Harlequin Nocturne March 2014 Bundle: Shadowmaster\Running with Wolves (33 page)

He took another big bite of his burger, hoped it would stay down then went back to sleep.

* * *

As Shay drove, she watched Jason out of the corner of her eye. He hadn't quite finished his burger and hadn't touched his fries, which wasn't like him. Every time she'd seen him eat, he ate
everything.
Especially his fries. His head was leaning against the window, and a steady trickle of blood rolled down his face and seeped into his shirt.

She was trying to keep up a brave front, but she was terrified. She didn't have to be a nurse or a doctor to know that that much blood loss was not good. It had been hours since Jason was hurt and the bleeding still hadn't stopped. He was pale and he looked as if he were comatose rather than merely napping.

And if he was? What chance would she have of finding The Colony, of getting them to safety before another whacked-out crazy demon person attacked them? When she woke him, she'd make him draw her a map. She pushed her fears behind her and pressed down on the accelerator. The quicker they got there, the better.

Several hours had passed since they'd left the gas station, and still Jason hadn't woken. She didn't like how pale he was or the way his head lolled to the side. But worse was his shallow, absurdly quiet breathing. She had to do something.

“Jason,” she said softly, not sure if she should wake him. But the way he was sleeping scared her. “Jason,” she said again, louder.

Still no response. She pulled over to the side of the road and parked then scooted up next to him. “Jason,” she said, and then shook him.

Still he didn't wake.

Panic stole over her. She shook him hard. “Jason, wake up.”

He groaned and tried to open his eyes.

“Thank God.” She grabbed the water bottle out of the cup holder and held it up to his mouth. “Here, drink this. I think you passed out.” She pressed it to his lips and poured a small amount into his mouth. Most of it dribbled back out.

“Jason, we need to get you help. You've lost too much blood and the bleeding still hasn't stopped.”

He looked down at his shirt, now almost half-soaked with his blood. “I have to transition, Shay. Don't be afraid.”

“Afraid. Why would I be afraid?” She tried to sound strong, but a quaver stole into her voice.

“You need to get off the main road. Have we reached the turnoff yet?”

She looked at the odometer. “Seventeen more miles.”

“Go.”

“All right. But don't pass out again. Keep talking to me.”

He mumbled something she couldn't hear as she pulled back onto the road, driving faster than was safe, hoping to reach the turnoff before he went out again. She didn't. They hadn't gone five miles and his head was back against the glass.

As soon as she saw the small road barely visible within the thicket of trees, she hit the brakes, skidding to an abrupt stop. Buddy whined as he hit the back of the seats. “Sorry, boy.”

Luckily both she and Jason had their seatbelts on and they were alone on the mountain road. She made a hard left, turning onto the gravel road, then drove a half mile farther until they were out of sight from the main road and stopped.

“Okay, Jason. We're here. Wake up.” She shook him again, and when he didn't respond, shook him harder. He didn't move an inch. Swallowing her panic, she climbed out of the truck and ran around the outside and opened his door. The cold air smacked him in the face and she saw his eyelids move.

“Jason!” she said again, grabbing him by the arm. “We're here. Do what you have to do. Change. Heal. Transform. Get better.”

Jason's eyes opened and she gasped at how bloodshot they were. “Don't die on me,” she pleaded. “Everyone dies on me.”

“I won't,” he said on a raspy breath. “I can't. I haven't been tortured enough yet.” He reached for her and half fell as she tried to help him out of the truck.

“Jason!”

“Don't be scared,” he whispered as he leaned against her, then he slumped to the ground. “Help me take off my shoes.”

“Your shoes?”

He struggled to reach the laces. She swatted his hands away and undid them, then pulled them off.

“Socks, too.”

Without saying a word she pulled off his socks and laid them by the shoes. Next followed his shirt when she saw him struggling with it. It was so bloody, she just threw it to the side.

“Get back in the cab,” he rasped. “I don't want you to see.”

“Don't be ridiculous. I can't leave you.” She helped him out of his pants. What was going to happen? And why didn't he want her to see?

“Please, Shay,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

“Why not?” Now she was getting scared.

He didn't answer. He couldn't. She could see it was taking all his strength to argue with her.

“All right, Jason. You win.” She left him there and went back around the side of the truck and climbed into the driver's seat. She was only there a few minutes when she heard Jason cry out in pain. She grasped the steering wheel, her knuckles whitening as more sounds reached her—cries, whimpers, growls...howls.

The hair stood on the back of her neck. Agitated, Buddy paced, whining, his ears twitching as he roamed back and forth across the backseat.

“It's okay, boy,” she said, patting him on the head. But was it? What was happening to Jason? What really was this change he kept talking about? And why didn't he want her to watch?

Now she was more afraid than ever. Not knowing, just imagining was far worse than seeing. “Oh, to hell with it.” She got out of the truck and ran back around to where she'd left Jason. Only he wasn't there. Lying on the ground next to the pile of Jason's clothes was a very large gray wolf with blood seeping through a nasty wound on his head.

Shay grasped the side of the truck. Her heart lurched in her chest as Jason's words echoed in her disbelieving mind.

You'll change into a wolf.

Chapter 7

T
he wolf turned and looked up at her, its pale bluish-gray eyes gazing directly into hers. “Jason?” It wasn't possible. But the more she stared into eyes that looked so much like Jason's, and then there was the wound that was the same shape and in the same spot on its head... She slumped against the truck. It couldn't be.

He'd told her, but she hadn't believed him, not really. How could she? Even after everything else that had been happening to her. How could she believe
she
was turning into a wolf? That she wasn't human? What was she supposed to do now?

Run.
The word screamed through her head. Get in the truck and drive away. Get as far away from him and all this craziness as she could.

She took a step away from the animal. The large wolf that looked so much like the wolves that had surrounded her home. And then she knew she couldn't go back. The wolves were waiting for her back at her house and so were the voices. She couldn't run from this problem, because there was nowhere to run to. Nowhere to go.

Anxiety laced with a heavy dose of fear crawled through her, quickening her breath and accelerating her heart rate. She couldn't do this. She didn't want to become like
him.
But did she have a choice? An option? Perhaps there was a way to stop the transformation.

The wolf, still watching her, whined. A sad, weak sound that reached inside her and plucked at her heartstrings. It lifted its paw toward her then dropped it.

Was Jason still in there? Did he know who she was? Or was he just a wounded wolf? She took a tentative step forward. Would he bite her? Was that why Jason wanted her to stay in the truck?

“Damn, Jason, you could have given me a little more info,” she muttered.

The wolf lifted its head and whined again. Buddy was standing in the passenger's seat looking down at them, howling in agitation and making a mess out of the windows again.

“Well, I don't know what to do,” she said both to the wolf and to Buddy. She took another step toward. “What am I supposed to do?”

With great effort the wolf got to his feet. It turned and looked at her, expectantly, as if waiting for something. When she didn't move, he placed his paw on the truck's door.

“You want in the truck?” she asked, fairly certain she didn't want it in there with her and Buddy. She glanced at the truck's bed and wondered how hard it would be to get him up there. She wasn't sure if the wolf knew what she was thinking or not, but it pawed the door again, then lifted its head and gave a long low moan.

“All right,” she said, stepping forward. She leaned over him, her arm brushing the top of its large body, and held her breath as she pulled open the door, half expecting the wolf to bite her hand off.

But he didn't. Instead he tried to get into the truck. Jumping up only to slide back down again. He tried twice, then let out a sharp yelp before collapsing back onto the ground. Shay's heart broke as she watched the ragged rise and fall of the wolf's chest as he lay there. He didn't have the strength to get into the truck.

“Oh, no,” she muttered, and knew it was foolish, beyond foolish. Crazy. But she couldn't just leave the poor thing there. She couldn't leave
Jason
there.

“Come on, boy, let's try one more time,” she said, and bent over the animal. Tentatively, she placed a hand on the wolf's body, lightly stroking down its side. When the wolf didn't move, she slid her palm around its back and slipped it under his rib cage. She watched the wolf's face, expectantly waiting for any kind of reaction, any hint that he didn't want her touching him.

She caught her breath as the wolf came dangerously close to her face. And then he licked her. She exhaled deeply, and slipped her other hand under him. She had to help him. She couldn't just leave him there on the side of the road.

“We can do this,” she said. “You and I together. Okay, boy?” She applied pressure underneath the wolf and lifted slightly. The wolf let out a soft whimpering sound then tried again to get to his feet. He was barely able to stand this time, his legs wobbling as he stepped forward. Shay steadied him.

He was heavy, and almost slipped through her grasp, his legs pumping at the air, his nails scratching the metal kick plate in the opened door of the truck. Finally his foot found purchase. Using all her strength, she hefted the wolf up into the cab. Buddy whimpered, staring at the animal that was lying motionless on the front seat.

Shay took a huge relieved breath, grabbed the pile of clothes off the ground and put them in the backseat, shut the door and then ran around to the driver's door. Buddy was going nuts in the backseat, whining and sniffing, not knowing what to make of the animal. “It's okay, Buddy. It's Jason,” she said, feeling more than a little foolish saying the words out loud.

The wolf looked up at him and whimpered. Eyes bright, Buddy stared at him, then sniffed him, sticking his nose right up next to the wound, and then he started to lick.

Shay stroked Buddy's head. “Good boy,” she said, knowing his saliva would help in the healing. She put the truck in gear and started to drive back down the road. “I sure hope we are supposed to stay on this road for a while.”

Somehow, the wolf moved his head, inching it forward until it was resting on her lap. She stroked his soft fur, burying her fingers in the deep fluff. He was so beautiful, his eyes so much like Jason's, white tufts of fur intermingled with black and gray strands lining his face.

“Just get better. Heal. Everything is going to be all right,” she whispered. It had to be, for both of them.

The wolf licked her hand and she smiled. She would get them there. The only problem was she wasn't sure exactly where “there” was. She kept driving down the gravel road, trying to put as much distance between them and the main road as she could while heading for the crest of steep mountains in the distance.

“Don't worry, Jason. Buddy and I won't let anything happen to you.”

Buddy barked in agreement.

* * *

Shay maneuvered slowly down the rough and winding road, afraid of hitting one of the deer that were constantly jumping out of the trees in front of her, or a raccoon or possum whose eyes shone yellow and red in the headlamp's reflection. Once it had gotten dark, all kinds of animals were coming out of the trees and her constant vigilance was making her exhausted and to make matters worse, she didn't have a clue where she was.

The wolf on her lap had been sleeping for the past three hours. His bleeding had finally stopped. She didn't know animals could sleep so deeply. As she approached another bumpy bend in the road, she dropped the car's speed to a crawl, trying to see beyond the curve. Once through, she stopped. There was nothing but trees in front of her. The road had come to an end.

Damn.
Apparently she should have taken one of the many side roads off this one. But how could she have known which one? There were no markers, nothing to show the way. She needed to turn around, but when she looked into the darkness behind her, she realized even with the reverse lights she wouldn't be able to see well enough to maneuver in such a narrow space.

She sighed. She was exhausted and scared. Surely no one would be able to find them or sense them way out here in the middle of nowhere. Right?

She considered waking the wolf, but what good would that do? Her eyes drifted closed as her options circled around her mind. She shook herself awake. She couldn't sleep. Not yet. Not with them stuck there. She had to at least get the truck turned around just in case. Her eyes slipped closed again. Ten minutes, she promised herself as fatigue washed over her. A quick power nap. She leaned forward and turned off the truck.

A cold wet nose pushing against her neck woke her. She opened her eyes to the dim light of dawn and a soft whine. Then she turned to face a very large, very awake wolf standing six inches from her face. She gasped and pushed herself back against the side window.

Buddy barked with excitement. She looked at them both, at their lolling tongues and wagging tails and realized she was not in danger. All they wanted was out.

“Okay, all right. I'm awake,” she muttered, and made the mistake of opening the driver's door. Both the wolf and Buddy bounded across her lap, trampling her in their haste to get out the door. “Don't mind me!” she said as one paw after another dug into her stomach and thighs.

They both tore off into the woods. Shay leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes again. She had to go to the bathroom, but didn't exactly like the idea of going out in the woods where Jason could run up on her at any moment.

She squirmed in her seat while she waited for them to return and watched the golden-red streaks of dawn shimmering through the leaves, lighting up the dew and making the forest sparkle with early-morning light. She cracked her window, closed her eyes and breathed deep the scent of pine and cedar.

A soft knock on the glass startled her. She turned and saw Jason standing outside the window.
Naked.
Her eyes widened and her breath caught painfully in her throat. She coughed and quickly looked away. She didn't know what she'd expected, but she certainly didn't expect to see him standing there, looking gorgeous in all his natural glory.

She tried to block the image of his body from her mind, tried really hard, but the vision of him,
all of him,
would be scorched onto her brain.
Forever.
She grabbed the steering wheel and focused her gaze forward on the trees—the tall trees with the pinecones dangling from the branches, lots and lots of pinecones—in front of her.

She swallowed, her mouth going dry as her thoughts immediately went back to her hotel room when he'd been lying in bed with her, his hot skin against hers as he stroked her body, soothing her aches, taking away her pain and setting a new fire exploding within her. A fire that still hadn't burned out.

“My clothes?” he asked. “Unless you'd rather I didn't put them back on?”

Oh!
She could hear the smile in his voice, but she wasn't about to look and see if she was right. Cheeks burning, she turned and reached into the backseat, grabbing his pile of clothes and the shoes, then opened the window. Not trusting herself, she squeezed shut her eyes and thrust his clothes and shoes at him.

“Thank you.” He took the pile and as hard as she tried to keep her gaze forward, she still managed to catch a glance of his very tight, very perfect backside through the side-view mirror. Her mouth fell open and she made a slight blubbering noise. Kind of like an
aww
and an
ooh,
but coming out all confused. Damn! She quickly turned away as heat suffused her cheeks.

He sure did look good. Too good.

She scooted out the other door. “I'll be right back,” she called. “Just...uh...just stay there.” She grabbed her pack then bolted into the woods. She ran as far as she dared until she could no longer see the truck through the trees.

She quickly undressed, did her business, then searched through the pack for fresh clothes. Oh, what she wouldn't give for a hot shower right then. A hot shower with him! She pushed the thought out of her mind and stretched her arms up above her head, this way and that until her back popped. She slipped on a pair of cotton capris and a button-up blouse then ran a brush through her long hair, wrapped a hair band around it and twisted it up onto her head. Piling everything back into the pack, she headed to the truck. She had to get ahold of her libido before she made a complete fool of herself. She wasn't a woman who threw herself at unsuspecting gorgeous men and she wasn't about to start now.

When she stepped onto the road, Jason was standing there, shirtless but dressed and brushing his teeth with water from a water bottle. Of course, he didn't have to make it so difficult on her. Surely the man had an extra shirt. Though she had to admit, she sure liked the view. As she drew closer, she noticed the wound on his forehead had become nothing but a slight scab surrounded by dried blood. Amazing.

She focused on the scab and tried not to stare at his gorgeous, well-defined chest as she started brushing her teeth. But he was incredibly beautiful. Strong, hard muscles shimmered beneath his skin every time he moved. Her fingers itched to touch him, to see if his skin was really as smooth as it looked. How was it possible that just minutes before he was a wolf—fur, pointed ears, long nose, claws and all? She saw Buddy sitting beneath a tree next to him and wondered what he thought of all this.

Forcing herself to turn away, she put her bag with her toiletries back into her pack. After a minute of fumbling in the pack looking for nothing, she glanced up at Jason as he washed the dried blood off his face. He'd missed a spot. She stepped forward and reached up to help him. She'd been wrong. There wasn't a scab where the wound had been. There wasn't even a scratch.

“You're completely healed,” she said with wonder in her voice.

He placed his hand over hers. “We heal quicker when we're in wolf form, though it took much longer than it should have. I'm sorry about that. I was worse off than I'd thought.”

“I'll say. You scared me, Jason. I wasn't sure you were going to make it.” She remembered how much he'd bled and how pale he'd been and out of nowhere a tremble shook through her. Yes, she'd been scared, but more than that, she'd been terrified.

“Is that the only reason you were afraid?”

His eyes searched hers as he waited for an answer. She knew what he wanted to hear. What she needed to say. “Yes. I was afraid you weren't going to make it. I would be lost and alone out here.”

“And...” he prompted.

“I wasn't afraid
of
you,” she muttered. “If that's what you want to know. I was just surprised. Very surprised.”

He stepped closer and reached for her, slipping his hand around her waist. “I never would have hurt you.”