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No one kneas a olf My true nature was definitely not in my personnel file So I couldn’t explain how s to worry about

Especially when another gunshot sounded The wolves howled again, their le

I wanted to shout Nic’s naers around his weapon and one only a few steps when I heard so a litany of curses, that someone was Nic

"I take it you lanced up, his expression curious "I could have sworn I didn’t He fell - "

My ears perked at the pronoun "He?"

"Hard to tell He, or she, got up, then they were just gone" He snapped his fingers "Your guess is as good as mine"

Mine was probably better If Nic had shot sootten up and disappeared at the speed of the wind, my bet olf

But if that was the case, why bother to run? Hell, why use a gun in the first place? I didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out

"Can’t believe I didn’t hit him," Nic murmured

"It happens"

I considered returning Nic’s gun, then decided so even if I had no silver bullets, and shoved the weapon into the pocket of my skirt

"Not to ardless of who had fired the shot, of who, or what, Nic had chased, he would be ill-equipped to catch theent in the business, but when faced with a traitorous J��ger-Sucher, a rogue agent, a olf, or so shadows until they decided he was a nuisance Then he’d just be dead

What was I going to do with hiet to a phone" Nic holstered his gun

"Good luck"

"There has to be one somewhere"

"Yeah Sixty lanced at the thick trees, the steadily darkening sky, then I thought of the shadows, the silver, of Billy, and I shivered "We should start walking"

Really, really fast

"Walking?" Nic frowned as if he’d never done such a thing before

"You have a better idea?" I spreadlot where every car was on fire

"Sooner or later someone will turn up Won’t they?"

"Sure In teeks, e’re due for supplies"

"No one else comes to this facility? No one will call and wonder why you aren’t answering?"

Edould Then he’d hop the next flight west to discover what had happened I didn’t want him to

Whoever had done this knew far too much about us Hence the silver bullet If they knew that, they kneould show eventually, which

I needed to get in touch with et to hilance in Nic’s direction Either one was going to be tricky

"I’le person in the vicinity? No groundskeeper? No friendly neighborhood hermits? What about those Montana ?"

"Sorry The isolation was a big selling point"

However, his comment did make me remember that eren’t completely without wheels

"There’s an outbuilding past the wolf enclosure" I gazed into the trees "We keep an ATV there"

"How far can we go on that?"

"Farther and faster than we can make it on foot"

I wanted to put as much distance as I could between myself, the coun before dark Even though I sensed the shooter was gone, I wasn’t going to bet

"You have any idea who h the woods

"The list is endless"

I kept h I wasn’t

"Elise, this is serious"

"I got that when the building blew up"

Hoas I going to keep hi questions all the way to a telephone? Hoould I keep hiot there? I didn’t have a clue

I’d reach town a lot easier on my own, but I couldn’t leave Nic behind He had no idea ere facing

Figuring the wolf enclosure, at least, should be free of a gun-wielding killer, I skirted the fence line When one of my wolves slammed into the chain link, I let out a small shriek and slammed into Nic

He tried to steady me, but I pulled away to move closer The alpha male - Jose - stood on the other side of the barricade He was frightened, and that wasn’t like him

"I need to set them free," I ed ate "I can’t leave them locked up with no one to take care of them"

"Wolves can take care of themselves"

Maybe But they’d do better outside than in

"Stay back"

I punched in the code that would open the door A minute later I watched as all six melted into the trees

Heavy clouds obscured the three-quarter h that shouldshadows ht be hidden, but it was still there, and so were the monsters

Nic kept pace as I ht have planted that bomb?" he asked