Page 8 of Claimed by the Wolf

I flinched, knowing they must be about to attack someone. But instead, they ran right past all the cowering patrons and up to the guy carrying me through the door. I almost passed out. Their panting tongues were so red, like blood, and the fury in their—blue-green?—eyes promised a quick death.

Then we were outside, and the moon’s bright light spilled down on us. Even knowing I was surrounded by angry predators, I could hardly tear my eyes away from the moon. There was something about it . . .

The guy tossed me into an SUV and started driving. The wolves chased after us. “Where the hell are you taking me?” I shouted, my heart slamming against my ribs, my hands so sweaty I thought I could drown in them.

He didn’t answer, just pulled onto the road and hit the gas.

What the hell had I gotten myself into? My hands cradled my belly. And my unborn child. Would we make it out of here?

A couple minutes later, the guy made another right turn into an abandoned strip mall. I told myself I should be glad we got away from the wolves, at least. But when the guy got out of the car and came around to my side, my stomach roiled with fear. Wolves or no, this was bad. He’d kidnapped me.

He offered me his hand, but I ignored it and stepped down out of the car myself. We were alone in the parking lot. Well, except for the wolves that had somehow kept up. I stared, trying not to shake.

The sky itself was so dark, I couldn’t see any stars. Just the moon. And how it shone around these wolves. They seemed to shimmer, even. I stared, frozen, as the light danced over them and they transformed.

Seconds later, full-grown men in business suits stood before me. I backed away, but really, where was there to go?

A Hummer pulled into the parking lot. The engine cut out, and a man got out. A sexy man with yellow hair in a ponytail, golden skin, and eyes the color of the ocean. The moonlight wrapped itself around his gorgeous face like a caress. “Grant Beal,” I whispered.

“Boss, I got her after she saw us,” the guy holding me said to Grant.

“Yeah, and you can let me go, you creep,” I spat. Grant nodded, and the guy released me. I immediately put ten feet between us.

“What the hell is going on?” I stared at each of the men in turn and realized what they had in common. All of them had eyes the color of Grant’s: blue-green.

And three of them had been wolves.

I had thought when I saw him, I would demand to know why he hadn’t called back. Instead, I stared at Grant and pointed at his men. “Unless I’m going crazy, and I might be, but I don’t think so, they were just wolves. What. Is. Going. On?”

Grant sighed. “I got your messages,” he said. “As you can see, it’s kind of a busy day for us. Full moon always is.”

Full moon.

People acting like lunatics.

Full moon.

I scoffed helplessly. “You really expect me to believe you’re werewolves?”

Grant shrugged. “You don’t have to believe it, but that’s like not believing in gravity. It really doesn’t care what you think about it; it just is.” He snapped his fingers for effect, and suddenly he was shimmering, too. Barely five seconds later, there stood a huge blond wolf, just the color of the sun, with a thick pelt, slavering jaws, and eyes the color of the ocean.

My mouth hung open. I had so much to say but no idea where to start. The other men stood with their arms crossed, daring me to speak.

The wolf that had been Grant padded over to me, its tongue hanging out. I closed my eyes, waiting for the wolf to tear me apart. Why else would his men have dragged me out here?

Instead, a rough, wet tongue licked the back of my palm. My eyelids shot open to find the wolf leaning back on its haunches and studying it me with those beautiful eyes. It whined, and its ears rose.

I couldn’t believe it. Was Grant asking me to scratch his head? I put out a tentative hand and scratched between the wolf’s ears.

The wolf leaned its head back and let out a howl of pleasure like nothing I’d ever heard. It sent shivers of arousal over my spine. I wanted to howl like that, too.

The other wolves, including my abductor, joined in. I just watched, spellbound. I would have wondered if I’d fallen into a movie, but it was all too real—the bite of the cold night on my face and ears, the song of the wolf, and the damp spot on my hand where Grant’s tongue had been.

At least the song finished, and the wolves transformed back into men. It looked like magic.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” Grant said pleasantly, as if the entire world hadn’t just turned sideways. “That bar is one of the places we conduct our nocturnal business, and it got a little out of hand today.”

“That’s one way to put it,” I said, shaking my head.

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