Page 58 of Captured By the Werewolf Highwaymen

Clara spun in Gideon’s arms and pointed to one of the open doorways in the corridor. “Through there!”

She led the way into an unoccupied bedchamber, and the five men barreled in behind her. Hugh slammed the door shut and locked it.

At once, she went to the wall and pressed on a panel. It opened with a snick to reveal one of the secret passageways.

“In here,” she said.

Even as she spoke, the sounds of more heavy footsteps thudded in the hallway. There were footsteps below, too. Guardians infested her house. They weren’t bothering to hide their approach, a sure sign that they saw no need for subtlety or silence in the face of a certain victory.

Wordlessly, Des and the others quickly filed into the passageway. It was a narrow space, far too close to comfortably fit these large men even in a single file. But they kept their silence as she guided them through the snaking corridors. Weak illumination from high, narrow windows lit their way. They barreled into a stack of books, and she shoved them aside to clear their path.

She led them around one corner, then another, before finding the panel she sought. Pushing the hidden door open, she hurried into a small room. Des, Gideon, Hugh, Bram, and Liam all followed. Once they were all inside, she shut the panel, enclosing them in the chamber. There were no windows, but it did boast two doors, one on either side of the other, and she rushed to each to lock them, throwing bolts in front of the doors.

“Where are we?” Hugh asked.

“The original owner of this house was somewhat fearful,” she explained. “It was he who constructed the secret passageways, and he had this room built at the heart of the manor so he might take refuge should any unwanted intruders force their way inside.”

“Yet you never hid here when we came,” Gideon noted.

“I tried,” she confessed, “but I lost my way and wound up in the attic instead.”

“We can hold them off from here,” Des said.

As he spoke, however, the doors began to rattle. They shook as Guardians on the other side tried to force them open with greater and greater might. Guardians threw their bodies against the wood.

“For how long?” Bram demanded.

“Long enough to turn into wolves,” Clara said.

All five men stared at her.

“It’s daylight,” Liam pointed out. “None of us can change simply by willing it.”

“The ability is inside of you,” she insisted.

“We need the full moon for that,” Hugh said.

She drew in a breath. What she proposed was madness, but then, the world was mad.

“Can’t you feel it?” she asked. “How close you are to transforming?”

Puzzled, the men looked at each other, then at her. Des, Gideon, and Hugh gave small, uncertain nods.

“It’s pulsing beneath my skin,” Gideon said. “But why?”

“It feels as though…as though I am your full moon.” She struggled to explain. “I’ve always felt in me a connection with the moon. Whenever it waxes, I sense it in my body. And when it’s full, it’s as though…”

“As though its strength is in you,” Hugh murmured.

“I’m…” She reached for the words, the feeling. “I’m wild…powerful. The moon is inside of me, shining out of me. I felt it last night, and even now, it’s within me.”

Des gazed at her. He frowned, but not in dismissal. “That’s what I’d sensed in you,” he said. “Part of what pulled me to you.”

“As with me,” Gideon said. “There’s something inside of you, calling to me.”

“Calling to all of us,” Hugh added.

The doors shook even harder. The hinges began to splinter.