by D. M. Turner
“I already know the decision you’ll make.” He snorted and shook his head before turning to scent the air.
“Oh? And what makes you so sure you’ve guessed right?”
“Because you’re scared spitless of committing yourself to another pack after being raised in a violent, abusive one.” He turned to face her. “And you’re terrified of me.”
“I most certainly am not!”
“Yes, you are, and we both know it.” Brett let a slow smile creep across his face. “We also know you want me despite that fear.”
She reared back again, but no protest came. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely louder than the breeze rustling dried leaves scattered on the ground. “You want me, too.”
“I never said I didn’t, but I’m not afraid of you.”
“Are you sure about that?”
It was Brett’s turn to be surprised. What was that supposed to mean? “I’m not afraid of anyone.”
Kelly chuckled. “Yeah, right.”
He closed the distance between them, crowding her enough to feel the heat of her body through their clothes.
She backed against her car with a thunk, her eyes widening.
“What exactly is it I’m supposed to be afraid of, little girl?”
“Wanting me.”
He laughed. “Oh, really.”
“Yes.”
He forced down uncertainty and more than a bit of fear. How had she figured that out? He’d done a good job of masking fear with anger. At least, he thought he had.
“I see right through you, Brett, as though you were made of glass.”
“You wish.”
“You can believe whatever you like, but I know you’re afraid of me.”
Brett plastered a grin on his face that he knew would infuriate her because of its arrogance. “Try again, sweetheart. I have no reason to fear you.”
“Don’t you?” She shifted away from the car, putting herself close enough that her scent and body heat merged fully with his.
His heart faltered.
“I think you’re positively terrified.”
“Not hardly.” Then, to make his point, he pressed her against the car with the full length of his body and kissed her. He’d only meant to prove something, to make it quick and harmless, but passion flared fast and hot. Every fiber of his being demanded more, and he sought it, deepening the kiss.
When she protested, he ignored her.
After a few seconds, she surrendered and fed it back to him in equal measure. The scent of her arousal blended with his, adding fuel to an already blazing fire.
A woman’s scream tore through the forest again, reminding him why he was out there nearly getting run over by this infuriating woman in the first place.
He wrenched free, stepping back to put distance between them, panting, his gaze locked on her.
She gasped for breath as desperately as he did. That fact only made him want her more.
Good grief. Get a grip, man! Brett licked his lips. The taste of her tempted him to go back for seconds. He headed for his car before he could do something stupid. “Go home, Kelly. I have to go back to the house and tell them about the cat.” He scowled. He hadn’t meant for that to come out so softly, without authority. When he reached the car, he glanced back to make sure she was doing as she’d been told.
Head down, she had turned and opened her car door.
Movement behind her caught his eye. The largest mountain lion he’d ever seen crept within striking range.
She was completely unaware of it.
Heart in his throat, Brett turned and ran back toward her. “Look out!” If that cat reached her first, it could kill her. It had to outweigh her by at least a hundred pounds. If she’d been in wolf form, she might stand a chance. Might. In human form, she’d be helpless against that large of a predator.
Kelly’s gaze shot to his then she turned to see what he’d pointed at.
Just as the cat launched itself at her.
Brett hit it in mid-air, slamming his shoulder into its ribs.
It folded around him like a blanket. With long claws. They dug into his flesh.
He locked his hands around its throat, trying to choke it.
It caught him in the stomach with a back leg, tearing deep.
* * *
Kelly watched, amazed, as Brett tackled the monstrous predator before it reached her. He’d saved her. He owed her nothing. She wasn’t his responsibility. Yet, he’d attacked an animal that looked to weigh as much as he did. And it had teeth and claws to kill.
It quickly gained the upper hand. The scent of Brett’s blood filled the night.
She had to help him, but how? Her wolf form was too small to take on a predator that big. He’d gut her and carry her off into the night. She looked around frantically but couldn’t see a single thing that might make a good weapon. Where was a good, sturdy tree branch when you needed one?
Her gaze fell on the car. The trunk. She might have something in there. She pulled the keys from the ignition and ran around to open the trunk.
The tire iron. Better than a tree branch. She could beat that cat to death if need be.
Brett’s struggles against the animal had weakened in the moments it took her to find a weapon.
“Get… out of… here,” he demanded around grunts and gasps for air.
“Not without you.” She saw an opening and brought the tire iron down as hard as she could on the back of the cat’s skull, thankful she wasn’t as weak as humans seemed to be.
The cougar stepped back, stumbling slightly, and shook its head as though stunned.
“Brett, get in the car.” She whacked at the cat again. The tire iron grazed its shoulder as it sidestepped and hissed. She growled back and stepped in for another swing.
The mountain lion turned and ran into the trees.
Kelly backed to where she’d left Brett, to find him struggling to his feet. “Let me help.” She braced a shoulder under his arm and lifted with her legs to help him up.
The hand she’d put around his waist slid through blood that soaked his shirt. It dripped over her skin. They had to stop the bleeding, but they couldn’t deal with that right then.
The cat could be watching for another opportunity to attack, or it could return after it recovered from the headache she’d surely given it with that pop to the head. Hopefully she’d cracked its skull hard enough to cause a fatal hemorrhage. After what it had done to Brett, the thing deserved death.
She took Brett around to the passenger side of her car, struggled to open the door without dropping either him or the tire iron, and helped him fall into the seat. Once he was inside, she slammed the door and ran around to get into the driver’s seat, expecting teeth and claws to sink into her flesh before she closed the door. She rolled up the window to be on the safe side and reached up to turn the key.
It was gone.
What had she done with it? Where were the keys?
She glanced in the rearview mirror. The trunk stood open. Had she left the keys in the lock?
Tire iron in hand, she opened the door and scanned the area for any sign of their attacker. Then she got out and slid along the car until she reached the trunk, keeping her eyes on deeply shadowed trees. She felt along the top, around where the lock should be. “Please, God, let the keys be there.” If she’d dropped them in the fight, they were in serious trouble.
Her fingers stumbled over them. She tugged them free, slammed the trunk, and made her way back to her seat. She didn’t lower her guard until the door slammed between her and the outside world.
Shaking fingers fumbled the keys but finally managed to get the right one into the ignition. Then she turned the car around and headed back to the house. The return trip felt like an eternity. Had that road lengthened since she’d driven it to leave? Of course not. Don’t be stupid. You’re freaking out, and it won’t help matters. That man could still die. You’ve seen wounded werewolves bleed to death often enough to kno
w.
Tears blurred her vision. She blinked them away. Brett could die, and it would probably be her fault. No, no probably about it. If she’d left when he told her to, they wouldn’t be in this fix. She’d thought he was just being a demanding jerk. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might have a good reason for ordering her to go home. He’d tried to protect her.
He might die for it.
No! I can’t let that happen.
Finally, the house came into view. She stopped at the end of the walkway, putting Brett’s door on the house side, got out, and ran to the front door. It opened easily under her hand. They hadn’t locked it after she and Brett had left. Lights were on, but the front rooms were empty.
“Someone help! Please!”
Ian ran out of one hallway; Colin thundered down stairs and ran out of the other.
“What is it?” Ian’s gaze traveled the length of her, a frown tightening his face with concern. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
“Not me. Brett. You have to help him.” She ran back to the car.
Ian wrenched open the car door. The hinge popped in a way that probably wasn’t good, but Kelly was beyond caring.
“What happened?”
“Mountain lion.”
Colin cursed. “I knew I should’ve gone after that cat this afternoon.”
“Help me get Brett into the house.”
Ian at his head, Colin at his feet, the two men carried Brett into the safety of the house.
Tanya stood in the living room, eyes wide as she clutched the lapels of a robe together at her throat.
The men carried their fallen friend past the stairs, down a hallway, and into an empty bedroom. Without any apparent thought to the blood they left everywhere, or the fact it would probably ruin the mattress, they set him on the bed.
Colin ran from the room and returned moments later with a large first aid kit.
No words were spoken as Ian and Colin stripped Brett, revealing the severity of his wounds.
Kelly pressed a hand over her mouth as bile churned.
Muscles torn by teeth and claws were the least of his worries. His stomach and chest had been torn open, and she could see intestines and rib bones.
Tears would no longer be restrained, pouring freely over her face. “The cougar came after me. He stopped it. He stopped it to save me.”
An arm slipped around her waist.
She glanced over to find Tanya at her side, her worried gaze resting on the injured man in the bed.
“If he dies, it’ll be my fault. He told me to go home, but I thought….” She shook her head. They wouldn’t care about her excuses. If they lost their friend, the pack’s second, they’d hate her for being the cause of his death. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shh. It’ll be okay. Brett’s tough.” Tanya hugged her. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Kelly didn’t want to leave him, but she’d never learned first aid. She would only get in the way. She nodded and let Tanya lead her to the bedroom across the hall.
Tanya closed them inside the room and opened a door to reveal a closet. She pulled clothes out then smiled. “I’m afraid all we have are men’s sweatpants and t-shirts.” She eyed Kelly. “I’m pretty sure my jeans and stuff won’t fit you. You’re taller than I am.”
“Those are fine.” She dropped onto the foot of the bed. “It’s my fault. He was in the middle of the road, and I almost hit him. It scared me, so I yelled at him. He ordered me to shut up and go home. I didn’t go.” She wiped a hand over her face, only to realize it was covered in blood. His blood. “He was protecting me.”
“That’s the way the men of this pack are.” Tanya smiled and sat next to her. “They just can’t leave well enough alone when a woman is in trouble.”
“If he dies, it’s my fault. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself.”
“Why don’t you hop in the shower? I’ll see how they’re doing.”
Kelly nodded then headed for the bathroom. She stripped out of blood-soaked clothes and promptly threw up.
* * *
Showered and her teeth brushed with a new toothbrush she’d found under the bathroom sink, Kelly finger-combed wet hair as best she could and got dressed. Then she padded on bare feet across the hall.
Ian slammed the first aid kit and moved it to a table near the bathroom. “We’ve done what we can for now. The rest is up to him. We need to feed him the moment he wakes up.”
“I’ll take care of it.” It was the least she could do after he’d almost gotten killed to save her. Her gaze settled on him. What if he died? He could still die from blood loss. “It’s my fault he’s in this condition. I’ll stay, make sure he eats.” She lowered her gaze and dropped into the chair by the table outside the bathroom, drawing her knees to her chest and hugging them to ward off the chill that radiated from her core.
Ian waving to Colin and Tanya drew her gaze. “You two go ahead and go to bed. I’ll bring food for Kelly to give him. Tomorrow, we’ll call in the pack. We’re going hunting.”
Colin nodded, wrapped an arm around Tanya’s waist, and headed for the door. “Goodnight, Dad. Night, Kelly. If you need us, holler.”
“Okay.” She shivered.
The water in the bathroom ran then shut off.
She kept her eyes on Brett, who breathed too fast and shallow for her liking. A few seconds later, a blanket dropped across her, startling her. She glanced up.
Ian smiled faintly and tucked it around her.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He straightened.
“Will he be okay?”
“I think so, but we’ll know in the next few hours.” He glanced down at her. “Did you get a good look at the cat?”
Kelly nodded, tears filling her eyes. Would she ever be through crying over this? “I think it weighed as much as he does. The thing was huge.” She craned her neck to look more fully at Ian. “You worked hard to save him.”
“He’s important to the pack, as well as to me personally. He’s my best friend.”
She lowered her gaze to watch Brett’s struggle with the pain of his injuries, even in his unconscious state. “My father’s never had friends, and he most certainly wouldn’t expend any energy to save another wolf. Especially one who’s strong enough to challenge him.” She glanced back up at Ian. “And Brett is strong enough to challenge you, isn’t he?”
He smiled and nodded. “And I’m not altogether sure I’d win.”
“You’re content with that?”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “I know if something happens to me, the pack will be well cared for. Brett doesn’t want to lead any more than I do, but he’d be good at it.”
“I almost got him killed.”
“It wasn’t your fault. If I know Brett, at some point before the attack, he contemplated going after the cougar by himself. Probably figured he could dispatch it quickly and get the job done.”
Her heart leapt into her throat. “He wouldn’t!”
“Yes, he would.” He snorted a short laugh. “He’s the pack’s protector, above and beyond all else. He takes that very seriously.”
“I’m not pack. He had no reason to protect me.”
Ian half-smiled, the same crooked smile his son possessed. “As fiercely as we protect the pack, we’re even more protective of our females.”
The implication of his words sank slowly into a weary mind. “Your females? I’m not one of your females. At least, not yet. He told me flat out that he knew I’d reject the pack, so he doesn’t consider me one of your females.”
His gray gaze rested on her for a few moments. Then he chuckled. “You keep telling yourself that. One of you might believe it eventually.” He headed for the door. “I better get something for you to feed him when he wakes.”
Long minutes passed before he returned. She considered his words. Did Brett see her as his, despite what he’d said? No, it was ridiculous to contemplate. Desiring someone wasn’t the same as wanting them a
s a life-mate. People jumped in and out of bed with strangers every day, walking away without a spare thought.
It wasn’t for her. Sexual desire meant nothing when not paired with respect, trust, love, and a true mating. No matter what the world endorsed or justified, she wouldn’t fall into bed with any man she wasn’t fully committed to. Politically correct or not, she wanted a loving relationship that lasted, not a one-night stand or short-term fling without heart. To love and be loved, not use and be used.
Still, Brett had nearly been killed saving her. She wasn’t part of his pack. Not his responsibility. Her father and the members of his pack would never have put their lives at risk for each other, much less someone they barely knew.
Ian had been right when he’d said her assessment of him and his pack was based in ignorance. She’d defended her stand, claiming experience had taught her about pack structure and how things worked. In truth, she’d assumed every pack was like her father’s, every alpha like the man who’d sired her. Like her sister’s husband and pack. Ian and his pack were different, and she’d probably only just begun to scratch the surface of how much so.
“Alright. This should do until morning.” Ian set a large, covered dish on the nightstand beside the bed. “If, by some miracle, you get all of this into him by morning, there’s more in the fridge.”
Kelly nodded.
“I’m off to bed. If you need me, the master bedroom is at the far end of the house. Follow the hallway on the other side of the living room.”
“Thanks.”
“Try to rest. You’ve already had a very long night.” He headed for the door.
“Ian?” She shifted in the chair to see him better.
“Yes?”
“I didn’t know there was a pack here. I honestly had no idea. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come, in case my father found me. I don’t want my problems to become yours.”
“We realize that.”
“Then how can you ask me to join your pack, knowing what might come of it?”
“Everyone who’s come to this pack has come with baggage of one sort or another. With the exception of Colin, we were Turned, and none willingly, so there was a lot of adjustment and emotional damage.” He leaned a shoulder against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re pretty good at helping new members deal with problems. Granted, issues like your father and a werewolf pack aren’t the norm, but we’ll deal with it if it should arise. Who knows? Maybe they’ll never find you.”