Far From Innocent (16 page)

The moment they quit talking, she knew she’d been detected.

“Who’s there?” a female asked.

There were two of them, and they crossed the street quickly.
Lunewulfs
were also known for speed, but damn, they moved so fast that they stood next to her in a second.

Maybe she’d taken a harder knock to the head than she realized. It seemed they were in front of her before she had a chance to exhale.

“I asked who you were.” The female frowned, stopping when she was a few feet away.

The male next to her took the woman’s arm, immediately the protector. “You aren’t part of our pack.”

Fucking Einstein here.

She licked her lips, having no clue whether they would cause her more harm or help her. If the
lunewulfs
she’d left hanging were any indication of how this pack felt about her pack, she was in deep shit.

“I need help.” She lowered her gaze. One thing was certain—if she used the gift and sent them flying, they would definitely not help her. If she changed, they could outrun her. It was a simple fact that
lunewulfs
were the fastest species on Earth. Blood pumped in her veins with a fury that hurt. She forced her head down submissively, which seriously bruised her ego. She forced her words out. “Please help me.”

The silence was enough to kill her. And she didn’t dare look up. A submissive bitch would get help a hell of a lot faster than a fighting one.

“Come with us,” the female said after a moment.

Erin’s legs wobbled so bad it was hard to walk. The ground was rough against her human feet. And she was cold—real damned cold.

So cold, in fact, that she swore she started melting when they entered the warm den. A fire burned brightly in a large hearth at the end of the spacious living room, and two other
lunewulfs
, probably mated, sat cuddled on the couch and jumped to their feet when the three of them entered.

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Far From Innocent

“What the hell?” the
lunewulf
demanded, immediately looking pissed off at the interruption.

The bitch still on the couch quickly adjusted her clothes, glancing down at herself while embarrassment clogged the room with its sour smell. The male eyed Erin warily, taking in her bare legs and the baggy coat she held tightly at her chest. He then glanced questioningly at the two
lunewulfs
on either side of her.

“What the fuck have you done? That’s a Malta bitch.” The
lunewulf
glared at her as if she had some kind of disease or something.

“I know what she is.” Immediately the male next to her was on the defensive. “She was out on the street.”

“And she asked for our help,” the female next to her said. “Just because she is a Malta bitch, we should ignore her?”

“What were you doing out on the street?” The male standing in front of the couch still looked wary.

“Well, I wasn’t out there sightseeing,” Erin snapped. “And quit looking at me like I’m going to grow a second tail or something. I don’t want to be here any more than you want me here.”

She sucked in a quick breath, fighting to rein in her temper. She itched to release it, send furniture flying or knock pictures off the wall—something. The injustice of it all!

That was the last thing she needed right now. But damn it. It sucked being hated when these werewolves didn’t even know her.

“What were you doing out on the street?” the
lunewulf
repeated, his tone softer but still stern.

Erin looked down at her toes and saw how dirty they were. If she told them she was abducted, they’d want to know where the werewolves were who took her. Telling them they were hanging from a ceiling down the street might not go over too well at the moment. But saying she got lost wouldn’t cut it either.

“Some of your pack knocked me out and brought me here,” she admitted, not looking up. The flight of emotions that quickly clogged the air almost made her sneeze.

She closed her eyes, hating nothing worse than not being believed. “Look. All I want is to go home. I was trying to get my bearings about me when these two spotted me.”

“What’s your name?” the female next to her asked.

“Erin Spalto.”

“I’m Heidi. Come with me. I think I’ve got clothes that will fit you.”

“Heidi,” the werewolf at the couch growled.

“I don’t smell a lie. Do you?” Heidi snapped. “No matter what race she is,
lunewulfs
have manners and I won’t have her thinking otherwise.”

“Well, I’m calling Bob.”

“You do that.” Heidi tapped her arm and then gestured for Erin to follow her.

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Lorie O’Clare

They walked down a hallway to a dark bedroom and Heidi flipped the light switch.

A cluttered bedroom with an unmade bed and clothes in piles on the floor greeted them.

“Who brought you here?” Heidi asked, pulling open a dresser drawer where, amazingly, even more clothes were stuffed inside.

“I didn’t get their names.” Erin stared at the sweatshirt that Heidi handed to her, knowing without trying it on that it would be a real snug fit.

Heidi didn’t have very big breasts. Erin would be even more on display in these clothes than she was in the baggy coat that barely covered her ass.

“I wear twelve in jeans. They might be a bit baggy on you.”

A few minutes later, Erin was even more uncomfortable in a sweatshirt that stretched across her large breasts. She wished she had a belt for the jeans that barely managed to stay over her hipbones.

Heidi made a face. “Sorry I can’t do better.”

“If you all could just point me in the direction of my territory, I’ll be out of your hair. I wouldn’t even need your clothes.”

“If it were up to me, I would. You can’t convince me that males aren’t the same everywhere. Those two out there are going to make a big show of this.”

Erin sighed. Heidi was right. Her littermates would do the same thing, prancing around so that everyone in the pack knew if they’d done something none of the others had. No matter that they hadn’t really done anything at all.

“Could I at least use a phone?”

“I don’t see why not.” Heidi pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and handed it to Erin. “Wouldn’t your den be out searching for you?”

“I’m sure.” It was probably best at the moment not to mention they were already here.

The smell of her own nerves was embarrassing. She pushed the buttons and called her home. It didn’t surprise her that there was no answer. She closed her eyes, fighting to think of another number. If only she knew Juan’s cell number.

Being at the mercy of this bitch, who smelled more of curiosity now than anything, really sucked. Her own emotions cluttered the room, giving off a variety of scents. She hated to think what conclusions Heidi might be drawing of her. And it was embarrassing as hell to think that at the moment she was probably a real big open book of emotions and smells.

She made a face, glancing quickly at the bitch in front of her who watched her intently. “Would you mind if I called information? We haven’t lived here long and my den isn’t answering.”

“More than likely they are searching for you. Go ahead.”

A few minutes later the line rang into the Aldo den. A bitch answered, sounding worried and anxious.

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Far From Innocent

“Is this Moira?” Erin asked.

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Moira. It’s Erin.”

“Where the hell are you?” Moira yelled into the phone loud enough that Heidi cocked her head.

Erin sucked in a breath. “I’m in the
lunewulf
pack.”

“Dante and Juan and Dimitri and Nicolo are searching for you.”

“I haven’t seen them.” And that was the truth. She couldn’t say over the phone that she’d seen signs of them, or at least Dante—not without having to answer tons of questions. “Moira, I was attacked down by the creek. I ran from my den and I’m sure Dimitri and Nicolo are more than pissed. But they wanted to send me away.”

Suddenly the words flew out of her mouth too quickly for her to stop them. Tears burned her eyes and she rubbed them away, unable to stop them anymore than she could stop unloading what her den tried to do to her.

“I told them I loved Juan.” She gulped and closed her eyes, despising the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. “They would rather ship me off to some American pack in North Dakota than allow me to be with him. I couldn’t handle it. I ran. Now I’m sure I’m in even more trouble, but it’s not my fault I got caught. The
lunewulfs
knocked me out and when I came to, I was here.”

“You used the gift to get away from your captors? But why are you still there? And where are you exactly?”

Heidi crossed her arms, listening intently. Erin pressed her lips together, hating how easy it was to hear someone on the other end of a cell phone. There wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it though. Moira’s excited tone was so loud Erin was sure it could be heard in the next room.

“Moira. They brought me here in my fur without my clothes. I managed to get a coat from them before I got away.” She knew she wasn’t answering Moira’s questions and prayed the bitch wouldn’t press for more. The way Heidi watched her was unnerving. And if she made the room reek any more with her emotions, she’d gag.

“Maybe getting clobbered in the head disoriented me or something. I ran for a bit but wasn’t sure what direction to run. When I stopped to get my bearings, a couple of
lunewulfs
found me and brought me to their den.”

“And let you use their phone?”

“Yes.”

“Ask for an address and I’ll come get you.”

Erin looked at Heidi, who immediately bit her lip. “Umm,” she said, hesitating.

“The werewolves out there are already calling our pack leader,” she whispered.

“Okay. Let’s do this.” Moira must have heard her. “Ask her if she’d be willing to drive you to the edge of their territory. I’ll meet you there.”

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Lorie O’Clare

“I might be able to do that.” Heidi smiled for the first time. She was sort of pretty for a
lunewulf
.

Erin hated having thoughts like that. Ever since arriving in the States, she’d lived with being ostracized by other packs because of her race. Now here she was, judging someone else by her race. She smiled back. Heidi was pretty—plain and simple. Blonde hair and blue eyes and a slender figure—a body any werewolf would like. And she had spunk. In a different life, they might have made good friends.

“Tell her that you’ll call her back soon. I’ve got to convince Steve to let us go to the edge of our territory.”

Erin said she’d call back in a few minutes and then followed Heidi back out into the living room, fighting to keep her emotions in check so that her scent wouldn’t give away the panic that rushed to her gut. Heidi stopped in front of her. The two werewolves were talking quickly and the overwhelming smell of male testosterone wasn’t a good sign.

“What’s wrong?” Heidi asked.

“There is a bunch of Malta werewolves downtown. It’s a huge fight.” Steve’s eyes glowed with way too much excitement. He hurried to the door but then turned and looked at the other male. “We can’t leave the bitches here with a Malta bitch.”

“What did Bob say?” Heidi asked. “And Erin is okay for a Malta werewolf. You know I’m good at smelling that sort of thing out.”

“Bob’s headed downtown,” the other male offered. He turned and looked at the female on the couch, who’d pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She looked more scared than anything else. “Maybe I should drop Tamara off at her parents’ den.”

Heidi snorted. “Tam is a big bitch. She can handle a bit of excitement.”

Both of the males looked like they couldn’t wait to bolt out the door.

“I’m carrying our cub, Martin. And I don’t want any excitement. You aren’t leaving that Malta bitch in my den.” Tam sounded like the kind of bitch Erin would itch to pop in the nose. And that had nothing to do with race—her attitude stunk.

“Fine.” Heidi grabbed Erin’s hand, much to Erin’s surprise, and dragged her to the door ahead of the werewolves. “We’ll all leave. Let’s go.”

Once outside, the males bounded toward a car parked in the drive. They turned and looked at the bitches, as if the cold air and thoughts of a fight had made them forget they were even there.

“I let her use my phone to call her den,” Heidi told Steve when he opened the back door for her. “Some werewolves in our pack went over to her territory and knocked her out and dragged her here in her fur.”

Martin let out a loud breath and opened the driver’s side door. Once he’d climbed in, his eyes pinned her through the rearview mirror. “What were their names?”

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Far From Innocent

“I didn’t bother to ask and they didn’t offer any introductions.” She looked away from the mirror and sniffed out their emotions.

Steve had climbed in the front passenger seat and closed his door, trapping all their smells in the compact car. “Just because there are a few rogue werewolves in our pack doesn’t mean we’re all bad.”

“And the same with us,” Erin shot back. “Just because you hear bad things about my pack doesn’t mean it’s true.”

An uncomfortable silence followed, and Erin made no attempt to break it. Martin started the car and pulled out of the drive. Moira would go nuts if Erin didn’t call her back. And there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the fight these werewolves headed to involved Juan and the others. This was going to get real ugly. Trepidation made her stomach churn while giving her goose bumps. Tiny hairs stood on end over her arms and the back of her neck.

They were heading deeper into this
lunewulf
town, into enemy land. That scared her to death. Juan would be there, possibly fighting, definitely outraged, but she’d be with him. Excitement and fear mixed inside her, making for a nauseous combination.

She pressed her hands between her legs. No matter what it took, she’d do it to see that they got out of this pack alive.

“Tell us about the magic your pack can do,” Heidi asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh for crying out loud!” Martin exploded.