Dark Heart Wolf - Haley Weir Page 0,16

the shard of mirror in his hand with a frown. Mary Ann fell to her knees beside him.

"I...I thought I lost you,” she whimpered.

“I’m not easy to kill, Mary.” Sam reached up and touched a sore place on her cheek, causing her to wince. Mary Ann didn’t remember getting injured, nor did she care. Sam was alive, and that was all that mattered. She helped him to his feet. Sam dipped his head and kissed her deeply. It was only then that Mary Ann realized that she was trembling. Her eyes stung as tears began to pour down her cheeks. The fear inside stole her breath away. It was just as potent as Sam’s kiss, and that worried Mary Ann.

He pulled away from the kiss and helped her crawl through the opening of the broken window. The smoke cleared from the sky. Itsá stood at the center of the ranch with his eyes trained on the treeline where the witches had disappeared. Sam walked over to the apache male and shared a few words before returning to her. Mary Ann was ushered into a wagon before she could protest. “Where are we goin’, Samuel?” she asked softly, leaning against his shoulder.

“I’m takin’ you home.”

Mary Ann curled up on the bench seat and tried to banish the memories of her brother dying in the accident that nearly claimed the lives of her and her friends. She clutched Sam closer and breathed deeply, wrestling down the nausea that burned her throat. Each bounce and rattle of the wagon made her rip him tighter. “What did you say to Itsá?”

“I asked him to tell Boone where I was, and he said he’d keep an eye on things until I returned. We’re supposed to sit down and discuss what the attack will mean for us in the future. I ain’t in the mood for talkin’ at the moment. My only concern is gettin’ you home.” He kissed the top of her head and rubbed soothing circles against her spine. Mary Ann allowed herself to get swept up in the affection he showed her. It helped calm the aching worry in her heart.

“Charlotte bein’ a witch might invite more attacks,” she supposed. “Boone can try to defend the ranch with hired guns patrollin’ the grounds all he likes, but eventually, we will have to find a way to fight back. How did you injure that witch that tried to kill you?”

"The mirror."

"Do mirrors mean anythin' to shifters?" she wondered out loud. Mary Ann realized that, although she had known shifters for most of her life, she knew very little about them. "Is there anythin' magical about them, I mean?"

"Nothin' I've ever noticed before. Hell, just a few months ago, I thought bein' the way I am was a curse. In many ways, it still is—even if not in the literal sense." Sam peeked beneath the wagon cover before returning to his task of rubbing her back. He straightened in his seat. "We're here, Mary."

The wagon stopped outside of the general store, and Mary Ann hopped out of the back with Sam's help. They walked slowly towards her house, pausing just outside the door. "Are you comin' in?" she asked. The fear and exhaustion made Mary Ann feel as if she were standing at the edge of a cliff, waiting for someone to come along and help her over the edge.

Sam looked around nervously. He was still covered in blood, shirtless as he stood on her front porch. "Do you want me to?"

Mary Ann stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him into a kiss that caused tingles to spread from her lips and through her entire body. "I do. But I'm goin' to head in first. If you follow me inside, then there will be no more runnin' from this, Samuel. Either we're in this together, or you take the opportunity to turn back around without havin' to live with the guilt of makin' me watch you walk away. I'll already be inside." She kissed him softly once more and disappeared through the front door. This was a choice. Mary Ann wanted to be with Sam, but she would not force him to stay.

Chapter Seven

Wolf Valley,

Colorado

Sam stood outside Mary Ann’s door, slack jawed as he struggled to come to terms with her offer. He swallowed past the lump of emotion in his throat and took a step forward. Hand hovering on the handle, Sam felt as though he were