by Viola Rivard
Granted, she was only physically tired. Mentally, she’d probably be bouncing off the walls for hours to come.
“Rest, then,” he said, as if it were that simple. “I will hunt for you in the morning.”
The way that he phrased it, ‘I will hunt for you’, made her heart flutter. The thought of him stalking and killing prey to feed her was simultaneously unnerving and endearing.
“I wish…”
The words spilled from her lips before she knew what she wanted to do with them. What could she possibly say that would change anything between them? No matter what she said, she would still be a human. She had a life back in Florida—a boring one, but a life nonetheless. She had nursing school, her job at the diner, and family. Even if she could leave all of that behind for a werewolf she just met—which would probably be the stupidest thing any woman had ever done, ever—what would she do? Live with him in his pack? In the wilderness?
She wanted to smack herself, because no matter how grossly impractical it was to want to stay with him, she didn’t want anything else as she lay in his arms.
Sarah turned her head to the side and stared into the fire, not wanting to lie to him and not able to tell him the truth. He must have understood, because he didn’t press the issue. They lay next to each other in silence, until she slipped into a restless sleep.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cain woke to a powerful lust. The human was a heavy, warm weight in his arms, and his hands were all over her before he came fully into consciousness. He was vaguely aware of hunger and thirst, but both needs were dwarfed by the need to mate, the need to thrust, and the need to release himself inside of her.
He lowered his head to her collar, taking in her scent with an appreciative growl. Her rich, feminine scent was covered in his, and it pleased his wolf. She was his female.
Beneath him, his human stirred, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She blinked up at him, and he could smell the blood as it rushed to her cheeks, faintly coloring her face.
“Again?” she asked, her hand moving to cover a shy smile.
“Again,” he rasped, lowering his head to her chest.
Cain ran his tongue along the valley between her breasts, drinking in her scent. He tried to focus on pleasing her, but his mind kept going back to how perfect she smelled, and how much he wanted to be inside of her…
Fuck.
He reared back, breathing heavily. Sitting on the furs, he tried to get a grip on himself. Sarah sat up, placing a hand on his arm.
“What’s wrong?” she asked anxiously.
The fire had burned out, leaving behind only a pile of glowing embers. His vision being as good as it was, he could see the fear and vulnerability etched into her face. She thought he did not want her. If only she knew just how much he did.
In a thick voice, he told her, “We should not have stayed so long.” He stood, grateful that she could not see as he could in the darkness. He could not hide how much he wanted her. “Get dressed and meet me outside.”
Cain grabbed his clothes and stuffed them in his bag. He did not look back, because he knew that he had hurt her. If he stayed, he would hurt her even more. He needed to get her back to his pack and away from him. She was becoming fertile.
~*~
Sarah rode on the wolf’s back as the forest thinned, giving way to rolling hills and snowy fields. The wind sliced at her bare feet, and her torso wasn’t much better off. The zipper on her parka had been busted, but was at least still serviceable. Her shirt, however, had been completely torn apart. To top everything off, she was sore and all of her clothes were still damp, but both discomforts paled in comparison to the ache in her chest.
It could have been worse. She had prepared herself for it, and it helped to dull the pain. She knew that he was only doing what was best for both of them, and the sooner she accepted it, the sooner she could move on and put this whole experience behind her.
Sarah had a lot of time to think, and when they finally came to a stop, she was sure that she would be able to handle whatever came next. She climbed off his back, taking in her surroundings as he shifted into his human form. She didn’t see anything that looked like a den, just a bunch of rocky hills with sparsely spaced trees.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“My den is a few minutes from here,” he replied. There was a tightness in his voice that had her looking back at him in concern. He was tying his boots, a frown on his face. “They should have come to greet me by now. Something is wrong.”
He grabbed his bag and then stalked over to her, hoisting her up into his arms. A silly part of her wanted to protest his hold, but she knew that she couldn’t trudge through snow without shoes, so she endured it.
She wanted to talk to him along the way, but refrained, as she could tell that he wasn’t in the mood. Instead she just stared ahead, trying to think about anything except how warm he was, or how incredible he smelled.
His den wasn’t as well-hidden as the place they’d stayed the night before. The entrance was large and set into the base of a tall hill. None of the snow around the outside had been disturbed.
He paused at the opening, sniffing the air before stalking inside, his steps long and purposeful. It was dark, but not so much that she couldn’t see. Light from outside filtered down through fissures in the ceiling, revealing an empty chamber.
Setting Sarah on her feet, he folded his arms across his chest, glaring down at the floor. She followed his gaze downward. There was a stick lying on the ground, and next to it, written into the dirt in scratchy letters was the word: GREYSTONE
She looked up at Cain, who was running a hand through his unkempt hair. His face was strained.
“What does it mean?”
He sighed, walking over to a flat rock. Chucking his bag on the floor, he sat down and put his head in his hands.
“Greystone is another one of our dens,” he explained. “They had to have left a few days ago.”
Sarah approached him cautiously, slowly sinking down to sit next to him. “You didn’t know they were going to leave?”
Cain lifted his head. “My brothers would not have moved the pack without me unless they sensed danger.”
Brothers. It was the first time Cain had mentioned that he had siblings, and she filed that tidbit away for future reference.
“I’m sure everything will be okay,” she said, placing a hand on his back.
He opened his mouth to reply, but her stomach growled loudly. She gave him a sheepish grin, and to her relief, he returned the smile. Reaching down, he unzipped his bag and began sifting through the contents. Sarah peeked over his shoulder, curious to get a glimpse at its contents.
There were a bunch of odds and ends that she couldn’t make out, but it was mostly filled with bottles. Her brow wrinkled and she squinted to get a better look at them. It was medicine, and a lot of it.
Cain found what he was looking for, a candy bar, which he handed to her. She accepted it with a murmured ‘thanks’.
“I will hunt once we get to higher ground. We should not stay here longer than we have to,” he said.
“Where did you get all of that medicine?” she asked, ignoring the candy bar.
Bluntly, he replied, “I stole it.”
“Is someone sick? One of your brothers?”
Cain didn’t answer. Sarah leaned over, grabbing a few of the bottles from inside the bag. She lifted them up to read the inscriptions. Most of them she recognized, even with her limited training in the medical field. She held one up to him.
“Do you know what this is?”
He looked obstinate for a moment, but eventually shook his head.
“It’s lithium. It’s used to treat bipolar disorder.” At the confusion in his face, she added, “It’s a mood disorder.”
He considered her for a moment, and then leaned down to grab a few more bottles. He handed her a few, categorizing them as he went. “I know this one is good for fevers, and this is good for coughing.
This one is for stomach problems, nose problems.” He waved a hand at the rest of the contents of the bag. “I do not know what the rest do. I just took them.”
She tilted her head. “Were you looking for something specific?”
“Breathing,” he replied without hesitation. “Something to help with breathing.”
“Like asthma?”
“I am not familiar with the condition.”
“Tell me the symptoms.”
She listened patiently as he tried to explain the problems, and it struck her more than ever how different their worlds were. For all of his strength and physical prowess, he didn’t know anything about sickness and disease. For the first time, she felt like she might actually be able to pay him back for helping her.
“It sounds like asthma,” she surmised. “When we get to Greystone, how about I look into it for you? I can do an examination, nothing too in-depth, but I can at least give you some advice on what will help.”
“Where did you learn all of this?”
“I went to nursing school, well, I mean, I’m going to nursing school. There’s still a lot I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I’m pretty sure I can tell if someone has asthma.”
“I would be in your debt,” he said, giving her a fond look that made her stomach flip.
She gave a self-depreciating shrug of her shoulders. “It’s not a problem. You’ve done so much for me already.” Quietly, she added, “You saved my life.”
She still hadn’t thanked him for that. He had dove into the river for her—he could have been killed. It was only then that the significance of that struck Sarah. He could have died for her…
“Greystone is a little over a day away,” he said, placing his hand on the crook of her neck. “You have my word that I will see you safely back to your kind.”
Sarah forced a smile. “I know, and it’s not a big deal. I’m not really in a rush to get back. I can stay as long as you need me to.”
That was only partially true. Her winter break would be over in a week, and she’d have to resume classes, but she didn’t really care at the moment. She was just happy that she would have more time to spend with Cain, regardless of the reason.
They packed away his medicines and headed towards the exit. His pack hadn’t left anything behind, so Sarah was still barefoot. She expected him to pick her up as they reached the mouth of the den, but he stopped short, his body tense. Sarah looked over to where he was staring and her heart nearly seized. Standing a few yards away from them was a man in combat fatigues. She didn’t have to squint her eyes to tell that he was pointing a gun at them.
CHAPTER TWELEVE
Can held his wolf at bay, warring against his instincts as he analyzed the male before them. He had a tall, athletic build and a shaved head. His scent was human and his clothing signified that he was military.
The military had never breached his territory. The last he heard, they were at least two territories over, dealing with a rampaging cat tribe in the lowlands. Had this been why his brothers moved the pack?
“Drop the bag and raise your hands where I can see them,” the male ordered from behind his gun. Cain glared at him, but complied. He would not risk his own life for pride, let alone the female’s.
As the soldier slowly advanced on them, Cain honed in on his movements, searching for a weakness in his stance. The human was well-trained, and there was no angle from which Cain could attack without being shot first.
“You too, hands up,” he said, pointing his gun at the female.
Cain’s blood boiled, and he could feel his claws straining beneath his flesh as he fought the urge to shift and protect her. He glanced to the side. Although he could smell her fear, the human looked perfectly calm, almost bored. Arms wrapped around her waist, she pursed her lips at the soldier.
“Who do you think you are pointing a gun at us?” she demanded. Her voice had taken on a strange inflection, and Cain recognized the accent from his brief encounters with rural humans.
“I’m with the US—”
“Look, I don’t care who you are,” she interjected. “My daddy’s a state senator. You better point that gun somewhere else or he’ll have your badge.”
The man froze. He did not move his gun, but to Cain’s surprise, he looked flustered.
“I’m not a cop, I’m with the National Guard,” he grunted.
“Well then why don’t you do your job and go find some werebears to chase around,” she shot back defiantly.
Cain’s hands clenched into fists. He did not trust himself to speak, but he could not understand why she was antagonizing the soldier with the gun pointed at them.
The man shifted positions, pointing his gun at Cain. “And what the hell is he?”
She snorted loudly. “He is my boyfriend, Troy.”
The man eyed Cain suspiciously. “And what are you doing out here?”
“We came out here to see the werebears,” she said.
The man abruptly lowered his gun, giving Sarah an annoyed look. “Do you have any idea how many stupid college kids like you we have to—”
This time it was Cain who cut him off, moving with preternatural speed to disarm the soldier. The human male fought back, but Cain’s sheer strength won out. He flung the gun away, pinning the human to the ground by his throat. Fury rippled over him in hot, unrelenting waves.
“Cain!”
He stopped at the sound of the human’s shout, but did not remove his hand from the man’s neck. The man struggled beneath Cain, his face turning red.
“Cain, you have to let him go.” She was beside him now, her tone frantic.
Cain turned to growl at her. “He could have harmed you.”
She tensed, but did not flinch. “He was only doing his job. You can’t kill him.” She reached out, placing a hand on the back of Cain’s neck. “Please,” she said emphatically. “Please, just let him go.”
~*~
Sarah was relieved when Cain pulled back, releasing the soldier. The man scrambled to get away, but Cain brought his fist down on his skull, knocking the man unconscious.
“There will be more,” he said. “We should go.”
He didn’t look at her before hefting Sarah over one shoulder and grabbing his bag. She passively accepted the gruff treatment, staring back at the fallen soldier as Cain stalked away.
Asking Cain not to kill the soldier had been a knee-jerk reaction. The more she thought about it, though, the more she wondered if she had made the right decision. All she had thought was that she didn’t want to be an accomplice to murder, not the long-term impact it might have on Cain and his pack.
After making it into the safety of the forest, Cain stopped, removing his shirt and kicking off his boots in preparation to shift. When he moved to unbutton his jeans, he stopped, glancing over at her. Instinctively, she looked away.
“How did you know what to say to him?” he asked quietly.
Sarah shrugged. “I don’t know. I just acted like a regular, dumb twenty-something-year-old. I’m just glad he bought it.”
She felt him come up behind her and place his hands on her hips. “You could have told him who you were. Asked him to take you back to your family.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. She turned, stepping up onto his boots to get her feet out of the snow. “Do you really think I would do something like that?”
Cain pressed his forehead against hers. Firmly, he said, “If anything like that happens again, you are not to defend me.”
“You need to get back to your pack.” She gave him a weak smile. “Worry about yourself. Nobody needs me.”
His hands came up to frame her face. “I need you to be safe.”
The look in his eyes unnerved Sarah. Palms sweating, she gripped his shirt and stood on the tips of her toes, kissing him. Like the rest of his body, Cain’s lips were warm and firm, but with a streak of sensuality that made her insides quiver.
When Cain didn’t kiss her back, she felt as if a rock had dropped in
her stomach. She pulled away, prepared to apologize, but before she could say anything, he shoved her down. Sarah yelped as her butt hit the snow. Cain was on her before she had time to process what was happening, his body covering hers, his mouth covering hers.
She wrapped her arms around Cain’s neck, holding onto him as he assaulted her mouth. His kiss was brutal and dominant. He thrust his tongue into her mouth as one of his fangs, which he had been so careful with the night before, cut her bottom lip. The tangy, coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.
