Wolf in his Heart (Salvation Pack)

by N. J. Walters

  If she closed her eyes, she just might be able to convince herself it was steak. She hadn’t had red meat, other than the occasional burger, since she’d left home. It was simply too expensive. Chicken and fish were always cheaper. Same with sliced ham. She could practically hear the sizzle of a thick steak frying in the pan with onions and mushrooms. With baked potatoes dripping in butter. No sour cream for her, just lots of butter.

  The very thought had her salivating. She bit down on the jerky and tore off another piece. Not exactly steak, but it was still meat. She needed to eat to replenish her energy. What she really needed was about twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep and that steak she was dreaming about, but she’d take the jerky and the short break, and be thankful.

  She kept one eye on Sage, which wasn’t exactly a hardship. He was big and handsome and part wolf. It had been over a year since she’d been in the presence of her own kind.

  He’s a half-breed, she reminded herself. They were weak and shunned by the packs. Well, she’d been shunned too, and she was full-blooded, so in the end what did it really matter? She’d learned a lot in her time alone. What a person did was a hell of a lot more important than what they said.

  Family might be everything to her kind, but when push had come to shove, her parents had chosen their pack above her, their own daughter. They’d stood by and watched as she’d been cast aside. Mikhail might have stood with her, but he’d been away working at the time of her banishment.

  She’d been alone.

  “Who is after you?” His question jolted her back to the present.

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not your problem.”

  Sage shook his head. “Now that’s where you’re wrong. It’s definitely my problem. You need to come home with me.”

  It was official. The only werewolf she’d met since she’d left home and he was a half-breed crazy. “Yeah, I don’t think so.” The alpha would not approve of bringing a strange wolf home, especially one who’d been banished from her own pack. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

  “Why not?”

  She liked his calm manner. Most of the men she’d known were ultra aggressive, always trying to assert their dominance. Sage had a quiet power about him. It was as if he was confident enough of his own strength that he didn’t need to prove anything to anyone.

  Her wolf found it very alluring. Come to think of it, so did she.

  “You can’t just bring home a strange wolf.”

  Sage shrugged. “Sure I can. Won’t be the first time the pack has opened its doors to a strange wolf.” His smile would have sent her to her knees if she hadn’t already been sitting. He was lethal to her senses.

  Was it because he was the first of her kind she’d seen in months? Or was it because he was being kind to her? God knows, her soul was starved for some kindness. Or was the attraction something more?

  Maybe that proved her pack was right about her. That she was defective. After all, she’d turned away a dominant, full-blooded male werewolf and was drawn to a seemingly laidback half-breed.

  “I have to go.” Lingering was only making leaving harder. It was natural for her to want to be part of a pack, even a temporary pack of two.

  “Okay.”

  Her heart bled just a little at how easily he acquiesced. It was just as well. He couldn’t have really meant his offer. He was just being kind. But he’d fed her, and that was worth a lot.

  Rina pushed to her feet and brushed the crumbs from her jeans. The food had helped some, but she was still exhausted. She swayed on her feet and took a deep breath before adjusting her pack on her back. She probably should have taken it off while she was resting, but she couldn’t risk losing it.

  Sage started toward her, and she backed away. “Thanks for everything.”

  He repacked the remaining food and began to roll up his sleeping bag. “You’re welcome.”

  Even though it was full dark now, he deftly tied the sleeping bag to the bottom of his knapsack. He gave one last look around the camp, nodded in satisfaction and swung the pack on his back.

  “What are you doing?” Maybe it was the exhaustion, and maybe it was because he’d fed her, but the more time she spent in his company, the more she was coming to trust him.

  “Going with you.” It took a few seconds for her to really grip his calm pronouncement.

  “What do you mean you’re going with me?” She didn’t understand why he was doing this.

  Sage reached out and gripped the back of her neck. His broad hand was hot against her skin. His gentle touch shackled her as firmly as iron chains. Maybe even more so. She would fight the chains but had no resistance to his tenderness. He lowered his forehead until it rested against hers.

  Rina closed her eyes and swallowed heavily. A few hours ago, she’d been running for her life. She was still running, but Sage had offered her the gift of his kindness and his presence. She’d never forget him.

  “You can’t come with me,” she told him. No way was she bringing that kind of trouble to him and his pack.

  “Why not?” If he’d demanded to know why, she might have been able to work up some anger and indignation, but his quiet request almost broke her.

  “I have human hunters after me. I wasn’t careful when I shifted and one of them saw me. Now he and his brothers are after me.” It was ugly, but it was the truth. She waited for him to put her aside and disappear into the dark woods.

  He sighed and kissed her forehead before raising his head. “My truck is about a four-hour hike that way.” He pointed off to his right. “Let’s go.”

  “Didn’t you hear me?” Clearly, he couldn’t have understood. “I have hunters with guns after me. They know what I am.” Secrecy was drilled into pups from the cradle. No humans could know what they were and live. Truthfully, she should be hunting them, but she just didn’t have the skills to take on three at once. Her instinct had been to run instead of fight.

  Another indication that maybe her former pack had been right to banish her. She was weak and a danger to them.

  “I have no idea what you’re thinking right now, but whatever it is, you need to put it out of your head. We need to get going. Those hunters might rest or they might decide to keep going if they have flashlights.”

  Sage was right. “If you could take me to the main road, I’d appreciate it.” She wasn’t about to lure him into her mess, but it wouldn’t hurt to walk with him as far as the road. She could hitchhike from there to the nearest town. They’d undoubtedly have a bus stop.

  He stared at her, his eyes glowing in the darkness. The obvious sight of his werewolf heritage made her homesick. But the home she’d thought she had didn’t really exist. It was a figment of her imagination. Her parents hadn’t hesitated to join the pack in banishing her. She’d do well to remember that.

  If she couldn’t trust her family, she certainly couldn’t trust a half-breed she’d just met. But she could walk with him a while.

  He shook his head and sighed. “Let’s go. Keep your eyes and ears open just in case.”

  Rina nodded and glanced over her shoulder before she started following Sage. The faster she could get away from the men following her, the better. If her trail went cold, they’d hopefully give up and go home.

  Johnny Bellamy crouched and panned his flashlight over the uneven ground in front of him. “Shit, we lost her.”

  “I’m still not sure why you’re so fired up about this girl.” Charlie stood next to him, cradling his rifle in his arms. “It’s a hell of a hike back to the road.”

  Johnny stood and turned his light in a circle. “I told you. I saw her change into a wolf.”

  “You sure you weren’t drinking or smoking too much weed?” Ralph asked.

  He loved his brothers, honestly, he did, but sometimes they were a pain in the ass. “I told you, I followed her home. She’s ski
nny, but she’s got some fine tits on her. I figured I’d ask her out.”

  “Yeah, right.” Charlie snorted. “You just wanted to get laid.”

  “And what’s wrong with that?” Johnny demanded.

  “Nothing. In fact, that’s what I’d like to be doing right about now instead of trekking through the woods at night. We’re on park land now,” Charlie pointed out.

  “So?” Johnny smiled when he saw a cracked branch. “That’s never stopped us before. Our family was running through these woods long before the park service claimed them.”

  “We need to go back or stop soon.” Ralph stepped into the light of Johnny’s flashlight. “I don’t want to step in a hole and break my neck looking for some girl Johnny has a hankering for.”

  “Just a bit longer.” He didn’t know why this particular waitress had caught his eye. Maybe it was because she’d seemed to be alone. No one knew who she was or where she’d come from. No one would worry about her if she disappeared either.

  He still wasn’t quite sure what he’d planned to do when he caught her. He only knew he wanted to fuck her. If he closed his eyes, he could remember what she’d looked like naked.

  She was too skinny, but her ass and tits were firm and full. Her skin had glowed in the moonlight last night. Then her body had begun to change. Local lore was full of stories and legends of strange creatures, but he’d never expected to see one for himself.

  He wanted Rina more than ever.

  He lifted the flashlight and panned the trail ahead. Then he set out again with his brothers grumbling behind him. He knew they’d follow him. At least for now. They might head home tomorrow, but he wasn’t giving up. One way or another, he’d find her.

  Chapter Three

  Sage was worried about Rina. She was dragging behind him, which told him just how exhausted she was. A werewolf could run for hours without tiring. The fact she was practically asleep on her feet meant she’d been running hard and fast for a long time.

  She might not appreciate it, but he couldn’t keep going any longer. “You okay?” He stopped and waited for her to catch up.

  “I’m fine.” She glared at him, but there was no real bite to her words.

  “No, you’re not.” Sage looked back at the path behind them. “We need to stop so you can rest for a bit. We still have a couple hours hard walking before we get to the trail, and another half hour after that to get to where I left my truck.”

  Fortunately for her, he’d hiked these hills for years and knew exactly where they were. “There’s a small cave just up ahead. You can catch a few hours rest and we can be back on the trail and at my truck before those hunters break camp in the morning.”

  He glanced up at the sky. The stars were like diamonds scattered across the sky, and the moon was only a day past full. It was a beautiful sight, but not nearly as lovely as the bedraggled woman beside him. He knew it was well after midnight. They’d been walking for a little over two hours. It was taking them much longer than he’d anticipated because Rina was starting to drag.

  He wrapped one arm around her shoulders. “Come on. It’s not far.”

  “I don’t need to stop,” she snapped. She pulled away from his hold and started walking in the direction they’d been headed.

  Sage growled and went after her. He went in low, scooped her over his shoulder and turned toward the cave. Rina was deadweight on his shoulder for all of two seconds, then she exploded. She kicked her strong legs, trying to emasculate him. He wrapped his arm around her knees, effectively hobbling her. She reared up and tried to throw herself off his shoulder. He pressed her back.

  “Settle down before you hurt yourself, or me,” he added. “We’re just going to rest for a bit.” It was a struggle to keep his footing on the steep path with her wiggling like a fish on a hook. He staggered to the top of the small hill and lowered her to the ground. She growled and backed away from him.

  He took heart from the fact she hadn’t used her claws on him, because she could have done some real damage. Sage motioned to the entrance of the cave. “It’s not very deep or big, but there’s enough room for both of us. I don’t know about you, but I could use something to eat and some shuteye.”

  He could walk all night, but if she needed an excuse to stop, he was more than willing to give it to her. If that meant he had to appear weak in front of her, so be it.

  She muttered something about half-breeds under her breath and then ducked into the cave. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any animals using the cave recently and it was fairly clean.

  “Hang on a sec.” He untied his sleeping bag and spread it over the ground. He sat on one end and indicated she should sit on the other. Sage was no fool. He’d taken the space closest to the entrance. If she decided to run off, she had to go over or through him.

  Rina eased down onto the sleeping bag but didn’t remove her knapsack. He’d have to work on that. No way could she rest properly with that bag on her back. He dug through his own pack and brought out the remains of his food. “Help yourself.” He motioned to the jerky and trail mix. All the protein bars were gone as he’d dug out the last two about an hour ago and they’d both eaten one.

  “Are you sure?”

  He could practically feel her hunger and nodded. She reached for a baggie filled with trail mix, opened it, and dug in.

  “Where you from?” He wanted to know all there was to know about her. There had to be a reason that a full-blooded female werewolf was running around on her own without a pack. Hunted by humans instead of being protected.

  Rina stiffened and stuffed another handful of trail mix in her mouth. Sage sighed and offered up a condensed version of his past. “I was born in Michigan. My father was a full-blood, my mom a half-breed.”

  She stopped chewing and swallowed. He knew he had her attention. “I have a twin brother too.”

  “I have a brother,” she offered. “Mikhail.”

  He nodded and kept talking, hoping if he did she’d offer up more of her story. “My parents were killed when we were still teenagers. An explosion in a multi-vehicle pileup on the highway.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Even after a decade, Sage found it hard to talk about. “We had Uncle Elias though.”

  “What about your pack?” She’d inched closer. Sage was sure she didn’t even realize it.

  “We never had a pack. Oh, we called ourselves the Gallagher Pack, just the five of us. It was me, Reece, Mom and Dad, and Uncle Elias. Dad left his pack when he found my mom. He knew his pack would never accept a half-breed.” Rina glanced away but not before he caught a glimpse of pain and shame in her eyes.

  “Anyway, after they died, Uncle Elias sold everything and we came here. He’d heard about a pack in North Carolina that was different. One that might accept a couple of half-breed teenagers. It’s a long story, but the pack took us in, and now we’re part of the Salvation Pack. My uncle mated, so I have an aunt. Sue is full human, and so is her son.”

  “Full human.” Sheer disbelief colored her voice. “That’s unheard of. And the pack accepts her?”

  Sage knew she was just spouting the beliefs she’d been raised with, but he was protective of his family. “Yes, they accept her.” His voice was hard. “And her son. Billy is my cousin. Doesn’t matter that he’s fully human.”

  Rina really felt as though she’d entered an alternate reality—half-breed twins, humans living in a pack with half-breeds and full-bloods, and human hunters on her trail. She’d have thought it nothing but a strange dream except for the fact she was wide awake and totally exhausted.

  Sage was loyal to his pack and family. She envied him that. She’d felt that way once. Then they’d banished her for what she considered no good reason. A woman should have the right to pick her own mate, not have one chosen for her. Too bad for her that neither her alpha nor her parents had felt
the same way.

  “Your pack is unusual.” That was one way of putting it. She’d never heard of any pack accepting outsiders, let alone half-breeds and humans. Maybe they were weak and needed all the members they could get for protection. After being on her own for more than a year, she understood safety in numbers.

  “They’re the best.” The affection in his voice was all too real. He loved his pack. She only hoped they returned his feelings.

  Sage leaned against the wall and stretched his long legs out in front of him. The night had cooled off from the intense heat of the day, but it was still warm. Rina was comfortable in the jeans and plain T-shirt she’d worn to work. She was grateful that Barney hadn’t required his waitresses to wear uniforms, only bibbed aprons with the diner’s name. She wouldn’t have been able to run as hard and fast in a dress.

  Exhaustion weighed her down. She was afraid if she closed her eyes she’d sleep for two days straight. She’d never been this tired in her life. Fear and fatigue had sapped her reserves, leaving her totally depleted. She’d kept up on the first part of their hike, but Rina knew she couldn’t have gone much farther.

  Sage knew it too.

  He’d stopped for her. She wasn’t stupid enough to believe his claim of needing to rest. He was wide awake and there was a vitality surrounding him that was almost palpable.

  She knew she should eat more but couldn’t summon the enthusiasm to bother. Her eyelids kept closing no matter how hard she tried to keep them open.

  “Rest for a bit.” Sage’s voice washed over her like a warm and comforting blanket. “I’ll watch out for you.”

  She believed him. Everything he’d done since she’d met him only hours before had been to help her. Rina leaned against the hard rock wall and stared at him. He was gazing out the cave entrance at the night. It really was pretty. She hadn’t stopped to notice until now.

  The sounds of the insects and nocturnal creatures lulled her. They were alone. If the hunters were around, the night would be silent, all the animals hiding.