“You knew about Laina?”
“From the moment she stepped through my protective spell.”
Mouth gaping, Kyle faced the woman who’d been nanny, housekeeper, and friend.
“I’ve always been more than your nanny and your housekeeper,” she said. “I’m your fairy godmother, Kyle. Your father hired me to look after you two in case something like this were to happen.”
Kyle shook his head. “My father expected my girlfriend would be a werewolf?”
“It wouldn’t have surprised him, Kyle. Your mother was a shifter after all, and Nate’s mother was half ogre.” She lowered her voice in the endearing way she did when she was broaching a sensitive subject. “Your daddy loved anyone exotic, and between you and me, he couldn’t keep it in his pants to save his life.”
Nate gestured wildly.
“What’s wrong with him?” Gerty asked.
“The thing that locked us up in here zapped his vocal cords.”
“Hmm. Don’t make me regret this, Nate.”
With a wave of her wand, Gerty muttered a string of syllables, then pointed the tip at Nate’s throat. A shower of sparks cascaded over his Adam’s apple.
“—get us the hell out of here!” Nate finished.
“You always were the direct one. Now, I imagine Laina wants to help her brother against that thing they call Alex. We must bring her to her siblings.”
“Wait, Gerty. I have so many questions,” Kyle pleaded.
She placed her hands on his cheeks, her gray brows lifting. “I know, Kyle. I’ve waited so long to be able to tell you the truth. Just wait a little longer. There is too much at stake.” She threaded her fingers into his and hooked her arm into Nate’s. “You’ll have to carry her.”
“Who? The wolf?”
“We have to be touching, or I can’t transport us all.”
Kyle looked into the golden eyes of the enormous dark beast before him. The woman he loved was in there; he was sure of it.
Kyle took a deep breath. “Laina, up.” He patted his chest. Without hesitation, she leaped into his arms. His knees almost buckled, but he caught her. Gerty didn’t waste the opportunity.
“Stars above and depths below, take us where we need to go.” With a swirl of her silver wand, Gerty sent a shower of sparks toward the ceiling. The magic plumed out like a sparkling umbrella, encasing them in white-hot fire.
Kyle had the distinct impression of weightlessness, followed by tumbling. In the time it took to blink, the sparks rained down and disappeared in the grass and twigs now under his feet. The wolf’s face brushed against his cheek as she pushed off his shoulders and took off running at full speed through the thick band of trees.
“Where are we?”
“Laina’s brother Silas is no fool. He lured Alex behind Hunt Club. He must have figured out what I was. They’re in the clearing behind the house.”
“Alex will kill her entire family,” Kyle said. “We’ve got to help them.”
“This way,” Gerty said, heading in the direction Laina had gone.
But Nate objected. “What do we know about these wolves anyway? I got no skin in this game. I’m not going to risk my neck to save three freaks I barely know.”
Kyle turned to face Nate. “Then find your way back home or wait here. Either way, you’re on your own.” He jogged to catch up to Gerty.
It wasn’t long before the growls and snaps of a full-fledged dog fight reached Kyle’s ears. He ran faster, breaking from the trees into a clearing filled with fur, teeth, and claws. He found Laina quickly enough, her mink-colored fur shining silkily in the moonlight. He assumed the larger black wolf next to her was her brother Silas. His fur was darker and duller, and his jade eyes carried the wary look of a leader. The third wolf fighting side by side with them had a dark stripe that ran along his back from his ears to his tail, with a lighter, tawny underside that made him seem patched together.
Despite the odds being in their favor, the red wolf, whom he assumed was Alex, was winning the fight. He was faster, unnaturally so, and Silas and Jason sported bloody fur where Alex had struck successfully. When Jason turned, one entire leg was matted with blood, a pronounced limp putting him at a disadvantage. Silas’s wolf wore a nasty gash across his shoulder.
Laina had arrived just in time. She reared up. Alex went for her throat.
