creature outside that woodshed. Then finding Elizabeth in its place. "Jensen, our skin will blister and burn," Christian said in his sensible, calm way. "It's really dangerous for us. I know you want to keep going, but we can't. And I don't think you should go without us." "Okay. I think I saw a sign back there for a motel in another few miles or so. Let's hope it's open this time of year." Jensen glanced at the mountains, realizing the sky just above was really starting to lighten. He pressed harder on the accelerator.

Fortunately, the motel was open and they had vacancies. While Christian and Sebastian took their room key and headed to their cabin, Jensen registered. By the time he finished and got his own room key, the rays of the sun were brushing the treetops like long fingers grasping everything in their reach. Elizabeth's brothers had been wise to hurry to their room.

His room was right beside theirs. He knocked just to be sure they had made it there okay.

"Yeah?" Christian called through the closed door.

"Are you all right?" Jensen asked.

"All set. Don't go anywhere without us," he answered.

"Like I can. You and Sebastian seem to be my navigational system."

The door jerked open a crack, although Jensen couldn't see who'd opened it. The hotel room was pitch black, not a single light on.

"We're serious," Sebastian's voice said from behind the door. "You are going to need us."

Jensen nodded, even though he wasn't sure Sebastian could see him. "Okay. I'll wait." He hesitated to leave the door. "But I get a strong feeling that Elizabeth is in real danger."

There was silence on the other side of the door. "I know you do. And that's why you are going to need us."

Jensen agreed with that as he went to his own room and fell onto the bed. He had no idea where to look for her. h.e.l.l, he didn't even understand how her brothers did. Their reasoning made no sense to him.

He shut his eyes, knowing he was going to have a long day of waiting ahead of him. G.o.d, he hoped Elizabeth was okay.

He was scared.

"You know, Lizzie, when I first saw you, even the way you were-half-dead-I remember thinking you were something. You were special. You were put on this earth to be an alpha's mate."

Elizabeth remained perfectly still, even though her position, crouched in the corner, was starting to make the muscles in her thighs ache. Still, her animal instincts told her to remain motionless, quiet, and let him rant.

He'd been raging now for nearly two hours. He'd raved about the pack and about the elders having no idea what they were doing. He fumed about the pack not knowing what was best, what was the inevitable. Of course, she hadn't been able to figure that out from his blathering tirade, either. He was making little-to-no sense.

But there was one thing she was certain of-Brody was not the same man she'd left so long ago. He was leaner, nothing more than bow-tight muscle, skin, and bone. And he was even more feral than he'd been.

He'd always been edged with an incivility. A wild, hungry streak that made him dangerous. But the look she saw flashing in his eyes now went beyond even that. It was as if he was more animal than man. And that made her very nervous.

"You always knew that I was destined to be the alpha."

Elizabeth didn't argue, although that was never true. The pack knew he was too dangerous to be alpha. Too much of a loose cannon. What did the pack think of him now?

He stopped his rant and glared at her. She swallowed, scared of the hatred she saw in those dark depths.

"You could ruin this for me," he growled, his voice low, eerie.

She took in a calming breath, then asked in an even tone, "Ruin what?"

He started pacing again, and she thought he wasn't going to answer.

"The pack, that group of stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, banished me."

Elizabeth gaped at him. She couldn't help it. The pack had always had issues with Brody. His

unpredictability. His propensity for violence. But it wasn't as if the rest of the wolves were much better.

They'd all been rough and wild. Traveling as a biker gang, causing trouble wherever they went. What had he done to merit being banished? The ultimate punishment for a werewolf. Wolves-even werewolves-were natural pack animals.

She'd left the pack, but the truth was, she'd never belonged with them to begin with. And she'd been lucky enough to find Dr. Fowler and his followers to be her social link. She watched Brody pace, his movements stiff and a tad awkward. She could see he was in pain, which meant Jensen's grandfather had connected with a bullet. And the bullet had to still be lodged in his body.

Could she escape? Was she fast enough to get away? Not that she even knew where she was. She glanced at the door across the room, a straight shot in the barren cabin. "Don't think about it," Brody growled, and Elizabeth looked back to him to see he was guessing her thoughts. "Or I will kill you."

She didn't doubt him. His rage was clear on his face. But why was he blaming her? What did he want from her? This time she had to ask. "Brody, why did you come for me? How can I help you?" His eyes roamed over her, and he sneered. "I don't know that you can. Not in the state you are in now."

She didn't understand what he meant. The state she was in?

His boots pounded the wood floor as he approached her, and she fought the urge to curl up. To protect herself.

He grabbed her arm, his fingers biting into her flesh. Roughly he dragged her to her feet. "So here's the thing, Lizzie. I do need you. You give me credibility with the losers in the pack. They know you are above them. And since I'm your mate, that puts me above them, too." She started to argue. The pack hadn't ever respected her or her n.o.ble upbringing. Only Brody had ever believed that. But she held her tongue. She had a feeling that the only thing that was going to save her was letting him continue to believe that. "But you know we have a tricky situation here, don't we?" She had no idea what he was talking about. But apparently her confusion was the wrong reaction, because he squeezed her arm, bruising her skin with his powerful grip.

She cried out. He really was crazy.

"So here is the deal," Brody said, his mouth close to her ear, his fingers still biting angrily into her arm. "We're going back to the pack, and you are going to pretend we made up. All nice and lovey-dovey. And we are going to pretend that brat you're carrying is mine."

At his words, all the air left her lungs. A wave of light-headedness made her weave; the only thing keeping her on her feet was his cruel hand gripping her.

Brody laughed, obviously seeing her confusion. "You didn't know, did you?"

She didn't react. She was too stunned. A brat? A baby? She was pregnant. She couldn't be. It wasn't possible. Yet, she suddenly knew it was true. She was carrying Jensen's baby.

Jensen sat up, having faded in and out of a doze. But now he had the strongest, clearest sensation that Elizabeth was in real danger.

He slipped off the bed and went to the window. The sun was still bright. Maybe two hours to go before it set. To the right, he noticed the moon, a pale, ghostly orb barely visible against the clear blue sky.

As he looked at the celestial body, he suddenly saw flashes of Elizabeth. In a cabin. Crouching on the floor. Her arms crossed protectively over her stomach as if she was sick or in pain.

Without thinking about it, he crossed to the nightstand and picked up the keys to his truck. He couldn't wait for Elizabeth's brothers. He knew something was very wrong. She needed him now.

He considered knocking on Sebastian and Christian's door to tell them he was leaving, but then decided against it. He had the feeling they would try to talk him out of going.

But there was no talking him out of this. He had to go. The compulsion to get in his truck and drive was overwhelming.

He slid into the truck and put the key in the ignition. Then he paused, his hand on the gearshift.What are you doing? You have no idea where she is.

But for some reason, that rational thought disappeared from his head. He put the truck into reverse and wheeled out of the parking place. He pulled up to the road and paused for a moment, looking both ways. Where was she?

"This is nuts," he muttered to himself; then another vivid image filled his mind. Elizabeth staring up at someone, her eyes wide and full of fear.

He blinked away the image, his attention turning to the road. Left. He needed to go left. The tires squealed as he turned in that direction.

At the first intersection, he automatically flipped the directional signal to indicate he was turning left again. By the time the light changed and he was heading deeper into the woods, he stopped questioning how he knew where he was going. He just did. Just like he knew Elizabeth needed him.

"I planned to kill you. I mean, you're knocked up with a human's brat. And you are a cheat. Not to mention, an abandoner. Certainly all good reasons to kill you." Elizabeth tried not to move as he strode closer to her. Yet, she couldn't keep from tightening her hold on herself-and the life growing inside her.

"But then, after a while I calmed down." He crouched down, so he could look into her face. "You know, being shot can really cloud a person's judgment." He stood again, although she didn't look up at him. She just held herself, trying to think of what she could do to escape.

"Anyway," he continued, "I decided to keep you. You are still my best bet to get back into the pack.

And this time to show them that I should be the alpha. The pack leader." Even though she knew she should just remain silent, she couldn't. This was insanity. "How do you think I can do that? The pack will never allow you to be leader."

Instead of getting enraged, as she thought he would, he smiled, although the curl of his lips was cruel, sinister-looking.

"Yes, they will. And you will help me. Because if you don't, I will kill your human. And his whelp." Fear filled her, a small noise escaping her at the idea of either Jensen or the baby being hurt. But what Brody was asking of her couldn't be done. The pack would never accept him as their leader. He was delusional. And his delusions were making him very dangerous.

"How-how do you know I'm pregnant?" How did this lunatic know, when she had no clue.

"I tasted it on you. The change of your hormones."

When she just stared at him, he grinned again and added, "I was in your room the other night, and just

couldn't resist taking a little taste of you."

She tightened her hold around her midriff, and he laughed.

"Good thing I did, too. The brat is a great bargaining chip, isn't it? And I'll be even more appealing to

the pack if I return an expectant father."

Rage flared in Elizabeth. "There is no way in h.e.l.l I'm going back with you, much less allowing you anywhere near my child."

She immediately realized her mistake. Brody's smile vanished-then he took a lightning-fast step toward

her. The back of his hand connected with her cheekbone. Stars flashed before her, blotting out everything else.

"You'll do whatever I say," he growled, "or everyone you love will pay."

Chapter 25.

Jensen saw another vivid image of Elizabeth, this one making him growl low in his throat. Fury rose up inside him, but he struggled to stay calm and focused. He was close now.

In fact, he was very close. Without questioning his actions, he pulled the truck onto the soft shoulder of the narrow mountain road.

He shut off the engine and hopped down onto the deserted road. Woods surrounded him, but he knew

she was here. Very close.

He started up the rise, his steps certain. He kept going until he spotted a small cabin, barely visible through the trees in the waning light.

That was where she was. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name.

But instead of rushing toward the building, he moved stealthily, patiently. He had to go in carefully. In his visions, he hadn't been able to see her captor, but he had the faint impression of a large man. Lean

muscles, large bones. And cruelty. But he knew that from what he saw of Elizabeth. He'd seen bruises on her cheek. Blood on her lips.

More rage spiked through him. This man would die for what he'd done to Elizabeth.

As he got closer to the cabin, he heard voices. He stopped, tilting his head. He was closer, but not near

enough to hear anyone clearly. Yet, he could hear Elizabeth's captor without even straining.

"So let's get this straight. You help me, and I'll let the human and the brat live."

Jensen frowned. The human and the brat? What was he talking about?

"The plan is pretty simple, isn't it?" The voice sounded like it contained a sneer.