An instant later her shoulder stabbed with pain, as the smallest wolf drove sharp teeth through muscle and meat. In the next moment, Maizie gasped air and made the scream real and loud. But the wolf’s powerful jaws clamped tighter.

Maizie writhed under the weight of its body, her hands frantic, pushing against its neck, fingers tearing out chunks of fur. The beast wouldn’t let go. She looked around, searching for something, anything to use against her attacker, but all she saw was a quick blur of blonde-tipped fur racing toward her. She held her breath, braced herself for the next stab of pain, the next bite.

It came from the exact same spot on her shoulder, when the wolf’s teeth ripped from its hold on her, its body flying off several feet away. The blonde-tipped wolf had knocked her loose. Who cared why?

The wound was deep and it hurt like hell. Even the slightest move sent a shower of pain pulsating out from the spot. It didn’t matter. She had to get out of there. Maizie rolled to her hip, pushed up, trying to get to her knees and then hopefully her feet. She didn’t make it to her knees before instinct told her things had suddenly turned from bad to fucked-up-beyond-all-recognition.

Her gaze shifted to the honey-brown wolf standing between her and the only manmade light she could see. He was creeping closer, low, as though stalking wounded prey. And he was.

She glanced behind her and saw the big brown-sugar wolf staring with unblinking blue eyes, recognizing her for what she was-food. Off to her right were the two wolves that had attacked and freed her. The latter still pinned the former to the ground, but both had their attention riveted on Maizie.

She was bleeding. The red smear of it was everywhere. There was enough blood the odor of it must have saturated the air, triggering instincts they had no reason to ignore. Definitely FUBARed.

The wolf in front, the darkest of the four, lunged first. Maizie saw it coming in time to spin away on her hip, but not fast enough to keep his huge white teeth from catching her calf and sinking in. She screamed and another set of powerful jaws snagged the back of her T-shirt. The fabric ripped just as a third nipped at her leg, catching her sweats in its teeth, scratching the skin beneath.

“Help me! Help! Heelllllpppp!”

Maizie tucked her head between her arms, protecting her face. Heavy paws scratched at her back, pushing against her, walking on her, fighting over her. She peered down her body at the enormous furry heads, nipping and snapping, tearing at her clothes, at each other. And then there was one less.

She blinked just in time to see another wolf sail backward into the woods. A big hand clamped around the neck-scruff of the third wolf, lifted, and sent it flying, its whole body squirming and twisting through the air. Finally two hands clamped on the muzzle of the fourth wolf, the wolf whose teeth were still deep in Maizie’s calf.

One hand on top, the other underneath, he pried open the wolf’s jaws. Maizie jerked her leg free, her gaze darting to the face behind the hands. “Gray.”

Still holding those powerful jaws in his hands, Gray twisted the wolf’s neck, forcing it away. The wolf’s long legs stumbled back and Gray let him go. It shook its big head then snorted as if trying to realign its senses. It glowered at Gray, growling, its front shoulders lowering as though it would attack.

“She won’t save you from this, Shawn. She can’t. Push any further and you’ll die here. Now,” Gray said. “What’ll it be, boy?”

The honey-brown wolf’s growl stopped. It swayed back and forth on its front legs as though deciding on a course of action. A hard snort again, and then it turned and jogged off. Gray looked at Maizie, still sprawled on the ground.

“What are you doing in my forest?”

“Bleeding,” she said. “Where’d you learn to speak wolf?”

Chapter Eight

“Holy Taj Mahal, Batman. You could fit the whole downstairs cottage in here.” Maizie gazed over Gray’s shoulder at the bedroom as he carried her into the master bath. “Including the sunroom.”

The room was enormous, bigger than any bedroom needed to be. The king-sized bed, light wood color with thick, spiral-carved posts and matching swirl designs across the tall headboard, would’ve dwarfed her bedroom at the cottage, but in this room it was just a piece of furniture. It matched the armoire, dresser and chest of drawers, and the nightstands too.

The sitting room with its upholstered beige leather chair and matching ottoman, the classy fireplace, the small wooden minibar and compulsory floor globe was straight out of the decorating guide for rich-guy bachelors. The only thing that kept her from thinking she’d stepped onto a photoset for Architecture Magazine was the open masters chest with the gaming system and TV inside along with an impressive stash of games. One controller was stretched across the floor in front as though someone had been sitting on the leather-cushioned storage bench at the end of the bed, playing.

Gray sat Maizie on the counter. Her leg and shoulder throbbed dully, but a strange heat and excitement surging through her veins seemed to overpower the worst of the pain. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing. “This is your bathroom? Seriously?” She’d stayed in hotel rooms smaller than this bathroom.

“Yes, Maizie. My bedroom suite is large.”

“Very large.”

“You’ve established that. Now answer my question. What were you doing out there? You’ve been told since you were a child to stay on the paths. To stay away from this part of the forest.”

“How do you know that?”

“You know how.” He squatted, reaching to the cabinet doors underneath. He tapped the inside of her knee, coaxing her to spread her legs. When she did he opened the door behind them. “Your grandmother and I have been friends for a very long time.”

Maizie swallowed. Seeing that thick mane of silver and black hair bobbing between her thighs brought a rush of dirty-girl ideas to her head.

“You’re too young to have been Granny’s friend when I was a kid. You can’t be more than ten, maybe twelve, years older than me.”

He glanced up. “I’m older than I look.”

His gaze dropped to the V of her legs. His expression melted from distraction to focused interest in an instant. He licked his lips then glanced to her face as though remembering she was watching. His cheeks warmed a shade then he went back to his search under the counter.

“There are things about my family, about me, you need to know. Especially after tonight. You see, we’re not exactly normal.” Gray stood, his hands stuffed with gauze, tape, scissors, disinfectant and what looked like three different boxes of Band-Aids, one of them featuring the characters from Scooby-Doo.

“Not normal. Yeah, I got that the last time I was here.” She scooched back, closed her legs, remembering the interplay between family members on the patio. “A real…close-knit family.”

How could she forget? Power struggles with his nephew, battles with his sister-in-law, a niece who seemed pissed at the world and a mother-in-law apparently oblivious to it all. Gray was stuck in the middle, trying to make everyone happy, which to her mind was only making matters worse. She kept that opinion to herself.

“Close-knit. That’s one way to describe us.”

A deep breath felt warm in her chest. Her clothes squeezed her body, the air grew heavy, seemed to press in on her. “Why’s it so hot in here?”

Gray set the medical supplies on either side of her and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. His brow creased with the familiar scowl but he didn’t comment.

Maizie closed her eyes. His hand was cool against her skin and brought the yummy scent of sweet male cologne and fresh forest closer to her nose. She tried not to enjoy it, but things were turning a little loopy in her head and the heat was making her body feel tingly, oversensitive.