Now, silence.

Which meant there was a predator—or more likely predators—outside. It was a few hours from dawn. The vampires shouldn’t have had time to regroup. Rainer had been battling them long enough to know how they operated. They’d never have a base of operations so close to someone they were targeting. Not to mention if they’d set up shop in the state, he’d know about it. So if they planned to take Estrella—and that would happen over his dead body—they’d be cutting it down to the wire trying to get her back to wherever their base was over the state line.

“Our friends are back,” he murmured.

Fear and anger pulsed off her in equal waves as she silently stood with a lethal, beautiful grace that made him forget to breathe for a moment.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

She paused, then shrugged.

That would have to do. He could stay and fight them but decided against it. If these vamps were desperate enough to come back for her now, there was no telling how many numbers they’d brought. Nope. He and Estrella were going to run.

It was just a matter of getting out of here first.

Chapter 3

Estrella knew she was probably crazy to trust this wolf, but so far he’d been up front about who he was. Lies had a very distinctive metallic scent and Rainer was telling her the truth. Of course he could be holding something back, but right now she knew they needed to get the heck out of her house.

Something was wrong. There was an eerie silence surrounding them and her innate animal sense that she never ignored had her inner jaguar going nuts. She was clawing at Estrella’s insides, begging to be set free. And Estrella was about to let her out when Rainer took her hand in his. His very big, callused hand. Just that small connection soothed her inner jaguar and increased her physical awareness of this very powerful wolf. Didn’t matter if they were surrounded by enemies, her growing attraction to him wouldn’t be denied.

He held on to her as he crept to one of her front windows. Carefully, he peered outside then stiffened before pulling her close.

She swallowed hard as his head bent to hers. That distinctive sandalwood scent twined around her. His breath was warm against her skin. “I see at least three but there will be more. We need to escape out the back and shift. Then we run fast. Stay in front of me, I’ll make sure none of them hurt you. Once we get far enough away, we’ll have backup.” She barely heard him and he was millimeters from her ear, his tongue practically caressing her lobe.

Nodding, she inhaled deeply, hating the strange effect he was having on her. She knew they were in all sorts of danger if there were more of those scary vampires outside her house and she was touched that he promised to have her back. But part of her couldn’t shake the strong magnetic pull she felt for him. It was getting stronger now that they were touching.

Her face was still pressed into his neck as his free hand cupped her cheek. Rainer drew back a fraction and lightly brushed his lips over hers. The action was sweet and she might have mistaken it for chaste if not for the way his hips jerked against hers. She figured he was trying to distract her from the threat outside and she appreciated it.

Grabbing her hand tighter, he stepped away and nodded toward the back of her house. “Lead the way.”

Her house wasn’t big and he probably could have found the way on his own but she quickly moved through her house. Estrella was relieved that he didn’t let go of her hand. He was clearly protective and the knowledge warmed her entire body. It had been a long time since a male had wanted to look out for her.

Once they reached the back door he expertly maneuvered so that he was in front of her and barely moved the curtain covering the small window to check outside. After a moment he said, “I see four more.”

Her heart rate accelerated. So there were at least seven of those creatures outside waiting for them. But why?

Rainer stripped off his shirt then turned to her. He motioned with his hands that he was going to crack the door open, then they’d shift and bolt through the door. His hand charades might have amused her had the timing not been so wildly inappropriate.

“Send the female out unharmed and we won’t hurt you, wolf!” A loud, male voice boomed from outside, cutting down any of her humorous thoughts.

Her skin chilled. It suddenly hit her that these vampires actually wanted her. This wasn’t a case of Rainer being mistaken about their intentions. He’d told her they’d been hunting her but she hadn’t wanted to believe him. And that vampire from earlier had said he didn’t want to hurt her even though he’d told her she was coming with him. She couldn’t deny the facts in front of her even though she wanted to.

Rainer growled low in his throat, anger practically sparking off him as he eased the lock open and barely pulled the door back an inch. He looked at her and nodded once as he stripped off his pants. His ripped body would put pro football players to shame. And what was between his legs...she shuddered again as warmth spread throughout her. Now was definitely not the time to be noticing that.

Knowing it was silly to feel self-conscious especially considering the circumstances, she stripped off her own clothes and underwent the change at the same time Rainer did.

He nudged the door open with his nose, and they both sprinted out onto her back porch. Using all her strength and supernatural speed she flew across her open backyard, which led directly into the thick forest.

A shot rang out and dirt flew up a foot from Rainer. Straining, she urged her body onward, glad Rainer was just as fast as she was.

“No! Don’t hurt the princess!” that same male voice shouted, though he sounded a lot farther away than before.

Princess? What the hell? Once Estrella and Rainer breached the thick trees, they moved even faster. Wind rolled over her fur as her paws pounded the hard, crunchy earth. There was shouting behind them, but she managed to tune it out the farther they ran.

The trees around them grew thicker, the forest blanketing them in protection. Since there was no way to tell Rainer, she did what came natural to her beast. She took to the trees, jumping from branch to branch, tree to tree, as they raced. It gave her a much better vantage point to spot any possible dangers and she always kept Rainer in her line of sight.

Some primal part of her wouldn’t let him get away from her. The need to see that he was okay and yes, protect him, was like a living thing inside her. She didn’t understand it and she wasn’t sure she liked it. But it was there nonetheless.

The voices and shouts had long since faded in the background and once the trees started to thin again she jumped back to earth and fell right in line with Rainer. She wasn’t sure how far they’d gone but it had to be at least eight miles, maybe more. He let out a low yip that sounded almost like a greeting. Maybe he was glad she was running next to him again.

When he slowed she followed suit. By the way he was moving it was obvious he was somewhat familiar with this territory. Since she was an orange jaguar and therefore stood out in the forests of Alabama, she tended to stay within a two-mile range of her home so she’d never been this far out before. He clearly had.

Once they’d slowed to a complete walk, she nudged him in the side with her nose. He yipped at her and actually snapped his jaws. It wasn’t in anger, but almost playful. The action took her off guard. She’d never had anyone to run with. Not since she was a cub—and those memories were fuzzy. Her father was the only one she even remembered running with. Never her mom.

They reached a clearing, but she froze when she saw a man standing near the opening of a cave. He was tall with dark hair and had a similar build to Rainer, but she didn’t plan to cover the rest of the thirty yards to find out who he was. She growled, drawing Rainer to a sudden stop.

He looked at her, then back at the man and barked. As if she should understand what he meant. Estrella went down on her belly, ears back, and he flopped next to her. He nudged her side with his nose, trying to get her to stand.

She knew she was being stupid and maybe a little irrational, but she was terrified. The reality of what had just happened was slowly sinking in. Freaking vampires had chased them down and she was on the run with a very sexy wolf shifter. A shifter she knew next to nothing about. She didn’t think he’d lured her into a trap or anything, but fear clawed through her as past experiences raced through her mind.

Rainer let out what she thought sounded like a frustrated bark then shifted to his human form. He crouched down in front of her and she tried to ignore the fact that he was naked. “That’s one of my brothers,” he said quietly, reaching out and stroking a hand over her head.

How could he have known they’d be there? Alarm surged through her and she started to back away but Rainer shook his head, as if he understood exactly what she was thinking.

“My brothers and I communicate telepathically. When the rest of my family was alive, we all did. Some blood relatives are like that. Do you remember being able to do that with your parents?”

She shook her head, though an elusive memory tickled her thoughts. Did she?

Rainer sighed. “My brother brought us clothes. I’d like to take you back to my pack’s land. You’ll be safe there. The sun will be up in a few hours and we can check on your house then.”

She shook her head again. She wasn’t going anywhere.

Sighing once more, he stood. “Leave the clothes!” he called out to his brother, which she figured was for her benefit since they could apparently communicate telepathically.

The man by the cave opening paused and Estrella was under the distinct impression that he and Rainer were having a conversation. Finally the man tossed the clothes down and stalked off into the forest.

“Come on,” Rainer murmured.

As they moved she tried to ignore the fact that he was naked but it was pretty hard considering the man was walking, talking sex appeal. All those hard muscles and sharp, flat planes made him an artist’s dream. Of course she wasn’t thinking about actually sculpting him because she didn’t want anyone else to see him naked. But she wouldn’t mind running her hands all over him. Then following up with her mouth and tongue.