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layover, so dinner at eight is fine, too.”
    God, three hours to be by himself. He didn’t know if he should be happy or panic at the idea of being alone again with his thoughts.
    “Okay, then.” Declan walked over to him and put one hand on his shoulder, giving a slight squeeze. “It’ll be all right, mate. Trust me.”
    Sully lifted his chin in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything.
    Declan gave another squeeze, then he and Pelicia left the guesthouse, closing the door softly behind them.
    “He seems so…bereft,” Sully heard Pelicia say, her sweet voice holding a wealth of worry.
    “He’ll be fine.” Declan’s voice held no doubt.
    Sully wished he could be as sure.
    He stood there in the doorway of the bedroom, holding onto his suitcase like some bloody befuddled bellman. With an oath he dropped it in the doorway and flopped onto the bed, legs hanging over the edge, feet flat on the floor. He closed his eyes but couldn’t slow his swirling mind.
    The need to move, to try to escape his thoughts, rushed through him. His skin prickled, the hairs standing straight up on his arms and the back of his neck. His jaws began to ache, his eyes burned.
    Deep, deep inside the wolf howled to be set free.
    Sully surged up off the bed, toed off his shoes, and yanked off his socks. He tossed aside his clothing with an urgency that made his hands shake.
    Even though the next full moon was still two weeks away, he felt the pull as surely as if it were bright in the sky. Declan had said that could happen, but Sully hadn’twanted to acknowledge it. He was still human, still a man. He wasn’t ruled by his beast—he would be able to control any desire to set the wolf free.
    But, at that moment, he couldn’t fight it.
    He didn’t want to fight it.
    He wanted— needed —to be as wild as he felt.
    Bones began to shift. Some lengthened, others shortened, all drawing muscles, cartilage, and ligaments into their new forms. Sully fell to his hands and knees, agony screaming through every cell, his breath rasping in his throat as, against his primeval instincts, the part of him still human fought against the change.
    In the span of a heartbeat, fur sprouted over his skin. One more and his shuddering transformation to wolf was complete.
    After a few seconds, waiting for the pain to fade, he lifted his head. So much clearer now.
    Smells, stronger. One in particular. His nose twitched. What was that? He bent and sniffed at one leg. Whatever the smell was—kind of woodsy with underlying scents of pine and citrus—it emanated from him.
    He lifted his head and padded into the living room. Stopping in front of the patio doors, he stared through the glass. A hummingbird fluttered near the bushes. Sully could see the edge of every tiny feather, the flutter of its wings.
    He had to get out there, outside, now.
    He lifted one paw and pressed down on the door latch. As the handle moved, his paw slid off it and the gold latch went back into its original position. He growled in aggravation and tried again, slightly curling his paw over the handle.
    The door popped open. Sully nudged it open farther with his nose, then slipped through the doorway and into…
    Freedom.
    Ignoring the hummingbird and a small lizard that skittered across the concrete patio, he shoved his way through the oleanders. On the other side of the bushes was a small gulley—a wash, he remembered hearing them called.
    He trotted down the wash on all fours, nose twitching as he took in the new smells of this foreign place. The flap of large wings caught his attention, and he stopped, head up, and watched a hawk circle overhead.
    Free.
    Run.
    With a low grunt, he dug his paws into the sand and took off. As he found his footing, he increased his speed, running full out for several minutes until his lungs felt like they would burst. He settled into an easy lope. A jackrabbit, startled from its cover beneath a large bush, darted out in front of him.
    Its heart raced and big