Free Mark of the Wolf by T. L. Shreffler Page A

could
stand up. She felt weak and shivery all over.
    “ W-what are you?” she
whispered.
    “ Do you really want to know?” he asked
back, his voice dark and soft, a low growl in his throat. Maddy’s
eyes dropped down to the blood that painted his chest, then to the
floor behind the couch where the pool of blood had been growing
steadily larger. She knew there was a dead body behind that couch,
just out of sight – a body that was mutilated and ripped and still
warm. The thought made her stomach churn sickeningly.
    Her body moved on its own accord. Panic
seized her and she leapt to her feet, throwing herself towards the
back door before she could look too closely at the rest of the
carnage. He moved faster, though. He hit the door just as she was
tugging it open, slamming it with his hand and leaning his weight
against it. She was between him and the wall now, her back to him,
his chest hovering right behind her – he was so tall that he was
leaning over her, his shoulders blocking out the light from the
window, his body heat intense. She could feel it burning against
her back. The hair rose on her neck.
    “ Bad idea,” he said softly. Terror
ripped through her even as she grew wet between her
legs.
    She tried to duck to one side, to get around
him and run to the other door, or make a leap for the window, or
maybe the kitchen where she could get a knife and… he caught her
arm before she had moved even a foot away, easily swinging her
around. His grip was rough, and she flinched again, expecting the
blow to land across her face, or in her stomach, or for him to grab
her hair next….
    He released her.
    She stumbled backwards, slipping in the blood
on the floor and catching herself against the couch. It took her a
moment to realize she was free, then she continued to stumble
towards the opposite door, walking backwards with her eyes wide,
holding the couch for balance. She stared at him. He prowled slowly
towards her, matching her step for step. He moved like a wild
animal, muscles rippling, face dangerous. He looked feral and
vicious and utterly masculine.
    “ Don’t come near me,” she whispered
again, unable to make her voice work – it trembled in her
throat.
    “ I won’t hurt you,” he
murmured.
    “ Bullshit.” She kept inching back. She
could make out a limp hand out of the corner of her eye and focused
desperately on his face instead. His intense green eyes made her
shiver. She licked her lips nervously. “What the hell were those
people, and what the hell are you?”
    “ Werewolves,” he said the word
seriously.
    She got the urge to laugh all of a sudden.
“What?” she asked instead, unable to think of anything better.
There was a long, drawn out silence.
    “ Werewolves, shape-shifters, wolf men…
you know the stories, right Maddy? Haven’t you ever celebrated
Halloween?”
    She didn’t know what to say, her mouth was
dry, her head throbbing and dizzy. She had to get out of there –
had to run to where it was safe, into the woods or out to the
street. Maybe he had left his keys in his car… she could take it
and drive back to town, alert the police, or maybe just find a
phone booth and call 911….
    Shit, her phone!
    It was only a few feet away on the kitchen
wall. She hesitated only for a moment, then lunged to the side,
grasping for the phone piece and knocking it clumsily off the
receiver. She pounded 9-1-1 into the number pad before pressing the
phone to her ear. Her heart pounded.
    The phone was silent.
    It took her a moment to remember that the
city had shut off her power. She remembered the message from the
night before. Wide-eyed, she looked up at Gareth, who was now
standing with his arms crossed, right where she had last seen him.
He hadn’t moved to stop her. Somehow he had known the phone wasn’t
working. Or... was he going to let her call the police?
    He was watching her carefully, his expression
patient. Maddy wasn’t going to take this anymore. She dropped the
phone and