Touch of the Wolf

by Karen Whiddon

  But when he got into bed beside Sam, intending only to hold her until she fell asleep, she curled into the curve of his body. Wrapping himself around her, he felt his tension ease. At peace, he slept.

  At the sound of the snowplows in the morning, Sam opened her eyes and stretched. The tantalizing scent of the man lying beside her teased her nose. Intently conscious of his warm flesh touching her, she peeked through her lashes to see if he’d awakened.

  He had. And he was watching her as intently as if he was committing every inch of her body to memory. The heat in his smoldering gaze and the tenderness in his expression intoxicated her, starting a slow burn inside.

  “Come here.”

  She scooted over.

  When he brushed a kiss on her shoulder and moved his lips to the hollow of her neck, she shuddered. He took her into his arms and kissed her with a softness that brought tears to her eyes. Though urgency mounted within her, he kept his ardor contained as he claimed her with his body. They made love, this time tantalizingly slowly, with nothing like the desperate fierceness of before. For some reason, this intensified the ache rather than easing it.

  When he brought her to climax, she cried out his name. As her body clenched around him, he gave an answering cry as he went with her over the edge.

  Afterward, he held her. Neither spoke. Sam struggled with the oddest urge to weep.

  With Luc, she felt as if she’d come home. But she could never give him children, and a man like him deserved to have a son or daughter of his own.

  Pushing herself out of the bed at long last, she went to the restroom and got dressed in the same clothing she’d worn the day before. The only clothing she had.

  When she emerged, Luc was already dressed.

  Luc checked the road conditions on his cell phone. Storm conditions were reported all through the region, though nothing too severe.

  After gobbling down waffles at the motel restaurant and fortifying themselves with hot coffee, they set out.

  “We should be there in under an hour, if the road stays open.”

  They encountered no real problems, other than low visibility and blowing snow. The roads had been cleared and there were no black ice warnings.

  Luc clicked on the radio and concentrated on his driving. They picked up I-87 heading north and went through New Paltz on the way to Kingston.

  “Route 28 will take us up into the Catskills,” he told Sam. “I wish there was more daylight left, so you could see the mountains.”

  “I’m sure I’ll have time to see everything later.” After she’d healed the little girl. Sam bit her lip. She could only hope there hadn’t been some mistake, and her healing talent did extend to Halflings.

  Halflings. She could scarcely believe she’d even thought it. Her nervousness grew in direct proportion to the distance from the town. The last sign had said twelve miles.

  “You’ll know we’re getting close to Leaning Tree when you start seeing old-time streetlights.” Luc reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Relax. Everything’s going to be all right.”

  Easy for him to say. She concentrated on watching for the streetlights.

  “Look, there’s one.”

  The lights were charming, made of black iron with round, white globes, like old gaslights. Just as Luc had promised.

  “Here we are.”

  Welcome to Leaning Tree. Ringed by carefully manicured shrubs, the brick sign looked well maintained and very homey.

  Sam tried to relax. As though he sensed her tension, Luc began to massage her neck. His touch felt so good, she let herself soften a fraction.

  On the outskirts of town, small, wood-frame houses nestled among the oaks and maples. As Sam and Luc neared the center, the homes grew larger and more ornate. Perfectly restored Victorians in pastel shades looked welcoming and beautiful with the sun reflecting off the snow.

  Awed, Sam could only stare. “I’ve never seen anything like this before, at least in real life. Your town looks like something out of a Christmas card.”

  His answering grin made her mouth go dry.

  “Wait until you see downtown. After we make this curve, we’ll be there.”

  Right away she tensed.

  “Hey.” His voice was tender. “I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you.”

  Oddly enough, his words made her feel better.

  “Here we are. Downtown Leaning Tree.”

  She gazed around, glad of the distraction. The storefronts were clean, painted to look brand-new. Various shops lined the tree-shaded street, including a root beer stand complete with carhops. People bustled in and out of stores, stopping to talk, shopping bags dangling from their hands.

  “Rush hour in Leaning Tree,” Luc quipped.

  Enchanted, Sam gazed around in wonder. She felt as if she had stepped into an alternate reality. In a way, she had.

  “I graduated from high school there.” Luc pointed. Leaning Tree High, a three-story, faded brick building of the early 1900s, sat at the corner of Main Street and 12th. Wide granite steps curved wide around an elaborate doorway.

  “It’s beautiful. The entire place is magical—like a movie set in the fifties.”

  He grinned. “We’re almost to Carson and Brenna’s house. They live on the other side of town.”

  Swallowing nervously, Sam nodded. “In a Victorian like these?”

  He shook his head. “The houses in that part of town aren’t as old. I’m thinking they were built in the forties and fifties. Younger couples, like Carson and Brenna, have been buying them and restoring them.”

  Luc drove two more blocks, then turned right, stopping in front of a one-story bungalow painted a soft shade of cream. It sat back from the sidewalk on a wide, manicured lawn. Well-trimmed evergreen hedges surrounded the house.

  “See those brick-edged flower beds?” He pointed. “In the spring, they’re full of bright yellow daffodils and multicolored tulips. Brenna’s sister-in-law, Lyssa, is legendary around here for her green thumb and she’s helped Brenna learn to garden.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Sam breathed. “I can’t even imagine how it would look with all the flowers. Absolutely gorgeous, I’ll bet.”

  Luc took a deep breath. “Are you ready?” His excitement—and apprehension—felt palpable.

  Her own stomach churning, Sam nodded, trying to smile. “I don’t leave town much,” she said, only half joking.

  He came around to her side of the car and opened the door, helping her down. She squeezed his hand in thanks, for she still felt a bit battered and sore from the accident and the fight with the strange man.

  Now here they were. She had a sense of coming head-to-head with her own destiny.

  Taking her arm, Luc led her up the walkway. Before they’d gone two steps, the front door opened and a lean, blond man came out. Worry had carved lines in his craggy face and his dark eyes were full of pain. He took one look at the crumpled rental car and grimaced. “What the hell happened to you?”

  “Alex.” Luc moved ahead and clapped his arm around the other man’s shoulders. “We got stuck in the blizzard and hit some black ice. Where’s Carson?”

  “He’s at the hospital. Lyssa’s there with him.”

  Sam noticed Luc didn’t tell his friend about the stranger’s attempt to grab her.

  Luc drew her forward. “Alex Lupe, meet Sam Warren. Sam, this is my old high school buddy and one of my best friends.”

  Taking her hand, Alex smiled, but his eyes remained sad. “You must be the healer. My sister Brenna has been waiting for you. Welcome.”

  She winced. “I’m not sure—”

  “Where she’s going to stay,” Luc interrupted, warning her with a dark look not to voice her doubts. “Let’s take a run by my place on the way to the hospital.”

  Alex looked from one to the other, his sharp gaze missing little. “You’re welcome to stay here. Brenna and Carson have an extra room.”

  The chilly breeze made Sam shiver. Both men noticed.


  “I’m from Texas,” she said, only half-apolo-getically.

  “Inside for you.” Luc steered her toward the front porch.

  As they climbed the steps, the front door opened again and a slender woman, her auburn hair in a long, fat braid down her back, stood poised in the doorway. Sleek and graceful, she brought to mind an exotic, well-groomed animal, though not a wolf. More like a gazelle or deer, Sam thought.

  Her huge brown eyes and pale face made her look wraithlike, as though she hadn’t slept in days. Most likely she hadn’t.

  Unsmiling, she came down the steps and held out her hand. “I’m Brenna. I’m so glad you could come.” Her handshake was firm, but her skin was ice-cold.

  “I’m Sam.” Sam glanced at Luc, not sure what else to say.

  “Come here, Brenna Turner.” Luc enveloped the other woman in a tight embrace. “How are you holding up?”

  She drew back, looking directly at Sam and ignoring the question. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go to the hospital now. I want you to heal my baby.”

  Throat tight, Sam nodded. “Of course.” She prayed Luc was right and that her gift would work with this little girl.

  “Excellent. Are you ready then?”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to use your washroom first to freshen up.” Sam dragged her hand through her hair. “We’ve been in the car for two days.”

  Expression wooden, Brenna stared at her. “My child is dying. I only left her side to come greet you with the respect accorded a healer.”

  “I don’t even know if I—” Sam began.

  This time Luc’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Don’t.”

  Brenna’s face crumpled and she turned away, shoulders shaking as she began to cry.

  Immediately, Alex went to her, pulling the weeping woman to his chest. “She’s been through a lot,” he told them.

  Sam nodded. What had she gotten herself into? What if she couldn’t heal their little girl? What then? She didn’t suppose Luc had thought of that.

  “I think we both could use the washroom,” Luc murmured.

  “Of course.” Alex started toward the house, keeping his arm around his sister’s shoulders. “Let me show you where it is.”

  They filed into the bungalow. Sam resisted the urge to look at Brenna, to offer the woman some small comfort. How could she, when for all she knew her very presence brought false hope?

  Despite the spacious size, the guest bathroom, decorated in peach and white, had a cozy feel. The marble counters and fixtures sparkled and the ceramic tile floor gleamed. As Sam washed her face, she heard the murmur of the others’ voices as they talked.

  While she hoped she could heal Lucy, she couldn’t help but picture the disappointment and pain a failure would bring this family. How could she live with herself if she failed?

  After blotting her face with a towel, Sam squared her shoulders. Knowing she had Luc by her side, even if only temporarily, gave her some small comfort. To imagine a future without him was to picture an existence so desolate she couldn’t bear to think about it.

  Opening the door, she pasted on what she hoped was a confident look, and stepped out to face Lucy’s parents.

  The drive into New York City took longer than she’d expected. Still, riding in the backseat of Alex’s SUV, she snuggled into Luc’s side and tried to settle her nerves by thinking carnal thoughts. But when Luc’s breathing quickened as though he could read her mind, she realized she wanted nothing more than to fling open the back door and leap from the moving vehicle.

  “Relax.” He spoke close to her ear. “Everything is going to be all right now.”

  “Easy for you to say,” she whispered back. “What if—”

  He silenced her the only way that could have—by kissing her.

  She pressed into him, grateful at first for the distraction. But as he deepened the kiss, plundering her mouth as though he couldn’t get enough, she forgot everything but the feel of the strong man holding her in his arms.

  “Ahem.” Alex cleared his throat, making her jump guiltily. Flushing as she met his gaze in the rearview mirror, Sam smoothed her hair and looked everywhere but at Luc.

  In the front seat, Brenna turned to glance at them curiously, apparently unaware anything had been going on.

  Winking at Sam, Luc shifted, crossing his legs to hide his arousal.

  They rode the rest of the way in silence, Luc’s fingers threaded through hers, his closeness banishing the trepidation from her heart.

  About an hour into the drive, Brenna’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and blanched. “The hospital.”

  Everyone listened tensely while she spoke a few words into the receiver. “I understand.” Her voice broke as she concluded the call.

  When she turned to look at Alex, her eyes were full of tears. “She’s fading fast. Her vital signs are dropping and Carson said Dr. Nettles doesn’t think she’ll last the night.”

  Alex jerked his head in a nod and pressed the accelerator to the floor, swinging into the fast lane and staying there until they reached the outskirts of the city and traffic slowed their frenetic rush.

  “Carson and Lyssa are keeping a vigil,” Alex said, when they finally arrived at the hospital and swung into the parking garage.

  Brenna nodded, her tight expression reflecting her worry. She drummed her long fingernails on the dashboard, her agitation palpable.

  Sam’s stomach hurt as her own worry grew. She could only hope they weren’t too late. Worse, what if this didn’t work? Who was she, Samantha Warren, to let them believe she could heal their beautiful, gravely ill daughter, when she had no idea if she truly could?

  “You can,” Luc told her, raising her chin to make her look at him. “Believe in yourself.”

  “How do you do that?” Sam pulled away, glaring at him. “You keep answering questions that are inside my head.”

  Luc opened his mouth, closed it and then shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Without turning around, Brenna answered, “Sometimes we can tell what our mate is thinking. That’s one of the benefits of mating for life.”

  Mate?

  “I’m no one’s mate,” Sam answered firmly. A woman who couldn’t have children could never be a mate to a man like Luc.

  Beside her, he stiffened.

  Pulling into an empty space, Alex parked. Brenna jumped out before Sam had even unfas-tened her seat belt. Sam could forgive the impatience radiating from the other woman. She knew if her own child lay dying, she’d be hurrying to bring salvation, too.

  Luc took Sam’s arm as they fell into step behind Alex and Brenna. “When this is over, we’ll talk,” he told her.

  Heart heavy, she nodded. Every footstep echoing on the pavement seemed to be telling her she was a fool. If modern medicine couldn’t help Lucy…

  “You will,” Luc said.

  Sam glared at him.

  Inside the hospital, they took the elevator up to Lucy’s room.

  “There are only thirty-eight beds in the pediatric oncology department,” Alex said. “We were very lucky to get one for her.”

  Brenna glanced at them, her expression bleak. “But even with eighteen oncologists on staff, they said they couldn’t help Lucy.” She grimaced. Then, visibly collecting herself, she took a deep breath. “I so hope you can perform a miracle.”

  A miracle. Sam wanted to hang her head. Only the touch of Luc’s hand at the small of her back kept her from doing so. She’d tried to tell him she wasn’t a miracle worker, but he wouldn’t listen.

  A dying little girl, even if she was half shifter, was a giant leap from a wounded puppy or kitten.

  The elevator doors opened. Brenna and Alex got out and headed to the left. Sam wanted to hang back, but Luc propelled her forward.

  She exited the elevator in time to see Brenna and Alex enter a room up the hall.

  “Come on. Everything will be all right.” Luc took Sam’s hand, tugging her gently along the corridor.

 
; As they passed, another door opened.

  A man stepped out. He grabbed Sam, jerking her away from Luc and pushing her into the room. Then he slammed the door in Luc’s face.

  Chapter 11

  Stumbling, Sam fell and narrowly missed hitting her head on the TV stand. Pushing herself to her feet, she faced her assailant.

  “You.” He was the same guy who’d tried to grab her twice before, though this time, she noted, he didn’t have a syringe. Thank God.

  He’d jammed a chair under the knob. Despite Luc’s furious efforts, the door wouldn’t open.

  “Buying time,” the man said, cocking his head. “So you remember me?”

  “How could I forget?” She stared at him, puzzled. “How did you know to come here?”

  He held up a metal box. “The miracles of modern technology. I bugged Patricia’s phone. Once I knew where you were going—Sloan-Kettering in New York—it was easy to keep track of you. I learned where the little Halfling girl is, and with a stolen orderly uniform, all I had to do was wait.”

  “Why are you doing this? What do you want with me?”

  He smiled, showing yellowing teeth. “What does everyone want with you? Healing, of course. Do you really think these people would give you the time of day if they couldn’t use you?”

  His casual cruelty hurt, though she took care not to show it. “They won’t let you get away with this.”

  As if on cue, the door bulged as Luc hurled himself against it. He roared with rage when it didn’t budge.

  Again he slammed into it. The chair held.

  “We don’t have much time. Heal me now,” the man demanded, his eyes wild. “Before your mate breaks down the door.”

  Which would be any minute, judging from Luc’s furious attempts.

  Stall for time.

  “Who are you?” she asked. “I don’t even know your name.”

  “You don’t remember me?”

  She cocked her head. “Other than the two times you’ve attacked me, I’ve never seen you before.”

  “You’ve forgotten then. You knew me once.” His mouth twisted. “When we were small.”