Wolfen by Madelaine Montague Read Free Book Online

complete control of their mental faculties either.

     

      She also couldn't think of anything, beyond the violence, that would point to the possibility of them being hopped up on some kind of drug.

     

      It had been inexcusably stupid of her to have gone over to their place, especially half naked, although it wasn't really uncommon for women to run around as scantily clad or less in gyms or on the beach—certainly in public! She hadn't had her wits about her. She was mature enough, though, that she should have recognized that fact and gathered her wits instead of just reacting.

     

      It almost seemed as if they'd turned the music up so loud just to disrupt her work, but she knew that was paranoia. People that listened to music, young people, seemed to have a need to feel the vibrations all the way down to their core.

     

      One thing was abundantly clear even if she couldn't figure out what had spawned the violence. She needed to stay as far from the gang as she could possibly get! The fight just emphasized her earlier assessment.

     

      When she'd managed to calm down somewhat, she checked the time and got up to dress. Obviously, between the fight that had erupted and the loud music, which was still playing, there wasn't a chance in hell that wolf was going to come anywhere near the cabins. Peering cautiously out of her window, she saw that the gang was half-heartedly cleaning up the debris from the fight—Balin and Con included.

     

      Shivering a little when both men glanced toward her cabin, almost as if they sensed her watching, she moved quickly away from the window. The cabin didn't have a back door, unfortunately, no doubt a precaution to keep renters from sneaking off without paying. There was a window on the opposite side of the building from the neighboring cabin, though.

     

      She studied it doubtfully, feeling juvenile for even thinking about climbing out the window. She should just ignore them and walk right out the front and go about her business. Thinking about that and doing it were two entirely different things, though. As silly as she felt sneaking out the window to avoid any possibility of another confrontation, she just couldn't summon enough guts to face them.

     

      She had two options as far as she could see. She could behave like a skittish teenager and climb out the window or she could go back to bed and forget about her research.

     

      The research paid the bills, though, and her boss was going to get pissed if she didn't have something concrete to report in short order. Opening the window, she surveyed the drop to the ground and finally gathered her flashlight and night vision glasses. Shoving them into her bag along with a bottle of water, she leaned out the window and lowered it to the ground. It landed with a gentle rattle of the contents but she doubted it was loud enough to raise any alarm the way the music was still blaring from next door.

     

      Undoubtedly the proprietor hadn't thought it was worth his time to confront them, she thought wryly, but doubted the man could possibly sleep through it, and certainly not the fight.

     

      When she'd straddled the windowsill, she paused to consider the best way to get out without injury and finally turned around, settled her weight on her belly and felt around the outside of the cabin with the toes of her shoes for purchase. The cabin was built of rough hewn timber, but it was vertical planking not horizontal and she didn't find a hold for her toes. Sighing irritably, she wiggled a little further out and searched for the ground. The cabin was higher off the ground than she'd guessed. Realizing there was nothing for it but to drop and that she was already past the point of having the option to change her mind, she pushed herself off the windowsill and dropped to the ground. She landed unevenly, pinwheeled her arms in an effort to regain her balance and finally fell backwards when she failed, sprawling