When Lust Rules by Virginia Cavanaugh Page A

stay still and not
panic, but the second the wolf accomplished the tender gesture, Julie couldn’t
help but to relax some, relief of any immediate threat settling inside her.
    The gray wolf sat next to her and they waited in silence.
Every small noise had Julie jumping and turning her head to look for signs of
movement. Gunfire and howls broke up the silence occasionally and each time
Julie prayed that neither Luken nor any of his men were hurt.
    Jasmine growled low and turned to the left. Julie’s gaze
followed her. Movement in the trees had her staring and waiting to see what had
upset the wolf at her side. A lump formed in her throat as her heart rate
increased. Arik stepped out of the trees first. His large frame hard to miss.
His long blond hair fell over his broad shoulders. She shivered as her last
memory of Arik came to the front of her mind. When she’d delivered the money to
him, his bodyguards had escorted her down into the basement. Never had she been
down there before. And she now wished she had never gone below.
    Darkness had greeted her. Low light from a few candles
burned—enough light to see the woman he had chained to the wall. Welts had
covered her back and legs. She had whimpered softly, and Julie averted her
eyes, wanting to escape. His frame had been cast in shadow. A flogger dangled
from his right hand. Her heart went out to the woman. Ivan had used one of
those to punish her before. She could still remember the sting of it against
her flesh. Some found pleasure in the pain, but she never had. It had never
been delivered with a loving touch, only a cruel one.
    Julie shook off the memory as Ivan stepped out of the trees.
His blond hair had been cut short, shorter than he had ever worn it before. His
stint in prison had only made him larger in size. Big biceps strained against
the sleeves of the black shirt he wore. Bile rose, threatening to choke her.
How in the hell had he gotten out of prison?
    “What’s this?” Arik asked, the thick accent in his voice
letting her know he found something interesting. Ivan’s family had been in the
states since his birth, but Arik had come here from Russia when he was a teen.
He’d lost some of that accent over the years, but at times it reappeared thick
as ever.
    A loud growl sounded behind her and she flinched. Warm fur
brushed against her body and she recognized Luken in his wolf form, a mixture
of brown and white, sprinkled with black. Something wet caused the hair around
his mouth to clump. She shivered at the thought of what it could be.
    She watched as he advanced in Arik and Ivan’s direction.
Behind her a man spoke.
    “You can leave now and never return, or we can take you
down. Your choice.”
    Julie glanced back and noticed the dark-haired man she had
first encountered in the clearing. More wolves started to appear, coming from
all directions. Each bared sharp teeth, their hackles rose.
    “They are circling her,” Arik said, a slight tone of awe
lacing the words.
    “Make your decision now or we’ll make it for you.”
    “I wish to make a bargain,” Arik shouted.
    “We don’t bargain.”
    “I have heard tales…when I was a child. I never knew it was
possible. You’re werewolves, no?”
    “What we are doesn’t concern you.”
    “I would be willing to leave the woman alone, if in exchange
you make me one of you. Me and my men.”
    Ivan tugged on Arik’s sleeve. “What are you doing? She stole
money from you.”
    Arik laughed as he looked over at Ivan. “Why would I concern
myself with money when I could gain more than wealth? Do you realize the
power—”
    “No deal. We don’t create power-hungry scum. Now, you have
three minutes to leave or we finish this.”
    Julie watched as the expression on Arik’s face changed
abruptly. She knew that scheming look all too well. He knew he was outnumbered
here.
    Arik put his hands up. “We go.”
    Julie watched as they retreated, taking slow steps backward.
She could see the fury in Ivan’s