“No.” Katie straightened and took a tentative step closer to the window. She had some self-respect, didn’t she? Even after what those wolves had done to her, she wasn’t without dignity. She wasn’t going to let the craziness of the past few days turn her into a weak little girl who needed a big, strong—gorgeous, her mind supplied—man to help her make it through the night. “Woman up, Katie. Go look out the stupid window.”
Shilah turned his head at the sound of her voice. His soft, brown eyes gave her the courage she needed to close the distance between them. She knelt at his side and very carefully pushed the bottom corner of the curtain away from the glass, creating an opening just large enough for her to peer through.
Outside there was snow. And trees—lots of trees. Trees and snow surrounded them, stretching as far as Katie could see from her vantage point. Rafe’s truck was on the other side of the cabin, as was the path she’d taken into the woods. The nearly full moon cast an eerie glow over the forest, illuminating the immediate area while creating impossibly dark, sinister shadows in which evil undoubtedly lurked. When one such shadow shifted, melting into the shape of a man, Katie’s palms went damp. A second shadow moved close by—another man, standing beside the first.
Katie fell backward and landed hard on her ass. Then she scrambled to her feet, a single thought racing through her mind on endless loop.
Rafe. She needed Rafe.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Katie flung open the guest room door, slamming into Rafe as soon as she ran into the hallway. He caught her in impossibly strong arms and held her against his bare chest, and she buried her face in his neck before she could remind herself that she shouldn’t. He tightened his embrace, then smoothed a hand over her hair and shushed her panicked breathing.
“Someone’s outside.” Katie clutched at Rafe’s shoulders, battling a mixture of gratitude and embarrassment about how effortlessly his touch soothed her. “I saw two of them.”
Rafe pulled her into his bedroom and closed the door after ushering Shilah inside. “I want you to hide in the closet. Do you know how to shoot?” Before she could process the question, he had pressed a large revolver into her grip. “Katie, do you know how to use this?”
“I…” The gun looked strange in her hand, and holding it made her feel like a child again. Her father had taught her to shoot a .22 when she was eight years old, but this was the first time she’d handled a weapon since high school. “Yes.”
“Good.”
Of course, taking out soda bottles perched on fence posts hadn’t exactly prepared her to face murderous werewolves. Frightened and years past her last round of target practice, she had no faith in her ability to protect herself. Rafe, on the other hand, seemed calm and in control. He was probably a good shot, too. “Don’t go. Please.”
“I have to check it out.” He nudged her toward the closet. “Get in there. Be quiet, no matter what you hear. Shilah will stay in the bedroom with you, and I promise he’ll give you plenty of warning if anyone comes in who isn’t me. If they manage to open the closet door, I want you to shoot them. In the head.”
The thought made her sick to her stomach. “You’ve got silver bullets in this thing, right?”
“What?” Rafe paused, then chuckled. “No.”
Feeling a little stupid, Katie stumbled on her way through the closet door. “Another myth?”
“Yeah. Katie, hey.” He took her by the shoulders and turned her around. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise.”
Tears welled and threatened to spill over. She didn’t want anything to happen to Rafe, either. There was no reason why she should care so much about a man she just met—no reason except the bond he’d created between them. The pain in her chest at the thought of letting him walk into danger was so staggering it convinced her to set aside the anger that wasn’t doing her any good, anyway. Katie wrapped her arms around Rafe’s shoulders and brushed her lips over his in a quick but intimate kiss. “You come back to me. Okay?”
He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I will.” Startled by something she couldn’t hear, Rafe cocked his head. Shilah mirrored the pose beside him, eliciting an unthinking smile. It faded when Rafe walked her backwards into the closet, tension