Free On the Prowl by Desiree Holt

her brain. The wolves were huge, bigger than any wolves she’d ever seen, one a shimmery silver, the second a white so bright even in the darkness it almost hurt her eyes to look at it, and the third blacker than the night, and larger than the other two. When they turned to look at her she pressed herself as hard as she could against the trunk of the tree, sure that if she moved they’d be on her.
    But they simply stared at her with their amber eyes and unbelievably she had a sudden feeling of safety. Safety? Here in the middle of the woods with three vicious animals? She waited, helpless, for them to attack, but they simply moved slowly away from the body and headed back into the woods. They’d gone about twenty yards when they stopped and turned to look back at her. One of them gave a soft growl, the sound unbelievably nonthreatening.
    Do they want me to follow them?
    They stood there, waiting patiently.
    Well, it couldn’t be any stranger than the rest of this night. And I can’t hang around here. If someone tries to contact that man and they don’t get him there’ll be out here like a shot.
    Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she ordered her feet to move. One step at a time she left the security of the tree. She’d only moved a couple of feet when the wolves moved again, slowly, as if waiting for her to catch up with them. They progressed like that, haltingly, until she finally figured out they were trying to lead her out of the woods. How totally weird. Wolves rescuing her? But it had to be better than what waited for her if she spent too much time like this, time when the man’s friends could check on him and come looking for her.

    “She’s coming now,” Luke Spencer, the silver wolf, messaged his companion.
    “I wasn’t sure she’d follow us,” Mack Renfield, the magnificent white wolf, answered him. “ Especially after we tore into that guy.”
    “Well, it was that or let him shoot her,” Damien Morenocommented.
    “What do you suppose that was all about?” Luke asked.
    “I have no idea,” Luke answered . “But when I see a woman whose wrists are bound and a man after her with a hood over his face and a gun in his hand, I know whose side I’m on.”
    “We need to lead her to your place, Luke. I think what she needs right now is The Sentinels. That’s one woman in a huge pile of trouble.”
    “If we can get her close to the house,” Damien told them, “we can take off and let her go the rest of the way herself. The house will be lit up and easy for her to find.”
    “Good idea,” Mack agreed . “We need to slip in ahead of her and give Sierra and Kelsey a heads up.”
    Luke made a sound in his throat that would have been a laugh if he’d been in human form.
    “They’re probably still guzzling that wine and talking. About us. Even at this hour. We left them so we could take a short run. Remember? Who the fuck knew we’d run into this?”
    “Short run.” Mack snorted. “ That certainly worked out well.”
    “Okay.” This from Damien. “Let’s just get her out of these woods and go check in with the ladies. Give them a little advance notice. Then find out what the hell this is all about.”

    Lauren was exhausted. The wolves had raced in front of her, stopping and starting, and she had the weirdest feeling that each time they stopped they were waiting for her. Saying, “ Come on. We’ll get you out of here.” For a brief moment she remembered stories she’d heard about a certain kind of wolf. A hybrid. A wolf that was…
    No, no, no. That’s just a legend.
    Still, the first time she’d heard it she’d done all the research she could, intrigued by the stories. She’d chalked it all up to someone’s fanciful imagination. Still, in college she’d taken a class called Legends and Lore and that was part of what they’d studied.
    You’re losing it, girl. These are just wolves that for some reason don’t intend to harm you. That have led you to safety. You