Bones snapped and muscles tore, but strangely, it didn’t hurt nearly as much as he thought it would considering what he’d seen Rachel go through when she’d shifted. When Rachel had said it was possible to turn into a wolf, he hadn’t been able to wrap his head around it. He was shocked to discover it was as simple as allowing it to happen.
Thenachtmahrin his head fought like hell to stay there, ripping and tearing with mental claws that made him think of rusty fishhooks. But in the span of one bone breaking and the next, the presence—and the fear—disappeared from his mind like the popping of a soap bubble on a warm sidewalk.
He took a deep breath and immediately knew he was no longer in his human form. The movement of his ribs against the hard floor only accentuated the fur covering his body. He inhaled again, relishing how everything smelled so much crisper and more alive—even the smoke and fumes that threatened to choke him.
Knox opened his eyes to gaze at Rachel. Seeing her through the eyes of a wolf, she was even more beautiful than in her human form, as unbelievable as that seemed.
He was also pretty sure she was smiling at him.
He was still sitting there gazing into the most perfect eyes ever when he heard a grunt and scrambling sound coming from the flames on the far side of the library. In a single synchronized heartbeat, both he and Rachel were on their feet. Turning around was complicated on four paws, but within a step or two, he got the hang of it.
The figure who leaped out of the fire already consuming most of the room was charred and bloody, smoke pouring off what was left of its clothing. The cracked and broken lips pulled back in a sneer, and even with the red, glowing eyes, Knox recognized Theo.
Understanding shook his core as he remembered something Davina had said. Thenachtmahrwas nearly impossible to kill because it would keep jumping into any available host. Anyhumanhost. The thing couldn’t stay inside him or Rachel in their wolf forms, so it had sought out the only other living thing in range—Theo. Even though he was burned and damaged, thenachtmahrhad still possessed him.
Rachel snarled at the creature charging toward them, its face going back and forth between the clown and Lawrence as it laughed. It was a horrible, guttural sound coming from a throat too scarred and damaged from the fire to do anything else.
Salt water or fire.
Either would kill thenachtmahr.
Knox didn’t pause to think. He simply charged forward and slammed his fur-covered shoulder into the thing’s chest, driving it back. Wicked, bloody claws swiped out at Knox, slashing deep into his flesh. He reared back and slammed into the creature again, knocking the monster into the flames.
The creature fell, raw flames racing to cover its arms, legs, and torso. The few remaining patches of hair singed away, yet the thing somehow crawled back onto its feet and stumbled forward again.
Rachel sprinted past Knox in a blur, ramming her shoulder into thenachtmahrand knocking it back into flames that leaped up as if hungry to devour it. This time, the thing didn’t even try to regain its feet, instead crawling toward them on hands and knees as its face and body twisted from shape to shape. Knox recognized the clown and Lawrence, but there were many others. Interspersed among the misshapen monsters were figures that jarred his senses—a child with huge, innocent eyes, a woman in a wedding dress, a man in a fedora—and Knox instinctively knew he was seeing the forms thenachtmahrhad used over the years to terrify its victims. And based on how many different shapes there were, he could only guess how many hundreds of years this thing had been alive.
Soon enough, the slide show of horrors stopped and a shapeless thing collapsed to the floor, flames continuing to lick across it. Knox held his breath, sure that at any moment, the creature would jump up and charge at them yet again. It didn’t. Instead of going out with some dramatic whoosh of flames and sparks, thenachtmahrsimply crumpled to glowing coals like a burned-out log.
Knox allowed himself maybe three seconds to rejoice in the victory before it became impossible to ignore the roaring flames all around them. He lifted his head to see that the fire hadn’t merely engulfed the library but seemed to be consuming the entire mansion. The spiral staircase and the catwalk it led to were also gone. Large sections of the roof had disappeared, revealing the burning rooms above. The heat was beyond intense, and his fur began to curl up as it singed, the overheated air scalding his lungs with every breath. A quick glance toward the door—or at least where the door had been—confirmed they wouldn’t be getting out that way. It was an inferno over there.
He looked at Rachel to see her gazing at him. She knew they weren’t getting out of there, too. He could see it in her eyes.
Fear washed through him much like it had when thenachtmahrtried to take over. Knox realized the fear wasn’t for his own death—it was for Rachel and what they could have had together if they’d been given the chance. Diego had been sure Knox and Rachel were soul mates, that she wasThe Onefor him. He liked to believe that was true, but now he’d never get a chance to know for sure.
Knox felt more than heard Rachel move closer to him. She looked deeply into his eyes for a moment, then rested her forehead against his. He ignored the heat and smoke then, letting himself absorb every sensation that was the woman he loved. He wished like hell he was in human form right then, so he could tell her how he felt about her before the end.
He was so lost in her scent and the softness of her fur against his that when the ceiling let loose and crashed down behind him, he barely flinched. Until Rachel moved back and let out a loud yelp. Thinking she’d been hit with a piece of flaming debris, he pulled back to look her over only to see her staring up at the roof.
A huge part of it had collapsed, crushing the ceiling. Even through the smoke and flames, he could make out a smattering of stars. But the night sky wasn’t what held Rachel’s attention—or his. Instead, it was the long section of slate-covered wood running in an incline from the floor of the library up to the roof. Fire was already licking at the bottom of it, but the top at least remained free of flames.
He threw a quick glance at Rachel, then they were both moving, scrambling, and slipping on the smooth tile, but making it up to the roof nonetheless.
The feeling of fresh air as they cleared the fire burning on the second floor and reached the roofline was exhilarating. Knox would have laughed if he could. Then he realized he actually was laughing, except it was coming out like a chuffing sound. He glanced at Rachel to see her standing there with her pink tongue hanging out, laughing, too.
Knox would have given anything to stay there with Rachel in that moment, but when the part of the roof they were on started to shake, he knew the rest of this mansion would be coming down soon—bringing them with it.
They ran then, slipping across sections of the roof where flames were already coming through, easily finding a way down to a first-floor landing, then onto the grassy lawn behind the mansion. They continued past the pond, heading for the woods beyond, and Knox prayed no one saw two huge wolves escaping from the burning building.
Chapter 17
Rachel was lying comfortably in the pine-straw-covered ground about twenty feet into the woods behind the house, enjoying the sensation of Knox’s strong, furry body resting against hers and taking in the complete craziness going on half a football field away. The property was crawling with cops and firefighters, not to mention reporters, but luckily, everyone was too focused on the crime scene to notice two extremely large wolves hiding out in the forest.
Admittedly, she was a little concerned about how she was going to get back into her human form, since she had no idea how she’d ended up with four feet and a fur coat in the first place. She hadn’t even consciously called on her inner wolf. All she knew was that she would have done anything to protect Knox from the clown. Clearly, the wolf inside her had felt the same, and she was immensely grateful for that. Even now, the memory of what the clown had almost forced her to do to Knox made her dizzy. As for the wolf thing, she was sure she and Knox would figure out how to change back at some point. Although, she had to admit, he made an extremely handsome wolf.
Shoving thoughts of how they were going to live as wolves for an extended period, Rachel focused on the good stuff that had happened tonight. They’d rescued Addy and her mom, killed the frigging clown, and managed to escape a burning building without being roasted alive. Overall, she had to admit it had been a pretty good evening.
Unfortunately, she doubted Addy and her mom thought the same, especially since it seemed like a foregone conclusion their house and everything in it was gone. But they were alive, and Rachel hoped they realized that was the most important thing. Something told Rachel it was going to take a while for Jennifer and her daughter to get over the reality of Conrad hiring someone to murder them.
