Heart of the Wolf

His lips curved up a smidgeon. “I can warm you up a bit.”



“I hoped you’d say that. What about you? Aren’t you freezing?” She jerked her drenched jacket off and tossed it into the backseat. Even her turtleneck was wet, and her jeans were soaked.



“I could use some warming up, too.”



“Hot chocolate should do the trick.”



He chuckled, dark and seductively.



She smiled and fumbled with the leather ties on her boots. Having a devil of a time untying the wet laces, she finally managed and sent the boots flying into the backseat. After peeling off her socks, she unfastened her seat-belt, and Devlyn gave her a raised eyebrow look.



“I’ll help you take off your coat,” she said, unable to control the shivers still, even though the interior of the Suburban was warm now and, because of all of the wet clothing inside, the windows began to fog.



Devlyn switched the heater to defrost while Bella unbuttoned his jacket. “That hot chocolate’s sounding better by the second.”



She helped him shrug out of his jacket and threw it over the seat to join hers. Then she started to work on the buttons on his shirt; his face was etched in a permanent wolfish grin.



“Something tells me you aren’t going to wait for me to make some cocoa when we get home.”



“Something tells me you’re right.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek, his lips cold.



She’d definitely have to warm them up.



By the time they arrived home, Bella had managed to remove his shirt and, in a comical maneuvering, his boots and socks. As soon as he pulled into the garage and shut the door, they both shed the rest of their wet clothes. Then together, they gathered them up and dumped them in her dryer where she put the load on high heat for an hour.



Shaking hard, she hurried with him toward the door leading to the kitchen, the ice-cold garage doing a number on her already chilled blood.



Devlyn yanked the door open, intent on getting Bella in a hot shower and taking the warming up process to new sexual levels, but the sight of zoo man Thompson sitting at the dining room table, sipping hot cocoa with Chrissie, nearly compelled Devlyn to have a stroke.



Chapter Thirteen



In her nakedness,Bella gasped, and Devlyn’s temper spiraled when he saw the enemy — zoo man Thompson — seated at her dining room table, cozy as could be. Devlyn shoved Bella behind him, hiding her nudity from the wolf lover, and slammed the kitchen door on their escape. He hit the button for the garage door opener and then met Bella at the SUV before she could open the door. He yanked it open and she scrambled into the car. As fast as he could, he raced around to the driver’s side.



If it wasn’t one damn thing, it was another. Why in the hell had Chrissie brought Thompson back to Bella’s house?



Damn. Thompson thought Chrissie was Bella, and it was her house. She probably couldn’t get rid of him without arousing suspicion. Or maybe she hadn’t wanted to get rid of him so awfully bad. Devlyn growled deep inside.



He jammed the keys in the car’s ignition and turned the engine on, but Chrissie hurried into the garage, waving at them. Devlyn rolled down the passenger’s window and scowled. If Chrissie delayed their escape —



“I told Henry everything.” Chrissie winked at Devlyn. “About how you and Bella were old friends who were in love with each other. How Volan Smith — you know, the guy you worked for, Devlyn — wanted the red wolf and how he had the goods on you so you had to release her from the zoo. Only you didn’t. Volan set the red wolf free when you refused to go along with it. But he had taken Bella hostage and left her naked in the zoo’s wolf exhibit in the wolf’s place. He thought it was funnier than hell in his sick twisted mind, except that she could have died.” Devlyn clamped his gaping mouth shut and then finally said, “And?”



“Well, Henry’s really a pretty great guy. He wants you to give a description of this Volan Smith so he can notify the police. Of course, he wants you to make a statement to the police about everything that happened also.”



Bella glanced at Devlyn. “What about the knocked-out police officers and Thompson at the hospital? They’ll blame and arrest you for that.”



“Extenuating circumstances. Volan threatened to kill Bella. Left her for dead already, right, Devlyn?” Chrissie asked. “You knew no one would believe you and worried Volan would get to her at the hospital. Overcome by concern for her, you took any measure you could to protect her.”



Bella shook her head. “I don’t trust Thompson. What did he say about the wolf?”



“He wants her back. But I told him Volan’s the one that got her out, and he’s the one who’ll know where she is.”



Devlyn nodded. “He thinks she’s his.”



“Did he own her before?” Chrissie asked.



“Yeah. But she ran away.”



“That’s what I told Henry. He thought humans had owned her before.”



Chrissie glanced at Devlyn’s naked chest. From where she stood, she couldn’t see anything more, but he imagined she wouldn’t mind taking a peek to see what else she might get a glimpse of — if she hadn’t already gotten enough of an eyeful earlier.



“When the two of you are more dressed, maybe you could come in and talk to him?”



“Our clothes are wet and in the dryer,” Bella said.



Chrissie raised her brows. “Want me to grab them for you?”



“Sure,” Bella said. “But I don’t want Devlyn arrested. Maybe Thompson won’t press charges, but the police most likely will. The worst of it is, Volan is after me, even now. Devlyn’s my only protection.”



Chrissie’s eyes widened. “Oh, yes, of course, if Volan’s still on the loose and after you.” She pulled a ring of keys out of her pocket. “You can wait at my house while Bella talks to Henry,” she said to Devlyn.



Devlyn shook his head and climbed out of the SUV, the door shielding him from Chrissie’s view. “I stick with Bella.”



Chrissie whipped around, dashed for the laundry room, and yanked the dryer open. In a jiffy, she headed back to Bella’s side of the SUV and handed the warm damp clothes to her. Bella passed Devlyn’s things to him, and while she tugged on her turtleneck, Chrissie hurried for the kitchen door with one backward glance before she closed the door behind her.



Devlyn yanked on his pants, growling under his breath. “Of all the damned things to happen. I should have known.”



Bella objected, “But you can’t go with me. He’ll — “ “I’m not leaving you for a second, Bella. At any time, that bastard could show up.” Devlyn finished buckling his belt while she tugged on her denims.



Nodding, she acquiesced to his leadership, but he could tell she wasn’t happy about it. This time it didn’t matter. Any male who wouldn’t protect his mate could never lead a pack; if Thompson had any ideas of having Devlyn arrested, he’d make sure he changed his mind. Even if it meant knocking him out again and running for the hills with Bella.



When Bella was more presentable, Devlyn grabbed her hand and then paused at the door to the kitchen, but everything was quiet in there. He glanced at Bella, but she was waiting for him to make a move. Steeling his back, Devlyn twisted the knob and pulled the door open.



Thompson stopped pacing and stood watching them, his blue eyes shifting from Devlyn, the one he most likely felt threatened by, to Bella.



Instantly, Devlyn felt possessive of his mate and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Thompson, taking the cue, sat down at the table again, playing the part of a nonthreatening male adversary.



Devlyn walked Bella into the kitchen and shut the door.



“Chrissie told me the whole story,” Thompson said, glancing in her direction.



Leaning against the bar countertop, Chrissie smiled back at him, and Devlyn fought the urge to laugh. The woman would have made a great seductive gray female in their pack, but he was sure Chrissie wouldn’t agree.



“But,” Thompson continued, “the police are going to need a description of this Volan Smith.”



“He’s still after me,” Bella said, trying to move toward the fridge.



Devlyn finally released her, fearing the others would think he acted like a clinging vine. He couldn’t help feeling possessive when it came to her, blaming it on his wolf nature. He was sure Bella wouldn’t fault him too much for it.



She pulled a picture from the fridge, the rest half burying it.



He moved in closer and glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, it was a recent photo of Volan. “Why did Argos send this to you?” He couldn’t help the irritation that laced his words.



“So I’d know him if he ever came for me.”



“Oh.” He definitely had to get a grip on his emotions.



“He was an old boyfriend?” Thompson asked.



“No,” both Devlyn and Bella said, and she looked up at him. He gave her a small smile.



Chrissie’s version of the story didn’t hold a thimble of truth. They’d have to concoct something that was more factual than not.



Bella squeezed Devlyn’s hand as if to encourage him to let her explain the situation. “I was adopted after a wildfire killed my family. He was my adoptive brother, only he wanted me for more than a sister.”



“He tried something with you?” Thompson asked, his face stern, as if he would have protected her from the menace, too, if he’d been able.



Bella glanced at Devlyn, and the look on her face revealed a mixture of shame, regret, and anger. All at once, the idea that Volan had attempted to rape her when she was underage raced through Devlyn’s mind. Was that the reason she kept trying to run away? Argos had grown too old and couldn’t fight Volan, so he had wisely stepped down as leader of the pack. Although the pack would sentence a rogue wolf to death for such a crime, it couldn’t do it if the wolf happened to be the leader and unbeatable.



Devlyn frowned at her, his heart thundering, both with concern that Volan had tried to do something so dastardly and with anger for her not telling him. He knew she’d been hiding some deep, dark secret, damn it. The nightmares she was having... “Bella, did he?”