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"I-I've never seen anything like it," Arabelle said, sobbing. "Oh God, I saw it wave at me from my bedroom window, I thought it was a child lost in the woods! I followed it out here, and I ..."

"Shhh."

Jennifer heard the bushes nearby rustling. She and Arabelle turned in time to see another pair of red eyes in the shadows.

And then another. And another.

"Jenny, I don't think that shovel of yours is going to be enough this time ..." Arabelle whispered.

Jennifer grabbed her mom's hand, squeezing tight. "Run!"

They raced back across the clearing, in the direction of the mansion. The red-eyed creatures jumped out and ran after them.

Chapter 12 – Mark

Mark sniffed around in the bushes, but today his senses were confused. There were too many unfamiliar scents in the woods—familiar and yet unfamiliar. The unwashed smell of the goblin lingered in the mix, but it was as if someone else was tracking them, too. Following their every move. And it wasn't him or Jake.

None of that mattered, though. Today was the day he led the goblins into a trap. He and Jake had all the details planned—they brought down one part of the protections around the main property. The goblins would see it as an opportunity to break in ... when in reality, the second they crossed the border, they would be incinerated.

Those carefully detailed plans fell to pieces the second he heard Jennifer scream. He growled and raced off in that direction, uncaring for anything but that sound. His heart beat with the thrum of fear.

What was she doing out here?

Why wasn't she in the house?

The questions swirled in his mind up until the moment he found the part of the tree barrier that he intentionally broke off. The scent of treasure goblins was thick in the air, thicker than it ever had been before.

They were here, and there were lots of them.

And his mate wasn't inside.

Mark howled and pumped his legs harder than he ever had before. Their plan to take care of the goblins as they passed through the fence had failed ... but how?

Now his mate, and his mother in law, were in danger.

Mark heard Jennifer and Arabelle in the trees before he saw them. They passed through the trees, running back toward the mansion, Jennifer with a shovel, waving it back at the goblins that were in pursuit.

Six of them in all, but Mark knew there were more hiding in the trees. He could hear them. He could smell them.

Nothing out here was safe.

One of the goblins grabbed hold of Jennifer's shovel, using its inhuman strength to rip it from her hands. She fell back onto the ground, and that was when Mark pounced. He snarled as his claws and fangs bit into the goblin, and he snapped its neck in one clean break. Spinning around, he ducked out of the way of another that threw itself at him.

His claws flashed out, hitting and felling another, which landed on the forest floor with a thud. With two down, the last four looked at him with a measure of hesitation, long enough for Jennifer to climb back onto her feet.

Mark backed toward her, his hackles raised as he stood by her defensively. But the goblins regained the confident stances. More eyes appeared in the trees; their reinforcements.

Mark turned his head to make eye contact with Jennifer. He hadn't wanted to reveal his true form to her this way, but assuming they made it out of this alive, he would have a lot of explaining to do.

But when he looked at her face, none of the fear in her eyes was directed at him. The way she looked at him, it was like sheknewit was him. The connection they shared was more than enough for her to look at him and, even if she didn't quite understand what was going on, she trusted him. She knew he would keep her safe.

That's what he wanted to believe, at least, when her expression softened.

He jerked his head in the direction of the mansion, and she nodded.

Jennifer grabbed her mom's arm. "Back to the house!"

And they ran.