Page 59 of The Warlock's Kiss

“I’m afraid I’ve run out of hospitality for the millennium,” Merrick replied. He held back the magic bristling within him, which intensified as the tension in the air thickened. “Come back in a thousand years. I ought to have replenished my stores of generosity by then.”

“Let us in or we’ll let ourselves in,” a gray-furred female snarled, stepping forward with claws splayed.

“Be silent,” the lead wolf said, snapping his jaws at the female.

She bared her teeth and growled but backed away, lowering her lupine snout.

The lead wolf—the alpha, most likely—returned his attention to Merrick. “We don’t mean you any harm, but wewilltake what we need whether you cooperate or not. This is our territory.”

“Strange,” Merrick replied. “I must’ve missed the letter from the county explaining that they’d seized my land and sold it out from beneath me.”

“Come down here, and we’ll see how smug you are,” said the gray female.

The other male and female—both brown furred—eased back a step.

“This place smells unnatural,” the brown female said. “We should leave.”

“The old rules don’t matter anymore,” the alpha said. “This land is ours now. It belongs to my pack. Accept that and cooperate, and we’ll leave you in peace.”

“More likepieces,” the gray female said.

Adalynn’s presence tingled on Merrick’s back; she was still inside his bedroom, but sensing her was a powerful drive for him—it enhanced his protective instinct and meant the wolves’ threats sparked greater rage within him. A threat to Merrick’s home was a threat to Adalynn and Danny—because Merrick and the manor were what would keep those two humans safe in this dangerous new world.

Though he was outnumbered, though the wolves were physically stronger, faster, and tougher, Merrick would not tolerate threats. Especially not threats to his Adalynn.

Merrick drew in a deep, slow breath and opened his conduit to the ley line a little more. Its song increased in strength, and its power—infinite and unfathomable—trickled into him, making the hairs on his arms stand on end.

“Where’s your remaining companion?” Merrick asked, reaching outward with invisible tendrils of magic to seek the animalistic resonance of the fifth wolf—fivehad broken his wards—but he couldn’t look very far in that manner without shifting his full attention to the task.

Clearly, it was a skill he’d have to improve upon over the years to come.

With Adalynn at my side throughout.

The alpha shook his head from side to side and snorted. The other werewolves exchanged questioning glances.

“Scouting ahead,” the alpha replied.

Wispy, ethereal clouds drifted in front of the moons, further diffusing the light and deepening the darkness beneath the trees bordering the lawn. It seemed a fitting precursor to what was likely about to happen.

“Disrespect, threats,andlies.” Merrick tightened his grip on the railing. He’d been wrong for all those years—the flaws and shortcomings he’d attributed to humankind were evident in people of all species. To think human cruelty was unique had been a mistake. “You’ve failed to ingratiate yourself to your would-be host.”

Merrick vaulted over the railing. He slowed himself with a release of magic just before his feet touched the ground, landing easily in the grass while remaining upright.

The wolves recoiled slightly, nostrils flaring; whether they’d seen or sensed his magic, they’dnoticedit.

Good.

For once, Merrick wanted it to be known that, despite his appearance, he was anything but human—and that these wolves did not intimidate him.

This was an unquestionably risky move; he was outmatched physically, and he doubted the more aggressive pair of wolves would be dissuaded by his display of bravado, but at the very least it meant he’d be able to steer the fighting away from the house—away from Adalynn and Daniel.

“See yourselves off my land,” Merrick said, “and I’ll leave each ofyouin one piece.”

Keeping his yellow eyes on Merrick, the alpha lowered his snout and peeled his lips back, baring his fangs.

“So we kill him and take it all anyway,” the gray female said.

The alpha grunted. Somehow, the sound echoed what he’d said before—the old rules don’t matter anymore.

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