wall, holding it like a club by one dusty antler.
A huge nose poked over the edge of the bed. The wolf stared at the deer head, then at her. If an animal could be said to have an expression, its was definitely: WTF?
Darcy gripped the trophy, palms sweating. She wasn’t sure whether to fling it at the wolf as a distraction, or try to beat the animal over the head with it.
“Fenrir!” she yelled, praying that he was within earshot. Surely she couldn’t have slept through him getting eaten alive by a goddamn wolf. “Fenrir!”
The wolf’s ears pricked. It whined, sounding like it was asking a question. Still tangled up in the sheet, it hobbled toward her.
“No!” Darcy bared her teeth at it, doing her best to look large and threatening despite the fact that the animal outweighed her by a substantial margin. “Don’t you dare! Don’t come near me, I’m warning you!”
The animal froze, one front paw raised. Its broad back was level with her own chest. She could have ridden it like a pony, if she’d had a death-wish.
Darcy’s previous experience with wolves had been limited to squinting at distant furry shapes in a zoo enclosure, but she was fairly certain they weren’t usually so big.
Maybe it had eaten Fenrir.
The wolf backed away a few steps, looking a little uncertain. It sat down, primly tucking its front paws together as though posing at a dog show. It cocked its head, as if to say: Now what?
It really was a beautiful animal. Lush, midnight-black fur cascaded over its powerful chest and shoulders. Its eyes shone like jewels, a deep copper, bright with intelligence. It was truly magnificent, and Darcy very much wanted it to go away.
“That’s it.” Heart hammering, Darcy eased toward the door, keeping the deer head between herself and the wolf. “Stay right there.”
The wolf’s broad pink tongue flicked out, licking its nose. Perhaps it thought she was offering it a snack.
“You like this, huh?” She waggled the deer head at the wolf. “You want it? If you’re a good boy and sit nicely, you can have it.”
The wolf’s head tilted further. There was something oddly familiar about that quizzical gesture, but Darcy wasn’t about to ponder that now. All she cared about was that the wolf wasn’t coming any closer.
“Mmm, yummy deer. Much tastier than private investigator, I promise.” Never taking her eyes off the wolf, Darcy fumbled behind her back for the door handle. “That’s it. Good boy. Good wolf.”
The wolf blinked.
It went cross-eyed, as though trying to inspect its own muzzle. Then, with a startled yelp, it sprang to its feet. Darcy tensed, ready to hurl the deer head at the wolf if it jumped at her—but it just turned in a tight circle, chasing its own tail.
Oh crap. Is it a rabid wolf?
It certainly wasn’t acting like an animal in its right mind. It was whimpering now, clearly distressed. Darcy hesitated, unsure whether to dash out the door while it was distracted, or if that would only trigger it to chase her.
She started to ease the door open, but the wolf jerked back around. Darcy froze as its copper-brown eyes fixed on hers.
With a plaintive whine, the wolf sank down, flattening itself against the floor. For all its size, it looked like a puppy that had been caught making a puddle on grandma’s heirloom quilt.
“Uh…” Darcy licked dry lips. “Good wolf?”
The wolf’s tail thumped against the floor. It seemed to be waiting for something.
Carefully, she put the deer head down. She nudged it with her foot, sliding it toward the wolf. “Is this what you want? Will you let me go now?”
The wolf totally ignored the trophy, still staring at her. Darcy reached for the door handle, but the wolf let out a sharp, deep bark. It wasn’t an aggressive sound, but it still made her jerk her hand back.
“Okay,” Darcy muttered. “So you don’t want me to go anywhere. What do you want? And where the hell is Fenrir?”
The wolf made another of those strangely puppyish whimpers. Slowly, belly still pressed against the floor, it crawled backwards. She had the weirdest impression that it was trying not to alarm her.
Never taking its eyes off her, the wolf poked its nose under the discarded bedcovers, pulling something out. It sat up again, a tangle of bright yellow straps dangling from its jaws.
Darcy stared at the harness. “Wait…Fenrir really does have a wolf?”
The wolf let out a muffled bark. Its tail swished madly against