She should’ve known.
The storm increased in force, and she had to white-knuckle the steering wheel as she drove around the lake toward the Volk estate. Another wolf howled in the distance, and she shivered, surprised she could hear it through the storm. Thunder rolled high and loud, and she turned up the heat in the vehicle, unable to stop trembling. Man, her body was off with this wolf shifter pregnancy.
Seth was waiting for her on his porch, and the look on his face was not exactly welcoming. She didn’t care. She parked the vehicle and jumped out, running through the rain to reach him.
“I told you to stay at your cabin.” His face was set in harsh lines, and his body appeared carved from stone.
“I’m aware of what you told me.” She hustled under the eaves and turned to face him with her back to the door. “Something’s going on, and you need backup.”
“What I need is for you to stay away from danger. Always,” he snapped. With the storm raging behind him, he looked deadlier than she could ever have imagined. He wore ripped jeans, a dark T-shirt, and thick boots for whatever was happening. She saw no visible weapons.
She shivered. “Let’s go inside, take up defensive positions, and then you can tell me what’s happening.”
He pinned her with his gaze, and she took a step back. “Apparently, the lesson last night hasn’t taken hold,” he drawled. “I’ll have to try harder.”
She gulped, her temper stirring.
His shoulders went back, and he turned his head, lifting his face. He stilled in the way of the mountains around them.
“What?” she whispered. Then he was moving right into her, opening the front door, and setting her inside.
“Do you have your gun?”
She slid on the wooden floor in her wet boots. “Yes. What happened? Who’s out there?” She couldn’t see anybody through the darkened trees, but his senses were better than hers.
“The enemy, and I need you to stay inside. Do you have silver bullets in that gun?”
She wasn’t a moron. “Of course.”
“Good. Shut the door. Lock it, and only shoot if somebody comes in.” He grabbed her arms and pulled her toward him, placing a hard kiss on her mouth. “Do what I say, Mia. It has to happen this way.” Without waiting for an answer, he nudged her farther in and shut the door.
What the hell?
She tugged her Glock from her bag before hurrying to the nearest window, gun in hand. The second it looked like Seth was in trouble, she would start firing. Silver bullets could kill a wolf shifter, but shifters could also heal from the projectiles if they removed them fast enough. So, she didn’t feel horrible about shooting somebody and asking questions later. So long as they were wolf shifters.
Her breath quickened, and adrenaline flowed through her veins as she saw several figures move out of the surrounding trees. There were six. Her stomach dropped.
Slowly and casually, Seth stepped off his porch and walked toward them, stopping in the middle of what could probably be considered his front lawn.
They spread out to flank him and then advanced.
Mia instantly unlatched the window and lifted it, grateful there wasn’t a screen. Seth stiffened but didn’t turn around.
“You have two seconds to get off my property, or you’re all going to die,” he said calmly, his voice deadly and low but still carrying through the battering rain. The six males stepped closer, all of them looking young and fit. They wore all black, but Mia couldn’t see any weapons. Of course, wolf shifters probably didn’t need any.
She readied her gun to aim and then waited to see what would happen. One of the men stepped closer. Even in the distance, she could tell that his eyes were an intriguing copper color.
“It has to be this way, Volk.” His voice was a low rumble.
“It doesn’t have to be any way,” Seth countered. “But if you want to die, that’s your choice.”
The guy shook his head, his face a harsh mask, but she saw trepidation glowing in his eyes, giving him away. “We’re not challenging you as Alpha, and we’re not declaring war on your pack. We just want the woman.”
At the words, something changed in Seth. Even though he was facing away from her, there was a difference in the way he stood. He expanded, and vibrations cascaded off him, parting the rain around him in some sort of still mirage. Mia stopped breathing. There was the wolf. Oh, he was still in his human form, but there was no way she’d consider him a man.
“The woman?” he asked. Even Mia trembled at the primal tone in his voice.
The shifter in front of him settled his feet. He was as tall as Seth and just as broad. He swallowed and tried to scowl, but fear tightened his lips. How terrifying wasSeththat a killer like that looked like he wanted to run? “Yes, you know she has to die. We don’t have a choice.”
