Alpha seemed so unmoved by Rafe’s words that Katie feared the scene was about to turn ugly. But rather than raise his weapon, he took a step forward. “I do want to do the right thing. And the right thing is to deliver the woman to Jack. One life to compensate for how many of his? And a human life, at that?” He offered Rafe a regretful shrug. “That is what’s right. Whether you like it or not.”
Rafe’s expression turned to ice. “You can’t take her life without taking mine.”
“What if I promised to let you leave?” Alpha took another step forward. “Jack wants you dead, so you can’t stay. But if I give them the girl, they may forgive me for not being able to deliver your body.”
“Let me go?” Rafe laughed. “If Katie dies, I’m as good as dead, anyway. We’re bonded—I need her. More than that, I love her. You know goddamn well that I’m not taking that deal.”
“Who’s to say that your human-wolf bond even works the same as a real bond? It’s possible that you could move on from this woman. Find another mate.”
“There is no other mate for me.” Rafe’s confident proclamation sent a pleasant shiver up her spine. “And if you try to take her, I will protect her. Whatever I have to do.”
“I don’t want to kill you, boy.” A note of subtle desperation crept into Alpha’s gruff voice. “I swear I don’t.” The paternal affection in his words sounded genuine, reaching into her chest and gripping her heart in an iron vise. That was Rafe’s emotion, no doubt, and it threatened to shatter her intense concentration on watching for Alpha’s next move.
But she couldn’t let her guard down. Not now. Not for even a second.
Twin howls echoed through the trees, so close to their position that she gasped in horror. She darted her gaze around reflexively, terrified that she would see approaching wolves, lamenting her distraction the entire time. From her left came an enraged growl, then the sound of bone slamming against bone. She looked back at the road just in time to see Alpha land hard on his back with Rafe on top of him. Alpha’s head struck the ground with a sickening thud, but Rafe didn’t back off. He held his arm across Alpha’s throat, pinning him down.
“I don’t want to kill you either, Alpha.” Rafe spoke so quietly that Katie had to learn forward in her seat to hear. “But I will.”
“Go, then,” Alpha snarled. “And never come back.”
Rafe hovered over Alpha’s prone form, unmoving even as yet more howls filled the air. “I don’t know how to trust you.” His internal struggle over whether to kill the man who had helped raise him was plain to see, with or without their connection. She knew in her heart that he would prefer to avoid spilling more blood, but ultimately, he would do whatever was necessary to keep them both safe. “I want to believe that you’ll let us go, but I’m not sure I can.” Chest heaving, he seemed to press down harder on Alpha’s throat. A fierce growl curled his lips. “Nobody hurts Katie. Not even you.”
Unable to see Alpha’s face, Katie held her breath as she waited for a reply. She half-expected Rafe to finish him off before he could manage one. But when Alpha spoke a moment later, he sounded surprisingly calm for a man on the brink of death. “Go on and get out of here, kid. Take your girl and disappear.”
There was an interminable wait before Rafe answered. “And what will you tell Jack?”
“That I didn’t make it in time to stop you.”
Rafe bowed his head, obviously considering Alpha’s offer. Body coiled tight with tension and rage, he looked wholly prepared to carry out a heartbreaking execution. So when he lifted his arm, easing off Alpha’s airway, Katie went boneless with surprise—and, inexplicably, relief. Rafe grabbed Alpha’s discarded rifle from the icy pavement beside his outstretched hand, then stood and backed away slowly. “You saved my life when I was a boy. Now we’re even.”
Alpha leapt to his feet so swiftly that Katie was certain Rafe had made a fatal mistake by showing him mercy. But rather than advance, he turned and walked to his truck in silence. Climbing into the driver’s seat, he rolled down the window and pulled onto the shoulder of the road. Without meeting Rafe’s eyes, he said, “Get the fuck out of here. You step foot in these woods again, you’re both dead.”
Rafe passed Alpha’s rifle through the open window to Katie, then opened the door and got into the driver’s seat without looking away from his former pack leader. “We’re not coming back.” Katie felt the finality of his declaration in the lump that rose in her throat. She put her hand on his knee, grateful to have him back beside her even as she mourned that being together came at the cost of the only life he’d ever known. Rafe shifted the truck into drive, then laced his fingers with hers. “Tell Natalia that I’m sorry about Cooper.”
Alpha stared straight ahead, emotionless. “Right.”
Rafe’s hand tightened on hers. Under his breath, he whispered, “Keep hold of your gun until he’s out of sight. Just in case.”
“Okay.” Katie adjusted her grip on the revolver as they drove slowly past Alpha’s truck. He held the steering wheel in white-knuckled fists, his frustration palpable and downright unsettling. She kept her watchful gaze on his face until she couldn’t see it anymore, and then she studied his tail lights in the rear view mirror, afraid that he would simply turn and follow them—perhaps even run them off the road. It was only after they’d driven a few miles without any sign of Alpha giving chase that she felt comfortable checking on Rafe.
His chest rose and fell rapidly. The energy that poured off him was so confused and chaotic that she struggled to comprehend how he felt about what had just happened. Betrayal, relief, sadness, anger, regret, worry, joy, uncertainty—the onslaught of emotion made her dizzy, almost sick to her stomach. Overwhelmed, she put her hand on Rafe’s thigh to help steady them both. The instant she touched him, a profound sense of calm swept over her and chased away everything else, easing the tension in the car and making it easier to breathe.
Rafe exhaled slowly. “So that went well.”
“It could have gone a lot worse.” Startled to see the revolver still gripped tight in her hand, Katie set it in the center console. Then she balled her free hand into a fist, trying to stop its violent trembling. “Do you think he’ll come after us?”
“Not if he wants to stay alive.” As though sensing that his answer did nothing to allay her fears, Rafe gave her a tender smile. “No, I don’t think he will. Even if he knew where we were going, he doesn’t exactly venture into cities. None of my pack do. I doubt Jack’s wolves will, either.”
Katie nodded. She wanted to believe that. For the sake of her sanity, she had to believe that. “I can’t believe he tried to get you to give me to them.”
“He’s an idiot,” Rafe muttered darkly. “I would have killed him if he tried.” His throat tensed, and Katie instinctively knew that he was imagining what would happen to her if she were given to Jack Devereaux and his pack as a plaything. Rafe’s nostrils flared as he exhaled again. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you, Katie. I promise you that.”
She’d never believed in anything so strongly as she did that. For the first time in her life, she had a partner who would die to protect her. And she would do the same for him, without hesitation. “Me too,” Katie said. Pleased when that earned her a genuine smile, she leaned across the console and kissed his cheek. “And I promise I’ll do whatever I can to make living around us awful humans more bearable.”
Rafe chuckled, then bared his teeth in a full-out grin. “I’m not worried.”
Strangely, she wasn’t either. She had no idea where they would go, what would come next, or how they would negotiate a relationship while coming from two such different worlds, but despite all that, she remained certain that as long as they were together, they would get their happy ending. And she couldn’t wait.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Katie lie on her stomach across the surprisingly comfortable bed, cradling the hotel suite’s phone to her ear. Freshly showered and wrapped in a fluffy towel stamped with the name of a
n expensive establishment she’d never splurged on before, she wanted nothing more than to curl up with Rafe once he finished his own shower. But first she needed to get through this one last phone call. Having already contacted her parents, the police, and a small list of clients to report that she was alive, all that was left to do was comfort her sister. Erin had burst into tears as soon as Katie said hello and was only marginally calmer after Katie explained that she’d been in an accident, had gotten rescued, then wound up stranded in the woods for a couple nights.
“Where are you now? Can I see you?” Erin sounded more like a little girl than Katie could ever remember hearing from her big, brave sister. “I was so worried, Katie. The police couldn’t tell us anything except that search efforts wouldn’t start until the weather cleared. We had your name and picture on the news, hoping someone could tell us something. We thought we’d lost you.”
Katie’s throat stung at the obvious anguish in Erin’s voice. “I’m so sorry. I’m not even back in the city yet. This is literally the first chance I’ve had to use a phone since the accident. I was only able to drive out of the mountains this morning, and the roads were so bad that by the time I finally made it to Sacramento, I decided that I needed a break.” Not yet ready to get into all the details of the past week—including the fact that her new boyfriend had come along for the ride—she decided to play up her very real exhaustion to avoid a lengthy conversation. “I actually think I’ll go to bed soon. I have a feeling it’s going to take me a few days of rest to fully recover from the past week.”
“How about I come up there and take care of you?” Clearly already making plans in her head, Erin said, “I can cancel my appointments for tomorrow, we’ll go to breakfast at that little place in Old Town…“
Erin’s hopeful lilt warmed her even as it made her cringe. She couldn’t wait to see her sister again, but all she wanted to do right now was spend at least twenty-four uninterrupted hours with Rafe. As though answering her unspoken desire, Rafe opened the bathroom door and stepped out, still naked and damp from the shower. Making sure not to sound ungrateful, Katie demurred as gracefully as she could while admiring the most perfect male form she’d ever seen up close. “I appreciate that so much, Erin, but right now all I want to do is sleep for about twelve hours and then drive home. I promise to call you when I get there.”
Erin couldn’t hide her disappointment. “I understand, I just miss you. And I’m pretty sure that I won’t be able to relax until I see for myself that you’re all right.”
Katie smiled at Rafe as he sat on the bed beside her. His hand immediately went for the bare skin of her calf, and stroked her gently. Basking in the closeness she felt simply being near him, she rolled onto her side and rested her head on his thigh. “Maybe we can meet for dinner tomorrow night? Somewhere in San Francisco, your choice.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re the one who nearly starved to death and got stranded in the middle of nowhere. Dinner is your choice.”
Distracted by the teasing path Rafe forged up under the edge of her towel, Katie bit her lip and tried not to moan. The sensation of his fingers skirting up the back of her thigh to the curve of her ass rendered food the furthest thing from her mind. “I can’t even think about eating right now. How about I call you tomorrow afternoon and we’ll work out the details?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Erin had gone teary again. “Were you hurt in the accident? Have you seen a doctor?”
The only one of them who had visited a doctor was Shilah. They’d found an emergency vet as soon as they made it to Sacramento, armed with the cover story that their dog had been attacked by some unidentified wild animal while they were camping in the mountains. The vet treated his wounds, prescribed antibiotics, and let them know how incredibly lucky they were that Shilah hadn’t gone into shock from fear and blood loss. Despite Susan’s prediction, the doctor was guardedly optimistic that his leg could be saved. Fitted with a bulky cast, he lie on the dog pillow the pet-friendly hotel had supplied, watching them with a shit-eating grin on his face. Really, what Shilah and Rafe had survived made her own bumps and scrapes seem trivial in comparison.
“I’m fine, Erin. I swear.” She parted her legs slightly, allowing Rafe to slip his hand between her thighs. “I’m amazing, actually. I’ll give you all the details once I get home.” She wouldn’t, of course, but not because she didn’t want to. Terrifying as the entire experience had been, she was walking away from it with an amazing, gorgeous man who would fight and die for her. Katie wanted to trumpet that news far and wide—especially to her big sister.
Unfortunately, she didn’t think Erin was ready to know exactly how special Rafe was. Intense supernatural bonds with werewolves weren’t the kind of thing one casually announced to the world—or to one’s family. Erin would never accept it. No man had ever been good enough for Katie, as far as Erin was concerned, and a lycanthrope was unlikely to change her opinion about Katie’s taste in boyfriends.
“Okay,” Erin said warily. “So you’ll call me tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.” Katie didn’t have to force cheer into her voice with Rafe so close. He caressed her inner thigh softly, making no move to get any more intimate while she was on the phone. His solid presence at her side made her feel blessedly safe, pleasantly warm, and suddenly desperate to say goodbye to her sister. “I’m sorry again about everything. I hate that I made you worry about me all week.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Being trapped in your car…I can’t even imagine how scary that was for you.”
In retrospect, those five days alone had been one of the least traumatic parts of the entire week. Aware that there was no way to explain that, she sought to ease Erin’s mind anyway. “It was awful, at times. But it wasn’t all bad, I promise.” She turned onto her back and smiled up at Rafe, who returned her smile while lightly grazing her crotch with his palm. “On that note, I love you, sis. I’ll see you soon?”
“Count on it.” Erin sniffled. “I love you, too.”
“Bye.” Katie put the phone back on the nightstand, then collapsed onto her back with a dramatic exhalation. “Well, that took it out of me.”
Rafe loosened the towel from around her chest, allowing it to fall open and reveal her naked body. Despite the vaguely seductive gesture, he made no move to initiate lovemaking. Instead he rested his hand on her belly and searched her face. “Is everything all right?”
“Just reeling from the impact my disappearance had on everyone. My biggest client wanted to know if I was still going to meet my deadline next Wednesday—probably not, by the way.” Work wasn’t even on her radar yet. She couldn’t think of anything that seemed more trivial than designing web graphics when her entire life had just changed in every possible way. “My parents…well, they were beside themselves. They’ve obviously been panicking all week. Erin, too. She was ready to drive up here tonight to make sure I was really okay.”
“Did you want her to?”
Incredibly, Katie sensed that he would be cool with a surprise visit from her sister if that was what she wanted. But it really wasn’t. Shaking her head, she murmured, “I want tonight to be about you and me and nobody else.”
Rafe brushed his knuckles over her cheekbone. “I like the sound of that.”
Not interested in being coy about her desires, Katie said, “I want to make love. With no fear, no protecting me from your lust, no reservations.” She came up on her elbows and met him halfway in a deep, passionate kiss. When they broke apart, she whispered, “Just us, connecting. Enjoying this bond we share.”
His fingers slid from her shoulder down over the side of her breast, eliciting a shiver that she felt to the tips of her toes. “I’d like that very much.”
Certain that this was the perfect time to change the tone of their sexual relationship, Katie sat up and placed her hands on Rafe’s chest, pressing him backwards onto the mattress. Clearly surprised by the dominant maneuver, Rafe stared up at her, smoky-gazed and compl
iant. “Taking charge?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” Kicking the towel she’d been wearing over the side of the bed, Katie straddled Rafe’s hips and settled on top of him. He was already rock hard, his length nestled between her slick labia as though he was the missing piece of her puzzle. Groaning in satisfaction at even that slight bit of stimulation, Katie said, “Can you handle that?”
“I can definitely handle it.” He moved his hands to caress her back, then dropped them to squeeze her ass and pull her wetness against his swollen cock. “Are you going to put me inside of you?”
Relishing the idea of being in control—and aware that Rafe was eager to prove that he wasn’t always so insatiably dominant—Katie shook her head and gave him a playful smile. “Not yet. You have to earn it first.”
Rafe raised an eyebrow. Any doubts she had about whether he would enjoy her being on top vanished at the blatant arousal on his face. “How does one earn an invitation inside your beautiful body?”
She shot him a naughty grin as she climbed up his chest and planted a knee beside each of his broad shoulders. Threading her fingers in his dark hair, she held his head steady and lowered her wet folds onto his mouth. “You lick me until I tell you that I’m ready for more.”
Never having taken on this role in the bedroom, Katie was surprised by how naturally it came to her—and by how much she genuinely enjoyed it. To her delight, Rafe’s eyes sparkled as he stared up from between her legs. She moaned as he dragged his tongue through her wetness, teasing at her opening until she yanked on his hair and shifted her hips to guide his actions.
“That’s right,” she whimpered as he drew circles around her clit with the tip of his tongue. “That’s so good, baby.” She loosened her grip on his hair and stroked his head, pleased by how well he already seemed to know her body. Shocked by her own confidence when it came to finding satisfaction, she rocked her hips back and forth, using his whole face to stimulate her overheated flesh.
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