Galen looked around them to see if anyone heard her outburst. They didn’t need was someone calling the police on them because they thought he’d murdered someone. Well…perhaps he had, but not in the context that most people would think after hearing Kendra’s complaints.
“Jesus, Kendra. You make me sound like an unfeeling monster.”
“Aren’t you one?”
Grasping her shoulders, he shook her gently until she looked up at him through her tear-ravaged eyes. “No, Kendra. I am not. First and foremost, I am a man. I am civilized.”
“You’re an animal,” she whispered. “You said it yourself. You’re an animal.”
“I am a man who can shift his shape into an animal. However, when I am a wolf, I can still think like a man. I have the values of a man.” Galen shook his head. Taking another look around, he pulled her into a corner where they could talk without her tears attracting unwanted attention.
“Tell me, did your thought patterns change when you were in the lab and you knew you weren’t human?”
Kendra’s brow wrinkled. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Did you suddenly start thinking like an animal or were you still you?” Galen crossed his arms. “It’s an easy question, Kendra.”
“I was still me. Who else would I be?”
“Exactly. Who else would you be?” He reached out and grasped her shoulders, his gaze searching hers. “You’re a woman, a human first. You can’t change who you are inside any more than I can change who I am. I’m me whether I’m a man or a wolf. I think like me, I feel like me and I act like me. I wouldn’t do anything as my wolf that I wouldn’t do as a human.”
“Then why did I keep getting the urge to bite that lunatic and his minions?”
Galen chuckled. “You’re human now, would you still like to hurt them?”
“I would love nothing better than to beat that crazy doctor and that Neanderthal he calls Martin with a baseball bat.” She stepped back. “That doesn’t explain why I wanted to bite them. I don’t bite people.”
“Biting someone is one of only a few forms of violence your wolf is capable of doing. Your wolf can’t grab a bat. Your mind adapted to give you a viable alternative for your feelings of angst.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“Of course it does.” Galen saw a movement in his peripheral vision and turned to look. Three men and a security guard stood staring at them.
“Is this man bothering you, ma’am?” the guard asked, his hand resting on the night stick attached to his belt.
Kendra turned a shocked gaze to the man and shook her head. “Thank you, sir, but no. I’m with him. He’s helping me pick out some things.” Lifting her hand, she wiggled her fingers at them with a smile. “Thank you, though.”
Chapter Eleven
“They aren’t leaving,” Kendra whispered to Galen. Narrowing her eyes, she took a good look at the two men with the security guard. “I’m not sure, but I think I saw the guy on the left at the compound when I arrived. I think he was the one who made a lewd remark about the size of my breasts when they took me inside.”
She felt her face heat. Even the memory of that comment made her blush. If she wasn’t mistaken, that was the creep who said he wanted to fuck her breasts while she sucked him to orgasm. She was positive when the idiot winked at her.
“I’m positive it’s him now.” She grabbed up two pairs of jeans in her size, snatched three blouses that looked as though they’d fit off the rack and moved to the accessories department for underwear. “We need to get out of here. I don’t see anything good happening with that guy around.” She picked up a pack of socks and underwear in her size and headed for the registers.
“You’re right. As much as I’d like to get something to eat, we should go.” Galen kept his fingers wrapped snuggly around her upper arm. “I don’t want to take the chance that they’ll be able to take you from me. This is a public place and I can’t change into my wolf. And if I remain a man, it’s going to look rather strange when I can take one hell of a beating without sustaining many injuries for long.”
“You heal quickly, too?” Kendra stared at him, her eyes wide. Was he saying they had the ability to heal fast like the were-beings in the books she read? She rested her hand on top of her head. “I don’t believe this.”
“Believe it, baby.” Galen kept looking around as they made their way into a line. “We’re going to have trouble. I don’t know what those two told the security guard, but the little man in the uniform looks as though he thinks he’s going to bust me for something.” He shook his head. “I can’t have that. They’ll take you while the man is detaining me. Whatever happens, if someone attempts to restrain me, do not leave here with anyone but me.” He stared deep into her eyes with his liquid silver gaze. “Promise me.”
“I—I promise.” She didn’t know why, but she trusted him far more than she could ever trust the two men who must have had a hand in holding her against her will. Galen held her, as well. She realized that. She also realized he gave her the opportunity to escape him if she truly wanted to do so. There was a difference between how Galen treated her and being drugged and held in a cage—a big difference.
The men moved closer as they approached the cashier. What was it that those men thought they had on Galen?
Kendra mentally retraced their steps when they entered the store. Galen had touched nothing. She had been the one picking everything up while Galen stood guard. Even the sales person who watched them for a moment didn’t try to hand her anything, the woman had gotten close to Galen—she’d gotten a bit too close, now that Kendra thought about it.
“Turn around,” she whispered. “I need to see something.”
“My pleasure,” Galen said as he turned to face the men, giving her his back as he crossed his arms. His dark shirt pulled tight across his shoulders and she bit her lip. God, he was gorgeous. Like most pants that hunters and mercenaries wore in the movies, the pants he wore had pockets everywhere. Kendra made a face and, with a shrug, started patting him down.
Galen turned to look at her over his shoulder, a half-smile on his face. “Hey, I’m not complaining, or anything, but is there a reason you’re patting my ass?”
“I think those men paid the sales clerk to stuff something in your pockets to make it look as though you were shoplifting,” Kendra replied. Her face burned as she continued to pat down his back pockets from his very nice ass and down his muscular thighs. She’d gotten to the pocket near his right knee when she felt a slight bulge. Reaching into his pocket, she pulled out a bright red thong and made a face. “I found our culprit. She tossed the underwear onto the shelf next to the belt and checked the rest of his pockets. “Yep. That was it. My guess is they were trying to get the security guard to have you arrested for stealing that.”
“Hell,” he said with a low growl, “I don’t need to steal a ten-dollar pair of underwear.” He grinned, grabbed the lacy garment and tossed it onto the belt. Turning toward the three men, he chuckled. “Thanks for the idea, guys. Do you think I can talk her into wearing them?”
“No.” Kendra frowned. What an arrogant ass! “You can’t talk me into wearing them. I’m not wearing lingerie you pick out for me. I don’t even know you.”
“You will, baby.” He grinned and winked. “You will.”
Kendra stayed next to him at the register. The security guard left after Galen paid for everything and they left the building.
“Keep your eyes open. We don’t know how many are waiting for us out here.”
“With luck there aren’t many.” She wrung her hands together as they walked out to his truck.
Galen unlocked the vehicle, opened the front door and tossed the bags into the back. “Get in. I’ll lock and close your door and hurry around to the other side and get in,” he said as he held the door open for her. ”I’m going to do a quick inspection first. The last thing we need is to have a tracking device on the truck. I have no doubt I can lose the
m after dark, but not if they have a means to tail us from a distance.”
Kendra sat in the SUV, her stomach roiling. That odd heat returned, causing her to sweat. She shook her head as though telling herself to stop would deter the animal waiting inside her from making another appearance. She didn’t know how she knew that the burning in her stomach preceded the wolf that was now a part of her, she just did.
“Hurry, Galen. I’m going to change and I’ll have an audience if I do it here. This was a busy parking lot. People came and went into the store and its adjacent restaurant as though they were the only stores in town. Perhaps they were. She had no idea.
“We’re clear. There was a small device inside the back bumper, but I sniffed it out.”
She’d been about to ask him how he found it when she realized the man had literally sniffed the thing out. He said he could turn into a wolf. Apparently, that meant he had a good nose, too.
“Good.” She panted. The action reminded her of the time she had been a Lamaze coach when her neighbor’s husband was overseas. “Because I think I’m about to change into a dog again.”
“You’re not a dog. You’re a wolf.” Galen shook his head. “I sometimes wonder if the doctor has a serum for the other species of shifters he held prisoner in his original lab.”
“What do you mean?” Hee hee hoo, hee hee hoo. She counted her breaths.
“As I told you before, there are other types of shifters, such as bears, mountain lions, jaguars.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure how many others there are out there.”
“Great. Should I be glad I don’t turn into a snake or something worse, like a spider?” Kendra shuddered. She hated spiders. At least wolves were regal animals she admired.
Galen shook his head and chuckled. “I’ve never heard of spider shifters, even in legend, but I suppose that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
“I didn’t need to hear that, you know.” She panted again as she stared through the side window. “Should I take off the seatbelt? I don’t want to get hung up in it afterward.”
“Take it off and get into the back seat.” Galen reached over to release the belt when she tried and failed. “Climb into the back and lie down. At least people won’t be able to see you that way. And remember to reach for your wolf. It will hurt less.”
Kendra fumbled free of the belt and climbed between the bucket seats and into the back. She stayed on the floor between the two captain’s chairs and did as Galen instructed. She embraced the pain and reached for the wolf she now knew lived inside her.
Pain rocketed through her like a shot. She felt the bones in her arms and legs changing shape, her muscles shortening and growing stronger. Thick hair sprung out on her arms and legs. Before she knew it, she was a wolf once again. Everything seemed distorted with her wolf’s vision and she wrinkled her nose at the strong acrid scent of car exhaust.
It didn’t hurt as much this time!
“I told you it wouldn’t.”
How did he know what I was thinking?
“We have a common mental thread through which we all can communicate when we have shifted.”
That’s kind of cool, I suppose. She stood up and looked out the window.
It is very cool. Humans can’t hear us if we use this form of communication. You can speak to me like this at will, whether you’re in your human or your wolf form.
That was good to know. That’s how you knew what I was thinking the first time you helped me, isn’t it?
Yes.
Good grief, she’d have to learn to compartmentalize her thoughts. She didn’t need anyone knowing what she thought about everything. No one needed to know who she thought was attractive or just what people she couldn’t stand but her.
Kendra sat down before lowering herself the rest of the way to the floor to rest her head on her front legs. Bone deep exhaustion held her in its grip. Perhaps it was shifting shape that made her so tired. Whatever it was, she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and go to sleep.
I’m exhausted. I think I’ll take a nap if you don’t mind. Her stomach grumbled and she tried not to think about how hungry she was, as well. Wake me up if you decide to stop for something to eat, though I’d really rather eat as a human if it’s possible.
“Will do, Kendra. It will most likely be a while. They heard us talking about getting something to eat, they will expect us to stay in the area to take care of that. I think it’s best to get back on the highway and stop after we’ve put some distance between us.”
Whatever you think. She yawned and closed her eyes. Right now, I’m too tired to care if I eat.
Chapter Twelve
Galen checked the rearview mirror for the thousandth time. His eyes burned from lack of sleep and his stomach growled out a protest that it had been nearly twenty-four hours since his last meal.
He’d driven for the last eighteen hours straight, only stopping for gas a few times while Kendra slept on the floor in the back. They needed something to eat and he needed to sleep.
Glancing into the back, he smiled at her position. She was on her back, her legs spread, giving him a show she wouldn’t have appreciated, wolf or not. Turning his attention back to the road, he saw a sign for the business route of the same road.
If they were lucky, Thornton’s men wouldn’t think to look for them on the side roads. Galen made the turn and headed north, hoping to find a small town or two with a motel and a restaurant that was open all night.
“I won’t hold my breath, though.”
You won’t hold your breath for what? Kendra asked through the mental link. Yawning, she stood and stretched as he watched in the mirror.
“That any small town we run into will have an all-night diner. I’m starved. I know you’re hungry and I just took us off the main road. I didn’t want to take any chances Thornton’s men would find us off the main drag.”
That makes sense. She moved to stick her head between the seats. I have to go to the bathroom, though. She sighed. Or maybe I should have said I need to go outside.
Galen chuckled, turned off onto a side road and drove several hundred feet before stopping. ”Here you go. It’s about all the privacy I can give you,” he said as he opened the door and got out. “Find yourself a bush and make due. If you want, we can try having you force the change back into your human self before we reach the town. It should be about the right time. You’ve been a wolf for over eighteen hours now.”
Kendra jumped from the vehicle and headed toward a copse of trees. I think I’d like that. I want to learn to control this as soon as possible. She stopped and looked back at him. This is something I’ll eventually be able to control, isn’t it?
“Yes, baby. It’s something you’ll eventually be able to control. You just need practice.” He rested his hands on his hips and cocked his lips up in a grin.
Great. The faster I learn to control it, the faster I can get back to my life.
Kendra’s last comment wiped the grin from his face. Didn’t she realize there was no going back to her life? Richard Thornton stole that from her the moment he plunged the serum-filled needle into her flesh.
Reaching into the truck, he shut off the engine, pulled the keys from the ignition and pocketed them. He then moved to the other side of the vehicle and into the brush along the side of the road. He might as well take a leak while he waited for her to finish.
He’d just finished tucking himself back into his pants when he got the whiff of a human in the vicinity. The scent came from upwind, which meant the man was close. Very close.
Galen heard the unmistakable snick of someone pulling the hammer back on a gun. “What are ya doin’ here on my property?”
“I didn’t mean to disturb anyone, mister,” Galen said, his lifting his hands into the air. “I just stopped because I’ve been on the road and haven’t seen a gas station or restaurant in a long time.” He quirked one side of his mouth up in a half-grin. “I needed to take a leak. I’ll just be on my way now.”
Great. Now he could let this man take his truck, leaving them stranded, or he could take the chance that the man’s aim was better than his shaking arms would seem and he’d die trying to take the gun from him.
Galen didn’t have long to think about what his next move would be. In a blur of red fur, a wolf dashed out of the woods, grabbed the man’s arm and shook its head as the bumpkin screamed.
“Atta girl, Kendra,” Galen said as he grabbed the gun, unloaded it and threw it to the side. “Go back to the truck. I’ll be with you in a minute.” He turned his attention back to the man who would most likely have killed him for his truck, grabbed him by the front of the shirt and snarled. “Now I’ll show you what happens to those who prey on others. Keep in mind that there is always someone or something stronger in one way or another. Something that can prey on you.” Galen let a bit of his beast show in his eyes. He knew from experience that it gave his eyes an inhuman glow and he growled, letting his wolf out just a bit.
The man whimpered and pissed his pants, a yellow puddle forming on the pavement at his feet. Galen made a face at the strong odor.
“The next time you might not get so lucky.” He growled again. “The next time, something stronger just might make you their dinner.” He let the man drop at his feet, picked up the shotgun and threw it into the woods so far it would take the man the better part of the day to find it. Taking a deep breath, he headed back for the truck, knowing there was no way the man could shoot at him anytime soon, even if he managed to gather what was left of his courage and pick himself up off the ground in time to do so.
“Get in,” he said to Kendra who stood just outside the opened door.
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