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“With him,” he added, dragging his eyes back to me.

He was out of uniform, in a flannel, a suede jacket, and jeans. He looked … wild. Really leaning into the werewolf thing. It totally worked for him.

“I am leaving,” I agreed. “And with Dante. In the sense that we’re traveling in the same vehicle, in the same direction, to the same creepy place that may or may not try to sacrifice me. But that’s it.” I said it with conviction, not because I wanted to salve Colton’s obviously misplaced possessiveness over me, but because I needed to continually say it. And I said it loud enough for Dante to hear.

I swore I heard him chuckle from behind me.

“You don’t have to leave, Hadley.” Colton stepped closer to me. With our bodies almost pressing together, it was impossible to miss the energy radiating from his body.

I instantly recognized him as something other than human. Of course, I already knew he was something other than human. But it was like that instinct I’d always had… A whisper was now a fucking roar. I would’ve guessed it had something to do with coming into my “powers,” though I was loath to call them that.

As much as I hated my new identity, I had to admit being a supernatural creature detector might’ve come in handy. If I didn’t detonate myself from anger at someone cutting in front of me in traffic.

“I do have to leave, Colton.” I met his eyes, feeling a stab of pain at what I saw. Yes, he looked like a man. An attractive and wild one at that.

But he was also haunted. Incredibly so. It was painted on his face. He looked lost and vulnerable.

His whole life was in shambles. Colton Hughes, the golden boy, protector of the innocent, was now a heart-eating monster.

Bound to fuck a guy up for a while.

And he was looking for a lifeline. In me. Wanting someone to save him. And though I didn’t consider myself any kind of hero, a part of me was tempted. My body wanted him. Not with the same roaring inferno it wanted Dante, but something softer, warmer. And as much of an asshole as it made me, Colton was much more attractive now that he was vaguely unhinged and could murder someone at any point.

“You can leave too, you know,” I said quietly. “Not with us,” I added quickly, shuddering at the mere thought of him and Dante in an enclosed space together.

Though my fucking depraved mind wandered for a second to him and Dante in a bedroom, with me.

A prickle of desire cut through my stomach.

Colton’s posture changed, his nostrils twitched, and the touch of haunted hero left his eyes for something altogether more masculine.

Hunger.

Fuck. Now that his awareness of his werewolf abilities was unblocked, he had them in his human form. Which, apparently, meant he could smell my desire.

Tricky.

I cleared my throat, shutting that image from my mind. “You don’t have to stay here,” I repeated.

He laughed coldly. “And where would I go, Hadley?” His shoulders sank. “I can maybe control the change throughout the month, but on the full moon, I have no choice. And I don’t…” He clutched the back of his neck, eyes going faraway. “I don’t trust that I can control myself. As much as I am really fucking angry with them right now, I need my parents to ensure that I don’t hurt anyone else. I need the pack.” He spat the word like it tasted bad.

No love lost between him and his brethren. I didn’t blame him.

“So the engagement is off, then?” I wrapped my arms around myself, tone lighter. I could not withstand all the emotional baggage between us right then.

A ghost of a smile trailed over Colton’s features. “Yeah, the engagement is off. Call me old-fashioned, but I think a woman should disclose her ability to turn into a wolf, and her knowledge of me being one is a deal-breaker.”

I smiled, actually happy. “I bet she’s thrilled about that.”

“Yeah.” Colton let out a heavy sigh.

“As much as I would love to stay and watch that soap opera play out, I do really have to go. Even if I hadn’t found out about my own little secret supernatural identity, I wouldn’t have been able to stay, Colton.” I took in a deep breath, letting down my emotional walls to let some of my true feelings leech onto my face. It felt weird and wrong.

I reached out to squeeze his hand. “I don’t fit here, Colton. Not with you. Not with the good guy cop or the reformed murderous werewolf, although he is a bit more my style.” I fluttered my lashes at him.

He didn’t smile. “Too soon for that joke, Hadley.”

“Why didn’t you do it, Hadley?” I tried to pull my hand back, but he didn’t let me. He tightened his grip, the contact not entirely unpleasant. “Why didn’t you kill me once you knew it was me murdering those people? That’s what you do, isn’t it? Kill monsters?”