She screamed like she was in a horror movie, a high pitched, mirror-shattering screech that did not stop until her vocal cords gave out. Cowering in a huddled crouch against the tree, she opened her eyes and drew in a breath to see why she was still alive.
The huge silver wolf stood inches from her, its snout lowered to the height of her shoulders as if it were friendly.
But that couldn’t be. Wolves were not friendly. She drew in a shaky breath, not moving a muscle, her eyes traveling warily over the animal. It had a silver tag on one ear, as if it had been marked for study at some point. She slowly reached her hand inside the pocket of her coat, withdrawing her wand. The wolf snarled, its powerful jaws snatching the wand and tearing it from her hand while she emitted another ear-piercing scream.
It dropped the wand into the snow and lowered its snout again, nudging her thigh.
Was that another tag over its eye? The eyes lifted and stared straight at her. Golden eyes.
With a gasp, her feet slid out from under her, and she plopped on the snowy ground in shock.
“C-Cade?”
The wolf nudged her again, this time under her elbow, like it—he—wanted to help her stand.
“Cade?” she repeated.
Was she losing her mind? Was this the hallucination of hypothermia? Or was Cade Lupus a shifter? Duh! Of course he was. Canis lupus.
He gave a short bark, and she shrieked reflexively even though she understood he was answering her. As if to reassure her, he flopped down and laid his head in her lap. She realized he wore a satchel across one shoulder, the final confirmation that this wolf, was indeed, her landlord.
She let out a sob of relief and buried her face in his fur, stroking his beautiful coat.
He made another vocalization—just the start of a bark and leapt to his feet, looking away and looking back to her.
“Okay,” she sniffed, trying to recover. “You want me to follow?”
He made a chuffing sound and trotted forward, stopping to look back. She picked up her wand and jogged to his side, grateful she would not freeze to death in the Black Forest.
He kept a swift pace. She had to trot to keep up, but she didn’t mind as it helped her get warm. She thought he would take her back to his house or to her place if it were closer, but instead, they ended up at a giant lodge, a large sign announcing its name in bold letters.
Spa NK,Fetish Shop and Play Lodge
The wolf trottedup the steps as if he belonged there.
“Wait, I don’t know if they’ll allow dogs… er, wolves.”
The door swung open and the bellhop said, “Welcome, Mr. Lupus. Welcome, ma’am.”
She stared in surprise, following Cade as he traipsed inside like he owned the place.
“Hi, Cade!” the bubbly desk clerk greeted him. If Faye were a wolf, she would’ve growled at the insipid girl. “I’m assuming you want your usual room.” The clerk typed something into her computer.
Usual room? What the hell was this place? She glanced around, seeing the kinds of things you might find in a sex shop hanging on the walls: riding crops, wrist cuffs, blindfolds, paddles.
Her belly tightened and her mouth went dry. Where had Cade taken her?
The clerk looked at her for the first time, placing two key cards on the counter. “Room 38B, upstairs and to your left.” She didn’t give Faye the bright smile she gave Cade.
Trying to look confident, she snatched up the cards and marched ahead, accidentally passing the stairs while she held her head high. She turned around and saw Cade standing with two paws climbing the stairs, looking expectantly at her.
“Oops,” she muttered, returning and stomping up the stairs with him. She looked down over the balcony into the great room of the lodge. Two women and a man sat playing chess. Something about the red-haired woman made the hairs of her arms stand up.Supernatural.Maybe fey like her? No… something different. She could not tell for sure.
Cade bumped her leg to hurry her, leading her to their room where she used the key card to get in.
The enormous room was appointed in rustic elegance. The bathroom alone was as big as her bedroom, with a huge travertine tile tub in the middle, complete with jets. The bedroom had only one king bed.
That would be a problem.
