What the hell?
He and Carter slid to a stop. Any thought of continuing the chase evaporated as the two wolves—who were larger than any in the wild but still slightly smaller than any of their pack mates—bolted at a pace they’d never be able to match. No werewolf Hale had ever heard of could have run that fast.
“What the hell just happened?” he asked.
Beside him, Carter crouched down to pick up a piece of material that belonged to one of the men’s shirts. The edges were frayed, as if every thread had popped at once. The men had shifted so fast that their frigging clothes had exploded!
Hale didn’t even know that was possible.
The ability to accomplish a full shift generally came with maturity and acceptance of their innerwolf. But even Gage—the most mature member of the Pack by far—took several seconds to pull off the transition from human form to wolf.
No one in the Pack could shift like those two men. It shouldn’t even be possible.
“I’m not sure,” Carter said, sniffing the piece of torn fabric in his hand. “But we’d better let Gage and the rest of the Pack know about it. Something tells me that whatever those wolves are here for, it can’t be good.”
Because of course.
They were already dealing with Romanian gladiators and a Greek god of dread. Why not add a pair of mysterious werewolves to their list of problems?
Chapter 19
Karissa easily spotted Deven sitting at a table in the back of the café when she walked in. The restaurant was only a few minutes from their extended-stay hotel and had quickly become their go-to for breakfast. Her brother already had a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of him, fork in one hand, fingers of the other tapping on the keyboard of his laptop on the table.
Pulling back before he could see her, Karissa took out her phone and flipped through her contacts until she found the old number Nicos had given her ten years ago. She hadn’t bothered calling him in years, mostly because she’d become tired of wasting her time. But after last night, Karissa knew she had to try again—for Hale. And for the future the two of them might be able to have.
As usual, the call went to voicemail, which was a mixed blessing. In those rare cases when she’d been able to talk to Nicos directly, the discussions had ended in failure and frustration. Not that leaving a message had ever worked any better.
But right then, after the night she’d spent with Hale, Karissa hoped a personal plea might get through this time. Because she was willing to begif necessary. Then the voice on the other end of the line was telling her to leave her message and she had no more time to wonder what could have been different if Nicos had actually answered his damn phone.
“It’s me,” she said without bothering to introduce herself. “I know it’s probably a waste of time, but I need your help. I’ve run into more trouble than I can deal with…more than a Paladin can deal with. The man I’m facing is an avatar of Deimos and is almost three hundred years old and too powerful for me to fight. If that weren’t enough, there’s also a band of creatures here in Dallas called the Balauri. Apparently, they’re some kind of supernatural Romanian gladiators with dragon scales for skin and an uncontrollable urge to hunt and kill. My sword will barely scratch them, and they’ve become fixated on a group of my friends, including a man who’s become very important to me. More important than I would ever have imagined. I need to know if there’s any way a Paladin can defeat Deimos’s avatar. But more than that, I need to know if these Balauri have a weakness that can be exploited. Please, Nicos. Anything you can tell me would be helpful. I’m—”
Karissa was about to start begging but was cut off by the beep. She considered calling the priest back so she could include the beseeching part but ultimately decided against it. If Nicos didn’t wantto help, he wouldn’t, regardless of how much she implored him.
Deven caught sight of Karissa as she stepped back into view, throwing a wave her way as she wandered over to the buffet and perused the options. Normally, she’d just grab some avocado toast and a bowl of strawberries to go along with her coffee, but after this morning’s vigorous shower, she needed something a little more filling.
As she scooped a generous helping of scrambled eggs onto a plate, she found herself replaying everything she and Hale had done that morning. It was a good thing no one else was at the buffet right then because she was pretty sure she was blushing.
This morning—and last night—had been nothing short of incredible. Beyond that, actually. But as amazing as the sex had been—and yes, it had been world-changing—it was the connection she’d felt between herself and Hale that had captivated her the most. It seemed silly to even think it, but she had no other word to describe what she’d experienced last night other than that. As she’d lain half-asleep on his chest after making love, it was like she could somehow sense his thoughts as well as feel what he felt for her.
She’d tried to write it off as the byproduct of all those mind-blowing orgasms, but that didn’t explain why she’d still felt the same way this morning before their fun in the shower. Hell, she couldstill feel the connection now. Like she could close her eyes and simply know where Hale was at that exact moment.
It was amazing.
And mind-boggling.
Not to mention maybe a little bit scary, too.
Karissa carried her plate of eggs, bacon, and toast over to the table, taking a seat across from Deven to find a mug of coffee waiting for her. Deven must have asked their server for it while she’d been at the buffet.
“So, how was last night?” her brother asked casually.
Most of his attention was seemingly fixed on the screen of his laptop and the rest on his breakfast, but Karissa didn’t miss the sneaky glance he threw her way out of the corner of his eye. She recognized that smirk. It was the one he wore whenever he thought he knew something. If it had been any of her other brothers, Karissa would have probably refused to even talk to them, but this was Deven asking, and they shared everything. They always had.
“It was amazing,” she said, smiling as she loaded her fork with the fluffy yellow eggs. “But also kind of terrifying.”
Deven glanced up from his plate of food. “Because you’re worried about what comes next after sleeping with Hale.”
Karissa blinked, pausing with her fork halfway to her mouth. “When did you become so wise?”
