Wolf at the Door: Salvation Pack, Book 1 (30 page)

Gwen really didn’t want to go back and relive the hours of pain she’d experienced but knew that the sooner she did, the sooner they could put this episode behind them. “Everything hurt.” She put her hand to her neck and shuddered, still able to feel sharp fangs tearing at her flesh. Her voice was slightly hoarse but getting stronger with each passing minute.

Cutlery was set down on plates and all the men went silent.

She sucked in a breath and continued. “I remember snippets of conversation. Of you talking to me.” She touched Jacques rugged jaw with the scruff of beard covering it. He looked even more dangerous than usual and very sexy.

She frowned. “Everything is fuzzy and mixed up. I’m not sure what’s real and what was simply a hallucination or dream.”

“You died,” Jacque told her, giving her pause.

“Are you sure?” How could she have died if she was still alive?

“Trust me.” He buried his face in the curve of her neck and inhaled deeply, tightening his arms around her. “You had no pulse. It was after we put you in the tub to cool you down. We were trying to break your fever.” Jacque tugged at the robe she wore, making certain it covered her completely. It was his robe, large and warm, and Gwen loved wearing it.

Cold. She remembered being cold and lost in the gray mists. She licked her lips and continued. “I was lost. Everything around me was gray and I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me, but I knew I wasn’t alone.”

“Who was there?” Louis asked.

“I don’t know.” She picked at the belt of the robe. “I didn’t feel threatened, not really, but it wasn’t a comfortable sensation.” She glanced up at Jacque. “Then I saw her.”

“Who? Who did you see,
chère
?” He captured her hand and held it to his heart. The heavy thud beat against her palm, a reminder that they were both alive.

“A wolf. A pretty brown and blonde female wolf.” It felt weird to be saying this out loud, but she wanted Jacque, wanted all of them to know what had happened. She was still trying to understand it all herself.

Cole whistled under his breath and Armand swore. Louis and Gator watched her, transfixed.

“What?” Gwen looked away from the others and focused on Jacque. “What does that mean?”

Rather than answer her, he shook his head and asked her another question. “What happened next?”

She felt silly admitting to such a thing, but there wasn’t any point in lying. “She talked to me. Not out loud. It was more a voice in my head.” Even now she could hear echoes of the conversation, felt if she concentrated enough she could still talk to the beautiful wolf.

“What did she say?” A new tension thrummed through Jacque, making her nervous. She sat upright and nibbled on her bottom lip.

“She said she could be part of me, but it was my choice. I didn’t know what she meant and she started to fade, to go away.” The men were all leaning forward, as though mesmerized by her words. It was starting to freak her out.

“What did you do?” Louis asked, the intensity of his voice frightening her. She shifted closer to Jacque.

“I told her not to go.” Her words were little more than a whisper. “Why does it matter so much?”

“It matters.” Jacque caught her face in his hands, his golden-brown eyes intense. “What happened, Gwen? Tell me.”

“She walked toward me and then…” This was the crazy part.

“Then?” Jacque prompted.

“Then she walked right into me.” It sounded silly to say it out loud but Gwen plunged onward. “Like she’s a part of me, even now.”

Jacque stared into her eyes. “Can you sense her, talk to her?”

“I don’t know.” She hadn’t tried. There hadn’t been time and, honestly, she’d thought she’d hallucinated the entire thing.

“Try. Please,” he added.

All of them were watching her intently so she closed her eyes to shut them out. The pancakes she’d eaten roiled around in her tummy, making her feel like she might toss her cookies if she weren’t careful. She inhaled slowly through her nose and let her breath out in a steady stream. It helped calm the jitters.

She looked inward, searching for the wolf.
Are you there?
Gwen felt silly even asking.

She immediately felt the wolf’s presence. In her mind’s eye, the beautiful wolf with the light-brown fur streaked with blonde padded into sight. Gwen stared into blue eyes that matched her own.

You’re real.

The wolf regally inclined her head.

Holy crap. What does this mean?
Gwen was shocked almost speechless by this new discovery.
Are you real or am I going crazy?

The wolf’s tongue lolled out of her mouth, like she was laughing.

“Gwen?” Jacque was shaking her lightly when she opened her eyes.

“Stop shaking me or I’m going to barf.” That got him to stop in a hurry. Worry clouded his gaze.

“What happened? It was like you went away?” She’d frightened him and she hadn’t meant to.

“I’m sorry. I was concentrating.”

“Did you see her?” Armand demanded.

Gwen nodded and placed a hand against her chest. “She’s part of me. I can sense her presence.”

“Mother of God.” Gator looked stunned and sat back in his chair. Then a huge smile split his face. “You’re one of us now,
chère
. You’re a
Loup Garou
.”

Stunned, she leaned against Jacque, looking up at him for confirmation. He nodded. Wow, this was a lot to take in. “What does this mean?” She had no problem admitting to herself that she was scared, but since the alternative was death, she’d live with it.

“I’m not sure,” Jacque admitted. “Humans almost always die. I’ve never known one that lived after being bitten. We’re in uncharted territory and we have no one to ask. We can’t contact anyone in our former pack. We don’t want them to know you’re alive.”

She shivered and readily agreed. “No, we don’t want that.” Last thing Gwen wanted was another battle.

“All you need to worry about is getting better. The rest will work itself out in time.”

“Does that mean I’m going to live a long, long time?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to ask if he thought she was going to live as long as he was.

A slow grin broke across his face. “I guess we’ll find out.” With that, he stood and carried her out of the room. Gwen waved over his shoulder to the other men. They all grinned and waved back. All except, Cole, who simply inclined his head.

The bed had been remade with fresh sheets that smelled like the outdoors. Gwen inhaled the wonderful scent as he set her down and pulled the covers over her.

“Sleep. You’ve been through a trauma. The best thing you can do to heal is rest. Gator will check your stitches later.”

“He did that? And this?” She held up her splinted fingers.

Jacque nodded. “Gator trained as a medic.”

Gwen made a mental note to thank Gator later. A jaw-popping yawn snuck up on her, taking her by surprise. She was tired but fighting it, not wanting to leave Jacque even to sleep.

“You should rest.” Jacque sat on the bed next to her and finger combed her hair.

“I’m a mess.” She wanted to take a shower and wash her hair, but Jacque had nixed that until she’d eaten, and now she was tired.

“You’re beautiful,” he countered. He pressed his lips against hers and she sighed with contentment.

“Stay with me.” It wasn’t like her to lean on anyone, to depend on anyone but herself, especially a man. But she didn’t want to sleep unless she knew he was nearby. The events of the past day had frightened her to her core. She was changed, maybe physically—they wouldn’t know that for sure for a while—but definitely emotionally.

Jacque stretched out beside her and eased her head onto his shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere,
chère
.”

She felt those words right to her core and knew he’d meant them. They gave her the courage to ask her next question. “Where do we go from here?”

He ran his fingers up and down her arm. “Wherever you want to.” He paused and then added. “As long as you realize whatever you do you’ll be doing it with me.”

A bubble of laughter escaped her. There was her alpha wolf.

He shifted his body so she was looking straight at him. “You’re mine, Gwen. We belong together.”

A sense of rightness settled over her and she felt her wolf rubbing against her skin inside her, as though the animal wanted to touch Jacque as well. “You’re right. We do belong together.” She leaned up and kissed the edge of his stubbled jaw.

Jacque swore and kissed her hard, surging his tongue inward and stroking hers. As quick as the kiss began it was over. He pulled away and swore again. “None of that. Not until you’re one hundred percent better. No more stitches or bruises. Not this time, Gwen. When I make love to you again I want you with me all the way.”

His words warmed her and made her skin tingle. It also gave her a reason to heal faster. “You’re on.” She settled back against his shoulder and set her hand on his stomach. She drifted her fingers lower until she hit his rather obvious erection.

“Gwen.” There was a promise of retribution in his tone.

She shrugged. “Just checking.”

Jacque almost choked on a laugh. “No need to check, my sweet. I’m hard whenever you’re around.”

And wasn’t that good to know. Gwen closed her eyes and settled down to sleep. The faster she got well, the faster she’d get what she wanted.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jacque was driving her insane. Ten long days had gone by since the attack and in that time he’d done no more than sleep with her at night, which wouldn’t be such a bad thing except all they were doing was sleeping. The frustration was making them both short-tempered. It was ending. Today. She’d had enough.

The others were no better. They wouldn’t let her do anything, not even get herself a cup of coffee. She’d managed to sneak her laptop into bed and work on her novel. Good thing too or she’d have totally lost her mind. Her novel was coming along nicely. Maybe it was because of all the inspiration she got daily simply by watching the men around her.

Showered and dressed, she padded out of the bedroom on her stocking feet and down the hall to the kitchen. The damage done by the fight was long-fixed and everything was back to normal. Well, almost everything.

“What are you doing out of bed?” The low, growl sent goose bumps racing down her arms. She turned and faced Jacque.

“I’m tired of being in bed. All my bruises are gone and my fingers are healed.” She held up her hand. Her fingers had healed incredibly fast and the bruises had faded within days. Whatever changes her physiology had gone through, her ability to heal had been greatly improved. The scars on her neck would never fade completely, but she could live with that.

Jacque put his hands on her shoulders and studied her intently. She could see the underlying worry in his gaze. Poor Jacque. It was going to take him a long time to accept she was fine and she wasn’t going anywhere. No time like the present to drive the point home.

Gwen placed her hands on his chest, absorbing the warmth from his body. The navy-blue T-shirt he wore was stretched to the max by his broad chest and thick biceps. Her heart skipped a beat and her wolf rubbed against her skin on the inside. Gwen wanted to rub against Jacque in much the same manner and she let her hands explore the wide expanse of his shoulders.

“Gwen.” She ignored the warning in his voice and continued to stroke his incredible body. Her fingers played with the hair at his nape.

“What?” She kissed his chin, shivering slightly when the shadow of his beard scratched her face. He hadn’t shaved this morning and he looked rough and sexy.

“You’re playing with fire,” he warned.

“Ooh,” she teased. “I’m afraid of the big bad wolf.” An incredulous look covered his face, as though he couldn’t believe she’d said that. She grinned. Someone needed to tease him more often. He was too serious and needed more fun in his life. “I’m not wearing a red hood, but I am wearing a red sweater.” She looped her arms around his neck and inhaled his masculine scent, which was tinged with the fresh scent of the outdoors. “Does that give you any ideas?”

He swung her around so her back hit the wall behind her. Then he leaned down until their noses were touching. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He wrapped his hands around her hips, holding her in place.

“You won’t,” she promised him. “I need you.” She kissed him, licking at his lips until they parted. She teased his sharp canines with her tongue. “Oh, what sharp teeth you have.” She grinned when he gave a short bark of laughter. She longed to make him laugh, to bring some fun into his life.

“All the better to eat you with, my dear.”

Her laugh of pleasure became a moan as he nibbled on her neck. “Promises. Promises.”

He growled and caught her mouth, really kissing her for the first time since she’d almost died. She shivered but quickly put the thought out of her mind. She was alive and she was here with Jacque. Nothing else mattered.

His hands roamed up and down her sides, around to her back and shoulders before coming around to her front. Her breasts ached for his caress and she moaned when he finally touched them.