The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance

water and sat on one of the large rocks, wrapping a towel around me. Here’s hoping the universal sympathy every woman had for that time of the month would result in Laurel doing something stupid.
    She gave me such an odd look that I cursed myself for not coming up with a better reason for her to go away. Well, I didn’t have much time to think up a clever ploy. But then she smiled. “Be right back.”
    Laurel got up, fastened a towel around herself, and walked away. I waited, barely breathing, until she rounded a cabin that took her out of sight, then I bounded up, running flat out towards the nearest line of trees.
Seven
    I didn’t have shoes on so rocks cut into my feet, but I ignored them. It would only take Laurel ten to fifteen minutes to return. That’s all the time I had to get away.
    I ran like I was on fire, noting with a growing sense of awareness that I was moving faster than I ever had before. Maybe it was the werewolf curse inside me that would help me get away. Go faster. Head for the mountains. It’ll be harder for them to track your scent over all the rock.
    The forest was alive with sounds; the cry of birds, the rustling of branches as they rubbed together in the wind, the thuds my feet made on the drying leaves strewn over the uneven ground. That feeling of fright began to lessen, replaced with an inexplicable joy over running as hard and as fast as I could. I might be running away from this life, but right now, I felt strong, free and wild, like the forest itself was spurring my steps. I went faster, forgetting the pain in my feet, until the trees were almost a blur around me. Giddiness bubbled inside me. This felt right. Like I’d been waiting my whole life to run this way.
    Something hard collided with me, snatching me up. My heart was already pounding, but it kicked into another gear as I glimpsed who’d grabbed me. Daniel. He whirled me around to face him, those blazing hazel eyes pinning me as tightly as his grip did.
    “What were you thinking?” he asked, giving me a shake. “You’re in a bathing suit and a towel! I should have waited and gone after you tomorrow. Maybe spending the night freezing out here would have knocked some sense into you.”
    My emotions were on overload from the dizzying adrenaline rush of my escape, the frustration of being caught and the residual exhilaration of the run. I didn’t feel like myself. I felt as if something hiding inside me had finally taken over.
    I grabbed Daniel’s hair and yanked his head down, slanting my mouth across his. There was a split second where he froze -then his mouth opened, his tongue twisting with mine. His hand tangled in my hair, jerking me closer, while the other hand moulded our bodies together. The heat coming from him made me gasp, but I pressed against him, wanting more of it. He growled, kissing me deeper, harder, unleashing a flood of lust even as it shook me from my earlier recklessness.
    If you don’t stop now, you’ll end up having sex here on the ground just like the animal you’re turning into . . .
    “No!”
    I wrenched away, panting. Daniel let me out of his arms, but his hand tightened on my wrist, not letting me get entirely free.
    “What’s wrong?”
    I gave a bark of laughter. “You. Me. Everything.”
    He pushed his hair out of his face, staring at me with an intensity that made me shiver.
    “It’s right, even if you don’t want to admit it.”
    My towel had fallen to the ground, leaving me in just the bathing suit. Daniel’s eyes slid over me like a rough caress. A tremor ran through me and gooseflesh rippled, as if my skin were trying to arc towards him with a will of its own.
    Daniel’s grip on my wrist softened to a light stroke of his fingers. “You want me,” he said in a low voice. “Why are you pushing me away?”
    That stiffened my spine. “Because I can. You’ve stolen all my other choices, but this one’s still mine. And I say no.”
    He let me go. That warm amber light in his eyes hardened to something darker. He picked up my towel, handed it to me, and turned his back.
    “I’m not the one who stole your choices. Gabriel did. If you stay in these woods, you’ll probably die of exposure. If you don’t, then in a week, you’ll change, but you won’t know how to change back. Eventually you’ll go insane, trapped in your new form, controlled by urges you can’t imagine. You’ll end up mauling whoever you come across, be it man, woman or child. Then people will hunt