Wild Wolf Mate: League Of Gallize Shifters (The League Of Gallize Shifters Book 5)

by Dianna Love

  His stomach turned.

  She quieted all at once, her limbs limp. He lowered his head and gave her shoulder a trembling kiss.

  Now he had to block everything except getting that spike out. Please don’t let him paralyze her.

  Or kill her.

  None of those thoughts would get him through this. He could cut out a bullet or spike from any of his Gallize brothers, but hurting Jaz?

  He’d rather crawl through fire if he could save her this.

  Taking a deep breath to steady his hand, he made a second incision down the spike on the opposite side of her backbone. That slice was perpendicular to the first cut that had sent her screaming. The skin near the wound had begun turning gray.

  Had the skin already died?

  The longer titanium remained in a shifter, the more damage.

  The damned thing looked like a fat nail four inches long and a quarter inch thick, but with no head for yanking it out.

  How had she managed the ride here? He struggled to push his anger down. Someone had to pay for this.

  His wolf murmured, Think quiet. Work calm.

  The last time he’d heard those words from Red, Adrian had been disabling a bomb. He said, You’re right. We have no one to fight here, but time. Thank you, Red.

  His wolf made a soft growl, a sound of comfort Adrian also hadn’t heard since before being caught and caged.

  He could do this.

  He had his wolf with him.

  Time seemed to slug by slowly, but it hadn’t taken more than eight minutes to find the barb. He fingered each side at the base to keep the two barbs folded up, turning the surface back into a smooth spike.

  He’d take any gift.

  Angling away from her spine, he gently lifted, careful not to snag a tip. Sweat from his brow dripped on her back, but he finally pulled the metal free.

  This next part was no picnic either.

  He’d found a drinking bottle he filled with water from one of multiple gallon jugs before starting. Pulling out the titanium cleaning cloth, he used a bowl that had been with the water and a crate of supplies. He used the bowl to soak the cloth in the water.

  His Gallize teammate and medic, Rory, always said the metal had to be washed out of the wound or any residual titanium would still poison a shifter.

  Adrian’s hands began to still with focus on washing the wound twice. Then he flushed the wound with clean water and used a strip off the bed covering to soak it up.

  When he finished, the skin ringing the gray area at the wound no longer appeared inflamed, just dark pink. That dead gray color worried him, but he had no more tricks.

  She and her wolf had to heal. Feeding her and getting her to shift would help. Could she shift yet?

  He tore another longer strip of the bed covering and wrapped it around her middle to draw the wound shut.

  Lifting her wrist, he checked her pulse. Weak, but still there and she breathed slowly. He put her hand back.

  She never stirred the whole time.

  Sitting back, he washed the blood from his hands, which wasn’t as much as it should have been. Once the skin turned gray, it would no longer bleed.

  He downed the last of the water from the bottle.

  Rest and food accelerated healing. She couldn’t eat yet.

  Moving her so he could be between her and the entrance to the cave, he removed all his clothes except his T-shirt and boxers.

  Stretching out next to her, he spoke through a throat burned with raw emotion. “Jaz?”

  He tried twice more to wake her, but she wouldn’t rouse.

  Setting his watch for a half hour, he trusted his wolf to let him know if anyone showed up.

  When his alarm buzzed the first time, he still couldn’t wake her.

  The second time his alarm went off, he woke to see her staring at him. “Jaz?”

  “Yes.”

  His heart started beating like crazy. He struggled between being thrilled to hear her sweet voice and terrified she couldn’t move.

  She moved her hand to cover his fisted fingers. Then she pried them open. “I’m okay.”

  This would be the test. He asked, “Think you can shift?”

  Her hesitation sunk his heart.

  “I’ll try. I have to give Tarski a chance to come forward so we can talk.” She moved her arm as if to push up.

  “No, don’t move,” Adrian ordered. He got to his feet and lifted her off the bed until he could slowly stand her up.

  She groaned.

  He stopped.

  “I’m okay, Adrian. It’s a little painful, but not like last night.” She gripped his arm as he lowered her feet to the ground. “I’m standing.”

  She smiled and his heart turned into goo. “I’m so glad, babe. Let’s put your hands on my shoulders while you talk to your wolf. That way, I can remove this bandage.”

  With her eyes closed, she remained quiet until he said, “I need to check your wound. He slowly pulled her hands off his shoulder one at a time.

  He said, “Just stand still. I’ll catch you if you start to fall.”

  “Okay.”

  Moving around to see the hole, he fist pumped. The gray skin area had reduced to half the original size. She’d definitely begun healing. His knees wanted to buckle with relief.

  Wait until he told Rory about his surgery.

  Adrian hoped to never use this knowledge on Jaz again.

  She announced, “Tarski is ready.”

  Coming up fast near the surface, Red said, See golden ... See Tarski?

  You bet, Red, Adrian answered. Let me check the wound on Tarski to be sure shifting doesn’t break it apart. Then we’ll shift, okay?

  His wolf said, I wait.

  It wasn’t the simple agreement so much as hearing Red’s natural voice again that shook up Adrian’s emotions that had already been battered for hours.

  First, Adrian had Jaz down two bottles of water until she said, “No more. I’m floating.”

  “That’s fine. You probably won’t pee for a while, because you’re so dehydrated.”

  She leaned in and kissed him. “You say the nicest things to a woman.”

  He pulled her back and gave her a real kiss, one meant to let her know how she’d terrified him.

  Laughing, she pulled back. “Tarski is normally the most easy going wolf you can imagine, but she is demanding to see Red.”

  Adrian said out loud, “Hear that, Red?”

  Yes. His wolf put so much happiness in that one word, Adrian would hurry to check Tarski for his wolf. He instructed Jaz, “Okay, you shift, but tell Tarski I want to see the wound then I promise to shift. Okay?”

  “She says that is acceptable.” Jaz got down on her knees and began a slow shift. It hurt to watch.

  He had seen other shifters struggle the first time after a titanium wound. All at once, the shift sped up. Her gorgeous golden wolf stood shoulder level. He loved seeing that damned big female wolf.

  Red started howling, but not in anger. He just wanted to get out.

  Before Adrian could ask, Tarski turned around and stood up with her paws on the side of the cave. Best patient Adrian ever had. He carefully pushed her golden coat away from the wound that had made a little more progress with just that shift.

  Red had waited long enough.

  Adrian called up the change and marveled at how easy it happened this time. Like the change had always been. He could see clearly through Red’s eyes as his wolf waited for Tarski to drop to all fours and turn to him.

  His wolf stood just a bit taller than Jaz’s and probably weighed fifty pounds more. Tarski came up and licked Red, who returned the affection and spoke to Adrian telepathically. Thank you for mate.

  You’re welcome, Red. You saved them, too. I couldn’t do it without you.

  Their energy swirled with what Adrian hoped was the start of rebuilding their bond.

  He let the two wolves have some time. They’d suffered through all of this as well. He’d always cared fo
r his wolf and thought he’d been considerate, but he now realized how he’d failed to recognize the emotional toll on his wolf.

  When one of them suffered, they both suffered.

  Adrian knew that from day one, but he’d never truly understood just how deeply his wolf felt everything.

  The two wolves had been sitting next to each other just being happy for twenty minutes. Tarski cocked her head and stood.

  Red asked Adrian, What is wrong?

  He told his wolf, I’m thinking Jaz asked to shift so we can talk. Can you do that for me?

  Yes.

  By the time Adrian had his body back, Jaz had pushed up to stand. He jumped up. “Are you okay?”

  “Stop fretting. Your surgery was a success. I can feel the healing and Tarski is resting. She does that so we can shove as much energy into this body as possible. We’ve found that allows for optimum healing.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “That’s impressive.” Remembering to include Red, he said, “We heal differently, but Red does all the hard work.”

  His wolf made a happy growl.

  Adrian looked around. “I’ve got clothes, but I destroyed most of yours.” Then he grinned. “Mind you, I’m not complaining.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Got me naked and nothing to show for it.”

  He lost his humor. Did she want him to ... ?

  Jaz started laughing. “No, I’m not expecting sex right now. Just teasing you.”

  “You’re killin’ me,” he muttered. “You might be lying, though.”

  She waved that off. “I have learned I can’t fool you no matter what.”

  “Really?” Scarlett told him Jaz had that ability. He still refused to think of Jaz as a murderer, but he liked hearing Jaz admit she couldn’t get a lie past him.

  Jaz had stopped moving and gifted him with a great view of her naked while he waited to hear what she said next. “You should know that I can use my energy to fool some shifters if I alter the truth, but they aren’t like us with all this power. Plus I would never risk draining us for anything less than a crisis and end up hindering Tarski if she needed all of our power to fight.”

  He broke out a killer smile, determined not to let on how glad he was for Jaz to come clean about that ability. “Well, I should have realized you weren’t serious about jumping my bones two hours after back-freaking-surgery.”

  “Just keeping you on your toes. Without titanium, I heal fast.” She turned to where she had bags and that supply crate. “I have jeans and shirts, plus food. You hungry?”

  “Damn. Best survival female ever. Yes.” He pulled his T-shirt off. “Pull this on for now so your back can have a little more healing time before you put on jeans.”

  She took the shirt from him and grunted with every move as she worked it over her head.

  He reached up to help, grumbling, “Stubborn.”

  “I can dress myself,” she dismissed and turned to face him. “At the rate I’m now healing and with some food, I’ll be pretty strong soon. I need to stretch those muscles as they mend.”

  She pulled out two Meals Ready to Eat, better known as MREs, which Adrian had survived on more than once overseas and handed him a spork. Finding a spot on one side of an oval rug woven from scraps of material, he held her MRE until she settled across from him.

  While they gobbled up four packages and water, he looked around. “What is this? A safe house?”

  “Yes. I would not normally come straight to it, but we had no choice. I think you riding us up on the bike will shield our scent from someone tracking.”

  Smart woman. “That makes sense. I didn’t smell your scent until we were very close to the entrance.”

  Jaz clearly had set this up long ago. They were more secure than if he’d gone to a hotel.

  His sleep deprived brain bumped into a logical question. “You must have set this up a long time ago. Did you know you’d need it?”

  Jaz lowered her spork, food forgotten.

  Red told Adrian, Mate angry.

  Yep, buddy. I see that.

  Chapter 27

  Jaz picked up their empty meal bags and stored them in a sealed bag to remove later.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Adrian asked.

  She should have expected him to ask why she had a safe place at some point, but not while she’d been floating in his happy pheromones.

  Was he impressed with her planning or thinking about how only someone on the run for murder would do all of this? She waited, realizing this might have been her greatest mistake when she’d been so careful.

  “Does this place have running water, too?” he quipped.

  “No. Just the barrel in the corner where water leaks down a crevice to fill it after a rain. You’ll have to go outside for a nature call.”

  He grabbed her hand when she went to step past.

  She lowered her gaze to his. He moved her hand to his lips, then gently pulled her down.

  What happened to her discipline?

  Adrian. He had happened.

  Now she wanted him happy and not wondering if he’d done all this for a criminal. “Go ahead and ask your questions,” she said.

  “What questions should I ask?” He moved her across his lap where she leaned back in the curve of his arm.

  “You have unfair interrogation tactics,” she complained.

  He kissed her. “You’re right. I intend to uncover all your secrets, which shouldn’t take too much effort.” He lifted the tail of his shirt from where it pooled in her lap and kissed her breasts. Then he dropped the shirt back in place.

  She gripped his shoulder, unsure if she intended to push him away or drag his mouth back to her breasts now missing him.

  “Want to tell me what has you pissed?” he asked, not the least bit concerned. He barely held a grin in check.

  This would worry her until they got it said. She lowered her hand that had been stuck in indecision and told it to stay put on his knee. “Admit it, you’re wondering why I have this place.”

  “Sure, that crossed my mind.” He let his gaze move around. “It’s obvious you had to do this over a period of time. I’m sitting on a nine foot long rug. Don’t see those in caves every day or indoor lighting.”

  She couldn’t believe how he teased her. Narrowing her eyes at him, she asked, “You aren’t wondering why I planned this so long ago, Adrian? Why I need a safe house? Do you mean to tell me you aren’t connecting this to Kaiser’s death?”

  He stilled. “No, I’m not. You told me that was self-defense. I heard and scented the truth.”

  “Scarlett knows I can pass off a lie with a shifter.”

  He gave her a strange look. “I realize that.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes, but she only told me to explain why you wouldn’t talk to my boss. You also told me yourself a little while ago that I had known every time you tried to lie. I connected the dots a while back and realized you tested me when I first showed up in Clarenceville. I would have done the same thing in your shoes.” He pecked a kiss on her nose.“ Are you now trying to convince me you’re guilty of something?”

  She started to argue and realized how she sounded. Slapping a hand over her eyes, she groused, “I just ... I just don’t want you wondering about all this. I can’t take you thinking I’ve done something criminal.”

  He pulled her hand away and waited for her to look at him before he spoke. “I don’t wonder. I know you didn’t murder Kaiser. Even if I doubted you, which I haven’t, I found a connection between him and whoever had you chained to a tree.”

  She sat up. “You did? When?”

  “Right before I found you. Now we can develop tangible evidence to prove your side of the story. I guessed you were snooping around to find Daisy, that’s her name, right?”

  Jaz nodded. “Yes, I was, but that’s not how I got captured. Bounty hunters who tried to grab Thea the night you showed up, came back for me. They shot me with tranqs when I walked out of the apartment right
after you left.”

  “Son of a bitch! Is there anyone else waiting to hurt you?” Anger steamed off Adrian.

  “That was not as bad as the spike and you fixed that,” she said, running her hand over his face to soothe him. “Guess what I found out?”

  “Can’t wait,” he grumbled. “Who else took a shot at you?”

  “No one.” She told him about how she’d been taken to the Blood King.

  Adrian asked, “There really is a Blood King wolf shifter?”

  “Evidently. I met him and ... I hate admitting this, but he’s my father, not Reinhold. He kept my mother at his place so Reinhold could visit her.”

  “Well, damn. You’ve had a hell of a time just trying to figure out your family tree.” Adrian grimaced. “What a bastard.”

  “Not that I don’t agree, but my mother was complicit.” Jaz had gone through so much since hearing the truth. She didn’t feel the deep emotional wound she had earlier. It would return, but almost dying put a lot of other things in perspective. “I always thought she meant Kaiser when she said she kept saying she loved him and it was my fault she had to leave him. I took that to mean she ran to save me at the cost of losing her son. She’d always say, ‘you’d love him, too’, but that turned out wrong.”

  “Your mother hadn’t cared about Kaiser?”

  “To be honest, Adrian, I have no idea. She might have at one time, but she’d been having an affair with Reinhold while her mate, and his, still lived. He killed her mate then needed to put her somewhere. The Blood King is Reinhold’s brother and acts as if he’s a family benefactor for keeping her at his place as his brother’s sex toy. Evidently after giving birth to Kaiser, the Blood King decided to have a go at her. Ironically, she felt guilty about betraying Reinhold and ran so she would not have to face him pregnant with me.”

  Adrian’s hand rubbed her shoulder and he stayed quiet, maybe realizing she had to get this out.

  Jaz moved her shoulders to loosen her back muscles.

  “You okay?” Adrian opened up his hold on her.

  She leaned into him and his arm returned to keep her warm and happy again. She continued, “My mother never talked about being abused or held captive. She never said anything bad about the Blood King.” Swallowing against her thick throat, Jaz said, “I grew up thinking all this was my fault. Kaiser had been abandoned, just like me, because my mother left me with her Kodiak clan to raise. That’s why I decided to come see if Kaiser might be suffering from abandonment and would like to know he had a sibling, but I was wrong. He never showed any indication that he even knew about her. I don’t think Tanza or Leonard knew that Reinhold had brought Kaiser to his mate to raise. They weren’t that much older than him.”