Wolf at the Door: Salvation Pack, Book 1 (5 page)

Reality slammed back into place and she closed her eyes to shut it out. He wasn’t her boyfriend or her date or even a friend. He was her kidnapper. She’d rest for a few minutes and come up with another plan of escape.

But where would she go if she did get away? They knew where she lived. The life she’d planned for herself crumbled around her. All her hopes and dreams of having time to write her novel disappeared in a puff of smoke.

She’d have to sell the cabin and lose herself in a large city somewhere. It wasn’t fair. But life seldom was. You rolled with whatever it threw at you and made the best of it. A lone tear rolled down her cheek and she swiped it away before Jacque could see it. No way did she want him to see he’d upset her. She was strong and resourceful. She would get out of this.

The motion of the truck and the ache in her head combined to make her sleepy. She’d rest for a few minutes. Just a few.

Jacque glanced over at Gwen, worry chewing at his gut. His heart clenched when he saw her surreptitiously swiping away a tear. He felt like the big bad wolf in the fairy tales that humans read to their children, the monster slain by the hero of the story. Those stories had never bothered him. He thought them nothing more than a bunch of lies and nonsense but, for once in his life, he wanted to be the hero. Her hero.

He growled and gripped the steering wheel to stop himself from reaching for her. He could still taste her sweetness on his lips, her seductive flavor on his tongue. The taste of her had only wet his appetite for more.

Her hand had branded his chest where she’d touched him, the heat from her fingers leaving him craving more.

His cock pressed against the zipper of his jeans, a very tangible reminder of his arousal. Jacque inhaled, smelling her soap and her sweet scent, but it was tinged with the darker spice of blood and fear. He didn’t like that. He wanted to experience the scent of her arousal. He licked his lips, practically able to taste it.

She would come to trust him. There was no other way. There were many werewolves who would view her as a threat and would seek to kill her.

He growled, the vibration filling the cab of the truck. Over their dead bodies. Because he’d kill anyone who touched her.

His phone went off and he grabbed it before it had the chance to ring a second time. Gwen was asleep again, or passed out. He wasn’t quite sure which and, considering her probable concussion, it worried him. He wanted her home where he could put her to bed and take care of her.

“Yeah?”

“It’s me.” He gave a sigh of relief when Louis’s voice came over the line. “Cole and Gator are heading here. You’ll probably pass them on the road on your way home. They’ll load Gwen’s car up and bring it home.”

“How about her house?” He knew she wasn’t going to like having to give up her home and freedom. She was obviously fiercely independent. But it had to be done. He’d deal with the fallout later.

“Armand and I have everything packed. The refrigerator and cupboards are empty. Her front door is fixed and the house is locked up tight.”

“Good. That’s real good.” He glanced at Gwen but her sleep was undisturbed.

“We’re heading out now.” Louis paused for a brief moment. “How is she doing?”

Jacque wished to hell he knew. “Physically, not great, but her injuries don’t seem to be serious. She needs a few days to recover. I won’t know more until I can have a better look at her.” It went without saying that they couldn’t take her to a hospital. “Mentally, I’m not sure. She tried to jump out of the truck.” He paused. “I was doing about fifty-five at the time.”

“What?” Louis’s disbelief echoed his own.

“Yeah, she still thinks we’re going to kill her.”

“Haven’t you told her differently?”

Jacque almost smiled. “I don’t think she believes me.” Her courage still astounded him. He’d known men—heck, he’d known other werewolves who hadn’t shown half the strength and resiliency that Gwen had. She was quite a woman. And she was all his.

“She will. We’ll keep her safe.”

His brother’s vow was a reminder that he wasn’t alone in this. Louis wanted Gwen as much as he did. That could be a problem. Only time would tell.

“See you in a couple of hours.” He ended the call and tucked the phone away. By the time Louis and Armand arrived, he wanted Gwen cleaned up and tucked safely into his bed.

His wolf settled inside him, sensing the rightness of that as much as the man did. “I’ll take good care of you,” he promised the sleeping woman. Whether she realized it or not, she belonged with him and he’d do whatever it took to keep her.

Chapter Four

Jacque kept one eye on the hallway leading toward his bedroom and the other one on the two men leaning against the kitchen counter. Armand and Louis had arrived only minutes ago with a truckload of Gwen’s stuff. It hadn’t taken the three of them long to unload the boxes and suitcases and stack them in the large storage closet at the end of the hallway.

“How is she?” Louis had stopped at the doorway of Jacque’s bedroom and stared at Gwen for several long minutes, but he’d left her alone, not wanting to disturb her.

Jacque raked his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “Slight concussion, but I don’t think it’s too serious. Bruises and a few scrapes. She needs sleep and time more than anything.”

He fisted his hands to hide the slight trembling. The thought that a woman could bring him to his knees was preposterous. Yet, it was true. Gwen had been passed out when he’d arrived home. On one hand, he’d been grateful not to have to hide the whereabouts of his home from her. On the other, he’d been deeply concerned that she’d been sleeping for so long.

She’d stirred momentarily when he’d placed her on his bed. She’d opened her eyes, blinked and sent him a sleepy smile before drifting off again. That little communication was enough to reassure him that she wasn’t in any immediate danger.

He’d undressed her. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to. Okay, that was a huge lie. Of course he wanted to undress her. He was a red-blooded male and she was all woman. But that still wasn’t why he’d done it.

His cock might have been standing at attention, ready to rock and roll, but he’d been far more concerned about her injuries. It hadn’t taken him long to remove her sneakers and socks and set them under the bed. Her jeans had proven to be a bit more of a challenge as the material clung to her long legs. He’d been sweating by the time he’d gotten them off her.

Jacque swallowed hard at the memory of her lying there in her shirt, bra and silky white panties. He’d wanted to howl and bury his face between her thighs. Instead, he’d finished stripping her, doing his best not to stare at her ample breasts. No, he hadn’t noticed at all that they were the perfect size for his hands or that her nipples were succulent and ripe like raspberries. Nor had he noticed her very kissable lips. For the sake of his sanity and her modesty, he’d made sure the shirt he’d dressed her in was covering her before he’d reached under it and tugged her panties off, wanting her to be comfortable.

“Jacque?” His cousin was giving him a strange look and Jacque pulled his attention back to the men.

“As I said, there are some bruises on her arms and legs. Nothing seems to be broken.” Jacque did his best to ignore the raging hard-on pushing against the placket of his jeans. He hadn’t had this much trouble with control since he was a horny teenager long, long years ago.

“You checked her over?” Louis crossed his arms over his chest and shot a glare in Jacque’s direction.

“Oh, yeah.” The memory of her naked body was burned into his brain for all eternity. He’d slept with plenty of women in his lifetime. He’d never pretended to be a saint. But never had a woman affected him the way Gwen did.

“Bastard.” Louis shoved away from the counter and began to pace.

Armand stared at one brother and then the other, noting the growing tension between them. “What the hell is going on?”

“Ask him.” Louis waved at his older brother and continued to pace.

Jacque wanted to do nothing more than go into his room, lie next to Gwen and hold her in his arms. But there were too many problems that needed to be dealt with, what was going on between him and his brother being the most important.

Armand looked at him and raised one eyebrow in silent question. If it had been anyone else, Jacque would have told him to fuck off. But Armand was like a brother to them and he was going to be around so he deserved to know the truth. “She’s a possible mate for both of us.”

“Shit.” Armand gave a low whistle, his straight black hair shimmering in the light as he shook his head. “Leave it to you two to do things the hard way.” He walked over to Jacque and slapped him on the shoulder. “But it is a good thing. To find a mate is something to be celebrated.”

“Not everyone will be happy about it,” Louis pointed out as he stopped and turned toward them. “She’s human.”

“There’s a possibility—” Armand was cut off before he could finish.

“No!” Both brothers spoke at once, their voices joined as one.

“No,” Jacque said again. “We will not risk her.” He glanced at his brother, who nodded in agreement.

“Too many die during the conversion process,” Louis pointed out. “Simply being bitten by a werewolf won’t necessarily turn you into one. You know that. It’s very rare it happens that way and about ninety-nine percent die during the transition. Werewolves are born of other werewolves, plain and simple. Plus, I don’t think that is something Gwen would even consider right now. She thinks we’re the big bad wolves and are going to kill her.”

“That’s not too far off the mark.” Armand held up his hands in mock surrender when both brothers growled at him and flashed their fangs. “You know it’s true. Many in the pack will want her dead. They don’t want to dilute the bloodlines, nor do they want outsiders in the pack.”

“Which is the very reason we broke from the pack and moved to North Carolina to start our own.” Jacque could still remember the long yelling matches with his overbearing father. “They would rather stay in the dark ages and die out than embrace the modern world and new ways.” It was what had finally driven Jacque, Louis, their cousin Armand, and two others to break away and start a new pack far away from New Orleans.

He missed the swamps and bayous of his childhood, but he’d come to embrace the deep woods and mountains of his new home. Plus, he was his own master here, not having to bend his will to traditions that made no sense to him.

“He’ll still find out.” There was an underlying threat to Armand’s words that had Jacque turning on his cousin.

“And who will tell him? You?” Pure, undiluted fury sped through his veins like molten lava, penetrating every cell in his body. His nails grew while his jawbone cracked and began to elongate.

“Don’t be an ass.” Armand took an aggressive step closer. “Your father has spies everywhere. You know as well as I do he’s been monitoring us since we left.”

Yes, Jacque did know that. No one walked away from Pierre LaForge unless he let them. He’d expected his two sons to toe the line and do exactly as he wished. That was his right as alpha of the pack. But Jacque and a few others had chaffed for far too many years under the oppressive yoke and finally had broken off. He hadn’t spoken to his mother in the two years they’d been gone. His attempts to contact her had been thwarted by his father.

Jacque felt his body return to normal and was chagrined at his aggression toward his cousin. Armand was on his side. Always had been. Their father was a mean sonofabitch, but Armand’s father was even worse. Remy LaForge had never accepted the fact he would never be alpha, would always play second fiddle to his older brother. He paid lip service to his alpha in person and took his disappointment out on his family. Everyone knew that, but no one had ever done anything about it. Armand would bear the scars of that neglect for the rest of his life.

“I know.” He reached out and pulled his cousin to him, giving him a quick, tight hug before releasing him. The apology went unsaid and was immediately accepted.

“If you two girls are finished sharing your feelings, can we get back to Gwen?” Louis’s taunt broke the tension. Armand raised his middle finger toward his cousin.

“You can have a hug too.” Jacque managed to keep his face deadpan. “I wouldn’t want you to feel left out.”

“Assholes.” Even as he said it, there was a grin tugging at the corners of Louis’s mouth.

“Back to business.” The night was quickly waning and Jacque had no idea how long Gwen would sleep. “I cleaned up the cut on her forehead. Thankfully, it’s not deep and doesn’t need stitches. I put a bandage on it.” He’d hated that any of her blood had been spilled and that it was his fault. He’d done his best to remove the dried blood from her short, silky hair. Jacque swallowed back his anger. “Did you find any other incriminating information?”

Armand nodded. “She had some notes. She’d also recorded her entire conversation with Hector.”

His blood ran cold when he thought about that getting posted online. “Anything else?”

“Our girl has an interesting profession.” There was a world of possession in the way Louis spoke about Gwen. Jacque didn’t like it, but he understood. If his brother’s feelings toward Gwen were anything like his own, he knew Louis was on edge, volatile.