Rafe’s icy stare never wavered. “Yeah.”
“You killed one of your own kind for a human. Think your alpha will agree with that?”
“I’ll deal with my alpha.” Rafe took a step closer, never breaking eye contact with the biter. “Let Katie go. Now.”
“Katie?” The hand in her hair jerked sharply, bringing fresh tears to her eyes. “It has a name?”
Rafe lunged forward with a primal growl. “I said, let her go. She’s mine. Do you understand?”
The biter loosened his grip on her hair, surprise written all over his face. Staring at Rafe, he leaned in close and pressed his nose into Katie’s neck, inhaling deeply while she shuddered and tried to pull away. Laughter shook the biter’s powerful frame as he shoved her back into the snow. “With a human? That’s disgusting.”
“You know I’ll kill you if you touch her. Just like I killed your buddy.” Rafe stalked closer, openly appraising her body as he approached. “Is it really worth it?”
“You tell me.” The biter puffed up his chest and stepped away from where she’d fallen. The two naked men faced each other, squaring off. Incredibly, neither of them seemed affected by the cold. “Is she worth it?”
“She’s mine. That means I’ll die to protect her. Even if she is just a human.” Rafe ran his worried gaze over her bare skin, which had gone numb in the freezing wind. The reason for his fierce devotion was a mystery, one that should have unsettled her. Instead it made her feel safe. Protected. Her eyes met his. “Go take your friend’s body back to his mate, if he had one.”
“He does. A mate, and a son.”
Rafe cringed. “No one else has to die tonight. Just leave us. This was a misunderstanding, but now it’s over.”
The biter chuckled. “Oh, this isn’t over. Not at all.” With one last, dismissive glance at Katie, he walked over to his friend’s corpse and nudged it with his foot. “This murder won’t go unanswered. I promise you that.”
“He was going to rape and kill my bond-mate. Nobody will fault me for protecting her.”
Shivering at Rafe’s words, Katie gathered her torn clothing around her exposed body. His bond-mate? What the hell had happened while she was unconscious?
“We’ll see.” The biter loped toward Rafe, shooting him a stern sidelong glance as he passed. “Take your human slut and get out of here.” He paused in front of Katie and gripped his erection in his hand. “I’ll see you soon, Katie. Next time I’ll bring more friends. Hope you’re ready.”
Rafe moved between them, a flesh-and-blood shield. “Come back and I’ll kill you. All of you.”
“Good luck with that.” The biter winked and melted back into wolf form. He threw his head back and howled, then took off running through the trees.
As soon as he was gone, Rafe rushed to her side. “How badly are you injured?”
“I…” Katie’s head swam with everything that had just occurred. She didn’t know what was most disconcerting: the fact that werewolves existed, Rafe’s delicious nudity, or her desire to fall into his arms and let him protect her. “I’m not sure.”
He knelt in the snow, took her leg in his hands, and gave her a careful examination. “He bit you. I won’t know how badly until we get back to the cabin. Which we need to do immediately, by the way, before any more come.” He shoved the oversize boots back over her socks, which were soaked through and heavy.
She let Rafe help her to her feet, then fiddled awkwardly with her torn clothing. Modesty seemed ridiculous in this situation, especially since he’d already seen her naked, but it was the only thing she had left. Being treated like a piece of meat had stripped away her humanity; denying Rafe the right to see her body helped restore a tiny piece of what made her who she was.
“Here, put this on.” Rafe draped his coat over her shoulders and pulled it closed over her chest. “I’ll lead you back in wolf form. Someone took my boots, and my feet are starting to get cold.”
“I’m sorry.” Katie felt well and truly chagrined. “Rafe, I—“
“We’ll talk when we get back to my place. Until then, be quiet.” She tried not to stare at his perfect ass as he turned away from her. He glanced over his shoulder, catching her gaze. “Full moon tomorrow. The woods are crawling with my kind tonight.”
She shivered and limped after him. “Okay.”
He transformed into a wolf and stared at her with glowing eyes. She lowered her gaze and followed as he led her back over the faint path she’d made during her walk in. He trotted through the snow at a fast clip, stopping every few feet to wait for her to catch up. Her toes were like ice in the soaking wet socks, her legs hurt, and her mind raced with all she’d just learned. Werewolves were real. One of them was claiming her as his bond-mate, whatever that meant. She’d almost just died. And apparently the woods were teeming with wolfmen who could leap out and attack at any moment.
The trek back to the cabin seemed to take forever. She hadn’t realized she’d walked so far, and wondered whether she would have been able to find her way on her own. When a baleful howl echoed through the trees just as the cabin came into sight, she stumbled and caught herself on hands planted in the deep snow, then straightened and used one last burst of energy to run to the front door. Rafe made it there before she did, shifting back into human form and ushering her inside. He locked the door and stalked after her, anger evident in his every step.
Katie stopped just inside the door, not wanting to track water through the house. She was so cold. The pain in her legs worried her just as much as the imminent possibility of her murder by werewolves. She didn’t know whether she would make it through the night alive, and the one person who had shown her any kindness was furious with her.
She met Rafe’s steely gaze, breath quickening at the fire in his eyes. For better or worse, she was going to have to trust this man.
He really was the only chance she had.
CHAPTER NINE
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Katie shrank away as Rafe’s shout rattled the walls. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her chest. All she wanted was to get out of her soaking wet clothes. She wasn’t sure she had the strength for a dressing down when she was this cold. “I said I was sorry.”
“Sorry?” His hands shook as he ran them through his wet hair. He engaged the heavy deadbolt on the door, then stomped past her to the kitchen sink, where he washed the rest of the blond man’s blood off his face. “You could have been killed!”
“I didn’t know—“
Rafe spun around and glared at her. “You didn’t know that you could freeze to death out there? You didn’t know that you had no idea where the hell you were even going?” Rage contorted his handsome features. “Forget the fact that it’s the night before a full moon and we’re right in the middle of major werewolf territory. I get that you didn’t know that part, but surely you realized that running off into the night, in sub-zero temperatures, was colossally, dangerously stupid.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.” It sounded weak, even to her.
“So suicide seemed like the best option?” He advanced on her, his erection bobbling menacingly with each step. She flashed back to the feeling of rough hands pawing her body and cowered, closing her eyes. Her whole body tensed in anticipation—of what, she didn’t know.
His footfalls stopped abruptly. For a moment she heard only his labored breathing, then he exhaled and walked past her. She opened her eyes in time to watch him tug on a pair of sweatpants that had been left pooled on the floor in the foyer. Relieved that he’d given her a little space, she turned to meet his gaze. “Suicide wasn’t my intention.”
“But it was nearly the result.” His expression was hard, almost cold, yet she sensed volatile emotion beneath the surface. “Just tell me what possessed you to do something like that. What did I do that was so horrible that you decided it was better to take your chances out there alone?”
Katie straightened. “I was worried you were going
to hurt me.”
“Were you?” He studied her face. “Really?”
She lowered her head. “It wasn’t anything you did. I overheard you talking to your friend. He said I was going to end up getting raped and murdered—maybe even by you—and your side of the conversation didn’t exactly make me feel any better. I heard him call me a human, so full of disdain. I thought he was crazy—that both of you were crazy, maybe.” Katie exhaled. “He told you that you should’ve let me die. And meanwhile you were making me feel things that I had no reason to feel. Emotions.” She paused, embarrassed. “Other stuff, too. I didn’t know what you’d done to me to make me feel that way. I didn’t know why you and your friend said the things you did. So I was frightened. That’s all.”
Rafe’s expression softened. He folded his arms over his muscular chest, as though he was suddenly aware of how threatening he actually seemed. “Look, we need to get you warmed up. Again.”
Katie nodded, too exhausted and frozen to argue. She followed Rafe into the guest room, greeting Shilah with a sheepish pat on the head. “Hi, boy.”
Rafe pinned him with a hard look. “You’re in the dog house for real, boy. You were supposed to be watching her.”
Shilah wagged his tail, clearly pleased to be addressed by his master, whatever the context. Katie couldn’t help but laugh. “He doesn’t seem terribly concerned.”
“He knows I’m all bark and no bite.” Rafe gestured at her body. “You need to take those clothes off. Especially if I’m going to clean your wounds.”
Shy but chilled to the bone, Katie shrugged off Rafe’s coat before hesitating. “Could I have some privacy?”
Rafe nodded. “Meet me in the bathroom down the hall once you’re undressed. Go ahead and use one of my T-shirts from the dresser. I think you still have some…” His gaze darted to the pile of her laundry he’d left stacked on the floor. “Just leave your legs bare so I can treat the bites.”
“All right.”
He stood at the door, hands laced in front of his crotch. “I’m not going to hurt you. Honestly, Katie. Never.”
She believed him. “I know.”
Rafe left the room with Shilah at his heels. As soon as he shut the door she began to strip off her wet clothes. Her fingers were so numb they barely worked and her shivering increased exponentially as soon as the air hit her bare skin. As a result the whole process took her longer than she wanted, and drained her completely. She probably needed Rafe’s help, but believing that he wasn’t going to kill her didn’t mean that she was ready to let him undress her again.
Once her upper body was bare, she braced herself for the hard part. She took a deep breath and stripped off her pants, sickened by the sight of a deep bite wound on her right calf. It was still bleeding lightly, but didn’t hurt nearly as much as it looked like it should. No doubt it would be really painful once the feeling returned to her body. The bite on the back of her other calf was shallower and not nearly as bad, but seeing so much of her flesh torn open and raw turned her stomach.
Naked, she limped to the dresser by the closet and got a worn T-shirt out of the top drawer. Rafe’s scent wafted up to greet her, instantly comforting. She inhaled deeply as she tugged the shirt over her head, then cursed under her breath. He’d called her his bond-mate, and the wolf who’d bitten her had clearly sensed some connection between them. Was that why simply smelling Rafe made her feel like this? Like… She shivered again. Like she was home.
“Katie, are you okay?” Rafe’s voice came from just outside the bedroom door.
She walked stiffly to the pile of laundry and pulled a pair of her panties off the top. She had to struggle to make her limbs move so she could put them on. “I’m just so cold.” She shuffled to the door and threw it open, beyond caring about her lack of clothing. All she wanted was for Rafe to dress her wounds so she could crawl under the blankets. She never should have left in the first place. “I feel like I’ll never be warm again.”
Rafe’s gaze slid down the length of her body. His throat jumped when he saw her mangled legs. “He really got you.”
“Yeah.” She glanced down at her calves and shrugged, teeth chattering. “I can barely feel it. I can’t really feel anything right now.”
Rafe glanced over his shoulder at the bathroom door, then at her. “Why don’t you let me warm you a little before we look at the bites?”
Something about his tone told her that there was a reason he was asking permission. “What does that involve, exactly?”
He smiled, almost shyly. “A hug. Basically.”
“A hug.” She wasn’t sure she liked the idea. It almost felt like a trick. It was certainly too much for him to ask after what those beasts outside had put her through. But if there was any chance it might really help her fight off the ice that had settled into her bones, she was willing to take a leap of faith. “Okay.”
He seemed surprised by her easy acquiescence. “Okay.” He hesitated. “It would probably work better if we were skin-to-skin…”
Katie frowned. “No.”
“All right.” He held out his arms and looked into her eyes. “Come here.”
She surprised herself by stepping into his embrace without hesitation. He curled his powerful arms around her back and pulled her close enough to feel his heartbeat thumping in rhythm with her own. Within seconds, exquisite heat spread throughout her body, starting at her chest and flowing into the tips of her extremities. Katie gasped and nearly pulled away, but Rafe kept her close.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “It’s normal. Let it happen.” He rubbed a hand up and down her spine, as though comforting a child. “I’ve got you. Just hold on to me.”
Katie clung to Rafe tightly, overwhelmed when the warmth that flowed from his body to hers bloomed into an intense rush of emotion. There was so much to process that she couldn’t separate everything she was feeling—love, safety, devotion, protectiveness, peace. The rhythm of his breathing shifted to match hers, making her feel as though his body was merely an extension of her own. She buried her face in his neck, overwhelmed by the all-consuming joy of being in his arms. His scent surrounded her, drawing out a low, needy moan that made her blush. Despite her embarrassment—despite everything that had happened tonight—she had to fight the urge to raise up on her tiptoes and kiss Rafe on the mouth.
Instead, she cried out in shock when sensation returned to her calves in the form of burning, throbbing pain. Rafe released her, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. “Your wounds?”
Katie nodded dumbly. Now that their embrace was over, the surreality of the entire situation hit her hard. Not only the existence of werewolves, but Rafe calling her his bond-mate and her body’s incredible reaction to his touch. Hell, her soul’s reaction to his mere presence. Trembling, she placed her hand on Rafe’s warm cheek and looked deep into his tender green eyes. “Rafe—“
He shook his head and took her hand. “Let’s go to the bathroom so I can clean your wounds. We’ll talk about it there.” His shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly as he led her down the hallway. “I’ll explain everything.”
CHAPTER TEN
Katie winced as Rafe guided her more gravely injured leg beneath a stream of warm water from the bathtub’s faucet. He poured some anti-bacterial soap into the wound and carefully but thoroughly washed it. The soap and water stung like a bitch, and despite his careful touch, she had to restrain herself from lashing out. “Fuck.”
Rafe raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry. I really am trying to be gentle.”
“I know you are.” She brought her other foot up onto the edge of the tub and rested her cheek on her knee, not caring that Rafe could see her panties. Maybe it was foolish, but she no longer feared him. On the contrary, an unexpected thrill crawled up her spine when his gaze slid to the space between her legs. Beyond a discreet flaring of his nostrils, he betrayed no reaction. She watched calmly as he turned his attention back to her leg, flushing out her wound with a tenderness she never would have e
xpected from a man of Rafe’s size and strength.
“It’s good that you were wearing so many layers. This could’ve been much worse.”
“Believe me, I know.” She tried not to think about the way those two werewolves had talked about her—like she was a piece of meat to be violated and then eaten. A couple of bite wounds were nothing compared to what could have happened. If this was her worst souvenir from tonight, she considered herself lucky. The thought triggered a sudden, horrifying memory of werewolf lore drawn mostly from films and television. Nausea rolled over her. “He bit me. Does that mean…” She swallowed, certain she would be sick. “Am I a werewolf now?”
Rafe surprised her by laughing. He shot her an easygoing grin, so handsome it took the sting out of his amusement. “No, it doesn’t work like that. You have to be born this way.”
“Oh.” Katie considered that as her heart rate slowed. Then she realized how her disgust might have come across. “No offense intended. I’m sure it’s not like being a werewolf is the worst thing in the world.”
He snorted. “I appreciate you saying so.”
“It’s just that I—“
Rafe shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize. I understand.”
She joined in his examination of her deeper wound. Even if it didn’t turn her into a werewolf, the bite was going to leave a scar. The entire attack would no doubt linger within her subconscious mind forever. “Do you think I’ll need stitches?”
“No, we need to let the wound stay open to heal.” He stared at her leg as the water rinsed over it, then furrowed his brow. “It’ll lower the risk of infection.”
She nodded. The concern in his eyes made her belly flutter in the most pleasant way. There he went again, looking at her like she was his entire world. She knew they had to talk about whatever this bond was between them, but she was almost afraid to ask. Not ready to be direct, she said, “I’m lucky to have such a competent savior.”
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