“And I’m grateful you saved my life,” Kate said in turn, smiling once again. “I could say we’re even except that we sound like I expected to be paid back, which I never did. You needed that money, Mila. You deserved it.”
Mila nodded, blushing and not sure what to say. Kate was genuinely not interested in being paid back.
“I think you’ll like Damien’s pack,” Kate continued. “They’re rather warm and friendly.”
“You’re not a good liar, Kate.”
Kate laughed. “So, I’ve been told. Okay, the truth is, they don’t welcome outsiders easily, but maybe that was just me. I didn’t exactly set the right tone by shooting Hayden.”
“You really shot him? I didn’t believe him when he said that.”
“It’s not exactly the type of thing a person lies about.”
“No, but—”
“You don’t trust Hayden do you?”
“Jeez, Kate, what’s gotten into you? For the weeks I’ve been treating you, you barely asked me anything, let alone divulged much about yourself. I barely got Damien’s name out of you, and that was only because you thought you were dying at the time.”
“I was dying.”
“You weren’t dying. I think I can diagnose that much. You paid for my medical school, remember?”
Kate nonchalantly waved her hand through the air. “Mere pennies.”
“I’m glad you have so much cash at your disposal, but that doesn’t give you the right to pry.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Kate fell silent again.
Mila felt awful. Kate was struggling with not knowing what had happened to Callen. Perhaps she was only looking to distract herself.
“Trusting is hard lately,” Mila said before she could stop herself, but sometimes a person just had to go outside her comfort zone to help another. And helping others was what being a doctor was about. “My distrust has nothing to do with Hayden personally.”
“Then you do like him!”
“He’s a white wolf, Kate!” Inwardly, Mila scorned herself. She kept forgetting Kate was a white wolf. “Of the male variety. Aggressive. Deadly. The type that sucks the life out of a shifter. Someone you don’t go near unless you don’t have a choice.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to see Hayden smile for a change.”
“Hayden smiles plenty from what I’ve seen.”
“At you. Not in the pack.”
Kate was playing matchmaker because she wanted everyone to be as happy as she was with Callen. Mila had seen that happen before among the single females of her pack. The moment they blood-bonded, they turned into matchmakers. Mila couldn’t bring herself to say anything more. Why Kate thought Hayden was interested in her was beyond Mila. The shifter rarely spoke to her, and when he did he was usually giving orders.
In all fairness, though, Hayden had been rather nice to her. She needed to ignore the fact that he was a white wolf and judge him based on his actions.
Walking downwind of Hayden’s tantalizing scent had her battling the urge to move closer to him. Her body certainly didn’t seem to care what type of wolf he was.
Kate wasn’t the only one who needed a distraction right now, and not just from their current situation. Mila knew exactly where she’d be right now if she hadn’t met Kate online six years ago when she was about to drop out of medical school for lack of funding. Trapped. Kate’s call for help had been a lifesaver. That’s twice Kate had saved her, without even realizing it. Back in college, Mila had been working nights and weekends at the local diner. The income barely paid for housing and food, and her scholarship money for tuition and books had run out.
Connecting with Kate had been nothing short of a miracle. It’s the reason Mila gladly dropped everything to meet Kate outside of Medicine Bow to treat her injuries. She would have gone all the way to Boulder and further, but Kate had chosen the spot.
Mila had been packing up her travel bag with medical supplies, eager to reach Kate, when she had dug out the bloody rag from the bottom of the bag. A few months back, Mila had hastily shoved the cloth in her bag, just to get it out of sight and not think about how she’d receive that bloody nose. Packing her supplies and discovering that dirty rag had triggered something in her. That’s when she decided it was time to leave her pack, for good. She had packed up her research and intentionally left her personal items behind. She wanted nothing from Truman’s pack, and she wouldn’t be returning there if she had any say in the matter.
Chapter Three
HAYDEN
Hayden didn’t like eavesdropping, but it was hard not to when they were talking about him. Kate was still getting used to being a shifter and likely didn’t think of the fact that Hayden was still within earshot. As for Mila, she had been a shifter her whole life Clearly, she didn’t care if Hayden overheard. He was nothing to her, nothing more than an escort charged with bringing her to Damien.
“He’s a white wolf, Kate! Of the male variety,” Mila said to Kate some twenty feet behind him in a useless whisper. “Aggressive, deadly. The type that sucks the life out of a shifter. Someone you avoid at all costs unless you don’t have a choice.”
He’d been a fool to think he ever had a shot with Mila. He wasn’t even sure what it was about her that he or his wolf saw. Beyond that curvy body, long legs, ample breasts, and green eyes a shifter could lose himself in.
Oh, how he’d like to lose himself in all that was Mila, again and again, and again.
“Everything okay up here?” Mila said as she caught up to him.
“Fine.” Far from fine. Every time she drew near, his wolf nipped and clawed at him to move closer to her. Today that was a particularly bad idea. Seeing what that shifter had done to her. Bruised, battered, concussed. . . Hayden had barely stopped himself from shredding the shifter into a thousand pieces. That’s something Drake would have done—has done, numerous times over the years. Hayden didn’t want to be like Drake, but the truth was, they were very similar. The same genes, the same urges, ran through both of them. He had thirsted for that shifter’s blood, fought back the urge to shred him only because he needed to see to Mila’s injuries. The second he had killed the bastard, Hayden had raced to her side, to do whatever he could do to help her, which turned out to be not one damn thing. She was the doctor, not him. He was supposed to have kept her from getting hurt in the first place.
Kate moved to his other side but said nothing. Those big brown eyes of hers narrowed, scrutinizing him and then danced over to Mila. What the hell were they up to?
“A penny for your thoughts,” Mila said.
“I don’t need money.”
“Hear that, Kate? You’re money’s useless here.”
“I never said I was spotting you.”
“No money needed. Perfect. Scram, Kate,” Mila said.
Kate fell back a few paces, leaving him alone with Mila. He didn’t like this, whatever this was, not one bit. “Harsh,” Hayden said, only because he felt as if they wouldn’t leave him alone unless he played their little game. “Where’s that bedside manner doctors are supposed to have?”
“Lost it with my virginity.”
Hayden nearly choked. He had absolutely nothing to say to that. “Why are you here, Mila?”
“I offered to work on the vaccine with Damien’s doctor. Joint effort, combine our notes. Two working together is always better than one.”
“I mean here, walking beside me. I said I’d get you to my pack, and I will. You don’t have to talk to me.”
“Maybe I want to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“You ask hard questions, Hayden.”
“It’s rather straightforward, actually.”
“Kate said you weren’t yourself. I thought I’d see if there was something I could do to help.”
“So, a house call, without the house. Nice to know you’re not above that sort of thing. I’m fine, doctor. Don’t waste your time on me.” He could tell from how she suddenly went silent th
at he had said the wrong thing. She continued walking alongside him when she could have just as easily returned to Kate. Maybe she didn’t hate him, after all.
Hayden glanced over his shoulder in time to see Kate scanning the woods behind her, her face hopeful and anxious. “He’s fine, Kate,” Hayden said.
“How do you know?”
Hayden dropped back to talk with her. Walking away from Mila, even for the short distance, felt wrong but at the same time, he could finally breathe again. The doctor had caught him off guard, especially with how frank she had been. Not a virgin. Well, that was always good to know, not that her status in that department impacted his future. He wasn’t her type. She had been quite clear about that.
“Your blood-bond would have told you otherwise,” he answered Kate’s question. “The way it’s been described to me is like having a tether to the other half of your soul. You’ll feel him there if you haven’t closed yourself off to him again.”
“I only did that to protect him.” She stopped suddenly and focused. Hayden immediately scanned the woods, scented the air. There was nothing nearby.
“Oh, God, Hayden. What if I closed it again inadvertently? Like in my sleep or something? Or when I passed out?”
“You have to consciously close it.”
“He’ll never find us.” Kate started staring up at the trees. He’d seen this once before. Heard about it from Callen too. Kate’s anxieties could get the best of her if no one intervened.
Mila rushed past him to get to Kate, speaking to her softly, getting Kate to focus on Mila’s face and to stop looking at the vast forest around them. Mila hadn’t hesitated to jump in there and help Kate.
Hell, Hayden really wasn’t a leader, but that didn’t mean he would walk away from his responsibility. “He’ll always find you, Kate,” he said, trying to offer her some thread of hope to hold onto.
“You’re just saying that,” she said, but her face said it was what she needed to hear, even if she didn’t quite believe it.
“No, really,” he said, feeling somewhat more hopeful himself. “The way you walk through the woods, stepping on every twig, and brushing by every branch, it’s like a herd of elephants going through.”
“You’re not funny,” Kate said as she swatted his arm and continued walking again as if all was right with the world. Mila giggled.
Hayden stood taller. Never had he heard such a light, airy sound as her laugh.
“You have a lot to learn as a shifter, Kate. Foremost, is that Callen will be back to teach you. He won’t let anyone, or anything, rip him from you. Until then, he expects you to stay alive. I expect you to stay alive, too. Or Callen will kill me. Understand?”
“How can I check the bond? Just to be sure?”
“Focus, I guess? I’m not really sure, but if you can’t, don’t worry. We all know you’re a bit slow. I mean, how many years did it take you to finally shift?”
That earned him another swat on the arm.
“See the abuse I have to put up with, Doc?”
A chuckle this time from Mila. And a smile. That smile was worth all the abuse Kate could dish out. More.
Kate stopped walking, trained her eyes on the ground and focused. Then her eyes lit. “I can feel him!”
Hayden kissed her forehead. “Aren’t you glad you didn’t kill me?”
Another swat and another laugh. He was on a roll. With Kate now smiling as well, it was time to take point, separate himself from the women before the group’s mood took a nosedive.
“That was nice, what you did for her,” Mila said, catching up to him.
“It could have backfired just as easily. I was gambling on Callen’s ability to survive. If she’s sensed him gone, then she would have lost it completely. See what a great guy I am?”
“Why are you doing that?” she asked.
“What? Be pessimistic?”
“More like self-deprecating, but yes.”
“It’s been a trying few weeks, nothing more.”
“I think there is more.”
“You don’t know me, Doc, and you don’t want to be near me, so why would you care?”
“And now you’re being presumptuous. You don’t know what I want any more than I know what you want.”
“Oh, so you want a womanizer? My experience tells me that doctors are smarter than that. Or hasn’t Kate told you I charm all the ladies back in our pack? A new one every week. Then, when I’m done with them, I send them on their merry way and scope out new meat.”
Her eyes went wide. He had shocked her. He had shocked himself. He’d said the first thing that had come to mind, to drive her away. Mila was sweet, gentle, and too smart to get mixed up with someone like him.
“And here I thought I’d somehow insulted you. I just wanted to apologize. Never mind. I’ll leave you alone.”
The last thing he wanted was for her to leave. Her presence soothed him, and yet that was the problem. She had no intentions of getting involved with a white wolf.
There were close to two hundred shifters in Damien’s pack, and every day they were taking in new shifters, lone shifters whose packs had been wiped out by the virus. It would be easy to hide from her, but he didn’t want to. Damn it, there was something about Mila that he wanted to get to know, even if there was no future for them together. Right now, he’d be happy with being friends, especially given how few of those he had in the pack.
“Don’t leave, please,” he said when Mila turned to walk back to Kate. She stopped, long enough to look at him, as if waiting for an explanation as to why she should put up with him any longer. “I know I’m poor company, but I’d appreciate having someone to talk to.”
“You keep forgetting I’m here too!” Kate said from behind.
“How could anyone forget you, especially when you don’t let them?”
Mila lightly smacked his arm. She had been taking lessons from Kate apparently. “Callen’s going to think you’re flirting with her when he returns.”
“No chance of that. I mean of him misunderstanding.”
“He says you’re a big flirt,” Kate called forward.
“God, Kate, you’re like the annoying little sister I never had! Go back to pouting, please.”
Mila giggled. It was light, ethereal, and something he’d never forget for as long as he lived. His Mila, giggling and carefree. Hayden stopped short.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice tinged with alarm.
His Mila. He had no right to think of her as his. He barely knew her, and she didn’t want to get to know him beyond basic friendship, if that much. “Nothing’s wrong. Sorry to scare you. Just had a thought going through my head. Logistics of the pack. Routine stuff.”
Her hand slipped through his arm. “I’m not scared. Not exactly. But I’m feeling a little faint. Thought I should steady myself. You don’t mind, do you?”
Did he mind? He’d take any excuse to touch her, but it was only a formula for disaster. The women he had dated in his pack, and the occasional one from Liam’s pack, had all been nice enough, but none had truly caught his attention, let alone that of his wolf. They had been temporary flings in his search for a woman who would challenge and intrigue him.
Mila was certainly a challenge. Letting her touch him though, when all he really wanted was to let his hand glide over those sensuous curves of hers, was not a good idea. He wished Callen were here, for more than Kate’s sake. He could use the distraction, the interference.
“I can carry you if you’d like.” And there he went, opening his big mouth and making matters worse. He could have simply let her hold his arm as she had asked, but why leave things simple when he could complicate them?
“I think I can manage—”
Hayden yanked Mila by her arm and thrust her toward Kate. “Get down!” he yelled as he dropped to the ground and shifted.
He hadn’t caught a scent, given the lack of wind, but he had heard the movement of two distinct animals heading their way. Fast, like a
wolf or a bear. Either could be trouble, though he’d prefer wolf to bear any day. At least he’d have a chance against two wolves, but two bears, that wouldn’t end well.
A black wolf launched himself through the air, adjusting his angle at the last second to miss Hayden and land somewhere past him. In the split second that the black wolf sailed by, Hayden scented Callen and blood.
Without turning to see how Callen had landed or how injured he was, Hayden charged toward who or whatever was chasing him. The head-on impact with a silver wolf left Hayden sprawled on the ground, dazed. The silver wolf recovered faster and lowered himself into a crouch as Hayden pulled himself up. Hayden bared his teeth, throwing in a deep growl that had just enough power to make the silver hesitate. That was the opening Hayden needed.
Digging his hind feet in for purchase, Hayden sprang at the silver wolf. In a tangle of limbs, the wolves rolled until they crashed into a tree. The silver wolf clamped down high on Hayden’s shoulder, narrowly missing his throat. Hayden raked his claws down the silver’s chest, so deep he had trouble freeing his claws when the silver released his shoulder.
A howl sounded from behind the silver. Hayden rose on his haunches and threw his weight onto the silver wolf’s back. The silver was wiry, but he lacked Hayden’s strength. Hayden wrestled him to the ground. He would have spared the wolf, but he hadn’t heard or seen Callen. With another wolf coming, he couldn’t risk letting the wolf attack him from behind. Hayden ripped out the wolf’s throat and ran further into the woods, away from Callen and the women.
The tan wolf struck Hayden low, clamping onto his front right leg, with nearly enough force to rip his leg off. There wasn’t much Hayden could do except lock his legs around the wolf and take him down with him while trying to free his leg from the wolf’s jaws. Hayden hadn’t survived living in his uncle’s pack without learning a few tricks along the way.
Forget biting into the thick shoulder muscles that were a common target. Hayden bit off the wolf’s right ear. The shock and pain so surprised the wolf that he released his grip on Hayden’s leg. His leg was torn open, but he only needed three to move. In another few seconds, Hayden sank his jaws into the wolf’s throat and held him until he no longer moved.
Hayden’s Haven Page 5
