Chapter Nineteen

Chapter 19

"G et up, we have a lot to do today and no time to waste."

Aurai's cheerful voice blasted Selene out of a lovely dream where she and Gryph were making love on the tropical island of St. Croix, away from the noise and traffic of Chicago, surrounded by sun and sand.

She'd been there once to visit Deme when she'd been working as a private investigator. The climate was idyllic, the beach clean and beautiful and the sun so bright it could blind you and you wouldn't care.

Selene raised her arm to shield her eyes from the overhead light. "I don't have to be up until eight."

"Honey, it's nine."

"What?" Selene sat up straight, flinging back the covers. "Why did you let me oversleep?"

"You were smiling and moaning. It must have been a pretty good dream. Were you with Gryph?"

"No." Selene's cheeks heated with her lie and she regretted it immediately. "Yes."

"Is he as good in bed as he looks like he'd be?" Aurai lifted one of the pillows and plumped it.

Selene's thighs clenched, her body warming to the memory of him inside her. "Yes."

Crushing the pillow to her chest, Aurai sighed. "I hope I find someone that makes me look that dreamy."

"Yeah, well, it's not all roses and sunshine." Selene climbed out of bed.

"Why not?" Her sister followed her through to the bathroom.

"Do you mind?" Selene shut the door and leaned her forehead against it, tears pooling in her eyes when she thought about how quickly Gryph had run out the door last night. And she'd been the one to worry about influencing him—using her powers to make him want to stay. Apparently he had enough willpower to resist. He probably wasn't that into her.

"So you like him, huh?" Aurai said through the door.

Selene moaned and refused to answer, going through her morning routine, relieving herself, then climbing into the tub for a stimulatingly cool shower that did nothing to quench the embers burning low in her belly. With Gryph on her mind, she couldn't eliminate thoughts of him down the drain with mere water.

She washed her hair, applied conditioner and rinsed, then turned off the water, grateful for that little bit of time she'd had without having to answer her sister's questions. Wrapping a towel around her body, she left the bathroom and entered her bedroom.

Aurai stood with her eyes shining, a smile spread across her face and something in her hand.

"Why the silly grin?" Selene wasn't in the mood for happiness. Not when she'd been rejected by the only man she'd found interesting in a very long time. Interesting hell . Possibly the only man she'd ever found so intensely attractive and captivating.

Aurai squealed and hopped up and down. "We're going to the ball!"

Selene frowned. "I know we're going to the ball, preferably early enough to get the staff ready in their costumes."

"No, silly. We're going to the charity ball as guests." She waved two tickets in Selene's face, her hand shaking.

Selene had to grab it to make her stay still.

"How can that be? These tickets are worth ten-thousand dollars each."

"That's right." Aurai grinned. "And there were two of them."

"This must be a mistake." She turned them over. "Where did you get these?"

"A courier just delivered them in this." Aurai handed her an envelope.

Her stomach fluttered and her pulse kicked into panic mode as she turned the packet over and read the return address. GL Enterprises. Her heart beat faster then settled like a lump of lead in her belly. "I'm not going."

"What?" Aurai stared at her like she'd grown two heads. "You most certainly are."

"You take my ticket. Invite a friend." She handed the ticket to Aurai. "I'm not one of Chicago's elite."

"Neither am I. But we have tickets." Her sister held up her hands. "We're both going, and I won't take no for an answer." Aurai marched to Selene's closet and riffled through her dresses. "Don't you have a ball gown you can wear?"

"I don't go to balls. Why would I keep a ball gown in my closet?" Selene shook her head. "I'm not going. I don't have a dress. I don't have time to shop, and it wouldn't matter if I did. I couldn't afford the kind of dress they wear."

Aurai faced her, a frown pulling her brows together.

"Look, Gina just texted me that she, Deme, Brigid and Cal all received tickets this morning, courtesy of GL Enterprises. We're all going, so you can't back out."

Selene's heart beat faster and her palms grew clammy. To be seen in a ball gown, dressed to the nines in the company of the man she feared she was already in love with would be too much like Cinderella going to meet Prince Charming. It was too surreal. She couldn't go.

"Don't even think it." Aurai shook her finger. "You're going. We'll find a dress for you and you'll be absolutely the prettiest girl at the ball."

"While a killer roams the streets." Selene snorted. "Seems kind of frivolous."

Aurai planted her fists on her hips, looking so much like their mother, it made Selene's heart hurt. "Who's to say that killer won't be at the ball tonight. With all those people there, someone would make a prime target. You and I both know Deme and Brigid will be close by, if not there. You also know our powers work better when we're all together. Gina said as much. We all need to go to support each other."

Damned if Aurai didn't have a point. Still, Selene didn't bother arguing. With five costumes to oversee the alterations of and a store to open, she had her work cut out for her. She didn't have time to shop for a dress and she was getting too close to Gryph. Now would be a good time to back off, play it cool. Not see him. Especially if he was to show up in a tuxedo, so handsome he was sure to melt her heart.

No. She didn't want to see Gryph.

Liar.

Truth was, she wanted to see him more than she could stand.

* * *

Selene worked with the seamstress and customers needing last-minute alterations, waited on customers and cleaned her shop through the morning and afternoon. She had Gina deliver the costumes to the hotel on her way to one of her jobs cleaning aquariums for a law firm near the hotel.

By keeping busy, Selene had little time to think about Gryph, the killer or anything else, until two hours before she was due to be at the hotel. Funny how the world continued to turn, even after the loss of one woman's life.

Selene had promised the waitstaff she'd be on hand for any last-minute adjustments to their costumes and come hell or collapsing buildings, she'd be there.

Gina arrived five minutes before closing, carrying five long garment bags. "I figured you wouldn't have time to go shopping and Aurai wouldn't have time to stop by her apartment. So, I did, and brought several of her gowns for us to choose from."

"Oh, thank goodness." Aurai hurried to take some of the bags from her sister. "We have just enough time to go through the dresses, run a quick iron over them, do our hair and get to the hotel if we hurry."

Selene waved a hand over her calculator. "You two have fun. I'm still working."

"Come on, Selene," Gina said. "We need to get ready for the ball."

Selene stuck to her guns, refusing to consider Gryph, the tickets and the ball. Even though they'd been on her mind all day long. "It seems so frivolous to go to a ball when there's a killer out on the street."

"I was just getting to that," Gina said. "Deme, Brigid, Cal and Gryph almost caught up to the black wolf last night."

"What?" Selene glanced at her phone to see if there were any messages she'd missed. "I didn't get a call, no one let me know."

"He got away."

So after Gryph had left her place he'd gone on the hunt. Selene pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Gina hefted the dresses in her arms, glancing around the shop. "Well, they weren't going to call anyone in the middle of the night. And I guess they've been busy chasing down leads all day. I just got a call from Deme a little while ago."

"Any progress?"

"They discovered the name of a woman who was seen with the wolf. She's supposed to be at the ball tonight. That's why we all got tickets. Gryph made it happen."

With a glance at the clock and down at her receipts and ledger, Selene muttered, "I wonder if I have time to call Deme for an update on the investigation."

"You can talk to her at the ball, she'll be there with Cal and Brigid." Gina hung the dresses on a hook on the wall. "Now hurry up, we have to get dressed."

"I'm dressed in what I'm going in."

Gina glanced at Aurai.

Their youngest sister shrugged. "You know how stubborn she can be."

" She is still in the same room." Selene gave them her best schoolmarm glare. "And I'm not stubborn. I'll be at the hotel, I'm just not going in to the ball other than to make sure my costumes fit."

Gina let go of a long steady breath, and then removed the garment bags from each, one at a time.

Despite her protestations, Selene couldn't help glancing at them, her heart twisting as Gina unveiled each dress. Aurai had been right. Selene had been the dreamer, imagining herself the scullery maid turned princess for the ball, and falling in love with a handsome prince. Only life didn't turn out that way. She was falling in love with a shifter. He was afraid of hurting her, and she was afraid of manipulating him with her psychic abilities to stay with her.

Secretly she was glad that so far he couldn't be pushed by her thoughts. But she'd lain awake all night wishing he was lying beside her, his arms wrapped around her, holding her close.

Selene shook away the mental images, prepared her receipts and locked her cash register. She was headed for the door to lock it when a delivery van pulled up outside.

"I don't have time for this," she muttered.

Aurai hung the dress she'd chosen on the hook and turned. "Do you want me to get it?"

"No, I'm here. I'll handle it." She opened the door as the deliveryman stepped down from the truck carrying a large box.

The sender's address read Mira Bella.

"I don't remember ordering anything from Mira Bella."

Shoving the pen and an electronic pad toward her, the delivery driver asked, "Are you Selene Chattox?"

"Yes."

"Then this box is for you. Sign here."

Selene scribbled her name and handed the device back to the man, who then shoved the box into her hands and left before she could protest again.

"What is it?" Gina leaned over her shoulder.

"I don't know."

"Oh, it's from Mira Bella!" Aurai clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling. "Only the most exclusive designer couture in Chicago."

"I know, but why did they send me a box."

"Open it and find out," Gina suggested.

Selene laid the box on the counter and slit the tape holding it together with a letter opener. Lifting the lid, a layer of tissue paper rose with it and fluttered to the ground, revealing a dress of exquisite lace and shear fabric that was the pale blue-green of glacier ice.

Her breath hitched in her throat, Selene lifted the gown out of the box and layers of glacier-ice taffeta and feather-soft gossamer curled around her legs, drifting across the floor like clouds.

"It's the most beautiful gown I've ever seen," Aurai whispered.

A small card fell from the folds and Gina bent to pick it up. "It's definitely for you."

"Selene" was written across the envelope in bold strokes. She handed the dress to Aurai, who held it as if it was magic and might disappear if she blinked her eyes.

The card read "Please come to the ball" with the initials GL scrawled beneath.

"That's it?" She turned the card over. What did she expect? A declaration of love?

Well, she wasn't getting it. Nor did she want it. He was a rich, influential recluse who happened to shift into a lion whenever he felt like it, and sometimes when he got carried away.

Her body tingled at the remembered feel of his catlike tongue laving the inside of her thigh and flicking her special nubbin of tightly packed nerves. Instantly, her insides were awash with desire.

She was a witch with the ability to push thoughts, read some minds and, on occasion, throw up a force field of sorts. Why did she think she needed him? They had nothing in common.

Nothing but mind-blowing sex.

Okay there was that. And he had gone to a great deal of trouble to choose a gown for her that suited her to perfection. She couldn't have come up with a better selection.

"Try it on." Aurai shoved the dress into Selene's hands.

The only reason she agreed was to answer the burning question: What were the chances he'd get the right size?

She locked the shop door and descended the back stairs into her apartment, her sisters on her heels.

"Just because I try this dress on doesn't mean I'm going to the ball." She said the words aloud to keep firm in her stance, though her resolve was definitely crumbling.

Laying the dress over her bed, she stripped out of the broomstick skirt and peasant blouse she'd thrown on that morning.

"Lose the bra, too," Aurai insisted. The bodice was sheer in all the right places with thick lace of the same glacier ice hue as the rest of the dress strategically layered over the breast area.

Selene unhooked her bra and, wearing only a pair of bikini panties, she stepped into the dress and pulled it up over her hips and torso.

Aurai zipped the back to just above the curve of her bottom, the back neckline plunging low, bearing so much skin, Selene felt positively naked.

"Sweet goddess, it's..." Gina began.

"Perfect," Aurai proclaimed on a sigh. "Look for yourself."

Aurai angled her in front of the full-length mirror hanging on her closet door.

Selene gasped. Was that really her? She looked so...surreal...almost ethereal, as if she was otherworldly. And more of her skin showed through the sheer bodice than she'd ever exposed in public when not on a beach.

If the dress wasn't so incredibly beautiful, it might be considered obscene.

Gina stood with her mouth open and her eyes wide. "Wow."

"No kidding, wow." Aurai took charge. "Get out of the dress and let's do your makeup and hair. You can't be seen in a dress like that without the face and hair to match.

"I'm not going," Selene muttered, although much less convincing this time.

Gina and Aurai glared at her, Gina speaking first. "Like hell you're not."

"It would be an absolute crime to let that dress go to waste," Aurai said.

"Then you wear it." Selene slipped the zip down and stepped out of, feeling as thought she'd lost part of herself in the process.

Aurai shook her head. "I'm shorter. The dress would drag and be ruined."

When Selene turned to Gina, her sister held up her hand. "It's not my color. Face it, Selene, it was made for you."

"Don't be silly." Selene stood in her underwear staring at a dress that practically called to her, trying to come up with any other excuse she could possibly live with. When it came right down to it, she wanted to wear that dress.

For Gryph.

Maybe he'd changed his mind. Or maybe he would if he saw her in a dress fit for a fairy princess.

"Come on, into the bathroom." Gina handed her a button-up blouse to wear while they applied makeup to her cheeks and eyes. Once they were satisfied with her makeup, Aurai swept Selene's hair up on the sides and let it fall in long, loose ringlets down her back, the rich brown shining in the lights from the mirror.

Selene stared into the looking glass feeling more like Alice having fallen down the rabbit hole. "That doesn't even look like me."

"Oh, honey, it does, and better." Aurai hugged her and applied her own makeup in a hurry, brushing her long blond hair back on one side and draping it over the opposite shoulder in loose waves.

Gina combed her straight hair back from her face and secured it in a sexy messy bun at her nape.

Selene smiled in the mirror at Gina and Aurai. "I have such beautiful sisters."

"If only you could see yourself as we do." Aurai flapped her hands. "Now, get into your dress, we have to catch a cab or we'll be late."

"Don't forget, I promised I'd help with the last-minute adjustments to the costumes." As Selene shoved her keys, driver's license and some cash into a slim silver clutch, her cell phone chirped with a text message from the event coordinator at the hotel.

Costumes are perfect, no need to come early.

Well, then, she was stuck in the dress, with no excuse to sneak in through the back of the ballroom.

Gina held up her cell phone. "Ready for me to call a cab?"

The buzzer on her apartment door rang.

"Another delivery?" Selene headed for the door, but Aurai beat her to it and peered through the peephole. "There's a man in a suit out there."

"Open the door and see what he wants."

Aurai opened the door.

"Pardon me, ma'am. Mr. Leone sent the limousine to collect you and your sisters and take you all to the charity ball."

Aurai squealed and hugged Gina. "We're going to the ball!"

Selene frowned. "What didn't he remember?"

"Please, Selene, stop looking the gift horse in the mouth." Gina rolled her eyes as she walked past her and up the stairs to the street, like a society debutante.

"Come." Aurai hooked her arm. "Our chariot awaits."

With a resigned sigh and a rising sense of anticipation, Selene stepped out of her apartment, gathered her skirt and climbed the steps. As she slid into the plush leather seats, a stabbing pain shot through her temples like a searing poker and a flash of another's anger overwhelmed her thoughts with its intensity.

She pressed her fingers to her temple and closed her eyes.

Aurai touched her arm. "Something wrong?"

The limo slid into traffic, leaving her street and the pressure of that someone else's powerful malice behind.

"I don't know. For a moment, I felt something. But now it's gone."

Aurai hugged her. "Hopefully, it will stay gone through the ball."

Selene stared out the window, trying to see into the shadows. Who had been watching them? And why? She prayed to the goddess whoever it was didn't follow them to the ball.

* * *

Gryph paced the floor of the penthouse suite on the top floor of the downtown Chicago hotel. The ball had begun over an hour ago. He'd had his bodyguard call no less than six times to the detail at the door, and still the limousine carrying the Chattox sisters had not arrived. He paced once more across the expensive carpet, arriving at the door, ready to hit the streets and look for them.

As he reached for the doorknob, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

He scrambled for it and read the incoming text message.

Chattox sisters have arrived.

The air rushed out of his lungs. He grabbed his tuxedo jacket and hurried for the elevator.

He punched the button that would whisk him straight to the ballroom level. Gryph counted the floor numbers, willing them to go by faster. The soft ping announcing his arrival at his destination couldn't come fast enough.

At last he stepped out of the elevator and into the ballroom's hallway, inhaling a mixture of the most expensive perfumes and colognes, none of which smelled as good as Selene's fresh, natural scent.

If someone had told him ten years ago that he'd be hosting a highly publicized event with thousands of people in attendance and that he'd actually make an appearance, he'd have laughed in his face. Now, he eagerly entered the ballroom teeming with the richest people of Chicago, dressed in their finest, not at all worried about shifting at an awkward moment and scaring these people out of their minds.

No, he worried more about where Selene was and if she would actually show up to the event after he'd run out on her.

His hands were clammy and his beast paced internally, anxious to see her as much as his human self.

Then a waft of her essence filtered through all the other warring aromas from the buffet of finger foods to the layers of hair spray used in each coiffure.

Was it her? He lifted his nose and inhaled deeply.

Yes.

Across the crowded floor, she practically floated into the room, the light from the crystal chandeliers glancing off her beautiful, rich brown hair, her eyes sparkling brighter than the diamonds in his breast pocket. And the dress fit her to perfection, just as he'd known it would, the delicate pale lace and filmy layers clinging to her curves. She turned around to say something to Deme behind her and Gryph's breath lodged in his throat.

He hadn't realized just how revealing the back of the dress was, dipping low enough to tempt a saint into naughty thoughts, hoping for a glimpse of the crevice between her buttocks.

His member jerked to attention, swelling beneath the soft folds of his tuxedo trousers. To hell with the ball. He wanted to spirit her away to the top of the hotel and make sweet love to her with the starlight shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows, moonlight the only thing covering her pale skin.

An older woman with blue-white hair and a pinkish gray gown stepped into his path.

He tried to go around her, but she moved to block him.

"Mr. Leone, may I have a word with you?"

Gryph dragged his gaze away from the beautiful Selene and looked down at the woman, who was vaguely familiar to him. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

She sniffed, her nose climbing a bit higher. "Mrs. Stockton. One of the organizers of this illustrious event."

"Oh, yes. I remember. You and your partner did a wonderful job pulling it together." Again he tried to step around her.

Her hand snaked out, snagging his elbow. "Yes, well, thank you. There is one other thing we need from you."

"My assistant will see to your needs. I really must go."

"Mr. Leone, your assistant cannot perform the function of giving the main speech and leading off the dancing. Only the sponsor of this event has that responsibility. And that, sir, is you."

He stared across the room where Selene had been standing and didn't see her. He frowned down at Mrs. Stockton. "What did you say?"

Her brow puckered. "It's time to make the speech thanking all the contributors and to lead off the first dance."

"I'm sorry. I thought I'd made myself clear. I don't give speeches."

"I suggest you make an exception. After all, it's tradition."

He opened his mouth to tell her what she could do with her traditions, but the orchestra in the corner played an introductory tune and the room grew silent, all gazes on him.

Damn.

A hotel employee appeared beside him and held out a microphone, clicking the on button.

Never having given a speech in public, Gryph stared down at the mic for a long moment then up into the eyes of the woman he'd been searching for in the crowds.

Selene stood ten feet in front of him, an absolute vision. Gryph was afraid to blink lest she disappear.

She smiled at him and nodded toward him.

Mrs. Stockton took the proffered microphone, and tapped it before saying. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce your host and sponsor for this event, Mr. Gryphon Leone." Then she placed the microphone in his hand and stood back.

Though he'd rather go talk to Selene, Gryph lifted the mic to his lips. A dozen flashbulbs went off, blinking like so many strobes, blinding him and making it impossible for him to see Selene. "Thank you all for attending the annual Children's Charity Ball. Your contributions will help the children of Chicago live better lives. I'm not one for long speeches so, if the orchestra will play, we should dance." He handed the mic to the appalled Mrs. Stockton, pushed through the reporters and strode across the floor to the only woman he cared to see in the roomful of people.

He bowed and held out his hand, a spark of apprehension assailing him when she hesitated to take it.

Then she smiled up at him, took his hand and stepped into his arms, moving with his steps to the swelling strains of a beautiful waltz.

For the first minute, they were alone in the middle of the dance floor, floating around the room. Even as others joined them, Gryph could only see Selene.

They moved in silent unison, him leading, her following, effortlessly as if their bodies were in tune with each other.

As the song ended and another began, he led her off the floor and to the refreshments table, handing her a glass of champagne.

"Thank you for coming."

"Why did you invite us as guests? We could have waited in the wings in case you needed us. Those tickets cost a small fortune."

He waved his hand. "The money isn't important. I wanted to see you again."

Her heart warmed. "And the dress?" She sipped her champagne, pinning him with her stare over the rim of the glass.

"I knew you wouldn't have time to shop, and when I saw it, I knew it was meant for you."

"Thank you. It's perfect." She sucked in a breath and let it out before saying, "Gryph, every time we've been together, you've claimed it was a mistake. Why do you keep coming back? Why do you do nice things for me when you know it'll only make me want to be with you more?"

"Because, saying I shouldn't see you and following through has proven harder than I anticipated."

"That makes two of us." Her face softened. "So, what are we going to do about it?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You haven't so far."

He frowned. "What if I go too far?"

"I'll take my chances."

"I'm not willing to risk it."

"Then why did you invite me here?"

"One: I wanted to see you again. Two, I think the black wolf might show up, or at least the woman who has been reported with him. And though I didn't want to involve you, I need you and your sisters to help me find him."

"Fair enough. Maybe once we nail the black wolf, you and I could figure out our situation?"

He nodded.

Before he could say anything more, Deme and Cal stepped up beside her.

"She's here," Cal said.

"Who's here?" Selene asked.

"Miriam Crestley." Brigid joined them from behind Deme and Cal, Aurai and Gina close behind. "The woman we saw with Black Wolf last night."

"Where?" Gryph stared over their heads, his gaze scanning the crowd.

"By the entrance." Cal glanced that way. "And she's with a man."

"You think he's the shifter?" Selene asked.

"I don't know, but he has black hair."

"So do about fifty people in the ballroom. It could be a coincidence," Aurai offered.

"True." Cal stared around the room. "But I don't believe in coincidence."

Gryph's jaw hardened. "Neither do I."

"Well, we can't all converge on them at once." Brigid flexed her hand sans the usual fireball.

"Why not?" Selene asked.

"If they get spooked, they might bolt," Deme said. "Like they did last night."

Cal led the way. "It's our job, let Deme, Brigid and I handle it." Deme and Brigid fell in step with him.

"We've got your back," Gina called out. "The rest of us can circle around."

"Gina and I can cover the door." Aurai, dressed in a soft rose-colored gown, looked no less bold than a soldier headed into battle.

"They could be dangerous," Deme warned. "If they make a run for it, don't do anything that will get you hurt, or that will hurt the guests."

Gina nodded. "Got it."

Cal clapped his hands once. "Then let's go."

Gryph grabbed Selene's elbow. "Stay with me."

"Wouldn't it be better if we spread out?" She tugged at her arm, but he refused to release her. He wanted to know where she was in case things got dicey.

"Humor me, will ya?"

"You want me, and you don't. Make up your mind. You're making my head hurt," she muttered, pressing her fingers to her temples, but she didn't pull away as she let him lead her around the huge ballroom.

The closer they moved toward the entrance, the more Selene's feet dragged and her shoulders hunched.

Gryph came to a halt. "What's wrong?"

"I can feel..."

"Feel what?"

"Anger, resentment...so strong. Like..." She looked up, her eyes wide. "Like I did the other night. When I could feel someone watching us."

Gryph looked around, searching each face for one that stuck out as malevolent, dangerous and sinister. People laughed, talked and went on about the business of enjoying the ball, unaware of something menacing among them.

Then he spotted the girl. Blond hair piled high. A black dress slit up to her hip. Several men stood in front of her escort, blocking Gryph's view.

"He's here," Selene said softly, her head coming up, her stricken gaze straight ahead.

The crowd parted, revealing the man next to Miriam. A man Gryph recognized immediately.

His brother.

"What the hell is Lucas doing here?" He marched forward, wanting answers.

Selene gripped his arm. "That man, you know him?"

"Yes, he's my brother, Lucas."

Selene pressed her hand to her chest. "Oh, no."

"What?" Gryph was torn between the look on Selene's face and demanding to know why his brother had come to the ball with a woman who'd been consorting with the wolf who'd killed Amanda Grant.

He took another step, practically dragging Selene along with him.

"Gryph, he's not..."

"Not what?" He didn't slow, didn't stop when her hand squeezed his arm.

"Don't go there, Gryph. He's dangerous."

"If that's the case, then I want to know why."

Gryph stopped in front of Miriam and Lucas. "Why are you here?" he said, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the people around them.

Lucas waved a hand. "I have just as much of a right to attend this event as anyone who's paid good money to be here. It is a public event, is it not?"

"Why are you here with her?" Gryph nodded toward Miriam.

"Please, dear brother." Lucas's arm circled the woman's waist, dragging her against his side. "Miss Crestley is my date."

"And she was seen last night with a black wolf shifter. One we suspect killed Amanda Grant."

"Have you taken up spying?" Lucas's brows rose high on his forehead.

"I have since a shifter has taken to killing innocents. This woman is known to consort with a possible killer."

Miriam Crestley laughed, the sound harsh in Gryph's ears. "Lucas, darling. You didn't tell me your brother was so old fashioned. So now I'm a consort?" She laughed again.

Gryph's eyes narrowed into slits as his gaze shifted from the woman back to his brother. "I take it you knew she was hanging out with the black wolf." His gut clenched as it became clear. "Oh, brother, please tell me you're not involved with him, too."

Anger radiated from Lucas like a heat wave, his green eyes darkening to black, then red. "Since when do you care who I'm with?"

"I've always cared." Gryph laid a hand on his brother's arm.

Lucas shook it off. "You've been very busy making a fortune to squander on people who are too useless to live. The Lair should be destroyed. It's outlived its purpose."

Gryph stared back, refusing to back down. "What are you talking about?"

"It's time for the people of Chicago to know of the other creatures who walk among us." He snapped his fingers.

The doors burst open at the end of the ballroom and at the emergency exits on each side and wolves of all shapes, colors and sizes entered the ballroom.

Panic ensued with women screaming and people rushing toward the exits only to be stopped by a growling wolves. The crowd was herded into a huddle of scared humans at the center of the floor.

Gryph refused to break eye contact with his brother. "It was you all along."

"Took you long enough to figure it out." Lucas's lip curled up on one side. "You're not as smart as Father gives you credit for."

"I trusted you. I saw no need to suspect a man who I'd considered family."

"You left me in that sewer of a Lair." Lucas poked a finger into Gryph's chest. "But while you were topside making a name for yourself, I was struggling to find myself. When I was bitten and turned, it came to me. I needed to make a name of my own."

"We're brothers."

Lucas waved his hand at the wolves. " These are my brothers.

Holding Selene behind him, shielding her body with his, he warned, "This can only end badly. These guests don't deserve to be frightened and your pack will only die."

"So be it." Lucas's face changed so quickly Gryph wasn't prepared. His brother lashed out at him with wicked teeth, ripping into his arm.

Lucas's beast burst out, his muscles and sinews ripping through the tuxedo, shredding it beyond repair. He swiped a giant paw at the animal he'd called brother. No more. This creature was cruel, inhuman, had killed innocents and was now out for blood. His blood.

* * *

At first, the anger pressing against Selene's mind worked to cripple her, to weaken her in a way she didn't know how to fight.

She could only watch as Gryph, fully transformed, lunged at Lucas, hitting him hard and knocking him on his back. They rolled toward the crowd of frightened people.

Screams filled the air. Men and women fell, trying to escape the ferocious battle between them. Wolves snapped at the guests, ripping through tuxedos and expensive gowns.

The woman who'd come with Lucas sneered at Selene. "You're all going to die. These people are so fake, pretentious and backstabbing. They deserve it."

"They do a lot of good for the children this charity supports."

"Only for the recognition they get, not because they're altruistic or give a damn about anyone but themselves."

"Right or wrong, it takes all kinds to make things work."

"Not all kinds. Our kind is shunned. But not anymore. And I might as well start with you." Miriam's face stretched, her nose elongating into the snout of a wolf.

Before she could fully transform, Selene shoved the woman backward so hard, she landed on her butt on the hardwood flooring and slid several feet away.

Selene turned and ran toward her sisters, who were trapped in the middle of the screaming humans.

Behind her Miriam growled.

Selene wouldn't make it to safety. She had to defend herself or die trying.

She ground to a stop, turned and focused all her thoughts on stopping Miriam.

Transformed into a white wolf, Miriam launched herself at Selene.

"Selene, look out!" Aurai cried, having worked her way to the edge of the crowd.

Selene could see her sister in her peripheral vision, but didn't acknowledge her, refusing to back down or let Miriam win.

The she-wolf flew through the air. A hair's breadth from Selene's face, she crashed in midair, sliding to the ground in an unconscious heap.

The room went wild. Wolves leaped at the guests, snarling and tearing at them with razor-sharp teeth.

Deme spun a web of vines from a nearby pot, throwing it over a group of six wolves, immobilizing them long enough for Selene to send out a thought for the crowd to part and allow Deme, Brigid, Aurai and Gina to stumble their way free.

With her sisters gathered around her, Selene concentrated on putting a halt to the madness, sending one thought after another into the minds of the crazed wolves.

At first they disregarded her push. Gina blasted their eyes with stinging spray from the lovely water fountain set up specifically for the event. Deme's clinging vines tangled around their feet and sent them sprawling and Brigid singed the hair and whiskers on more than a dozen. The wolves' fanatical attack waned, their strength draining in response to Selene's suggestions that they were tired and would never win this fight.

When Selene thought they had a good handle on most of them, she broke away from her sisters and went in search of Gryph and Lucas. The door into the garden gaped wide open. Selene could sense a powerful struggle taking place among the manicured bushes and flower beds.

Gryph had Lucas pinned to the ground. No matter how much the big wolf struggled, he couldn't work his way loose of the massive lion.

Slowly Lucas returned to human form, his struggles abating.

Gryph half changed, still pressing his weight into his brother. "Give up, Lucas. You're not going to win."

"I can't let you win. Not again. You always win."

"This is not a contest of who should win or lose. We are brothers."

"Father loved you more."

"Father loves all the people of the Lair."

"No. He loved your mother and he swore he'd take care of you and never reveal her secret. All because he loved her and wanted her to have a decent life."

"You're wrong."

"Ask him."

"Lucas, you're my brother, whether by blood or not doesn't matter."

"You'll never be my brother." Lucas turned his face away from Gryph, refusing to look him in the eye.

Selene could sense the loss and hurt in Gryph and wanted to go to him as he rose to stand on two feet. She could also feel the anger still churning in Lucas, and a sudden shift to an eruption of uncontrollable hatred.

"Gryph, look out!" Selene ran toward Gryph.

Lucas sprang to his feet, hit Gryph in the midsection and knocked him on his back, morphed into a wolf and lunged for Gryph's throat.

Selene threw herself at Lucas, wrapping her arms around his hairy neck and squeezing with all her might, physically and mentally.

Lucas fought her, stretching his lethal jaws toward Gryph's throat. Unable to reach his goal, Lucas rolled over, taking Selene with him, shaking loose of her hold.

Then he attacked her.

She threw her arm over her face, the wolf's teeth tearing into her flesh.

No sooner had he bitten her, he was flung across the room with the mighty sweep of Gryph's big paw.

Lucas slammed into the wall headfirst with a loud thud and a snap. He lay still at an awkward angle, his eyes open, his body returning to human.

Gryph gave him no more than a glance before he dropped down beside Selene. "You're bleeding."

"Now, that's a real scratch." She laughed shakily, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Your brother."

"You don't have to be sorry." He removed the tattered remains of his jacket and ripped what was left of his shirt into long strips, making quick work of applying a pressure bandage to the torn skin of her arm. His tuxedo trousers hung around his waist, shredded during his transformation from man to beast. He didn't care. "I need to get you to a hospital."

"No. You have guests to help. My sisters—"

"Can help the guests." He lifted her in his arms and held her tightly against his battered body.

Selene didn't have the strength to argue, just leaned her face against his furry chest and sighed. "This is where I want to be."

"And where I want you to be," he whispered against her hair.

"Then why fight it?" She wasn't sure she spoke the words out loud or in her mind.

"I surrender."

A smile curved her lips and her eyelids slid downward. The loss of blood and the strain of fighting to protect the ones she loved had taken their toll. In the warmth of Gryph's arms, the black wolf dead and no longer a threat, his minions scattering to the winds, Selene succumbed to darkness.