Well, getting eaten by the thing wouldn’t help him. He disappeared into the trees. “I didn’t want to go stalking through the creepy-ass woods,” she muttered.
A shiver ran down her spine and she swallowed hard as she took her first steps into the thick trees. The underbrush clawed at her toes. Sandals really weren’t the best hiking shoes, but she didn’t have time to go back and change. Besides, it wasn’t as if one shoe was going to help anything. A low hum swept through the trees on a breeze. It reminded her of wind pipes. Or could it be ghosts? She remembered overhearing chatter about a Chichester woman being hanged in these woods. Granted, it was a very long time ago, but her family had owned the place or something. Two of the employees were talking about it at the Cave, the in-house pub in Castle Tullamore, one night when she’d gone to have a drink. Oh hell. She needed to hurry and catch up to Dorian.
“Dorian,” she whispered as loud as she dared. The tree canopy let in a little moonlight and she could see his outline up ahead. He turned and his gaze pinned her. Gooseflesh erupted on her arms.
He started toward her. “What are you doing out here?”
She winced, hearing the displeasure in his words. “Why are your clothes covered in blood? I got upstairs and noticed blood on my hands. Are you hurt?”
“You need to leave now, Jesenia. Get back to the castle.”
Something in his tone had changed. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was a sense of urgency that now laced those words. “I’m fine. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Get down!”
She yelped and jumped back a little at his shouted words. It took her a second to comply. Air whooshed past her head. Then she heard it. The low growl behind her. Her head whipped around and she spotted the shoe-stealing beast. Foam dripped from his maw. Ice-blue eyes stared at her. Oh God. It had leapt at her. Her gaze swung back to Dorian’s as she scrambled on hands and knees toward him. “Run!”
Her heart stopped and then stuttered back to life as her jaw fell open. Dorian bared his teeth and tore at his pants as he jumped in her direction. A scream ripped from her throat as his body changed. When he landed on the other side of her it was on four feet. Four furry feet. “Holy shit!”
Jesenia backpedaled until her spine hit the base of a tree. The wolves circled each other, snapping and growling. Holy fuck, Dorian was a wolf. She closed her eyes. Surely she was still in her room and this was all just a dream. A snarl had her eyelids flipping open again.
Her body shook as she took in the sight. The wolf that had chased her was rabid. It was easy to track with the spittle dripping. On a growl it turned and ran off deeper into the woods. The other wolf turned and looked at her.
Hell, the other wolf was Dorian. What in the hell was going on? His body changed again and the naked man stood in front of her.
He held out his hands. “Jesenia, are you all right?”
A sob burst from her mouth. Her body trembled uncontrollably. “What is happening?”
He sighed. “Ah, lass. I would not have you find out this way.” Dorian stepped toward her. She jerked. “I’ll not hurt you. It’s okay.”
Dizziness overwhelmed her. She fought against it but knew she was fading fast. Dorian’s voice filled her ears, calling her name, but it seemed as if he was miles away or inside a well. Blackness tunneled her vision until she succumbed to the darkness.
Chapter Five
On a moan, Jesenia rolled over. A soft coolness cushioned her cheek. A yawn escaped her mouth and she stretched, opening her eyes. Her gaze landed on her suitcase, tucked away in the corner of the room. Memories flooded her mind and she bolted up in the bed, glancing around the room. Had it all been a dream?
The slight soreness between her legs let her know that not all of it had. The sink in the bathroom came on and she yelped. Who the hell was in her room? Dorian came out of the bathroom, a wet washcloth in his hand. He stood there in the same bloodstained jeans and no shirt. “Oh. God. It wasn’t a dream.” She pitched forward, covering her face with her hands, and let loose a groan.
“Well, you’re taking it better than I expected you to.”
Her head snapped up and she pinned Dorian with her stare. “Really. Passing out is a good thing? How about climbing in the corner and mumbling like a lunatic, because that is what I feel like doing right about now.”
He smiled and crossed the room to the bed.
She glared. “I’m glad you find this amusing. And what the hell? I told you I was chased by a wolf and you and your friends laughed at me.”
“There’s a lot to explain.”
“Well, I guess leaping over my head and turning into a wolf is a good start. Or maybe you could tell me why you lied to me about there being wolves in Ireland. Are you the only two? Because according to history there were a lot of you. Or were those real wolves and you two are just werewolves? Holy shit, are you really a werewolf? Is that what I call you?”