Rosko, Mandy - Mate of the Wolf (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

Shelley got up and stepped one toe away from the door, trying to be quiet. The floor creaked and moaned like a dying man under her foot, and she cringed. Could this floor be any louder?

The door banged as the wolf threw himself against it. Barking, scratching, and whining renewed.

Shelley ran for the pokers, snatched one in her hands, and held it like she was about to go up to bat, same as she had the first time.

The animal outside continued to scratch the door, but no longer with the fierce determination of before. More as though the creature was losing hope she would make an appearance. More than anything, its painful whine, like that of a dog who only wanted the attention of its master, disturbed her.

She moved to the window to the right of the door and lifted away the lace curtain.

The wolf spotted her and, with a happy yip, jumped up from where it lay in front of the door.

Shelley leapt back as the wolf planted its paws on the windowsill to stand. Its wet nose pressed against the glass while its breath created a heavy fog.

It looked straight at her. Then the biggest tongue she’d ever seen rolled out of its mouth in the equivalent of a dog-smile.

It didn’t jump through the glass and rip her a new throat hole. It just smiled and stared.

When she didn’t come forward, however, the wolf stopped smiling, rested its muzzled between its paws, and started to whine again.

Almost as if it wanted her attention.

I must be out of my mind to even consider it
.

Shelley stepped toward the door. The restless wolf pawed the window and resumed barking.

“I must be nuts,” she said to herself. “Yeah, I’m coming,” she said to the wolf.

She reached the door, leaned the poker against the wall, and gripped the handle.

The silver wolf jumped down, its paws thudding heavily against the porch. Its nails clicked as it moved to sit on the other side of the door, waiting for her to come out.

Heart pounding, Shelley took a deep breath.

You can still change your mind
,
she thought. She could stay right where she was and wait for the werewolf to go away or for help to arrive.

But the wolf let out another long whine, accented by a small, pain-filled howl.

Shelley sighed. She loved animals, and for whatever reason, this one was in pain. It didn’t seem like it wanted to harm her at any rate.

She opened the door.

This time the howl was a joyful one, as if saying, “At last!” And it launched itself at her.

Heavy paws landed on her shoulders. Fear prevented her from moving or screaming as hot dog breath panted in her face. At least the happy dog-smile was back, and its tail wagged side to side. She’d never owned a dog, but tail-wagging was always a good sign.

The wolf barked, and Shelley flinched, but was frozen to immobility as a wet tongue kissed her nose, cheeks, lips, and eyes. Everywhere that could be reached.

She turned her face, but the tongue followed, lapping her neck this time. She didn’t dare open her mouth to yell at it to stop in case that tongue got inside. Gross.

Shelley stepped back, but the beast followed. She gripped its coarse hair in her fingers and attempted to shove it off, but the wolf was stronger than she was.

Shelley tripped over her chain, screamed, and fell back on her ass. The weight of the wolf put her on her back.

The wolf continued to nuzzle and lick her as though nothing had happened. Shelley rolled on her stomach and shielded her head with her arms, and only then did she allow herself to laugh.

 
The wolf followed and stuck its wet nose in the cracks of her defenses, sniffing, trying to kiss her more, and whining when she resisted.

Shelley’s laughter continued, became crazed. She couldn’t stop. There was a werewolf on top of her, wagging its tail like an excited puppy and demanding her attention. “Stop! Stop it!”

The wolf groaned and dropped to the hardwood floor with her, rubbing his furred back and face against her since he could get attention no other way.

Shelley raised her head for a look. The wolf stayed where he was, still smiling at her.

“Huh.” Shelley rested her face in her palm, tapping manicured nails against her cheeks as she observed her happy, panting kidnapper.

“This is pretty intense.”

She reached out and threaded her fingers through the silver fur, and his heavy tail repeatedly pounded the floor in response.

Funny. It shone like real silver.

Chapter Three

Shelley woke when the bed shifted. She must have dozed off after climbing in. The room was still bright, so not much time had passed. Maybe ten minutes.

Well, Mindy—her agent—had said she needed to catch up on her sleep.

She lifted her head from the pillows she’d been snuggling.

He was there. Normal again, sitting at the edge of the mattress, naked but for the sheet around his privates.

Confused emotions warred within her. On the one hand, she already missed her new friend. On the other, she kind of needed him as a man so he could release her.

His back was to her, giving her a view of strong muscles and a slim waist. He had the body actors and models spent hours in the gym, or hundreds of thousands of dollars in surgery, to get and maintain. She wanted to reach out and touch those shoulders.

Shelley shook the thought from her head. Not a good idea. Must have come to her because she was so mellowed out from her nap. Instead of touching him, she sank further into the mattress and allowed an appreciative sigh to escape her.

He turned, eyes widening as he caught her staring.

She wasn’t scared of him anymore. Playing fetch and giving his wolfy self a belly scratch did that to her.

“Hey,” she said.

He swallowed. Though she wasn’t naked like he was, his eyes roved over her body. “Are you all right? I didn’t scratch you, did I?” he asked, his voice serious.

Shelley yawned, stretched, and sat up. She giggled at his desperate expression. “You were a perfect puppy.”

He jerked his head. “Puppy?”

She swung her legs off the old mattress so she could sit. The chain rattled, reminding her it was there. Shelley frowned at it, then shrugged.

When she climbed into bed the wolf had hopped in with her, circled, and lain down. She’d lain there, staring up at her kidnapper’s log ceiling while scratching his ears, contemplating why a werewolf would bring her to his cabin, put her in chains, yet be so concerned for her well-being.

The only possible answer was the most logical one—to make certain he hadn’t infected her. Wasn’t that how it always went in those books she read? As for why his wolf-self would be so playful, well, there was another reason for that, but this was real life and not a romance novel, so she wasn’t about to consider that thought.

The important thing was he hadn’t infected her. So it was just a matter of time before he removed the chain and let her go.

“You got anything to eat?” she asked.

“Wait, wait. What do you mean
puppy
?” he demanded. “And why are we in my bed?”

“Your bearskin rug is comfy and all, but I didn’t want to relax on it. Since you don’t have a couch…” she trailed off with another shrug. She hadn’t meant to doze off like she had.

“I put you on the rug so you wouldn’t wake up afraid and chained in a man’s bed. And that doesn’t explain how I got inside.” He looked toward the door. “The door isn’t broken, and none of the windows are shattered.”

“I let you in.”

He spun on her, muscles flexed and eyes blazing. “You
what?
”

Shelley had trouble looking away from his naked chest. He had the most wonderful six-pack she’d ever seen, so deep and defined she bet she could climb it. “You were sitting outside all crying to get in like a lost puppy afraid of the dark or something. I felt bad.”

“Felt bad?” he repeated, mouth hanging.

Shelley nodded.

“I could’ve killed you.”

“Hmm.” An image of the silver-haired wolf came to mind, panting smile and tail wagging. “I kind of doubt that.”

“Unbelievable.” He got up, holding the sheet around his hips as he stepped in front of an aged wooden dresser.

Shelley snapped her head away when he dropped the sheet and pulled out a pair of jeans. Of course, she did still catch a little glimpse of his ass. Wow. Talk about full and amazing.

He was cute. Oh, who was she kidding? He was the hottest thing on two legs she’d seen in a while. And if this cabin was any indication, he was also the kind of guy who wouldn’t pass out a card with his agent’s phone number on it when asked on a date. Either way, watching him get dressed was pushing her luck.

“I’m going to have to check you for bites and scratches again.”

“To make sure you didn’t infect me?”

There was no answer to that. Shelley turned her head to look at him. He was staring back at her, a single light brow raised.

“I watch TV, y’know. Wasn’t hard to figure it out.”

He snorted and pulled a white T-shirt over his head. It was tight over his chest, hugging the ripples of his muscles. Small consolation for watching his flesh disappear under the cotton.

“You don’t look too scared,” he said. “Like this morning.”

Shelley stretched onto her belly on his mattress, bending her knees to stick her feet in the air, catty smile on her lips. “If I wanted, I could’ve had you playing fetch while you were…transformed.” No point in embarrassing him by telling him that was exactly what she had him doing. Then a thought occurred to her.

“I don’t think you tried to kill me yesterday!”

“What?”

“When you were a wolf. I thought you were running at me to eat me or something. You just wanted attention like you did this morning!”

Maybe it was just the shock of seeing a wolf for the first time that had made it look more vicious than it was. And when it ran for her, she naturally panicked. The only time it had ever looked angry was when she bashed it with a piece of her firewood, and who wouldn’t be a little ticked about something like that?

The idea thrilled her. Maybe it was the thought that she had a wolf friend, or just the exhilaration that she was in no real danger after spending so long praying for her life.

Her kidnapper stared at her as though
she
were weirding
him
out.

“You gonna feed me or what?” she asked.

He stayed still, head cocked as he observed her. “Yeah, I’ll go into town and pick up some breakfast.”

“There’s nothing here?” she asked.

“No.” He looked at her and must have seen the shock in her eyes because his face softened. “I’ve gotten used to hunting for my food lately, and since I doubt you’ll like anything I…bring home. I’ll drive on down and be back as soon as I can.”

“You’re going to leave me chained here?”

“Yes.”