Page 1 of Wolves in Love

1

Not even a full day ago, Misti Wolventon had married Talon Kastner, and already she was a widow. The one tie that bound the Wild Shades to her side against her old pack, the Red Nightwalkers, was gone. Hundreds of werewolves around her were fighting, Wild Shades and Red Nightwalkers and Shadowed Stars.

Her husband had been murdered by a Shadowed Star, one she had given her body to many times, one she may have given her heart to as well—Anders Kraus.

Why? Why had they been fighting? Because of her? Red Nightwalkers and Shadowed Stars were closing in on them, actually working together to annihilate the Wild Shades, yet the two of them had thought it better to fight each other instead of their real enemies.

And Talon had been the one to fall.

Misti eased herself off the ground, but her back injuries were too great, and her legs collapsed from under her. If a Red Nightwalker or a Shadowed Star were to discover her in her hiding place in the underbrush, she wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight. She would be the next to die.

Pain flared from her wounds whenever she breathed, and eventually, her eyes closed. Only for a moment, or so she thought, until she opened her eyes and realized the battle was over. The sun was beating down on those tending to the wounded, but the rays didn’t touch her in her hiding place. She was cut off, separate, away from everyone. It mimicked how she felt inside—all alone and isolated.

Footsteps approached, and she looked up to see Anders staring down at her. He was in human form, naked, and she realized that she was too. When she had passed out, she must have shifted out of her wolf to her human shape.

“You’re wounded,” he said, horror twisting his features into rage and bewilderment.

He left and returned a moment later with some water and a piece of cloth. Tenderly, he helped Misti into a sitting position, washed her, and then bandaged her. He had to go get a lot more cloth pieces to cover each inch of the deep claw marks on her back.

“What happened?” he asked. “You’re such a strong warrior…”

Her lips she held still, even when he tied the next cloth piece a little too tightly.

“I hope you killed the werewolf that did this to you. If not, I’ll tear him from limb to limb.” His upper lip curled back, and his teeth changed into fangs.

She glanced away.

He finally fell silent as he tied on the last cloth piece. “There. Does that feel better?”

Misti glowered at him.

He hung his head. He’d been kneeling beside her as he dressed her wounds, but now he sat beside her. “I know you saw what I… what I did,” he said stiffly.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” She wanted to stand, to walk away, to leave him behind, but her body was too weak.

He handed her some willow bark.

Misti didn’t want to touch him to take it, so she turned away.

“Stubborn,” he muttered. “Here.” He dropped the bark onto her lap.

She took the medicine and closed her eyes. “I should rest.”

“You can. You will.”

But she didn’t hear any footsteps away.

Misti opened her eyes. “Leave.” Again, she shut them.

She could hear grass and leaves crinkling and then felt a presence beside her.

“Seriously?” Her eyes opened, just little slits, even to glower at him.

“We should talk about it.”

“So that I could try and convince the Wild Shades not to kill you for—”

His hand clamped over her mouth. “They don’t know I was the one.”

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