"But Seth means nothing to you. Why would she go after him?"

"In war one always kills off friends, family and loved ones first. That's how it works."

"What? But that means-"

"She'll come after you next."

Bella's shoulders shook. She rubbed her arms, attempting to fight off the s.h.i.+vers. He had frightened her and her fear scent filled him with shame. He shouldn't have said anything. But not telling her would have blemished the trust he had earned so far.

She settled at the edge of the couch. Severo touched her hair tentatively. He wanted to take her in his arms and make the world go away. To make it all better.He fisted his fingers. That power was not in his hands.

"So," she said softly, so faint he had to lean in to hear, "you killed her family?"

"Her brother and father."

Sitting on the couch, he pulled her lithe body onto his. She tucked her head into his neck and cuddled as he wrapped his arms about her. He wanted to be a safe harbor for her, but he feared her trip down the rabbit hole was only just beginning.

"Before Elvira-Evie-had blooded her teeth, her family used to hunt werewolves. At one time, in the nineteen fifties, the United States had a bounty on all wolves. Paid something like a dollar a pelt. The nation went into a hunting frenzy."

"Mortals hunted you?"

"No, they hunted the real wolves. Mortals were-and are, for the most part-unaware of our breed. But noting the hunting frenzy, the vampires took it upon themselves to hunt werewolves. They didn't get paid for the pelts, but it didn't matter. It was for the thrill of the hunt. They captured my parents."

He had to swallow, to digest this cruel memory, which he'd thought to press back, far from reach. It hurt in his heart to recall it, as if the steel trap crushed his muscles all over again.

Bella's fingers played across his chest. So fragile. And yet she was far stronger than him, for she had stood boldly before his werewolf.

"Do you know what happens when a werewolf is skinned?"

"You don't have to tell me if it hurts."

It would wound him far worse to keep his secrets from the woman he loved.

"I stood at the edge of the vampire encampment after following my parents' scents for miles. They were dead, strung up by their heels alongside a wood cabin with half a dozen other werewolf pelts. It takes only a few hours, though, before a werewolf transforms itself into a were."

Bella's gasp heated his chest. He clutched her, clinging, stopping his own tears only through force of will.

"I fled at the sight. I knew I had to protect myself. And yet I ran right into a trap. A bear trap clamped about my left ankle."

"That's why you limp."

"Yes, the bone never did heal right. They took me into captivity. I vowed that if I ever escaped, I would kill the men who had done this to my family."

"And Evie? Was it her family who did this to you?"

"Yes. Yet Evie's father was a mortal. The father took vampires for lovers and there were a few witches who served the family.

They used their ability to tame us wolves as a power magnet for vampires. There would be days they'd set the vampires on us for fun. To torture us."

"Oh my G.o.d."

"It was Evie who asked that my life be spared when her father wanted to force me to s.h.i.+ft and skin me alive. She begged for a plaything. I...knew she favored me, but she also couldn't understand that freedom was what I most wanted. I played along, bending to her desires, allowing her to think she was seducing me, preparing me to be the one who blooded her fangs." "She bit you?"

"No. She didn't get the chance."

He cupped Bella's chin and held her as a most precious thing. He'd been given one more chance to have goodness in his life after Aby. He didn't want to lose it. But she needed to know everything.

"Weres come into their werewolf at p.u.b.erty. The young ones are always the most difficult to control as the new skills of s.h.i.+fting are honed. Because of my uncontrollable rages, I was able to escape. I killed both the father and his vampire son, and left Evie crying on the porch of their home.

"I ran into her years later. Still she professed a pining love for me. I had never had anything but disgust for her and her family, yet, though I did not admit it to her, I was grateful to her for sparing my life. Still, I spurned her. She vowed revenge, which I deserved." He exhaled, tracking the swift beats of his heart in his throat. "So, yes, Bella, I have killed."

"You were only avenging your family. I can't imagine seeing your parents being tortured like that. You poor man."

He snarled. "It's been over seven decades. I take care of myself. Those who think to threaten my peace, or my former pack, have only to answer to the werewolf. Evie has every right to pursue a vengeance she holds to be just-but Seth was a cruel blow."

"He had no idea what he'd gotten into. Oh, Severo, what will happen now?"

"She's not coming after me directly. And that means she's playing a very dangerous game. I will protect you with my life, Bella.

But I'd feel better if we spent some time teaching you how to handle a few weapons."

"I think that would be good."

Her desire to learn defense surprised him. Truly, she was as strong a mate as a wolf could wish to have.

The man actually had an a.r.s.enal in the storage room behind the garage. She was surprised only because it was so huge, not because he had one.

Bella lingered in the open doorway as Severo strode before the shelves and counters, selecting a few throwing stars and tucking them in the pocket of his leather jacket, hooking what looked like a medieval mace over his arm. He paused before a wall of pistols and rifles.

Over his shoulder, he grinned at her. A boy with his toys.

Last night had been sweet. She hugged herself at the memory of the quiet darkness and his soft breaths as they'd lain in bed. No s.e.x, just tender kisses, strokes. Mostly they'd spooned into one another. They hadn't needed words.

After hearing how Severo had witnessed his parents' cruel deaths, Bella believed any vengeance he had taken had been just.

Now, more than ever, she wanted to meet Elvira.

"b.i.t.c.h," Bella muttered.

"What's that?" He approached her with an armload of interesting weapons.

"Just thinking about what I'm going to say to the mistress of the night when I finally meet her."

He nodded as they exited, and pulled the door locked behind them. They headed outside. Crisp fall air necessitated that Bella wear a jacket, and she'd pulled her hair behind her head in a ponytail. All business. She wanted to learn.

"If all goes well," Severo said, "you'll never see Elvira. I want that b.i.t.c.h's head on a platter with as little collateral damage as possible. My grievance is only with her. Though, if any of those vampires who chased you are still alive, I'll take their heads, too."

They strode across the backyard and through a rusted iron gate that led them through the ten-foot wide hedgerow and out to the valley. The hill was clean of trees and cut a sharp line against the overcast sky.

Though it was the beginning of October, Bella guessed it would probably snow soon. She liked winter. But it would be colder this year without Seth to share a fall hayride or pumpkin carving.

She sniffed at a tear. Severo noticed, but he didn't say anything. She loved him for his ability to let her feel, to let her have a good crying jag if that was what she needed.

And that he'd softened and let himself feel last night, during his confession, meant the world to her. He hadn't cried, but Bella figured that letting down his defenses was probably the closest he'd get to an emotional breakdown.

He laid the weapons on the ground and picked up a huge pistol and showed it to Bella. "It's a big one, but it's your best protection against a longtooth."

"You've not talked at all about your breed." She made herself use his terminology. "Are all vampires and werewolves enemies?"

"Most. The vamps have difficulty stepping down from their self-imposed pedestals. They don't play well with others. Just ask the witches."

"Why? What did they do to the witches?"

"Enslaved them. Drained them of their magic. So much so that centuries ago witches created a master spell that made their blood poisonous to the vampires."

"Clever."

"Indeed. The spell was broken a few years back. The vampires and witches have come to an agreement. The one vampire I can tolerate is actually married to a witch."

"How does that work? If her blood was once poisonous?"

"Very careful s.e.x? He's a phoenix, actually. If a vampire survives a witch's blood attack, he becomes indestructible. Anyway, the wolves get along with the witches for the most part. Here."

With both hands she took the pistol by the handle, and it still dropped heavily. "This must weigh ten pounds. I've never seen a gun with such a big spinning thingy before."

He cast her an incredulous look, wincing against the sunlight. "You've never touched a weapon in your life, have you, sweet?"

"Nope. But I'm willing to learn. What are those?"

He displayed a bulletlike object before him. "Bullets made of Brazilian ironwood, one of the hardest woods available. Shoot one of these directly at the vamp's heart. It won't take the longtooth out, but it will set it back and give you time to reload or use something more powerful, like a thick, heart-exploding stake."

She examined the wooden bullet. A cross had been burned into the flat, round end of it. "And I'm supposed to be able to aim this thing long and sure enough to hit the target, which is likely coming at me at Mach speed, with fangs bared?"

"Exactly." Severo placed a few wooden bullets in the chamber and spun it into place for her. Demonstrating a good grip, he helped her to hold the pistol properly with both hands.

"Longtooths, eh?" she said. "A nasty word for vamps?"

"You bet."

"What do they call you?"

"If they're smart, they run. If they have a death wish, they call me dog."

"Oh." Wincing, she offered him an apology, remembering how she'd jokingly called him dog and other derogatory terms when they'd first gotten together. "Sorry."

He kissed her cheek. "Call me what you wish, sweet. Just don't stop calling me. Now hold it up and aim."

"At what? The tree?"

"That's too far. You've only about fifty feet with one of these things. Hmm, what could you shoot at? We need to see if you can hit something, and it should be moving.... How about me?"

"No!"

"Oh, yes." He stepped back, his arms held out in challenge. "Wood isn't going to kill me. It will just smart a little. Aim for my shoulder or a leg. Not the face. I may be a dog, but I don't need any more scars."

"Severo, there's no way I'm going to shoot you. You said you aren't immortal!"

"That's right."

She lowered the pistol. "Then why can't you be killed?"

"I've explained. Silver is the only thing that does it."

He splayed out his hands and walked backward. His dark brown eyes twinkled menacingly.

Bella dangled the pistol with both hands. It knocked her knees. "Come back here, please, Severo. I'll try for a bird that flies overhead or something."

He shed the leather jacket as he swiftly increased the distance between them. When he was hundreds of yards away, he turned and charged her.

"I'm not doing it. I'll miss and hit you in the eye! What if I hit you in the brain? You'll be a brain damaged wolf who can't die and is crazed for s.e.x!"

"Do it, b.i.t.c.h!"

He was trying to rile her. She wouldn't fall for it.

A toothy snarl and suddenly the man racing toward her became something else. Bigger, hairier, more monstrous.

The werewolf.

Which she thought she loved. But she'd never seen it in daylight and- Bella squeezed the trigger. The pistol didn't make a noise. The wooden bullet exited with a forceful kick that tugged at her shoulder sockets. She dropped both hands down, following the bullet's trajectory.

The werewolf took the bullet without flinching. Yet it stopped charging her, digging its feet into the ground and spinning about with a leap and a running dart up the hill, away from her.

"I hit him. Oh, no, I didn't mean it. Severo!"

When it had crested the hill, the silhouette s.h.i.+fted and took on the were shape. It happened so quickly, and he didn't shed any skin, or anything creepy like that.

Clothing lay abandoned on the ground forty feet away. He'd shed his s.h.i.+rt and pants as he'd changed, which meant he was now naked.

And likely wounded.

He ran down the hill, gaining on Bella with supernatural speed.

"There you go, sweet." He pressed the flesh on his shoulder and popped out the short wooden bullet. Blood oozed down his pale flesh.

"Oh my G.o.d, you're bleeding. I really hit you. I could have taken out an eye!" Bella wailed.