Lily ran until her feet ached and all four of her legs threatened to give out beneath her. The nighttime summer breeze blew, ruffling the fur of her coat. It caused a chill to prickle her haunches, though she was far from cold. She paused to catch her breath and glanced up at the night sky. The stars twinkled over the vast landscape, their brightness only obscured by the light of the full moon. Even in the shadows of the towering pines, she could see everything clearly, the moonlight and her wolf senses illuminating her path. She inhaled a deep breath of mountain air. The adrenaline that coursed through her veins caused her to pant with excitement. She’d escaped. She’d actually escaped.And courtesy of a rope made of bedsheets at that.There was still a slight ache in her skull from the healing head injury, but what little pain remained was nearly gone. In a moment of daring, she threw back her head and howled. The release of tension felt so good that, had

Wicked—that was the title Lily would give the portrait she wanted to draw of him. As Rebel turned back toward her, moonlight reflected on his face, making him all hard lines and sharp angles. Between the hollows of his cheekbones and the puckered ridges of his scars, he looked like a man who’d been through hell and back, a man who’d walked through the veil of shadows yet survived. Everything about him was testimony to power and hardened will, to wild, feral darkness. The contrast made him breathtaking.She didn’t believe that his real name was Rebel, but from the way he’d nearly growled it at her seconds ago, she wasn’t going to press the issue. If he wanted to be called that, so be it.She watched as he leaned against the window, staring out into the darkness. She’d never longed for her art supplies as much as she did now. This man knew survival, the kind most beings—human or otherwise—had never been forced to endu

It was a long walk to the stables, and by the time they’d found Tucker and made their journey out to the pasture, Lily was certain she’d been asked more questions than if she’d been interrogated by Rebel’s men themselves. The latest in the line of questioning was about the merits of strawberry versus raspberry jelly, because as Hope put it, she was firmly in the nothing-is-better-than-strawberry camp, while Will and Noah preferred raspberry. Hope was convinced she could get the cook to make strawberry jelly, if only Lily sided with her, since as a “guest,” Lily’s word would carry more weight.Guest wasn’t exactly what Lily would call it, but all things considered, the situation was complicated.As they reached the stable, after much reluctance to pick sides, Lily finally admitted, “Actually, I prefer raspberry jelly, because it’s more ta…” Her voice trailed off as they stepped inside.She&r

Lily hated him right now. She absolutely hated him.It was nearly nightfall by the time she climbed the mansion steps. She gritted her teeth as she shuffled forward. Her feet were starting to ache. Sure, she’d only been a short walk from the stables, and she’d been able to ride back to the mansion on one of his spare horses, but that’d been after she’d come to the rescue of one of his stable hands.Well…maybe rescue was the wrong word, considering she’d been the one to accidentally knock over the stable hand’s teetering wheelbarrow of manure. She’d felt it was only fair to offer to help clean the mess up. Half an hour later, it failed to matter that she’d been the one to knock the wheelbarrow over. She was still cursing Rebel for not readily offering her a ride. She hadn’t mucked stalls like that since she was a wolf pup, and her arms were feeling it something fierce.Gripping the massive door handle,

Lily spent more time searching for her wayward teacup pig than was reasonable, and unfortunately even she recognized this. The following morning, she trekked through the pasture’s green grass, heading out to the stables to find a horse to aid in her search. Tucker had taken to wandering out to the pigpens to visit his fellow piggies, and while Lily enjoyed a good walk, she wasn’t about to risk the chance of getting stranded in the middle of the pasture again.Since they’d arrived at Johnson Hollow, Tucker had taken his liberties to new bounds. At Wolf Pack Run, while he enjoyed free range over the ranchlands, he generally kept close to Lily. But since they’d arrived at Johnson Hollow, the little piglet had a newfound appreciation for exploration.Exploration.She supposed that was one word for it. Her thoughts turned to Rebel and how she’d wanted to explore with him last night. It had taken everything in her to leave him there, alon