Free Soul Bonded by Meghan Malone Page B

squarely in front of the window. Before she could stop him, Shilah poked his nose beneath the curtain and peered outside. Time stood still as she waited for chaos to erupt. But nothing stirred, and at length she released a shaky breath. A lazy tail wag from Shilah relaxed her further, though she wasn’t about to let her guard down. There was no way she was getting back to sleep now. All the exhaustion she’d felt earlier was gone. Her entire body crackled with nervous energy. Like any good prey animal, her fight or flight instincts were on high alert.
    Rafe wouldn’t be upset if she woke him. She knew that. He wanted to protect her and if she allowed him to do so, he would give his life for hers. She was certain of that not because of what he’d told her about their bond, but because she could feel it deep in her soul. He would die for her. All she had to do was ask.
    “No.” Katie straightened and took a tentative step closer to the window. She had some self-respect, didn’t she? Even after what those wolves had done to her, she wasn’t without dignity. She wasn’t going to let the craziness of the past few days turn her into a weak little girl who needed a big, strong— gorgeous, her mind supplied—man to help her make it through the night. “Woman up, Katie. Go look out the stupid window.”
    Shilah turned his head at the sound of her voice. His soft, brown eyes gave her the courage she needed to close the distance between them. She knelt at his side and very carefully pushed the bottom corner of the curtain away from the glass, creating an opening just large enough for her to peer through.  
    Outside there was snow. And trees—lots of trees. Trees and snow surrounded them, stretching as far as Katie could see from her vantage point. Rafe’s truck was on the other side of the cabin, as was the path she’d taken into the woods. The nearly full moon cast an eerie glow over the forest, illuminating the immediate area while creating impossibly dark, sinister shadows in which evil undoubtedly lurked. When one such shadow shifted, melting into the shape of a man, Katie’s palms went damp. A second shadow moved close by—another man, standing beside the first.
    Katie fell backward and landed hard on her ass. Then she scrambled to her feet, a single thought racing through her mind on endless loop.
    Rafe. She needed Rafe.

CHAPTER TWELVE

    Katie flung open the guest room door, slamming into Rafe as soon as she ran into the hallway. He caught her in impossibly strong arms and held her against his bare chest, and she buried her face in his neck before she could remind herself that she shouldn’t. He tightened his embrace, then smoothed a hand over her hair and shushed her panicked breathing.
    “Someone’s outside.” Katie clutched at Rafe’s shoulders, battling a mixture of gratitude and embarrassment about how effortlessly his touch soothed her. “I saw two of them.”  
    Rafe pulled her into his bedroom and closed the door after ushering Shilah inside. “I want you to hide in the closet. Do you know how to shoot?” Before she could process the question, he had pressed a large revolver into her grip. “Katie, do you know how to use this?”
    “I…” The gun looked strange in her hand, and holding it made her feel like a child again. Her father had taught her to shoot a .22 when she was eight years old, but this was the first time she’d handled a weapon since high school. “Yes.”  
    “Good.”
    Of course, taking out soda bottles perched on fence posts hadn’t exactly prepared her to face murderous werewolves. Frightened and years past her last round of target practice, she had no faith in her ability to protect herself. Rafe, on the other hand, seemed calm and in control. He was probably a good shot, too. “Don’t go. Please.”
    “I have to check it out.” He nudged her toward the closet. “Get in there. Be quiet, no matter what you hear. Shilah will stay in the bedroom with you, and I