Page 37 of Wolf Hunter

One, if not multiple wolves, wants something outside of what they’ve been given in this life. Getting stuck on a reason why takes precious brain cells away from finding a solution. Knowing a motive only helps me understand them better, but it wouldn’t help me catch the culprit and regain what they’ve taken from me. And if Reid doesn’t know about the kidnapped women—it is still a bigif—then someone is sneaking around behind his back. He’s right about one thing.

There are too many secrets in these walls.

Well, secrets and poltergeist, because I’m not willing to rule that one out yet. I’ve never felt such a strange and threatening presence in my life. Getting snowed in will, if nothing else, give me an opportunity to explore and see what light I can shed on those secrets.

And I loathe that I love this house. The more Reid shows me, the further I fall, until I catch myself asking him how many bathrooms and if there’s a pool.

He looks at me strangely but answers, bless him.

The Redcliff mansion is built into the bedrock of the cliffs themselves. The decks around the exterior offer panoramic views of the landscape that must be dazzling in the fall with all the colors.

My admiration turns to cunning as I memorize each twist of the halls, committing the floorplan to memory. The information will come in handy at some point.

Once the tour ends, Reid locks me in the room again and sets the spell behind me.

I walk right back into my cage, and this time, I’ve gone willingly.Fuck.

If the me from two weeks ago saw this, she’d be horrified and give my ass a thorough beating. I would deserve it.

Letting out a moan of displeasure, I drop my head back and stare at the ceiling for a long moment, until I feel myself losing balance.

Is this latest game worth the risk involved?

Is any of it going to add up in the end or stack in my favor?

I don’t know what to tell myself other than that I have to plant one foot in front of the other and keep pushing forward. There are answers out here, somewhere.

Answers about Carmen and answers about the other missing women.

Answers about the strangeness I felt out in the halls.

And if I happen to be in a position to find them, then I’ll take the risk and hope I haven’t made the worst mistake of my life.

ChapterEleven

Reid

I’ve made a deal with the devil.

It’s the only thought circling around in my head for the longest time as I meet with the other wolves to discuss our next steps before the storm arrives. Liam paces all through dinner, refusing to sit no matter how many times I order him to do so, and it only heightens my awareness of the intensity of the oncoming blizzard.

A quick call to town assures me the others are completing their shopping trip and will be returning to the mountain mansion within the hour.

Perfect.

Nothing I say calms Liam’s nerves, however. He might have paced a hole in the floor if Julius hadn’t stepped in to escort him back to his room.

My mind returns to Tasha when I tell one of the underlings to send food up for my “sacrifice.”

Who really has the power here? It definitely doesn’t feel like it’s me anymore.

I had refused to let her go until she agreed with my terms, a tentative alliance made out of desperation on multiple fronts.

Clearly, I’ve lost what little is left of my mind.

Someone coughs and brings my attention back to dinner. Julius has just returned from escorting Liam to his room and now settles into his chair with little fanfare. A few stray hairs escape his bun and are the only indication that something is amiss with him.

My brothers already know that Tasha is off-limits. It’s time to let the rest of the pack know, too.

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