Under Her Skin

business – aside from all the sideways glances I was getting.

'Are all of them like you?' I asked, keeping my voice calm. My heart had started to pound, however, and if the movies were right, they could hear it. There were so many of them. How would I ever get away?

'Most of them,' Daniel said. 'The others are skinwalkers – normal people, to you. But you don't have to be afraid of anyone, Marlee. We're not what you think.'

'I've already had some of your group try to kill me, and you and Joshua seem pretty open about how you'll finish the job,' I replied shortly. 'So you'll excuse me if I don't buy the whole 'we're misunderstood' speech.'

Something flashed in Daniel's eyes. It made me back up a step, but his hand shot out and gripped my arm.

'Why'd you bring that gun camping with you?' he asked, voice soft. 'You brought it for protection, right? Because if anyone tried to hurt you, you'd hurt them, right? Well, now imagine someone's trying to hurt your entire family. How far would you go to stop that?'

Daniel leaned in, tightening his grip so I couldn't pull back. 'I'd do anything to stop that,' he whispered near my ear. 'Including holding you hostage. If you got away, you'd tell people about us. People who would come and hurt my family. So yeah, I'm ruthless when it comes to protecting my pack. But don't pretend you wouldn't be the same way, if the shoe were on the other foot.'

That gleam of wildness was in his eyes again. The otherness that reminded me that an animal lurked inside him. I shivered.

'Let go of me.'

He did, dropping my arm only to hold his out again. 'We're almost there,' he said, nodding at the square building to the left.

I balanced on his arm again. We didn't speak as we walked the rest of the way to the dining lodge.

* * *

It looked like any normal, rustic restaurant inside, if a little more upscale. Instead of smaller tables scattered throughout, there were several long tables arranged in the room, each seating over a dozen. The food seemed to be served family-style, with large dishes placed in the middle of the tables from which everyone took their

servings. There was a moment of quiet as Daniel and I walked in.

'This is Marlee,' Daniel said to the room at large. 'She's joining us.'

I didn't know if he meant for dinner, as a possible new werewolf, or some other cryptic thing. I didn't argue, though. Not while feeling like a piece of meat dangled above a crocodile pit.

'Hi,' I said. God, that sounded stupid, but what else was I supposed to say? Somebody call 911 sounded tempting, but I didn't think it would do any good.

An older woman bustled up to me, smiling. 'Welcome, dear! Aren't you pretty? Such beautiful brown hair.'

I just wanted to sit, hide, and plot my escape, not exchange pleasantries with Mrs. Butterworth's version of a werewolf.

'Um, thanks.'

'Let's set you up over here, it's quieter,' she said, leading Daniel and I to a table that only had four other people at it.

'Thanks, Mom,' Daniel said.

I stopped so fast, I almost staggered. 'Mom?'

A grin edged his mouth. 'Everyone has one, after all.'

'Quit teasing Marlee, she looks starved,' his mother said to Daniel, holding out a chair for me. 'We have excellent venison stew tonight. That should help put the color back in your face.'

I sat at the table, avoiding eye contact with the other four people, though I did notice one was a female. Daniel sat next to me, that half-smile still on his face.

'Not what you expected again?' he asked.

I glanced around the room once more. People were laughing, eating, and chatting. Sure, I kept getting discreet looks, but no one was licking their chops in a menacing way at me. It all looked terribly…civilized.

'No,' I replied, and left it at that. These people might look nice, but they were my kidnappers. My executioners, if I refused to become one of their group. All the table manners in the world couldn't make up for that.

'Daniel,' someone at the table said. 'Introduce me.'

I glanced up, meeting a pair of blue eyes on a smiling face. Black hair hung past his shoulders, untamed and playful, like his expression.

'Finn.' There was a hint of a growl in Daniel's voice that hadn't been there before. 'This is Marlee. Marlee, my younger brother, Finn.'

Again I was surprised at the family connection, though I shouldn't have been. Why wouldn't all of their kind congregate together?

'Hi,' I said in the same non-committal tone I'd used before.

'Charmed,' Finn replied, grin widening.

'Cut her a break, she's had a bad day,' the girl next to him muttered before giving me a sympathetic glance. 'I'm Laurel, Daniel's cousin. Sorry about what happened.'

'Which part?' I couldn't help but ask.

She sighed. 'All of it.'

There was no stopping my snort. 'Yeah. Me, too.'

Daniel cleared his throat. I returned my gaze to the table in front of me, tracing its edge. It'll be another day or so before people even realize something's happened to me. How long after that before Brandy or my parents organize a search, if there is one? How many days will go by before they give me up for dead? How am I supposed to just sit here, surrounded by werewolves, and pretend nothing is wrong?

A tear slid down my cheek. I sucked in my breath, aghast, but that only made it worse. Another one came down. Then another. I bent my head, hoping my hair would hide it, when a warm hand landed on my shoulder.

'Laurel, have the food sent to my cabin,' Daniel said, then he scooped me up before I could even protest. We were out of the dining lodge and down the street in the next few heartbeats.

'God, you're so fast,' I gasped in astonishment. Fresh tears spurted. How could I ever get away, if he moved this fast and there was a town full of more creatures like him?

'You're going to be okay, Marlee,' he said.

No, I wasn't. I was trapped in a strange place surrounded by creatures that weren't supposed to exist. My old life might not have been all champagne and roses, but no one had the right to rip me away from it without my consent. The enormity of what I'd lost between yesterday and today slammed into me. I didn't care anymore that the tears wouldn't stop, or that I started hitting Daniel. My grief was too sharp to worry about embarrassment or consequences.

Chapter Four

Wolves were chasing me, biting at my ankles, snarling as they crowded around me, letting out howls that made my blood turn to ice. I ran, twigs stinging me as I darted between the trees, gasping for breath, crying out with each new flash of pain in my legs. They were toying with me. My death was only a matter of time.

The full moon came into view between the trees, illuminating more wolves in my path. I screamed at them, but it came out as a howl. Horrified, I looked down to see that my feet had turned into paws. Fur slithered up my body, replacing my skin. I fell forward, claws shooting out of my fingers…

'NO!'

I woke up screaming the word, flinging the sheets away like they were animals attacking me. It took me a second to orient myself. Wood ceiling, wood walls, an antler chandelier above me. Right.