Page 74

Without warning, both men shifted mid-air in a blur of light and arced charges, the night split by snarls and spectral energy.

Two wolves collided, one gold-violet and massive, the other obsidian and leaner but no less lethal.

They clashed with feral grace, claws skimming through moonlight, fangs flashing as they grappled and struck, bodies slamming into one another with the mass of tectonic force.

Were they fighting overher?

Fokk, no way. It’d be too primal and archaic.

So why did her heart leap at observing them have it out in a savage and raw clash?

However, even in their fury, Savvine could tell they were holding back.

Finally, Xander, the more tactical of the two majestic wolves, twisted Bone, who fought with pure mass.

The Signet pack leader’s massive jaws clamped around theSigma’sthroat.

A long beat passed.

With a snarl, Bone yielded, shimmered back into his human form, neck bared, breathing ragged.

Xander released him, shifting back, his amethyst hair tousled and chest rising.

They exchanged words, rumbled, and tightened.

She couldn’t hear them, but she observed the tension.

Bone’s eyes darted her way again.

Uttering a guttural growl, he turned and vanished into the tree line, swallowed by the shadows like a ghost made flesh.

Xander walked back, naked from the waist up, his jaw clenched and his eyes unreadable.

Savvine sat gazing up at him, folding her arms. ‘What the hell was that?’

He reached for his shirt and shook out the sand.

‘A reminder to Bone that he’s not in charge and can’t take what he likes when he sees it,’ he rasped, slipping it on. ‘Especially not a guest.’

She jolted. ‘Me?’

Xander’s lips twitched. ‘Don’t let it get to your head. He won’t touch you.’

She gave him a glance, a flicker of worry. ‘Why? What did you tell him?’

‘What he needed to hear.’

His growl was timbered, yet his eyes were flaming, protective, and almost possessive as he raked them over her.

His tall frame cast long shadows in the firelight.

Then, with the same smooth confidence that was undoing her from the inside out, he extended a hand toward her.

‘Probably enough excitement for one day, ay? Come,’ he murmured. ‘Let me take you to one of our guest cabins.’

She hesitated half a breath to pretend she still had control, then slipped her hand into his.

She realized then she hadn’t thought of her overnight accommodation.