Silent Hunters by Desiree Holt Page B

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.
    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—drawn by the mystery of the stories she’d heard—she took a class called Legends and Lore . The hybrid wolf–shapeshifters, as they were called— had been 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 hope. There is no such thing as a shapeshifter.
    Yeah? Really?
    She deliberately pushed the thought from her mind to concentrate on getting out of the suffocating environment of the trees. Then, just as she was about to collapse, she broke out of SILENT HUNTERS
    Desiree Holt
    9
     
    the forest into a clearing and saw a house. At first she thought it was a mirage but she blinked and it was still there. She looked for the wolves but in that instant they disappeared, flashes of silver and white and black that were just…gone.
    Lauren was so drained, shattered by what had happened that she could barely keep from crying. Multiple scratches that stung like crazy covered her arms and legs. Her wrists were raw where she’d worked to rub the ropes against different trees in an attempt to wear away the fibres or loosen them. All she’d achieved was broken and bloody skin. The straps on her sandals had worn blisters on her feet and ankles, her sundress was torn and her jaw throbbed from the blow she’d taken. She could barely put one foot in front of the other as she headed towards the wood and glass structure ahead of her ablaze with lights.
    And in the back of her mind the same question kept rattling around: Which one of them would do this to me? Kidnap me and have me taken to this place in the middle of nowhere?
    Instinct told her she couldn’t go home until she found out. If it was a kidnapping for ransom, they’d just try again until they were caught. If it was something else, the thing she feared…
    No. She didn’t even want to think about that. Couldn’t think that. Not in her present state, anyway. First she had to find someplace safe, get rid of the rope, tend to her cuts and bruises and find someone to help her.
    Yeah, right. Maybe I can just wish on a star.
    Lauren had no idea what time it was. She’d totally lost track of time. Late, that’s all she knew. Very late. But the people in the house were obviously awake. She realised what a mess she was. Any person in their right mind would turn her away. She just hoped they didn’t take one look at her and lock the doors because she didn’t think she had anything left to keep her going. She also had no idea if the woman she glimpsed through the big glass door was connected to the men who’d taken her or not, but she did know she couldn’t go on a minute longer. She was drained, terrified and desperately in need of help. She could only pray she’d found it here.
    She nearly crawled the last few yards to the steps leading up to the deck. She’d just pulled herself onto the deck itself, trying to find the strength to lift herself to her feet, when someone opened the sliding