“Of course you have a life. Please don’t say things like that. You’re smart and handsome and you have the biggest heart. Tony, I need to do this, and I am so truly sorry that it affected your life as well.”
“I don’t want just any woman, Selena. I want you,” he said in almost a whiney voice. That was big emotion for Tony actually. “Selena, tell me the truth, please. Are you breaking up with me?”
“Tony, we’re three thousand miles apart, baby. I think it’s safe to say that my company’s decision to send me here caused our break-up. I know people claim to do it successfully, but I’ve never known anyone who took on a long distance relationship and didn’t suffer because of it.”
“I told you I would come there. I could get a job there. I could put in for a transfer. Anchorage isn’t that small. I’ll bet my company has subsidiaries there. I will look into it.”
“Your family would hate me for taking you three thousand miles away.” This was what she hadn’t wanted to do. She was making things up to keep from having to just tell him that she didn’t love him anymore.
“Selena…”
“Tony, please. This is hard enough. Go on with your life, please.”
“Do you love me?” His voice was hesitant like he didn’t really want to know the answer.
“Not the way I did,” she told him, honestly. She started to tell him how important he still was to her but she realized after a few seconds that she was talking to dead air. She didn’t know if the call had dropped, or if he’d hung up on her, but she wasn’t going to call him back. She loved him…like a brother. She didn’t want him to come here. She hoped he had heard her say it, and she wouldn’t have to do it again.
Selena got out of the truck and as she closed the door behind her she heard a rustle in the trees. Slam had told her that the wolf was at the sanctuary, so what now? She looked around, but she didn’t see anything. It was probably a frog or her imagination. Just in case though, she kept her keys in her right hand and slipped off her heels. Then she ran as fast as she could to the front door. As soon as she hit the porch, she heard them. She didn’t turn around; she just shoved the key in the hole and pushed the door open.
As she turned to slam it shut, she saw them coming. It was a whole pack of scruffy-looking wolves, and they were growling and snarling at her. She stood with her back against the inside of the closed door. Her pulse was racing, and her breath was coming in big gulps. Just as she started to get it under control, she felt a thump against the door. They were trying to get in. After the thump, there was scratching on the wood. That was frightening enough, but when they moved over to the glass of the big picture window she was suddenly terrified. She fished her phone out of her purse and called Conner.
“Hey, Selena,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Conner…” she said in a breathless voice.
“Sorry for what? Selena, what’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s a pack of wolves at my door, and my windows. I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t think they’re going to go away until they’ve gotten in and eaten me.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said. “Lock yourself in the bedroom and stay away from the windows. Do not open that bedroom door no matter what you hear until I say so, okay?”
“Okay,” she said as she heard another thud against the front window. “Please hurry.”
Selena went into the bedroom and locked the door leading to the living room and the door that led to the bathroom. Then she sat on the bed and waited. She could hear the scratching and clawing and bodies pounding on the glass. Then, her worst fears were realized as she heard the glass shatter. The wolves were in her home.
CHAPTER FOUR
Selena felt light headed, and the room was spinning. Great, I’m going to pass out and make it easy for them to eat me. She listened to them clawing at her bedroom door now. From where she was, it sounded like there were a hundred of them in the house.
She didn’t know how many minutes had passed before the action in the other room suddenly changed. She heard a loud, sharp howl and then lots of snarling and growls and yips like they were fighting and tearing each other apart. It also sounded like they were tearing her house apart. Maybe they had turned on each other and forgotten about her. This was all so bizarre she couldn’t even believe she was sitting here thinking any of it. Daniel was going to get an earful when all of this was over. That was if she made it through….
She sat and listened to the scuffle, praying off and on, thinking about calling her mother to say goodbye and realizing that her phone was in the living room. She couldn’t even call for more help if Conner didn’t show. She could feel the hot sting of tears beginning to form in her eyes. She rarely ever cried, but if there was going to be a time, it seemed like this could be it.
Fifteen or twenty minutes later, the room next door went completely silent. She didn’t know if that was good or bad, so she continued to sit on the bed and wait. They could be trying to trick her. Conner had told her not to come out until she heard his voice, and for some reason, she trusted him. She planned on sitting right there on the bed until Conner got there. Hopefully he was coming, and her trust hadn’t been misplaced. It seemed like he should have had plenty of time to get there by now.
“Selena.” She heard his voice and a knock on the door. “It’s okay. You can open the door.”
Selena ran over and jerked open the door. She was so grateful and relieved that she had visions of throwing herself into his arms and hugging him tight. But then, she saw him standing there and she froze.
“They’re gone,” he told her. Conner was wrapped from the waist down in the afghan that had been on her couch, and nude from the waist up. The afghan was crocheted and the little holes weren’t doing much to hide him. He was sweaty and panting, and his eyes were a dark green and looked like he could hardly hold them open. He was ghost pale like Slam had been when she saw him earlier, and his hands were trembling. A horrible gash on his arm looked like it had been wrapped but was now torn open, and he had scratches all over his chest and on the side of his face. But most frightening of all, it looked like he had blood around his lips.
“Conner? What’s going on?” she said.
He started to speak, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out. He tried to take a step toward her then, and his knees buckled underneath him. As he toppled forward, Selena caught his arm and helped him over to the bed. He lay down and tried to speak again.
“Shh, it doesn’t matter right now,” she said, adjusting the afghan over his southern parts. “You need to rest. Just rest.”
She remembered seeing a first aid kit in the bathroom when she was getting settled. She went and got it now as well as two clean, wet cloths and a towel. When she got back, his eyes were closed and the steady rise and fall of his chest made her believe he was asleep. She sat next to him on the bed and first washed his face with cool water, making sure to get the blood that was drying around his lips. There were two lemon glycerin swabs in the kit, and she used them to gently wipe the inside of his mouth as well. He looked like he was almost asleep, but cooperated by opening and closing his mouth.
Then she began to clean his wounds with peroxide. Once they were clean, she dried them and put on a triple antibiotic ointment and bandages. Once he was all cleaned and patched up, she pulled her comforter up around his shivering body and left him to sleep.
She went out into the living room then and surveyed the mess. There was glass everywhere, and blood, but no sign of a living or dead wolf. Most of the furniture was unscathed, but there were a few things she would have to throw out. She sighed and wondered again what she was doing in this place. A wolf invasion would never happen in New York.
She thought about what the old man had told her earlier about werewolves. It had been a long, stressful day, and she actually let herself consider the possibility of werewolves for a moment. She shook her head to get rid of those silly thoughts, and then she got out the broom and began to sweep up
the glass and other debris.
She could see the scratch marks as she cleaned, on the outside of the windowsill and the floor. They were deep gouges, and there were a lot of them. When she opened the front door to make sure there was no glass there, she saw that they had actually dented it in with the weight of their bodies as well as clawed off big chunks of wood. Selena didn’t know much about wild animals, but she didn’t think that they were supposed to go around in packs trying to break into houses. This was all so surreal.
She finished sweeping and then she proceeded to clean up the blood and some other questionable fluids off of floor and end tables. Then she went in search of something to temporarily cover the gaping hole in the front of her house. She didn’t plan on staying here tonight after all of that, but she didn’t want to sit here even now with it wide open. The sun was just beginning to dip behind the mountain, and she wasn’t sure how long Conner would sleep.
“Damn! The festival,” she said out loud. Thinking of the sun going down had made her remember that Slam was supposed to pick her up soon. She picked her phone up off of the floor. She had to search for the battery. Once she got the battery back in and it booted back up, she sent Slam a text.
Had more trouble with the wolves. Multiple one’s this time, but Conner handled it. I’m exhausted though, sorry. I’m going to pass on the dance tonight. Thanks anyways, Slam. Have fun.
Slam texted back quickly, Is everyone okay?
Yes, Conner’s sleeping it off…I think.
Okay. Call if you need me.
Thanks.
She went in to the bedroom then to get a sheet or blanket for the window. She stopped when she saw him and again had to marvel at how handsome he was, even now. She had wondered if she should call an ambulance for him at first, but it seemed like he was resting comfortably now and the color was returning to his face. He almost looked peaceful. She had to wonder why he’d been nude, and did all of those wolves just limp off in pain when a man who wasn’t even armed showed up? What happened in there tonight, Conner?
She had another glimpse of the OldRussian man saying, “Werewolves heal ten times faster than humans.” She knew it was crazy, and she was not one who was prone to believing irrational things. But, the scratches on his chest that she had cleaned but not covered because they were superficial seemed to be already fading. How could that be? Where was the rational explanation for that?
She left without her sheet or blanket and went into the kitchen to get a bottle of water to sit next to the bed in case he woke up thirsty. He would need to stay hydrated in order to heal as well. As she passed the living room window once again, something else dawned on her…Conner’s Jeep wasn’t outside. She looked out at the long, straight road that led to the main road. She didn’t see it anywhere. How had he gotten here…nude, no less?
Selena hoped that when he woke up he would be ready to talk. She needed some answers because her imagination was beginning to get the better of her. She sat the water bottle at the bedside and again stood there looking at him. She felt like a pervert because of the tingling sensations she was having between her legs just looking at him and knowing he was in her bed nude. His chest was broad and hairless, and every muscle in it and his arms was well-defined like he spent hours working out. She wondered when he could find the time; he always seemed to have a full schedule. He looked like one of those men they used for models on the front of romance novels, and it was so hard not to look.
She took a deep breath and quashed down the perverse thoughts she was having. Finally tearing herself away, she started to leave the room. Conner’s soft moan stopped her. She turned and went back over to him. His brows were drawn together tightly and his lips were twisted into a scowl. He looked like he was either having a terrible dream or he was in pain.
“Conner?” she whispered. He didn’t stir again or open his eyes at the sound of her voice. She sat there watching him until his face relaxed and went back to normal. She had an almost overwhelming desire to touch him, one that she had never had before with any other man. Finally, fearing that she would touch him if she sat there any longer, she started to get back up off the bed. He startled her, however, by grabbing ahold of her arm as she did.
“Please stay,” he said.
Selena realized she had tensed up when he grabbed her and she tried to relax.
“Okay. I’m here. Do you need anything?”
He still had his eyes closed, but he said, “Water, please.”
She opened the water bottle and slipped a hand under his head. As she helped him hold his head up, she put the bottle to his lips and he drank big, thirsty gulps.
“Not so fast,” she told him. He slowed down, but he didn’t stop until the bottle was completely dry.
He opened his eyes then, just a slit. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. “Thank you for not letting those things eat me.”
He grinned slightly. “My pleasure.” Then he closed his eyes again. Selena waited a few minutes and started to get back up. He opened his eyes. “I thought you were going to stay with me.”
“I will,” she said. “I’m a little worried about the wide open window out front.”
“Nothing will hurt you while I’m here, Selena. Lay with me, please.”
She was having a huge internal struggle. She barely knew this guy yet she was actually considering lying next to him, with him naked on her bed. It was because he had saved her life. No, Selena. It’s because you want him. The choice was taken out of her rational brain a moment later when he reached up and put his hand on the side of her face.
“I won’t hurt you, Selena. Just lay with me, please. Nothing else will happen.” His words barely registered as her neurons carried news of his touch to every part of her body. She lay down next to him, and before she knew it he had pulled himself up close to her and had his arms wrapped around her from behind. His mouth was so close to her ear that every time he exhaled, she could feel the warm air in her ear and a tingle down her spine.
He pulled her into him even closer and said, “Relax.”
She didn’t know why, but she did as he told her and eventually she fell asleep in his arms.
When Selena woke up it was dark, and she was disoriented. She didn’t know where she was at first, or whose arms were holding her. “Tony?” she whispered.
“No, not Tony.” It was Conner.
She remembered now. She tilted her head back to look up at him. It was dark but she could make out his silhouette and see his eyes shining.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m doing much better. Thank you.” Then he did something that further shocked her. He lowered his head down and brushed his lips softly against hers. It was barely enough contact to be called a kiss. It was more like a flutter, but she felt it all the way down to her toes. She tensed up again, knowing she should just get up out of this bed before she let things go too far, but unable to make her body comply. Conner kissed her again before she could move. This time with more intensity. She didn’t pull away, but she hadn’t meant to respond so dramatically. She kissed him back, and the fire raging in the pit of her belly became more inflamed.
Conner gently bit at her upper lip, and without her brain’s consent, she felt her lips parting to allow him to taste her. He snaked his tongue into her mouth, brushing against hers. His breathing was becoming ragged again…Or was that hers? She didn’t know. He had his hands on her waist now and slowly slid them up as they kissed. She was screaming at herself to stop this, but she didn’t want to stop. Was it so wrong? They were both adults. Selena had been craving passionate sex for so long...
Unbeknownst to Selena, Conner was having similar internal arguments. He couldn’t believe how good she tasted. She was sweet, just like he knew she would be. He had wanted to mate with her since that first day, the day he’d been so rude to her. She wasn’t one of them, and without pack approval he couldn’t make her that way. If he took her now, and the pack sai
d no, he didn’t know if he could then mate with another knowing firsthand what he’d had to give up. He had a responsibility to his pack, and to his town. As their bodies melded together like clay and he felt his manhood stirring and coming to life, he told himself these things, but he didn’t want to listen.
He had slipped his hands underneath her shirt as they kissed, and he could feel how soft and warm she was. He didn’t want to stop. He let his hands drift deftly upward, exploring the curves of her waist and the swell of the sides of her breast. He felt her shudder, but she wasn’t telling him to stop. He almost wished she were, because he didn’t think that he was going to be able to stop himself. When he moved one hand across the front of her bra, he felt her nipples grow hard and she let out a soft, encouraging moan. That sound from her sweet lips soaked into his brain and called up the wolf inside of him. He let out a low growl from deep in his throat. God he wanted this woman. Sex was not a big deal to Conner…ever. He had as much of it as he wanted, and he had always known that none of the ones he’d had it with would be his life mate. Now he knew who he wanted, and he had to question whether or not they would let him have her.
Selena was trying to make herself tell him to stop. The man had his tongue in her mouth and his hands on her breasts. Instead of saying stop, she moaned and rubbed her hips gently against his raging hard-on. As her mind tried desperately to regain control of the situation, her body knew that the fight had already been lost.
TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK TWO: Mates - Volume 3
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Mates
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Synopsis
In book three of this series, Conner and Selena grow closer and Conner finally tells her the town’s deep, dark secret. Selena doesn’t believe what he’s telling her is true. It’s not logical and logic is what she has based her entire life on.
Alaskan Alpha: 3-Book Bundle (Books 1-3) Page 6
