnotically soothing to him as he hoped it was to her, when the undergrowth rustled wildly and three full grown wolves leapt into the clearing.

   Underneath him, he felt Gina start upright, a hardly heard gasp and the fresh lines of pain as she screwed her eyes shut the only sign she was back with him again. He considered using his influence to put her back to sleep and decided against it.. She might have been more comfortable if she was unconscious, but he wasn't willing to risk playing with her head after the thump she'd obviously taken.