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“Perhaps you could consider letting me go, and I promise to keep his heart in one piece.”

He smiled. “Too late.”

All around her, people were entering the clearing. The air was charged with tension as though all that was needed was a mere spark to set off a conflagration. The excitement was building. Regan could sense it herself, and her wolf awoke and paced inside the confines of her body.

One by one, the people undressed, fell to their knees, and the change came over them, until the clearing was full of wolves. They prowled the perimeter occasionally throwing their heads back and howling to the moon. In her mind, Regan whispered soothing words to wolf.

Not yet.

In the distance, a dog barked, and Regan raised her head to listen. She recognized her hound, Satan, and the tightness eased from her limbs. Catrin had found her. The Council wouldn’t be far behind. The sun was well down now, and even the vampires would be on the move.

She needed to keep Ethan sufficiently distracted to give them time to get here.

“Why did you kill Kelly and Jason?” she asked.

“They left the pack—pack law says they die.”

“Tell me, did you make up that particular law?” When he didn’t answer, she shrugged. “You really pissed Caleb off. I stopped him today, but he will come after you.”

“Caleb will keep out of it, like he’s always done.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure—he’s changed. And Caleb’s not the only one coming for you. Have you heard of the Council?”

He stared at her through narrowed eyes.

“Yes, of course you have. Well, Caleb’s uncle heads the Council. He’s just found out what you did to his sister, and he’s not happy.”

“I didn’t know who she was.”

“And you think that makes it all right. I somehow don’t think Kael will see it that way. But don’t worry, I doubt he’ll kill you straightaway. His sister was a prisoner for over a thousand years. Can you imagine what that would do to a person? Don’t bother trying. I think you might find out for yourself.”

“Enough,” he snapped. “Jesus, you talk too much.” He regarded her thoughtfully for a minute, and then smiled. “There is one way to shut you up.” He reached out and gripped her chin in his hard fingers forcing her to look into his eyes. Inside her, wolf cried out in distress.

The memory of the pain when Caleb had called her wolf filled her mind as the real pain ripped through her. She’d known this was a possibility and thought she was prepared for it, but her body still convulsed as wolf was torn from her. She didn’t try to fight, and it was over quickly. She lay on her side, panting.

The man reached a hand toward her, and she growled low in her throat. He laughed then drew a length of rope out of his pocket and tied it around her neck.

“That’s better,” he murmured.

Wolf rose shakily to her feet as he dragged on the rope. She locked the muscles in her legs, but it was futile—she was too weak to fight him so soon after the forced change. Finally, she allowed him to pull her across the clearing and tether her to a tree close by the pyre.

“Now,” he said, “let’s see if we can persuade your old boyfriend to come to the party.”

Taking a lighter out of his pocket, he moved toward the pyre. He flicked it open, and Regan whined softly. Then he went still.