Forbidden (4 page)

His mind tried to define the scent that captivated him. It was cinnamon and chocolate, with snow on the wind and hot coals. She smelled like those moments right after sledding, when you race inside to sit beside the fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate, and can smell the apple pie baking in the oven.

It wasn't a scent that should be covered with blood on a roadside. The discordance of his reaction and his surroundings froze him in place.

The breeze shifted and the overpowering scent of feathers, fear, and pain from inside the car washed over him. Alek shook his head and began to focus. He took the woman's pulse and checked her airway. There were no visible wounds on her torso and her ribs didn't seem to be broken. But he couldn't risk doing heart compression until he knew if there was damage to her spine. He leaned down to begin mouth-to-mouth. The moment his lips touched hers, he seemed to sink into a pool of molten heat. The sensation stole the very breath he'd planned to give her.

Alek pulled back sharply and stared at the woman, his heart racing like nothing he'd ever experienced. He felt shaken and disturbingly aroused. Good god! This woman was unconscious, needed his help. What was he thinking?

Fighting his reaction, he took a deep breath, pinched her nose shut and closed his mouth over hers again. Same reaction but this time his fingers started to tingle. He blew the life-giving air into her lungs and tried to concentrate on the mechanics of resuscitation.

His world narrowed to inhale-puff-inhale-puff as dizzying sensations washed over his skin. There was no response. He was starting to get worried.

Where was Marilyn?

 

CHAPTER 3

Light and pain ripped at Claire's mind as she struggled to breathe. She felt warmth on her mouth. The scent of male wolf, mingled with cologne and fear, filled her, even though her nose was plugged. But she couldn't seem to take a breath … couldn't control her muscles. She felt blackness closing around her.

Claire. You have to breathe. Inhale,
niña.

She wanted to obey her Alpha female. She did. But she couldn't seem to make things work.

No. Hell, no.

That was her Alpha male's voice, faint but clear. She felt magic try to press through the pack's mental link. It was just a thread, but it came just as soft lips pressed against hers, pushed another bit of air into her lungs. Claire grabbed both ends of the lifeline, using them to pull back into herself.

Her eyes snapped open, her fingers clutched the dried grass under her as she dragged in a great gasp of air. A cacophony of voices filled her ears. Red, blue, and yellow flashing lights reflected off the green glow in the sky.

She inhaled again, deeply, and nearly choked on the overlaid scents, so many that her mind couldn't sort them. She stopped trying and focused on the wolf she'd smelled before, who could only be the dark-haired man whose face was inches from her own. His eyes were the color of the night sky, with scattered gray flecks that glowed with magic like tiny stars. He tried to smile, but the slack face and bowed head told her he was nearly too exhausted. “Welcome back.”

She opened her mouth to reply but he put a gentle finger to her lips. “No. Don't try to talk. Just breathe and heal.” Magic flickered in that finger, creating sparks against her skin that made it hard to think. He pulled his hand away and stared at his finger, then her.

But she had to move her lips again, ask the question that burned in her mind. It was the barest whisper, so soft he had to move closer to hear her as she mouthed the syllables. The tingle that flowed from his skin to hers made her shudder. “Da … Danielle?”

He nodded, and muscles she didn't realize were taut relaxed just a little. “Dani will be fine. They're working on her now. Has a collapsed lung, a broken rib, and she sprained her shoulder. It'll be a while before she flies again.”

That made Claire sad. Danielle's voice when she said flying was nothing like the swings had held wonder and joy. “Me?” Another whisper and part of her didn't really want to know. He'd had to bring her back from the dead, after all. She knew that—had felt her own life fading. And everything hurt. Primarily her head, but her insides didn't feel quite right.

He ran fingers through hair that was thick and wavy on top, but cut close on the sides. “The …
something
tried to crack your skull open like a walnut. You've got cuts and scrapes and probably internal injuries.” He gave her a scolding look. “You weren't wearing your seat belt.”

“Was,” she disputed in a whisper. “Until … attack. Tried … fight it.”

He gave a little growl but it was only mild rebuke. His scent was filled with pride and admiration.

A woman moved into Claire's field of vision. She smelled of bird—a snowy owl. Claire knew
all
the owl smells. “Alek, go have Marilyn check you out. You need to have some of that gravel dug out of your neck before the skin heals over.” So the wolf's name was Alek. Claire's gaze flicked to his neck and she noticed the tattered remains of a scarf and the caked blood on his ripped leather jacket. She felt her brows lower in concern. He quirked his lips in another tired smile before the woman—a nurse, Claire guessed—made shooing motions at him. “Go. We'll take care of…” She looked down with calm, professional, hazel eyes. “What's your name, sweetheart?”

Feeling a little stronger, she managed to raise her voice above a whisper. “Cl … Claire. Claire Sanchez. From the Tedford Compound.” She'd almost used her real name instead of the cover that had been so carefully arranged by her pack.
Hellfire and damnation,
as her grandmother used to say.

The woman nodded like she'd already known the answer even as she readied a syringe of clear liquid. “Thought as much since you were with Danielle. I'm Roberta. We'll call your pack leaders. Let them know what's happened.”

She nodded, even though her pack leaders already knew.
Let the doctor work on you. Relax,
niña. Claire nodded again, letting the warmth and concern of her pack fill her as the needle pricked her arm to deliver her into soothing, pain-free darkness.

 

CHAPTER 4

Alek squatted down next to the front of the police cruiser, straining to find clues as to the kind of animal it had hit to cause the crumpled fender and bumper. There should be blood and lots of it, as well as fur or skin that could be tested. But it was clean.

“What'cha looking for, Alek?” Lenny's voice came from behind him. It sounded casual, but there was tension behind it.

Trying to keep his voice just as casual, Alek shrugged one shoulder, keeping his hands in his pockets so the chief wouldn't see the latex gloves on them that he'd borrowed from the ambulance. Secreted in his pocket were also tweezers and several plastic baggies to gather evidence. “Just seeing what there is to see.”

“I've already been over the bumper. Got blood samples and tissue. We'll get it tested and see who was responsible. You have insurance on the bike, right?”

Alek nodded. “Of course. It just seems strange there's so little evidence for such a large collision.” He'd been trying to keep the passenger alive and had been getting rocks picked out of his shoulder for the better part of an hour while the chief had been gathering clues. Why would it be so clean? No blood, no hair, the bumper was so squeaky clean he could see his own reflection and the scent of window cleaner still hovered in the air.

“Not really so strange, if you think about it. It was probably a bear. They have damned tough hides. Even regular bears can take a lot of damage without bleeding.”

That made Alek pause. What Lenny said was true, but it didn't fit with what he remembered. “Are you thinking it was a rogue?”

“Nah, probably just a big grizzly. Might have been a mama protecting a cub.”

Alek's gaze flicked to the shredded metal that used to be the driver's door. There was no way in hell this was caused by a grizzly. They were tough. No doubt about that. He'd seen photos of the interiors of cars ripped to shreds when a bear was looking for food or got trapped inside. But not like this … like the sheet metal of the car was aluminum foil at the bottom of a pan of lasagna that got cut into ribbons by the spatula. “I've never seen a grizzly that could cause this kind of damage, Lenny.”

A firm hand landed on his shoulder and then patted him. “You're still young, Alek. You haven't seen a lot of things I have. You still have a lot to learn.”

Also true, but condescending as hell. It deserved no reply, so he didn't give it one. Instead, he glanced to his left and saw that Ray Vasquez was finishing getting patched up on the rear bumper of the ambulance. He worked the gloves off of his hands by rolling them along the inside of his pockets before removing his hands and used his palm against the bumper to get the leverage to stand. He turned to face the chief. “I should go see how Ray is doing. When will you need my report of the accident? I thought I might get a little sleep before I came to the office.” Alek used the back of his hand to rub his eye. Yep, his fingers smelled of chemical cleaner.

If the chief noticed what Alek was doing, he gave no sign. But his eyes narrowed and his scent was the burned coffee smell of anger. “I guess you should have thought about sleep before you hopped on your motorcycle and started gallivanting around the county in the middle of the night.”

Alek felt cool air on his eyes as they widened in surprise. He raised his eyes to meet Lenny's—in direct challenge and couldn't stop the anger that punctuated the words. “If I hadn't been
gallivanting around
, those girls would be dead now. It was a damned good thing I was out here, don't you think?”

The other man shrugged, pursing his lips briefly. “Maybe they would, maybe not. But I know if you'd stayed at home where you belong, I'd still have a working cruiser and you'd still have a motorcycle.”

“Are you
serious
!?” Alek seldom raised his voice to the town's Second, but his outrage slipped out. “We're talking about two
lives,
versus a couple of vehicles. They can be replaced in a few days. You can't possibly think they're even worth talking about in the same sentence.”

He stared at Lenny, waiting for a chink in the armor. The taller man finally spoke and they were the right words. “Of course, you're right. I'm glad they're safe. Money's a little tight right now, but the car can be replaced.” But while the words backpedaled, they were only words. There was no metallic scent of ozone that would mark relief, nor the warm, musty scent of gratitude. Just burning scents … coffee, metal, water, pepper. He didn't care at all about the girls and was pissed at Alek for being here. Why? There was something going on and he would figure it out, with or without the chief's help.

“So, what time do you need the report?”

Lenny stared at him for a long moment. “Just give a witness statement to Ray while you're cleaning up this mess. He can write it up. And make sure it's done before people need to get to work in the morning. I don't want anyone calling in a report that there was an accident. We don't need the county or state people involved.”

Alek took a long look around. Debris littered the scene, and while the road wasn't used by hundreds of people, a few dozen cars would be coming this way to get to work at the mines in the area. And while Alek knew this was Lenny's way of punishing him, it wasn't Vasquez's fault. “You can't seriously expect Ray to bend over to pick stuff up with that lump on his head? He could have a concussion. And I can't use one shoulder.” He looked down at the sling that Marilyn had insisted he wear so the wounds that needed stitches had a chance to heal. He was supposed to leave it on for at least a day, maybe two.

Lenny shrugged and then turned to walk back toward his cruiser. “I guess you'll be doing all the picking up while he supervises. Work it out. I'm going to bed, but I'll be coming back at dawn and it had better be done. If it's not … well, let's just say a little cloth sling won't be enough to fix what will be wrong with you.”

Alek shook his head in disbelief, too angry to decide how to respond.

Ray Vasquez put a light hand on his good shoulder. “Let it go, Alek. He's been a pissy S.O.B. for the past month. I have no idea why, but it's just best to stay off his radar right now.” When Alek looked, Ray's face was a mass of angry red and one eye was already being encompassed by purple bruising.

Lenny smacked a palm against the side of the rescue truck. “Get this heap moving, Roberta. Marilyn will need your help back at the clinic.” He got in his car and turned off the light bar, plunging the area into darkness, punctuated only by the vehicle's taillights.

The woman scrambled to obey. She pulled one item out of the back to set on the ground before slamming the back doors shut. She jumped in the cab of the truck to follow the chief's cruiser back to town.

Ray let out a sigh. “Crap. That sucks.”

“What's that?” Alek was sort of glad to see the retreating lights.

“I'd hoped the rescue truck would stay. We could really use the headlights to pick stuff up and the flashing lights would probably keep the bear at bay while we clean.”

Work it out.
The words took on a sinister new meaning as Ray's words sank home. The darkness seemed to close in around him. While he could see just fine in the dark to walk, picking up bits of plastic, glass, and metal from the vehicles with no light was going to be a challenge. He only had a small penlight in his pocket. He pulled it out and flicked the button. Thankfully it still worked. Alek shone it around the area, the narrow beam lighting on the object Roberta had taken out of the back of the truck. He let out a little laugh. “I owe that woman a bouquet of flowers.”

Ray smiled just a bit, his mouth crooked where the swelling had claimed the muscles. “I'll buy the candy.”