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. We had two cows mutilated thenight before last, and they were drained dry, too.Phineas exchanged a glance with Brynley. I figured it was wolves that attacked the cows. Nate grimaced. We ve had a lot morewolves than usual this year.I told Kyle to shoot them, but he  I ve never heard of wolves draining all the blood from their prey, Brynley said quietly. That s true, Nate conceded. But I don t know how else to explain the mutilations. We don t believe Earl Giddons was attacked by an animal, Phineas said.Nate s eyes widened. You think a person is behind all this? Some crazy person is out therecollecting blood? It s very possible, Phineas murmured.Nate s fists clenched. Whoever he is, he s graduated from cattle to humans.He s amurderer. We agree, Phineas said. We have reason to believe the murderer is female.Nate blinked. Really? Do you know of any new women in the area? Brynley asked. She could be living at one ofthe nearby ranches.Nate tilted his head, considering. A few of the ranch hands have mentioned a beautifulblonde they ve seen recently at the old Haggerty ranch.Some wealthy guyfrom out of state bought the place about six months ago, but I haven t met him.Don t get outmuch.I have to rely on Kyle a lot these days.Brynley smiled. You two were always close.A pained look crossed Nate s face. It s.not the same.Don t get me wrong.Kyle has beengreat.He was always insisting that I d walk again and he d take careof things while I recovered.But after a few years, he.well, I think he s tired of doing somuch work on a ranch that s not his.I don t blame him.I pay him as well asI can afford, and he does a great job, but. Nate drifted off with a sad look. I m sorry, Brynley whispered.Nate shrugged. It s not his fault.He.fell into a bad crowd the rich guy who bought theHaggerty ranch.Kyle was talking about him all the time, and then, fourmonths ago, he changed. For the better! a voice declared from the doorway.Phineas spun around to see a younger and more muscular version of Nate standing in thedoorway.Brynley rose to her feet. Kyle! She stepped back with a gasp.Phineas understood her reaction the instant Kyle s scent wafted toward him.Nate had beenright about his brother changing.He d become a werewolf.Kyle smirked as he approached Brynley. Oh yeah, princess.How do you like the new me?His mouth twisted into a snarl. Maybe you won t turn me down now.Brynley lifted her chin. It wasn t your species I objected to.It was your personality.He lurched forward with a growl.Phineas jumped to his feet and pulled Brynley close. Back off, furball.Kyle glared at him. Who the hell are you? You have no right to her.You re not one of us. Cut it out, Kyle. Nate wheeled his chair around the desk. These are my guests.Kyle laughed. You never figured it out, Nate? Your sweet little friend Brynley is awerewolf.Nate halted, his eyes wide.Brynley turned toward him. Nathan  Is it true? Yes. She glanced at Kyle, then back at Nate. I didn t ask to be changed.I was born thisway.Nate nodded slowly. I was shocked when my brother first told me about Lycans, but then Irealized I should have figured it out earlier.I always knew there wassomething strange going on with some of the ranchers.Their followers show a loyalty thatgoes far beyond what you d expect of a hired ranch hand. We re loyal to our Pack Masters, Kyle boasted as he regarded Brynley with a gleam in hiseyes. And this is our princess, daughter of the Supreme Pack Master.Phineas tightened his arm around Brynley when he felt her shudder.It was obvious Kylewould run straight to her father to tell him she was back.He aimed a strong surge of vampire mind control at the werewolf.Kyle was caught bysurprise and stumbled back a few feet.His face went blank.You will forget you saw Brynley here.You will not speak of her to anyone.Now go!Kyle turned and wandered from the room.Brynley took a deep breath and squeezed Phineas s arm. Please tell me you erased hismemory. I think I did. But he wasn t sure if it would last. What s going on? Nate studied them warily. You erased my brother s memory? How? I didn t harm him.I m only trying to protect Brynley.She hunched down beside the wheelchair. Please, Nate.Don t tell anyone I was here.Myfather would capture me and force me into a marriage I don t want. With another werewolf? Nate asked. Yes. So Caddoc Jones is the Supreme Pack Master? When Brynley nodded, Nate regarded hersadly. You should have told me everything years ago.I thought youtrusted me. I did, she insisted. But you didn t know Lycans existed, and I was afraid if you knew thetruth, you d.no longer be my friend.Nate patted her shoulder. I would have understood.Your father is so damned powerful, andthe way so many people kowtow to him makes me sick. Those aren t people, Phineas muttered. They re werewolves.Nate looked him over. You re not one of them? No. Then what are you? Nate asked. Some kind of psychic? Something like that. Phineas removed a MacKay business card from his wallet and set it onthe desk. If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, please let usknow.There could be something.evil in this area, and it must be defeated.Nate s eyes widened. Evil? And please, Nathan, Brynley whispered. Don t let my father know I m here. You have my word. He wheeled closer to his desk and wrote on a slip of paper. This ismy number if you need any help. He handed it to her with a wry look. Not that I m much help to anyone these days. Oh, you are. She hugged him, then turned to Phineas. What should we do now? Leave.Nice to meet you, Nate. Phineas grabbed Brynley s arm and escorted her from theroom. Be careful! Nate called after them. We will, thanks! Brynley yelled back as Phineas led her across the foyer and out the frontdoor.She fumbled in her handbag for the car keys. Shall we drive back to the cabin? We ll drive. But not back to the cabin.If his vampire mind control had failed on Kyle, thenBrynley s father would soon know she was in Wyoming.It wouldn ttake a genius to figure out she was probably staying at her brother s cabin.She climbed into the driver s seat and gave him a surprised look as he teleported into thepassenger seat. Why d you do that? A precaution.This location is now embedded in my psychic memory. Oh. Her eyes narrowed. You look worried. Everything will be cool. He smiled at her, but he was worried.Worried that he d screwedup and left too many loose ends.He should have erased Nate s memory.And John Brighton s, too. Drive to the nearest town. That would be Ten Sleep. She headed down the driveway to the Carson ranch entrance. Why are we going there? It s close by. Phineas shrugged when she shot him an annoyed look.He had to protect her.And the best way to do that was to get her the hell out of Dodge.He remained quiet until they arrived in Ten Sleep, where he spotted a grocery store with aparking lot. Pull in here.Park over there. He pointed to a dark spotclose to a tree. The store is closed, she objected, but did as she was told.She turned off the engine andlooked at him. What are we doing here? We ll overnight the keys to your friend, and she can pick up the car here tomorrow.Phineas climbed out. Lock up and bring your purse. He shut the door andstrode toward the dark shadow of the tree.She scrambled out of the car and swung her handbag onto her shoulder. Tell me the plan. Come here [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]