Page 55 of Stealthy as a Wolf

A bark of laughter escaped me, the sound harsh and rusty. I stretched, then ran a hand over my head and scratched the back of my scalp to dispel the feel of prison bars closing around me.

It had been a gamble to contact Natalie, but I was relatively sure she wouldn’t turn me over to the police. Her hatred for rules and laws was legendary. If anyone wanted to stick it to the man, it was her and her crew. “Yeah, you might say I overstayed my welcome when they tried to kill me. I thought it was best to leave.”

Amusement vanished from Natalie’s face, her neck stretching as she turned to peer at me, her eyebrows rising slowly. “I’m not surprised. The system is so corrupt, they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want. Do I even want to know why you want to go to the Summit?”

“War is coming.” Claws pressed against the undersides of my fingertips. “I accidently started it, and I’m the only one who can stop it.”

“Is this because of Tessah?” A smirk slowly twisted her lips. “Your sister always had a knack for getting into trouble.”

My heart clenched at the mention of her name, and my hackles rose, my fur feeling like someone ran their hands through it backwards. It was all I could do not to defend Tessah’s name, even though the little hellcat would laugh her ass off if she knew. She didn’t need anyone to defend her. “Not directly. It’s my mess. I need to clean it up.”

Natalie studied my face for a heartbeat longer, then slowly nodded and rose to her feet. “For you, Matty, anything. We’ll meet you at the Summit in three days. It will be great to get the whole gang back together with Tessah and her four psychos.”

My mind turned to static at the thought that my sister might still be alive, and my heart jumped into my throat, the brutal hope almost painful. But before I had a chance to ask her what she meant, a commotion by the door caught my attention.

I didn’t even need to turn to know it was trouble.

Maggie went white as a sheet. Her pupils flared wide, her golden eyes turning so dark that they appeared molten, and pure aggression saturated the air like smoke. When her mouth parted, the edges of her dainty fangs flashed, and a low growl vibrated in the space around me.

My sister was forgotten as panic swarmed my senses. I leaned forward, my world narrowing down to the girl who meant everything to me. “Maggie?”

But she ignored me, like I didn’t even exist.

Maggie was gone, only pure beast remained.

Danger thickened the air, tension thrummed through her small frame, and I swear to the gods that she was just seconds away from shifting and going after her prey.

Natalie scurried away, moving fast for a turtle, easily disappearing into the crowd. Not even a second passed before the rest of the men got to their feet, bracing to confront the potential threat. Grady stepped in front of Maggie, blocking her view of the rest of the room, but I was afraid the damage had already been done.

The dozen or so wolves who entered lifted their heads, sniffing the air. To my shock, the twins immediately began rubbing themselves against her in an effort to disguise her scent. I didn’t know if the wolves were hunting for my girl, and I didn’t care to wait and find out. I lurched to my feet, urgency riding me hard as I tossed money on the table, and headed out. “Backdoor. Follow me.”

I didn’t wait for them to respond, just grabbed Maggie’s hand and wove my way around the tables. Just as we reached the back exit, the room erupted into chaos. A glance over my shoulder showed the biker chicks and the rooster were putting on a show to the pounding beat of the music, halting the wolves in their tracks. The rooster shot a wink at us, purposely causing the distraction, and I knew it was because Maggie had won him over.

While part of me hated the attention he gave Maggie—he wasn’t good enough to even look at her, much less speak to her—I was grateful for the interference.

But if he dared approach her again, I would pluck every feather off that cocky bird and use them to stuff my very own pillow and sleep like a baby on it every night.

I threw open the door, quickly ushering the others into the dark alley. Grady exited last, glaring at me as he passed. “Your people sold us out.”

“Doubtful.” I shook my head. “If they did it, the place would’ve been swarmed with snakes, not flooded with wolves.”

“Bounty hunters,” Maggie growled, aggression coming off her in waves. Her eyes flashed with rage, violence practically radiating from her. She bounced on the balls of her feet, unable to sit still, the need to eradicate the ones hunting her riding her hard, and damned if my cock didn’t harden at the sight.

Her thirst for violence was fucking gorgeous.

As the guys barricaded the door, they watched her like she was this wild creature that might lash out at any second.

Like she might shatter.

I was beginning to suspect that she was stronger than all of us combined.

“If the wolves caught wind of my scent, the mangy beasts will turn into a pack of rabid dogs. They will never give up, never stop hunting me.” Her words hit me with the force of a sledgehammer, slamming me back down to earth.

Fuck!

I felt sick to my stomach with the knowledge that we fucked up.

In our determination to keep her safe, we put her in even greater danger.

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