“I’m here to protect you! How can I do that if I do not know where you are?” The anger radiating off him was so strong, she could feel it. “Are you so eager to die?”
“I don’t care!” she spat. “I just don’t want you to—” She covered her mouth with her hand. No, she couldn’t say it. Wouldn’t say it. The tears burned at her throat, but she refused to speak.
His expression turned soft. “Adrianna.” That sound of her name on his lips shot a bolt of electricity through her. “What made you run? Why are you shivering, despite the fact that your Lycan body should help keep you warm?” He drew closer, so near that she could get a hint of his vanilla scented skin. “What has scared you?”
The soft glow of his eyes entranced her. “Shane.”
“This … Shane has scared you?”
“No, no. He was our bodyguard and our manny.” He seemed confused, so she explained. “Male nanny. He’d been taking care of me and Lucas since we were four.”
His hands clenched at his side. “Did he hurt you?”
“What?” She was horrified at the thought. “No!”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“He …” She expelled a long breath. “He was shot. When we were younger, some men tried to kidnap me and Lucas, and he tried to protect us, but he got hurt.”
“Did he die?”
“He almost did,” she said. “But it was bad. They shot him three times. The last bullet came close to his neck and left him paralyzed.” Shane had been all smiles, but the news that he would never walk again or be able to have children must have destroyed him and his wife. And it was all her fault.
“He was human?”
“Yes.”
He was silent as if pondering her words. “So, this is why you are so resistant to having a bodyguard? Because you are afraid that someone else would get hurt protecting you? Adrianna … this is what we do. Shane, the Lycan Security Team, and myself, we all risk our lives to protect those we serve.”
I don’t want you to get hurt! The words in her head sounded so loud, she thought he had heard it.
He took a step closer. “What can I do to help calm your nerves? It is getting late and you should get some sleep if you are to work tomorrow.”
“I just …” A warmth washed over her, and she felt her inner wolf whining, asking to be let out. How long had it been since she’d shifted? Too long. She didn’t have that luxury, living in New York. “I think to change. And run.”
His eyes flashed like brilliant blue bulbs. “Then do it. Allow your she-wolf to run free. I shall watch over you and protect you.”
Did she dare? It seemed like she didn’t have a choice though as her wolf was practically leaping at the surface. Her eyes were probably glowing too.
She nodded at him, then turned around to dart into the thicket of trees. As soon as she was far enough away , she whipped her sleep shirt off and allowed her wolf to take over. Her muscles crawled as her limbs stretched and fur burst from her skin. She fell forward, large paws landing on the ground, and hind legs pushed the wolf’s formed body to leap over a fallen log.
Instinct took over; this was the place where she had first met her wolf, all those summers ago when she came here to learn how to shift. It had been a while, but she could remember every inch of these woods.
The cool winter air felt refreshing at it whipped through her wolf’s thick fur. Legs pumped hard, pushing the wolf forward, running through the woods at breakneck speed. The moon overhead was only half-full, but her eyes could see everything, and her ears could pick up the smallest sounds from afar. A howl made the wolf skid to a stop. It stood very still, its ears perked up to listen closely. From the corner of its eye, a flash of silver darted out of the trees. Cobalt eyes glowed in the darkness.
Had she been in human form, she would have gasped. Darius’s wolf was magnificent. It was large, like all Lycans were in their animal form, but the silvery hair that covered its body made it otherworldly. She realized that really was the color of his hair.
The silver wolf didn’t move, but cocked its head slightly. A rush of excitement filled the she-wolf, and it turned tail and dashed away.
She could hear the pounding of the silver wolf’s large paws on the ground as it gave chase. Her wolf pushed forward, feeling the thrill of the pursuit. Darius’s wolf could have easily overtaken her, but it had hung back, as if wary of her. She didn’t know if that was good or bad.
She let the she-wolf run free, giving it its freedom. But she knew she couldn’t stay like this forever, so she steered it back toward the house. When she saw the back porch within sight, she began to tuck her wolf away.
Her senses returned to normal, the sights and sounds narrowing back into the human spectrum. The air chilled her skin, and she cursed when she realized she had left her shirt somewhere in the woods. Naked, she padded up the steps and saw a blanket laid on the bannister. Darius. He must have left it there. The gesture touched her and warmed her even more than when she draped the thick fabric around herself.
She heard the sound of footsteps behind her and saw Darius, back in human form and re-dressed in his sweatpants, climbing the porch steps with a careful gait. “Thank you for the blanket,” she began. “But you didn’t get yourself one.”
“I am fine,” he assured her. “Is there anything else you need, Miss Anderson?”
Miss Anderson? What had happened to him calling her by her first name? Maybe she had dreamt that part, too. His mask of
