battle.
“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a release button on this panel somewhere. If nothing else, you can wake up the guard and get him to open it.”
“We should have thought of that in the first place. Violet, do you think he can sense me?”
“No, he can smell you. I always thought Nathan has the best sense of smell of all of us. Too bad he can’t control himself.” She ground her teeth.
“He’s had his best friend, his brother, ripped from him. If I lost anyone I loved, I don’t know what I would do. With my power, I think I would tear the world apart.”
I felt her eyes on me, but she said nothing. After a few moments, something clicked, and a mechanism in the door whirred. The door unlocked. I reached for the handle but paused.
“Violet, lock it when I get in.”
“But…”
“Do it. He can’t kill me, but if he gets loose, it would be disastrous, and you know it.”
“You’re not invincible,” she snapped.
I help up my hand and grew out my fingernails, grinning. “Don’t worry. I can give as good as I get.”
I opened the door and slid through the narrow gap. A quick check told me I was now trapped inside the tiny room with a rabid wolf, and he was looking at me like he didn’t know who I was.
Chapter Five
A low rumble started in Nathan’s chest, and with each second that passed, it increased and rose to his throat. He growled like a wolf and ducked his head, hunched shoulders, fingers curled as he readied to attack. I noticed his nails had grown out like mine, sharp and deadly. The doctor couldn’t have seen them and continued to believe he was human, but maybe he had brought them out especially to play with me.
I took a step away from the door, and Nathan’s growl bordered on a bark. Reconsidering, I froze. We stood just feet apart, and I studied my friend. His dark hair had grown longer and lay in damp curls against his head and neck. His jeans were in tatters with holes in random spots and frayed at the ankles. I glanced around the room to find bits of material that must have been his shirt. At least he still wore shoes. When they were ripped apart by his bare hands, there would be no explaining that away.
Nathan’s breathing was heavy and noisy, his barrel chest rising and falling. With his fingers curled so tight, his biceps flexed. I wouldn’t deny my friend was a perfect specimen of manhood, but he appeared so different than he was when I last saw him a week ago. I sensed his torment and his pain. The emotion overwhelmed me. Nathan had taken Dalton’s loss at his weakest and his strongest time, near the full moon. The wounded beast cornered itself and snapped at all who came near.
However, Nathan wasn’t just any wounded beast. He was a werewolf, and he wasn’t staying in the corner. With a howl of rage, he started for me. I braced for impact, raising my hands to catch him. Then for no reason at all, silly words came to mind.
“Who’s a good puppy? There’s a good puppy.”
Nathan froze. His wild eyes widened further. He waggled his head side-to-side, confused.
I went with it and patted both hands on my thighs. “Come here, puppy. That’s a good boy.”
“N-not…” He panted, struggling. “Not a dog!”
I grew serious. “Then stop behaving like one. Nathan, you know me. It’s Rue.”
“Rue.” The anguish in his voice pierced my dead heart.
“I know, Nathan. It’s going to be all right.”
He launched himself at me growling but stopped just short and spun away. A series of punches against the wall made me wince at the sound of his bones breaking. I knew they would mend, but he was hurting himself on purpose, and I couldn’t bear it. I stepped behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He fought to get me off, but I pressed my face to his back and kissed his hot skin.
Hands flat on the wall, he stilled, and I reached to trace my fingers over his. From the curved claws to the bloodied knuckles up to his wrists, I caressed him. “I
“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a release button on this panel somewhere. If nothing else, you can wake up the guard and get him to open it.”
“We should have thought of that in the first place. Violet, do you think he can sense me?”
“No, he can smell you. I always thought Nathan has the best sense of smell of all of us. Too bad he can’t control himself.” She ground her teeth.
“He’s had his best friend, his brother, ripped from him. If I lost anyone I loved, I don’t know what I would do. With my power, I think I would tear the world apart.”
I felt her eyes on me, but she said nothing. After a few moments, something clicked, and a mechanism in the door whirred. The door unlocked. I reached for the handle but paused.
“Violet, lock it when I get in.”
“But…”
“Do it. He can’t kill me, but if he gets loose, it would be disastrous, and you know it.”
“You’re not invincible,” she snapped.
I help up my hand and grew out my fingernails, grinning. “Don’t worry. I can give as good as I get.”
I opened the door and slid through the narrow gap. A quick check told me I was now trapped inside the tiny room with a rabid wolf, and he was looking at me like he didn’t know who I was.
Chapter Five
A low rumble started in Nathan’s chest, and with each second that passed, it increased and rose to his throat. He growled like a wolf and ducked his head, hunched shoulders, fingers curled as he readied to attack. I noticed his nails had grown out like mine, sharp and deadly. The doctor couldn’t have seen them and continued to believe he was human, but maybe he had brought them out especially to play with me.
I took a step away from the door, and Nathan’s growl bordered on a bark. Reconsidering, I froze. We stood just feet apart, and I studied my friend. His dark hair had grown longer and lay in damp curls against his head and neck. His jeans were in tatters with holes in random spots and frayed at the ankles. I glanced around the room to find bits of material that must have been his shirt. At least he still wore shoes. When they were ripped apart by his bare hands, there would be no explaining that away.
Nathan’s breathing was heavy and noisy, his barrel chest rising and falling. With his fingers curled so tight, his biceps flexed. I wouldn’t deny my friend was a perfect specimen of manhood, but he appeared so different than he was when I last saw him a week ago. I sensed his torment and his pain. The emotion overwhelmed me. Nathan had taken Dalton’s loss at his weakest and his strongest time, near the full moon. The wounded beast cornered itself and snapped at all who came near.
However, Nathan wasn’t just any wounded beast. He was a werewolf, and he wasn’t staying in the corner. With a howl of rage, he started for me. I braced for impact, raising my hands to catch him. Then for no reason at all, silly words came to mind.
“Who’s a good puppy? There’s a good puppy.”
Nathan froze. His wild eyes widened further. He waggled his head side-to-side, confused.
I went with it and patted both hands on my thighs. “Come here, puppy. That’s a good boy.”
“N-not…” He panted, struggling. “Not a dog!”
I grew serious. “Then stop behaving like one. Nathan, you know me. It’s Rue.”
“Rue.” The anguish in his voice pierced my dead heart.
“I know, Nathan. It’s going to be all right.”
He launched himself at me growling but stopped just short and spun away. A series of punches against the wall made me wince at the sound of his bones breaking. I knew they would mend, but he was hurting himself on purpose, and I couldn’t bear it. I stepped behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He fought to get me off, but I pressed my face to his back and kissed his hot skin.
Hands flat on the wall, he stilled, and I reached to trace my fingers over his. From the curved claws to the bloodied knuckles up to his wrists, I caressed him. “I
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