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"Do not interfere," Maxwell told hier pointed at his chest

Nathan snorted "Like he’ll obey you He always does what he wants You know that"

She nodded in agreement, and both brothers focused on her Uh-oh All that intensity…closing in on her, one in front and one behind Why had she agreed to this, again?

"You ready, little girl?"

"You gonna sob like a baby if we get a little rough?"

Both were taunting her, and at first, her hackles rose Then she re, emotions could ruin you They made you dumb, kept you distracted You had to remain distanced You had to do whatever was needed to survive

I feel nothing Except nervous Argh! She raised her chin, pretending, at least, to be calm "I won’t cry if you don’t"

Surprise flickered in both their eyes, and Maxwell even looked like he was fighting a grin

"Spirit," he said "Let’s see how quickly we can crush it"

In a snap, they were on her, tossing her to the ground like a doll, their now sharp, long teeth near her neck She was too shocked--and terrified--to aze had failed to track the over her and peering down Soot our work cut out for us," Nathan grumbled, and offered her a hand to help her up

Her knees alht

"Vaine," Maxwell told her "Clearly, you’re ured that out Thanks"

Both chuckled

"Vamps want your blood, and while they don’t have to dive for your neck to get it, that’s what they prefer It’s harder for humans to push them away that way Plus, it weakens the victim faster"

"So basically, we’re like cows to them," she said dryly

"Except, you kill cows Va when they’re done" Nathan shrugged "For the most part"

For the most part Such a pleasant add-on Mary Ann pressed her lips together as she recalled an exception to that "for the most part" She’d watched several vampires torture and kill a boy named Ozzie They’d splayed him out on a table--Tucker, too--and used him as an appetizer at their party, until the life drained out of him

Either the wolves read her ave her away "Yeah, we heard about that," Maxwell said "Like huood and bad va of, wolves don’t feed on hu it "If a wolf is attacking you, that wolf just wants you dead And a wolf’s claws can ruin you in seconds, so yourslashed"

"I never would have figured that out," she said with a roll of her eyes "So exactly how am I supposed to do that?"

"We’ll show you Just try and keep up"

For every minute of Riley’s allotted two hours, the boys worked with her They tossed her down; they even threw her into trees She lost her breath, nearly broke her wrist and definitely twisted her ankle, yet still she persisted Still she s Mainly, she couldn’t hide froreater than a hureater Also, they liked it when she ran She becaame, a prize, and their heart rate would quicken with the challenge, their need to conquer intensifying

If wolves approached her while in a pack, she was to reidly structured There was always a leader Always That leader controlled the actions of the others If she could defeat the leader, she could defeat the pack Unless, of course, the leader told the pack to glo: their hair would rise They would bare their teeth and growl

Every time Maxwell and Nathan demonstrated that, in human and wolf form, her fear ratcheted another notch They scented that fear, and it upped their hunger level, increasing the odds against her She would have to learn to control her physical reactions, to show no fear, as Aden had already told her

How? It was possible to hide an expression It wasn’t possible to stop her heart fro

In the meantime, she no their noses were sensitive, more so than a human’s, so if she could hit them on their noses, she could buy herself several precious seconds to find a weapon A stick, a rock, anything would help

If they ed to pounce and push her dohile she did so, she had to try and snap their necks with a firm twist of her wrists before they tore out her throat Also, it was better to shove her hand into their ers and wrist than to let them bite into her neck Because if that happened, she was dead, no question She could live without a hand