Wolf on a Mission: Salvation Pack, Book 6 (20 page)

“Can we keep him?” Billy asked.

Elias went completely still. She could sense the tension rolling off him, see it in the bunching of his muscles.

“We’ll see. Now go.” When Billy scampered off to do her bidding, she gave Elias all her attention. “I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

Elias wanted to curse Billy’s timing. Still, it could have been worse. He could have heard the shooting and come out onto the porch. It was bad enough that Sue had been in danger. If Billy had been there too, nothing would have been able to stop him from killing both men to protect them. Whether they accepted it or not, they were part of his family, his to protect.

Billy came running back to the kitchen with a white box in his hands. “Here, Mom.”

“Thanks, buddy.” She took the box and set it on the table. “You need to put on a pair of pajamas.”

Elias noted the boy was wearing only his underwear.

“Go on,” she told him. “The doggy will be here when you get back.”

Elias winced but sucked it up. She could call him whatever she wanted as long as he could stay with her.

Sue filled a large plastic bowl with water and brought it back to the table. She dipped one of the tea towels into it, squeezed out the excess water and began cleaning the dried blood from his fur. Both wounds were still oozing blood but weren’t too bad. Rest and food would have him back on his feet in no time.

Once she was finished cleaning and disinfecting both wounds, she spread antibacterial ointment over them and covered them. Her hands were gentle, her concentration absolute. He could have told her she was wasting her time but he figured this was something she needed to do. Plus, he liked the attention and fussing.

When she heard her son returning, she kicked his discarded jeans and sneakers into a corner by the back door. They weren’t exactly hidden, but Billy probably wouldn’t notice.

Billy hurried back in wearing a lightweight pair of superhero pajamas. He clutched a small teddy bear in his arms. He stopped a few feet away and watched his mother apply several bandages. “What happened?”

Sue gathered the bloody towels and dumped them in the garbage. “He had an accident, honey. In the woods. He’ll be fine.”

The less Billy knew about the situation, the better off. He was only a kid.

Sue dumped the dirty water and put the bowl in the sink to soak. Then she scrubbed her hands clean. She dried her hands on a fresh towel, repacked the first aid kit and set it aside. Elias watched her, amazed by her composure. Or maybe she was in shock.

Billy sidled closer and put one small finger on the bandage on Elias’s shoulder. Sue crouched next to her son and gently removed his hand. “You can’t poke at his injury. It might hurt him.”

Billy nodded and then turned to his mother. He patted her cheek and frowned. “You’re hurt.” His voice wobbled and his lower lip quivered.

“I’m fine. I just accidentally hit my face on the door. I was in such a hurry to get inside.” Elias knew she hated lying, but he was too young to understand the truth.

Sue picked up her son and held him in her arms while she opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of peas. She sat Billy on the counter long enough to wrap the peas in the last clean tea towel. She pressed the makeshift cold pack against her cheek.

Billy kicked his feet against the bottom cupboards. She tousled his hair with her free hand. “You never wake up at night, buddy. What happened?”

He rubbed his stomach. “Hungry.”

“You never did have any supper. I figured the snack Mrs. Beecham gave you and the cake you had would keep you filled until tomorrow morning.” She poked his belly, making him giggle. “How about some cheese and crackers.”

When Billy nodded, Sue set about getting his meal for him. The cold pack was quickly forgotten on the counter.

Elias lay on the floor watching the two of them interact. He tried not to notice how the light reflected through the thin fabric of her gown or the way her breasts swayed when she moved. He really did try, but he was hurt, not dead.

Her hair tumbled around her slender shoulders. She was so strong, so brave.

He’d never forget the sound of flesh meeting flesh as she was smacked or her gasp of pain. When he smelled the other men near her, he’d almost lost him mind. It had taken everything in him not to shift. He’d still used his preternatural strength to leap across the yard and land in front of her.

He hadn’t been there to stop her from being hurt, but he’d protect her with his life.

He closed his eyes and listened to mother and son talk, soothed by the sound. His last coherent thought was that Sue was one hell of a woman and she was all his.

Chapter Twenty-One

Sue sat at her kitchen table and nursed a cup of coffee as she watched the sky lighten over the mountains in the distance. It wasn’t quite dawn yet. Billy was tucked back in bed and Elias was still sleeping on her floor. That seemed wrong somehow, but there was nothing she could do about it.

As tired as she was, there was no way she could sleep. Not with all the thoughts running around in her mind. There was a huge wolf curled up on her floor. One that could also turn into a man. If she hadn’t seen it with her own two eyes, she never would have believed it.

A werewolf. Only this wasn’t a movie or one of the occasional romance novels she borrowed from the library. They weren’t characters. They were real people. This was Elias.

She sensed someone watching her and knew he was awake before she turned away from the window. Sure enough, the wolf was staring up at her through very familiar eyes.

“How do you feel?” She was quite proud of how level her voice was. The shaking had finally stopped after she’d put Billy back to bed. She definitely hadn’t needed the caffeine. She was jittery enough as it was.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this exhausted. Maybe after giving birth to Billy, but that would be about it. Even a double shift at the diner didn’t leave her feeling this wrung out.

Elias pushed to his feet. God, he was huge. Much larger than she’d imagined a wolf to be. He was larger than Reece. Sue stilled as a wild thought occurred to her. “Is Reece like you?” Was the animal really a man? She remembered his almost human-like intelligence. Now it made a strange kind of sense.

Elias continued to look at her and his body seemed to shimmer around him. Her hands clamped down hard on her mug as he began to change. Fur receded and his limbs once again cracked and reformed. His jaw shortened and his familiar features emerged. Her heart raced and her breathing quickened. She’d seen him change into a wolf last night but she’d been tired and scared. Now she was calmer. Still scared but more aware of what was actually happening.

And what he was doing was incredible. When he was done, a naked man stood in her kitchen.

Elias calmly peeled away the gauze and padding she’d wrapped around both gunshot wounds. Both injuries looked as though they were days old, maybe weeks. There were scars but they were faint. He walked to the garbage can and dropped the bloody bandages in the trash.

Sue set her mug down on the table. Better safe than sorry. She was feeling none too steady again. Part of it was exhaustion and the other was the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. “It’s true. You’re a werewolf.” It felt stupid to say it out loud, but that didn’t stop it from being true.

“I am.” His deep voice sank into her bones, comforting her. This was the man she’d made love with, the same man who’d given up his former life to care for his nephews.

“Sage really is your nephew? He’s like you?”

Elias raked his fingers through his hair. “Yeah. Listen, I need a shower before we get into this.”

“Of course.” She pushed away from the table and led him to the bathroom. “You know where everything is.”

Elias leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. “Go climb in bed and wait for me. You’re exhausted.”

Her body quivered at his suggestion. Just being around him aroused her. That hadn’t changed one bit, not even knowing what he was. “All right.” She turned and walked away, leaving him to clean up. She’d showered after she’d put Billy back to bed last night. She’d needed to wash away the sweat, blood and fear. It had also given her something to do while Elias had slept.

Her bed beckoned and she crawled into it, pulling a single sheet over her. It was too hot for anything more. She had so many questions she wanted to ask Elias. Maybe she shouldn’t be handling this situation quite so well, but she was too darn tired to scream and shout about it. She sighed and stared out the window. When the water came on, she tried her best not to imagine Elias standing beneath the spray, all soapy and wet.

She moaned and wrapped her arms around herself. It was easy to picture thick lather sliding over his broad chest and muscled abs. God, she had it bad. She forced herself to think of other things like work and bills and her ex. Anything to take her mind off what Elias was currently doing.

Elias wasted no time soaping his body from head to toe. The quicker he could finish and get back to Sue the better. In spite of being shot last night, he felt great. Starving and a little tired, but all things considered, it could have been much worse.

It would take more than a few bullets to bring down a full-blooded werewolf unless one of them got lucky and hit him straight in the heart or the brain. Werewolves were extremely hard to kill and it took something drastic to bring them down.

His erection was a sure sign he was back to normal. The darn thing was wide awake and ready to go. Elias didn’t think Sue would appreciate his dick poking at her this early in the morning, not after everything she’d been through.

Swearing under his breath, he grabbed his shaft in his hand and pumped. Protecting her last night and then having her tend to him had brought out all his primitive instincts. He wanted to mark her as his own, claim her so other male werewolves would know who she belonged to.

Which didn’t make sense since she was completely human.

He closed his eyes and pictured Sue, hair tousled and eyes heavy from lack of sleep. She looked good enough to eat in another one of those thin nightgowns she favored and smelled even better. He could tell she’d showered. Her body smelled of her soap and warm woman, not of blood and fear as it had last night.

He growled and pumped harder and faster, his hand rougher than her smaller, softer one would be. Water beat down on his head and trailed down his body. He wished Sue were with him. He’d love to lick beads of water from her skin. Hear her moans of pleasure as he laved the tight buds of her breasts.

His balls drew up close to his body, and he gritted his teeth as his orgasm swept through him. There was no real pleasure. This was nothing more than a physical release. Elias didn’t stop until he was totally spent. It wouldn’t keep him from wanting her, but it would give him enough control so they could talk.

He was too on edge, his wolf too close to the surface. He wanted Sue more than he’d ever wanted another woman.

He leaned against the cool tiles and allowed the water to wash him clean before he turned off the tap. The towels were stacked on a nearby shelf, so he grabbed one and quickly dried, ignoring the desire still pounding in his veins. He tossed the wet towel over the shower rod and left the bathroom.

Sue was waiting in bed for him, and that settled his wolf somewhat. Her big blue eyes widened as he closed the door and prowled toward her. Her throat rippled as she swallowed. “Ah, you’re still naked.”

He nodded. “I am.” He pulled back the sheet and climbed in next to her. He propped himself up on one bent arm and brushed the backs of his fingers over her face.

“What’s his name?” Elias needed to know the name of the man who hurt her.

She shook her head and looked away.

He used light pressure on her chin to get her to look at him once again. “Who?”

“Connor McLennan and his brother, but you can’t go after them,” she hurried to add. “That would only make matters worse.”

Unwilling to lie to her, and unwilling to agree, he turned his attention back to her injury. “Does this hurt?” The bruise on her cheek wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be. She must have continued to ice it after he’d fallen asleep.

She shook her head. “Not really.” She touched the scar on his shoulder. “What about you?”

“I heal quickly. It’s a byproduct of being what I am.”

“A werewolf.” It was no longer a question but a statement.

“Yes. You can never tell anyone,” he warned.

Her laugh had a slightly hysterical edge to it. “Who would I tell, Elias? I have a son to raise and a custody battle looming. Trust me when I tell you I’d never run around sharing the fact you’re a werewolf. That wouldn’t be good for me.”

She trailed her hand down his chest. His dick jumped to life again, going from half-mast to hard. “Is that your only reason for keeping my secret?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper. “What about Sage?”

Elias sighed. “His father was my brother and his mother was a half-breed.”

Sue frowned and shifted position so she was flat on her back staring up at him. “Half-breed?”

“Yes, it’s very rare for a human and a werewolf to mate, even rarer for them to have children.”

“So she was part werewolf and your brother was—”

“Full-blooded,” he supplied the right word for her.

“Okay, full-blooded. That makes Sage three-quarters werewolf.” She frowned and he could see her mulling over the implications.

“Yes. The fact that they had a child is rare. He has most werewolf traits—enhanced hearing and strength and a superior sense of smell. He doesn’t get human illnesses and heals quickly from wounds.” He knew what she wanted to know, the question she hadn’t asked. “He can’t shift. Not like I can.”

“Oh.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “How does he feel about that?”

“I won’t lie. It bothers him.” Elias took a breath and gave her the final secret. “Especially since his brother can shift.”

“Brother?” Her mouth fell open.

“Reece.”

“I knew it. That’s why he healed so quickly from being shot. He’s like you.”

“Yes, he is,” Elias confirmed.

“This is all so confusing.” She rubbed her forehead. Elias noted the tightness around her mouth and eyes. She had to be exhausted and most likely had a headache.

“You don’t need to figure it all out right this moment.” He rubbed his thumb over her forehead and down to her temple. She sighed and dropped her hand back down by her side. “It’s been a crazy night.”

“You can say that again. What am I going to do?”

“About what?” He wanted her to rest. She was far too pale for his liking.

“You. Us. The McLennan brothers. My ex.” She closed her eyes, but not before he saw the tears welling there. She was worn out and stressed and he didn’t like it one bit.

“We’ll figure it all out.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You’re not alone. Not any longer.” He wanted her to know he’d be beside her through whatever happened. She’d been left alone far too many times in her life. No way was he leaving her to stand on her own.

“You can’t promise that, Elias. No,” she said when he started to object. “You have Sage and Reece to worry about.”

“They’re old enough to understand why I won’t leave you.” He kissed her temple and her bruised cheek. He growled before he could get his wolf back in check. Her eyes widened but she didn’t pull away from him.

“I’m not sure I understand. You barely know me,” she pointed out. He couldn’t fault her logic, but he was ruled by instinct.

“You’re mine.” Better she understand that going forward.

She stilled and her breathing quickened. “What do you mean, I’m yours?”

He nuzzled her neck and lightly nipped at the sensitive flesh before making himself move away. He was so on edge it wouldn’t take much prompting for him to mark her, and she wasn’t ready for that. She needed to understand all the implications before he asked her to join her life to his.

Yes, it would create all kinds of complications in his already complicated life, but he didn’t care. Sue was meant to be his, and now that he’d found her, there was no force on earth strong enough to make him walk away. He’d been a fool to think he could leave her.

“I mean you’re the woman I’ve been searching for all my life.” He pushed the sheet down and cupped her breast through the thin fabric of her nightgown. The nipple pebbled and he ran his thumb back and forth over the bud.

She sucked in a breath and trembled beneath his touch. “You can’t know that. It’s too soon.”

He shoved aside the hurt. What had he expected her to say? Take me, I’m yours? Maybe in a perfect world. Hell, he should be happy she hadn’t booted him out or called the authorities. She didn’t understand his culture, what it meant to be werewolf, or she’d know just how serious he was.

“I’m not human. Not fully,” he reminded her. “I’m a creature of instinct. My wolf recognized you when we met. I knew you were the one for me. I fought it because you’re fully human, but that doesn’t matter. Not any longer. You’re the woman for me.” He needed her to understand that.

“Whether you accept me or not is irrelevant. You’re it for me. If you turn me away, there will never be another woman for me.” He needed her to grasp the true depth of his feelings, his longing for her.

“You can’t know that.” Her voice was pitched higher, and he hated the fear he heard there. He was scaring her with his declaration rather than wooing her. He was making a fucking mess out of this, but he forged onward.

“I do.” He lifted her hand and placed it over his heart. “This belongs to you. It’s up to you what you do with it.”

Giving her plenty of time to object, he kissed her. He kept the pressure light and undemanding. She sighed and kissed him back. Her lips moved beneath his, accepting and encouraging at the same time.

She broke the kiss and her eyes fluttered open. “Anny’s husband. Is he like you?”

Elias shook his head. “That’s their business and not mine to tell.” He hated the hurt in her eyes and the way she subtly pulled away from him. He wasn’t having it. If he couldn’t claim her as his mate, he was at least going to lay claim her body once again. That is if she’d let him.

He sat up and gripped the neckline of her nightgown. “Stop me now if you’re going to.”

For one eternal second, he thought she actually might push him away. His chest constricted and it got a lot harder for him to breathe. His wolf howled inside him and he clenched his jaw to keep from shifting.

Then she shook her head and his world righted. “I don’t want you to stop.”

Sue knew this was crazy. As much as she cared for Elias, they had no future. It just wasn’t possible. He was a werewolf, for heaven’s sake, and she was human. Although, his sister-in-law’s parents had made it work and, according to Elias, her father had been a werewolf and her mother a human.