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  “You know I do, but for your own sake, I’ll stop this before anything worse happens,” he growled, placing his hands on my shoulders.

  “What could possibly happen? What could be worse? I don’t understand.” I sank down, pressing my lips to his bulging cock through the material of his pants.

  “Oh, don’t do that. You have to stay back.” He slid over to the side, but I moved right with him, unbuttoning his jeans.

  “Riley! We can’t do this because I’ll make you mine. Do you want that? Do you want to be bound to me forever?” he demanded, yanking me up so I was standing again. “Werewolves mate for life. They know when they’ve found their soul mate. If we continue like this, there’s no going back, and I can’t allow that kind of life for you.”

  Did I want to be with him forever? I felt like I wanted to. My wolf was pretty much howling inside to make it happen. She wanted his wolf so bad, I could feel her clawing to get out. My hands clenched together, trying to control the feeling that was increasing the longer I was near him. I hadn’t noticed it so much before, but now that I knew she was there, it became more insistent.

  Something rolled beneath my skin, my body twitching. It was happening—I could feel it. “I think I’m about to change.” I started ripping off my clothes, not wanting to shred them.

  Luke watched, not sure what to do. His gaze roamed over my body the more skin I began to expose. Fire lit up in his eyes, and he took a step forward. I grabbed his shirt, trying to lift it up so I could feel his skin beneath mine. He tried to stop my hands, but I pushed him back against the door, surprise flickering on his face. The wolf was taking over, and I didn’t know if I could hold her back. Hadn’t Lance said something about new ones losing control?

  “Just breathe, think about being calm, and she’ll calm down,” he told me, moving his head away so I couldn’t capture his lips into a kiss.

  “She knows what she wants, and it’s the same thing I want.” Before I could do anything else, I fell to my knees, my body contorting as bones began to change to accommodate my wolf form.

  Luke sighed, putting a hand on my shoulder to soothe me. Immediately, my wolf began to calm down, bones reversing themselves so I stayed human. My body jerking with every movement like someone had me on puppet strings. I was glad that the pain was no longer part of the package, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other side effects. Next thing I knew, I was running to the bathroom to empty my stomach, my body hunched over the toilet as my stomach lurched.

  “Are you okay?” Luke asked, appearing in the doorway with a look of concern on his handsome face.

  Feeling exposed, I grabbed the robe to wrap myself in. “Yeah.”

  “The sooner you leave Luna Hill, the less this will happen. The wolf in you wants to mate so bad, she’s willing to force the change to make mine come out, but I’m more experienced.”

  “Was it working?” I asked, wondering what could possibly convince Luke to accept me by changing into wolf form.

  Nodding, Luke went back out into the room, apparently satisfied that I was okay. “Pack your things and leave, Riley.” And then he was gone.

  *

  About an hour after he left, I went to the bar to see what kind of gossip I could pick up on. There was now a mystery to solve. Luke would be pissed, but obeying orders wasn’t one of my strong suits. I had to find out who would lure me to come down to Luna Hill. They obviously had a plan, but what was it?

  My phone buzzed, and I knew immediately it was Alex. I forgot to call him. Rolling my eyes, I answered, putting it up to my ear. “Yes, Mom?”

  Alex chuckled. “Just checking in. Do you need me down there?”

  I explained to him what happened with Mary being an imposter. He went silent for what felt like several minutes. Finally, he blew hard into the phone. “Lover boy is right. You need to come back home. Your mother is dead, and you could be next.”

  “I don’t think anyone is going to kill me,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “Riley, someone paid you a large sum of money to have you go down there. Something’s about to happen, and it’s not good. At least let me come down and help.”

  “Uh, no. We know how protective you are. I’d never be able to leave my motel room.”

  The bartender brought me a beer, and I nodded to him in thanks before taking a sip. The cool liquid went down my throat as I drank. Alex was quiet, which meant he was thinking. That was not good news for me.

  Setting down the beer, I sighed. “Look, I have things handled here. If shit starts to go down, then I’ll ask you to come, okay?”

  “Shit is already going down, but okay. I’ll leave it alone—for now.”

  “Why don’t you go spend an hour with your dominatrix, on me, okay?”

  Alex inhaled loudly over the phone. “Riley, that wasn’t even funny.”

  It was too late. I was already laughing, slamming my hand on the bar. “I can’t—” I gasped, trying to catch my breath. “I can’t stop picturing you in shiny leather. Or is it pleather?” I wiped at my eyes as tears began to stream down.

  “Okay, okay, that’s enough. Make sure you call me tomorrow.”

  When I finally agreed through gasps of air, we hung up. A few of the people at the bar were staring at me with amused expressions on their faces. Apparently, I was putting on a show. Shaking my head over our conversation, I tucked my phone into my jacket pocket. It was too hot to wear one, but it was light, and hid my gun from other people.

  Someone large towered over me from behind. When I glanced back, I saw Hank trying to sit down on the stool next to me. He nodded once before holding up his fingers to the bartender. The man was sweating profusely, damp around the armpits and back. I felt bad for him, wondering if his cop car had air in it. As much time as they spent inside of them, I seriously hoped so.

  “How’s it going, Riley?” he asked, glancing over at me.

  “Good, Hank. How’s the job?”

  Taking a sip of his beer that was just brought over, Hank focused his gaze on me. “We’ll need you to come down to the station in the morning to take a DNA test.”

  Frowning, I spun around on my stool. “Why the fuck would you need that?”

  “We found some DNA at your momma’s crime scene. It’s the best way to eliminate you as a suspect.”

  “Yeah, and how long will that take? Usually, that stuff takes weeks. I can’t stay in town that long.”

  Hank went to open his mouth, but a big hand came down on his shoulder. “Hank, she’s been cleared. We don’t need the DNA.” Luke said, taking the stool next to me.

  “If you say so,” Hank said before taking a big gulp of his beer. A bead of sweat went down the side of his face and dripped onto the collar of his shirt. “We’ve been sweeping too much under the rug, boss. Lance has control over this town, and we’re just his puppets.”

  Luke nodded his head, staring down at the bar as if he were deep in thought. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair and demand he show me just how much of a bad boy he could be. Whoa. My thoughts took a strange turn there.

  “You okay, Riley?” Hank asked, squinting a little like he was trying to read my mind. “You look a little flushed.”

  When I turned to look over at Luke, he got up, shaking his head. “Riley is going to be leaving town tomorrow, Hank. So, make sure you say your goodbyes.”

  Hank lifted a meaty arm to put around my shoulders. I tried my hardest not to cringe from the dampness and the smell. Man, I’m about to pass out. The smell was horrible. Luke was chuckling beside me, and I shot him a glare.

  “Well, it’s probably for the best. This town is no good for girls like you, Riley.” Hank burped, blowing out a breath that wafted in my direction.

  “Tacos for dinner, Hank?” I said, trying not to breathe.

  “Yeah, how’d you know?”

  “Just a guess.”

  Hank removed his arm, standing up. He pulled up his pants, shirt beginning to untuck at the same time to expose the skin of h
is back. “Well, I have to take over for Billings so he can get some rest before tomorrow’s shift. Lance’s little girl is taking too much of our manpower, Luke.”

  My head snapped around at the mention of Lance’s daughter. He had police protection on her? Luke glanced in my direction, and then shot Hank a dirty look for revealing some secret information. Hank’s eyes widened before looking at me. There was an awkward silence between us as we all looked between one another.

  “Probably should keep that information to yourself, Riley.” Hank said, pulling up his pants again, his belly shaking with every move. Poor guy needed suspenders.

  After Hank left, I hopped off the stool, ready to follow him. I dodged out of Luke’s attempt to grab me and hurried out of the bar, with everyone watching us. Luke ran after me, grabbing a hold of the back of my jacket. I squealed, trying to squirm away, my arms coming out of the sleeves as I spun to get it off.

  Swearing, Luke rolled the jacket up in a ball and hurried after me. “Riley, don’t you dare follow Hank!”

  “You know where she is?” I struggled to breathe as I attempted to unlock my car. He was going to catch up, and I would have no chance of finding out where the girl was.

  “You can’t go where Jenny is. We’ve done figured out you were duped by some woman pretending to be Mary. So, what’s the damn point?”

  Swearing, I dropped my keys. It was too late; his boots came into my vision as I bent down to pick them up. When I stood up straight, we were only inches away from each other. The look of determination was on his face as he leaned a hip on my driver’s side door. “You can’t go there,” he said softly.

  “She’s a connection that can help me figure out who is behind bringing me here.” I pushed him so he had to take a step back. The guy wasn’t going to budge. He just moved back into the same spot, blocking me from getting into my car.

  “I’ll scream for help!” I threatened.

  Luke started laughing, crossing his arms over his chest while he looked down at me. “You’re so cute when you’re frustrated. No one is going to help you. I’m the damn Sheriff.”

  He was right, so this meant I had to try another method to get him off my car. Smiling, I ignored the look of suspicion that replaced the determination on his face. With one hand, I ran it down the front of his pants, looking up into his face. “Since you won’t move, this means I can do whatever I want to you, huh?” I purred, nipping his lower lip.

  “This is assaulting an officer of the law,” he ground out.

  “Is it? Even when he’s enjoying it?” I squeezed his dick as it firmed beneath my fingers.

  Finally, he moved, growling in annoyance as his face turned cherry red with anger. “That was a low move, Riley, but you’re free to go. You won’t find Hank now.”

  Stomping my foot, I unlocked the car. “That girl, Jenny, could be the key to solving all of this.”

  “That girl needs protection. If you go following Hank out there, you might just reveal her location to others.”

  I went to snap something back to him, but his phone rang. He glanced down, turning his back to me at the same time to give him some privacy. My eyes traveled down the curve of his back to his beautiful ass. I wanted, no needed, to jump his bones. It was hard not to approach him from behind and run my hands under his shirt. He would probably flip out, considering he was trying to keep his distance from me.

  Without saying anything, he started walking toward his truck, his gait one of purpose. I ran after him, grabbing his arm. “Where are you going?” I asked, tugging to see if he would stop. Only, he didn’t, so I was forced to run past him and place my back stiffly against the door of the truck. I put my arms out, getting a firm footing in the gravel parking lot.

  Luke’s face darkened. “I don’t have time for this shit. Some of Lance’s Pack is dead, and I have to go see what happened.”

  Shocked, I dropped my arms. “Let me come, too.”

  “Fuck no. This is police business.”

  He was being really mean now. I put my arms back up, giving him a look that dared him to try to remove me. Frustrated, he growled, swinging out a fist so it hit the side of the building. I yelped as the wood cracked beneath the blow, but I steeled my spine, refusing to get out of the way.

  “Get in the damn truck,” he snarled, jerking a hand in the direction of his vehicle.

  I grinned, hurrying around to the other side. Just as I went to grab for the handle, the doors locked. His truck started up and went in reverse. I screamed at him, waving my arms. “Hey!” But he was already peeling out of the parking lot.

  Running to my car, I hurried to get inside. I was going to fall behind if I didn’t hurry my ass up. Hitting the gas, my tires spun, spitting rocks everywhere as I tried to catch up. He was going fast, and the truck probably had a V8. It was more powerful than my four-cylinder. Groaning, I watched as his lights began to fade away. But suddenly, the brakes flashed on and his headlights turned down a road.

  With a little too much speed, I took the corner fast, the car sliding on the dirt road. I did my best to correct it, narrowly missing the ditch as I managed to regain control. His lights were fading again. “Shit!”

  Again, his brake lights lit up, and he was coming to a stop in front of a barn that’d seen better days. There were several other cars parked along the side of the road, beams of light from flashlights shooting all over the place as people walked around the barn. I slowed down, coming to a stop behind Luke’s truck.

  I hurried out of the car, walking fast to get to the driveway of the barn. Just as I was nearing the group of people, I heard, “Damn it, Riley!” It was Luke, and he was coming directly toward me. The anger was rolling off of him in waves as he stomped toward me, eyes glowing. Oh, he was pissed.

  “What happened?” I asked, moving swiftly away from his grasp.

  He swore, running hands through his hair in frustration. “It’s a damn massacre. All of them, ripped to pieces, limbs all over the damn place.”

  Lance came up behind Luke, his face grim. “Riley, you shouldn’t be here.”

  “That’s what I fucking told her,” Luke snarled, eyes never leaving me.

  “Don’t double-team—wait, I might like that,” I started.

  “Riley, don’t even go there,” Luke shot Lance a glare when his brother broke out in a broad smile.

  Moving past them, I snatched a flashlight from someone nearby. “Hey!” he shouted after me, but I kept going, using the light to look around at the scene.

  I came to a stop when I saw something dark on the ground, several feet away. When I pointed the light in that direction, I felt my stomach roll violently. There was an arm ripped to shreds, strings of skin lying around it. Blood was everywhere, and the more I swept the light around, the more body parts I saw. Heads had been separated from torsos, legs broken in half with the bones splintering out. It was the worst thing I’d ever seen. I couldn’t stop myself from stumbling over to some brush and releasing the contents of my stomach—again.

  Chapter Twelve

  “I fucking told you not to come,” Luke growled, holding my hair back so I could finish vomiting.

  “Damn, dude, stop yelling at her,” Lance said from behind me.

  “Shut the fuck up. This wouldn’t have happened if she would just listen.” Luke started to rub my back soothingly as I continued to hunch over.

  After a minute, I stood up, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “This is horrible.”

  Luke and Lance both nodded, taking steps back to give me room. I looked around, watching as people stopped moving around to stare at the horror of what was around us. Who would do such a thing? I asked the same thing out loud, looking to the boys for an explanation.

  Lance dug into his pocket and revealed a crumbled up piece of paper. In black ink were the words, You’ve been challenged.

  “What’s that mean?” I asked, confused by the message.

  Swearing, Luke grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the vehicles. “It me
ans you leave tonight, Riley.”

  “Hey, let go of me!” I jerked my arm away from him, taking a few stumbling steps back.

  “Another werewolf is challenging Lance for Alpha. This is going to get messy.” He tried to reach for me again, but I took another step back. Frustrated, he rubbed his face, suddenly looking really tired. “If something happened to you and I could have prevented it...I wouldn’t forgive myself.”

  Feeling a little bad for being difficult, I held out a hand for his. He reached out, grasping it, but moved so I spun around, my back to him. Then I felt cold metal against my skin. “Hey! Are you cuffing me?” I demanded, jerking my arm.

  “If I have to put you in a jail cell to keep you safe, then I will,” he growled, grabbing my other arm.

  I jerked, lifting a leg and then dropping it down so I stomped on his foot. He jerked away, but not fast enough before my elbow connected to his stomach. Freed, I ran toward my car, the cuffs hanging from one wrist. “You can’t arrest me, Luke!” I shouted, ignoring Lance’s laughter. He seemed awfully cheerful for someone that was just challenged to a fight. Then again, it was Lance. The guy had multiple personalities.

  Luke was stomping in my direction, gaining ground on me as I spun to turn and run to my car. “You can’t get me!” I cried, swinging the door open.

  “Riley! This isn’t fifth grade. Get your ass back over here.”

  “Fuck that, Luke. I’m going to find out what’s going on around here, and you’re not going to stop me.” I slid into the car, turning over the engine. The headlights beamed to life, blinding Luke so bad he had to put an arm up to shield his eyes.

  Backing the car up, I stared at him as he stood in the lights, hands on his hips. He almost got me. I laughed, putting the car in drive so I could make a U-turn. It would have been bad if he’d been able to put me in jail. Out of breath still, I headed back to the motel. Maybe Lance would give me more information if I approached him without Luke. Nodding to myself, I decided that once morning came, I would be at Lance’s house. No matter what Luke wanted, there was no way in hell I’d be left in the dark.