Free Dire Wants by Stephanie Tyler Page B

the power will follow. The wolves that hunted us will be under control and our ancestors will be happy,” Leo said. “And then, once we have Manhattan under our thumb, we issue an ultimatum—bow to us or we’ll do the same things to you. For years, we’ve been working to have this all come into play. Now we have all the pieces, except the female witch.”
    “She’s too green. She can’t stop an army by herself,” Seb assured him. “I’m stronger—and totally under control, as you well know. The full moon will be here before we know it and I’ll be able to rein in its power to assist the ghost army. The Dires are simply grasping at straws.”
    “They’ve brought in backup,” Leo muttered.
    “I’m aware of Killian.” Seb moved to confront Leo now, some newfound sense of power coursing through him. “Now get the fuck out and let me do my job. You might think I’m your trained monkey, but you’d be sadly mistaken.”
    At first he thought Leo would hit him and then, just as suddenly as the cop’s temper flared, his smile broke through. “You’ve got balls, witch. Maybe you’re finally realizing my team’s the one to beat after all.”
    Seb had played with fire and he’d gotten third-degree burns.
    It was nothing compared to what would happen to the rest of the world. And he could never atone enough.
    * * *
    Kate looked tense, lost and tired. Her eating had finally slowed and Stray told her, “You probably need some rest. I’ll show you where you can lie down for a while.”
    She nodded and got up from the table slowly. Her shoulders were in a tense square and she moved a little stiffly.
    “Are you hurt?”
    “I fell when I was running. My knee’s a little stiff from sitting,” she admitted.
    He grabbed an ice pack from the fridge and then helped her into the first floor’s extra bedroom.
    “Get comfortable,” he told her. He helped her up onto the bed and she moved back against the pillows and the headboard as she looked around.
    “You’ve got a really, um, nice place here. Big, too.”
    “It works for us,” he said as he pulled up the leg of her sweats. Her knee was bruised but not too badly swollen. He placed the ice bag on it, wrapped in a towel. “I’ll have Gwen look at it in the morning. She’s a doctor—she’s married to one of my brothers.”
    The fact that another woman lived in the house seemed to ease her worries a little.
    “So it’s just you and Gwen and one of your brothers?” she asked.
    “More than one brother. You’ll meet them soon enough.”
    “Do they know about what happened tonight? About me?”
    He nodded. “One of them was with me when we got to your apartment. You were right to take off when you did. You should always trust your gut.”
    “I’m beginning to understand that.” She gave him a wan smile.
    She looked better in his clothes than she should have and not all that vulnerable, despite the situation. Her hair was drying in loose waves that tumbled over her shoulders and her eyes looked a little more copper than brown.
    Brother Wolf gave a soft growl in his ear, didn’t want to leave the witch either. He’d have to remind his wolf that they didn’t like witch, but at the moment, he was having trouble remembering why.
    * * *
    Kate shifted on the mattress. She should’ve been exhausted, but she was wired on adrenaline and sugar. Stray loomed over her. She had an unnatural urge to touch his hand, stroke his jaw, run a finger along his lips.
    She did none of those things, told him instead, “Look, I really didn’t call you for help tonight.” But . . . she had flashed to him in her mind, gave a brief thought to how protected he’d made her feel.
    And then, in the woods, had he seen what she’d done?
    “I did see you throw men with your mind,” he said.
    “What? How did you—”
    Same as you.
    His voice, in her head. The trembling was back. Her legs shook so badly, she couldn’t think about moving.
    Calm down.
    “I couldn’t . . .