behind these murders. I'll guarantee it.'
'Well, a guarantee like that is certainly going to go a long way in a court of law.' But she said it with a smile, and he took no offense.
'Has anyone seen Betise's coat color?' he asked. 'If she is the child of one of the Bitterroot Sinclairs, she might very well be silver.'
'Possibly.' Savannah's voice was noncommittal. 'I'll have this checked out along with the samples we took tonight. Hopefully, we'll get an answer.'
'We have something else you might be interested in, too. Martin took skin and blood samples from under Betise's nails the night she was attacked. They're currently being analyzed at the forensics lab.'
'Any samples not taken by us under controlled conditions won't be accepted as evidence in court.'
'Perhaps. But it may provide a link to the women who were killed. Once you have that link, you can concentrate on collecting evidence that is rock-solid.'
'Maybe.' Her voice was noncommittal.
He hesitated, then asked, 'Can you remember anything of your own attack?'
'No. It's all still a blur.'
'Have you asked Neva?'
She was silent for a long moment, then swore softly. 'I didn't even think of it.'
At least he wasn't the only one. He rose and put the chair back. 'She was there with you in spirit.'
'She's the reason I'm alive,' Savannah said softly. 'The only reason. The wolf was big--very big. And that's all I remember.'
'But it may not be all Neva remembers.'
'No.' Savannah paused. 'You intending to ask her yourself?'
'Yes.'
'Don't try taking the law into your own hands, Sinclair. Not in my town. And if you find anything, you bring it to me to deal with.'
'Right.' After he'd found that bastard or bitch behind this and given him--or her--a beating or two. 'I mean it. Or the threat I made earlier will apply.' He didn't reply. Didn't get the chance to. Neva's fear slammed into his mind and, hot on its heels, her pain. The force of both, one on top of the other, hurled him back against the wall and left him gasping. 'Neva!' Savannah's cry sang through the air, through his mind, and was filled with fear for her sister. He shook his head, trying to free himself from the haze of
Neva's pain and terror to reach for her mentally. Nothing. She was too consumed by whatever was happening to her to hear him.
He pushed away from the wall and staggered to the door. He had to find her--fast. The young officer had rushed in at Savannah's cry and was near her bed. There were quick footsteps coming toward the room, and then nurses came through the doorway. He pushed past them and thundered down the hall.
You heard? Savannah's surprised thought cut through his shields and arrowed into his mind.
Yes.
Oh Moons…does she know?
No. Nor will she, until she is ready to acknowledge it for herself.
Can you find her? I can't get any sense from her--I have no idea where she is.
I can find her. He didn't need to feel her thoughts for that. All he had to do was follow his heart. Do you need help?
No. Because if anyone had hurt her, he'd kill them. And he didn't need rangers as witnesses. Run swiftly.
He didn't answer. Just ran.
It was Savannah's attack all over again and, for one second, Neva froze. All she could smell was the other wolf's putrid breath, all she could hear was the rumble of its growl. All she could feel was the drip of saliva against her face as the gleaming white teeth slashed through the air, headed toward her throat.
She twisted desperately, and the teeth tore into her foreleg instead. Pain ripped through her, burning away the fear.
Savannah had beaten this bitch-- but only because she'd siphoned Neva's abilities at the last moment.
There would be no last moment here. As she'd told Duncan, she was far from defenseless.
She reached for the fear singing through her veins and flung it back at the other wolf, smashing through her foe's shields and forcing it deep into her mind. A mind that was crazy with the moon's heat. Crazy with hate. For her.
The mad, yellow eyes went wide, then the silver wolf cowered away, whimpering and shivering. Neva scrambled upright and ran. With every step blood flew through the air, glistening with black fire as it splattered across the pristine snow.
Air stirred, arrowing towards her. Another wolf, coming from the right. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the blur of gold rising high as the wolf sprang. She slammed past this second wolf's shields, filling her mind with the terror and hatred she was still feeling from the first wolf. The golden bitch dropped, trembling and whimpering with fright. Neva kept on running, though her lungs burned and the warmth of blood pulsing down her leg became a tide.
Lights beckoned brightly through the darkness ahead. She ran onto Main Street but didn't stop, too fearful that if she did, those wolves would catch her. She couldn't hear them behind her, but that didn't mean they weren't. Warmth and music pulsed through the night, but she didn't head for the Blue Moon, even though she would be safe enough there. There was only one place she wanted to be right now--and he was close. She could feel him. In her mind. With her heart.
Neva? Savannah's thought was as sharp as glass. Are you okay?
Fine, she lied, not wanting to panic her sister any more than she already had. I'll come and talk to you soon. She saw Duncan a second later-- a sleek silver shadow exploding out of the snow-filled night. She shifted shape as he shifted shape, and all but fell into the warmth of his arms.
Trembling, shivering, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. Breathed deep the spicy, foresty smell of him, letting the sense of warmth and security and strength he exuded wash over her.
Calm her. The arms that held her so protectively were taut, and his heart was a rumble of rapid thunder in the ear she pressed hard against his chest. His anger was a cloud of red that burned her mind and stung the night, but behind it was fear. For her. The knowledge made her heart do a weird little dance.
She didn't know how long they stood there like that, holding each other in the middle of Main Street as the snow danced around them. She didn't really care, because she'd never felt so safe in her life. When he eventually pulled away, he caught her chin, directing her gaze to his. 'Was it Betise and Iyona?'
She nodded. 'I doubt that it could have been anyone else, if only--'
'Tell me about it later,' he cut in. 'Right now, you need to get to the emergency room.' He bent, swinging her up into his arms.
'I don't--'
'No arguments.' His voice was almost savage. 'That arm needs stitches.'
She glanced down. The sleeve of her coat was ripped to shreds, and blood covered her arm and fingers.
'It's not as bad as it looks.'
'Maybe. But who knows what you can catch from a bite fr om a bitch like Betise?'
A smile played across her lips. 'A rather nasty thing to say.' Though as nasty comments went, she was thinking far worse.
'Right now, I'm feeling particularly nasty.' He glanced at her. Though his black eyes were as unreadable as ever, something in his expression made her tremble. 'You're mine, if only for the rest of this moon phase. No one attacks anything of mine and gets away with it.' His words seemed to echo through her, doing strange things to her pulse rate and her heart. Moons, it would be so easy to believe he cared. But that was something she dared not do, because it would be all too easy to fall. If she hadn't fallen already.
She closed her eyes. No. It was the moon and the power of the man himself. Nothing more. She couldn't fall for a man like Duncan. He was everything she'd never wanted. He strode through the night, not saying anything,
