She opened her eyes.
Mick stood behind her, and she could feel the heat of his body radiating.
“No,” she said again, and her voice was little more than a breath.
He pressed the length of his body against her back. She could feel him there, hot and firm and huge.
She remembered the slap.
She recoiled.
He gripped her by the hips and held her in place, pressing his body against hers.
Now, she felt more than just his hard body. She felt an even harder part of him—jammed against her backside. Mick shifted his pelvis, thrusting against her.
Revulsion went through her.
“Perhaps my aunt is right,” Mick breathed in her ear. “Perhaps this bond between us isn’t desirable. Perhaps we should make a new bond.”
“Let go of me,” she said tightly.
He started to tug at her shirt.
“No.” She struggled.
But he pulled it over her head, baring her body. She wasn’t wearing a bra, because she’d been sleeping. She flung her arms over her breasts.
“Now, now, little, fael, it is not as if I haven’t seen you before.”
Maybe so, but she was frightened now, the terror a white hot spike in her brain. She didn’t know what Mick was planning, but she didn’t like it.
“We could mate.” He pried her arms away, uncovering her body. One finger traced her nipple.
Traitorously, it stiffened.
Her body was flooded with a sensation of goodness, but it was drowned out by the fear, and she was glad of it. She didn’t want to like his touching her.
“First,” Mick whispered, “you kill Melanie. And then I mount you. And then—”
“No!” Her voice was strong again. She struggled now, trying to get free from his grasp. “No, no, I won’t. I won’t!”
“You will.” He was angry.
She felt her body starting to change.
He was forcing her to shift into a wolf!
She tried to resist, but she couldn’t. She had no will when it came to this. He controlled her, and she despised him for it. She expected to be swallowed up in the wolf, to lose her will and control.
But somehow, she was herself, even inside the wolf skin. She could think, she could reason.
Maybe she didn’t have words… not exactly. But she knew who she was. And she definitely wasn’t going to hurt Holden’s sister.
She turned and ran for the steps, bounding up them.
Mick came after her. He was still in human form.
She snarled at him, and then realized she had the upper hand. She launched her body at his.
But then he leapt for her as well, shifting in midair.
His teeth caught her by the neck. They came down together, her body beneath his. And he was pushing her body down, and he was—
Oh, hell, no, he wasn’t!
That was horrible. To think that Mick wanted them to have sex like that. As animals? No fucking way in hell was she letting him anywhere near her.
She broke away, scrambling back up the steps, howling at the top of her lungs.
Mick was on her heels, growling.
She needed to get Holden. She needed to get out of here.
She got out of the basement to first level of the house. She ran through the kitchen, through the hallway, to the foyer. In wolf form, she started up the steps to the second story.
But she hadn’t made it far before she was suddenly shifting back into human form.
She gasped, lying splayed on the steps, halfway to the second level of the house.
Mick stood at the bottom of the steps, also in human form. He panted. “You aren’t ready yet, little fael. But you will be. You will be. And then you will be mine in every way that you can possibly imagine.” His eyes swept her naked body hungrily.
She shuddered.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Joan.” Carrie looked around herself one more time and then slipped out the front door, closing it behind her. Mick must not be awake, because he hadn’t come when Joan had knocked on the door. Carrie had been lucky enough to get here first. “You shouldn’t be here. This has to be quick, and then you have to—”
“What’s going on? You haven’t been at school. Holden hasn’t been at school. Everyone wants to know if you’re okay. Have you seen Holden? Is he—?”
“Holden’s here,” Carrie said. “And we aren’t okay. You know Mick, right? Well, he’s not my uncle.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think he was.”
“He’s a bad man. He’s trying to hurt us. We can’t leave the house. You need to get…” Who should she ask for? The police? Like they’d be any match against werewolves. The SF? But that would mean she and Hudson would get locked up. Damn it. Damn it all to hell.
“You can leave,” said Joan. “Come with me, right now.”
“No, I can’t leave Holden.”
“Go get him.”
“You don’t understand. It wouldn’t be safe. We could leave, but when he found out that we were gone, he’d just—” Make us shift into werewolves.
Damn it.
Carrie bit down on her lip. “Okay, look. Don’t tell anyone anything. And don’t come back here. But later tonight, can you meet us at the end of Hazel Road?” It killed her to do this, but she had to get rid of Joan, get her out of danger.
“Of course I can do that, but why?”
“Well, we’ll be able to get out then. And you can help us get away.” They’d do no such thing, of course.
“Get away where?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure that out later.” Carrie reached out and gripped her friend’s hand. “And Joan, it’s really important that you don’t tell anyone—”
The door opened behind her.
She turned.
Mick was grinning, and it was a nasty grin. He was grinning like a satisfied cat, one who’d gobbled up all her friends. He reached through the doorway and dragged Joan inside. “Well, what have we here?”
“Mick, let her go,” said Carrie.
“What have you been telling her?” he said.
“Nothing. I didn’t tell her anything. I swear, she knows nothing. Don’t—”
Mick slammed the door shut, pulling Joan close.
Joan whimpered, her eyes full of fear.
“I’ve got a nice place for you in the basement,” Mick said to Joan.
Carrie wouldn’t have been surprised if he started cackling, like a cartoon villain.
* * *
Holden woke to voices. He sat up on the couch and listened.
Carrie, her voice distressed and high-pitched. “You can’t leave her down there, Mick. She doesn’t know anything about what’s going on.”
“Well, she might not have known anything before, but now that she’s been locked up in the basement for ten minutes, I’m sure she realizes there’s a problem. I can’t let her go.” Mick’s voice.
Carrie let out a cry of frustration. “I hate you, you know.”
“Yes, I’m aware.” Mick was dry, sarcastic. “Funny, because I did all of this for you.”
“You asshole, you did it for yourself.”
Holden stood up and started walking towards the voices.
“I assure you, little fael, my life was far less complicated before I descended into your life. Now, look at me. In the past several weeks, I’ve buried five dead bodies, and I’ve got two people locked in the basement—both of which have to die. All so that you could fulfill your purpose, so that you could be the wolf you were destined to be—”
“I never wanted this!”
“You did.” Mick was angry now. “I heard you, that night on the Ferris Wheel. I heard you complaining about your parents. You wanted them gone. I helped you.”
“Oh, keep telling yourself that, Mick. Maybe you’ll convince yourself.”
Holden found the two of them in the kitchen, arguing in front of the door to the basement. He stayed just out of sight in the hallwa
y.
“You’re just ungrateful, that’s what. And reckless. What you did with Holden—”
“That’s what this is all about. You’re jealous. You wanted to come in here and have me all for yourself. Because you’re a pervert. Admit it, Mick, you’re a sick, sick—”
“Shut up!”
And then Carrie didn’t make any noise.
Holden peered around the corner to see that Mick had her by the throat. He ran for both of them right away. “Let go of her!”
Mick turned to see him coming. He tossed Carrie away and turned to Holden. “You. Boy. You’re a problem.”
Holden stopped feet away from Mick, looking the older man up and down. “Well, the only problem I seem to have is you.”
“Holden, she’s not dead,” Carrie said. She was recovering on the floor, trying to get to her feet. “Melanie’s in the basement. She’s alive.”
Holden felt his heart leap. “Really?”
Mick backhanded him.
Holden was shocked at the impact. It hadn’t really hurt, but it had caught him off guard. He recovered, and then he rushed at Mick. “You bastard, let her go.”
Mick caught him, pinning both of his arms to his side. “If I was planning on keeping you around, then I’d have to teach you respect, boy. You should know better than to try to fight your alpha.” He leaned his face close, so that they were gazing into each other’s eyes. “I always win.”
“Fuck you,” said Holden.
Mick let go of him. “Actually, I’ve thought of a great plan that will solve all our problems.” He was talking to Carrie, not to Holden. “I wanted you to be the one to kill Melanie. I thought you’d appreciate it. There’s a vicious streak in you, little fael.” He reached down and caressed her cheek.
Carrie shoved him off. “There is not.”
Mick chuckled. “But you’ve proved strong, my little one. You can retain yourself when you are a wolf. However, the boy here won’t be able to do that.”
Holden shook his head, suddenly realizing what Mick was going to have him do.
Mick grinned at him. “How will you feel, boy, when you know that you are the one who mutilated your poor, poor sister? I’m hoping the guilt will be enough to make you suicidal.”
“It won’t be me that does this,” Holden said, his voice strangled. “If you force me to shift—”
“I will turn you into a wolf and sic you on her.”
“No,” said Carrie. “And Joan… what about Joan?”
“She knows too much. I am sorry, little fael. I know you were fond of her,” said Mick. He crossed the kitchen and flung open the basement door. He beckoned. “Come here, Holden.”
And Holden felt the sickening urge take hold of him. When Mick called him, he couldn’t resist. “No,” he managed to croak. “Please no.”
But Mick had him by the neck, and Holden could feel his body twisting and changing…
No.
And that was all he knew.
* * *
Carrie watched as Holden flew down the stairs in wolf form. She hurled herself across the room and attached herself to Mick’s back, digging her nails into his shoulders. She screamed, “Stop it. Stop it. You’re horrible.”
But Mick just threw her off.
She landed on the floor hard, her head glancing painfully against the linoleum. It hurt so much that she froze for a second.
Mick stood over her. “I need to teach you a lesson. I’m the alpha, and you need to understand your place.”
Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet. “Is that what you were trying to do last night? Teach me my place?”
“Last night, I was trying to make you a wolf.”
“That’s not what I mean. When you tried to have sex with me in wolf form. That was disgusting.”
Mick sneered. “I was trying to mate with you. I was trying to make you an alpha. You don’t understand anything.”
She lifted her chin. “Because you won’t tell me anything.”
His mouth twisted into a smile. “If you were my mate, you wouldn’t hate me anymore.”
“I’m sure I would.”
“No, you wouldn’t. Like I said, you don’t know anything.”
She feinted to the left and then went right instead, trying to get around Mick to get to the basement door. She didn’t know how, but she had to stop Holden somehow. She couldn’t let this horrible thing happen.
Mick stopped her, his body blocking the way. “Maybe I’ll show you.”
Suddenly, her body was alight in pain. She could feel her bones breaking, her skin stretching…
He was making her shift into a wolf.
Terror coursed through her, blistering and intense. Could it possibly be true that mating with him would change how she felt about him? She didn’t think so, but there was so much about being a werewolf that she didn’t know about.
She couldn’t let it happen.
Besides it was disgusting. She wouldn’t have sex this way. She wasn’t an animal.
She was vaguely aware that Mick was changing form as well.
They were both wolves now, and they circled each other on all fours.
Mick growled.
She yipped. She darted behind the kitchen island.
He jumped on top of the kitchen island. Then he leapt down on top of her.
She twisted and rolled over onto her back. Now, they were facing each other. She swiped him across the face with one paw.
He howled, recoiling.
She rolled back over and ran. She went underneath the kitchen table, figuring that she could get herself tangled inside the legs of the chairs, and he wouldn’t be able to get to her.
But he just jumped on top of the table and broke it into pieces.
She ran out down the hallway, not looking behind her to see if he was following.
She paused at the front door. But then she realized she couldn’t open it. She had no hands, only paws.
So, she headed up the stairs.
Now, he was behind her. He tackled her on the stairs, his furry body pressing hers down, her belly against the carpeting. His teeth were at her neck, holding her in place.
Panicking, she scrabbled out with her back paws. At first she struck nothing.
He bit down on her neck, holding her more firmly.
And then her back paws collided with his soft stomach. She dug in, scratching him as deeply as she could.
He whined, letting her go.
She dashed up the steps and into her bedroom. She managed to push the door shut.
There. That should buy me some time, she thought. He won’t be able to get inside.
But the door opened and Mick walked in naked in human form.
He’d shifted back! Damn him.
“There’s no reason to fight me, little fael,” he said. “Once it’s over, everything will be so much better.”
And suddenly, she knew what she had to do to stop him. She had to shift back into human form. She wasn’t sure, but she thought that this “mating” thing wouldn’t work if she were in human form. Because she’d had sex with Holden, and they weren’t mated. So, it only stood to reason…
But she’d never shifted back on her own. How could she do it?
She needed time. She needed to think.
Mick was starting to shift back to wolf form.
She took advantage of the fact he was occupied to run.
She would hide, and it would give her a few minutes to gather her thoughts.
She pushed under her parents’ bed. It was a tight fit, but the bedskirt flowed down, hiding her.
How can I shift back? she wondered. She tried to focus on her human form. She strained, trying to force it to come back. She gritted her teeth…
Nothing.
Then she heard Mick coming down the hallway, sniffing loudly.
Damn it. Hiding under the bed was no good. He could sniff her out.
Well, she didn’t want him to have the upper hand, crowding her into a corner.
<
br /> She pushed her way back out.
He was in the hall. She charged him.
He wasn’t prepared. He shied away.
She sank her teeth into his flank, hard enough to draw blood.
He let out a strangled noise.
Now, his teeth were in her. He shook her back and forth, and she was a rag doll.
He slammed her body into the wall.
She slid down the ground, stunned. Everything hurt. She lay there, trying to figure out which way was up.
He mounted her.
No!
She had to stop this. She had to figure out how to shift back.
But it was no use. She didn’t know how. He was her alpha, and he controlled her. There was no way that she was ever going to get free. Now he was going to mate with her, and she didn’t know what would happen after that. She could hardly breathe. She was so disgusted by the thought of it. But there was no fight in her. She could hardly move.
She felt helpless.
She looked into her parents’ bedroom, remembering how much she’d loved them, remembering silly things, like the way her mother used to hug her when she scraped her knee or her father’s calming voice when she woke after a nightmare.
I’m sorry, she thought at them. I’m so sorry.
She was sorry about Mrs. Finch and the agents too, about all the horrible things she’d done, about the fact that she couldn’t save Melanie and Joan.
There was nothing she could do.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Wait, she realized. I’m thinking. I’m thinking thoughts in my wolf form. Human thoughts. With words and—
Her body was changing. She was turning back into a human. She could feel her fingers, her toes. She could feel that her face was wet, because she’d been crying tears.
She moved away from Mick, belly on the ground, army crawling.
Mick growled behind her, and she could almost hear the disbelief in his tone.
She felt triumphant.
But then…
Oh God, no!
She was shifting again. Mick was forcing her back into wolf form.
She gritted her teeth. She wouldn’t let him. She focused everything on her human form, intent on keeping it.
And the shift stopped.
Mick growled again.
She grabbed the wall and yanked herself to her feet.
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