To the Edge and Back [The Royal Wolves] (Siren Publishing Allure) by Honor James Read Free Book Online

staring at her, he realized that coming there had been a really, really bad idea. Especially considering what she was wearing.
    “Yes…and no,” he said softly so she wouldn’t hear the growl that was building in his chest. Clearing his throat, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and forced himself to look down at his feet. “I know that I shouldn’t be here, but”—he glanced at her—“can we talk for a minute?” he asked softly.
    She opened the door wider and nodded. “Sure.” What in the world did he need? It was so strange, to have him here at her door. He was like a dream come true to her.
    He was about to say something else when he caught the faintest whiff of Wolf. His head snapped up toward where the scent came from and then it was all instinct. His lips curled up as his eyes shifted to afford him with greater vision, including the heat spectrum, and he slipped his hands from his pockets, letting them hang loose at his sides.
    “Mina,” he said softly, “go back inside and lock the door,” he added, his eyes focused down the hall where three bodies stood, very hot, which told him they were Wolf. Humans were warm, but they didn’t output the same intense heat of a Wolf body, which burned energy faster and therefore was much hotter.
    Mina frowned at him and shook her head. “First you come knocking on my door at”—she glanced back at the clock on the wall—“at two a.m., and now you are telling me to get back inside? What is with you?”
    Turning his head slowly, he looked at her. “There are three Wolves hiding down the hall,” he murmured in a low enough tone that the other Wolves couldn’t hear. “They weren’t here when I came in and they aren’t tenants or visitors or I’d have scented them. They are here because of the reason I came to see you. Go in, lock the door, and don’t open it again unless I say your name and knock. If I’m not back by morning, call the Eighth Precinct and ask for Detective Miklos Farkas. He’s one of my brothers. Tell him what I just told you and that I didn’t return. He’ll know what to do from there, clear?” he asked, turning his head back to the three heat signatures when he heard a boot scuff on the flooring.
    Mina shook her head but backed away. She understood that she was nowhere near a fighting partner for a Wolf, so she did as he asked. She backed into her apartment and locked all the locks and grabbed her bat just for good measure. “Please be okay,” she whispered quietly.

Chapter 10
     
    Smiling softly, Janos put his palm lightly to her door before he moved off down the hall on light feet. Stopping when they took off, he cursed and took off running. Reaching the street, he looked up and down and scented the air, but they were gone.
    “Son of a bitch.” He kicked at a can on the street, sending it skittering toward the gutter. Turning, he looked up at the building and shook his head. “Dumb, dumb, dumb,” he muttered, heading back inside.
    Reaching her door a few moments later, he knocked. “Mina, it’s me,” he said loud enough she’d hear but not the other tenants. Stepping back so she wouldn’t feel threatened or throw something at him, he waited patiently. He still hadn’t figured out what he was going to say or do, but he knew she had the right to know…everything.
    She opened the door once more after placing the bat back down again. “Come in, Mr. Farkas.” She stepped back from the door, and when she looked into her too small apartment, she stepped back. “I would like to know why there were Wolves in my building, and I’m sure you will tell me why one sniffed me today?”
    Stopping with his hand on the door, Janos looked to her. “One sniffed you?” he asked, pushing the door shut and throwing a lock before he moved toward her.
    “Where were you when it happened and how many were there?” he asked, quickly following with, “Can you describe them, and did they say anything?” This could be even worse than he