For Life (3 page)

No one other than Dante came close to matching his strength with the gift.

Bastard
.
Return to your den and keep your nose out of my business
. He growled as he sent the thought, even though no one would hear him out here.

He straightened, walking farther into the snow-covered valley, searching his surroundings and fighting to keep the thoughts of his approaching pack members out of his head so he could find the one that had called him out here in the first place.

Damn it. No matter how hard he tried, his pack members’ thoughts grew stronger.

Dante and his mate, Moira, and Nicolo and his
lunewulf
mate, Heidi, got closer. Fuck Dante for climbing into his mind and deciding Josie was out of line.

Then he heard the thoughts from the female bitch who called out with her mind, even though she didn’t know she was doing it. Her thoughts were quiet, barely audible in his mind, but reaching out as if stretching slowly and lazily from a deep slumber. He looked at the surrounding trees and rocks. A cold breeze rushed through the frozen pines, dumping a spray of sparkling snow around him. For a moment everything was white.

Where are you
?
Who are you
?
Little bitch
,
talk to me
. Talking to her in his mind wouldn’t work. He doubted she possessed the gift. But he tried anyway. The air was frozen and burned his lungs when he inhaled deeply, trying to sniff her out. He didn’t sense pain or fear. Whoever was out here didn’t know he was here. But she was nearby—real fucking close.

But where?

He lifted his paws high, almost prancing through the deep snow as a sense of urgency hit him. He had to find her before his pack members closed in. The wind hit again, parting his coat as it whipped wickedly around him. But that cold air brought a new scent. He grabbed it, his insides hardening with excitement. He smelled her. A sweet, musky aroma that had led him across the valley to the spot where she lay hidden.

Fuck his pack members for narrowing in on him. There wasn’t any reason to look over his shoulder. The three Malta werewolves and one
lunewulf
bitch were almost to the cliff. They were tracking his scent, and a couple of them were in his damned 13

Lorie O’Clare

thoughts. Josie focused on the bitch’s scent. Her thoughts were warm, comfortable, like she was at peace with the world.

Goddamn. He heard her in his mind as if she was right next to him. But all that surrounded him was fucking snow. Her thoughts were growing more coherent, as if she’d been asleep and had just woke up, her mind slowly focusing on where she was.

But what the hell was she doing out here? She hadn’t thought about that yet. He had no way of knowing—that was, no way of knowing until he found her.

I could stay in this cave for the rest of my life
. Her quiet thoughts tortured his mind.

A cave! He searched the mountain spreading in front of him. Then he took off in a hard run, ignoring the telepathic orders coming from Dante to wait until they’d reached him.

I know what you
’
re doing
,
but whoever is out there will be scared shitless when you pounce
on her
.
Dante’s cocky attitude and all-knowing accusations didn’t faze Josie for a moment.

Stay where you are
, he ordered Dante, using his thoughts to speak to his pack member. Of the four of them now standing on the cliff, watching him race across the meadow, Dante and his mate Moira were the only ones with the gift. A precious blessing from their previous pack leader graced some of them with incredible talents.

Since he was a pup, Josie could hear others’ thoughts and move things with his mind.

Moving Dante to the other side of their territory sounded damned appealing at the moment.

Nicolo and Heidi smelled the concern and aggravation wrapped around Dante and his mate and reacted to it. But they didn’t have a fucking clue what was going on.

Neither of them possessed the gift.

And Josie had no intention of waiting for them or enlightening them as to what he planned on doing next. All that mattered now was that he find the bitch, who for reasons yet to be determined was sleeping in a cave.

Her thoughts turned sour, suddenly bitter.
God
.
What a loser
!
What the hell did I ever
see in him
?
He
’
ll ruin me
,
destroy my reputation and probably have me fucking shunned
.
And
all I did was endure his abuse and infidelity
.

Shit. He reached the edge of the mountain and looked up at the large boulders almost buried in snow and followed her thoughts. As they grew sharper, like a soft whisper in his head, they also made less and less sense. What the fuck was she thinking?

He leapt up onto a large flat rock, more like a ledge, fighting not to slip on an ice patch. Her scent surrounded him. He had to be right on top of her. Only one way to find out. Josie growled, letting it rumble through his chest and grow in volume as it ripped past his throat. He followed it with a sharp bark, demanding and determined.

And he got the reaction he’d expected.

The air filled with the smell of fear. She heard and smelled him. He was damned close.

14

For Life

Shit
.
Oh God
.
There
’
s nowhere to run
.
I
’
ve got to run
. Her thoughts attacked him in a panicked frenzy.

His mood soured instantly. He didn’t like how she smelled when she was upset.

Her first thoughts—those that had pulled him from his warm den less than an hour ago—had been so soft, sensual, relaxed and beautiful. But now the bitch’s tone had darkened, prickled, her defenses in high gear. The moment she saw him she would attack with tooth and claw.

He walked over the icy, snow-covered rocks, circling around sharp boulders and climbing carefully. His little bitch had gone to some effort to find a perfect hiding place.

If it weren’t for her thoughts unconsciously calling out to him, he never would have found her.

And he’d done that just now.

Although he hardly call the overhang, surrounded by walls of snow, a cave. But as he stared into the most beautiful almond-shaped silver eyes he’d seen in a long time, every protector’s instinct inside him surfaced with a vengeance in spite of her curled lip and dagger teeth pressing against her glossy white coat.

Josie moved in on her, inhaling her enticing scent, and ignored her outrage and fear.

You have nothing to worry about
,
little bitch
.
You are way too fucking hot to be harmed
. He knew she didn’t hear his thoughts.

But Dante and Moira did.

Lay a paw on her and I
’
ll kick your fucking ass
. Moira thought she could bully him into submission.

He tried pushing her out of his head, which proved harder to do when he heard them huffing up the side of the mountain, right on his damned tail. Josie lowered his head, unwilling to relax too much in front of the beautiful
lunewulf
who pressed herself against the rock behind her, cornered and freaking out. He would hear her story, learn what brought her here and why she believed her pack would turn their tails on her.

As he watched her, aware of her gaze shifting, looking past him when his

packmates appeared, a memory hit him. She was afraid that her pack would shun her.

Nicolo’s mate, another
lunewulf
bitch, had been shunned when she agreed to take Nicolo as a mate. Her pack had turned their tails on her.

He remembered that day. It had been a couple months ago. The
lunewulf
pack leader had shown up at Dimitri’s den with teeth bared. He had a posse with him, and they were there to retrieve their bitches. Heidi had a friend with her—a beautiful, sexy and abused-looking bitch.

Josie stared into the silver eyes of the bitch shivering in front of him. She growled and then barked fiercely. Her hackles rose when Dante and Nicolo appeared on either side of him. Fury and panic enveloped her. She was no match against him, let alone the three of them.

15

Lorie O’Clare

Josie didn’t move when someone pushed hard against him. He finally pulled his gaze from the terrified
lunewulf
bitch when someone bit his thigh.

Ouch
.
Bitch
. He turned and looked at Heidi, who fought to push past him, and growled in protest at her abuse.

Nicolo snarled, backing his bitch’s actions. Josie ignored his sudden ill temper. The bitch bit him. What the fuck did Nicolo expect Josie to do?

He moved, just a bit, and Heidi leapt in front of the three males, jumping on the other
lunewulf
bitch and scaring the crap out of her.

She attacked quickly, but then just as fast stopped, whimpering and barking at the same time, her emotions hitting him worse than an avalanche.

Heidi
!
Oh God
,
I thought I was dead
,
or worse
.
I prayed you were happy but I wasn
’
t sure
.

God
!
You are so damned lucky
.
Her thoughts filled his head as the two bitches circled each other, licking and whining as they did a small dance in front of the Malta werewolves.

Josie and the others stood silently, allowing the two of them their space. He had no doubts now who this
lunewulf
bitch was. Her name escaped him, but he shifted his attention to Heidi’s thoughts too, working to catch as much as he could from both of their minds to piece together the mystery that had pulled him out here to the edge of their territory.

You sniffed me out
.
I can
’
t believe you
’
re here
.
I really thought I wouldn
’
t be able to find
you
.
The little bitch circled around Heidi, causing snow to fall from the rocks and shower around them like a fine, sparkling white mist.

Maura
.
Shit
.
What the hell has happened to you
?
Sleeping in a cave
?
This far from our
pack
—
I mean your pack
.
We
’
ve got to take you back to my den so we can talk
. Heidi helped create the merry-go-round of white fur as the two bitches circled each other, excited and yelping and barking.

Well, at least he figured out her name.

Maura’s sleek body was damp from snow falling on her and from Heidi’s excited licks.
Lunewulfs
were a much smaller breed than Malta werewolves. He liked her petite size, how slender yet firm her body was. Watching the two females dance around each other and sensing Maura’s fear fade into happier emotions had him curious about one thing. What would they do with her now?

Josie had no problem coming up with a few possibilities. In her fur or her human form, Maura was hot as fucking hell.

Dante gave him a sidelong glance and at the same time Moira growled behind

them. Heidi and Maura stopped dancing, misinterpreting Moira’s disgust and guessing their small reunion had ended. Heidi nipped at Maura and then moved through the males. Josie stepped to the side, watching Maura as she walked past him. Moira and Heidi sidled up alongside Maura, offering an escort down the mountain and through the valley.

I say we take her to our den
. Apparently Dante had decided it was time for telepathic conversation.

16

For Life

Like hell
.
You two would scare the shit out of her
. What he’d like to do is apply the finders, keepers rule.

She sure as fuck isn
’
t going back to your den
.
Already she
’
s in trouble with her pack
.
You
want to make it worse
?
Dante had no problem digging deeper into Josie’s thoughts to learn his feelings on the matter. The werewolf never hesitated in pushing a situation, even if it pissed on someone’s privacy.

Well, Josie could play the same damned game.
Nicolo and Heidi don
’
t have the gift
.

And already they
’
re fighting to be accepted by our pack
.
If he brings another lunewulf bitch into
his den
,
it will make things harder on them
.

And you
’
re an unmated fucking single male
.
I know what you want to make hard for her
.

Sounds like a damned good plan
.
We go to my den
.
We
’
ll discuss matters further there
.

Besides
,
my den is closest and the rest of the pack won
’
t see her
.
He’d chosen the remote location for his den intentionally when their pack first moved here. They were a blessed race, a good many of them able to use their minds to do things that other werewolves couldn’t. But those in their pack who didn’t have the gift got nervous around those who had it. Josie’s den was somewhat isolated, farther up the mountain from most of the pack. It gave him the freedom to enjoy who he was without watchful eyes judging him.

Sometimes hearing everyone’s thoughts was a bitch.

Josie barked at Nicolo, one of the few werewolves in the pack who really didn’t care that he possessed none of the gift. Nicolo looked over the bitches at him and Josie nodded and then led the way to his den. They slowed when they reached his yard, and Josie pushed open his door, nodding to the bitches to enter and change. The males changed outside, a gesture of respect offered simply because a stranger was in their midst.

In spite of the frigid temperatures, Josie’s body burned inside as the change pumped through him. Muscles altered and bones popped and transformed so they could hold his human frame. His vision blurred momentarily as images changed, his senses dulling as his acute animal awareness faded.

Cold sweat clung to his human flesh as he straightened onto two legs. Instantly shivering so damned hard he could hardly move, Josie struggled to untie his clothes that were twisted around his neck and then hurried to dress in the freezing cold.