Page 10

While chewing, she analyzed her surroundings with renewed clarity. One small window, firmly sealed. One door. No convenient air ducts or secret passages—just a spartan, efficient space that somehow managed to feel like an extension of the man himself.

Think, Maya. What would an apex predator do?

Her gaze swept over the cabin's interior again. Bookshelves lined one wall—first editions, based on their leather bindings. Handcrafted wooden figurines stood sentinel on a rough-hewn mantle. The half-carved wolf he'd been working on when she awoke caught her eye—the detail was extraordinary, capturing movement and power in static wood.

"I don't care what Alpha Alaric says," Kieran hissed into the phone, his broad back tense beneath his black henley. "That's not how I operate."

Alpha Alaric?Maya filed the name away, building her mental dossier. Knowledge was power, and right now, she needed every advantage.

Her scientific mind still rebelled at the reality she'd glimpsed on that video. Men didn't turn into wolves. Except, apparently, they did. And one of them had kidnapped her and was now feeding her sandwiches while having tense conversations about... what? Her? The cameras? The fact that she had evidence that could upend scientific understanding and expose whatever secret community existed in these mountains?

The strangest part wasn't even the whole wolf thing. It was her body's inexplicable reaction to him. Even now, watching himfrom across the room, something electric hummed beneath her skin. When he'd stood close, she'd caught his scent—pine and mountain air and something deeper and more primal. It had sent heat spiraling through her core, a reaction so visceral and immediate it defied her normally rational nature.

It's just biology,she told herself firmly.He's objectively attractive, and your body is responding to pheromones. Nothing more.

But that didn't explain the strange pull she felt, as if invisible threads connected them across the room. She'd never experienced anything like it—not with colleagues, not with previous partners, not with anyone.

"I expect the Council to keep their word," Kieran's voice hardened.

Council? Maya's pulse quickened. So, there was organization and structure to whatever community he belonged to. How many were there? Was an entire shadow society of wolf-people living alongside humans, undetected by science?

The academic treasure trove this represented momentarily distracted her from her predicament. What a paper this would make—if she lived to write it.

Kieran's shoulders stiffened further. "That wasn't our agreement." His voice contained a rumbling undertone that raised goosebumps on her arms. "Tell Alpha Alaric I need more time. Tell him that she is proving difficult to find."

She.Difficult to find?But he already found her. A chill raced down Maya's spine. They were discussing her, and he was hiding information from them. But why?

Maya set down the half-eaten sandwich. The need to escape crystallized with sudden clarity. Whether Kieran claimed this was "protective custody" or not, the phone conversation confirmed her instinct—there were others involved, others whohad plans for her, plans Kieran might not entirely agree with but was bound to by some hierarchy.

Her eyes darted to the door. One exit. One very large, very fast, very not-entirely-human obstacle between her and freedom.

The sensible approach would be to gather more information, and to understand exactly what she was dealing with. But instinct screamed that time was running out. Whatever tenuous protection Kieran's "custody" offered might vanish with his next phone call.

Maya swallowed hard and reached for the water bottle, her mind racing through scenarios as she took a sip of water. Her hiking boots sat by the door, perfectly positioned for a quick grab. Her backpack with her research was on his desk—could she reach both in time?

"I told you, I'm going to handle this my way," Kieran growled into the phone, his back still turned.

Now or never.

Maya set the water bottle down without a sound and slid off the bed. Her sock-covered feet made no noise on the wooden floor as she crept forward, every muscle tense and her heart hammering in her chest. She'd spent countless hours stalking wildlife—now those skills might save her life.

Kieran's voice dropped lower, something guttural entering his tone as he argued with whoever was on the other end of the line. "I said I'd take care of it."

Six steps to the desk. Four to the door beyond it. Maya moved with the precise control of someone accustomed to fieldwork, where one misplaced footstep could scatter your research subjects.

Her fingers closed around her backpack strap. The worn leather was comfortingly familiar against her palm.

Another step.

"No, Damon?—"

Maya lunged for the door, yanking her backpack with her. Her fingers closed around the metal doorknob, cold against her sweating palm. She twisted it, feeling the mechanism give, a burst of triumph flooding her veins?—

A large hand slammed against the door above her head, holding it firmly shut. Heat radiated from the body suddenly pressed against her back, and Maya's breath caught in her throat.

"Going somewhere, Dr. Collins?" Kieran's voice was dangerously soft against her ear.

Maya spun around, her back pressed against the door, clutching her backpack against her chest like a shield. Kieran's arms caged her, one palm flat against the door on either side of her head. His silver-blue eyes had taken on an unearthly glow, his pupils slightly elongated in a way that wasn't quite human.