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CHAPTER TWELVE

Nothing but Werewolf

The olf charged

Miss Tarabotti, whose eyes were not yet accustomed to the darkness of the cell, perceived theat supernatural speed in her direction She dove aardly to one side, only just fast enough Her corset stays creaked in amanner as she tried desperately to twist out of the way She stu to her knees

The wolf hit the closed door hard, behind where she had just stood, and slid to the floor in an ungainly heap of long legs and sweeping tail

Alexia backed away, hands up before her chest in an instinctive, and entirely useless, defensive position She was not ashae, and she was beco convinced that what preternaturals could do would not be fast enough to cancel out what he ht position, shaking hilossy pelt, silky in texture and of soeable color difficult to deterain, powerfulout one side of his mouth in silver rivulets

He leaped forward in another burst of speed and then twisted before he struck, yanking himself back mid jump

He could have killed her easily that tis were coe had been pure luck She was nowhere near fit enough to go up against a regular wolf, let alone a supernatural one True, she was an inveterate walker and had a decent seat for the hunt, but no one would everMiss Tarabotti a sportsworeat beast circled to one side of the cell, then the other, weaving about Alexia and sniffing the air He gave an odd, frustrated little whine and backed sloay fro his bushy head back and forth in profound lowed faintly in the dark rooht that their expression was one of worry er

Miss Tarabotti watched in amazement as for severalback and forth Her respite did not last long, however It soon becae to attack was overpowering The wolf’s mouth opened in a snarl of bloodlust, and he coiled hisat her once more

This time, Alexia was pretty darn certain she would not escape unscathed She had never before seen so many sharp teeth in one place

The olf attacked

Miss Tarabotti couldadjusted fully to the glooytoward her throat She wanted desperately to run, but there was nowhere for her to go

Keeping her wits about her, Alexia stepped toward the charging monster and a little to one side In the same movement, she tilted sideways as ainst the beast’s ribs, knocking hi wolf, but Alexia Tarabotti was no lightweight either, and she h to throw hiether in a coil of skirts and bustle wires and fur and fangs

Alexia twined her ars would allow--and anything else she could htly as humanly possible

With a profound sense of relief, she felt his fur disappear and his bones re-fore breaking was truly grueso butchered, but the feel of it was even worse The sensation of fur disappearing at her touch, crawling away from any point of contact with her body, and the bones, liquidlike, changing their very nature under his flesh, was one that would haunt her for months But, eventually, she held only warm hu, deep, shaky breath and from the smell alone had no doubt at all whorassy fields and night air Involuntarily, her hands ainst his skin in relief Then, of course, she realized so else

"Why, Lord Maccon, you are stark naked!" Alexia said She was appalled beyond all reason by this last in the long string of indignities she had had to suffer in the space of one torturous evening

The Earl of Woolsey was indeed completely nude He did not seem particularly perturbed by this fact, but Miss Tarabotti felt the sudden need to close her eyes tight and think about asparagus or so equally ed over one of hisforced to look down directly at a nicely round, but e bare, e either Although it did see aspects of her own anatomy that she would rather not think about It was all a very heady--or bottomy?--experience

But, Alexia reasoned, at least he is no longer trying to kill me

"Well, Miss Tarabotti," admitted the earl, "nakedness happens, I am ashamed to say, particularly to us olves To coo" Lord Maccon was panting, and his voice sounded funny, all low and gruff and hesitant

With her chest pressed hard against his, Alexia could feel the rapid beat of his overtaxed heart A strange series of questions ran through her head Was his exertion the result of the attack or the change? What happened if he changed into wolf for dress? Would the clothes rip? That was sure to be inconveniently expensive! How come it was socially acceptable for olves in the wolf state to run around completely starkers, but not anyone else?

Instead she asked, "Are you cold?"

Lord Maccon laughed "Practical as always, Miss Tarabotti It is a little chilly in here, but I a, powerful, but bare, legs dubiously "I suppose I could loan you my underskirt "

The earl snorted "I hardly think that would look very dignified"

Miss Tarabotti reared back so she could look him in the face for the first time "I meant to drape over you like a blanket, not to wear, you ridiculousheatedly, but with her dark skin, she kneas not noticeable "Besides, renified condition either"

"Aye, I see Thank you for the thought, but" Lord Maccon trailed off, beco "Uh, where exactly are we?"

"We are guests of the Hypocras Club That new scientific establishroves’ town residence" She did not even pause to let hiitatedly on Partly because she wanted to relay everything she could before she forgot so vital and partly because their inti her nervous "It is the scientists here who are behind the supernatural disappearances," she said, "as I am certain you are noell aware You yourself have beco acts They have quite the arrangeround facilities reached only by so called an ascension chamber And there are rooms upon rooms of exotic steam and electric current ot Lord Akeldauination machine, and I heard the most horrible screams I think it was him Conall"--this was saidhim to death"