A band of white light suddenly engulfed the four wolves. Ashlee covered her eyes with her hands as it momentarily blinded her. When it cleared, the wolves’ bones snapped and pulled as they grew larger in front of her eyes. She gasped. She’d never actually seen anyone shift before. Moreover, she could feel their magic in her own bones. Her stomach stirred. She put her hand on her belly to stop the grumble. She wasn’t hungry; it was more like pain shot through her intestines and her stomach didn’t know how to deal with it.
The shift finished, and four men of various heights—all of them tall and naked—
stood in front of her. Rex crossed to the tallest and hugged him awkwardly. They embraced for a moment before the four naked men opened the bag they had dragged and quickly clothed themselves.
As they dressed, the tallest in the group spoke. “Greetings, Rex. I see you found our brother. Locked in a zoo, was he?” The man who spoke had to be six foot five or taller.
He had blond hair and brown eyes, the same as Rex’s. Was that what Tristan’s eyes looked like when he wasn’t a wolf?
Locked in a zoo. Yes. Snicker if you must.
“We must,” the tall brother remarked again and the other three cracked up laughing.
She looked at him. Each one had varying degrees of brownish-blonde hair, cut short. The darkest of the group was also the smallest. Now that she could see five of Tristan’s brothers together, she could make out the family resemblance between them. The Kane brothers all possessed the same high cheekbones. Identical noses protruded proudly from their face. It was the jaw line and the eyes that differentiated them.
“This must be your mate. “ The tall one who Rex embraced stepped forward. “The whole island awaits you with great anticipation. We think very highly of your mother.
I’m Michael Kane.”
Our Alpha.
“Just for now.” Michael amended Tristan. “And this is Gabriel.” He pointed to the man who stood to his left. Gabriel stepped forward and bowed. Ashlee swallowed, unsure of what to do. How did one answer such a gesture? Gabriel was only slightly smaller than Michael. His jaw line was round, where Michael’s had been long. Also, he had a cleft in his chin, and his bangs were unevenly cut.
Rex rolled his eyes at Gabriel. “Don’t mind Gabriel, he doesn’t leave the island much. He doesn’t know that we don’t bow to women anymore.” Gabriel looked stricken and took a step back.
“It’s—ah—nice to meet you. And thank you for bowing; that was a very nice way to be welcomed,” she hurried to add, moved by his obvious discomfort. His eyes looked at her kindly.
“And this one over here who is younger than Trip by one year is Theo. Don’t be grumpy—come say hello to Trip’s mate.”
Ashlee had to force herself to stay still when Theo stepped forward. His eyes were huge and brown; he clenched his jaw so tightly that Ashlee could see the muscles strain.
Did he already dislike her?
“You look like your mother.” He extended his hand and she took it. His voice sounded cold. Maybe it was her mother he didn’t like? She thought he would shake her hand but he brought it to his lips and kissed it. Tristan growled. Theo raised his head to look at Tristan. “Just checking.”
Just checking what?
“And finally we have the one who is just one year older than Rex here, and that is Azriel.”
Azriel’s chin was very similar to Michael’s but no one would mix them up. He was the smallest of the group. He also had the broadest shoulders. One long thin line scarred his face from his left eye to his neck. He shook her hand cheerfully and she smiled.
She needed to say something. “Your Mom liked very strong names.”
For some reason, this struck all six of them as funny and they all burst out laughing hysterically. She tried to smile. Even Tristan snorted through his nose.
“She did.” Michael smiled. “Welcome home.”
Home? Could she ever think of this as home? She doubted it. Her parents’ white stucco house seemed more and more appealing. She glanced over her shoulder. Maybe she could make a run for it. All she had to was swim the four miles across the river.
Mmm, maybe not.
Michael looked down at Tristan with seriousness. “We need to get your problem taken care of immediately, Trip, so we can go about figuring out how this happened, how we can ward against it, and who betrayed us. I must tell you, some started to fear you were dead.”
Some?
Michael grinned. “Okay, me.”
Let me get Ashlee settled and then I would love for all of you to turn me back.
Theo grinned then. “Count on it, my brother, count on it.”
Ashlee stood in the middle of Tristan’s room. She walked from wall to wall as she admired the artwork. They had that in common. If she couldn’t find anything else to say to him at least they could discuss painting. ‘Getting Ashlee settled’ had turned out to mean depositing her in his bedroom and asking her if she would be okay for a few hours on her own. She’d nodded and he’d turned to leave, before he came back with a strange warning.
Don’t worry if you hear odd things tonight. They’re going to be forcing a lot of magic onto me to turn me back. Don’t be afraid, little one.
Then he’d run out again. She appreciated that Tristan had taken the time to warn her.
Now she could obsess about what they were doing out there tonight. She heard a howl out in the distant night and walked to the window. Nothing but trees and darkness.
And thirty male shifters who hadn’t seen a female of their kind for thirty years. She shivered at the thought. She walked to the door and locked it. Not that it would keep anyone out who really wanted to get in, but it made her feel moderately safer. Tristan couldn’t be too much longer…she’d just get up and let him in when he knocked.
The room felt colder than before and she opened her suitcase to rummage for a sweater. Undecided on whether she’d stay or not, she hadn’t put anything away. There was nowhere to put her things had she wanted to. Tristan obviously hadn’t been expecting a roommate when he’d last left the place. No empty hangers in the closet, no room in any drawers.
Most surprising was the big-screen television that faced the bed. She’d expected everything to be rustic, but inside the house was modern and updated. She turned on the television. Did they get any reception here or did they just watch DVDs?
Ashlee changed the channel and sighed in relief when she found a full array of satellite television channels presented to her. So, there were some modern conveniences in this strange place. Another howl in the night ruined her mood for late-night Jay Leno and she turned off the television. She walked to the window and looked out. Was that Tristan out there howling? Goosebumps rose on her arms and she tried to massage them away with her hands. In her entire life, she’d never felt so alone.
She crossed to the chair next to the bed and sat down. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. When Tristan got back, she would tell him—whether he was a wolf or a man—
to take her home. She closed her eyes to rest them for a moment. Just for a moment…
Ashlee jerked awake and fell out of the chair. She closed her eyes to avoid the sheer torture that had awoken her. She rolled onto the floor and screamed out in pain and agony. Every bone in her body felt like it had just broken. She tried to use her legs and couldn’t. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. They shook of their own volition and fur rapidly spread over her skin. She screamed out again but no one answered. How long had she been asleep? Where was Tristan? Who was doing this to her? Her mother had said she needed to be with the pack to change. Something bad would happen to her wolf if she was alone.