Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“How did you know?” she asked in surprise.
The female shrugged. “I can just tell.”
Cody gave a vague smile. “Your wolf instincts are better than mine; I didn’t guess it right away.”
“I’ve had to use them for survival on a daily basis.”
They sat down on the back steps, since Cody didn’t own any patio furniture.
He rested his forearms on his knees, hands caged loosely between them. “So what’s your story?”
The woman didn’t seem taken aback by his bluntness. Maybe it was a shifter thing. Her brother-in-law was pretty direct, too. She remembered Ashley calling her the day she met him and likening him to Batman with his brooding, monosyllabic authority.
Colleen smoothed her blonde hair, fidgeting with the ends. She had blue-green eyes and a pretty, heart-shaped face. Melissa had originally pegged her as older because of the strain around her mouth and eyes, but now that she observed, the woman seemed too young to have children half-grown. She couldn’t be much older than Melissa.
“Our alpha wants us back. He’s my mate. Or at least, he thinks he is.” Something in the stony way she said the last sentence gave a glimpse of the steel that lay beneath that kicked dog vibe.
Melissa almost smiled.
“You left him.” Cody’s words sounded more like a statement than question.
Colleen nodded. “My sister helped us get away after he beat Jayden so badly he didn’t heal for school.”
She felt the blood drain from her face.
Cody’s eyes flicked to hers, and she remembered their quarrel from the day before. She’d been wrong. Cody was nothing like this woman’s husband, or mate—whatever she called him. Only a monster would beat a child like that.
“We’ve been on the run for a month. I haven’t been able to get much work, other than cleaning houses. I didn’t want to use my I.D. anywhere, in case he could trace it.” She shrugged her slender shoulders. “I don’t know how these things work.”
“I’m not sure, either. I think if he’s filed a missing person report on the three of you, then there is a chance you showing up at that hospital will alert the police in his area. We have a friend in law enforcement who might be able to fill us in.”
“I appreciate your help. Both of you.” She looked at Melissa. “You were really nice to my pups, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a friendly face.” Her eyes swam with tears.
Melissa moved to sit closer to her, hesitating, then putting a tentative hand on her back and rubbing. “We won’t let anyone take you or your kids,” she promised, meeting Cody’s eye to demand his agreement.
“No, we won’t.” His sober gaze rested on her face and she saw such honor and kindness there it nearly undid her.
After everyone ate the pizza Cody had ordered for dinner, he dragged Melissa into the garage for a word in private. Her comment the day before about violence had put him on the defensive, but now, being up close and personal with domestic abuse, he needed to try to explain things to her.
She looked at him expectantly, her big eyes watchful.
“Listen, Melissa.” He stabbed his fingers through his hair. “What you said yesterday—”
“I’m sorry,” she cut in. “I know it’s not the same.”
A rush of warmth went through him. She’d been amazing with the family—working to put Colleen at ease and make the children comfortable. She may not be a shifter, but she had the sort of hostess/pack mother skills that made her the perfect mate for an alpha.
“We are… physical. That’s true. We heal quickly, so showing physical dominance never causes anyone lasting harm.”
A shadow crossed her face.
“A dominant male is the most aggressive, but he also has a built-in need to protect—especially those much weaker than him, like pups.” He gestured toward the house. It made him sick to think of an alpha wolf abusing those poor children. “And the mechanism to ensure a female’s safety is simple. Her tears trigger an instant response in her mate. They calm all aggression and produce a powerful need to solve whatever problem is making her cry. In a situation like Colleen’s, something’s gone terribly wrong. A wolf would have to be sick in the head to hurt his own pups and mate like that.”
“That makes sense. Like I said, I shouldn’t have judged. It’s just new to me.”
“I hope I haven’t scared you or made you feel unsafe. That was never my intention.”
She shook her head. “You haven’t. You’re just...cocky and overbearing. Honestly, I think I’m more disturbed by how much it turns me on than by anything you’ve done.”
His lips curved as he stepped closer to her. “Baby, I don’t know what this thing is between us, but—”
“It’s just sex,” she said too quickly.
He winced. “I don’t think so,” he said in a low voice. “My inner wolf has been screaming for me to mark you since the first time we touched.”