Phil was a werewolf.
CHAPTER 19
Time came to a screeching halt. Vanda couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. She was plastered against the cabin wall, unable to move.
A werewolf. Her beautiful Phil was a werewolf.
She began to shake. Panic swirled in her gut, then shot through her chest and erupted from her mouth with a strangled cry.
The werewolf turned to her. How many times had she seen those vicious jaws and snapping teeth? Always coming after her. Hunting her relentlessly.
She dashed into the cabin and slammed the door shut. With trembling hands she slid the bolt across the door. She stepped back, her knees shaking. Her gaze darted to the windows. He could crash right through the glass. That's how the wolves had invaded the safe house where she and Karl had taken shelter. The wolves had ripped him apart.
Footsteps pounded up the porch steps. Vanda stepped back. Her heart raced, thundering in her ears.
The doorknob turned. The door shook. She pressed a hand to her mouth as a terrified sob escaped.
"Vanda." His voice was soft. "Let me in."
She moved back. Thoughts jumbled in her head. She'd never heard of a werewolf who could talk. Or turn a doorknob. He had to be human.
But she'd seen him change. Or rather, she'd seen half of him change. He'd definitely had the head of a wolf. And the teeth.
Dammit, how could he do this to her? Rage flooded through her, a welcome relief from the terror that had made her weak.
"Go away!" she screamed.
The door shook again. "We need to talk."
"Go to hell!" Dammit. She'd made love to him. She'd let him inside her body. Inside her heart. A sense of betrayal twisted in her gut. First her sister, and now Phil.
She wanted to throw something. Rip something apart. She spotted the wooden ladder propped against the loft, the same ladder Phil had inserted through the trapdoor to descend into the cellar. She kicked a boot through some wooden rungs, then grasped the ladder in her hands and snapped it in two.
"Vanda."
She spun toward his voice. He'd raised a window and was peering in at her. How dare he look so normal? He'd completely fooled her.
"As your anger management sponsor, I have to say - "
"Leave me alone!" She hurled a splintered piece of wood at him.
He dodged the missile and it flew through the window. He peered inside again. "We're going to talk. There's no escaping it."
No escape? She opened the trapdoor and floated down into the cellar. She paced back and forth. She could teleport away, but where? Her apartment wasn't safe. The Carpathian Mountains were probably in daylight. London might be, too, so that left out Pamela and Cora Lee. She had no idea where Ian and Toni were. Maggie?
Vanda winced. She was still on that hit list. She couldn't put Maggie and her family in danger. But wasn't there a cave on their property? She could hide there. Unfortunately, she'd never been to Maggie's ranch, so she didn't know the way. She needed to call. She needed Phil's cell phone.
"Vanda, come back."
She glanced at the trapdoor. Phil was there.
She scanned the cellar and spotted a shovel. That would keep him away. Keep his paws off her. She grasped the handle.
He jumped. Her heart clenched as she watched. He landed, his cowboy boots hitting the wooden floor with a thud, his knees bending to absorb the shock.
He straightened slowly. The jeans hung low on his hips. His bare torso and chest rippled with muscles. Oh God, how she had loved his hard chest and broad shoulders. There was no trace of the injuries he'd suffered the night before.
His thick brown hair gleamed in the light that filtered down from the open trapdoor. Highlights of gold and auburn glinted. His pale blue eyes watched her, glimmering with strong emotion.
He was so gorgeous. How could he be a werewolf? And how could he be human now? The only time she had seen a wolf change back to human form was when Karl had killed one. As far as she knew, once a werewolf became a wolf, it stayed that way for the entire night. She'd certainly never seen one that could change only half of its body.
She pointed the shovel at him. "What are you?"
His gaze flitted to the shovel, and his mouth thinned. "I'm Phil Jones, the same man I was yesterday." He stepped toward her.
"Stay back!" She raised the shovel. "What are you?"
His chin lifted. "I'm an Alpha werewolf. I can change completely or partially whenever I wish, day or night. I have super strength and speed and heightened sensibilities. If I'm cut, I can change and instantly be healed. I can call on the power of my inner wolf without changing physical form. And one more thing..."
He leaped toward her so quickly, she barely had time to jab the shovel at him. He grasped the handle and yanked, pulling her toward him. In a tug of war, she dug in her heels and pulled the handle back. He yanked even harder, throwing her off balance. When she stumbled forward, he tossed the shovel aside, swung an arm around her and slammed her hard against his chest.
"One more thing," he growled. "I love you."
She shoved at his chest. "Let go of me. You - You lied to me."
"I was going to tell you tonight. Hell, I tried to tell you the other night at Howard's cabin, but when I mentioned wolves, you refused to talk."
She winced. She'd been so intent on keeping her own secrets, she hadn't let Phil tell his. "But you should have told me." She pounded at his chest.
"Why? So you'd have an excuse not to fall in love with me?" He grabbed her hands and pinned them behind her back. "Whatever happened to my love being enough?"
Her eyes burned with tears. "But I hate wolves. I hate shape shifters."
"You love this one."
She shook her head. "I-I can't. You scare me."
His mouth ticked. "Haven't I saved your life enough times for you to trust me? I love you, Vanda. I will always be there for you."
A tear escaped, rolling down her cheek. It was true. He had saved her. Several times. He'd stopped Max the Mega Member at the club. He'd killed the snake. He'd detected the bomb. He must have been able to smell it with his heightened werewolf sensibilities. But how could she get past him being a werewolf?
She shook her head. "I've been afraid of your kind for too long."
His grip tightened on her hands. "What exactly scares you? Is it my teeth? I've nibbled on you before without hurting you."
She shuddered.
"Is it the claws?" He released her hands. With one arm wrapped around her shoulders, he showed her his other arm. It shimmered with a bluish light. Fur sprouted on his hand, and it changed into a paw. Claws extended, sharp and deadly.
Vanda flinched. She turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut. "Don't."
"Don't what? Do you really think I would hurt you?"
She jumped when she felt something touch her cheek. Fur. Soft and warm. He stroked her cheek, then skimmed down her neck. She sneaked a peek and saw him caressing her with the back of his paw.
"I'm in complete control," he said softly. "Trust me."
He turned his paw and slipped a claw beneath the zipper of her catsuit. He pulled it down and sliced right through her bra.
She gasped.
The paw shimmered and turned back into a hand. He peeled back the catsuit and bra to reveal her br**sts. Her ni**les tightened. Her br**sts heaved as she struggled to catch her breath. Her skin tingled, aching for him to touch her.
She shook her head. How could she want him now? But there was something about him. An animal magnetism that overwhelmed her senses. He was raw and powerful, and it made her ache for him. Even her fear made it seem more exciting.
He cupped her breast and squeezed gently. She moaned.
He rubbed a thumb over the hardened tip. "I think, in time, you'll come to appreciate my dual nature. I can make love like a gentleman. Or I can rut like a beast." He tweaked her nipple.
She jolted. Moisture pooled between her legs. God help her, she wanted him.
"Which would you prefer tonight? The gentleman or the beast?" His mouth twitched. "In human form, of course."
She smoothed her hands over his broad shoulders. "I'd like one of each."
He smiled slowly. "That can be done." He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "But the beast wants to go first."
Before she could even react, he had unwrapped her whip, dropped it on the floor, and tugged her catsuit and underwear down to her ankles. "You do have super speed."
"And strength." He picked her up and lay her on the blanket. In another second he had her boots off, as well as his own cowboy boots.