Wolf in her Soul: Salvation Pack, Book 8

by N. J. Walters

  He dared a peek a few seconds later and was just in time to see Gallagher climb into the driver’s seat.

  His nails started to lengthen and he had to work to control his wolf. The beast wanted out. It was bad enough he had to be subservient to his alpha and many others in his pack. No way was he doing it for some wolf who’d chosen to live among humans. And he certainly wasn’t doing it for some half-breed female.

  He was better than both of them. Stronger. Faster. Smarter.

  It was time to prove it.

  He waited almost a full minute before he turned on his headlights and pulled onto the road. It was only a matter of time.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Reece sipped his coffee and put it back in the cup holder. He couldn’t shake the itch in the back of his neck and the nagging thought that someone was following them. It was nothing obvious, but the feeling was getting stronger rather than dissipating the closer he got to home.

  He turned the radio on low. The jazzy music filled the space between them. “Do you mind?” he asked her.

  She shook her head. “No. I like it. Tell me about yourself. I know so little.”

  “What would you like to know?” He’d tell her anything she wanted. Whatever she needed to make her feel more secure in her choice to go with him.

  “What happened to your parents?”

  This was one subject he didn’t like talking about. The only other people he’d ever really talked with about it before were the two people involved—Sage and his Uncle Elias.

  “They were killed in a car crash when Sage and I were teenagers.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Her genuine sorrow echoed his own. “How is that possible? Your father was full werewolf, wasn’t he?”

  “If it had been a normal accident, they both might have had a chance. But it was one of those things. It was winter and a fuel tanker started sliding off the road in front of them. My dad managed to stop, but the cars behind him couldn’t. The roads were slippery and they slammed into my parents’ car and drove it into the tanker. There was an explosion.”

  “Oh God. I’m so sorry, Reece.” She reached out and touched his leg. The heat from her hand seeped through his jeans, infusing him with much needed warmth. Talking about his parents’ death always made him cold.

  “Yeah, me too.” His voice was hoarse with emotion. “Their bodies were incinerated in the blast.” He took a deep breath, glad to have the worst of the telling behind him. “Uncle Elias lived with us, so he took full custody of me and Sage. As soon as everything was settled with their estate, he sold the construction company he and my father had built and brought us to North Carolina.”

  “Why did he choose there?”

  He smiled in spite of the sorrow still pressing down on him. “My parents and he had heard about a pack that actually accepted half-breeds. Uncle Elias wanted us to have a safe place in case something happened to him.”

  “He wanted you to have a home.” The yearning in her voice just about killed him.

  “Yeah, he did. We found them and the rest is history.” It wasn’t quite that easy but it had worked out in the end, and that was all that mattered.

  “Your uncle met your aunt there? You said she was fully human.”

  Her curiosity was a good thing. The more she knew about his family and pack, the more likely she was to feel at home among them.

  “That was my fault, actually. We went camping in the area. The plan was to check out the pack from a distance to try to get a feel for them before we approached. I shifted when Sage and I went out for a walk. We came across a young boy playing near a stream. A few seconds later, his mother came running out of the woods, frantic to find him. She discovered my brother and me there.”

  “How did she react?” Hannah was almost fully turned toward him even though she still had her seatbelt on. Her eagerness reminded him of a kid wanting to know the ending to a fairy tale.

  “As you’d expect. She was freaked out, but Sage calmed her down.” These were good memories that made him smile. “Problem was, I was stuck being in my wolf form every time I was around them. At least until she and my uncle fell in love and he confessed everything to her.”

  “Wow. That’s amazing.”

  “What about you?” He was aching to know more about her. “Tell me about your parents.”

  She sighed and rested her head against the seat. It was cozy with just the two of them inside the truck cab with the music low and the night closing in around them on the outside. If it weren’t for the lights of the other vehicles on the road, it would have felt as though they were the only two people in the world. It was still very intimate.

  Reece wanted to be home. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, bury his face in her lush red hair, and sleep. And when they were both rested he wanted to love every inch of her body and then take her outside and show her the pack land. It was a beautiful area and he wanted her to love it as much as he did.

  His body tightened, and he ignored the way his erection pushed insistently at the zipper of his jeans, trying to get out. He needed to take his mind of wanting Hannah. Otherwise, he’d be tempted to pull off the road and indulge his urges before they got home.

  “Not much to tell.” Sadness tinged her voice and, inside him, his wolf whined. Neither of them liked it when Hannah was sad or upset. “My mom worked as a waitress at a bar. They were together a few times and she got pregnant.”

  “They weren’t married?”

  “No.” She played with the strap of her seatbelt, not looking at him. “She wanted to get an abortion, but he stopped her. Told her he’d pay for all her medical expenses and take me when I was born.”

  Reece released a low whistle. As much as he wanted to dislike Hannah’s father, he had to admire the man for taking responsibility for his offspring. “And did he?”

  “Yeah. I never knew my mom. Apparently with the money my dad gave her, she left the small town where she’d grown up and never looked back. He took me away and we lived all over the country, moving from place to place every few months. He used what money he had in the early years. He couldn’t work and take care of me at the same time. After I got a little older, he worked in construction mostly, as a bouncer in a bar a few times. That’s what he was doing when he met my mom.”

  “What’s his name?” Reece planned to get Armand to do some research as soon as they got home. If anyone could find her father, it was the older wolf.

  “Troy. Troy Burdette.”

  “Why did he leave you?” After going to so much trouble to keep and raise his daughter, it didn’t make sense that he’d just up and leave her.

  “A couple times over the years, he up and moved us in the middle of the night. He’d recognized several men from his former pack. He feared for my life. Like most packs, they don’t like half-breeds. As soon as I was an adult, he gave me all the money he had and told me to head east. He went west, drawing them away from me. That’s the last I heard of him.”

  Reece couldn’t take it any longer. There was a place to pull off the road just up ahead. He eased the truck off the asphalt and onto the gravel shoulder. He unlatched his seatbelt. She already had hers off when he reached for her.

  He pulled her into his arms and held her, wishing he could take her sorrow from her. “I’m so sorry, baby.” He kissed her temple and then the top of her head. He inhaled her unique scent, filling his lungs with it. “I wish things hadn’t happened that way.”

  She’d grown up without a mother or a place to call home. Always moving, always on edge. Alone at the age of eighteen. And yet she’d grown into an amazingly resilient woman. She was brave and kind and talented. He hadn’t seen her photos yet, but he knew they’d be just as incredible as the woman in his arms.

  “His fears came true.” Her voice was muffled against his shoulder. “Just not in the way he imagined.”

 
The feared threat had come from a werewolf, but it hadn’t come from her father’s former pack, but from a rogue wolf. Or had it? “Where is your father from, baby?” He rubbed his hand up and down her back to try to ease her pain and sadness.

  She raised her head and swiped at the tears on her cheeks. His heart stuttered and he leaned in and kissed the wetness from her face. “Montana.” She sucked in a breath and her voice was unsteady. “He told me his pack was in Montana. He told me to stay away from the western states and stay in the more urban areas of the east or south.”

  “Smart move on his part.”

  “You’re wondering if this is related to my father, aren’t you?”

  “It’s a possibility, but I’m just not sure how it could be. There’s nothing to tie you to your father in Chicago, is there?”

  She shook her head. “No. I just chose it at random when I left Philadelphia. I thought it would be an interesting city. Lots of opportunity for work and some cool architecture and people to photograph.”

  He kissed her forehead, then her pert nose, and finally her lips. He tasted the salt from her tears. Reece wanted to shelter her from every hurt. Not only was that impossible, but Hannah wouldn’t stand for it. This was a woman who had made her own way. He prayed she’d want to share his life.

  He caught her bottom lip between his teeth and gently tugged. She released a ragged moan and parted her lips. He surged inside, exploring her mouth with his tongue. She tasted sweet, like coffee and woman. He angled his head so he could deepen the kiss. He wanted to strip them both naked and take her right here and now. The urge to mark her was like a fever burning out of control.

  He feared she’d either leave him voluntarily or that some unknown threat would take her from him. He banded his arms around her until her chest was plastered against his. They were both wearing too much clothing but it couldn’t be helped.

  His wolf howled and growled. The creature was just as torn as Reece was. They both wanted to protect her and claim her at the same time.

  His cock was going to be wearing the imprint from the zipper of his jeans for a while longer. As much as he wanted to bury himself inside Hannah’s wet heat, he wanted to protect her more.

  It took more effort than he could ever have imagined to pull his lips from hers. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks flushed. Her lips were moist and red from his kiss. As he watched, her eyelids fluttered open. There was a combination of wonder and fear in their depths.

  He knew she was afraid of the heat that erupted whenever they touched. But it was more than that. He’d come to know her very well in such a short time and understood that it was what she felt for him emotionally that she found most troubling.

  “We need to get going.” He tried to release her, but his hands wouldn’t follow his commands.

  “We do,” she agreed. They stared at one another as the bluesy music from the radio wrapped around them.

  “I plan to take you to bed once we get home.” It was a declaration and a promise.

  “Okay.” She licked her lips and he groaned. It was all too easy to imagine that sweet tongue on sensitive areas of his body.

  “Okay?” He wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly.

  She offered him a tentative smile. “I’d like that.”

  Reece practically tossed her back into her seat. “Put on your seatbelt,” he ordered as he pulled on his own. He ignored her low laughter, but couldn’t help grinning. Things were definitely looking up.

  He checked traffic and pulled back onto the road. He couldn’t allow himself to get distracted again, not until they were safely on Salvation Pack land. It bothered him that he’d missed the traffic going by, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

  * * * * *

  The killer passed them before he realized they were pulled over on the side of the road. He wondered what was wrong, if Hannah was sick. He didn’t like the idea of that, which was ludicrous considering he planned to kill her.

  But she hadn’t been sick. They hadn’t been talking. They’d been kissing.

  He’d barely managed to keep from howling his displeasure until he was a mile down the road. How dare she kiss another man, another wolf? She belonged to him.

  He was going to make her pay for that.

  But it had been a blessing in disguise. While he’d been searching for a place to pull off so he could wait for them, he’d come across the perfect spot to stage an ambush. He parked his truck off on the left-hand side of the road. It was a natural indentation in the trees that enabled him to face the road just the same as if he were coming out of a driveway.

  The area was deserted and traffic almost nonexistent. It was late and this was a secondary road, not a major highway.

  Maybe he should wait until he discovered exactly where they were headed, but he could wait no longer. The sight of the two of them kissing had driven out all thoughts of caution.

  Now he wanted to do more than just kill her. He decided he might keep Hannah around for a while, until he had his fill of her. This had never happened to him in all the years he’d been hunting half-breeds. There was something about her that was special. He aimed to find out exactly what that was.

  He rolled down the window and allowed the night air to cool some of the flames of his anger. This was the smart thing to do. Strike before Reece Gallagher got her to the safety of his pack.

  He was going to kill the man at the earliest opportunity.

  Or was he? A sly voice in the back of his head whispered that the good detective would suffer more if Hannah disappeared and he never found her. Yes, the killer liked that idea even better. He knew Gallagher lived in North Carolina, and could come back in six months or a year from now, find him, and finish him off.

  That might actually be more satisfying.

  He could take pictures of Hannah and occasionally send them to Gallagher to taunt the other man.

  The killer smiled. Yes, that was definitely the way to go. He’d have to incapacitate the younger wolf for now. But that wouldn’t be a problem for a wolf of his age and physical capabilities. And if he played his cards right, and his plan worked, the detective would be knocked unconscious in the crash. Probably seriously injured, enough to keep him down while the killer helped himself to Hannah.

  It was the perfect plan. He really was too clever by far.

  He leaned his elbow on the doorframe and watched the road. The truck idled as he made ready to end his chase.

  * * * * *

  Hannah was glad it was dark inside and outside the truck and that Reece had to concentrate on driving. She could still feel his lips against hers. Her breasts felt swollen and tender. Even with their clothing separating them, being near him was enough to make her ache. She squeezed her thighs together to try to ease the emptiness welling inside her.

  He was going to take her home and take her to bed.

  She had no idea what was going to happen after that, but she’d gotten very good at adjusting to change. Her life had been one upheaval after another while she was growing up, and her adult life hadn’t been much different. She was used to having to adjust.

  At least this time it was for something positive.

  Her heart ached for Reece. Losing his parents in such a violent manner couldn’t have been easy. At least he’d had his uncle and brother to comfort him. She envied him that.

  He was willing to share his family with her and so much more. She wondered what it was like living in a pack. There was a hierarchy involved and it could be violent. At least that was what her father had told her. But from everything she’d learned from Reece so far, she knew better than to believe his pack did anything in the normal way.

  They were unique.

  They had half-breeds and humans living with them. And they’d offered her a place. It should worry her. It seemed too good to be true. And things that seemed too good to
be true usually were.

  It might not make logical sense but she trusted Reece, therefore she had to trust his pack. There was no middle ground.

  She wasn’t expecting to fit in easily. She’d lived alone her entire adult life and was used to doing what she wanted when she wanted. But she wanted to try out pack life and see what it was like.

  Even more than that, she wanted to spend more time with Reece. He’d gotten under her skin and wormed his way into her heart. Maybe it was proximity and stress, brought on by her attack. Maybe it was because he was different like her. Whatever the reason, she knew she wasn’t ready to walk away from him.

  Not yet. Maybe not ever.

  She silenced that last voice. People didn’t stay with her. Not her mother or her father. There was something about her that made people leave. It might sound stupid as hell if she said it out loud, but the child inside her still thought that if she’d done something different, been better somehow, both her parents might have stayed.

  “Not much longer.” Reece’s voice broke her out of her maudlin thoughts.

  No self-pity. No second-guessing. She was going to treat her time with Reece like the adventure it was. She knew he was worried about her stalker finding her. That was a concern. They’d have to be smart and watchful.

  She’d leave in a heartbeat, except she believed Reece would no longer be safe if she did. If her stalker had seen them together, he knew who Reece was.

  “You’re awful quiet, Hannah. What are you thinking?”

  Before she could decide how much to tell him, headlights suddenly blinded her and she heard the revving of a powerful motor. Something heavy slammed into the truck on Reece’s side. He swore and wrestled with the steering wheel. Tires screeched. The smell of burning rubber filled her nostrils. They were shoved off the road.

  She screamed when they hit a rock and their trajectory changed. A huge oak tree appeared seemingly out of thin air right in front of them. There was nowhere for them to go. Metal crumpled. Hannah felt herself being thrown forward and then jerked back by her seatbelt. Something exploded in front of her.