Twisted by Rebecca Zanetti

middle.
    Then he began to thrust.
    Hard, fast, strong.
    Tethering her with his mouth, with calloused hands, he pounded into her.
    Pleasure melded with pain, leaving her bombarded with sensation. Grabbing his shoulders, she closed her eyes, her body tensing.
    The orgasm broke over her, within her, all around her.
    She screamed his name, the waves battering her, the world exploding.
    He ground against her, his body shuddering as he came.
    Silence fell.
    Withdrawing his fangs, he licked her wound. He released her hair, lifted his head, and met her gaze.
    Possessiveness and male satisfaction curved his lip.
    “Mine.”

Chapter Ten
    Dawn held the chilly bite of fall as Maggie followed Terrent into the clearing. Growling clouds contained the sun and shot sparks of lightning into the far mountains. A storm was coming. Soon.
    She shivered and stopped alongside Terrent.
    Roger stood on the lodge porch, legs spread. Gerald sat in a rocking chair, sadness darkening his faded eyes. Three men stood next to the porch—different ones from before.
    Wiry, alert, they moved like graceful animals. Yet they didn’t smell like anything.
    One strode forward. Green and gold colored his eyes, while thick blond hair was cut short over an angled face.
    “Hi, Maggie. I’m Felix.”
    “Hi.” She swallowed.
    “Are ya ready ta’ come home?” he asked, his tone conge-nial and gentle, as if speaking to someone ill.
    “I am home.” She fought the urge to take Terrent’s hand.
    If things got nasty, he’d need it free.
    “No,” Felix explained slowly, patiently. “Yer home is in Vaile.”
    Irritation heated her ears. “Listen, buddy. You don’t need to speak slowly to me—I’m not brain damaged.” Okay, tech-nically, her brain had been damaged. But her IQ was probably higher than his.
    Terrent grinned.
    At that smile, she relaxed. For the first time since being rescued from the Kurjans, she had somebody. She wasn’t alone. “I appreciate your traveling all the way here for me, but I’m not going anywhere.”
    Felix lost his smile. Purple mottled his face. So not handsome. “Listen, ye’r ours, and ye’r comin home so we can strengthen our lineage. Get rid of the weaklings.”
    So maybe Felix wasn’t loved as a leader. Maggie shook her head. “No, thanks.”
    Terrent waved his hand. The wolves instantly smelled like wolves.
    She frowned. “Wait a minute.” The other times that the wolves had been masked and then revealed flashed through her mind. “You have quite the talent there.”
    “I’ll explain later,” he said.
    “Yes, you will.” She breathed out and focused on Felix.
    Her chin lifted—along with her hand. Tugging her shirt down, she revealed the angry, red teeth marks on the front of her shoulder. “I’d have to turn around for you to see the other set.” She cut a glare at Terrent. Her entire shoulder! “But, as you can see, I no longer belong in your pack.” Something told her she’d never belonged there.
    “You mated a Skene wolf ?” Felix’s nostrils flared. “You stupid, stupid bitch.”
    Terrent growled and stepped forward.
    Thunder rolled high above.
    A tingling wandered up Maggie’s legs. A roaring filled her ears. Not now.
    One of the men with Felix jerked his head at Terrent.
    “He’s Skene .”
    “So?” Maggie glanced at Terrent. “I don’t know what that means.”

    “It means nothing,” Terrent said quietly.
    Felix spat on the ground. “We wiped out most a’ the Skene wolves three hundred years ago. We missed one.”
    Maggie pivoted to face Terrent. Her shoulder ached like a raw wound. “My people destroyed yours?”
    “Yes.” He kept his gaze on Felix.
    “Why?” she breathed.
    “We were natural enemies. My people reviled yours. So when the war broke out, a Vaile raiding party took advantage of the situation.”
    “You lied to me,” she said to Terrent. Flames heated her face, her spine.
    Felix bared his teeth. “The Skene counter our masking abilities—they were our