“Oh, you don’t have to?—”
“It’s fox fur,” he said, pushing it into my hands. “I killed twelve of them in one night.”
A sense of disorientation washed over me, and I found myself nodding as I accepted the coat. “That’s a lot of foxes.”
He sniffed, bracing his hands on his hips as he stared around the forest. “Maybe for some men. Not for me.”
“Uh-huh.” I settled the coat around my shoulders because I didn’t know what else to do. The scent of pine enveloped me like being hugged by a Christmas tree.
He jerked his head toward the trap. “I bet you’re wondering how I did that.”
I blinked. “Um, yes. It was very impressive.”
“Thanks. We’ve had trouble with bears lately. They don’t scare me, but they ruined my orchard.” He gestured toward a gap in the trees. “The trail is that way. It’ll take you to the main road. I can walk you there.”
I hesitated. But the chronomancer had said I was supposed to set events in motion. That meant interfering.
This man was American—and a werewolf. The timeline had connected me to Zara Rockford, the alpha of the Rockford Werewolf Pack and mate to Struan MacLure and Finn MacAlasdair.
Which meant this was probably Brader Ashcroft, the rival alpha who’d paid a witch to sabotage Zara in the Firstborn Games. He and his father had also hired a witch to curse Zara’s pack with moon sickness. With the sickness ravaging her people, Brader believed her pack would turn on her, then he could step in and offer marriage and joint leadership of the pack. Only he’d never planned to share leadership with Zara. He just wanted her.
“Thank you,” I said. Questions spun through my head as Brader led me to the trail. Was I supposed to kill him? Stop the moon sickness before it started? Probably not. In my time, Zara was still young for an immortal. I didn’t know what time I’d landed in, but it was definitely before Zara’s birth.
But I had to dosomething. If I didn’t, who knew how long the gods would strand me with Brader Ashcroft?
The forest thinned, more sun streaming through the canopy. My dress caught on brambles, and I yanked it free. “Do you know anyone named Rockford?” I asked.
Brader stopped, instant suspicion in his eyes. “The Rockford lands border mine.” His nostrils flared, and he narrowed his eyes. “You smell different. You’re not human.”
My blood pumped faster. Werewolves had keen noses. Of course he’d scented that I was immortal.
But he absolutely couldn’t find out that I was a dragon. Females were extinct in this time.
“I have to go,” I said, backing up.
He moved with me. “How do you know about the Rockfords? Are you a scout? A spy?”
“No!” The word came out too fast. “I’m just— I thought you might know Zara Rockford.”
“Who?”
I racked my brain for the name of Zara’s father and came up empty-handed. Brader already knew I wasn’t human. Throwing caution to the wind, I blurted, “The Rockford alpha’s daughter.”
Brader stopped, confusion plastered on his face. “Reinald doesn’t have a daughter.”
My throat went dry. “I-I must have been mistaken.” I braced for him to attack.
Instead, a calculating gleam lit his eyes. “Zara…” he said slowly, rolling the name on his tongue as if he tasted it. “Interesting.”
Tingles rushed over my skin. A low hum filled my ears, and the air around me started to vibrate. Whispers floated through the trees, indistinct voices overlapping.
Brader stepped closer, sniffing the air. “You smell like old magic. What are you?”
The whispers built. Brader didn’t seem to hear them.
In my mind, my dragon flared her wings. Fire flickered under my skin. Scales rippled down my arms.
Brader widened his eyes. “You’re?—”
