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.Wolves are a problem here.You could get shot just going for a run.I can’t risk it.”“I won’t shift, and I’ll be careful.If anyone sees me, you can tell them I’m an old friend from out of town.”“Just lay low for a while.The deputy is dead, and the sheriff wants me dead as well.I’m in his sights, and you will be too.”“You’re wrong.When the sheriff finds out we’re lovers, he’ll never bother us again.”“What are you talking about?”“He wants the woman.I saw them together many times, and I smelled his arousal every time he came near her.Let him have her and he’ll leave us alone.”What could he say? She spoke the truth.They’d all be better off if he took Sable as his mate.Even Karin.She might be upset at first, but she’d forget him.Frank would see to that.He would be all over her.He suppressed a jealous growl.Karin belonged to him, not Frank.He felt a territorial claim that he had no right to.He wasn’t sure he could control it, and he knew having Sable in his life wouldn’t make it go away.* * * *The steak had long since dried out, and the candles burned down to the wicks.Icy tendrils of fear wrapped around Karin’s heart.The rhythmic ticking of the clock marked each passing second, bringing her closer to an apocalypse.Something bad happened.She felt it in her bones.152Gale StanleyShe tried calling Malcolm’s cell phone but kept getting voicemail.Frank must have locked him up.She’d never forgive him.She called the sheriff’s office and left a message there too.Malcolm could be lying unconscious somewhere, beaten to a pulp by Jude and his thugs.Why didn’t she insist on going with him? She couldn’t sit here worrying another minute.She knew the way to his house, and she could find it in the dark.He kept a window open for Ralf.If he wasn’t back, she would climb in and wait for him.If he still hadn’t come home by morning, she’d go to Frank’s office and demand some answers.Rattled, she took her time and tried to concentrate on her driving.Her heart slowed its hammering when she saw the Jeep parked outside his house.Thank God.She didn’t even care he hadn’t called.She would hug him first, then give him hell for worrying her.She knocked and waited impatiently until he opened the door.She threw herself into his arms.“I’ve been frantic.”“I’m okay.We need to talk.”Ralf came running out of the woods and almost knocked her over in his haste to get inside.She looked past Malcolm and saw the hybrid crouched at the foot of the stairs.He lifted his muzzle and scented the air.His ears flattened against his head and, snarling, he put a paw on the first step.Karin glanced from Ralf to Malcolm.She raised a brow.“What are you hiding upstairs?” She walked into the house.Malcolm followed her in.Agitated, he swallowed and ran a hand over the back of his neck.“Karin—”Ralf started growling, and Karin watched transfixed as a woman descended the stairs.She had an arresting face with high cheekbones and a sensuous mouth.Malcolm’s flannel shirt barely covered her hips, revealing long slim legs that carried her downstairs with the fluid grace of a wild panther.Call of the Wilds153This is why he hadn’t called.While she’d been blaming Frank, Malcolm held another woman in his arms.Tears stung her eyes, and she bit her lip to force them back.Did he even see Frank at all or did he go straight home to her? A wild wave of jealousy threatened to submerge her.It unleashed a flood of other emotions—anger, possessiveness, sadness, humiliation.Why did he have to pick a woman who was everything she wasn’t?The hackles stood on Ralf’s back, and the woman stopped a few steps above him.He raised his upper lip to bare his teeth and snarled at her, an aggressive threat meant to keep her at bay.She looked helplessly at Malcolm.“Settle down,” Malcolm warned.The woman came closer and put a hand out to pet him, and Ralf snapped at her fingers.Malcolm rushed to his side and rolled the dog on his back, holding him down gently but firmly with one hand so he couldn’t escape.With his other hand, he held Ralf’s muzzle pointed up toward his face so he could hold eye contact.In a loud, firm voice he repeated his command.“Settle.” He only had to say it once more before Ralf went limp and gazed into his eyes submissively.“Good boy.” Malcolm turned to the woman.“He’s had a rough time lately.Somebody shot him, and he almost died.” He turned back toward Karin, as if he just remembered she was still there.“Karin saved his life.”“You must be good with animals.” Her icy gaze swept over Karin and dismissed her.“I got tired of waiting for you.” She flashed a provocative smile at Malcolm.Karin’s gasp was barely audible.The pit of her stomach churned, and she fought to keep the contents down.She stared at Malcolm in disbelief.While she sat worrying over a ruined dinner, he made love to another woman.Just this morning, it had been her he made love to.Last night, she slept in his bed.Did he find her so lacking he already had her replacement picked out? How could he be so cruel and cast her off so easily? True, he never told her he loved her, but she 154Gale Stanleythought…Hell, she hadn’t thought at all.If she had, she would have kept her distance.He’d never really been hers.She’d been fooling herself all along.Without meeting her eyes, he mumbled, “Karin, this is—”“Sable.” The black-haired beauty moved toward her.She held out a hand, a look of triumph on her face.“I’m an old friend from out of town.”Karin ignored the outstretched hand and met her stony gaze.She had the weirdest sensation they’d met before, but she would have remembered someone so striking.Sable made her blood run cold, but she wouldn’t let this woman intimidate her.Never let them see you sweat.It had become her catchphrase [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]