Night Falls on the Wicked Read Online Free PDF Page B

weather like this? And at night. Alone.
Alone at night
.
    He scowled as this occurred to him, sinking in. She was the perfect target for Cyprian and his pack. She probably thought she was safe in town. No way could she predict the danger that lurked.
    Even without the full moon it was dangerous.
They
were never harmless. Although he told himself it wasn’t his concern—
she
wasn’t his concern—he took off after her, moving swiftly, faster than the eye could process. Like the curls of icy air traveling over the frozen streets, he followed her without detection. That was his gift. Or curse.
    She jogged through a neighborhood, fast fora human, bounding effortlessly it seemed. He admired her movements as he kept a safe distance. She wore a jogging jacket, fitted and smooth against her body, designed for winter. Her thumbs poked out of small holes in the sleeves. From her flowing, natural stride he surmised she ran a lot. The neighborhood sat silent, nestled among shadows and trees. His lips twisted and he felt an unreasonable flash of anger. She made an easy target, so easy to claim. Careless fool. Even without blood-hungry creatures wandering the night, the woman should be smarter.
    He stilled at the end of the street, leaning against the frozen post that held up the crooked street sign as he waited for her to return.
    She almost didn’t see him until she was on top of him. She jerked back with a startled yelp, her wide-eyed gaze falling on him. Her hood fell back from her head and he was granted his first view of her hair. Even in a ponytail he could see that it was a dark red, thick as a horse mane in its band.
    She hopped a little where she stood, her hot breath blowing clouds in front of her. “I didn’t see you there,” she panted.
    “You should pay attention.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “It’s called situational awareness.”
    Her flushed cheeks burned brighter, almost asbright as the frozen red tip of her nose. “Thanks for the tip. You’re right, of course.” She looked him up and down. “You never know what dirtbag you can run into.”
    He had to stop himself from laughing. She wasn’t scared of him. Or at least she didn’t show it. Nor was she hot to rip off his clothes and get dirty in bed with him. Those were the two reactions he was accustomed to inciting in the opposite sex. Fear and lust. He was mildly disappointed the latter was missing.
    Instead of desire, she looked at him with annoyance.
    “With the wolf attacks going on, you should reconsider jogging at night,” he advised.
    “Yeah? Somebody make you the neighborhood watch on your second day in town?”
    He smiled. “How do you know it’s my second day?”
    “Lucky guess.”
    He dug his fists deeper into his pockets and scanned the silent street. “Anyone else new come to town recently? About a month ago? I’m looking for a few buddies …”
    Her hazel eyes narrowed on him. “And you lost them? Mustn’t be too tight with these buddies of yours.”
    She was smart. He’d give her that.
    “Look.” She sighed and reached up to pull her ponytail tighter. “All anyone can talk about is the wolf situation lately. The first attack was around a month ago. If any newcomers arrived around that time, they wouldn’t have earned a lot of attention. You want to know anything, ask Dollie at the post office. She knows everything.”
    “Dollie. I’ll keep that in mind.”
    She gave a brusque nod.
    “You really shouldn’t jog alone at night,” he couldn’t resist adding, still bothered at the idea of her putting herself at risk.
    “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    With that, she pulled her hood back over her head and continued running. He watched her as she advanced down Main, tempted to follow her again. At least she was beneath the bright streetlamps now. For some reason that mattered to him.
    Instead of pursuing her again, he moved toward his car. Playing hero was a wholly new sentiment for him. It was especially pointless