“What orwhoon earth was that?” Sally asked.
Jen sighed. “Well, because there can never be a dull moment in this fur-infested home, we have found ourselves in a bit of a situation.”
“W-hat kind of situation?” Sally asked, drawing out the words.
“Oh, you know, just one where a dormant has flipped her switch, phased, and doesn’t seem to be able to phase back to her human form. I’m sure it’s no biggie. Vasile can probably order her to phase and, poof, she’ll be her little, sassy self again.”
“Zara?” Sally asked, her eyes widening. “Is she okay?”
“If your definition of okay is ‘stuck in her wolf form,’ then she’s hell-a okay.”
“What does hell-a even mean?” Costin asked, his eyes still glued to the hall.
“It means she’s a helluva lot of okay. Duh.”
Costin glanced over his shoulder at Sally. “We’re back for less than a minute and the brain cells are already screaming ‘noooo, don’t kill us.’”
Sally bit back laughter and turned to Jen and Jacque. “How is Wadim?”
“I think he needs a new T-shirt,” Jen said.
Jacque nodded. “It needs to say ‘My mate’s a feral wolf. Stick that in your history books and smoke it.’”
“He must be freaking out,” Sally said quietly.
“Little bit,” Jen said, holding up her hand and pinching her forefinger and thumb together.
There was another loud snarl and then a door slamming, followed by panicked shouts.
“SHE’S OUT!” Wadim’s voice boomed throughout the house.
“Out?” Costin asked.
“She was in the cage. Apparently, the cage didn’t hold,” Jen said as she ran for the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Sally asked, her voice a bit frantic.
“Don’t feel like being wolf chow,” Jen called as her feet took the stairs two at a time. “So, I’m not hanging around for an up-close-and-personal look at our newest she-wolf.”
Costin grabbed Sally and Jacque by the hand and began to follow Jen, pulling them so quickly Sally nearly stumbled. The growling got louder, as did the yelling. Before they even made it to the first landing, they saw a rust-colored wolf race past, heading straight for the front door. It moved slightly to the right and lunged. The wolf’s body broke through the glass window without slowing down.
Jen cursed. “Bloody hell, that’s the fifth window in two days.”
Wadim was right behind her, in his human form, leaping through the ruined window and out into the night.
“Well,” Sally said, as her heart pounded painfully in her chest, “at least she’s here with us and not stuck in a vampire dungeon. We can get her through this. Just like we’ve gotten each other through so many things.”
Jacque and Jen both nodded. “We totally got this.”
Jen held out her hand. Jacque and Sally stared at it like it might bite them. “Come on.” Jen huffed. “You know we’re having a moment. We’re like the three musketeers. We need to do that one-for-all-and-all-for-one crap.”
Costin placed his hand on top of Jen’s and winked at his mate.
Sally shook her head but placed her hand over his. “You do realize your IQ just dropped twenty points, right?”
Jacque placed her hand on top of Sally’s. “Do I want to know why you said that?”
Sally smiled wickedly. “Inside joke.”
