“I’m not sure.” Susan crouched and shoveled snow away from the tires with her bare hands. Her urgency quickened Katie’s pulse and drew her attention to their surroundings once more. “Head south on the first road you come to. Then west when that road dead-ends. Turning east will take you right through their territory, and trust me, you don’t want to go there.”
Reluctant to put down her gun or use her bare hands to move snow out of the way, Katie kicked at the rear tire. Her head swam with questions, not least of which was how she would explain the unconscious, naked man who was covered in blood in her passenger seat if she did happen to make it to civilization. This was not a day she wanted to get pulled over. “Are the roads even safe to drive on?”
Susan gave her a meaningful look. “No less safe than staying here. You’ll need to be extremely careful, obviously, but with the chains he has on the tires, you should be able to drive out as long as the weather holds.”
Katie glanced into the truck at Rafe, who still hadn’t moved a muscle. She wished desperately that he would show some sign of life. It was terrifying to see him so still and powerless. In fact, it was probably the scariest thing she’d seen so far. After only two days together, already she couldn’t imagine her life without him. She looked back at Susan—the woman she suspected had chosen to leave him willingly. “So you never answered my question. Why are you here?”
“Because I care about Rafe. I want to see him survive this mess.”
“If you care about him so much, then where have you been?” Accusation sharpened Katie’s tone and made her words come out harsher than she’d intended, but she didn’t care. This woman’s disappearance had caused Rafe immense worry and heartbreak, yet here she was—alive and well. “He thinks you’re dead, you know. That the others murdered you.”
“And as far as I’m concerned, it would be better for everyone if he kept thinking that.”
Even if she’d wanted to keep a secret of this magnitude, Katie suspected their bond wouldn’t allow it. “I can’t keep this from him. I won’t.”
“I know.” Susan sighed, then gazed through the passenger window at Rafe’s prone form. “You two don’t deserve this. He killed Zeke to protect his bond-mate. I understand that, even if most of my pack doesn’t.”
Susan’s casual confession as to her affiliations turned Katie’s marrow to ice. “You left him to join the others?” Having interacted with a few members of the rival pack, Katie wasn’t sure what to make of this woman. She seemed too kind to be one of those animals. And Rafe had once loved her, which had to mean that she was almost certainly a different type of wolf than the rest of them. So why had she abandoned Rafe to run with a bloodthirsty gang of thugs only months after moving in to the home he’d built for them? “I don’t understand.”
Susan shook her head, a faraway look in her eyes. “I loved Rafe. Heart and soul, I loved that boy more than I had ever loved anything in my entire life.” She kept scooping snow out of the way as melancholy crept into her voice. “Then one day I went out running not far from here and met Ian. At first I was actually a little scared of him. He was rough around the edges, with this nasty scar across half his face from one of the many occasions his father nearly beat him to death. He came on so strong it frightened me. Flirting, challenging me, following me when I turned around to go home. I could tell from the tone of his voice that he didn’t want to hurt me, exactly, but he also didn’t want to let me go.”
“So you were kidnapped?”
“No.” Susan met Katie’s eyes. “I shifted into a wolf and ran from him. He followed. Ian is fast, incredibly fast.” She smiled, and Katie realized that her voice was full of love for this other man. “He caught up to me. Tackled me. And as soon as his body touched mine, it happened.” Susan sobered. “We bonded. Just like that. We both shifted back into human form, lying naked and tangled together on the forest floor. And suddenly that frightening, scarred man was my bond-mate. He was my destiny. So when he kissed me, I kissed him back.”
Bonded. Katie understood the overwhelming power of that connection, knew how impossible it was to resist it. She was also completely aware of how amazing it felt to give in to the incredible intimacy of being connected to another person’s soul. “You chose to leave Rafe, but only because it really wasn’t a choice at all.”
“Nobody knows why these things happen. But when they do, there’s no fighting against it. I found my other half, and he wasn’t Rafe.”
Katie had a terrible thought. Had Susan’s bond-mate been one of the horde they’d slaughtered? “Ian wasn’t…he’s not here, is he?” While she wouldn’t have done anything differently—couldn’t have done anything differently—she hated the thought that either she or Rafe had severed someone else’s bond. Especially when that someone was Rafe’s ex-girlfriend. “He wasn’t killed last night, was he?”
“He’s at home with our daughter.” Passenger side tires clear, Susan moved to the other side of the truck and Katie followed. “When I left, I told Ian that I could never do anything to hurt Rafe, then or in the future. Ian is the only one in our pack who knows my full history, and he accepts that I will always hold a special place in my heart for my first love. When Lisa asked him to join the pack here last night, Ian refused. We both stayed far away from that mess and I’m glad, because I’m not sure who I’d have fought for under the full moon.”
That Susan still loved Rafe was clear. Yet she had caused him so much pain that it was hard to imagine how she could justify her lies. “Do you realize what it did to Rafe to think you’d been killed? He tried to get his Alpha to go to war with your new pack over your disappearance. When that didn’t happen, he withdrew from everyone. He’s lived all alone out here, missing his lover and resenting his pack for not believing him that something terrible happened to her.”
“His Alpha knows what happened to me.” At Katie’s incredulous look, Susan nodded. “Ian and I went to see him shortly after that day in the woods. I felt I needed to tell him so that he didn’t think about starting some kind of war. I begged him not to tell Rafe because I just couldn’t…” She swallowed, staring at Rafe’s naked, battered body. “I couldn’t bear to hurt Rafe that way. I was young and selfish. It was easier for me if he mourned me instead of hated me.”
“Do you really think he would have hated you? Surely he knew even then what it meant to bond. If you didn’t mean for it to happen…”
“I don’t know.” Susan gazed at Rafe with unveiled tenderness, then crouched to clear away more snow. “He’ll hate me now, that’s for sure.” Her eyes teared up, and she glanced at Katie self-consciously as she wiped her face with the back of her arm. “Tell him…tell him I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt him. He was such a sweet boy, and I did love him. I really did.”
“I’m sure he’ll be glad to know that you’re all right.” Katie wasn’t sure what else he might feel about this revelation—especially the fact that his own Alpha had hidden Susan’s fate from him—but she hoped that his feelings for Susan were enough of a thing of the past that he wouldn’t let it phase him too severely. “He loved you, too. Losing you hurt him badly.” She managed to hold her tongue a beat, then said, “I know it was easier for you that way, but it wasn’t easier for him.”
“I don’t know about that.” Susan’s features softened. “Anyway, it all worked out for the best. If I hadn’t met Ian that day, maybe Rafe and I would still be together. But I never loved him the way I love Ian, and Rafe never loved me the way he loves you. Believe me, I became an afterthought the instant you two bonded.” Her voice caught, and she said, “Sometimes I wish I had bonded with Rafe, honestly. At the time I told myself he was a puppy dog and I needed a wolf, but after seeing how he’s defended you…” She sniffed. “You’re very lucky.”
Katie couldn’t disagree. “Things did turn out for the best. I’m just not sure that gets you off the hook for leaving the way you did.”
“Maybe not. But hopefully he can at least appreciate that I came here
to help you today.” With that, Susan’s manner became business-like. “Listen, you can’t tell anyone I was here. That includes Rafe’s Alpha. No one can know. I’m pretty sure the peace treaty between our packs won’t survive what happened last night, and I don’t want to be branded a traitor.”
“I won’t tell. I promise.”
“And don’t trust anyone. That also includes Rafe’s Alpha. There’s a chance he could choose to sacrifice the two of you if the alternative is a pack war.”
Katie’s head throbbed as the scope of Susan’s warning became clear. Now they not only had to fear the rival pack, but Rafe’s own friends. “Right. So don’t stop for anyone, because they all want to kill us.“
“Pretty much.” Susan stood and surveyed the truck. “That will be good enough to get you moving.” She gestured at the vehicle. “Which you should do. Now.”
“Wait.” Overwhelmed, Katie made a mental list of everything she needed that hadn’t yet been packed. “I need something for him to wear once he wakes up. And we can’t leave Shilah—“
“Shilah?”
Apparently the puppy had arrived after Susan left. “Rafe’s dog. He was injured when wolves broke into the cabin last night. I tried to dress his wounds and stitch him up as best as I could, but I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m worried he won’t make it.”
“Where is he?”
“In Rafe’s bedroom, in the closet. He’s resting.”
Susan glanced worriedly around. “Okay, let me go get him. I’ll also grab a change of clothing for Rafe.”
“And my purse, if you don’t mind. From the guest room.” Katie considered asking about her own clothes, but decided to just let it go. This gave her the perfect excuse to go shopping once she was back in San Francisco. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Just keep your eyes open while I’m gone.” Susan ran back to the cabin, taking the porch steps two at a time.
Katie opened the driver’s side door as soon as Susan went inside. She brushed the broken glass off her own seat, then opened the small door to the extended cab, relieved to find that the back bench was plenty big enough to accommodate Shilah. Aware that it would take Susan at least a couple minutes to gather everything, Katie shifted her focus to Rafe. Unhappy about the blood staining his skin, Katie knelt and gathered a handful of snow. She brought it to his chest and scrubbed over the tacky streaks of crimson, checking his reaction to the freezing wetness as she washed away blood and grime to reveal the smooth, tanned skin beneath. Hopeful that the shock of the cold snow against his bare skin would yank him out of his eerie sleep, her stomach turned over uneasily when it became clear that he wasn’t feeling anything at all.
Desperate to wake him, Katie drew back and slapped him across the face. She winced at the impact, feeling the blow in her own gut, but when he didn’t stir, she hit him again. “Wake up. Please.” Still nothing. Recalling Susan’s advice, she pressed her palm to his cheek and concentrated on willing Rafe’s eyes to open. She imagined energy flowing from her hand into his body, healing him from the inside. After a few moments, the muscles around his beautiful mouth twitched.
The cabin door opened and closed again. Concentration broken, Katie pulled away from Rafe with a regretful sigh. Five more minutes and perhaps she could have woken him up. She glanced over her shoulder, at Susan approaching with Shilah cradled in her arms as though he weighed nothing at all. Perhaps it was best for Rafe to miss this part. Right now they needed to focus all their energy on escape, and nothing else. The truth about Susan’s fate was sure to bring up complicated feelings that he didn’t need to deal with while their lives were still in danger.
“It looks like you did a good job treating Shilah,” Susan called out as she approached. “I also gave him a little TLC of my own. He’ll be fine. You will need to take him to a vet for that leg, though. It may need to come off.”
Katie’s stomach turned over with guilt. Yet despite Susan’s grim prediction, Shilah seemed perkier than he had since the fight. He wore a friendly doggy grin as Susan carried him to the backseat. Katie managed a genuine smile in return. “We’ll take him. Thank you.”
Susan settled Shilah on the bench seat, then backed away from the truck with a not-so-subtle glance at Rafe. She handed Katie the stack of Rafe’s clothes that she’d somehow managed to carry with Shilah, along with her purse. “I don’t recommend stopping before you hit the road west. I know you’ll want to try and wake him up as soon as possible, but you’ve got to put as much distance between you and this place as you can. Understand?”
“Yeah, I get it.” Katie closed the truck doors, then stood to face Susan. “Listen, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Susan quirked a frustratingly endearing smile as she handed over the keys. “Literally.”
“I remember.” Rocking back on her heels, Katie searched for the appropriate parting words. The best she could come up with was, “Be careful.”
“You, too.” Susan snuck one last look at Rafe. “Take good care of him.”
“You know I will.”
Susan turned to leave, but before she took even a single step, she hesitated, then glanced back over her shoulder. “I don’t know where you’re going—and I don’t want to know—but please remember that Rafe hasn’t spent a lot of time around humans. It may take him a while to adjust.” Worry clouded her pretty face. “Be patient with him, okay? Remember how out of place you feel here. He’ll feel just as out of place in your world.”
Katie wasn’t sure that was exactly true. After all, Rafe wasn’t likely to find hordes of people desperate to rape and kill him in San Francisco—or wherever they ended up. Still, she understood Susan’s point. “I’ll remember.”
Susan tipped her head. “Take care of each other.” She swiftly transformed into a wolf—a beautiful, buff-colored one that was far more graceful than intimidating—and took off running.
Katie didn’t bother to watch her until she disappeared. As soon as Susan hit the tree line, Katie ran around to the driver’s side of the truck and climbed inside. Fishing the key out of her pocket, she forced her numb fingers to fit it into the ignition. A whine from the backseat drew her attention to the rearview mirror, where Shilah stared back at her. She exhaled shakily. “I’m going to do my best to drive us out of here, boy.” A sudden flash of memory sent a sick feeling to the pit of her stomach. Trying to keep her car on the slick road, only to end up stranded and alone. “Hopefully I won’t lose control of the truck this time.” Shilah sighed deeply, and Katie echoed the sound. “Don’t worry, I’ll stop to wake your daddy up as soon as I can. I don’t want to drive in these conditions, either.”
Unfortunately, Susan was right. She had no other choice.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The drive was a nightmare. Worse than a nightmare, actually, because the sickening slide of the tires around every curve made her feel out of control in a way that was all too real. The sensation took her back in time to only a week ago, when an ill-conceived trip into bad weather on treacherous roads had ended with her nearly freezing to death in a ditch. Driving with the frigid wind whipping against her face made her feel even more panicky. With no windows, they would have no protection from the elements if she wrecked this time.
She hoped that her decision to leave without waiting for the snow to melt wasn’t the wrong one. If she had another accident, they would be sitting ducks for vengeance-seeking werewolves. Even if Rafe woke up, that would be an awful situation. If he didn’t, she wasn’t certain she could shoot their way out of it.
In the backseat, Shilah whimpered every time she hit a particularly rough section of road. More worrying was that Rafe made no sound at all. She strained to hear something—anything—over the crunch of the tires on the snow and the panicked rasp of her own breathing. But there was nothing. Rafe wasn’t there.
Even though she still felt their connection enough to know that Rafe was still with her, the thought disturbed her immensely. How much longer until s
he felt nothing at all? Taking her attention off the road for only an instant, she scanned his slumbering form from head to toe. Was there some injury she couldn’t see? He was littered with cuts and bruises, but nothing that explained his continued sleep. She yearned to pull over and try to wake him as Susan had suggested, but she intended to heed the warning to wait until they’d driven a few miles west. Just to be safe.
Safe. Katie tried to snicker, but couldn’t seem to force her lips out of the tense line they’d formed. Right now she felt anything but safe. She hadn’t felt safe since Rafe walked out the front door the night before.
When the road finally dead-ended, offering her a choice between east and west, Katie took the right-turn with a grateful sigh. Her relief immediately turned into horror when the truck’s back-end fishtailed on the slippery surface, sending her careening toward the side of the road in what seemed like slow motion. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, paralyzed for what felt like an eternity before instinct took over and she steered out of the deadly slide. From behind her came the sound of Shilah yawning loudly, clearly anxious, while Rafe uttered a moan that was so quiet, at first she wasn’t sure that she’d really heard it.
“Rafe?” Katie pushed down on the brake, slowing to a tentative stop only yards away from the interchange. She touched his bare thigh, pleased to find his skin once again warm to the touch. “Sorry about that. If you want to take over behind the wheel, I’m all for it.” When he didn’t stir, she cradled his face in her hand. “I need you here with me, baby. Please come back to me.”
He groaned, and her heart sang. Glancing around to make sure they were still alone, she pressed both palms flat against his chest, then bowed her head and focused all her longing for his company on their point of contact. All the love he inspired, her dreams of sharing a future with this man she just met, every intangible, illogical thing he made her feel—she took all of those emotions, jumbled as they were, and channeled them into a yearning, all-consuming plea to the universe to release Rafe from whatever deep, dark place he’d fallen into.
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