Wolf in her Soul: Salvation Pack, Book 8

by N. J. Walters

He kept his touch light and as gentle as possible as he examined the area. “Doesn’t look like you tore too many stitches, if any. You might have just pulled one. It doesn’t seem to be bleeding much.” If he wasn’t able to smell the fresh blood, he’d never have known she’d hurt herself at all. He pinned her with his gaze. “Good thing or we’d be headed back to the hospital.”

  “No more hospital.” She shuddered and tugged her top back down.

  Reece cupped her face in his hands. Her skin was pale like porcelain, smooth and fine. A sharp contrast to her vibrant hair, which snapped with vitality. There were dark circles under her eyes. He looked into them until he was sure he had her total attention.

  Then he slowly lowered his head. He figured there was about a fifty/fifty chance she might bite him, but what the hell. He liked to live dangerously. He pressed his lips against hers.

  It was like getting zapped with a million volts of electricity.

  His entire body shook as he ran his tongue over the seam of her mouth. She sucked in a breath but didn’t pull away. She ran her hand over his upper arm, and even through his jacket and shirt, he could feel the heat of her.

  He wanted to deepen the kiss more than he wanted his next breath, but he knew it was too soon. He didn’t want to spook her any more than she already was. When he pulled back, she was staring at him, her blue eyes wide and bewildered.

  “What was that about?”

  He smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Me showing you what I want to do to you. And, Hannah, I certainly don’t want to kill you.”

  Hannah’s entire body was humming. She’d been almost dead on her feet and now she felt as though someone had plugged her into an electric socket. Her lips tingled and her blood flowed through her body like honey—slow and sweet. She wanted to touch her mouth but didn’t dare, not with Reece watching her so carefully.

  He looked so big and solid sitting next to her. The intensity of his stare made her want to close her eyes so she wouldn’t lose herself in it. And his smile should be illegal. He was ruggedly handsome to begin with, but his smile turned up his sexual attractiveness to a whole other level.

  She’d gone from scared out of her mind to completely turned on. What the hell was wrong with her? He’d threatened to kill her, hadn’t he?

  She replayed the conversation and realized that wasn’t what he’d said at all. He was confusing her, and quite honestly, it was getting difficult to think straight.

  “Who taught you how to fight like that?” He sounded amused, which made her want to smack him.

  “Is this a game to you?” He might find it funny, but she was fighting for her life.

  Every trace of amusement fled, and she shivered at the surge of anger that seemed to emanate from his very pores. “No, this is no game. I can guarantee you if I find the werewolf who tried to kill you, I’ll end him.”

  A promise and one she believed. “Why don’t you want to kill me? You’re a full-blooded werewolf.” She sniffed and frowned. “I think. There’s something different about you. What is it?”

  “Long story that I’ll tell you later,” he told her. “Right now, we need to get your things packed up and get you out of here.” He stood and went to her closet. “Tell me what you need.”

  He didn’t wait for her reply. He yanked clothes off hangers and stuffed them into a duffle bag he’d pulled down from the shelf.

  This stranger, this big, tough wolf, was packing her clothes. Totally bemused, she sat on the edge of the daybed and watched him grab several pairs of her underwear from a drawer.

  “Toiletries?” He motioned to the bathroom and she nodded. He went into the tiny bathroom. It could barely contain him. She watched as he gathered her brush, toothbrush, and other essential items.

  “What you don’t have, I can buy,” he assured her. “But we need to move. We’ve been here too long as it is.” He zipped the bag. “Anything else?”

  Her backpack was on the end of the daybed and she grabbed it. “Only this.” It contained her most important items. “You think he’ll try for me again soon?”

  Reece slung the strap of the large duffle over his shoulder. “Yes. He’ll heal a lot faster than you will. Hopefully, he thinks you’re still at the hospital and haven’t made it home yet.”

  It was time to get moving. She stood and was proud when she didn’t waver. “I need my coat.” She didn’t want to walk around in hospital scrubs.

  Reece went to the hook by the door and grabbed her leather jacket. “Here.” He held it open and walked over to him, giving him her back. He maneuvered the coat in position and pulled it up her arms.

  He leaned down and nuzzled her temple. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  Maybe she was being crazy. Maybe it was the lack of blood, or the lack of options, but she believed him. “Where are we going?” She couldn’t afford a fancy hotel, but she needed somewhere secure until she was fully healed.

  Reece wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “My place. We’re going to my place.”

  Hannah was momentarily shocked. “Why?”

  “Because your attacker doesn’t know who I am so he’d never suspect you’d be with me.”

  That made sense…to a point. “If he’s watching me, he’ll see us together.” Heck, he might even follow them.

  “We’ll keep a look out. I don’t think he’s expecting you to move this quickly. We’ve got an edge and a small window of opportunity.” A not-so-subtle reminder that they needed to move.

  She nodded and followed him to the door. He started to take her backpack but she held on to it. He backed off immediately and instead concentrated on locking her apartment door. He was listening intently and occasionally sniffed the air as they made their way back down to the foyer. It was a reminder that he was a lethal predator.

  “Someday you’ll tell me what’s in that backpack.” He stopped and she leaned against the wall as he peered out, looking up and down the street. “Looks good. Remember, my truck is right out front. Move quickly but don’t run. That’s the fastest way to attract attention.”

  Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She was afraid to go outside knowing there was a man out there who wanted to kill her. But she couldn’t stay here. She pushed away from the wall and went out through the door Reece held open for her. He was by her side the entire way. Before she knew it, she was in the vehicle with her knapsack by her feet and her seatbelt on, even though she had no memory of attaching it.

  She’d zoned out, closer to crashing than she thought.

  “You’re safe,” he assured her yet again. He turned the key in the ignition and the big engine roared to life.

  Who was Reece Gallagher? She knew he was a cop, but beyond that she knew nothing about him.

  “Tell me something about yourself?”

  He looked big and competent as he merged into traffic. He kept glancing in his mirrors and scanning the road in front of him. “What do you want to know?” he asked.

  “Anything.” She pulled her jacket more tightly around herself. She needed to know something about the man she was trusting with her life.

  “I have a twin brother.”

  That was something she hadn’t expected. “Really? Where is he?” It boggled the mind to imagine another Reece out there somewhere. Or was there? “Is he an identical twin?”

  Reece grinned. “Oh yeah. He’s home in North Carolina.”

  Hannah frowned. “Then why are you here?” It didn’t make sense for a wolf with family not to be closer to them. That was not how packs worked, or at least that was what her father had told her. “You haven’t been banished or anything, have you?”

  He smiled and she tried not to stare. She turned her head and looked out the window, blindly staring at the city as it passed by. “No, I haven’t been banished. I have more family and a pack.” He made a le
ft hand turn at the lights. “Now it’s my turn to ask questions. Where is your father?”

  “Why do you want to know?” Maybe this wasn’t about her at all. Maybe this was about getting to her father. “I don’t know where he is.” That was the honest truth.

  “You said he left you when you were eighteen. So he just gave you a knife to defend yourself and walked away?” Reece sounded angry. He didn’t yell, but he didn’t have to. His voice got lower, his speech more clipped, and his fingers threatened to snap the steering wheel he was holding it so hard.

  “No, he taught me to defend myself too.” As much as it had hurt her when her father had left, she’d understood why he’d done it. She wasn’t about to let anyone disparage him. He could have easily abandoned her and gone back to his pack and left her to be raised in human foster homes. Instead, he’d loved her and raised her as best he could.

  Reece swore. “If he was so damn worried about you, why didn’t he hang around to protect you?”

  “He couldn’t,” she insisted. “Members of his old pack were looking for him. Always looking. He left me so I wouldn’t be such a target.”

  “Shit. I’m sorry. How do you keep in touch?”

  That was the part that hurt the most. “We don’t.”

  “What?” He turned into a parking garage and pulled into a slot. He put the truck in park, killed the engine, and swiveled in his seat to stare at her. “What do you mean you don’t keep in touch?”

  She shrugged and tried to act like it was no big deal. “He figured it was best if we split up. If he didn’t know where I was, he couldn’t accidentally let it slip.”

  “Fuck.” He dragged his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “That’s not going to happen with you and me. I’m not going anywhere.” With that pronouncement, he climbed out and grabbed the duffle bag before closing and locking his door.

  Hannah still wasn’t sure what to make of what Reece had just said when he had her door open. He reached across her and unlocked her seatbelt. Up this close, it was impossible not to smell his hot, masculine scent. She’d never been so very aware of a man in her life.

  She did her best to ignore the way her nipples tightened and her skin tingled as he helped her out of the vehicle. He grabbed her knapsack and handed it to her. “You want me to carry you?”

  Yes, she wanted him to carry her. Wanted it far more than was healthy. She shook her head. “No, that would only attract attention.”

  “Yeah. Listen, I’m just down the block. I park here because there’s too much vandalism in the lot by the building. I’d park there but it’s too out of the ordinary for me.”

  “Right.” She understood it was important to keep things normal, just in case anyone came snooping around asking questions at a later date. “I can do this.” A burst of adrenaline kicked in and Hannah knew she was going to crash hard when it came to an end. “We better hurry.”

  Reece slipped one arm around her waist and all but carried her out of the parking garage and down the sidewalk. She tried to take in her surroundings but she honestly couldn’t work up the energy to care. All her concentration was on putting one foot in front of the other.

  His building wasn’t new or old but somewhere in-between. Paint peeled off the walls in places as he led her up the stairs. Keys jangled and then she was inside his place. It smelled like him, his scent permeating the entire area.

  It was simply furnished with a couch, chair, and big-screen television sitting on a low console. A small table with four chairs stood in the dining area. She didn’t get a chance to glimpse the kitchen before he was leading her down a small hallway to his bedroom. It was a small apartment but at least twice the size of hers.

  The bedroom had beige walls, a scarred hardwood floor, and a single window. The bed dominated the space. It was haphazardly covered with a dark green comforter. A dresser and single nightstand rounded out the furniture. There was little in the way of personal items, other than a picture on the dresser.

  Hannah walked over, curious to see what Reece considered important enough to put in a place where he would see it every single day. It was a picture of two young boys with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders. Two identical boys. This had to be his twin. “You and your brother?”

  She had to curl her fingers into her palms to keep from reaching out and touching the photo. They were both smiling and standing in front of a stream. She figured they had been about ten or eleven when the picture was taken. It was hard to imagine a man as big and tough as Reece Gallagher ever being a kid.

  Reece set the duffle bag on the floor by the end of the bed. “Yeah, that’s me and Sage.” He took her knapsack from her and set it carefully beside the duffle. “You need to rest.” He guided her to the bed and knelt at her feet the moment she sat. It didn’t take him long to remove her sneakers and socks. “Jeans on or off?”

  “Off.” She wouldn’t sleep well with them on. She undid them and raised herself enough so he could shimmy them down her legs and off. The room was beginning to spin by the time he’d pulled back the covers.

  She practically fell onto the pillows and then groaned when his scent surrounded her. “Are you okay? Do you need any painkillers? I don’t keep them because they don’t have any effect on me. I’m not sure how that works for you?”

  “Same,” she told him. Human painkillers were next to useless. The best thing for her was sleep and then food.

  As if he knew what she was thinking, he tucked the comforter around her. “I’ll make you something to eat when you get up. What would you like?”

  “Steak,” she mumbled. She hadn’t had a thick, juicy steak in a long time.

  Reece crouched by the bed for a long time and simply watched Hannah sleep. There was no doubt in his mind that she was the woman from his dreams. He didn’t think he was psychic as that was the only prophetic dream he’d ever had. He preferred to think that he and Hannah had a connection that had brought them together.

  He wanted to stay with her, but he had some calls to make. His phone had been vibrating like crazy for the past couple of hours. He reached out and ran his finger over her forehead, smoothing away the frown lines that marred her perfect skin. He didn’t want her to worry about anything.

  He was coldly furious at the man who’d tried to kill her and at her father for abandoning her. She’d soon learn Reece wasn’t going anywhere. His place was by her side, and he’d protect her from every threat, no matter the cost to himself.

  The moment he’d kissed her back at her apartment, he’d known this was the woman he’d been waiting for his entire life. They belonged together. She was his mate.

  Most people wouldn’t believe in love at first sight. Attraction? Yes. Lust? Absolutely. But he was more than human. He was also a wolf and he trusted his senses and instincts implicitly. Hannah filled the empty spot in his heart and soul. He didn’t care that she was a half-breed, but he knew him being able to shift and living in a pack was going to be a problem for her.

  He rubbed his chest and rolled his shoulders. Time to deal with the fallout from this mess. He stood and strode out into the living room, but left the bedroom door partially open so he could hear Hannah if she woke. Wouldn’t surprise him if she had a nightmare considering what she’d been through. Then again, maybe not. Hannah was a strong woman and full of surprises. He was still reeling from the fact she managed to dump him on his ass. Of course, he hadn’t been expecting her to try something like that, but very few people ever took him unawares.

  And speaking of those people, he pulled out his phone. Sure enough, he had missed calls from Sage and his Uncle Elias. His uncle had taken care of him and his brother after the untimely death of their parents when they were teenagers. They were a close-knit family. Reece couldn’t imagine his uncle abandoning them as Hannah’s father had done. He knew he shouldn’t judge the man, didn’t have the full story, but he simply co
uldn’t help it.

  He called his brother first, knowing Sage would be worried until he did. It had barely rung when it was answered. “What the hell is going on?” Sage demanded. “Your emotions have been all over the place.”

  “Hello to you too.”

  “Don’t try to play this down. I know better,” his twin reminded him. Sage knew him better than anyone else in the world. They connected on such a deep level, they often knew what the other was thinking and always knew how the other was feeling. As they’d grown older, they’d managed to put a filter on it, at least somewhat. It wasn’t exactly comfortable for Reece when Sage was feeling amorous with his mate. Fortunately, distance helped some.

  “I put in my notice at work.” Not what he’d expected to say, but it was what came out of his mouth.

  Sage howled with pleasure. “When will you be home?” he demanded when he came back on the line.

  Reece dropped down on his couch and put his feet on the battered coffee table. “Yeah, there’s a slight problem with that.”

  “I knew it.” It was all too easy to imagine his brother scowling. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s complicated,” he hedged.

  “Try me.”

  Reece leaned back and closed his eyes. “You know how I told you I needed to be in Chicago.”

  “Yeah, you wouldn’t tell me why.” Reece could hear the thread of hurt in Sage’s voice and was sorry for it. “It’s the dreams, isn’t it?”

  Reece’s eyes flew open and he sat forward. “What the hell do you mean? How do you know about the dreams?” He’d never told a soul.

  “Reece.” Sage’s tone was dry. “We share thoughts and emotions. You think I haven’t had that dream over the years?”

  Stupid. It was stupid to think Sage hadn’t known. A part of Reece hadn’t wanted to share it with his brother. “Shit.”

  “It’s the woman, isn’t it?” his brother asked. “The one from the dream.”

  “I found her today, but it’s complicated.” That was an understatement if there ever was one.