her, she tugged him toward the castle, already regretting telling him anything even remotely personal.
She knew virtually nothing about him. He claimed to be a Shape-shifter, able to change into a wolf at will. Her wild animals, from smallest chipmunk to ferocious wolf, hadn’t recognized him as anything but a man.
Except, she reflected silently, the wolves.
Maybe she should demand proof, ask him to become a wolf in front of her, so she could see if he’d spoken truth, once and for all.
They were almost within sight of the castle. If she was going to finally work up the nerve to ask him, she needed to do it quickly.
* * *
There were several things Ruben hadn’t expected when he’d handcuffed himself to Willow. First and foremost, he hadn’t expected her story to be true. The entire notion of a veil or passageway, between worlds, had seemed way too surreal.
Then, while he was still reeling from the shock of realizing she’d told the truth, he’d been surprised at how beautiful—if garish—her home actually was.
From then on, Willow had been a veritable wellspring of surprises. Her story, her family, the unabashed gaudiness of her home, each new revelation came completely and utterly from left field.
And, just when he thought he’d heard it all, she hit him with something new. Talking to wild animals? Seeing his wolf in his aura? He began to wonder if he’d wake up in a few hours, only to realize all of this had been a dream.
When they’d happened upon the blood scene of the slaughter, he’d known she’d been telling the truth. The animals had told her this man had killed. Now they’d witnessed proof.
It was a little difficult to swallow. Had it only been a day since he’d stood in the abandoned tower and wondered if his life could possibly get any worse?
“Are you all right?” Willow asked him, her voice curious. “You look as though you’re a million miles away.”
He had to grin at her apt description. “In a way, I was. All of this is so unreal. I keep wondering what’s going to happen next.”
“Okay, listen to me.” Stopping, she tugged on his arm, making him look at her. The earnestness in her expression made her appear far more vulnerable than he’d ever seen her.
“You need to watch your back,” she continued. “I don’t know how things are in Teslinko, but the court here is a dangerous place. Anyone, my parents, my sister—”
“Your sister?” He remembered the glorious, man-eating creature he’d met earlier and nodded. “Never mind.”
Eyes narrowed, Willow watched him. “Look, I know she’s beautiful, but Tatiana cares about herself more than anything else. She won’t hesitate to betray you if she’ll get something out of it.”
“You don’t trust her?” As the youngest of four, Ruben had three sisters. He was closest to Alisa, the one who’d recently married and moved to America. He’d trust any of them with his life and knew they felt the same about him.
“No,” Willow responded simply. “I don’t trust her at all.”
“What about her fiancé, that giant blond guy?”
“Eric?” She shrugged. “I don’t know enough about him to say, but he seems pretty self-absorbed. If those two marry, they’ll have to figure out a way to take turns admiring each other.” She made a face. “For now I plan to avoid them both as much as possible.”
“And your fiancé?” He found himself holding his breath for her answer. Once he realized this, of course he immediately released it.
“I’ve already told you, nothing’s been agreed upon,” she said crossly. “And yes, we should try to avoid him, as well.”
“Then we need to vamoose.”
Her blank expression told him she wasn’t familiar with the word. He opened his mouth to explain, but before he could she asked him something else.
“Will you shape-shift for me?” she asked, her voice casual, as though the question was completely normal. “I’d like to see what you look like when you become wolf.”
Stunned, he thought about how to reply, not sure what to say. He opened his mouth to answer her, and then something happened. Something completely and totally unexpected and out of his realm of experience.
Right in front of her, he could feel his body begin to change without him initiating it. Of course. Now he’d lost control of that, too? Worse, seeing an opening, his wolf chose that moment to mount a fast and furious attack, taking an already off-balance Ruben completely by surprise. Before he even had time to mount a defense, the