The Criminal and the Wolf

by Ella Grey

  Because she’s your mate? No, it couldn’t be that simple. Beth was human and probably didn’t know anything about fated mates, but she would feel as drawn to him as he was to her. It would have been totally confusing for her. She didn’t strike him as a typical criminal. During his time in the army he’d met more than his fair share of people who broke the law for one reason or another. Some did it for what it could get them, others for the power or for self-preservation. Beth seemed to fall in the last category. A woman with no choice.

  “Oh, Carlos.” David glanced up from his own thoughts and noticed that Maria stood in the doorway. She was a curvy woman with grey streaks in her black hair. The expression on her face was a mix of pained and worried. She dashed to his side and took both of his hands into hers. “I knew something like this would happen eventually, but he always said that I was being silly. Nothing happens in Harper, he said.”

  “He lost a lot of blood, but the bullet passed through him cleanly. He was lucky.” He got to his feet and stretched. Now that he knew Carlos would recover, he needed to find Beth again. They needed to talk, and the wolf inside of him was desperate to get out. The presence of the dark-haired woman played havoc with the wolf within. It would calm down again when he saw her.

  Maria looked over the bed at him, tears rolling down her face. Maria was the kind of woman who was always put together extremely well. Impeccable makeup. Never a hair out of place. The shooting had shocked her. In a small town like Harper, gun crime was rare. “A miracle. Thank you for being there, David.”

  Carlos stirred and opened his eyes. He took one look at his wife and smiled. “I’m fine.”

  David placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll give you two some privacy. See you later, old man.” When he got to the door, he caught the exchange between husband and wife.

  “You could have died,” she said accusingly.

  He sighed. “But I didn’t.”

  “You promised me that we’d grown old together. I expect you to keep that promise.” David glanced over his shoulder and saw that despite her words Maria rested her head on his chest. Carlos smiled at him, obviously happy to be alive, and David waved at him before he left the room completely.

  David walked past the nurses’ station. A man stood there, wearing a dark blue shirt, matching tie, and a white shirt. “All I want to know is, is she here?”

  The nurse looked flustered as she checked something on her computer. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t tell you that, but nobody matching your fiancée’s description was checked in.”

  “I have eyewitnesses who told me she was there.” The man’s gaze narrowed.

  David touched his stun gun. He wouldn’t pull it here, but there was something about the man he didn’t like. The nurse looked nervous, and David frowned.

  “Long, dark hair. Her name is Elisabeth Cooper. She might have signed in under Beth.” That name made David stop in his tracks. That was Beth’s full name. He had seen it on a card in her wallet. “Look at your list again.” The flustered nurse picked up a clipboard and scrolled through the names.

  “I’m sorry, I haven’t got anyone here under that name.”

  David resumed walking. The man didn’t notice him, but every fiber of his being urged him to keep moving. This man wasn’t a good guy, and David trusted his instincts. It kept him alive. He needed to talk to Beth to find out what the hell was going on.

  Chapter Five

  Approaching the address he’d discovered on her driver’s license, David caught sight of the man on the steps of where Beth lived. Warning bells went off in his head. It was like the man in the hospital but different somehow. He is dangerous. He wants to hurt our mate. David didn’t bother to question his wolf but chose instead to trust its judgment. He ran, using the same supernatural speed he’d drawn from back at Sweet Delights, to reach the figure. I can smell steel. A gun. Hurry. He jumped over the fences and through the front door. If anyone was looking in their direction, they wouldn’t have seen anything but a blur. Wolves moved fast. He reached for the back of the man’s neck and guessed at his dominant hand before grabbing it, forcing his arm up and into the air. Something snapped. But it wasn’t a part of him, so he wasn’t bothered by it. The gun went off, loudly, but harmlessly in the air.

  He looked past the man and noticed Beth, lying in the hallway. A red mist descended over him, and David furiously kicked the man forwards. The man managed to stay on his feet before colliding with the opposite wall and coming to a stop, crumpled on the floor. David stepped over the unconscious Beth and stalked towards the man again. By the time he reached him, he scrambled to his feet. There was a slightly dazed look in his eyes, and David grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. His wolf came to the surface, and David snarled at him.

  “Who the hell are you?” The man struggled in his grip, and David slammed him, face first against the wall. “I’m going to ask you one more time, and then I’m going to call the cops.”

  “I didn’t do anything wrong. She fainted, that’s all.”

  “And if I hadn’t been here? I know you have a gun.” He breathed in deeply and caught the faint scent of freshly discharged cordite. It triggered a memory. “You’re the one who shot Carlos.”

  The man’s eyes widened. “How the hell do you know that?” He struggled against the brickwork. “Let me down. Do you know who I work for?”

  “Temple. And if you think the name scares me, you don’t know who the hell I am.”

  “I know you’re the new guy who worked in the van.”

  David dropped him and snarled. Kelvin smirked at him, but he was scared. It was all for show.

  “I’m going to let you leave. I want you to give your boss a message. Beth is off limits. If I so much as sniff any of you in her general area. I’m going to kill you.”

  ****

  Beth opened her eyes and yawned. She curled up onto her side, snuggling down in the sheets, but before she could close her eyes again, she remembered what happened. She sat up and looked around her room.

  How did I did end up here?

  The last thing she remembered was opening the front door and seeing the gun. She frowned. Wait a minute, a gun? She started to pat at her body, worried and half expecting her hands to come back slick with blood or at least touch a bandage. But nothing hurt. Nothing was damaged, but… She touched the back of her head and winced. That hurts. Did someone hit me with a mountain?

  Stars danced in front of her eyes. She got to her feet, swaying slightly. The afternoon sun had given way to an inky blackness. The day had turned to night. How was that even possible? It had been light when she arrived back home. Who put me into bed?

  She opened her bedroom door. There was a heaviness in her house. She wasn’t alone. A smart choice would be to run out of the door and call the police.

  “Hello?” The word came out shaky. Genius, Beth. Absolute genius. She would be the first person to die, in a horror movie.

  “I’m in the kitchen.”

  “David?”

  She walked into the kitchen and stopped in surprise. David sat in one of the chairs. He ran his fingers through his dark hair, and Beth felt a pull in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t understand it, but there was something magnetic about him. Something that attracted her to him. She let out a shuddery breath. “H-hey.” Smooth. Was he here to take her to jail for her part in the robbery? “How’s Carlos?”

  He smiled. “He’s going to be all right. Your quick thinking helped.”

  “I’m glad.”

  He got to his feet and pulled a chair out. Beth sat down. “What happened?”

  “You fainted.”

  “I gathered that much.” Beth rubbed at her face. “Why did I faint? I remember a gun, but I must have imagined it.” She looked between her fingers at David. “I didn’t imagine it?”

  David shook his hand. “It looked like your partner was given orders to get rid of loose ends.”

  She glanced around the room. Kelvin wasn’t there, and he hadn’t
hurt her. “Why would Temple order that?”

  “I don’t know.” David stood, and Beth watched as he retrieved a glass and filled it with water. He placed it in front of her. She thought that he would be a little uncomfortable in a place that wasn’t his. Instead he moved with ease. He certainly made himself at home. It bothered her a little that he’d been left unattended in her house while she’d been unconscious. “It looked like he wanted to remove any incriminating evidence, since it all went to hell.”

  She rested her head in her hands. “It wasn’t my fault. I was doing what I was told to clear the debt.” She glanced up to see that David was studying her. “Where happened to him?”

  “I told him to give his boss a message. You’re off-limits, and the debt is cleared.”

  That didn’t make any sense. She raised the glass to her lips but stopped short of taking a drink. “You can’t pay it for me, David. Fifty thousand is a ridiculous amount of money.” It didn’t matter who owned the debt. She wouldn’t be able to pay David any more than she’d been able to pay Temple.

  He smiled. It looked almost wolfish, like the character in Little Red Riding Hood. “Nobody is going to pay that money.”

  “Why? David, they will come after me again. You can’t always be here to look after me, and you shouldn’t have to.”

  He reached out and touched her fingers. Another shock went through her, and she pulled her hand free, shaking it. “It’s complicated, but you should know I can protect you and I will.”

  “They’re dangerous, David, and while it’s sweet you want to help me, you don’t know me, and I can’t have your possible death on my mind. Maybe Temple will be okay with me leaving town?” And the Pope is a middle-aged black woman. “Unless you plan on taking me to the police?” She got to her feet.

  “No.” David got to his feet as well. “Beth, look at me.”

  “I need to get my other ID.” She crossed her arms. “I might be able to get jobs to get me where I need to go.” Her original plan to travel to Canada might still work. It didn’t seem possible, but unless she tried, she’d never know.

  “Where do you need to go?”

  “A place away from here.” She turned around and jumped. David stood behind her. She hadn’t even heard him. Dark brown eyes were filled with heat and passion. His black hair was ruffled from where he’d ran his fingers through it. “What are you doing?”

  “Beth, shut up.” He touched her chin, and she could barely move as he kissed her. The promise of the kiss back in Sweet Delights didn’t compare to what passed between them in the kitchen. She moaned as he nibbled on her bottom lip, and then he kissed her again. As if they had a life of their own, her hands ended up on his shoulders before she touched the nape of his neck. She’d never been kissed this way before. As if she was the most important thing in the world. “This is such a stupid idea,” he murmured.

  “Why are you stopping?”

  He picked her up and placed her on the counter. “Believe me, I don’t want to. Being around you is driving me nuts.” Beth pulled him closer, wanting to kiss him again. This time he stepped away from her and suddenly her hands were empty. “I have to tell you the truth.” He turned away from her. “You’re not going to believe me. It’s impossible to believe. There’s reasons why there’s rules.” He shook his head. “Never broke one of them before. Never wanted to.”

  She reached out, but he was too far away for her to touch. “What are you talking about?”

  “Beth, I’m not human.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean, you’re not human?”

  He turned to face her, and there was something about him. Broad shoulders and dark hair, messy from her fingers. Handsome. But it was his eyes. She blinked a few times. They were golden, but she was sure they had been brown. Now they looked almost animalistic. There was a hungry look in his eyes, but it didn’t scare her. Sure, her heart rate kicked up a notch, but she knew that David wouldn’t hurt her. There were several times he could have. She’d been defenseless while she slept. Nothing he said made any sense. There were monsters in the world, but they were human ones.

  “I’m a shifter.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  He took a step closer to her, and she froze as he put her hands on either side of her legs. This time she couldn’t explain away the look in his eyes. The fact his eyes had changed colors. He blinked. The golden color became brown again. “Watch closely.” Warmth flooded into his pupils like a paintbrush being dipped into water. When the transformation finished, he was close enough to kiss again, but that was the last thing on her mind. Her gaze dropped to his lips. Okay, maybe not the last thing on her mind.

  “What are you?”

  “I’m a shifter. It means I can turn into a wolf.” He glanced down at her lap. “You don’t have to be scared, sweetheart. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “I’m not scared.”

  He edged closer and rested his chin on her shoulder. Beth closed her eyes as he breathed in deeply. “Liar. You can’t lie to someone like me. I can smell it on you. Also, if you grip that counter any harder, you’ll break it.”

  She loosened her hold and flexed her fingers. “Why did you tell me?” A part of her wanted to push him away and make a run for the door. Another part of her wanted to pull him closer. To feel bare skin underneath her fingertips.

  “Because you’re my mate. That’s why you feel so drawn to me and me to you.” He rubbed his thumbs against her hips. “I didn’t even know if I was going to tell you.”

  “Why?” She brushed a kiss against the curve of his neck. The urge overwhelmed her.

  “Because it’s a dangerous thing to know.” He moved his hands to the top of her thighs and then settled them on her waist. “I wasn’t kidding about the rules.” He rested his forehead against hers.

  “But you told me.” She pulled away slightly, so she could see his eyes which, she was pleased to see, were still the same shade of brown. The gold had been mesmerizing, but the more normal color was beautiful. “Why?”

  He sighed slightly as he edged forward and touched his lips to hers. “Because I couldn’t imagine not telling you. Every part of me wants you, and I know we can handle anything together. I know it sounds strange. We don’t know each other, not really, but I believe that, with every ounce of my being. I can protect you. I can take you away from here, and we can have a life together. We can get to know each other. To form a bond beyond the mating one.”

  God, everything he said was seductive to her. It was all crazy. What she felt for him wasn’t normal. It was too quick, and yet everything he said made a peculiar sense. She felt a pull to him, one that she didn’t understand. An allure that thrilled and scared her in equal measure.

  “And what if Temple comes after us?”

  David grinned. “I’m not worried about him, and you shouldn’t be either. So, what do you say, Beth? Do you want to come with me?”

  She slowly nodded. It was insane, but it was also perfect. Get away from the little town of Harper and go somewhere unknown with a man she barely knew, a creature that shouldn’t exist? It had taken a lot of strength to leave her old life behind once and move to Harper. Now she was going to do it again, but this time she wasn’t alone.

  “Yeah, I do.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close. His warm fingers touched her lower back, and she brushed a kiss against his lips. He swept his tongue against the seal of hers, and she practically purred.

  Chapter Six

  David only had the briefest of warnings, the sounds of whispering on the other side of the door. It showed how caught up in the moment he’d been to have missed it. As the door opened, he pulled Beth off the kitchen counter and dragged her to the floor with him, his hand pressed against her mouth. The hushed whispers, which had barely preceded the entry of two men, died down. There was a click. A safety being taken off a gun. David raised his finger to his lips, and as Beth nodded, he removed his hand.

  “
Are you sure they’re here?” asked a low voice David didn’t recognize.

  “Of course, I’m sure. I peeked through the window, and they were in here getting hot and heavy. I don’t know how they moved so fast. They’re probably in the bedroom or something.”

  That one was Kelvin. Stupid little human. David had warned him, but he’d come back anyway with backup.

  “If I had known that Beth was so easy, I would have had a go before I put a bullet in her.”

  The other man seemed to laugh. “You’re all class, Kelvin.”

  “What can I say, I appreciate a nice bit of ass.”

  The red mist threatened to descend over him, but Beth touched his wrist and it vanished. There was nothing he wanted to do more in that moment then to tear out the man’s throat, but it wouldn’t help their situation. The wolf inside of him wasn’t as forgiving. He glanced across at Beth, thankful that the table was covered in a cloth that nearly hit the floor. They were safely hidden from the men. Beth shook her head as if she could read his mind, and he took a deep breath, taking control of his wolf. If he lost himself, then he risked Beth getting caught in the crossfire. Humans were more fragile, but he noticed the strength in her eyes. There was fear there, too, but she wasn’t letting herself drown in it.

  “Let’s go to the bedroom and give the lovers a rude awakening.” There was an odd noise, like something was being screwed onto something else. David had experience with guns, and it didn’t take him long to place the sound. A silencer. These guys weren’t playing around. It wasn’t about scaring Beth into keeping silent. It was about actively silencing her.

  David waited until he heard the kitchen door open and close.

  “I need to grab a few things from mine, and then we’ll leave.” He grabbed her hand, and they ran for the door. David heard the moment when the men realized that the bedroom was empty. “Is there a back way out of here?”

  “There’s some streets at the back of the house.”