Winter Howl (Sanctuary) by Aurelia T. Evans Read Free Book Online Page B

closer. They were not reckless. It was the wolf that was reckless, and when the dogs could not smell fear, they knew something was terribly wrong.
    “What is it?” Ki asked, even though she could see it fine. “How can it…?”
    “I have no idea,” Jake said. “And it’s still coming closer. What the hell?”
    It stopped at just past ten yards from the porch and grinned at them. Then, not in a blink of an eye, but in a twist of flesh, bone, and sinew and with a creaking that seemed to come from the ground itself, the wolf began to change into a man. A man more completely unashamed of his body than any of the shapeshifters, some of whom had to adjust to living in a place where they were allowed to indulge in their pure human skin. He stood naked in the yellow light from the porch, touched in his shadows by silver from the moon. He was short for a man, maybe five feet and eight inches, but he was built in such a way that his presence was greater than his height. His dark hair was thick, with enough length to show a slight wave. His facial hair was neatly trimmed around his mouth and up the lines of his jaw, which was neither prominent nor weak but structured, like the rest of him. He was strong, compactly proportioned. In spite of the chill of the evening, he did not seem to be cold, with the exception of the tightness of his nipples along the ridges of his chest.
    He gave his onlookers a smirk and said, “So, does a place like this have an opening for a guy like me?”

Chapter Two

    They were all in the shapeshifters’ barn. Malcolm had woken Leslie up so he could join them. But Britt wouldn’t let Renee get near the man. He was sitting on the edge of a cot in a pair of jeans and a dark red, worn dress shirt that was about one size too big. They were his own clothes—he had brought a bag with him. From the wear marks on the sides, he’d held it in his teeth. Before the shapeshifters had ushered him into the shifters’ barn, he had retrieved it from the edge of the road where he had left it to meet them and put on the clothes while they watched. Renee didn’t think he’d put on clothes for the modesty, but perhaps to make himself appear less threatening. If that was the case, he’d failed miserably. He never seemed to stop grinning—even if it was just a slight curve of his mouth or a crease of skin near his eyes.
    Jake sat opposite him on another cot, and the other shapeshifters stood awkwardly along the edge of the room. Jake’s gun was still trained on the man.
    “Judge, jury, and all we’re missing is the executioner,” the man said. “Unless you’d be that black-hooded man, my friend.”
    “More like prosecuting attorney, really,” Jake replied. He tried to relax his frame, but he could not seem to shake the tension out of his shoulders. The other man, however, lounged in his seat.
    “Then where’s my defence lawyer?” the man asked.
    “This isn’t a fair trial.”
    The man laughed a little. “Look, if you all don’t want me here, you can just tell me,” he said.
    “Tell you the truth, I don’t want you here. But it’s not up to me to decide,” Jake said.
    “No,” the man murmured. “It’s hers, isn’t it?” He looked over at Renee, before Britt pushed Renee behind her.
    “Hey!” Renee tried to move to the side again, but Britt stood in her way. “Brittany, what’s going on?”
    “She’s just trying to protect you, love,” the man said, “from big, bad me.”
    “Protect me from what?” Renee asked.
    “Look, Renee, trust me,” Britt said. “I’m just trying to—”
    “Protect me from what ?” Renee grabbed Britt’s arm and whirled her around. “What are you trying to protect me from? So he shapeshifts into a wolf. What about it?”
    “Oh no, honey, that’s not how it works,” Britt said. She led Renee to a cot and sat her down. Renee felt more than a little patronised, and she did not like it.
    “Look,” Britt said, sitting down next to her and looking