Текст книги "Cry wolf"

Автор книги: Jay Ellison

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 10 страниц)

He scanned the dark room, was surprised to find Roman sleeping alone in his vast, king-sized bed. It was

a beautiful, four-poster affair full of veils, obviously an antique. The first time he’d been at the lodge, he

and the pack had spent most of it running in the forest; he hadn’t had an opportunity to appreciate Roman’s

talent at interior design.

Climbing soundlessly down to the floor, Kevin made his four-legged way to the bed and climbed over the

antique steamer trunk at the foot. He paused as Roman stirred in his sleep and turned over. He was

gloriously naked, golden tan and sleekly muscled, the white satin sheets bunched down low around his

lean hips. His long black hair lay in spirals on the pillow around his head and the fur of his groin was a

nest of darkness for the thick, lightly weeping erection that lay flat against his lower belly. He smelled

like forest, and man, and lust. Kevin immediately felt his cock throb and spring to life.

He had to muffle a whine of desire. He licked himself between the legs, hoping to cool the lust building

like a low-grade flame inside him, but it did no good. One look at Roman and he felt his resolve weaken.

No! He had to set his desires aside. He told himself he was on a mission, that he might need to intimidate

Roman as a way to protect Hannah and his own life. But as he crawled across the bedclothes toward his

sleeping lover, his desire steadily mounted and his hunger increased.

Soon he loomed over Roman’s sleeping human form, drool dripping down the sides of his jaws. It was all

he could do to keep from panting with desire and ravaging Roman where he lay, his lust was so strong. He

imagined thrusting inside Roman hot, beautiful body while in his werewolf form while Roman scratched

his back and ass with his fingernails. Never in his life had he felt so out of control.

He shook his head, forced himself to concentrate on the mission. Reaching out, he closed his huge, clawed

hand around his lover’s throat—not tight, but enough to cut off Roman’s breathing.

Roman’s eyes were open. Kevin realized belatedly that they had been open for some time. He simply

hadn’t noticed. Roman had also managed to subtlety moved his hand. Kevin could feel Roman gripping

his balls tightly between his legs. His strength made Kevin go very still.

“Would be a shame to harm such beautiful things, Golden Eyes,” Roman said. “I find them quite

pleasurable.”

He didn’t immediately release Roman, so Roman gave his testes a harsh squeeze. A pulse of pleasure and

pain in equal measures surged through Kevin’s body, making him groan low in his wide, furry, wolfen

chest. Slowly, Kevin let Roman go, removing his hand from his throat.

Roman loosened his own hold, but not by much. He caressed Kevin’s balls and said, “Shift so we may

better speak, young wolf.”

Kevin obeyed. It was almost a relief to have been outdone by his alpha. Kevin realized that in his heart of

hearts, he hadn’t really wanted to hurt Roman. He probably wouldn’t have been able to go through with it.

“Fenrir attacked me and my sister yesterday,” he hissed. “I’m simply returning the favor.”

“I know,” Roman answered. “I sent him.”

Roman’s words confused him. “Why?” His heart thudded in his throat at the revelation.

“To discourage you from joining the pack. And I did not send him to attack your sister, only you.”

Kevin thought about that a moment. “And the dead man?”

“That, too, was sanctioned by me.”

“That makes no sense, Roman! Why invite me to be one of you and then try and drive me off?”

“Anya,” Roman growled, and Kevin saw real emotion in his eyes. Real fear.

“I don’t understand. Are you afraid of her?”

“More afraid for you.” Roman hissed air between his elongated teeth in frustration. “You have no idea

how dangerous she really is. Anya is ten thousand years old, and her name isn’t Anya, anyway, it’s

Freki.”

“Odin’s wolf?” Kevin found the idea of a Norse myth come to life just a little hard to believe.

“The same.” Roman nodded. “She is Freki the Gluttonous—the ancient god-wolf turned woman who

devours all those who cross her. She even devoured her mate Geri when he displeased her.”

Kevin sat back, trying to digest that. At first, he thought maybe Roman was pulling his leg, or that he was

insane. He couldn’t seem to resolve the image of petite, blonde Anya with a demonic she-wolf, but the

fear in Roman’s face told him he was telling the truth. He smelled like he was telling the truth. He smelled

like fear. He went back over what Roman had said. “You commanded Fenrir to harass me? You’ve been

behind this the whole time?”

“It was a necessary evil. Otherwise, you would have soon become Anya’s pet, Anya’s pawn, like the rest

of us.” He sighed and shook his head. “Her instructions to me were to convince you to give up your human

life when you joined the pack as the others have and live with us, be her wolf. I told her you were a

Pedigree and Orphan, that you were too stubborn, but she refused to listen. I was right, of course. I knew,

with a little encouragement, you would do no such thing.”

Kevin gave him a sidelong look. “Why are you telling me this now? What’s changed?”

“After you left us the last time, she started talking about forcibly abducting you. I can’t let that happen.”

When Roman realized he wasn’t catching on, he added, “She wants you because you’re a Pedigree. You

can give her a Pedigree child.”

Kevin narrowed his eyes. “I thought that was your job?”

Again Roman shook his head. He listened for a moment to make certain no one was lurking in the halls

outside before saying, “Anya can’t carry to term, some physical defect, perhaps, or because she was the

first, the Eve of our kind and she can only bear children with Geri, we aren’t sure…”

“What makes her think I would be any better a mate than you?”

“Because she doesn’t blame herself. She blames me. She thought if she could make you a permanent part

of the pack, she could convince you to mate with her. She thinks you might be more viable than I.”

Kevin felt a surge of anger, but quickly stamped it out. “Well, she’s wrong. I have no desire to be her

mate. And if do have children someday, it’ll be on my own terms. Have you talked to her about this…

madness?”

“Anya cannot be reasoned with. The only things she respects are the taste of prey in her mouth and her

own desires.” Roman’s eyes gleamed. “She has the bit in her mouth and she won’t let this go. She never

lets go of anything she wants.”

Kevin swallowed hard. Then a thought more horrible than anything occurred to her. “Honeypot.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a term I hear a lot of cops at the club use. It means trapping someone by using sex.” Kevin glared at

Roman. “Is that you, Roman? Are you Anya’s honeypot? Her way of entrapping me?”

Roman reached for Kevin’s arm, but Kevin yanked it away while steadily looking at the other man.

“Kevin…”

“Answer the question.”

Roman narrowed his golden-yellow eyes. Kevin could smell the wolf strong on him, but whether it was

fear or desire, he couldn’t tell. “I did as she bade me at first because that is always what I’ve done in the

past. She is my mentor and mistress, and far stronger than I. But, Kevin, it became more after that. So

much more.”

He wished he could tell if Roman was lying, but with few exceptions, Roman was a master of control

over his emotions. As he started drawing back, Roman sat up in bed and clutched the back of Kevin’s

head. His mouth came down in a savage, hungry kiss, his tongue tracing the seam in Kevin’s lips. Kevin

opened his mouth to Roman’s kiss and Roman plunged his tongue inside, sweeping it across the sensitive

roof of Kevin’s mouth, over his aching, elongated incisors, and soon they were tongue wrestling as

Roman grabbed at Kevin’s arms, pulling him down and against the front of his body. His erection

throbbed hot and strong between them. Roman rubbed it against Kevin’s belly.

Kevin moaned, said, “You used me, took advantage of my desperation…my need to be part of the pack.

How do I know I can trust you?”

Roman drew back, licked Kevin’s lips, said, “Would I tell you all this, endanger my own life, if I did not

love you?”

Kevin almost said something, but Roman kissed him again, a bruising, hungry kiss. God, the taste and

scent and feel of Roman filled Kevin’s whole world. Kevin held Roman down, licked and bit along the

curve of his neck. He buried his face in Roman’s hair and breathed in the loamy, wild forest smell of him.

It wasn’t enough. Kevin wanted to eat him alive, plunder him from top to bottom. He forced Roman’s legs

apart with his knee, rubbed his swollen testes against him. He growled low in his throat as he rubbed his

scent into his lover’s skin.

Roman groaned in response and spread his legs far enough apart for Kevin to bump his hole with his

swollen cock. The excitement of his arousal was too much for Kevin and he began thrusting wildly against

the front of Roman’s body like an animal in heat. The angle wasn’t quite right, so Roman clutched his ass

and positioned him correctly. Kevin thrust hard and Roman muffled a soft yelp against the sweating

hollow of Kevin’s throat.

They fitted each other perfectly.

It was like heaven, like coming home. Kevin humped his lover frantically, driving himself deeper and

deeper inside Roman’s body even as Roman grunted and his entire body bucked with the force of the

impacts. He clutched Kevin’s buttocks, dragged his clawed hands down them, leaving deep grooves that

healed almost immediately. “Bite me,” he hissed through long teeth, and Kevin bowed his head and bit the

side of Roman’s neck. He held onto Kevin’s ass as Kevin’s thrusts became wild, bestial, the beast in him

wanting to fill and claim every part of his lover, to make it his.

“Oh goddess…” Roman gasped out in delight. “Fuck me, my love. Fuck me hard.”

“My pleasure,” Kevin growled. He fucked Roman hard.

“Harder.”

He thrust in long, tempered strokes, dragging Roman’s hips up off the bed. He grasped Roman’s ramrod

dick, stroked it so volleys of hot spunk immediately bubbled out the hole and spurted against Kevin’s

chest. Roman thrashed on the pillow, tossing his head back. His eyes all but rolled up in his head as his

seed jetted against Kevin’s chest, neck and chin. Moaning at the sublime pleasure of it all, Kevin licked

the hot come off his lips. The taste sent Kevin over the edge. Leaning over Roman’s prone form, Kevin

shoved himself deep inside his lover, shivered all over, and came, lunging inside and pulsing his seed

deep within Roman’s body.

Finished, the wolf sated, as was the man, Kevin snuggled down against Roman’s warm, sweat-slicked

body and breathed in the scent of his hair and pillow. “I still don’t trust you,” he murmured against

Roman’s roughened cheek.

Roman put a strong arm around Kevin. “You don’t have to trust me to love me,” he answered.

He was right. Kevin loved Roman. There was no way he was leaving the pack or his lover. He could no

longer bear to be alone as before. He didn’t care what Anya wanted, and he didn’t care how many

werewolf warriors Roman sent after him to make him leave, Kevin wasn’t going anywhere.

Moments later, he heard footsteps in the hallway. Someone was headed for Roman’s room. Kevin

stiffened and dug himself under the covers. A moment later, the door opened and Jonah poked his head in.

“Sorry, Roman, but you should know that Anya is looking for you.”

Roman sighed. “Thank you, Jonah.” Then, to Kevin, Roman said, “Jonah and Toby are two of the only

three werewolves who are truly loyal to me. Fenrir being the third.”

“Fenrir who tried to kill me,” Kevin muttered, not without hurt in his voice.

“He didn’t, though, did he?” Jonah said. He gave Kevin a look. “Believe it or not, Fenrir is good people.

He’s loyal like the rest of us are to our alpha.” He quietly shut the door again.

“Go now,” Roman said, pushing Kevin away. His eyes were yellow as the wolf took hold of him. “Wait

for me to send word to you.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” Kevin said. “I could stay, fight Anya, if I have to.”

But Roman hushed him. “You have to go. You might even have to leave the city. It’s a possibility.”

“No,” Kevin said as panic seized him. “I won’t run, Roman. I’ll stay and fight for you and the pack.”

Roman gave him a hard, pleading look. “If you stay, Anya will entrap you. Cage you. Please go.”

“She’s just a werewolf.”

“No, Kevin, she’s much more than that.”

The urgency in Roman’s voice spurred Kevin to action. He kissed Roman one last time and quickly

moved to the window. “You’re right, you know,” he said, and Roman looked confused as well as sexily

disheveled as he sat up in bed. “I might not trust you, but I do love you.”

He dropped down to the ground below, picked up his pack and clothes, and fled into the forest.

***

Chapter Twenty-One

Wait for me to send word to you.

It was like something out of a Nineteenth Century romance novel, Kevin thought. He stood behind the bar

at the Barracuda, shaking a martini mixer, and studying the hoards of eager young men dancing, hooking

up, or hooting after the dancers onstage. He kept hoping to spot Roman somewhere in the crowd, but for

the past week he’d been noticeably absent. Kevin had gone so far as to drive by the mansion a few times,

feeling entirely like a stalker, but no one seemed to be home, and he hadn’t had the courage to knock on

the door. He’d given thought to driving up to the lodge again, but a part of him was afraid Roman was

right and Anya was just waiting for him to show up so she could…cage him?

“Man at the end wants a Manhattan,” Allison said, swishing by.

Her words struck a desperate pang in Kevin and he dropped the martini shaker onto the floor as he turned

to find the gentleman in question. It wasn’t Roman.

A moment later, he heard a voice say, “I wanted that shaken, not murdered, barkeep.”

He looked at the businessman with his tie undone who had ordered the martini. “Sorry.” The guy was

obviously kidding him…and checking him out. He scrambled to get the cocktail into a glass, add an olive,

and rush it over. “On the house,” he said in a flat, disinterested voice to keep the man from coming on any

stronger, then turned to scan the floor once more. No Roman.

“He’s not coming,” barked a gruff voice from the opposite end of the bar.

Turning, Kevin recognized Fenrir sitting there, nursing a draft beer that Allison had served him. Kevin

automatically stiffened but Fenrir smirked and made no move to leap over the bar and rip his throat out.

That was something, at least. He did indicate that Kevin should come closer.

“What are you doing here?” Kevin hissed.

“Roman sent me. He has a message for you. He was afraid if he showed up, Anya might become

suspicious. Well, Anya is already suspicious.” Fenrir grimaced. “She smelled you on Roman’s sheets.”

Kevin shuddered as he polished a glass as casually as he could. Had he put Roman in danger by visiting

him? “Anya might become suspicious that you’re here. Aren’t you afraid of her like the others?”

The light darkened in Fenrir’s eyes. “Yes. But I also know how to lose a trail. Military training.”

Jonah said Fenrir was good people, but he wasn’t quite convinced just yet. “You’re still taking an awful

big chance coming here.”

“I’m loyal to Roman. If he tells me to do something, I do it, no questions.”

“You’re in love with him,” Kevin said, not sure how he felt about that.

“It’s more than that, pup. If it weren’t for Roman, I would be dead now.”

Kevin thought about asking Fenrir what he meant, then decided it wasn’t really any of his business.

“What’s the message from Roman?”

“You get off in half an hour?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m to take you downtown.”

***

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I should be running in the opposite direction from you, you know,” Kevin said later as he followed

Fenrir out to his Jeep parked behind the Dumpster. “I have no idea why I’m letting you kidnap me.”

“Because you’re not afraid,” Fenrir said, and threw a smirk over one shoulder. “And I’m not kidnapping

you. I’m escorting you. Don’t believe me?”

Kevin looked at Fenrir’s cold blue eyes, the dog tags around his neck. He should be afraid, yet he wasn’t.

“I’m not sure what I believe.”

“You’re a Pedigree through and through, yet you act like a human sometimes. You’re suspicious like

humans are. Get in.”

Kevin got in the passenger side and Fenrir climbed into the driver’s seat and started the Jeep. Minutes

later, they were headed downtown, toward the warehouse district and the docks. Kevin watched the lights

of the city by night smearing across the windshield. He’d meant to keep his thoughts to himself, but what

came out was, “What do you mean you’d be dead now if it wasn’t for Roman?”

Fenrir kept his eyes on the road as he drove. “A long time ago I was a soldier in Vietnam. Did three tours

of duty before I was dishonorably discharged. I killed another soldier.”

Kevin swallowed hard. “Why…why did you kill a soldier?”

“He was beating this dog he found in one of the villages we were reconning. This was late in the war, the

troops falling apart, but still. I told him to cut it out and he wouldn’t, so I took my gun out and shot him in

the head.”

“For beating a dog.”

“I like dogs. And I hate it when grown men pick on animals or kids. Or women.”

Kevin turned and looked at the man with new eyes. “You went after Hannah.”

“I wouldn’t have hurt her. I like your sister. She’s got chutzpah. And she’s hot.”

Kevin felt his ruff go up. “Don’t talk about my sister like that.”

“Sorry. Roman said you were very protective of her.”

To change the subject, Kevin said, “You were saying about you and Roman?”

Fenrir nodded. “It bothered me only after I got home. Well, there wasn’t much home left, by then. I’d been

on tour a long time. My folks were dead, and my girl had moved on. I started drinking and brawling, real

PTSD shit, you know.” Fenrir’s eyes gleamed and he bit his lip briefly. “Eventually, I decided the only

way out of things was a bullet to the brain. I’d planned on using the gun I shot my fellow officer with, but I

wanted to get real drunk first, so I went to this dive and started drinking myself under a table. It was there

I met Roman.”

Kevin waited to hear the rest of the story, but when Fenrir remained silent, he said, “Go on. What

happened?”

Fenrir shrugged. “You know Roman. He sits down, real posh-like, all British and shit. The most gorgeous

guy I’d ever seen. I think every single person in that dump was drooling over him. Myself, I’d never been

into guys until then, until him. Anyway, he touches my hand and says, ‘I know you want to die tonight, but

you mustn’t.’ I was a little freaked out by that, but not much. By then I was pretty damned drunk so

everything was making sense to me. I nodded and told him what I planned on doing later on. He looked

sad and said, ‘What if there was another way you could live? What if you could live free of this world

and all its trappings? Would you like to be more alive than you’ve ever were before?’ Naturally, I was

curious as hell. I went back to his place and we made love. Then he bit me and changed me into a

werewolf—gave me a new name and a new life, and here we are.”

Kevin listened to their breathing in the Jeep and thought about Fenrir’s story. “Do you regret it? Being a

werewolf?”

“Hell, no. You?”

“I never had much choice.”

Fenrir nodded. “I love my life with Roman. I’ll do anything for him, and what Anya does to him just

breaks my heart. Makes me mad as hell.” He clenched his big fists on the steering wheel.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s told you about Anya’s desire for a pup?”

“Yeah, he said she can’t carry to term.”

Fenrir grimaced. “But she can conceive—that’s how we know it isn’t Roman’s fault.” Fenrir shook his

head sadly. “Roman has watched so many of his children be miscarried or stillborn over the years that it’s

ripped something out of him, some fire. He used to have this strength…this power. He could transform a

room. But every time one of his pups dies, it carves away a little more of his heart. I want to stop Anya

from doing that to him, destroying him that way, a little at a time.”

“Why doesn’t he just leave the pack?”

“Anya controls the pack—those werewolves she’s made, which is nearly all of them.”

“But not you.”

“Roman made me. Only he controls me. But if Roman tries to leave, she’ll have the others hunt him down

and rip him apart. I won’t let that happen, so I can never leave Roman.” He glanced over at Kevin. “It’s

the same thing she’ll do to you if she gets her claws into you. And that’s what Roman’s been trying to

prevent.”

“Jesus,” Kevin breathed under his breath. Suddenly, Anya didn’t seem so innocent, after all.

“Why do you think I’m helping you?”

“I doubt it’s because you like me.”

“I don’t dislike you, Kevin. But I love Roman, and Roman loves you. That makes you important to him.

And me.”

They were drawing near the harbor and a large collection of warfside warehouse. As they pulled into one

of the hangar-sized buildings, a thought occurred to Kevin. “I was pretty rough on you the other night when

we fought. I’m sorry about that.”

Fenrir smirked lustily as he undid his seatbelt and got out. “Why? I like it rough.”

Shaking his head, Kevin followed the big man into the warehouse.

Roman was waiting there for them, perched on a shipping box, a knapsack resting at his feet. Kevin

hurried over and Roman stood up, looping his arms around Kevin’s neck and kissing him passionately.

They kissed and rubbed their bodies against one another in greeting. When they drew back far enough for

Kevin to breathe, Roman said, “Thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure if you would.”

“Of course I would. You’re my alpha, Roman. If you call me, I’ll always come.”

The flicker of love and devotion in Roman’s eyes made Kevin’s heart thud harder. “We have to make this

painfully brief, Golden Eyes. Anya could show up at any time.” He nodded to Fenrir, who moved to the

doors of the warehouse to stand guard. Roman looked back at Kevin, captured his face in his hands like

some precious jewel, and brushed a kiss across his lips. “I know we’ve only been apart a few days, but I

already feel the strain of it. I want you so much it makes my wolf ache within.”

“Yes,” Kevin agreed. “I feel that too.”

“I’m not sure how I’ll bear our permanent parting.”

Kevin stepped back. “What do you mean?”

Roman lifted the knapsack. “I want you to take this. It has passports, travel tickets, new identities for you

and your sister, access to offshore bank accounts, everything you need to start a new life elsewhere.”

Kevin shook his head and stared at the knapsack in horror. “What are you talking about? I’m not going

anywhere.”

“You have to go.” Roman gave him a dark, sobering look. Kevin could see a storm in his eyes. “It’s no

longer a case of maybe. You have to. Now. Today. Go home, take your sister, and leave this city. Follow

the travel plans I have outlined for you inside…”

When Roman tried to give Kevin the bag, he slapped it away. “I am not leaving, Roman!” He held up his

hands. “I’m not afraid of Anya.”

“You should be,” Roman growled and his eyes flashed to wolf. “I can’t protect you anymore. Anya has

ordered a citywide hunt for you, and there’s no way I can stand in her way.”

“I told you…”

“Hush,” Roman said in his commanding alpha voice. He reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out a

handkerchief. Inside it, he revealed a heavy black iron medallion on a long cord. “This is called The Song

of Cerberus, sometimes referred to as Wolfsbane—real Wolfsbane. The ancient people and Greece and

Mesopotamia wore them to ward off the attacks of werewolves. Take it with you, but don’t touch it or it

will burn you. Use it if you must on Anya to protect yourself.” He rewrapped it in the handkerchief and

put it in Kevin’s hand, curling his fingers around it.

Kevin was about to protest further when Fenrir turned and shouted to them, “She’s coming!”

Roman touched his cheek. “I’m sending you away because I love you.”

“You can’t make me leave,” Kevin choked.

“I’m your alpha, Kevin Sullivan. It’s your duty to listen to your alpha. And when he tells you to do

something, you do it without question. Do you understand?” Something about the dire tone in Roman’s

voice made Kevin grab the pack and slip it on.

A few moments later, Fenrir turned. Kevin could hear the squeal of a car rounding the bend. “I’d hate to

break up your love fest, boys, but she’s here!”

Roman nodded and looked Kevin in the eye. “Go! If not for yourself, then for Hannah!”

That motivated him when nothing else could. Kevin started for the exit on the opposite side of the

warehouse hangar, then stopped and turned to look back at Roman as a black stretch limo turned into the

warehouse. Roman was standing there so sedately, but Kevin’s heart was thudding hard and

uncomfortably in his chest.

One of Anya’s werewolves got out of the driver’s seat and went to open the back door. Anya stepped out,

wearing a long, fox fur coat and a shimmering, pale champagne gown beneath it. Her hair was coffered

perfectly like a starlet from an old Hollywood movie. Diamonds flashed at her throat, ears and on her

long, slender fingers. “Kevin!” she said and took a dainty step toward him, a hand outstretched. “Wait,

please!”

Kevin felt torn. A part of him wanted to listen to his alpha and run, but disbelief and indecision held him

rooted to the ground. It just didn’t seem possible that Anya was capable of any evil at all. She was so

beautiful, so dainty. In some ways, she reminded Kevin of Hannah, small but strong. How in hell could

she be Odin’s greedy demon she-wolf?

“I know what you’re thinking!” she called. “I know the lies that Roman has told!”

“He said you keep him against his will, Anya,” Kevin answered, not willing to get any closer than he was.

Anya frowned. “Roman overreacts. He’s with me and my pack purely of his own will.” She clutched at

the collar of her coat and gave him a sad expression as her pack slowly gathered around her. “Do you

really believe Roman does anything he doesn’t want to do?”

She had a point. Kevin looked at Roman, but he stood stoic and silent, staring back at Kevin. Could it be

true? Roman was hardly the type to let other people push him around. Kevin looked back at Anya.

Something about her coat bothered him.

“Kevin, please don’t go,” Anya pleaded, sounding genuinely sad. “You said you wanted to be part of my

pack. I want that too. We all do!”

Suddenly, Kevin knew what was wrong. Her coat wasn’t made of fox fur. It was wolf fur.

Jonah.

“Shit,” he hissed.

Seconds later he saw the realization dawning in Anya’s eyes. She narrowed them to burning cold slits.

“This would have been much easier on you if you had just stayed, Kevin,” she said in a new and much

more guttural voice. She flicked her delicate fingers and several of her biggest, burliest boys broke away

and went to Roman, grabbing him by his long ponytail of hair and forcing him to his knees. His eyes were

stricken, terrified—not for himself, but for Kevin.

Run, he mouthed.

And as Anya pointed at him, commanding the rest of the pack forward, Kevin ran.

***

Chapter Twenty-Three

He raced out of the warehouse and across the tarmac, the sound of several of the pack close on his heels.

They were big, muscular men. He wasn’t sure he could fight them all off, even being a Pedigree. He heard

them panting and growling, and the heavy thud of their boots sent a worm of panic up his back and into his

heart, but Kevin swallowed it down and worked on concentrating on his escape. He ducked into a nearby

crowded parking lot and weaved between the parked cars, hoping to lose his pursuers. I will hold it

together, he told himself. I will not panic!

Flashing images of Anya’s coat made him break out in a cold sweat. If Anya and the pack were willing to

do that to Jonah, poor Jonah, there was no limit to what they would do to him. He thought about ducking

down and trying to hide between the parked cars, but he knew his scent would quickly give him away.

The werewolves could track an animal in the forest hours after it had passed through; they would easily

discover him. Leaving the car park behind, he headed toward the street, but quickly came up against a tall,

chain-link safety fence at least nine feet tall.

A huge junkyard dog lunged against the fence, barking and baring its fangs. Kevin growled back and the

dog turned tail and raced away, whining. He quickly scaled the fence and dropped down on the other side,

but he knew he’d made enough noise to raise the dead. The pack would be here in a matter of minutes.

The street lay ahead, his apartment at least a dozen blocks away, but he’d grown up in this part of the city

and he knew a few shortcuts through some back alleys. He and Hannah had often used them when they

wanted to sneak to the movies. He took to them, winding his way around crumbling projects and old

industrial machine shops. The place was like a maze, almost more confusing than he remembered. He

raced down tight alleys clotted with garbage, past bums huddled against brownstone walls full of

scrawled graffiti. This part of the city had seen little, if any, urban renewal. It was a mix of old and new

architecture and a mind field of trash and the homeless.

Behind him, the chain-link fence groaned as members of the pack leapt it effortlessly. They were a little

too close to civilization to shift, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have speed, strength and agility on their

side. Even in human form, all the werewolves were wolf-like in their endurance.

Kevin splashed through puddles, dashed around corners and leaped small wooden fences. He heard

screams from down the alley as the pack fell across the homeless and tore into them in frustration.

Shaking with rage and terror, he ducked into the street and crossed an old, abandoned railroad station.

The project where he and Hannah lived wasn’t far off—they used to be able to hear the trains passing

when they were kids—but that’s not where Hannah was. She was at Matthew’s place. He had an

apartment near the church several blocks away. But maybe he could use that to his advantage.