The Shadow Wolf. Bonnie Vanak

open a cabinet drawer. Inside was an assortment of child’s bath toys, including a well-worn rubber duck. A reluctant smile touched her face as she took out the duck and closed the drawer. Gabriel’s guests included children. Nieces and nephews?

      What was it like to be indulged, spoiled and pampered by a male as powerful as Gabriel? To have everything you wanted to eat, pretty dresses to wear and all the knowledge at the tip of your fingers instead of having to hide books and wear ugly dark grape clothing? Her smile faded as she dropped the duck by a stack of towels on the counter. She grabbed a washcloth and soap, stared in bemusement at the twin shower heads and the strange fixtures.

      Torn between pride and longing, she set down the washcloth and soap and returned to the bedroom.

      Gabriel sat on her bed, touching her pillow with a thoughtful look. His cowboy hat was on the nightstand. He glanced up.

      “I don’t, the shower, the faucets …” Her voiced trailed off and she felt very stupid.

      A wide grin tugged his full mouth upward. “Oh yeah. I got confused the first time the plumber installed the new fixtures. Shoulda heard me yell when I got cold water instead of hot.”

      He sprang off the bed, all grace and smoothness. Inside the shower, he worked the faucets, careful to step out of the way as he demonstrated the spray.

      Gabriel stepped outside the shower. Megan gave him the first real smile she’d felt in days.

      “Thanks. I thought I might need an engineering degree just to take a shower.”

      He tipped back his head and gave a deep, throaty laugh. Her heart skipped at the delight-ful sound. Surely anyone who laughed like that couldn’t be as evil as they said.

      “I like how you laugh. You’re not what I thought.”

      Startled, she realized she’d spoken aloud. Gabriel stopped laughing. Megan shivered again, but this time from a deeper, more intense need.

      A predatory look crossed his face. When he grasped her shoulders in the gentlest touch, she felt drawn toward him. His gaze fell on her mouth. Amber flashed in his eyes as she moistened her lips and parted them. Megan took a step forward, captivated by the smoldering hunger in his gaze. Her body yearned, her hands reached out to touch him in turn. She could almost feel his lips against hers, warm, authoritative, demanding….

      Just as quickly, he stepped back, dropped his arms. “Go take that shower, and I’ll find the clothing and liniment.”

      The door slammed behind him with a violence that shook the hinges.

      After her shower, Megan used the liniment Gabriel had left, dressed in the clothing he’d put on the bed and began planning her escape.

      She slipped down the hallway and paused before a large, masculine bedroom at the corridor’s end. Drawn by the rich spicy scent that was Gabriel’s, she walked inside.

      The bed was large as a car, with a crimson duvet and a hand-carved mahogany headboard. She shivered, imagining his big body on it, sweat gleaming on his brow, dampening his dark hair, his long legs twisted in the sheets after a hot bout of lovemaking….

      Stop it.

      The windows boasted splendid beachfront views. Coconut palms, their green leaves swaying in a gathering breeze, framed shimmering sand and tranquil Gulf waters. French doors opened to a wraparound balcony. Megan went outside.

      The mainland seemed close enough to swim for it. But what about the twins?

      On the bayside, a fishing boat, a sleek yacht and a rowboat were moored to the dock. Powering the fishing boat or the yacht meant noise. However, if she had Jenny create a distraction, they could use the rowboat. She disliked asking her cousin to use powers she had been taught to curb, but it was necessary if they were to escape.

      A few hundred yards from the dock was a single-lane causeway and a bridge connecting it to the mainland. Megan spotted an outboard boat near the bridge. The boater started the engine, heading in her direction. Sweat gathered on her brow as he passed the house.

      A man with silver hair. It was too far away to be sure, but she’d swear it was the same man from the hotel restaurant.

      What did he want? Why was he following them? Was he a rescuer? Or like Gabriel, another enemy who desired the healthy bounty on their heads?

      Gabriel should know. Megan’s pulse sped up. She couldn’t risk telling him, the enemy she couldn’t trust. What if he were working with the silver-haired man?

      The only person she could trust was herself. The twins relied on her. She had to get them off the island.

      Megan found the twins in a large, airy room, playing dolls before a wood dollhouse. Her heart twisted. She hated having them on the run again.

      Better running than dead. Because that’s what Gabriel would do. He might be all smooth Cajun cowboy charm on the outside, but he was nastier than the other Normals. Gabriel would soothe them into thinking all was well, and then …

      Megan shuddered. She motioned to the girls, who reluctantly abandoned the toys.

      “We’re leaving soon. When we do, just stick close to me, okay?”

      Jenny looked upset. “But I like it here. Gabriel’s nice. He promised to make us a nice dinner and we can each have a doll of our own. He wouldn’t hurt us. He’s …”

      Squatting down, she took her cousin’s small, trusting hand into hers. “Honey, we have to get you to New Orleans, remember?”

      Jenny brightened. Both twins had asked Megan why they were headed to New Orleans until she told them about hoping to find a relative there. More information was needed before telling them the relative was their father. The girls must not have their hopes raised and crushed. They’d already endured too much on the island.

      Megan dreamed of finding their father, a man who would smother them with love and protection and send them to school, instead of learning with smuggled books. In the city, she’d blend and find others like her. Together they’d work to free all Shadows from captivity so future generations wouldn’t fear imprisonment again.

      Megan went downstairs into the living room. Arched windows looked out onto the green Gulf of Mexico. White cypress walls gave the living room an airy feel that flowed onto the beach. The furniture was durable, but expensive.

      Megan peered into the kitchen. The housekeeper was cleaning the counter, her car keys out on the table.

      She ran upstairs to join the twins. When the housekeeper popped her head in the doorway and announced she was leaving, Megan felt a rush of relief.

      “I just wanted to see if you needed anything,” Mrs. Hemmings said.

      “We’re fine. Thank you for the lovely meal.”

      “That was Mr. Gabriel who did the cooking.” The woman studied her so intently, Megan felt like an animal in a zoo.

      “You take good care of yourself, honey. Things will be fine from now on. You’re safe here. Mr. Gabriel, he’s a good man. You can trust him.”

      The woman could not know the delicate intricacies of their world. Regret filled Megan. She wanted badly to trust someone. Too much was at stake to risk it.

      When the housekeeper left, Megan retrieved their backpacks and returned to the girls.

      They were leaving. Right now.

      Chapter 3

      Sprawled on a lounge chair on the rear deck, Gabriel studied the sky for signs of the approaching hurricane. Just an hour ago, the water mirrored a blue sky sharp as a sickle. Now puffy indigo clouds drifted on the horizon, and lacy whitecaps tossed their heads back and forth.

      He had to get them off the island soon.

      Picking up an icy water bottle, he took a deep swallow and thought of Megan’s pink mouth, the way her teeth worked at her