Page 14 of Moonlighting with the Werewolf

My jaw dropped. “Not to sound like a little kid, but that’s unfair and you know it.” “I’ll tell you what’s unfair...” He dipped his head so that his eyes bored into mine. A shiver tiptoed down my spine, my amygdala finally producing the fear it should’ve last night when I’d discovered the existence of werewolves; earlier at the bar when Conall caught me asking about him; and a moment ago, when we started this interrogation game. “I thought about you several times last night, and it was harder than it should’ve been to conjure up the hatred I’ve always felt for you and your kind.”

Whoa. What?

Hysteria surged, turning my blood to ice, and Conall gripped my hand tighter, that fingertip pressing so hard the bones in my wrist groaned. I grappled against his grip, tugging and tearing at his fingers when I couldn’t break free, and this was the perfect example of why you weren’t supposed to invite strange werewolves over for dinner.

“Conall.” My voice trembled, and his pupils dilatated, robbing me of breath. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but this isn’t funny. You’re hurting me.”

“Tell me about”—wheeze—“the spell, and maybe I’ll show you mercy.”

What little color remained in his features drained until his lips were as pale as his skin, and I wanted him to leave, but my instincts screamed there was something physically wrong with him. Not that it excused his assholish behavior, but I also recognized a wounded animal in distress. “I think you’re going into shock. Let me go, and I’ll grab my medical bag and fix you up, okay?”

He shook his head. “You’re a witch. You’ve put...some sort of...spell on me.” His eyes rolled back in his head, only the whites showing.

But before I could react, he jerked himself straight, and the haziness faded from his features.

Since I could tell how much effort it’d taken, I did my best to wedge my way inside that tiny opening. “I’m gonna go ahead and ignore the fact that you called me a witch. Now, be reasonable and let me help you. Or release me and hit the road. Those are your options.”

“So that you can summon your coven and tell them everything you’ve discovered? Not a chance. That’s why I have to take care of you now. Before you have a chance to call for backup.”

All right. He’d passed the point of delirium, so time for a new plan. If he broke my wrist, I’d never be able to perform the surgery he obviously needed, and my efforts to calm him had gone nowhere. If I managed to snag my phone off the coffee table, I could sprint out of my house, call 9-1-1, and hopefully get the help both of us needed.

I glanced around the room, calculating the distance between me and my phone. The front door. The patio door. Which gave me a better chance?

“I’m faster,” Conall growled, and the organ in the center of my chest pumped so hard and fast I worried I’d have a heart attack before I ventured an escape. “As the alpha, I’m obligated to take care of you. Do you think Iwantto torture information out of you? That I’m happy about it?”

His gaze raked down me, hungry and invasive, yet I craved the passion swimming in his eyes as they flashed gold. Scared and turned on. Well, that was a new combo for me.

“I’m furious at you for turning out to be the one thing I despise more than anything else in the world. Your kind brutallymurdered practically everyone I cared about. You took away my home, my family.” Using his grip on my wrist, he yanked me closer, and his other hand wrapped around my neck. “And in spite of all that, here I am trying to justify fucking you out of my system.”

My breath lodged in my throat, not because he was squeezing my neck, but because I knew I was in trouble and so shouldn’t entertain thoughts of seducing my way out of this. Then again, it might buy me some time...

Conall’s lids fluttered, and his fingers slipped from my neck. His enormous body swayed, and he caught himself on the coffee table, his reflexes ridiculously fast for someone whose lips were turning blue.

This was my chance to run.

I stood, planning to do just that. Then I internally screamed at myself for dropping to my knees to check his pulse. This was the part in the horror movie when I called the heroine too stupid to live. Guess I owed her an apology.

“Don’t move,” he barked, the muscles in his arms straining as he attempted to push himself to his feet. Instead, he crashed into the coffee table, sending my phone flying onto the floor, so there went my backup plan. “No offense, but I think you should take your own advice. Your heart rate is dropping, and you’re in hypoxic-ischemic shock. I’m gonna go grab my bag and?—”

His low growl sent goosebumps across my skin, and yep, I was an idiot for not fleeing. Conall let loose a howl, the haunted sound traveling deep down into my bones.

Perhaps I just needed to appeal to his human side, although if I were being honest, I preferred the wolf. “Remember how you came to my vet clinic all shot to hell? How I helped you? I didn’t call the cops, either, because you asked me not to.”

“Not that it would’ve done you any good. Like I told you, Sheriff Martin and I have an understanding. I’m not sure whyyou saved me, but that spell you did hurt a member of my pack, so that’s not going to be enough to save you.”

Another idea popped into my head. “Is it possible you have rabies? Is that why you went from calm to insane in a matter of minutes?”

Judging from the fact that he roared in my face, it was the wrong thing to ask.

A ring of sweat formed around the collar of his T-shirt, and my hand trembled as I stretched it toward the side he kept holding. He flinched as I placed my palm flat over his ribs, but he didn’t snarl or snap his teeth, so I rubbed it lightly over his muscles. Sure enough, I heard a crackle. That crumpling newspaper sound meant one thing, and it didn’t bode well for him. “Listen, you’ve got a leak in your chest, and I need to get you to the clinic so I can fix it. I’m not sure how magical your healing abilities are, but I’m guessing they won’t bring you back from the dead.”

If only one lung had collapsed, death wasn’t imminent, although it might feel preferable, considering the rapid deterioration of his oxygen supply.

Dazedly, he shook his head. “No. You’re trying to...rid of me.”

The man in front of me transformed, not into a wolf, but every inch a predator. His fight or flight instinct was kicking in, and naturally he’d be the kind of guy who preferred to fight.

I suppressed my panic the best I could and affected a casual expression. “Fine. I’ll just wait till you pass out and then do what I need to, you stubborn ass.”

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