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Chapter 10

“Isobelle, stop!” Alex’s commanding voice sent a jolt through my heart.

My startled scream rang through my ears before a rough hand covered my mouth.

“You’re bleeding,” Lucas’s raspy voice accompanied a hot gust against my ear.

He was behind me. Alex was in front of me. My fingers attempted to peel away Lucas’s grip as I wrestled against him. Then two wet snouts nudged against my elbows, causing me to whimper helplessly.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Alex berated. “The forest isn’t safe during the day, let alone at night.”

“Hey!” Lucas barked back, “Lay off her. Can’t you see that she’s scared?”

Lucas curled his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. The heat from his skin seeped through the thin cotton of my nightdress, permeating through to my heart. Warmth. Protection. Safety. Those feelings surfaced, instilling somewhere within my inner core, enabling me to relax. There was no way they would let me get ripped apart by wolves. Alex stepped forward and brought his hands to rest on either side of my face; his warm breath tickled my skin, so close, our noses almost touched.

“Look at me,” Alex commanded.

I obeyed and saw that his irises were glowing silvery white. My startled gasp skipped in my throat, wondering how it was possible. Lucas dropped his hand, allowing me a moment to breathe.

“Your eyes . . . what’s wrong with them?” I stammered.

I flicked my gaze around and discovered that Lucas’s eyes seemed different too. His were the same color as smoldering embers, wild and intense. Either they were wearing some fucked-up contacts, or Alex slipped LSD into my tea.

“And the wolves,” my voice held a hint of hysteria as I glanced at either side of me. “Whose are they?” I asked, stepping back cautiously.

I had been around wolves before, but those had been bred in a sanctuary. They were used to human contact. These were wild, abnormally huge, and yet they acted more like domestic pets who craved my attention. I didn’t want to risk petting them in case they bit my fucking hand off. They can smell fear and use it to their advantage.

“They’re yours,” Lucas’s husky chortle tickled my neck, causing my spine to arch.

My skin prickled with tension, needing to get the fuck out of here and fast.

Alex cleared his throat. “Let’s get you home.”

Home?

“Then you’ll bring me back to the guest house?” I asked hopefully. “It’ll soon be morning and Chloe will notice that I’m missing. She’ll call the police, and then it’ll be out of my hands.”

Lucas scooped me up to carry me. “We’re not taking you back there, princess. By the time the night is over, you won’t want to leave us, you’ll want to stay.”

“Now look who’s scaring her,” Alex muttered from behind us.

Both wolves loped at our sides, and I wondered whether they were the same wolves I saw earlier tonight. My insides twisted at the concept of Alex’s words ringing true. Werewolves? What utter nonsense. I bet he just said that to scare me into submission. Bloody sadist.

Lucas carried me through the forest in no time. As we stepped back into the pale moonlight, I could finally see all the angry welts on my skin. It made the pain increase tenfold. Like seeing was believing. Even the cool night air does nothing to ease me. It just made it worse.

“I bet you’re sorry you ran away!” Alex commented briskly. “Maybe you’ll think twice before disobeying us next time.”

Was he always this bossy? The snappy tone of his voice made it sound as if he was in a constant mood. Someone who liked things to run smooth and orderly, his way or no way. Perhaps he would be better suited in the military. That way, someone could shove a marching baton up his ass for being a colossal prick. So, why did I find his dominance arousing?

I wriggled against Lucas. “Put me down.”

He did as I asked, and I winced with pain as my feet touched the ground.

“Mason . . . Grayson,” Alex boomed, without so much as removing his steely gaze from me.

The two wolves padded around me in circles.

“Show her. She needs to see for herself before she can learn to trust us,” Alex spoke to the wolves.

“Show me what?” I half-whined. I was in too much discomfort to care. “Are you seriously going to pretend that those wolves are your brothers?” I chuckled a pained laugh, hobbling on the spot.

The wolves hunched to the ground, my eyes widening with terror as they began a metamorphosis like that of a horror film. I was almost sick as their bones moved beneath their fur like mechanical snakes. The hairs on their limbs receded, revealing unblemished skin over firm muscle, and their snouts shrank back inside their skulls to reveal two familiar faces. They grunted and groaned as they worked through their shift, gasping for breath as it ended.

“Oh my God!” I shrieked, backing into Lucas, then I recoiled away and bumped into Alex, bouncing between them like a pinball.

Alex grasped my jaw, not forcibly but gently, and made me watch until Mason and Grayson rose to their feet like men. I witnessed first-hand that werewolves existed, and the research I was here to carry out would amount to nothing. No one would believe this. These guys would never let me go. Not after witnessing this. I was stuck here forever, never to see my loved ones again.

“You . . .” I dragged my finger through the air, pointing at each of them. “You’re werewolves.”

Alex bristled, and he snatched my wrists in case I tried to run again. “Oh, come on, Isobelle. You should know by now that we’re not going to hurt you, but if you take off again you will be disciplined,” he growled a warning.

Mason’s eyes flashed with guilt as he took in the sight of my fearful expression. “Come here,” he spoke soothingly, holding out his arms.

“But you’re nude,” I pointed out the obvious.

If this was going to be a regular occurrence around here, then I needed to get used to the nudity. As the saying goes, ‘if you’ve seen one dick, you’ve seen them all’ but that wasn’t true. The Bennett brothers put all my exes to shame in the dick department.

“And you’re complaining because . . .” Grayson narrowed his eyes as he delivered his cheeky retort.

“Because I hardly fucking know you, that’s why!” I spat back, mortified.

Alex raised his hands at his sides. “So, give us a chance to change that.” He bounced his shoulders in a simple shrug. “I know you feel our connection, so there’s no use trying to deny it.”

“Oh yeah, and what makes you an expert on my feelings?” I argued, refusing to admit it.

His eyes locked with mine in a battle for dominance, sending my arousal into overdrive. My pussy clenched with the thirsty need to feast, but I would be damned if I was going to stroke his ego and submit to him. It thrilled me to see his nostrils flare with annoyance.

Alex stalked closer and sucked in a lungful of air through his nostrils, doing the very thing that made my stomach flutter. “Deny it all you want, but your body is betraying you, sweetheart.”

Shit . . . how can he tell?

The husky rumble of his voice made love to my ears, quickening my pulse, and melting my insides. I was consciously aware of the warm gush seeping into my knickers, proving the smug fucker right.

“There will be time for all of that when we’ve tended to her wounds?” Mason suggested, easing the tension between us.

Then Mason engulfed me in a comforting hug, sending pleasurable sparks skittering through my body to eliminate the pain I was in. How could that be? They defied medical science in all ways possible.

Grayson took over from Mason, slapping his arms away from me. “Give her to me,” he commanded, swatting him away like a fly. “I’ll take it from here.”

Mason scowled at him. “Fine, but don’t blow it. I’ll make her some chamomile tea.” He sprinted back in the direction of the cabin.

Lucas and Alex held back to talk as Grayson carried me. I didn’t put up a fight this time. It hurt too much to walk.

“It’s all right,” Grayson soothed. “Daddy has got you.”

Did he really just say that?

As much as that comment made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle with ‘what the fuckery’ vibes, he sounded tender and sweet. Not creepy. There was a loving edge to his voice that wasn’t there before. And in all honesty, I liked it. But as much as I tried to forget what I saw and pretend they were men, I couldn’t. They were not regular men, but mythical creatures who had pledged themselves to me. It hardly seemed real. Something wasn’t quite right. There had to be a catch.

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