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steak and she sat back, confused. Most men would have run from the house screaming at her possessive outburst. He seemed to relish it.
    “What's going on here?” she asked. “I don't invite strange men into my house and fuck them in my bathroom."
    “I should hope not. I might have to kill someone,” he said quietly. She sucked in a hard breath at the certainty in his voice, and met his steady blue gaze.
    “That would be bad,” she muttered.
    He laughed. “Yes, it would."
    Taking her hand, he led her to the couch and handed her a box from the coffee table. She settled back against the cushions and he draped an arm across her shoulders. A smile spread across her face as she opened the box and pulled out the wolf, beginning to understand why it appealed to her so much.
    “You don't miss much, do you?” she asked. “It reminded me of you when I saw it."
    “Me?” he asked, a surprised note in his voice.
    “Yeah. Regal and strong and lonely."
    “You think I'm lonely?” he asked, a smile giving the corners of his eyes a sexy crinkle.
    Tilting her head back to look at him, she considered her answer.
    “Maybe solitary would be a better word, which is kind of funny because I usually see you with a crowd of people,” she shrugged. “You still seem alone to me."
    He looked at her strangely.
    “What? Did I grow horns?” she teased.
    He chuckled. “Most people don't see what you see. A lot of people depend on me. They always say it's lonely at the top, right?” he joked. “Besides, I'm not alone. I have you."
    For now at least . He didn't strike her as the type of man who might be tied down for long. The pain in the vicinity of heart at that thought was sharp and surprising. She could get used to having him around. Learn to crave him, need him, like she already wanted his body.
    They rehashed local gossip, growing accustomed to each other's company, before the attacks came up.
    “You have to promise me you'll be careful until they catch this animal,” he said, tightening his arm around her.
    “I don't wander around in the woods by myself, so I'm thinking I'm safe,” she said lightly. “It's strange, though. There haven't been wolves in this area in decades."
    She paused, wondering how to bring up werewolves without sounding insane. What if she was wrong?
    “Stranger things have happened,” he shrugged. “Just promise me you'll be careful."
    “Sure. Some of my regulars were speculating about it tonight. They came up with some wild ideas.” She took a steadying breath. Just say it already, Meg . “One of them said it's a werewolf."
    He grew still. Bingo.
    Exhaling slowly, he asked, “What do you think?"
    With her head resting on his chest, she heard his heart kick up a beat as he waited for her answer.
    “My grandmother was an honest to God witch, you know. More of a witch than me. Better than me,” she said ignoring his question. “She used to tell me all kinds of stories, said there were werewolves here when she was a child.” She paused. “She believed in them. The world is a strange place. I'm not exactly normal myself."
    She cradled the carved wolf in her hand and waited for him to answer. Long after Darius was gone from her life, it would remind her of him. She knew with a certainty she couldn't begin to explain that he was a wolf. The question was how much of it he was going to share with her.
    “You realize people would think you were crazy if you let on you believe those old myths?"
    She stiffened in his arms and he tried to sooth her, rubbing circles on her arm. Maybe she wrong. She stood and paced across the room. She'd spent her entire life proving to this town she was a good witch, steady and dependable, and he to go throw the word crazy around.
    “Thanks,” she said sarcastically.
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    Chapter Five
    What the hell is going on here ?
    He shoved a hand through his short hair. Was she trying to draw him out? His mate couldn't betray him, could she? He wouldn't believe it. The ties between