Page 78 of Captive of Outlaws

And a silver dragon, sleek and hulking.

“Holy...” I breathe. My legs won’t hold me up, and I all but crash to the ground, gracelessly, wonderstruck.

And suddenly it all makes sense.

The wolf I saw at the Fox Hunt Club.

The bear I saw running across the grounds late at night.

The fox that I almost hit my very first night on the run.

Those weren’t just random animals.

Those were...them.

And then, swiftly as they’d shifted, they shift back.

Only when they take their human forms again, they’re...

My eyes go wide.

Naked. Completely.

“Yeah,” Will says, shrugging. “About that.”

“Clothes don’t come with,” Tuck says, grinning. “It’s not like the comics where the Hulk keeps his pants on.”

I blink a few times. “Um...of course,” I say, after a minute. “Because that would be ridiculous.” Even though they’re acting casual as all get out, it’s still hard to not feel overwhelmed when surrounded by three naked, inarguably dead sexy men on the grounds of a luxury mansion.

“All right, all right,” Rob says, stooping to pick up his tuxedo trousers. “Pants on for the serious discussion, okay?”

Will grumbles something, but obeys, as does Tuck. I swallow hard and only pretend to avert my eyes.

“Okay,” I say, once they’re decent again. “So let me get this straight. You’re not only thieves who steal from the rich and give to the poor, but you’re...”

“Shifters.” Rob’s the one to say it.

“Shifters,” I repeat. “And you don’t need...I don’t know, afull moon, or anything?”

Will snorts. “We’re notwerewolves,Maren,” he says, as if that were obvious.

“How am I supposed to know?” I snap back. “Tuck’s a wolf, anyway. And I saw that bear under a full moon—”

“LJ,” Rob sighs. “Should’ve been more careful.”

“Point is, this is allincrediblynew to me, remember?” I bite my lip, drum my fingers on my knee. “So the shifting...”

“Helps us out,” Rob says. “A huge advantage for sneaking around, as you can imagine.”

I consider, think through a couple things. “That’s why you weren’t worried about escaping the Fox Hunt Club,” I say. “And,” I add, “why you thought it was so hilarious that I wanted to know your favorite animals.”

Will cough-laughs. “Yes.”

Tuck beams. “God, I would have paid good money to see LJ in a bear mask. But you made him do it for free. Amazing.”

Rob nods, too. “Except it was a little more complicated with you around. Not wanting to reveal ourselves, and all. Even though most of us thought it was high time you found out.”

“LJ,” I say.

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