Royce pulled up to the apartment and parked in front of the brownstone style building. Shade trees and old-fashioned gas lighting with antique style lamps lining the sidewalks made the area a nice one. It wasn’t the ritzy side of town but it was middle class and typically low in crime.

He grabbed her driver’s license from her purse and scanned the address, quickly tucking her wallet back where it belonged. He hated going through women’s purses but, in this case, there was no choice. He had to know which apartment he was looking for.

He was still reeling from the knowledge that it was Clare in the back of the truck. She and her boy. She worked in the main house at home in the kitchen and David went to school on the property. It was rare for them to be off pack grounds.

What happened that she would have gotten shot? And David? How could he have ended up in an animal control truck like a stray dog? It was easier to separate violence when it was someone he didn’t know, but this was getting personal in hurry.

And his reaction to Joanie wasn’t comforting him either. In the few minutes she interacted with him, she’d managed to crawl under his skin and arouse him while simultaneously pissing him off.

His wolf gave a dark lupine chuckle and Royce snarled.

“Damn it,” he swore, dropping the license back where he found it. He really didn’t have time for this. If Hexen were trailing her like the animal control guy indicated, then leaving her alone in a car while he upended her apartment for her cat was dangerous as hell. He needed to get her back to the Cypress Pack and find out what they knew.

Royce glanced into the back seat, his gaze brushing over the female’s form. She was damp with sweat, the bite working through her system and changing her irrevocably. Joanie. It was a whimsical name for such an argumentative woman.

He whispered it and her name clung to his tongue like rich caramel. Royce shook his head and looked away. The fire brewing in his blood would have to wait.

His eyes scanned the street and got out, leaving the engine running, and locked the doors. He wouldn’t put anything past Hexen. Including sending someone out to search her house if they thought the newly bitten woman was a threat. She’d seen them in action and, judging by the body count that had come through his ER doors, they weren’t playing around.

Royce bounded up the concrete stairs and slipped inside when one of the other residents exited. The apartment was the first one on the bottom floor. He unlocked the door and entered, calling out for the cat.

“Schubert…”

A colorful throw was draped over a brightly colored floral patterned couch. Pictures of wolves lined the walls and, when he examined closer, found them to be watercolors signed by a local artist. He continued on, the irony of the situation causing his lips to tilt up in a smile.

The lived-in quality of the place indicated she was a home body. Bookshelves lined the walls with small piles of romance novels spilling out onto the surrounding floor. The dining area held a small but neatly arranged table decorated with wooden fruit with letters painted on them. They reminded him of the needlework samplers his grandmother worked on. Neat as a pin and smelling of cinnamon and pumpkin air freshener, he smiled as he moved through the space.

If he didn’t find the feline in the next few minutes he would be forced to dump some dry food and water into a bowl and leave. Royce didn’t want to go that route because it would most likely interfere with his patient’s recovery but he would if left with no other choice.

Royce strode down the short hallway and poked his head into a small bedroom on the right converted into a small office. Nothing. Stalking a few more steps to the master bedroom, his eyes lingered on the bed and the irresistible scent that clung to the sheets.

It was her.

Feminine. Sexy, vulnerable and fierce. It was a mixture of vanilla and the spicy scent of the curvaceous woman that called this place home. His cock hardened at the idea of bending her luscious body over the edge of the bed and sinking deep inside of her.

His dick throbbed and he let loose an oath, irritated with himself for even going there. He was her doctor and, until he got her to pack headquarters, they were vulnerable. Where was the damned cat? As he made his way into the master closet he found the hairy little beast sitting in front of his carrier.

That was convenient. Little bastard.

“There you are.”

The orange tabby glowered and when Royce reached for him, he hissed, showing teeth. The cat made a dash for the door but Royce was faster.

“No you don’t.” Royce growled, swinging open the small cage door. He let his resonance deepen and his eyes grow hot.

The cat yowled, scuttling across the closet floor into the back of the carrier without further protest.

“I didn’t think so.” Royce snapped the carrier shut and scooped it up. He let himself out the front door, locking it behind him as he went. They would have something at the pack headquarters to feed the cat and he needed to hurry.

He bounded down the steps and leapt behind the wheel, setting the cat on the front seat.

“Ready?”

The bright green eyes glittered through the small holes. He started the engine and pulled away from the side of the curb. Letting his gaze flicker along the rearview mirror, Royce was pleased to see everything was still.

He didn’t have much time before the full moon. He had to make sure Joanie was safe before her change set in and made her a target. The mother and child would more than likely be fine once they got back to their home. Glenis, the Alpha female would see to that. But Joanie, the animal rescue woman, was a wild card.

She shifted restlessly in her sleep, a soft cry issuing from her lips.

His groin tightened as he once again took his eyes from the road. Her honey brown hair was matted with sweat, her full and kissable lips parted as she reacted to whatever dreams moved through her fevered brain. She was fucking gorgeous. A woman with curves that would fit against him, hugging his length as he stoked the fire between her thighs.

What the hell was wrong with him? It wasn’t like him to lose his focus over a woman he’d only just met. Heat infused his face at the thought of what Brand would say. His Alpha would laugh his fucking head off. But Royce knew that he would pursue her. His wolf would brook no refusal on this point.

First and foremost, he had his duty to the pack. He had to help keep them safe and, as he drove along the twisting roads that fed into the interstate highways, he was determined to do just that.

The bright eyes of the cat staring at him through the air holes of the carrier were decidedly unnerving. He picked up the carrier and tucked it on the spacious floorboard behind the passenger’s seat and turned the radio on to a low hum. It was going to be a long night and tomorrow an even longer day.

He didn’t see any other cars on the highway but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being followed.

***

 

Joanie woke when the rocking motion of the vehicle stopped. Mouth dry and eyes gummy from sleep, she blinked in an effort to orient herself. Where the hell was she? Sunlight edged its way through the glass and she groaned, the bright morning sun too much for her fever addled brain.

Memories of the hot doctor putting his hands on her bare ass haunted her the entire time she’d been asleep and dreams ping ponging through her mind weren’t helping with the aroused state she woke up in.

Then she remembered her tacky comments and wanted to climb under the seat. Had she really asked him to fuck her? With these lips?

Oh boy.

Maybe she could just die here and get it over with. The levels to which her scandalous mouth would sink when on drugs apparently knew no boundaries—at all. He probably never wanted to speak to her again.

Her body hurt. The throb in her foot hadn’t abated. Instead, the fire had twisted her muscles and traveled through her entire body. She griped the edge of the seat and tried to get a grip on her churning stomach.

A cat carrier sat behind the passenger seat.

“Schubert?”

The cat gave a low thrumming sound and she smiled. Yep. That was her baby. He’d cared enough to at least get her cat. That was something.

A car?

No. Judging by the spacious seat she was draped across, it was more like some kind of SUV.

A low feline growl let her know he was all right and a small measure of relief settled through her. That is, until she thought about the sexy eyed doctor going through her apartment searching for the elusive beast.

God. Had she put her underwear away or had she left the basket of laundry on the floor next to the bed? She couldn’t remember and, at this point, there wasn’t a whole lot that could be done about it anyway.

The driver’s side door opened and quickly shut, muffling the voices outside. Pulling herself slowly up by her elbows, she gazed out the window.

She didn’t know what she’d been expecting but the manor sized log cabin home hadn’t been it. Like something from the Twilight movie, the building was all glass and wood and nestled in perfectly with the surrounding woods.

“Do you want some water?”

A small bottle of water wiggled over the top of the seat. Joanie turned and met a shock of brown hair and a pair of hazel eyes.

“Hello.” Her voice cracked sounding strange even to herself.

“Hi. I’m David.” The child's voice was young but the solemn expression on his face was far older than his years. “You saved me and my mom.”

Joanie didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth to respond but shut it again and offered him a small smile.

How old was he? Ten?

Her eyes fluttered shut and she tried not to think about yesterday. When she did the churning inside of her worsened.

“This is weird for you, huh?” David climbed up so his arms rested on the top of the seat.

“I guess you could say that.” She took the water and cracked open the top, taking a drink. The cool liquid slid down her parched throat and she sighed. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. You were human and all, too. Mom says she's sorry she hurt you.”

“Where is your mom?” Joanie tried to sit up but the fever and whatever drug they’d given her made movement difficult.

“She’s still sleeping. Glenis will come and get her in a minute.”

“Who’s Glenis?”

“The Alpha’s wife. She’s a better nurse than Dr. B.”

The door to the back of the vehicle opened up and a face peered in. “I heard that, squirt. And I’m not a nurse.”

Joanie tried to see, but the bright morning sunlight wasn’t making any friends with the headache pounding through her head. His shadowy form blocked out the light for a moment and then he was gone. But that voice—she’d know it anywhere.

The bastard had kidnapped her. He’d spanked her and made her want things she couldn’t have. The fact that she’d verbalized her sexual wasteland of a life didn’t make it any better. Being mad was way better than being embarrassed. If they hadn’t stuck her with the needle, she never would have fallen… she did fall, right? Into his lap on the bed.

Or did he carry her?

Good grief. Why couldn’t she remember anything anymore?

The point was, he’d actually put his hands on her and spanked her—on her bare ass. She grimaced, picking at the threadbare hospital gown, and wondered how in the heck she was going to get inside without mooning half the household population.

Why should she even care? She was the kidnappee.

Anger slid through her and her hands curled into fists. Kid here or not, she was ready to give him a piece of her mind. She blinked and started to get out of the car when she heard someone else approach.

“Well, you should have been. If you’d been a nurse maybe you’d have more sense. Did you have to stuff them in the back of the vehicle?” A woman sidled in and shooed him away.

“Glenis, there wasn’t much choice. I had to get them out as fast as possible. There's also a good chance we were followed. I didn’t see anyone, but something just doesn’t seem right.”

“Tell Brand. We’ll get some eyes on the road. Right now, I have sick wolves that need my care. Now, my good doctor, either help or get the hell out of my way.”

The door to the sport utility vehicle opened and she nearly tumbled out as a fiery redhead with her lips pressed together in disgust narrowed her eyes at her.

“And who in the hell is this?”