Wolf at the Door: Salvation Pack, Book 1

by N. J. Walters

  Gwen gasped for breath, clutched her chest and then slumped back in the water, her body lifeless.

  “No,” he whispered, reaching for her limp wrist and checking for a sign of life. “No!” His tortured yell echoed around the room. Beyond him, he heard the mournful howls of the others. He lifted Gwen out of the tub, clutching her in his arms as the cold water dripped from her. Anguish and sorrow filled him and he tilted back his head and howled.

  Gwen knew she was dreaming. She had to be. There was no way she was talking to a wolf. The large creature was beautiful with blue eyes and light brown fur streaked with blonde. She didn’t think wolves had blue eyes, but then she remembered that Gator had blue eyes.

  I can be part of you if you wish it. But you must accept me or I’ll die.

  She frowned at the female voice that filled her head. She didn’t recognize it, yet it felt familiar somehow. Who was talking to her?

  Quickly, make your choice.

  The wolf started to fade, leaving her alone in the gray misty void. Gwen didn’t want to be alone. “Stay.” The word seemed to be eaten up by the mist around her. She couldn’t see beyond two feet in any direction. It was scary and she sensed other beings, other things out there. Yet she wasn’t afraid for herself, only for the beautiful wolf. “Don’t go.”

  You accept me as your own.

  If that’s what it took to keep the wolf safe. “Yes.” Thinking of wolves made her sad. She didn’t want to leave Jacque. It hurt to think about him being alone. But he wasn’t alone, was he? He had his brother and his pack around him. She was the one who was alone.

  The wolf padded toward her and walked right into her. Gwen’s entire body jerked. You’re alone no longer. The voice in her head echoed in her heart and made her smile. No, she wasn’t alone anymore.

  She heard the mournful howl of a wolf in pain and started to fight her way out of the surrounding mist. It was Jacque. She knew his howl as well as she knew his voice. He was hurt and she had to get to him.

  “Help me,” she whispered to her wolf. Already the beautiful animal was a part of her, lending her strength to Gwen’s more fragile body.

  It wasn’t logical, but none of that mattered, not here in this place where death and life seemed to meet and mingle. She heard another howl. Fortified with renewed strength, Gwen began to fight.

  A heavy hand came down on Jacque’s shoulder, but he shook it off.

  “Jacque.” The sorrow in Louis’s voice hurt him to his core, but he couldn’t look at his brother, couldn’t admit that Gwen was gone. Once he did, there was no going back.

  He buried his face against her neck and inhaled her scent. Even through the sweat and dried blood he could smell her sweet scent. He rocked her in his arms as he would a child, trying to offer both of them comfort when there was none to be had, at least for him.

  “Jacque.” Louis’s voice was more insistent. He was about to tell his brother to shut the fuck up and leave them alone when Louis spoke again. “Her hand just moved. Jacque, she’s not dead.”

  His head jerked up and he stared down into her face for signs of life. This was impossible. Her heart had stopped. He’d checked for a pulse and she’d had none.

  She let out a small gasp and then another. Jacque jumped to his feet and carried her into the bedroom. The others clustered around the bed, all of them watching intently.

  “What the hell happened?” Gator asked.

  “I don’t know.” Jacque sat on the bed and dragged a blanket around Gwen. She was cold now, icy. He rubbed the fabric up and down her arms, trying to warm her. It was such a contrast from minutes before when she’d been burning up.

  Louis went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of socks. He returned and crouched in front of them and carefully put them on Gwen’s feet. “We need to get her dried off and warmed up.”

  Jacque knew Louis was right but he didn’t want to release Gwen. What if she wasn’t out of the woods yet? What if this was simply another stage she had to go through before she died again, for she had died, at least briefly. He had no doubt about that.

  As if sensing his dilemma, the others turned their backs on him and Gwen. Jacque unwrapped his treasure and set her on the bed long enough to strip off the wet T-shirt and rub her dry with the blanket. He tossed it aside, ripped the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around her. He sat back with her cradled in his arms.

  “Gwen. Come on, chère, talk to me.” He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip, feeling a puff of warm, moist breath. Her chest rose and fell slowly, but she was breathing.

  “Let me check her pulse.” Gator hovered next to the bed, waiting for Jacque’s permission before he touched her.

  “Go ahead.”

  The rest of the men were standing, arms loose by their sides, ready to deal with whatever new challenge arose. The bond between them was even tighter than it had been, strengthened by their fight and the ordeal that had followed. No matter what happened, Jacque knew he’d survive. His friends would allow nothing less.

  “Weak but steady.” Gator put his hand on her forehead. “Her fever must have broken. She’s almost too cool to the touch.”

  Armand went to the closet and got another blanket, snapped it open and settled it over Gwen. “Don’t want her to get cold.” His gruff tone held a world of caring and Jacque nodded his thanks.

  Gwen’s eyes fluttered. “I think she’s waking.” Jacque caressed her cheek. “Gwen. Can you hear me?” He needed her to look at him, to say something to him. Anything. The memory of holding her cold, lifeless body was one that would never leave him as long as he lived. But, by whatever miracle, she was back and he’d be eternally grateful for this second chance.

  She licked her lips and swallowed. “Thirsty.”

  “Get her some water.” The words weren’t even out of his mouth before Cole disappeared into the kitchen and returned quickly with a glass of water. Jacque took the glass and held it to her lips. “Take small sips,” he instructed.

  She took several before turning her head away. He handed the glass back to Cole and willed her to talk to him. He forced himself not to rush her, but to allow her to speak in her own time. It wasn’t easy when he wanted to hear her sweet voice again more than anything in the world. Then his wait was over.

  “You don’t look so good.” She lifted her hand to his face and touched it. He covered her fingers with his palm and held them to his cheek.

  Around him, the men erupted into laughter. Jacque smiled down at her as a blast of energy surged through him. Gwen had made it. She’d defied the odds and beaten death to come back to him. “You don’t look so hot yourself,” he told her. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips.

  She frowned, making her forehead wrinkle, so he smoothed the lines away. “I went away,” she told him. The room went silent.

  “I know,” he told her. “But you came back.”

  She nodded. “I heard you howling and I knew you were hurting.”

  Jacque closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He knew when he opened them there were tears shining in them. Gwen had come back, for him. “I thought I’d lost you.” His voice was rough with emotion.

  “I know.” She patted his cheek and sighed.

  “Are you hungry? Do you need anything?” Whatever she needed, he’d get it for her. Jacque knew she had a lengthy road back to health, but he was in this for the long haul. Whatever it took and however long it took. Gwen was his and he planned on taking very good care of her.

  She tilted her head to one side and then turned to Gator. “I have an amazing craving for blueberry pancakes.”

  A huge smile split Gator’s face. “I can help you with that.” He walked over to them and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Welcome back, Gwen.”

  One by one, the others came forward and kissed her gently on the forehead. She smiled and patted their cheeks and fluffed their hair. And all these tough warriors, these male werewolves, allowed her.

  Gwen was the gentleness, the care th
at had been missing in their lives and they all soaked it up like a sponge.

  “Who is gonna help me cook some pancakes?” Gator asked as he walked out of the room.

  “I’ll make coffee,” Armand volunteered.

  Cole was silent, as usual, while Louis offered to help with the bacon. All was well in his world, Jacque thought as he hugged Gwen closer to his heart.

  “I love you, Gwen. You’re my mate. Mine for as long as we have.”

  “I love you too.” She was obviously tiring and her eyelids fluttered down. “I have a lot to tell you.” She sighed and snuggled close.

  Jacque closed his eyes too and a sense of peace, of rightness settled over him. He could hear the rattle of pans in the kitchen and his stomach rumbled. He was suddenly starving. None of them had eaten in over a day. It was no wonder he was so ravenous and he knew the others had to be feeling the same. He hoped Gator made plenty.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Enough.” Gwen pushed back her plate and rested her hands over her stomach. She was wearing socks, an oversized T-shirt and a flannel bathrobe. Not exactly a fashion statement, but it was warm and cozy.

  “But you’ve only eaten two pancakes and three slices of bacon,” Jacque pointed out.

  She thought it was incredibly sweet that he was actually counting how much she ate. Not that she could blame him, not after what they’d gone through today. While the rest of the men shoveled back mountains of pancakes and bacon, along with several loaves of toasted bread and a gallon of coffee, she’d managed her meager feast. Eating was awkward with three of her fingers in a splint and her throat sore, but she’d managed and Jacque helped by cutting her pancakes into bite-sized pieces. “It’s enough for now. And it was delicious.” She turned to Gator. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure, chère.”

  It was always the same with these men. They genuinely seemed to like doing things for her. It was a novel experience for Gwen and one she knew she’d never take for granted for as long as she lived. She sighed and let her eyes drift closed, content to listen to the men talk.

  Warm hands closed around her, lifting her. She snuggled closer to Jacque and sighed as he sat back in his chair with her in his lap. “I’m okay, just tired.” She could almost feel her body healing itself from the inside out. It was a strange sensation. The werewolf bite had changed her in ways she couldn’t begin to imagine, and one side effect seemed to be increased healing powers.

  He kissed her temple. “You sleep if you need to, but if you want to talk…” He trailed off, obviously not wanting to rush her.

  Gwen really didn’t want to go back and relive the hours of pain she’d experienced but knew that the sooner she did, the sooner they could put this episode behind them. “Everything hurt.” She put her hand to her neck and shuddered, still able to feel sharp fangs tearing at her flesh. Her voice was slightly hoarse but getting stronger with each passing minute.

  Cutlery was set down on plates and all the men went silent.

  She sucked in a breath and continued. “I remember snippets of conversation. Of you talking to me.” She touched Jacques rugged jaw with the scruff of beard covering it. He looked even more dangerous than usual and very sexy.

  She frowned. “Everything is fuzzy and mixed up. I’m not sure what’s real and what was simply a hallucination or dream.”

  “You died,” Jacque told her, giving her pause.

  “Are you sure?” How could she have died if she was still alive?

  “Trust me.” He buried his face in the curve of her neck and inhaled deeply, tightening his arms around her. “You had no pulse. It was after we put you in the tub to cool you down. We were trying to break your fever.” Jacque tugged at the robe she wore, making certain it covered her completely. It was his robe, large and warm, and Gwen loved wearing it.

  Cold. She remembered being cold and lost in the gray mists. She licked her lips and continued. “I was lost. Everything around me was gray and I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me, but I knew I wasn’t alone.”

  “Who was there?” Louis asked.

  “I don’t know.” She picked at the belt of the robe. “I didn’t feel threatened, not really, but it wasn’t a comfortable sensation.” She glanced up at Jacque. “Then I saw her.”

  “Who? Who did you see, chère?” He captured her hand and held it to his heart. The heavy thud beat against her palm, a reminder that they were both alive.

  “A wolf. A pretty brown and blonde female wolf.” It felt weird to be saying this out loud, but she wanted Jacque, wanted all of them to know what had happened. She was still trying to understand it all herself.

  Cole whistled under his breath and Armand swore. Louis and Gator watched her, transfixed.

  “What?” Gwen looked away from the others and focused on Jacque. “What does that mean?”

  Rather than answer her, he shook his head and asked her another question. “What happened next?”

  She felt silly admitting to such a thing, but there wasn’t any point in lying. “She talked to me. Not out loud. It was more a voice in my head.” Even now she could hear echoes of the conversation, felt if she concentrated enough she could still talk to the beautiful wolf.

  “What did she say?” A new tension thrummed through Jacque, making her nervous. She sat upright and nibbled on her bottom lip.

  “She said she could be part of me, but it was my choice. I didn’t know what she meant and she started to fade, to go away.” The men were all leaning forward, as though mesmerized by her words. It was starting to freak her out.

  “What did you do?” Louis asked, the intensity of his voice frightening her. She shifted closer to Jacque.

  “I told her not to go.” Her words were little more than a whisper. “Why does it matter so much?”

  “It matters.” Jacque caught her face in his hands, his golden-brown eyes intense. “What happened, Gwen? Tell me.”

  “She walked toward me and then…” This was the crazy part.

  “Then?” Jacque prompted.

  “Then she walked right into me.” It sounded silly to say it out loud but Gwen plunged onward. “Like she’s a part of me, even now.”

  Jacque stared into her eyes. “Can you sense her, talk to her?”

  “I don’t know.” She hadn’t tried. There hadn’t been time and, honestly, she’d thought she’d hallucinated the entire thing.

  “Try. Please,” he added.

  All of them were watching her intently so she closed her eyes to shut them out. The pancakes she’d eaten roiled around in her tummy, making her feel like she might toss her cookies if she weren’t careful. She inhaled slowly through her nose and let her breath out in a steady stream. It helped calm the jitters.

  She looked inward, searching for the wolf. Are you there? Gwen felt silly even asking.

  She immediately felt the wolf’s presence. In her mind’s eye, the beautiful wolf with the light-brown fur streaked with blonde padded into sight. Gwen stared into blue eyes that matched her own.

  You’re real.

  The wolf regally inclined her head.

  Holy crap. What does this mean? Gwen was shocked almost speechless by this new discovery. Are you real or am I going crazy?

  The wolf’s tongue lolled out of her mouth, like she was laughing.

  “Gwen?” Jacque was shaking her lightly when she opened her eyes.

  “Stop shaking me or I’m going to barf.” That got him to stop in a hurry. Worry clouded his gaze.

  “What happened? It was like you went away?” She’d frightened him and she hadn’t meant to.

  “I’m sorry. I was concentrating.”

  “Did you see her?” Armand demanded.

  Gwen nodded and placed a hand against her chest. “She’s part of me. I can sense her presence.”

  “Mother of God.” Gator looked stunned and sat back in his chair. Then a huge smile split his face. “You’re one of us now, chère. You’re a Loup Garou.”

  Stunned, sh
e leaned against Jacque, looking up at him for confirmation. He nodded. Wow, this was a lot to take in. “What does this mean?” She had no problem admitting to herself that she was scared, but since the alternative was death, she’d live with it.

  “I’m not sure,” Jacque admitted. “Humans almost always die. I’ve never known one that lived after being bitten. We’re in uncharted territory and we have no one to ask. We can’t contact anyone in our former pack. We don’t want them to know you’re alive.”

  She shivered and readily agreed. “No, we don’t want that.” Last thing Gwen wanted was another battle.

  “All you need to worry about is getting better. The rest will work itself out in time.”

  “Does that mean I’m going to live a long, long time?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to ask if he thought she was going to live as long as he was.

  A slow grin broke across his face. “I guess we’ll find out.” With that, he stood and carried her out of the room. Gwen waved over his shoulder to the other men. They all grinned and waved back. All except, Cole, who simply inclined his head.

  The bed had been remade with fresh sheets that smelled like the outdoors. Gwen inhaled the wonderful scent as he set her down and pulled the covers over her.

  “Sleep. You’ve been through a trauma. The best thing you can do to heal is rest. Gator will check your stitches later.”

  “He did that? And this?” She held up her splinted fingers.

  Jacque nodded. “Gator trained as a medic.”

  Gwen made a mental note to thank Gator later. A jaw-popping yawn snuck up on her, taking her by surprise. She was tired but fighting it, not wanting to leave Jacque even to sleep.

  “You should rest.” Jacque sat on the bed next to her and finger combed her hair.

  “I’m a mess.” She wanted to take a shower and wash her hair, but Jacque had nixed that until she’d eaten, and now she was tired.

  “You’re beautiful,” he countered. He pressed his lips against hers and she sighed with contentment.

  “Stay with me.” It wasn’t like her to lean on anyone, to depend on anyone but herself, especially a man. But she didn’t want to sleep unless she knew he was nearby. The events of the past day had frightened her to her core. She was changed, maybe physically—they wouldn’t know that for sure for a while—but definitely emotionally.