Hungry Like a Wolf (Claws Clause 1)

Cilla hesitated, torn between wanting to gloat and wanting to wait until Maddox undoubtedly tracked them down.

Like Evangeline, she had no doubt that he would be there.

Belittling the captive Evangeline seemed to be Cilla’s best choice. Rolling her eyes, she snapped, “Don’t be so stupid. You must have figured it out by now.”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I knew.”

A scoff. “So, then you are stupid.”

If that’s what she had to hear. “I guess so.”

“It’s your fault, you know.”

“Mine? How?”

“If you’d have died like you were supposed to, I never would’ve had to use half of my hard-earned diamonds to snip the bond on your side. It took more power than I had without a coven on my side, and I never was able to scrub your memories completely clean. No matter what I tried, you kept trying to think about my Maddox.”

Evangeline was stunned. She’d had her suspicions, had been working toward the conclusion that the accident had everything to do with her missing bond and her lost memories, but… “Wait. You’re the one who did this to me?”

“Oh, yes. The accident, too. Well, can you call it an accident when I purposely used magic to lead the truck off the side of the mountain?” Cilla waved her hand. “Ah. Semantics.”

“You bitch—”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, human. You’ll see that when my mate finally gets here.” Cilla stilled, a whisper of an anticipatory grin curving her lips. “Speak of the devil. Seems like someone’s coming.”

Evangeline gasped. It was so much faster than she expected. How long did it take for the transportation spell to work?

Maddox.

Snapping her fingers, Cilla told her, “I’ve dropped all wards in the building. We wouldn’t want to make it difficult for Maddox to find you. After all, I did dare him to.”

Another snap, followed by a devious chuckle. Electricity pulsed in the air, lightning crackling off of the ring of diamonds that surrounded Evangeline. If she squinted her eyes just so, she could see wavy lines—heat lines—stretching up from the jewels about a split second before a four foot high, semi-transparent barrier exploded from the top.

“Just in case you got any ideas of breaking free before he got here. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve got to be ready to make my entrance.”

Cilla winked out with a barely there pop.

Evangeline had to test it. She had to know. Reaching out, she touched a finger to the barrier. She let out a yelp, cradling her poor finger to her chest. It felt like she’d been shocked all the way to her toes. No way was she getting out of there without some help.

Help arrived less than a minute later.

The door swung inward, the power of the hit nearly knocking it off the hinges.

Evangeline pulled herself up to her knees. Through the haze of her prison, she caught sight of a naked body with tanned skin, dark hair, and an animalistic warning growl. She dared to climb higher, her heart in her throat. She wanted it to be Maddox so bad that it hurt, but, at the same time, she didn’t want him getting caught in the witch’s crosshairs.

As soon as she could see over the diamond’s reach, Evangeline felt disappointment slug her in the gut. That… that wasn’t Maddox. A second later, a jolt of recognition had her even more afraid.

That wasn’t Maddox.

It was his brother.

Evangeline remembered him.

Colton Wolfe was Maddox’s beloved younger brother. He was closer to her age, and while Maddox was courting her to be his mate, she got to know Colt very well. She used to think of him as the brother she never had. They got along just fine.

But what the hell was he doing there?

He hadn’t changed much in the last three years. Still with a face so pretty, she wanted to just pinch his cheeks and make sure he was real, and an angry look in his icy blue eyes that warned