“It happens when wolves are turned on.” Adam didn’t wait for a response. He laid back on the seat and dragged me with him so I was laying on top of his hard body.

“Was that why Wade acted like strange tonight?”

Adam grumbled. “Yes. I think he liked Chelsea as much as she liked him, and he had trouble controlling the urge to rip her clothes off in front of everyone. A male wolf’s passion can get a little…well it turns us into savages sometimes and makes it hard to reign in our control,” Adam grinned. “Kinda like how I’m finding it very difficult to control myself right now.” And just to show he was being honest, Adam tore my shirt down the front. Luckily, I’d done laundry and wore one of my cute bras instead of the blasé ones I wore when I didn’t have anything else. Adam’s lips kissed around the red lace, licking the plump flesh of my breasts. His fingers worked the clasp. With a hard thrust, his pelvis dug into the spot between my legs. Man, how I wanted him—needed him. But if I gave in, I’d be the other woman. That thought constantly nagged at my mind whenever I was around him, always ruining the moment.

“I can’t do this,” I told him as tears stung my eyes. Instead of focusing on Adam, I quickly tied my shirt together as best as I could and opened the door. Adam stopped me.

“Anna, I love you,” he blurted.

My breath caught in my throat and my heart stopped beating. The tears I’d been trying to hold back spilled over my cheeks and my entire body was numb. His words were perfect, but the situation was all wrong.

“I can’t…I have to go…I…” I stuttered as I fell out of the car and ran. Adam didn’t chase me, and I was happy for that. I needed time to think and clear my head, time to understand what all of it meant and how I should handle it. I bolted into the trees, jumping over rotting logs and rocks. After a while, I allowed the sounds of my heavy footfalls to overpower the questions in my head.

Chapter Sixteen

“No….stop,” the woman screamed. My teeth sank into her leg, just above her knee. Her weak fists pounded against my back. If I wasn’t a wolf, I’d have laughed at her feeble attempt to hurt me. A warm spray of her coppery blood splashed my mouth, a tingle of delight washed through me.

The woman continued to scream and flail. I needed to shut her up and quick! Pouncing, I pinned her shoulders with my large paws and growled, revealing my finely pointed teeth. Tears soaked her cheeks, her lips quivering as her eyes shot wide. I especially liked my reflection in them.

“Kim?” A man called from about fifty feet away. We were hidden behind a garage, just out of view of the man. The woman cried out to get the man’s attention, but I clamped down around her throat to cut off her plea. A melodic tone sounded from her jeans—a cell phone.

“Kim?” The man yelled again. I liked to enjoy my kill, but time was of the essence, and the man could find us at any minute. With just the right amount of pressure, my teeth popped through the woman’s flesh, her body falling still. A prickle of excitement ran through my veins at ending her life, her blood coating my muzzle like war paint.

I was yanked out of my bed by two men. Their strong hands wrapped around my arms and hauled me out of my sleep. Once I was up, they let me fall to my bedroom floor.

“What in the hell guys?” I said, looking up at Wade and Nicholas with heavy eyelids. Both men’s faces were deathly serious, their bodies ridged and emanating power.

“Anna, you are hereby convicted of murder,” Wade said and I gasped.

“What? What are you talking about?” I scrambled off the floor. Nicholas stepped in front of my door to make sure I didn’t make a run for it.

“Look at your feet,” Wade said, his head nodding in their direction. My head fell, my eyes going to toes. They were covered in mud.

“I…I don’t,” I shook my head back and forth as I stared at my feet. “This doesn’t mean I killed someone,” I managed to say, bringing my focus back to the leaders. Wade’s features grew tighter, his lips thinned to a straight line. With a tight grasp, he yanked me out of my bedroom and towards the bathroom.

“Look,” he said, his finger pointing towards the large mirror that sat above the double sinks. I was hesitant to see my reflection, afraid that whatever I saw would be the final nail in my coffin.

“Look!” Wade said a little louder. Peeling my eyes off the counter, I stared ahead. Red blotches of dried blood dotted my cheeks, forehead and neck. My hair was a stringy mess, leaves and other debris littering my blonde locks.

“I…didn’t,” I said, my voice no more than a whisper. “I couldn’t.” I shifted my eyes, unable to look at the evidence right in front of me.

“There was another body found early this morning,” Wade said, his voice almost sad. “Did you have another dream last night, Anna?”

Realization dawned on me as I remembered the dream I’d been having right before I was yanked from my bed. In the confusion I’d forgotten all about it.

“Yes, but I had that dream right before you woke me up,” I said, my eyes pleading with Wade. Nicholas leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. I hated him, hated being so close to him and what he’d done to me.

“That doesn’t mean you didn’t murder the woman,” Wade said, his dark eyes boring into me. “Perhaps you killed her earlier and were reliving the glory of the kill.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. “That’s ridiculous,” I scoffed. “I’d never kill anyone.” It didn’t matter what words came out of my mouth, I couldn’t fight the blood splattered on my face. I wanted to object and believe in my innocence, but I was starting to think I was guilty.

“Then tell me how did this get here?” Wade’s fingers dug into my skin as he turned my face towards the mirror again. “Tell me why your feet are covered in dirt? Did you go out for a run last night and kill an animal?”

“I did go for a run, but not in wolf form, and no, I did not kill anything last night.”

“Hey, guys,” Elle said, peeking her head into the bathroom. “What’s going on?”

I caught her gaze in the mirror and instantly began to cry. I’d grown fond of Elle, and now I was going to be killed for supposedly killing others.

“This doesn’t concern you,” Nicholas said, stepping in front of her to block her way.

“What about me?” Adam asked, coming into view. “She’s part of my pack, I deserve to know what’s going on.” My heart stopped beating for a millisecond as I remembered what he’d told me last night.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Nicholas said snidely. “Look at her.”

“I wasn’t aware we convicted people without concrete proof,” Adam said, shouldering past Nicholas and stopping just in front of me.

“Is blood on her face, dirt on her feet, and the confession of having another dream about killing not proof enough?” Wade bit out. It was a pity Wade was being such a jerk, I was starting to like him.

“Does the blood on her face match the murdered woman’s? If she was the killer wouldn’t she of woken up like this before? I find it a little odd that this happened after the leaders arrived,” Adam countered. I watched the muscles in his arms flex as he crossed them across his expansive chest. He stared daggers at Wade, while I wished I could feel those arms surrounding me.

“You’re letting your feelings cloud your judgment,” Wade said, ignoring Adam’s question. “If this were any other person, you’d be as ready to convict her as we are.”

Was it that obvious? Did the entire pack know Adam and I had feelings for each other? I wondered if the leaders spoke to Adam about our predicament and reminded him of his duty to Eve. If they had, it didn’t show. Adam wasn’t ignoring me anymore and even put his neck on the line to defend me.

“That’s not true,” Adam replied. “I would want a fair trial for any member of my pack. And, as you know, as her alpha, I must agree with your verdict, or I can defend her.”

Elle gasped from the doorway. Nicholas snorted as if what Adam said was the silliest thing he’d heard. Wade released his grip on me and nodded his head.

“We have a member on the police force,” Wade said. “I’ll have him run a DNA test on the blood found on Anna and the victim. If it’s a match, will that be evidence enough for you? I’d hate to have to kill two people because one of them is hard up.”

“Wait, what? Why would you have to kill two people?” I asked, turning to look at Wade.

“Her lack of knowledge about our laws is astounding,” Wade said to Adam. “Your alpha is graciously ready to fight on your behalf. If an alpha believes that one of his wolves is being unfairly judged, he can fight one of the leaders. If he wins, the accused goes free,” Wade told me.

My breath became labored as I thought about Adam fighting for me. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in him, I knew he was strong, but there was a reason the leaders were leaders. They’d been the strongest of the bloodline and earned their positions.

“And what if he doesn’t win?” I asked, my voice breathy.

“Use your imagination,” Nicholas chimed in.

My head was shaking back and forth while words failed to form on my lips. I stared at Adam with wide eyes, tears streaming down my cheeks. “You can’t do this,” I told him. “If I’m killing people, I will accept the punishment.” Even though my insides twisted in fear, my voice came out strong. I didn’t want to die, but I wouldn’t allow someone else pay for my crimes. If the blood on my face was in fact the murdered woman’s, I deserved death. How could I live knowing that three people were dead because of me? I wasn’t about to add another body to that count. Adam would live even if I had to shoot him with a tranquilizer gun so he’d miss the fight.

“It seems your pack mate doesn’t have as much faith in her innocence as you do, alpha.” Nicholas snorted.