Mated to the Pack (4 page)

About an hour after Michael stormed out,
Luke arrived sweating and out of breath. He slammed the door behind
him and locked it quickly, glancing out the window anxiously.

“What’s wrong?” Logan asked, jumping to his
feet immediately.

“They followed me,” Luke answered
breathlessly.

“What? Are you sure?” Logan asked.

“Of course I’m sure!” Luke shouted. “One of
them got me.” Luke lifted his shirt to reveal a nasty looking wound
over his left ribcage that appeared to be a row of several vicious
claw marks.

“Oh, my God!” Allison gasped, running to
Luke’s side and trying to survey the damage. “Here, let me look at
it.”

“It’s fine,” Luke said, letting his shirt
drop.

“Luke, it looked…”

“I said it’s fine!” Luke snapped at her.

She jumped back and frowned at him. “It
looks terrible.”

“It’ll heal in a few minutes,” he
argued.

“A few… minutes?” she gasped.

“We heal fast,” Logan interjected.

“Apparently…” Allison muttered.

Luke was still staring out the window, his
eyes scanning the trees as he lifted the curtain aside.

“Go get Michael,” Luke demanded.

“But he’s…” Logan tried to argue.

“Do it!” Logan snapped harshly.

Logan quickly dashed out of the room. A few
moments later, a groggy Michael stumbled red-eyed, but remarkably
alert through the door.

“What’s going on?” Michael demanded, pushing
the curtain aside and peeking out.

“They followed me home,” Luke said. “I tried
to shake ‘em, but they wounded me. I’m not sure I managed to lose
‘em. I’m sorry.”

“You’re gonna be if they find her,” Michael
snarled.

Allison’s heart was pounding savagely in her
chest. She backed away from the door slowly, bumping into the chair
and causing a loud shriek as the legs skidded across the floor.
Michael was startled, and he turned to face her.

“Watch where you’re going!” he snapped.

She opened her mouth to spit something back
at him, but seeing the genuine concern on his face, she quickly
closed it again and slipped meekly into the chair, grasping the
arms tightly. Michael’s attention quickly turned back toward the
window.

“What should we do?” Logan asked, his
muscles quivering with tension.

“Logan, get her to the safe room,” Michael
growled. When Logan did not immediately respond, he snapped,
“Now!”

Allison’s heart jumped, and she sprang to
her feet. Logan placed his hand on her back and gently pushed her
toward the kitchen. She allowed herself to be pushed along, though
a dirty kitchen with tiles falling from the walls, past a flimsy
wooden door, and down a rickety wooden staircase. The steps creaked
loudly as they descended. At the bottom of the stairs, they stopped
outside a thick metal door set into a concrete wall. Logan gripped
the metal handle and pulled.

“Get in,” Logan demanded.

Allison hesitated briefly, but then stepped
into near pitch-black darkness. Logan entered behind her, and she
heard a loud screech and a clang as the massive door closed behind
them. Logan flicked a switch on the wall and a dim light filled the
room from a bulb suspended from the ceiling, casting eerie shadows
about the room.

“What is this place?” Allison asked, her
eyes flitting about.

“Safe room,” Logan answered. “

“What’s it used for?” she wanted to
know.

“Umm… it’s a long story,” he told her.
“Probably best you don’t know.”

She shivered as a number of scenarios rushed
through her mind. She lowered herself slowly onto the edge of a
sparse cot and began to chew her fingernails. She watched through a
swath of hair as Logan paced the floor anxiously.

“Do you think they’re alright?” she
asked.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Logan answered a
bit too quickly.

Allison gnawed more furiously at her
fingernails. Her heart was thudding frantically in her chest.

“Look, why don’t you lie down and get some
rest?” Logan suggested.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I’m fine, Logan.”

“I can hear your heartbeat,” he said.
“You’re not fine. Just lie down and get some sleep. They can’t get
in here.”

Allison sighed, but she complied. She lied
down on the squeaky cot and tried her best to relax. Her heart
continued to thump wildly, and she began to tremble. A few moments
later, Logan sat gently beside her. His hand rested carefully on
her shoulder.

“Allison?” he asked softly.

She looked up at him, and his expression was
one of gentle concern.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

His arms wrapped her in a strong, protective
embrace. She found herself melting into it, burying her face into
his warm chest. Her hands fell against his skin, and her heart
fluttered erratically for a few moments, and then began to
calm.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Logan vowed.
“I promise.”

Allison felt her muscles begin to relax
slightly. Her eyelids were heavy, and she was only barely aware
that her breathing was slowing down. Soon, she fell blissfully into
a peaceful slumber.

Bang!
The sound jolted Allison
upright in bed. Her eyes quickly traveled toward the source of the
sound. She gasped, and jumped to her feet, rushing toward the
door.

Michael, bloodied and gasping, hung limply
from Luke’s shoulder. Allison lifted his arm around her shoulders
and helped Luke guide him to a nearby cot. He collapsed heavily
onto it.

“What happened?” Allison demanded, surveying
Michael’s wounds.

“We had an altercation, but they’re gone,
now,” Luke explained.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Michael is in considerably better condition
than they are,” Luke said.

Allison shivered and asked, “Will he be
alright?”

“Yeah, he’ll live,” Luke said.

Allison peered down at Michael as he lay
nearly unconscious on the cot. His skin was mottled with bruises
and blood, and a few open wounds seethed angrily. He muttered
something weakly, and his head rolled from side to side. Beads of
sweat formed on his forehead and trickled down into his dark
hair.

“Do you have any washcloths down here?”
Allison asked.

“Uh… I think so,” Logan answered.

“Can you bring me one? And a bowl of cold
water?”

“Okay,” Logan said.

In a moment, Logan handed her a clean, white
washcloth and a large bowl of water. She placed the bowl on the
concrete floor and dipped the cloth into it, wringing it out. Then
she wiped the sweat away from Michael’s face. He continued to
mutter incoherently, and his breath was ragged and gasping.

“Are you sure he’ll be alright?” Allison
demanded.

“I’ve seen worse,” Luke insisted. “Give it a
bit and he’ll heal.”

Allison was largely unconvinced. She
continued to wipe Michael’s forehead, and he began to shiver with
fever. She moved the cool cloth across his torso, attempting to
cool him down.

Soon, she noticed some of the nastier wounds
looked a little less angry, and a few of the smaller ones had
disappeared entirely. Her tense muscles began to relax and she
breathed a sigh of relief.

At some point later, Allison jolted awake.
The room was dark, but a tiny shaft of light peeked under a door
and illuminated things faintly. For a moment, she was disoriented.
Then she realized she’d fallen asleep kneeling in the floor beside
Michael with her head on his abdomen.

Her eyes traveled upward, and he was looking
down at her with a smug grin on his face. She scrambled backward
immediately, her face flushing deeply as Michael chuckled at
her.

“So I hear you were worried about me,” he
snickered.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” she spat. “I was
worried about my neighbor’s dog when he got hit by a car, too.” She
paused, and then added with a sneer, “And I don’t even like
dogs.”

He suppressed a laugh and raised one eyebrow
at her. Her eyes narrowed into cat-like slits and she glared at him
stormily.

“Now, now,” Michael teased. “No need to get
all grouchy like that.”

Allison ignored him and her eyes scanned the
room looking for Luke and Logan.

“They’ve gone,” Michael informed her.
“They’re upstairs keeping watch.”

“Oh, fine,” she retorted, rolling her eyes
dramatically. “They’re keeping a lookout up there when the beast I
really
need to be protected from is down here.”

Michael’s grin disappeared, and he suddenly
looked wounded.

“Are you forgetting what happened earlier?”
he snapped, bolting straight upright in bed and jabbing an
accusatory finger in her direction. “I didn’t get into a bar fight
over a pool table! I fought to protect
you
!”

“Well don’t do me any favors!” she shouted,
scrambling to her feet.

“Fine! You want to leave? Go! Just go!” he
shouted, pointing toward the door.

In a huff, she spun on her heels and began
to stomp toward the door with every intention of taking her chances
with the other pack. Just as she reached for the door, it slammed,
and Michael wedged himself between her and the exit. Her eyes were
confronted with his chest as it heaved mightily with ragged breath,
and her eyes traveled upward, expecting to see his face seething
with rage. Instead, his eyes were soft with concern.

“I thought you told me to go.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“You don’t want me to stay.”

“I
need
you to stay.”

For a moment, Allison’s lip quivered. Her
heart began to race erratically in her chest. Her mind reeled as
she tried to decide whether to try to push past him and flee or
give in to…

…and then his lips were on hers. She closed
her eyes and felt his arms close around her. His lips were firm and
rigid, demanding. Her mind screamed out at her to resist, to slap
him, to shout at him. How dare he? But the rest of her wanted
nothing more than to surrender. Her lips parted slightly, almost
involuntarily, and she felt his tongue slip between them. It was
soft, teasing. Warmth began to spread over her body, and she went
limp in his embrace.

For a moment, reality seized her. She barely
knew him, and he was an incorrigible cad. He’d been rude and
arrogant, and she was angry. She pushed her arms between them and
tried to wrench herself free of his grasp. His muscles tensed and
his grasp tightened. His body turned slightly and pushed her
roughly against the wall with a thud as he pushed his tongue deeper
into her mouth. A gasp rose in her throat, and then she was
overcome with passion.

Her hands traveled up his bare chest and
wound around his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Her
fingers tangled in his short, dark hair, and she wrapped one of her
legs around him. Michael pulled away from the kiss to take a deep,
gasping breath, and then his lips closed over hers again. She
caught a glimpse of his face in that moment. It looked wild, as
though he were a caged animal experiencing his first taste of
freedom in ages.

His body pressed urgently against hers – so
urgently it was almost terrifying. Yet the thrill of his kiss and
his passion quelled any fear. Her boyfriend had never been so
passionate. No one had ever been so passionate. This was unlike
anything she’d ever experienced – anything she’d ever even
imagined.

Michael’s right hand traveled slowly around
her body and caressed her cheek. It traveled slowly down her face
to her neck, sending chills of pleasure over her body. She felt her
nipples stiffen and she gasped aloud.

Footsteps began to pound on the stairs
above, and they instantly flew apart. Michael jumped backward, his
jaw gritted tightly as he took deep, ragged breaths. His fists
clenched viciously beside him, and his eyes shot her a warning as
his chest rose and fell savagely.

Luke poked his head into the room, a look of
concern on his face. His eyes traveled up and down Allison, and
then traveled over to Michael.

“Everything okay down here?” he asked
cautiously.

“Yeah, why?” Michael asked, his voice
breaking slightly. He cleared his throat.

Luke glanced back at Allison with one
eyebrow raised. She crossed her arms defiantly in front of her body
and tossed her hair over her shoulder, averting her eyes away from
his gaze. He turned back to Michael.

“I could hear your heartbeats all the way
upstairs,” Luke insisted. “What’s going on?”

Michael opened his mouth to say something,
but nothing came out. Allison sensed an urgency in him, and she
quickly sprang to action.

“He was being a jerk, like usual,” she
snapped, sending a vicious glare toward Michael. “What did you
expect when you left me alone with this arrogant prick?”

“Arrogant prick?” Michael shouted. “Why you
ungrateful little…”