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She glanced around the circle of watchers; she held each gaze, and one by one, they fell before her. She came last to Sophie. The blond woman stared back for longer than most, before she nodded and lowered her head, breaking the contact.

“Yes,” Regan said, “I’d fight for you, but I don’t think it’s going to be necessary.”

“So, you’ll fight for me now—what about tomorrow.”

“I don’t know about tomorrow.”

She knew what he wanted, and she wasn’t going to promise him forever. Even if she had been willing to commit herself, how could she when tomorrow they might all be dead. She pushed the thought aside. “I can’t give you any more right now. Not until we have Sardi sorted out.”

“And after that.”

Anger flashed through her. “It’s probably not going to be an issue as we’re all going to be dead. Or worse.”

For a moment, she thought he was going to push it. Then he grinned. “Or worse?”

“You don’t want to know,” she said darkly.

“No, probably not. Then we’d better make sure it’s dead then.” He gave her one last long look, and then sighed. He held out a hand to her. “Let’s do this.”

One by one, his people came to stand before Caleb. They spoke an oath of allegiance and then stripped and transformed until a circle of wolves surrounded them. When the last wolf had made her vows, Caleb stepped forward still holding onto Regan’s hand. He raised it up.

“Our lives for yours!”

The wolves howled in unison, and Regan felt the pride rise up inside her.

“Shall we give them a show,” she murmured.

He glanced at her a startled expression in his eyes. “What?”

She whispered a word and their clothing vanished. A ripple of awed sighs ran through the pack. For a brief moment, they stood naked, then they were gone, and it was the time of their wolves.

Caleb threw back his head and howled, and Regan joined him as all around them the pack took up the song. He leaped forward into the forest and she followed as the pack streamed after them.

The sky was showing the first faint signs of dawn when Regan awoke. To the east, the darkness was fading. She stretched, then pressed back against the solid length of Caleb behind her, curling into the curve of his body. His cock rose and stiffened against her, and she moved, rubbing her bottom against his hardening erection. His hand came up to cup her breast, and she pushed into it. Then he went motionless, and his hand fell away.

She lay still, waiting for him to move. When nothing happened, she rolled over to face him. Stubble darkened his jaw, but the shadows were gone from beneath his eyes, the tiredness vanished. He looked vital, gorgeous and … something else.

She frowned and peered into the darkness of his eyes. Identified the something else—he looked pissed off. She leant over to kiss him, but he pulled away, and sat up so he was facing her.

“No,” he said.

Uncertainty washed through her. “No?”

“You’re using me.” His eyes met hers briefly, then slid away. “And I don’t like it.”

Irritation flicked at her nerves. “Using you? In what goddamn way am I using you?”

“Have you realized we only ever make love after the change?” His eyes ran over her, coming to rest on her face, and she could almost see the thoughts turning in his mind. “You think that way, you can blame your wolf. That as long as you only make love after we run, then it’s nothing to do with you or me, just some sort of animal urge.”

“I don’t think—”

“Don’t lie. You’ve made no secret of the fact that for you this is only a short term.”

“No, I—” she made to interrupt, but then fell silent. The truth was she had always intended to reverse the effect of the werewolf bite. But things had changed.

Hadn’t they?

She forced herself to think about it, to acknowledge the thoughts that had been lying in the back of her mind. He was wrong. She wantedhim—not just wolf—the man as well, but the feelings were too strong, and she was scared of how vulnerable they made her feel. She was starting to realize that life without Caleb was not an option, but how could she endure it if she allowed herself to love him, and then she lost him or, worse, was responsible for his destruction as she had been with Sardi.