Wolf at the Door: Salvation Pack, Book 1 (8 page)

Louis knew they’d done the only thing they could. Gwen had inadvertently stepped into their world and there was no going back. “It’s almost dawn.” It had been a heck of a long night and he was tired but knew sleep was a long way off yet.

“You and Armand keep watch until Cole and Gator get back with her car,” Jacque ordered.

“And what will you be doing?” Louis asked his brother even though he already knew the answer.

“I’ll be keeping a close eye on our guest.” Jacque set his beer down and went down the hallway toward his room.

Louis drained the beer from his bottle before turning to his cousin. “Let’s go.” He ignored the pitying look he saw in Armand’s eyes. Louis’s wolf wanted Gwen but that wasn’t likely to happen. But he’d be watching Jacque, and if he saw an opening, he’d go for it. His brother be damned.

He strode out of the room and through the front door, letting the early morning air embrace him like a lover. He needed to run, needed to feel free and alive. Louis stripped off his clothing and tossed it onto the front porch. Stretching his arms to the sky, he embraced the change. Blood pumped through his veins and muscles bunched and flexed. His jaw cracked and elongated. Claws broke through his fingertips. Bones reformed as he fell to all fours. When the shift was complete, he tipped back his head and howled, a warning and a promise to anyone around that he would kill to protect his small pack, his real family.

And that family now included Gwen.

He glanced over his shoulder and found Armand leaning against the side of Jacque’s cabin. His cousin gave him a nod and Louis knew he’d stand guard for however long was necessary. Louis dipped his head, whirled around and ran, becoming one with the early morning mist.

Gwen heard footsteps coming down the hallway and rolled out of bed. No way did she want to be caught there if one of the men was coming to speak with her. The door might be locked, but she really didn’t expect it to keep them out. Not if they really wanted in.

She shuffled over to the window and stared through the glass. It had lightened up enough outside so she could see that the room she was in faced the front of the house. A dirt road disappeared into the woods, but there were no vehicles to be seen. Still, she knew there had to be some close by. If she bided her time, maybe she could find a set of keys and steal one. It would serve Jacque right if she stole his truck since he’d been responsible for her wrecking her car.

The door handle behind her shook and was followed by a metallic crack before it opened. She hunched her shoulders and the fine hairs on the back of her neck and her arms stirred. Without even turning around, she knew it was Jacque. She was quickly developing a sixth sense when it came to the man. It was disconcerting to be so in tune with him.

He shoved the door closed, shutting them in the room together. “You should be in bed.”

Yeah, like that was a good idea. Not. She was too attracted to the man, her body totally traitorous around him. No, being in bed around him was not the smart thing to do. She ignored him and stared blindly out the front window. If she ignored him long enough maybe he’d go away.

And maybe pigs would fly. She hadn’t known Jacque LaForge long, but she knew that once he set his mind on something there was no derailing him.

Through the bedroom window, she saw the front door of the cabin open and Louis and Armand step out. She was alone in the house with Jacque. Before she could begin to worry too much about the implications of the situation, she was distracted by the fact that Louis was on the front porch stripping off all his clothing.

The man was certainly prime real estate. His shoulders were wide, his hips slim. While she could appreciate how he looked, he didn’t make her break out into a sweat or make her toes curl, not the way his brother did.

Jacque was standing behind her now and she could feel the heat radiating from his big body. She could also see their ghostly reflection in the glass of the window. It was disconcerting to see him looming so large and fierce behind her so she concentrated on what was happening outside. Louis raised his arms in the air and the muscles rippled beneath his skin.

“He’s going to change. Watch.” He settled his hands on her shoulders, keeping her there. Not that she could have looked away from the spectacle unfolding before her. It was fascinating and frightening at the same time.

Bones and muscles began to shift and move beneath Louis’s flesh. His jaw lengthened and his skull flattened. Fur seemed to push its way out from beneath his skin until his entire body was covered in a brown furry pelt.

Gwen was sucking in breath quickly, close to hyperventilating. This wasn’t possible. Yet she was seeing it.

He fell to all fours, his hands and feet replaced by claw-tipped paws. He was huge and gorgeous in a deadly way. His thick fur was various shades of brown and she wanted to bury her hands in it, to feel the immense strength beneath it.

She swallowed hard, both awed and scared by what was unfolding in front of her.

Then Louis tilted back his head and howled. The sound was long and lonely and made her heart hurt. She wanted to go to him and offer comfort. She must have made a slight movement, because Jacque’s hands tightened around her shoulders. “No, stay with me.” It was both an order and a plea, and she relaxed, watching as Louis trotted away, swallowed up by the surrounding forest.

Gwen was more confused than ever about these men, or rather werewolves. Because there was no denying what she’d just witnessed. She wasn’t drugged or dreaming. This entire situation was real. They were real.

“We are real.” She hadn’t realized she’d spoken her last thought aloud until he answered. Jacque turned her away from the window and brushed a lock of hair from her face. “I’m sorry for what’s happened to you, but you can’t go back to your old life.”

“Why?” She couldn’t see any reason why not. “I won’t tell anyone about you.” And not only because no one would believe her, but because she had a fierce need inside her to protect him, to protect all of them.

She had no idea why. These men seemed less likely to need protection than anyone she’d ever met. There was something feral and deadly about all of them. It was in the way they held themselves and moved with a predatory grace, the hunter within them always watchful, always ready to strike.

He rubbed his thumb over her cheek and she tried to ignore the slither of heat radiating down her neck to her collarbone and lower.

“I know you won’t.” His assurance pleased her even as his next words dashed her hopes. “But Hector met with you, and if our former pack ever found out, they’d hunt you down and kill you.”

Her blood ran cold and she shivered. The way he said it chilled her to her core as if killing her was no more trouble to those people than stopping at the store to pick up a carton of milk would be to her.

“I don’t understand.” She started to sway and Jacque quickly picked her up and carried her to the bed. He didn’t put her down, but settled himself against the heavy wooden headboard with her cradled in his lap.

“I know you don’t.” His eyes seemed to darken as he watched her. “My father is alpha of a pack down around New Orleans. They live by the old ways, which means mating only with other werewolves and keeping to themselves as much as possible. He shuns the outside world and most of them still live in cabins out in the swamps and bayous as they have for generations.”

That wasn’t so hard for her to understand. There were still a lot of folks who clung to older ways, especially in isolated places. “If he shuns the modern world, how would he find out about me?” She was pleased with her logic. Maybe she could talk her way out of this yet.

Jacque shook his head. “He might prefer the old ways but he’s not stupid either. He’s learned everything about the modern world, including computers and communication. The pack’s safety depends on information. He knows about Hector so if he doesn’t know about you it’s only a matter of time until he does. He’ll send out scouts to track Hector’s movements and probably to find him.”

“You didn’t kill him?” That was something that had been bothering her but she’d been afraid to ask until now.

“No,
chère
.” Jacque ran his thumb over her forehead, smoothing out worry lines. “We gave him a stern talking to and let him go.”

“That’s it?” She wasn’t naïve or stupid enough to believe that.

“No, that’s not all,” he chuckled. “So suspicious, you are.” But he looked pleased by that rather than disappointed. “Armand also planted some files in various doctor’s offices and police stations questioning Hector’s grip on reality. If he talks too much he’ll find himself medicated in a hospital.”

Gwen couldn’t believe they’d do something like that. “That’s cruel.” She couldn’t imagine ending up in a mental institution knowing she was totally sane.

“Better that than dead.” Jacque’s voice was hard and sharp. “And he was warned. Pierre LaForge wouldn’t give him such a chance. If my father had found him, Hector would already be dead.”

She supposed they were being as fair as they could be under the circumstances. This new world she’d discovered herself a part of was cruel and brutal. Animalistic at its core. Which made sense considering what they were.

“Tell me about your people. How do you become a werewolf? How far back does your history go in civilization?”

Jacque smiled and shook his head. “No more questions. Not now. You won’t be writing any more articles about us or our kind.”

It wasn’t a threat, not exactly, but Gwen had no doubt in her mind that he expected to be obeyed. “We’ll see.” It was easy for him to issue commands. She still had to make a living, assuming she survived this mess she’d stumbled into.

“No,
chère
.” He shook his head and she could see sorrow as well as determination there. It frightened her as nothing else had. “The life you had is over.”

She stiffened and her heart began to pump faster, sending adrenaline flooding through her veins. Fight or flight. There was only one option. She wasn’t strong enough to fight. But was she fast enough to run? She didn’t think so, but she had to try.

Gwen flung herself sideways, or at least tried to. Jacque caught her before she’d moved more than a few inches, his reflexes remarkably fast. “No, Gwen. Don’t run from me.”

She ignored him and pounded her fists against his shoulders. She didn’t waste energy yelling. Their struggle was silent and quick. He simply wrapped his arms around her and held on until she’d exhausted herself. It wasn’t fair how easily he subdued her. He was barely expending any energy while she was fighting him with everything she had.

He was speaking low and calm, but she didn’t hear the words at first. The roaring in her ears was too loud. She was never going to escape, never going home. What did that mean for her? She’d had a shred of hope and now that was gone. Even if she did escape there would be others looking to kill her.

Gwen felt defeated. Totally devastated.

Jacque rocked her in his arms, which were more a prison now than a comfort. Her emotions were all over the place. She felt like a yo-yo, up one moment and down the next. Her body ached. She was tired and hungry and her head was violently throbbing again.

“Shh,” he crooned. “You’re only hurting yourself.” He rubbed his hand up and down her spine.

“What are you going to do with me?” It was the one question she needed answered once and for all.

He stopped rubbing her back and caught her face between his thumb and forefinger, holding her steady. “I’m keeping you.”

Her heart stuttered and then took off like a jackrabbit in flight. “What do you mean, you’re keeping me?” The implications were too many for her to wrap her head around.

“It’s simple, Gwen.” He leaned down until their foreheads were almost touching. His breath was warm on her mouth. “My wolf recognized you the moment I smelled you.” He nuzzled his nose against hers. “I recognized you. You’re my mate. Mine to keep and protect.”

He honestly believed that. Gwen could see it in his eyes. What did he mean she was his mate? It was all too much for her brain to process on top of everything else. She shook her head and he took it for denial.

“Yes.” He kissed her cheekbone. “Louis wants you as well, but he can’t have you. I won’t give you up.”

Her stomach lurched. “What do you mean, Louis wants me too?” Her voice got higher and more strident with each word she spoke. She was going to lose what little sanity she had left.

Jacque nuzzled her ear and nipped at the tender lobe before whispering in her ear. “His wolf recognized you as a potential mate as well. It happens rarely, but when it does it can be a deadly situation. The only options are for him to back off or for one of us to kill the other.”

She jerked back, appalled by what he was telling her. “You can’t kill your brother.” They seemed so close. Hearing him speak so casually about killing Louis was shocking.

“Of course not,” he soothed, bringing her back so he could rub his lips over hers. “I would never hurt Louis, which means he has to walk away from you.”

“What if I want Louis?” She didn’t really. She liked him in spite of the fact he’d help his brother kidnap her, and found him not as intimidating as his brother. But her traitorous body only seemed to respond to Jacque. And this entire conversation was nuts. They might be the hottest men she’d ever laid eyes on, but they’d kidnapped her.