Page 35 of Property of Crypt Keeper

Instead, he held the line.

“Things are too new,” he said finally. “And you’re still a threat.”

I smiled slightly.

“Am I?”

“Yes.”

That pleased me. At least he wasn’t stupid. But I saw it. In the way his gaze lingered. In the way his body leaned just a fraction closer than it should. In the way his control was starting to strain.

His wolf was already choosing.

Even if he wasn’t ready to admit it.

Understanding the unusual pull I could see him experiencing, I let go of the bars and stepped back slowly.

“Then keep me here.” I carelessly shrugged. “But you’re going to run out of time before you run out of questions.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Maybe,” he murmured as he pulled out his phone and appeared to be sending a message to someone. Then he turned, his intent to leave obvious.

“Wait. Are you really just going to leave me here? Naked?”

He glanced back. A wicked grin lifted the corners of his handsome lips as he stared pointedly at my tits and bits on full display.

“I’ll be back,” he announced.

“You can’t just leave me here!” I snapped.

“I just did,” he shot back, then he turned and walked out. The door shut behind him with a solid thud.

“At least give me my damn clothes!” I shouted to the empty room.

I heard his motorcycle fire up and rumble away.

Ruminating, I stood there in the quiet, the wards humming around me, the heat of that strange connection still lingering under my skin.

A female Rougarou.

Impossible. Right?

And yet… nothing about Gideon Bourque was supposed to exist either. In the over one hundred years that I’d been alive, I’d never come across a Rougarou until him.

I smiled faintly to myself. This hunt had just gotten a lot more interesting.

9

CRYPT KEEPER

The shack disappeared behind me, swallowed by cypress and shadow, but Katalina didn’t leave my mind with it.

She was still there.

Pressed under my skin like a second pulse.

Her scent. Her voice. The way she’d said “Gideon” like she knew exactly how it got under my skin.