of ‘dog’ that isn’t a dog.”

Kevin cringed. “Have I always been so obvious?”

She shook her head. “Maybe not to others, but I can smell wolf on you, Kev. When you come home from

being in the mountains, you always smell like a wet dog. And there have been other things , too, going all

the way back to when we were kids. Your interest in werewolves, your little getaways, little things like

that.” She shrugged. “I’ve always known. When are you going to figure out I’m blind, not stupid?”

“I never said you were stupid,” Kevin answered, getting defensive.

“But you think I don’t know. Why do you think I haven’t moved in with Matthew?” She sighed and set the

mop aside. “You promised Mom and Dad you’d look after me, but I made a promise too. I promised

myself I wouldn’t let you get hurt, and I won’t.” She paused as a loud bang sounded from somewhere in

the building. They both stiffened and waited, then heard muffled cursing from the floor above them. It was

just old lady Margaret upstairs, struggling with that window that always fell down. They let out a joint

sigh, realizing they were both on edge after the attack.

Hannah nodded and said in a softer voice, “I’ve thought about this long and hard. I want to know who the

other werewolf is and what he wants with you, and I want to know now.”

Kevin’s first instinct was to lie. But then he reconsidered. Maybe if Hannah knew what they were up

against, she would be better prepared to deal with anything that came their way. “Drop the mob and come

with me.”

She did, following him out into the living room. Kevin sat down on their ratty, old green sofa and took

Hannah’s hands, guiding her down beside him. Taking a deep breath, he started telling her everything,

starting from when he was a teenager and covering all the important points up to his meeting with Roman.

Hannah sat quietly a long time before picking her words. “If you’re part of Roman’s pack, why isn’t he

doing anything about his lieutenant?”

“You’re taking this awfully well. It’s actually kind of creepy.”

“Answer the question, Kev!”

“I don’t know, Hannah. Maybe he loves Fenrir too much. Maybe he thinks human beings have no value.”

“Are you going to leave Roman’s pack?”

Kevin thought about that. The idea depressed him to no end. To be alone again seemed more horrible than

anything he could imagine. But there was no way that he and Fenrir could co-exist. And he wasn’t so sure

about Roman’s moral value. There had to be another way. “I’m not sure. I may have to.”

“But you don’t want to.”

“I love the pack,” he admitted. “I love Roman.”

Hannah nodded as she considered that. “Do you think Fenrir will come back?”

Kevin took a deep breath, let it out. “Yes.”

Hannah squeezed his hands. “Can I do anything to help?”

“Yeah, but…you won’t like it. You won’t agree to it.”

“Try me.”

Kevin bit his lip. “I know you don’t want to hear this, sis, but the fact of the matter is, you’re a liability.

And Fenrir knows you’re my one pressure point. Is there any way you can stay with Matthew for a

while?”

“You mean run away…leave you alone to deal with this?”

“Well, yeah.”

Hannah swallowed. “You know I don’t want to do that. We stand together, or we don’t stand.”

“And I don’t want you to go. But will you? Will you do that for me, so I don’t need to constantly worry

about you in addition to when his next attack will come?”

Hannah was stubborn, but sensible, he knew. It was what put her at the top of her class. After a moment of

thought she nodded and squeezed his hands even tighter. “If it helps you with this, then yeah, I’ll do that.

But what are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure,” he said, pulling his sister into his arms for a hug. “But whatever it is, I know I’ll feel

better if you have Matthew with you.”

“You know I’ll do anything to help you—even fight werewolves.”

Kevin laughed, grateful that his sister was willing to be so compliant. He kissed her on the forehead, then

ruffled her hair. “I appreciate that, I really do. But for the record, I don’t smell like wet dog!”

***

Chapter Twenty

His heart pounding with fear and anxiety, Kevin drove into the mountains. He’d given this a lot of thought

over the last few days, had run more than a few scenarios through his head, and he kept coming back

around to one definite point: he loved Roman and he loved the pack. He didn’t want to leave unless there

was no alternative whatsoever.

He had to confront Roman, get him alone. The problem was, the only way he could do that was by visiting

the mansion in the city, and that meant going through security. He didn’t want anyone knowing he was

there. He needed the element of surprise.

With Hannah safely at Matthew’s place, he figured it was now or never. This being the weekend, the only

way he was going to surprise Roman was by catching him at the lodge.

The ride up to the mountains seemed shorter than usual. About a mile before he reached the lodge, Kevin

pulled onto the shoulder of the road, shut down the engine of his car, grabbed his backpack, and hiked the

rest of the way in the dark. There was a half moon, which meant there was more than enough light for a

werewolf to navigate by moonlight.

Ten minutes later, he spotted the lodge over the next rise and slowed, trying to get his breathing under

control. Logic dictated that he ought to run away from danger, not go headlong into it. But love makes you

do some pretty stupid things, he decided. His heart knew what it wanted, and it wanted Roman.

“I love him,” he told himself, shouldering his pack, and creeping as quietly as he could to the side of the

lodge where the master suite was located. He loved Roman. He hadn’t realized it until he was talking to

Hannah yesterday and blurted it out. He loved Roman, was in love with him. Otherwise, why would he be

taking such a stupid chance?

He stopped and set his pack down, then looked up at the tall, two-story structure. A large, French-style

window was open about twenty-five feet up to let the cool night air in. The lodge was made of imitation

logs, and he knew he could scale them easily enough in his half-wolf form.

He stripped out of his clothes to keep them from shredding, then shifted soundlessly to werewolf form.

Climbing arm over arm like a great ape, he scrambled up the side of the lodge to the window and climbed

inside, balancing on the windowsill. The light, airy curtains fluttered around him and out the window like

curious ghosts. There was a cross-breeze in the room, which worked to Kevin’s advantage; it meant he

was downwind to the occupants in the room and his scent wouldn’t reach them in sleep.

He scanned the dark room, was surprised to find Roman sleeping alone in his vast, king-sized bed. It was

a beautiful, four-poster affair full of veils, obviously an antique. The first time he’d been at the lodge, he