Chapter Four

The wolf’s eyes narrowed at the woman as it pulled itself out of her hold. Alex held his breath as the large gray animal turned his eerie green eyes on him.

“Dante.”

Both Alex and the wolf looked at the woman. Her voice was soft, thick with an accent that wasn’t completely Italian. She rose to her feet and smoothed her hands down her jeans-clad legs. Alex followed the motion with his gaze and briefly took a moment to enjoy the view. She paired the jeans she wore with a bright red tee shirt and sneakers. She looked like a modern day Red Riding Hood nestled among the wolves. Her long black hair was loose with soft bangs framing a face that bore no makeup. She didn’t need it. Her green eyes sparkled beneath long, thick lashes. Her full, naturally rose-tinted lips were parted slightly as she tried to catch her breath. She was so different from the women of Alex’s circle that he wondered briefly if that was the reason he found himself drawn to her. The wolf growled and took a menacing step forward, but she blocked its path, and much to Alex’s surprise, turned her back on the wild animal.

“He won’t hurt you.”

Alex inspected the clearing to see there had to be close to fifteen wolves surrounding them. “That’s good to know, but I’m just as worried about the rest of them.”

Her gaze softened and her lips quirked up in the corners. “None here will hurt you.”

“You seem awfully certain of that. Last time I let my guard down around these animals they killed my friends.”

One of the wolves made a snuffled sound that sounded like a laugh to Alex. He turned to the animal angrily, tensing for a fight. The brown wolf took a step forward, but froze when the alpha barked once.

Alex didn’t know what to make of it all. The wolves surrounding them were all different colors, almost different breeds, yet they were all similar in size and features. He’d never seen so many different shades of fur contained in the same pack before. If he thought he could trust these animals, he would have loved to spend months studying them.

“Are you harmed?”

“No. Can I ask you a question?” She nodded once. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” The woman’s body stiffened, and Alex softened his tone. “I’m sorry, but you ran into the middle of a rabid pack of animals with no weapon. Hell, you even had a pack following you.” He paused and looked around. All the animals were quietly sitting, watching them as if waiting for a command. His mind suddenly jumped to the next logical conclusion. “Are these your animals?”

She folded her arms over her chest, drawing Alex’s gaze to her breasts. The large gray wolf growled again. “Dante, please, allow me to handle this.”

Alex’s gaze snapped to the animal and he swore it snorted and rolled his eyes. “His name is Dante?”

“Yes.” She waited a few seconds before asking, “Why?”

“Someone tried to warn me against a man named Dante. At least I assumed it was a man.”

“Francesca.”

Alex’s head shot around to stare at her. “You know her?”

“I do. We all do.” She motioned to the wolves.

“Who the hell are you?”

“I am Sabine Luna.”

“So Dante Luna is…”

“My brother.”

Alex searched the campground as he tried to comprehend everything. “He named a wolf after him? Did he command the pack to attack my crew?” Sabine looked down at the ground, her long dark hair sliding forward to hide her expression. “Answer me.”

“You should not have returned,” she whispered.

“Bullshit. I’m here for answers and I’m damned well going to get some. If you and your crazy family are murdering people for giggles, I’m going to report you to the authorities.” His voice deepened with anger, the final words a growl. “I will be damned if I let you and your crazy brother get away with murdering innocent people.”

He started to stand, but the alpha stalked forward with its head down. A long, loud growl escaped from its drawn back lips. The tawny male, female wolf and the brown wolf all followed suit.

Sabine once again jumped in front of him, and the wolves stopped. The brown wolf barked twice at her. Alex got the feeling it was trying to convince her to let them have at him, but she ignored it and held out a hand to Alex.

At this point Alex didn’t care if she put herself in front of him. She was obviously safe. She had a rapport with the wolves that would take an expert several years to build. Besides, he needed the diversion to try to get out of this mess and get to town. He would call his contact at the American Embassy and get the ball rolling to have this section of the mountain cordoned off so these animals could be captured. He normally hated seeing animals taken out of their natural habitat, but this pack was a menace and he would do what needed to be done in order to keep innocent people out of harm’s way.

As her hand reached toward him, Alex hissed. Grabbing his shoulder, he jumped away from her grasp. She hadn’t touched him, but his shoulder felt as if it was on fire. He had no idea what was happening. He didn’t think he’d been injured when the wolf landed on him, but he knew that some injuries took a little more time to register. Maybe as his shock began to wear off he would start to feel more pain.

Sabine paled. She followed him, falling onto her knees beside him. Ignoring his cry of pain, she grabbed two handfuls of his shirt and pulled. The fabric gave as if it were made of nothing more than tissue. Buttons flew in every direction, and Alex had only a moment to be stunned at her show of strength as he followed her gaze. She pulled him forward, jerking the tattered remains of his shirt away from his shoulder.

“Dios,” she muttered. She released him and stared into his eyes. “What do they call you?”

“What?”

“Your name. Who are you?”

“Alexander Christofedes.” Now that she wasn’t near him, his shoulder didn’t burn as much.

“Who sent you here?”

“I came here for answers about what happened to my friends.”

“What about the first time, why did you come?”

Alex watched them. The wolves were all on their feet, their bodies tense. “I came to study the legendary Apennine wolves.”

The large gray wolf nudged Sabine’s arm, and she turned to him. Her hand fell to her own left hip and she passed her fingers over it. “You cannot kill him. He is ours.”

“I beg your pardon?” Alex grabbed her shoulder. The large gray jumped, snapping at him, and he barely managed to snatch his hand back before losing it.

Sabine looked over her shoulder at him. “Alexander, please remove your shirt and turn around.”

“Why? So you can have your beast attack me when I’m not looking?”

“If you hadn’t noticed, you’re surrounded by wolves. If I had such power I could have had you attacked at any moment.” She let out a huff of air. “Please do as I say.”

Alex couldn’t believe he was going to do it, but really, what choice did he have? Maybe this was one of his crazy dreams and he would wake up back in the hotel. He rose to his feet, turning his back on the gray wolf. He dropped his shirt and heard several of the wolves whine. Alex turned around quickly, bracing himself for an attack.

What he saw left him completely and utterly speechless.

The large gray walked away from him and the others moved back as well, giving him room. He turned in a circle, looking at all of the others, then turned his gaze back to the alpha. Alex blinked several times. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him or he was beginning to have a breakdown. Whatever the cause, the space in front of the wolf seemed to shimmer. It was like looking at the heated air over the hot pavement on a highway. The wolf grew larger, and … morphed. There was no better word for it, one moment he was a wolf, the next he was a man.

The wolf grew and went from four legs to two, paws became feet and hands as the man crouched. His dark hair was long and covered his face as the form solidified. As suddenly as it began, it stopped. The air cleared and the man stood. Alex recognized him from the night before in the alley.

“What the hell…” Alex stumbled back with a curse.

The man stood before him, his green eyes the exact shade of the wolf’s. He had to be six-foot-four and easily weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds of lean muscle. And, Alex realized belatedly, he was naked.

Sabine turned to the brown wolf. “Mateo, please get the bag I left by the ravine.”

The brown wolf looked up at the man and left only after he was given permission. Alex fell back to his knees. He’d been right. He was crazy. He should have listened to Rhiannon and gone straight to the nearest psych center and checked himself in. Wolfmen! Only a raging lunatic would imagine this.

“You’re not a raging lunatic.” Sabine’s voice was as soft as the touch she laid on his forearm.

Alex hadn’t realized he’d been speaking out loud. “This can’t be happening.”

“This is real,” the man said. His voice was deep and held the same slight accent as Sabine. “We are real.”

The brown wolf crashed through the brush and dropped a black and red knapsack at the man’s feet. He knelt and began pulling out what looked like pants and tossed them to the brown and tawny wolves as well as a few others behind him. He pulled on the final pair, and motioned to the others. As one, the wolves that had been tossed clothing all morphed into men as well. The tawny wolf turned into the man he’d seen with the Porsche outside the hotel. Alex felt the beginning of a panic attack beginning to form. His heart began to palpitate; his breath caught and he bent forward, trying to keep from hyperventilating. He felt Sabine touch his back, caressing his skin, and his stance relaxed.

“Alexander, this is my brother Dante.”

“I am the one Francesca warned you about. Sabine, step away from him.”

“You can’t hurt him, he is one of us.”

Alex’s head shot up. “I am not a wolfman.”

Dante’s lips curled in disgust. “That we can both agree on. Sabine.” His voice was steel, and she bit her lip, her expression regretful as she strolled away from Alex and stood beside her brother.

Dante looked at the other men and motioned to Alex. “Take him.”

Sabine placed a hand on her brother’s bare chest. “No, wait!”

“I will not have you interfere, I am alpha here!” he barked at her. “Take him and I will decide what to do with him later. Do not interfere again, woman, or you will regret it.”

Alex saw red. “Don’t you dare lay a hand on her.”

“Or what, pup?”

“You’ll deal with me.”

The men laughed. Alex clenched his hands in the soft damp ground, he felt the hair on his arms rise and his vision changed. It became clearer and he could sense everything around him.

Dante arched a brow and smiled. “You are no match for me.”

“I wouldn’t be so cocky if I were you.”

Sabine stepped forward and was pulled back roughly by her brother. Alex heard himself growl as his entire body froze. Could they be right and he was one of them? It would explain the Mangler deaths back home. He shook his head clear of the thought. He was nothing like them, he couldn’t be.

Dante pulled his sister with him as he walked through the crowd of men and wolves. “Leave no trace of him. I don’t want to have to deal with the authorities … again.”

Alex was immediately surrounded by the men. The one who’d been the tawny wolf looked at the man who had been the brown wolf. “Do you think Dante will kill him?”

“I’m sure he will, Luca, eventually anyway.”

“Do you think that marking is real?”

Alex glanced at the man who had spoken. He had a tattoo similar to the one Alex had except his rested on his left pectoral muscle. Things could not get any stranger, could they? He glanced at the others, saw they all had similar markings on their torsos, and realized they certainly could.

Alex followed the procession silently through the forest, keeping an eye on his surroundings and looking for landmarks that he could follow back out. He may play the prisoner now, but first chance he got he was running far and fast.

Roughly forty-five minutes into the hike through the forest, Alex realized the men were purposely walking in circles and meandering. He sighed softly. If they hoped to get him confused it wasn’t working. He’d always had a keen sense of direction and he knew exactly how far they had traveled from his campsite. Given the chance, he could get himself right back there without much thought.

Alex thought about the last three hours. How everything he’d ever believed about biology had been turned on its head. And the woman, she had called him theirs. He didn’t want to think about the repercussions of that one statement.

Sabine. He thought he’d dreamt her up, and yet there she was in the flesh—and what succulent flesh it was. Her green eyes had been kind, much kinder than that of her brother. Her touch was soft, and Alex wondered if his dream version of her would compare to the real thing. Of course, even if he survived this little trek he would probably never know.

He glanced around and realized they’d finally come to a new section of the forest. He inhaled deeply and he shuddered as the scent overwhelmed him. It smelled like home. “What is that?” he asked to no one in particular.

The man named Luca turned to him, his head tilted slightly. “What is what?”

“That smell.” Alex sniffed deeper, taking more of it into his lungs, and felt himself relax for the first time since coming to the mountains.

The group of men stopped. “Mateo, could it be?”

The man who’d been the brown wolf narrowed his eyes at Alex. “It’s not possible.”

“He smells the den.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Den?”

“It nothing of your concern, pup, let’s keep moving. Dante is waiting.”

It took all of Alex’s strength to keep quiet, he hadn’t been dismissed so easily since high school and he hated it. He had to keep his mouth shut though, he was severely outnumbered, and a part of him wanted to see where the group was taking him. He eyed his surroundings carefully, keeping an eye out for trees, bushes or rocks he could use as landmarks and cataloging them in his mind. More than once he thought he’d seen a small wolf pup, but before he could get a good look at it, it would scurry away. Maybe he was dreaming all this. It was possible it was just another one of his hallucinations and he was really unconscious at his campsite.

“You’re not dreaming, pup,” Luca said.

“Stop calling me that.”

Luca chuckled softly. “Or what?”

Alex rolled his eyes, then remembered something Francesca said. He turned back to his guard. “Your name is Luca?”

“If you start singing My Name is Luca, I will tear your throat out myself.”

The others laughed, but Alex couldn’t find the humor in the threat. “Are you related to the man Francesca followed here?”

The group quieted instantly as Luca looked straight ahead. “Not exactly.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you should shut up,” Mateo said. “It’s none of your business.”

“Look, I’m trying to keep hold of what’s left of my sanity here. The least you could do is answer a few questions for me.”

Mateo opened his mouth to speak, but Luca held a hand up. “It’s all right. I am the man Francesca followed here.”

“Yeah, okay, if you’re not going to be straight with me, don’t bother answering,” Alex said angrily, turning away from him.

Mateo laughed. “He doesn’t believe you.”

“Of course I don’t. I’m not an idiot.” The expression on the faces of the men surrounding him said they thought differently.

Luca shrugged. “Believe it or not. It’s the truth. I’m a lot of things, pup. A liar is not one of them.”

“It is impossible. Francesca said she met him when she was enrolled in university, so don’t bullshit me.”

Mateo sighed softly as if he were annoyed. “You’ve just seen wolves become men, is it so difficult to think that maybe other parts of our physiology are different than yours?”

“You age slower?”

“See, he’s not such an idiot,” Mateo said to the group.

The group laughed again while Alex tried to make sense of it all. “Are you going to be okay?” Luca asked, true concern in his tone.

Alex shook his head. “Not at all.”

They wandered the forest for another two hours before Alex saw the crumbling ruins of a castle. Several men suddenly appeared as if they formed from the bark of the trees and outer curtain of the castle. The group stopped as Luca took the lead. He spoke rapidly in that dialect Alex had never heard before. The men took an interest in Alex, and he tried to look them each in the eye as Luca spoke. These men were huge—guards he guessed by the way they stood there and watched him.

Alex examined the area; the grounds were overgrown, the walls that once must have stood tall and proud were piles of rocks and rubble in some places. Beyond that, the castle itself looked as if it wasn’t safe to enter. The dark rock façade had large holes in it, the towers were without roofs and the old, worn, wood doors hung at severe angles. It reminded him of a castle from a Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale or some child’s nightmare. They couldn’t possibly live in there.

“This was once our stronghold. Now it is just a ruin that keeps curious onlookers away,” Mateo said.

“It can’t be safe in there,” Alex said.

“Safe enough,” Mateo replied, urging him forward. “Welcome home, pup.”

Alex followed the men through the inner ward of the courtyard and to who knew what fate had in store for him. Hopefully, he’d survive this.

* * * *

Sabine watched her brother pace the length of what was once the throne room. Now it was the meeting place for Dante and his close advisors. She remained silent, as she had been since leaving the clearing. It was best not to draw his attention when Dante was angry and he was furious now. Her mother always taught her to pick and choose her battles, and this one she had no hope of winning. Not yet at any rate.

Her thoughts drifted back to the man the sentinels were locking in a cell in the old dungeon. She wondered what he must be thinking. She didn’t have a lot of experience with humans, but it didn’t take a scholar to know he must be questioning his sanity. She couldn’t imagine what she would do if she found out there was a whole world out there she had no idea existed. He should have several questions as well, and she needed to be the one to answer them.

She touched the place where her mark rested on her hip. Caressing it gently, she remembered how it flared to life when she stepped close to him, how desire coursed through her and the primal instinct to mate overwhelmed her. Dante was not going to like it, but the markings were never wrong, and if that was the case, Alexander was no mere human.

The large double doors opened with a loud crack behind her, but she did not look. Moving would draw Dante’s attention, and she didn’t want to tempt him until he was calm. Her brother looked beyond her at the only men who dared enter this room without being announced. Mateo, her clan’s beta, strode past on her left. Light brown hair that held a slight curl framed a deadly serious face. His hazel eyes and the tight line of his lips brooked no argument. He had a day’s growth of beard that gave him the air of a scoundrel, but everyone who knew him would tell you that impression was furthest from the truth. He was all business. He stood as tall as her brother, but was leaner. Mateo was a cunning strategist and he had her brother’s respect, which was never given easily. Too many had seen to that.

Luca strutted more than strode past on her right. He always wore his hair short and had sported a goatee for most of his adult life. Where Mateo’s facial hair made him look a rascal, Luca went more for the swashbuckling type. The thought made her smile because that impression was spot on. He was more fun loving than any of the other males of her acquaintance. His bright crystal-blue eyes were kind, belying his position as the clan’s top sentinel and the Prime Noran. As the Prime he had his pick of women in the clan, and whenever they were in heat he was the first they asked for, which meant he was not only a fighter, but the best lover they had as well. Sabine surreptitiously watched as he passed her and admired the way his broad back tapered to a lean waist and tight rear. He was most definitely a fine specimen of their species.

“What news?” Dante asked, breaking into Sabine’s thoughts.

Both men bowed low. The clan held on to their traditions very closely. It was all they had in this ever-changing world. Mateo spoke first. “The human is safely locked in a cell and is guarded by Enzo and Aturo. He gave us no problem on the journey back.”

Dante turned his attention to Luca and the sentinel began. “The sentinels await your command, but I don’t think he’ll be much of a problem. He’s scared. We could smell it on him. He is an inquisitive man, though.”

“As well he should be,” Sabine muttered, then gasped as she realized she’d spoken out loud. When she chanced a glance at her brother, she found his green eyes glowing brightly. This did not bode well.

“Is there something you wish to add?”

Sabine shook her head.

Dante walked around her leisurely, his arms crossed over his massive chest. “Now come, Sabine, you had much to say at the campsite. Please, speak freely.”

He was goading her. She knew that had it been anyone but her, he would strike the man or woman down for having spoken in the clearing, but she was his beloved sister and beta female, and for those reasons alone she did not have to fear him … much.

She ignored the other men in the room and spoke to her brother, not as the alpha of her clan but as the boy who had kissed her skinned knees and taught her to hunt. “I don’t believe he is a threat to us, Dante. He must be insane with curiosity. Could you imagine being abducted by a group of men who minutes earlier had been wolves?”

“No.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course you couldn’t. Not you who has never lost a fight, who has always had the upper hand. You forget there are men out there who don’t have all the advantages you’ve had.”

“So tell me, sister of mine. What do you suggest we should do with the human?”

She bit her lip; this next part was going to be tricky to tell him. He had purposely ignored her plea at the campsite. She’d told him that Alexander was one of them, yet he called him human. “I think we should keep him.”

“Like a pet?” Luca asked.

Dante snorted. “We don’t take humans as pets. We are not vampire.”

Sabine ignored them. “Dante, he is not human. He is Benandanti.”

His expression turned dark, and Sabine was suddenly very afraid. His arms dropped to his sides as he turned his attention fully on her. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t look at me like that. Haven’t you wondered why he survived the attack?”

“Because you put yourself in the way, a move, I might add, that would have cost another clan member their life.”

She didn’t want to focus on that particular bit of truth. She would not thank him for sparing her, for to do so was to acknowledge he had given her special treatment. “Dante, he is special. He bears a mark.”

“It’s a tattoo, not a mark,” Mateo stated.

She glared at him. “A tattoo that just happens to look exactly like the mark of the Benandanti?”

“It’s possible.”

“How?”

Mateo looked to Dante. “He came into contact with a rogue and liked the marking. Hell, maybe the rogue convinced him to come here. Who knows?”

“With scientists?” Sabine turned her attention back to her brother. “We have no reason to believe he is anything other than what he claims to be. We attacked his camp without provocation, killed innocent humans, and he survived. Even with me stopping you, he should not have survived the injuries he sustained.”

“Still, we cannot trust him. The borders have been attacked several times in the last month. There are rogues out there testing us, and I will not put my people in danger because you think he’s cute.”

“My mark responded to his, Dante.”

The three men froze as her statement echoed in the large room. “You lie.” Dante growled.

Sabine unfastened her jeans and slid them down to expose the marking on her hip. The mark that had always been there had changed. The small crescent moon now had a wolf’s paw between its points. “He is my mate.”