alarm. Large hands braced me a second before the dog reared up and my heart shot into my throat.
“Down, Tyson!” the man barked and a scream ripped from my lungs half a second before a wet tongue rolled up the side of my face. “Hey look at that, he likes you.”
I lurched out of the guy’s grip, half falling over the dog as I raced toward the door.
“Wait – are you crazy?” he called just as I wrenched the door wide.
A blizzard was spinning wildly beyond it and a flurry of snow rushed over me, immediately making me back up. My heart pounded unevenly and I tried to figure out what to do as I stared at the storm barring my way forward. Am I trapped between two deaths?
I remembered falling in the snow, hunting for the stars above and my breathing slowed a little. This man must have found me out there, brought me here. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him.
I slowly pushed the door shut, turning and pressing my back to it as I assessed the beastly man and his wolf before me. His chest was bare, his towering muscles highlighted under the orange glow of the fire. He had a dark, scruffy beard and his hair was just as unruly. He had scars too. One on his shoulder and lighter ones marking his sides, his arms. Then one slim line running across his left cheek. But his eyes…they were kind, warm. Unlike any eyes I’d ever had look at me so far as I could remember. The eyes of the five men who’d imprisoned me always promised pain, they only shone brighter when I was screaming. But my fear had made this man look like that instead. Like he wanted to help.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said in that rich, velvety tone which sent goosebumps rushing down my spine. “What’s your name?”
My voice remained in the locked box deep down in my chest, refusing to come out for anyone. Even someone with kind eyes.
“My name’s Nicoli. You can talk to me,” he urged and I released a breath of amusement. Because no I couldn’t. Not even if I wanted to. My voice had been absent so long, sometimes I wondered if it would ever come back.
The dog, Tyson, jumped up onto the couch, curling up and placing his head down to go to sleep. I returned my eyes to the creature in the room who was more likely to be a monster. As far as I could remember, I’d never met a man whose heart wasn’t black. And despite the fact that he’d clearly helped me and his aura invited me in, that didn’t mean I could trust him. I’d be a fool to let my guard down. This could be a trick, his eyes luring like the devil’s.
“Would you like some coffee?” He headed towards the kitchenette, turning his back on me and I eyed the deep scar on his right shoulder which matched the one on the front. A small flash of some half-memory pulled at my mind of a TV show with a bloody torso on the screen and the words exit wound resounded through my skull. This man before me had once been shot, and from the looks of his other scars, I guessed he was the sort of person who often got into trouble like that.
He poured two mugs of coffee and the scent made my nose wrinkle and my stomach twist. Duke had always smelled like it in the mornings when he first arrived. Before the pain started.
Nicoli turned to me, holding it out and I shook my head despite the fact that my mouth was parched. I eyed the sink beside him, pointing at the tap.
“Water?” he offered and I nodded eagerly.
He poured me a glass and my fingers itched for it as I stepped tentatively forward to take it. He closed the distance between us, placing it in my hand and I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I tipped it into my mouth and drained it. He took the glass from me as I ran my tongue over my chapped lips and the sound of my stomach grumbling filled the space between us.
Nicoli moved to the refrigerator, placing the glass down as he opened it, revealing so much food it made my heart beat out of rhythm. I’d never seen so much in one place. And memories stirred from my past as I