Her Wild Hero

“Only at a distance,” she said. “And that was scary enough. Do you know why he’s after me?”


The man looked at her in surprise. “Not really. In fact, I was hoping you might be able to tell us what’s going on. All we know is that Marcus has been raging around for the last few days, saying he wanted you and the man you were with captured. We never could get him or any of the others—what did you call them, hybrids?—to tell us who you were or what they wanted with you. But I get the feeling that Marcus thinks you’ll be able to help him with his problem.”

She sighed. Okay, so much for a quick, simple answer. “And what problem would that be?”

Harry grimaced. “I thought that would be obvious. He’s turned into a monster with a serious lack of impulse control. I’ve seen him kill two of his own men just for asking him a question the wrong way. And he seems to be having a harder time getting his human appearance to return. As far gone as Marcus is, I think even he knows he’s out of control. I just don’t know how grabbing you or your friend is supposed to help him with that.”

Kendra had a sinking feeling in her stomach that maybe she did. It hadn’t been Stutmeir’s doctors trying to get their hands on Declan’s DNA in order to make a better hybrid. It had been a hybrid trying to get it so he could make himself better. It certainly explained why these three doctors were being held in this room—to do the research once Marcus had the DNA.

Thank God Declan was miles away from here, safe and sound in that shelter and getting stronger by the minute. Marcus would never get his hands on him.

Seated on the floor around her, the men were looking at her expectantly. She chewed her lower lip, trying to figure out what she could safely tell them. Probably not much. But she was going to have to trust them a little if she hoped to get out of here.

“I realize you don’t know who I am, but I might have a pretty good idea what Marcus is after,” she said after a moment. “I’m going to need to know everything to be sure though.”

All three of the men nodded.

“If it helps get us out of here, we’ll tell you anything,” Harry said. “What do you want to know?”

Everything. But she’d start with something simple. “How did you end up down here in Costa Rica, and where did your hybrid formula come from?”

Harry shook his head. “None of us signed up for this, I can tell you that. We thought we were coming down here to conduct genetic research for the U.S. military. In the beginning, everything went fine. It was only a few weeks ago that it all went to hell. But before I get too deep into that, I think it’d be better if I started at the beginning.”





Chapter 12


Declan woke up feeling like he’d been hit by a train. But that was the way he always felt after coming out of hibernation. However, he was awake and his wounds had closed up; he could tell. That was the important part. But as he lay there getting his bearings, a lingering taste on his lips brought a smile to his face. He licked them and groaned at the delicious flavor that touched his tongue. Kendra had kissed him. Damn, that was something a man—or shifter—could seriously get used to. He closed his eyes and reveled in the sensation of what having her taste on his mouth meant to him.

Five seconds later, his eyes snapped open. If she’d just kissed him, why couldn’t he smell her? He jerked upright, looking around wildly. She wasn’t in the shelter. Worse, what little scent he could pick up told him she hadn’t been in the shelter for a while—three or four hours at least. If he wasn’t so freaked out by that, he’d marvel at how her taste had lingered so long after her kiss.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on what his ears could pick up. Had Kendra moved outside the shelter so she could watch over him? That was definitely something he could imagine her doing. But after thirty seconds of intense focus, he heard nothing to indicate that she was anywhere nearby.

Declan ripped off the bandages she’d so tenderly applied to his chest that morning and grabbed his M4, then shoved his way out of the shelter, ignoring the snap and pop of branches as he pushed them out of his way.

Once outside the shelter? he spun around, forcing his eyes to sharpen as much as he could, trying to pierce the darkness around him and find the woman he loved. But he didn’t see her anywhere. He tried using his ears again, slowing his breathing and kneeling on the ground so that he could pour everything he had into his only real shifter sense.