Heart of the Wolf by D. B. Reynolds

She had to know that. But she also knew he’d stop anyway.
    Ren froze, lifting his head to meet her stricken gaze.
    “I can’t do this,” she whispered, almost in tears. “It’s not, I don’t know. I mean…”
    “What?” Ren demanded. “What is it, Kathryn?”
    “I don’t know,” she wailed. “I don’t know who I am anymore!”
    Ren closed his eyes. He started to draw a breath but changed his mind. His head was already clouded with the scent of her, and this was hard enough already. He stepped back and spun away. Glancing around, he spotted a wet bar against one wall and headed that way. He found an open bottle of scotch and poured himself a healthy shot. It wasn’t Glenmorangie, but it was smooth and heady, and it burned all the way down.
    The searing taste of the scotch dulled his senses somewhat, enough that he could face her again. She’d wrapped herself in that stupid shawl again, holding it tight across her breasts. She rubbed her cheeks, wiping away tears.
    “Why are you here, Ren?” she asked dully.
    He drained the rest of his scotch and forced himself to set the crystal tumbler down without a sound. The discipline helped center him, so when he answered, he was very nearly calm. “I visited Lewis Westgate this morning.”
    “Lucky you,” she said sarcastically.
    “You don’t like him?”
    “He’s a worm who started hitting on me five minutes after Preston was dead. Hell, he didn’t even wait until Preston was dead, if you want the truth. He’s been rubbing his skinny little dick against my ass every chance he gets for years.” She closed her mouth quickly on the crude words. “Sorry.”
    “Don’t be. He wants to sell you this.” He tossed the case gently from across the room.
    She caught it and turned it over curiously. Her face blanched when she saw Preston ’s label on it. “Did he say where he got it?” She sounded like she was having trouble breathing, and Ren started across the room, but she held up a hand to stop him. “I’m okay.”
    She looked at him, her gray eyes boring twin holes into his head. “Did you watch it, Ren?”
    He regarded her curiously. Her reaction seemed out of sync with what he’d seen on the disc. Granted, it wasn’t something a wolf wanted broadcast, but…
    “No,” he said slowly. “Or not all of it, anyway. Westgate showed it to me in his office. I saw three minutes, maybe less. Enough to know it’s not something you want ending up on YouTube.”
    Her face heated with embarrassment, and she turned away from him. “I knew there was one missing—”
    “One?” he asked in disbelief. “There’s more of these? How many times did that bastard lock you up for the full moon?”
    “That’s what’s on here?” she asked, her voice filled with relief.
    Ren jerked back in surprise, then squinted at her curiously. “What did you think was on there, Kathryn?”
    She refused to meet his gaze, instead standing and crossing the thick carpet to the fireplace. She opened the case and snapped the disc in half. Ren saw what she was about to do and crossed the room in three quick strides, catching the disc before it fell.
    “Don’t throw that in there. Christ, have you completely lost your sense of smell?”
    Kathryn gave him a dirty look. “Sorry,” she snapped, “I’m not up on the latest data destruction. But I’m sure you are.”
    “You have a shredder? Never mind,” he added when she looked around vaguely. “I’ll take care of it.”
    Her hand snapped out, grabbing hold of the two pieces of
DVD
before he could slip them into his coat. Her eyes met his, filled with distrust.
    “Kathryn,” he said evenly, “I’ll destroy it for you.” He met her gaze, unflinching, until she released the disc and turned away. “You never answered my question,” he said.
    Kathryn sat down on the sofa, tucking her feet up under herself, as if she was cold. “What question, Ren?” she asked wearily.
    “What did you think was on that disc?”
    She