Curled into a fetal position on a bed of leaves, she didn’t look threatening. Her pale yellow dress was pulled taut around her, and she covered her face with her hands. She wore curious leather slippers—one of which lay in the dirt near her legs.
“I won’t hurt you.” He cocked his head to listen, then shook off the wolfish gesture. “What happened?” He knelt. Even in his human form, he sensed her Wolf, her fear, her utter femaleness. Something deep, savage, compelled him to touch her, hold her, mate with her. He shuddered, and feral desire rushed through him.
What the hell?
“Go…away,” she whispered.
“No. You need my help.” He edged closer, his knees near hers. Heat flowed off her, and he leaned forward to savor the warmth piercing straight to his soul. Being so near felt right, like he’d known her forever, and for a moment, he wanted to lie down beside her.
He wagged his head with more force than necessary and backed up a little. He didn’t know this she-Wolf, and his duty was to keep pack safety foremost in his thoughts. Impress everyone, especially Drew, with his scouting abilities. The pack Alpha was more of a father figure than anyone in his life. He wanted Drew’s respect. Prove he was man enough to take his place in the pack. Earn the title, Scout, and no longer be little orphan Nika who always needed someone to take care of him.
She laid still, her short, shallow breaths punctuated by sobs. Someone so small couldn’t be a risk to the pack—right? He looked left to right, but saw no one. Not an ambush.
Might should’ve double-checked, Nika.
“Why are you alone in the forest? And what’s your name?” He winced at his high-pitched tone. He had to stay in control. Gee had warned him his hormones would soon surge and the urge to mate would overtake him. But he hadn’t told him he’d act like a blithering idiot around a female he just met.
An injured and possibly dangerous one.
Some scout he was. Alone, babbling, and rocking a hard-on.
“Kimi.” The woman pushed the hair from her face and peered at him with beautiful large, brown eyes. Her nose made a regal line down to full lips, holding no hint of a smile. “Please go. You don’t want to be around me.”
His mouth hung open and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. The woman’s gaze held him in a thrall so tight he froze. Think. “Of course I do.” He licked his lips. “My name’s Nika.”
Awkward.
She sat up, wincing when she held her arm close to her side. An open sore, red and angry, dripped down her forearm. No wonder he smelled blood. Was it a gunshot wound? Were there hunters nearby?
“Back away from the female, Nika.” Drew’s voice rang through the woods and snapped him out of his trance.
He scurried backward, bumping into something solid. The werebear, Gee, towered behind him.
I’m fucked.
“Get up.” Gee grabbed him under the arms and yanked him to standing. “Looks like you found some trouble.”
His heart pounded in his throat.
“What the hell is going on?” Drew paced, his breath coming in short bursts. “I’m all for being a good scout, but I think you forgot some of your training.”
He snuck a glance at Kimi. She sat, staring straight ahead, rocking.
“Speak.” Gee’s voice rattled through him.
The old werebear didn’t often show annoyance, though Nika sensed his moods similar to how others might get a taste of cologne in the air. Only annoyance didn’t smell good, it smelled like rotting potatoes. Drew was pissed, and Gee wasn’t far behind.
He swallowed. “I-I was out scouting. I was supposed to patrol the forest. I hadn’t gone far when I scented the injured female. I sounded the alert and came to check things out.” Nika dipped his head in submission. Thank the gods Drew was in human form. “I figured I could handle the situation. Since I’m a full scout now. I wanted to show you I could handle things all on my own.”
Drew growled and pointed to Kimi. “Why didn’t you send out another alert when you found her? You know that’s what you’re supposed to do. I have no doubt Gee made procedures clear.”
“I figured I could handle an injured female. I didn’t think—”
“Exactly.” Drew scowled. “You didn’t think. Maybe I think you aren’t ready to scout on your own. We’ve got to protect Los Lobos, you know that. We can’t risk our pack’s safety.”
“He’s young, Alpha.” Gee turned to Nika and drew himself up to his six-foot-seven height. “You know better than to engage on your own.” Gee sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose. “Sometimes the biggest threats come in the smallest and prettiest packages.”
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Kimi said.
Gee swung his head to look at her so fast she dropped her gaze. “We’re not talking to you right now, clear?”
She nodded.
Gee turned. “I taught you better.”
“Yes….” He stared at the ground. The first time he had a little responsibility he blew it. “I’m sorry, Alpha, Gee. I’ve failed you both.”
Drew snorted and kicked at the ground. “Now, we have to fix this somehow. You’ve put the pack in a delicate situation.”
“She needs medical attention.” Gee kneeled beside Kimi, his heavy form folding on itself as he positioned himself on the ground. “She’s sick.” He examined her arm. “Gravely ill.”
She whimpered but didn’t pull away.
Nika longed to comfort her. He held back. Gee knew what he was doing, and the last thing he should do was interfere. He was in enough trouble already.
“Drive her away from here. Far away from Los Lobos. The humans will help her if you take her to one of their hospitals.” Drew spat on the ground. “We’ll figure out what lessons Nika needs to repeat so he can remember to put the pack first.”
He peeked at Drew. The Alpha, always strong, wasn’t being cruel. He had to protect them all, and he respected him for that. But not much hurt worse than the disappointment on Drew’s face.
“She needs more than a human healer can handle.” Gee frowned. “Nika and I will take her for treatment.”
“Not to Los Lobos. Take her far away.” Drew stood over Kimi, his hands on his hips. “She’s caused enough disruption around here, dragging us all out into the woods when we have other things we need to be doing. She’s a threat to the pack—anyone in our territory is. Besides, we don’t even know her story.”
She moaned, and Nika’s heart sped. He kept quiet, letting the older pack members sort out what was to be done. His body ached with the need to be near her, but he held himself in check. A wrong move, and he could end up in an even worse situation. His place in the pack was one of deference to the Alpha. Always. No matter what he wanted, his Alpha’s wishes came first. That’s how things worked in the pack.
“I know a healer.” Gee stood.
“Who?” Drew asked. “Not too close?”
“Her name is Wen. She works alone, deep in the Black Hills sanctuary. Nowhere near Los Lobos.”
Drew nodded. “Perfect. Nika, I want you to think about what might have happened if we hadn’t been close by to handle this situation. Not only could our pack’s safety have been an issue, but you could’ve been killed.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Gee will remind you of the procedures, and next time, you’ll follow them.”
Nika nodded.
“We’ll leave now. I can carry this female.” Gee sighed.
“Very good.” Drew stuck his hands in his pockets.
“Kill her.” The deep voice, though quiet, thundered through the clearing. The birds stopped chattering.
Ryker.
Where the fuck had he come from? The Enforcer leaned against a tree, arms crossed and scowling. Nika shuddered, remaining quiet. The last Wolf in the world he wanted to piss off was Ryker.
“No, we can’t kill her.” Gee shook his head. “She’s our little Nika’s mate.”
He blinked. Had he heard Gee correctly? Mate? He swallowed hard. N
o, no way the she-Wolf was his mate—she wasn’t even a pack member. And he wasn’t old enough. Well, he was, but he wasn’t ready to settle down. She was gorgeous and made his body act independent of his mind.
Mate? No.
Drew harrumphed. “Well then, that complicates things.”
Kimi tried to sit up, collapsing when she raised her head.
“I-is she okay?” Nika asked.
Gee leaned his ear over her face and paused. “She’s breathing.” He sat up. “She fainted. We need to go. Wen’s got a lot of work ahead of her.”
Infiltrating Her Pack Page 9
