Page 7 of Stalked By the Wolf

Understanding flashes across Sebastian’s face — understanding but not pity. Then he rises into a standing position and turns toward the door. “Right. You’re coming with me.”

“What?”

Surely I must have misheard him.

He turns to look over his shoulder, and I catch aglimpse of the beast he was in that stunning cobalt gaze. “I’m not leaving you here — not with that bloody bear still on the loose. You’re coming home with me.”

“N-no, I . . . What about my cat?” I blurt. It probably seems silly that I’m worried about my cat at a time like this, but I’m not leaving Shadow behind.

“Your what?”

The poor thing darted under the couch to hide the second Dane came barging in. In the few minutes we’ve been talking, he’s crept forward to peer at Sebastian, though his ears are tucked and his thick gray tail is puffed up to twice its normal size.

Sebastian follows my gaze to Shadow lodged underneath the couch, and one of his nostrils twitches. Then he lets out a resigned sigh. “I suppose he can come too.”

CHAPTER FOUR

SEBASTIAN

Twenty minutes later,Claire has managed to wrestle her feline fleabag into his carrier and stuff him into the back of my Mercedes. The stench of the angry beast’s terror fills the vehicle, though it’s dampened somewhat by Claire’s sweet honeysuckle scent.

I close my eyes and drink it in, hoping she doesn’t notice the effect she has on me. I never planned on dragging an innocent human into this mess, but the second I laid eyes on Claire, my wolf refused to let her go.

I’d like to think she’ll be safer with me, but there’s nothing safe about my world.

After Adrian killed Clint McGregor, his remaining bears scattered like rats. I let Murphy escape that night — a mistake that still haunts me.

Adrian let the rest of the bears go without another thought, but he ordered me to kill Dane Murphy. Afterseeing him tower over Claire in animal form, I’m going to take great pleasure in ripping him to shreds.

Glancing over at the woman in my passenger seat, that wild protective instinct hits me full force again. I realize I’ll dowhateverit takes to keep her safe — including hauling her back to my place where Murphy can’t touch her.

It’s surreal having Claire beside me after watching her through my computer screen. SheisClaireWhoLovesCats, which makes me question everything else I thought I knew about her.

“You said Murphy followed you home from work?”

Now comes the hard part of being a cyberstalker — not letting slip that I know anything she hasn’t told me already.

She nods. “Dane knew where I worked. He even dropped me off a few times. But I never thought . . .” She breaks off and looks out the window as fresh tears fill her eyes.

“Aw, come on, love.” My hand moves from the steering wheel, but I stop myself before reaching for her. I have the inexplicable urge to comfort her, but I’m not good at this sort of thing. Instead, I decide to change the topic. “And . . . what is it that you do?”

Something tells me this woman isnota stripper.

Claire draws in a shuddering breath, mopping under her eyes before turning to face me again. “I work at Nine Lives. It’s a no-kill shelter for elderly cats with special needs.”

“Seriously?” I ask before I can stop myself. “They actually have those?”

She nods.

I raise my eyebrows and focus on the road ahead. Now all her cat videos suddenly make sense. It also explains why she’d choose to keep that neurotic fur ball who’s hacking up a lung in the back of my Mercedes as a pet.

“You seem . . . surprised,” she observes, watching me closely.

I shrug. I can’t exactly tell her that I thought she worked at a gentleman’s club. “Humans don’t even take that good of care of their own elderly. They just stick them in a care home where they’re left to stew in their own excrement until the end of their days.”

Claire blinks at me, and I grimace.

What was I thinking, asking her to come home with me? Claire is sweet, idealistic, and fourteen years my junior. I might have been able to hide what a monster I am when I was playing the hero in her flat, but as soon as she gets to know the real me, she’s going to run screaming in the other direction.

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