The Better to Bite (Howl #1)(51)

I wasn’t making any promises. Not like I could anyway, not until he moved that hand.

His hand lifted, and he turned me to face him. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes, intent and hard, held mine.

“Then next time don’t grab me in the dark!” I glared at him as my heart raced. “How’d you get in here?”

“I picked the lock on the back door.”

I hadn’t expected that answer.

He licked his lips. “I was watching from the woods. I waited until Jon went back out.”

“Then you came in.” Goosebumps rose on my arms. I tried to play it cool, but I was starting to sweat. Brent was a big guy, and I knew he was one hell of a lot stronger than me. “What do you want, Brent?”

He hesitated. “You know, don’t you?”

“Know?” I could pretend I didn’t. Maybe that would be the safer, smarter choice. But I could tell by the expression in his eyes that Brent sensed the truth. My breath exhaled in a slow rush, and my heart did not slow down a bit as I said, “You mean do I know that you can get all furry and fanged when you run in the woods?”

He flinched. “It’s not a joke, Anna. You think I want to be like this?”

No, no, I didn’t think that he did.

I also didn’t think I wanted to be alone in the house with him. Not when I’d seen all that blood on his hands earlier. “Why were you in the woods tonight?” I stepped away from him, a nice, big step.

His jaw hardened. “I was coming to see you.”

I couldn’t decide if that made me feel better or worse. “You and Rafe.” I shook my head. “You two sure tore into each other on the field.”

“I knew the jerk had told you about me.” When his lips parted, I could see the edge of his fangs. Actual fangs. That could not be a good sign. My hands slid behind me on the counter as I tried to find a weapon. If I screamed for Deputy Jon, would he have time to get inside the kitchen before Brent could slice open my throat?

Why was it that guys just couldn’t be normal anymore?

“He told you,” Brent snapped as rage rippled across his handsome face. “And I knew that you’d be afraid of me.”

“If you can turn into a wolf…” Not really such a question of if, “then, yeah, that’d make a girl scared.” My fingers curled around the hilt of a knife that I’d left out after making supper earlier. What kind of damage could it do against him? The guy had been slammed in a car wreck and been fine the next day.

But at least the knife was some kind of weapon.

“I came through the woods tonight because I wanted to talk to you.” He took a deep breath and some of the rage eased from his voice. “I wanted to tell you my side, to try and make you understand—”

“Understand what?” My fingers were curled tight around the hilt of the knife.

He shook his head. “I’m not evil, Anna. I don’t—I haven’t been the one hurting people in these woods. I’m cursed, hell, yeah.” A rusty laugh broke from him, one that held no humor. “But I’ve never gone after a human as prey.”

I didn’t ease my grip on the knife. If he came at me, I’d use it in an instant. “Then who’s doing the killing?”

His gaze held mine. “I don’t know.”

“Rafe said he’s trying to find out—that he’s tracking—”

“It could be Rafe.”

And it could be you.

“Rafe’s great-grandfather had to be put down because he started attacking humans back in the 1940s.”

This was news I didn’t particularly want to hear.

“Sometimes the wolf is too strong. The beast is more powerful than the man, and it breaks past all control.” He paused and exhaled. “When the wolf takes over, there’s no pulling him back once he gets a taste of human blood.”

Nice. “Just how often does the wolf take over?”

“Rafe’s great-grandfather is the last I know of, but there are stories of others, in his family. Their wolves are just too strong to hold back.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “A wolf is killing in Haven, no doubt, and my money is on that wolf being Rafe.”

My heartbeat shook my chest. “He hasn’t hurt me. He’s had the chance, but he hasn’t—”

A fist thudded into the door. “Anna!” Deputy Jon’s voice. “Anna, are you all right in there?”

I stared at Brent. I couldn’t see his fangs anymore. He just looked like a normal guy. Good-looking. Strong. Young.

The All-American werewolf.

I cleared my throat. “Yes, yes, I’m fine!”

But Jon’s fist hit the door again. “Anna, I want you to open the door right now, or I will be breaking it down.”

I realized that Deputy Jon was more astute than I’d believed. “Get out,” I whispered to Brent, “run now.” I slowly made my way to the door as Brent slipped away. His words about Rafe replayed in my head and right then, I didn’t know what to do.

The back window squeaked just as I opened the front door.

Deputy Jon hurried inside. “I thought I heard…” He rushed past me, heading right for the kitchen.

I raced on his heels and as he spun around, I saw his nostrils flare, as if he were trying to catch a scent in the air.