Page 13 of Veil of Shadows

I felt his breath pulse against my skin as he whispered in my ear. “Be careful what you wish for, sweet girl.”

A warm chill cascaded through my veins, causing my entire body to physically shiver. His chuckle was salacious against my skin, and it caused my head to fall off to the side. I felt his nose trace my pulse point. I felt his lips press softly into the skin of the crook of my neck. But, when his hands fell away from my body, I snapped my gaze back over my shoulder and watched him stand.

“You’re leaving?” I asked.

He walked over to a towel and dried his hands off. “Voss is back.”

That got my attention and my tone of voice immediately shifted. “Does he need all of us?”

Dom shook his head as he made his way to the door. “No, he’s just letting the pack know that the woods are clear.”

“So, why do you have to go meet up with him?”

He cracked open the bath house door. “Why? Miss me already?”

I scoffed. “No. It’s just?—”

His eyebrows hiked up before he folded his arms over his chest. “I’m waiting.”

I shook my head and snickered. “Tell Voss not to do anything stupid before I can get out of this bath, yeah?”

He chuckled with delight as he slipped outside. “My pleasure.”

I called after him. “And while you’re at it, tell Ronyn to do the same! That man is always getting into something!”

Dom stuck his head back through the door. “Trust me, it’ll be an honor to bitch them out for you. Now, do what Merida said and relax. Morning time comes early around here.”

Then, he slipped back out into the night, and I watched the bath house door ease closed. Leaving me with nothing but racing thoughts and a burning ache between my legs.

5

RONYN

Team A: you’re the northern side of the compound. Ten miles out, search everywhere. Team B: you’re the southern tip. Team C: east. Team D: west. We don’t leave an inch of these woods unscoured.

A bombastic howl reverberated through the woods as my feet slammed against the forest floor. There was no way in hell those vampires were getting the jump on us again. Not if I had anything to do about it. Even if me and my troops had to pull 24-hour shifts for the foreseeable future, that Delilah bitch would never be able to drop down onto our heads like that ever again.

As my troops and I raced through the woods, I felt my wolf clawing beneath the surface.

I raised my head toward the sky and bowed out my back. Talons grew from my fingernails and my teeth sharpened as I slammed down onto all fours. My stature grew. The darkness of my wolf’s shadow covered the ground as my clothes ripped and my pants snapped. I smelled their putrid stench wafting through the breeze. Every time it kicked it, the trees seemed to sneeze off their scent and coat the ground beneath their tops with it.

I snarled as my eyesight sharpened. I stalked deeper into the darkness as my hearing heightened. And one by one, placingmy nose to the ground to sniff out the vampire’s pathways, my troops checked in.

North is clear,Lieutenant Riley thought.

So is west,Lieutenant Mac said when he reached out.

South is taken care of,Lieutenant Rhonda said.

But, Lieutenant Gallagher didn’t come in with anything regarding his patrol to the east.

Gallagher,I snarled as I leapt up the trunk of a tree,how’s the patrol coming along?

When he didn’t respond, however, I immediately pivoted myself toward the eastern wind that kicked up.

Gallagher!Lieutenant Riley barked.

We’re backtracking now,Lieutenant Rhonda said.

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