High Voltage

"Serena, no!"

The narrow slit sealed tight seconds before Robert reached her. She half expected the doors to fly open, knowing he'd call the elevator back, but they didn't. The car descended to the first floor and she slipped sideways out of it before the doors were even halfway open.

Neither her stomach nor her nerves had settled the least little bit. She still felt the threat looming in her throat, but she didn't have time to toss her lunch. Serena needed to get the hell out of Silver. And fast.

No, it was more than that.

She needed to get the hell out of Wyoming.

Hadn't Garrett said that was the only way she'd be safe? If s

he left the state?

Skittering to a halt at the double doors that served as the entrance to the lodge, she paused a moment.

Garrett.

"Fuck,” she whispered. Her heart suddenly ached. If she left Silver ... If she left Wyoming ... She'd be leaving Garrett.

Forever.

Her knees nearly buckled at the thought. One hand caught the large polished brass lever and the other flattened against the frosted glass in the center of the ornate wooden creation to hold her steady.

If she walked out that door now, they would be over.

Serena sucked in a shallow breath. The mere thought of never seeing Garrett again tore her apart.

Worse, the very prospect of walking through the tall doors in front of her and never, ever knowing the kind of love and passion she'd experienced over the past twenty-four hours made every fiber of her being coil in violent protest.

But to stay...

Tears stung her eyes as she contemplated the dilemma she'd suddenly found herself in.

What she'd just witnessed was beyond comprehension. And knowing Garrett was capable of changing form the way Braedan and his men had just done ... Christ. It was simply inconceivable to her.

Yet there was no denying what she'd just seen with her own two eyes.

She had to face reality and make a decision. Did she accept it—accept Garrett? Or did she rebuff the entire insane nightmare she'd unwittingly become embroiled it? Flee to New York and never, ever think about what had happened here. What had happened to her ... and to her heart.

Letting out a puff of air, she shook her head and reminded herself that she wasn't exactly an innocent, unwilling participant in all of this.

Sure, the very idea that she'd made love with—fallen in love with—a man who could change form and turn into a voracious creature made her question her sanity. Single men weren't so scarce in this world that she had to settle for one who wasn't wholly ... human.

Then again, if decent men who were as good-looking, caring and passionate as Garrett Slater were a dime a dozen, wouldn't she have given up her virginity a long time ago? If the good ones were plentiful, wouldn't she already be in a committed relationship?

Wouldn't Serena, in her twenty-seven years, have found one to give herself to ... one to fall in love with?

I did.

Fat drops crested the rims of her eyes and slid down her hot cheeks.

Damn it.

The thought of how she could walk away from Garrett and what they'd shared last night—what they might share for the rest of their lives—weighed more heavily on her mind than the notion of his bizarre nature.

She found this odd. Shouldn't she be more concerned about the fact that he was a wolf?

Instead, the only real issue that registered in her mind was the travesty of walking away from something she'd waited for her entire life.