She was playing with fire. She was digging into local history, asking questions she had no business asking, staring at me with those sharp, intelligent eyes that saw far too much. And the worst part was that she hated my guts for trying to keep her safe. She thought I was just an arrogant bastard playing power games.
Let her think that, I reminded myself sternly, jaw clenching until my muscle burned. If she hates you, she stays away from you. If she stays away from you, she stays alive.
I turned to leave the aisle, my mood darker and heavier than it had been all morning, my wolf pacing restless, agitated circles beneath my skin.
As I stepped out from between the tall mahogany shelves into the quiet corridor connecting the back stacks to the main reading hall, I froze.
Standing near the
