Chapter 3

The smell of antiseptics wafted in the room, and the air conditioner poured out of the vents, intent on putting patients into a deep freeze, Bella was certain. Feigning sleep, she lay quietly in the hospital bed, the highly starched sheets scratchy against her exposed backside where the gown opened up. The white woolen blankets, piled four or five high fresh out of a blanket warmer, buried her, raising her internal temperature. But the knowledge that she wasn’t safe yet chilled her all over again.

The room remained quiet, all except for the sound of hearts beating nearby. Once she was hooked up to the IV, the medicine whooshing through her veins, heating her blood, the nurse left the room. But Thompson and the doctor stood silently watching her.

“Does she have any injuries, Doctor?” Thompson finally asked.

“Just hypothermia. As low as her temperature was, it’s a good thing your staff found her when they did. Another couple of degrees drop and she wouldn’t have survived. You can speak with her when she comes to, but not for long. She needs to rest. However, most likely she’ll be incoherent at first—effects of prolonged hypothermia.”

“Thanks, Doctor. I’ll only speak to her for a moment.”

She didn’t believe him for an instant. The way Thompson had hunted her in the woods was reminiscent of a bull dog: determined, dependable to a fault, not someone easily thwarted.

Footfalls sounded, moving across the room and out the door. The doctor?

His pungent cologne preceding him, Thompson moved closer to the bed. Why did human males wear such gaudy-smelling perfumes? Their own musky scent smelled so much more enticing.

Taking a deep breath, she was glad her kind’s unique DNA structure shifted with the change—perfectly normal wolf DNA when they wore the wolf coat, and human DNA when they turned back into their homo sapiens form. Thompson touched her hair, sending a curl of warmth through her. The toasty, thin blankets helped, but his touch caused a different kind of heat, the kind that stirred her longing to mate.

“Miss.” Thompson’s voice was deep, rugged, and concerned. He reminded her of a mountain man she’d once met, caring the same for nature’s habitat, the same aura of wildness surrounding him, except that the mountain man wanted to be left alone with no human contact. Thompson was different.

“Miss,” he said again.

She didn’t respond. This wasn’t the time or place to seduce him. Later she’d work her charms on him. He cared for Rosa. Wouldn’t he care for the human side of her, too?

His fingers touched her cheek and she craved opening her eyes to see the expression in his gaze. Was it longing? Lustful? Did she intrigue him a little?

“Can you tell me what happened to you?”

The sound of boots tromping toward the room caught her attention. Two men entered. She concentrated on the smell of them, different colognes, just as heavy, just as nauseating.

“Officers,” Thompson said.

Her heart rate shifted to higher gear.

“Mr. Thompson,” one of the policemen said. “Has she come to?”

“Not yet. The doctor said it might be a while.”

A chair slid over to the bed.

Great. She had a whole mess of observers, like at the zoo.

“What do you think happened?” one of the policemen asked.

“No telling, but I’m not leaving until I know. Thanks, by the way, for keeping the media out of it for the moment,” Thompson said.

“You’re welcome. We might have an attempted rape or even an attempted murder case here. Don’t need the media involved quite yet. On the other hand, she might be mentally ill.”

She fought making a face at them.

“I considered that.” Thompson grasped her wrist, the strength of his touch spiraling through her like a gigantic heated wave. “Pulse is…well, a little rapid, but definitely better than nearly nonexistent. I thought she was too far gone there for a while.”

A cell phone jingled in close proximity to Thompson. She held her breath, fearful that his staff would inform him someone had stolen Rosa from the wolves’ pen.

“Thompson here,” he said.

Too much silence followed. The seconds lingered like minutes, yet Thompson didn’t speak a word. The suspense was killing her. When no one conversed further, she opened her eyes. Thompson stared at her with raw disbelief.

She swallowed hard, the moisture in her throat all but gone.

“Yeah,” he said into the phone. “The little lady just came to. I’ll ask her where Rosa is.”

The hardness in his face and the grim set of his mouth and jaw indicated losing Rosa had angered him. Good. Then if he wanted her back, he could promise his undying love to her and—

“Call you right back when I have some answers.” He ended the call and then furrowed his brow. “What were you doing in the wolves’ pen?”

Gone were the kid gloves.

What the hell was she supposed to say? Her mind was slightly muddled still and any fabrications she might have conjured up weren’t coming to her readily.

Wondering what the police officers’ take was on the situation and wanting to avoid Thompson’s steely-eyed glower, she glanced over at them. Both were in their midthirties, one taller than the other with questioning green eyes, both with dark-brown hair.

The green-eyed cop’s phone rang and he lifted it to his ear. “Sgt. Stevenson… What? Detain him. I’ll be right down.” He shoved his phone into the pouch attached to his belt. “Man at the front desk is asking about a woman brought in half frozen from hypothermia.”

“The media?” Thompson asked, steeling his back, his voice concerned.

“Yeah, suspect so. We don’t need a media circus here. I’ll head him off.” He turned to his partner. “You stay here. Call you in a minute.”

The other man nodded, and in five quick strides, Sgt. Stevenson disappeared from the room.

Thompson turned his attention back to Bella. More interrogation. Didn’t the doctor tell the zoo man to take it easy on her? At least that’s what she thought he’d said.

She closed her eyes. How in the hell was she going to get herself out of this predicament now?

Thompson cleared his throat. “Now listen, miss, if you’re some kind of animal rights activist and wanted to free the wolf…” He paused and then continued. “Okay, let me tell you a little tale. Last year we had a similar scenario. The wolf was someone’s pet, but the owner decided he couldn’t manage the animal when his wife had a new baby. So what did he do? Afraid the wolf might attack his child, he released the wolf into the wild. Sure, wolves are feral, but this one had been domesticated, too. She kept returning to Portland neighborhoods, looking for the home life she was used to, and finally killed someone’s toy poodle—not out of viciousness, but because she was starving. So the dog owner shot and killed her. If she’d been brought to the zoo, she would have been safe, protected, well fed, and content.”

And mated with Big Red.

Saddened that the dog owner had destroyed the wolf and that his beloved pet had to die, Bella hid her feelings and still didn’t say anything.

“Several have asked to transfer Rosa to other zoos. It wouldn’t have been you and some of your cohorts, would it?” Thompson added.

The cop said, “If you suspect her of wrongdoing, she needs to be read her rights and—”

Thompson interrupted him and directed his comments to Bella. “Listen, we only want to protect Rosa. I know you and your friends do, too. If you hand her over to us, we’ll drop the charges.”

Was he bluffing to make her tell him the truth? No, she believed he’d honor his word.

“Okay, let’s start off all over again. My name is Henry Thompson, one of the biggest contributors to the zoo. I oversee some of the more endangered species, including red wolves. I’ve worked with other zoos for years, trying to return a select number to the wild, but we can’t set Rosa loose out here. No red wolves exist in the Cascades for her to mate. She’d end up mating with coyotes, and the result wouldn’t be pure red wolf, which is what has happened in Texas, nearly obliterating the original red wolf species until more recently.”

When she wouldn’t respond, the cop said, “We have to know what you were doing in the wolves’ pen, miss.”

She looked back at the blankets covering her, considered the IV attached to her arm, and wondered which floor of the hospital her room was located on.

Thompson sat in the chair beside her. “I’m not leaving until I have some answers.”

Maybe not, but perhaps he’d grow sleepy, or take a bathroom break, or…

The cop’s phone rang. “Yeah? I’ll be right down.” He hung up and then said, “The media man vanished. I’m going to help my partner look for the news van. The lady at the front desk gave out the wrong room number for wolf lady here.”

She couldn’t help but cast him a sardonic smile at the name he called her.

“You won’t be smiling when we put you in jail for this little stunt you’ve just pulled,” Thompson said, his tone harsh.

Wouldn’t that be ironic? If she sat in jail long enough, she could turn back into the wolf. Then the charges would be dropped against Bella, and she’d be returned to the wolf pen as Rosa.

“You might want to stay with her in the event someone locates her anyway,” the cop said. “Be back in a little while.”

“I’ll be here.”

The cop hurried out of the room and shut the door behind him with a click.

Fleeing seemed much more plausible now with Thompson all alone with her in the room. He leaned closer to the bed and tapped his fingers on the mattress, his eyes pinning her with authority. “We might not be able to make the charges of wolf-napping stick against you, but we can get you for trespassing.”

She closed her eyes.

He grunted. “You’re as stubborn as my ex-wife. When she’d made up her mind not to say something, there wasn’t anything I could do to convince her to open up.”

Bella wanted to ask why they were divorced, but she figured she was better off keeping quiet.

The door opened, and Bella opened her eyes. The nurse poked her head in. “The doctor said you have ten more minutes and then the patient needs to rest. Visitors aren’t normally allowed in the rooms at this hour.”

“But—”

The nurse raised her hand. “Doctor’s orders.”

Before she shut the door, another scent filtered into the room—Devlyn’s aromatic male scent.

Hell, he was coming for her, the traitor, and he’d return her to Volan posthaste.

“Get me out of here now, and I’ll tell you where Rosa is.” Bella’s voice was still little more than a whisper, which probably saved her butt or Devlyn would have heard her.

Thompson folded his arms and leaned back in the chair. “No. You’re too weak. Not until the doctor says—”

She glanced at the IV in her arm and then yanked it out. To stop the bleeding, she clamped her hand over the tape that had held the IV in place.

“Wait, miss—”

Jerking her blankets to the floor, she stumbled out of bed. What she wouldn’t have given for some swift wolf’s legs about now. Although she could run long and hard as a human, too, a nice warm wolf pelt would have been preferable in the cold winter weather to a human’s naked body.

Thompson jumped up from the chair and headed for her.

Her head swam, and she grabbed the mattress. The idea that she had completely recovered was a delusion.

Thompson skirted around the bed to help her. “I’m—I’m sorry. You need to return to bed, miss. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She rushed past him into the bathroom. With only a flimsy hospital gown tied at the back and nothing else to clothe her body, she was out of luck. She locked the bathroom door and then looked at the window. No way to open it. No escape. She hurried out of the bathroom.

Thompson hit the nurse’s call button, his tanned face now pale. “I’ll get a nurse to put the IV back—”

Desperate to escape Devlyn, Bella ran out of the room. She dashed for the nearest exit sign down the long corridor.

“Miss!” Thompson shouted after her.

She slammed into the fire stairs door, glancing back to see Devlyn at the nurses’ station and Thompson tearing out of the room.

Thompson looked back at Devlyn, evidently to see what caught her eye. Both men stared at each other for a moment. She didn’t wait to see what happened next.

After charging down two flights of stairs, she bolted onto the first floor. One man’s boots tromped down the stairwell in hasty pursuit of her. She dove undetected into a hospital room. Thank God an elderly patient snored in his sleep in one of the beds. Heart pounding, she slid under the unoccupied bed.

The door to the room opened. She scarcely breathed. Boots stood in the doorway but then moved away and the door closed.

Hurrying out from underneath the bed, she searched through the man’s wall closet.

After tossing the hospital gown, she slipped on his large, collared, button-down shirt that reached midthigh. She pulled a bulky sweater over this. His baggy trousers and canoe-size shoes were way too big. Grabbing his corduroy jacket, she shoved her arms into the sleeves. Barefooted and barelegged, she ran to the door and peeked out.

The hallway remained empty, but Thompson, the police, and Devlyn had to be nearby. She leaned against the doorframe, dizzy—not yet herself. Her head fuzzed and her heart beat way out of control.

When her head cleared, she dashed for the front door that she envisioned lay beyond the bend in the hall, centered in the middle of the building.

Devlyn suddenly walked out of a room down the hall and into her path, his back to her. Her breath caught in her throat. Bolting, she tried to dash past him, but he jumped to block her. She slammed against his body instead, and he wrapped his arms around her in a secure vise.

Panic filled her. His touch forced her to want more from him—a searing embrace, another kiss, full of passion. Madness. He’d turn her over to the pack leader, damn him.

Devlyn pulled her into the room. To her horror, Thompson and the two cops lay still as death on the floor, forcing a gasp from her lips. “What—”

His eyes burning with anger, he held a finger to her lips. Then he took her hand and whispered harshly, “We’re leaving through the front door, quietly.” When she tried to jerk free, he gripped her hand tighter. “Quietly, damn it, Bella. Behave for once.”

Straightening her shoulders, she narrowed her eyes. She’d slipped away from the pack before. She could do it again. And, for now, Devlyn seemed her only chance to flee the hospital. Yet, God, how she hungered for more than his hand gripping hers. It was mating season, she reminded herself, nothing more, and she would lust after any male that…hell, who was she trying to kid? The way he looked at her bare legs, even while they stood in imminent danger of being discovered, the way he touched her—he craved her as much as she did him.

He walked her back into the hall toward the center of the building, his stride long and indomitable, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. His touch should have warmed her…well, hell, it did. But for all of the wrong reasons. She craved more of his touch, at the same time resenting the implication. He was her captor, her new zookeeper; her blood sizzled.

When they walked past the nurses’ station, a woman wearing polka-dot scrubs spoke on the phone, her eyes wide. “The patient is missing?”

His jaw tight, Devlyn hurried Bella toward the door past the station.

The woman said, “Wait! Sir! Miss!”

He hit the door with his shoulder and yanked Bella outside into the crisp, cold air. Grabbing her up in his arms, he ran for the black SUV parked curbside.

Gray-haired Argos tugged the door open.

“Argos,” she said under her breath, the pleasure at seeing him overshadowed by the realization that the pack was returning her to Volan. She clenched her teeth.

He gave her a warm smile. “We’ve missed you.”

“Volan has missed me.”

Argos’s smile faded.

“Hurry.” Tanner, Devlyn’s cousin, pointed out the window. “A security guard is headed this way.”

Devlyn jumped into the driver’s seat while Tanner and his brother Heath wedged Bella between them in the middle seat. Devlyn gunned the engine. “We’ll split up. Give the police clues that Bella and I have headed in other directions.”

Bella was squished between Devlyn’s cousins, who sat too close for comfort. “Give me some more room,” she growled.

Tanner chuckled. “Spicy vinegar, just like the old days, eh, Bella?”

“Volan won’t like it if we split up,” Argos warned, glancing over the seat at her.

She shoved at Tanner to move his leg, uncomfortably wedged against her thigh, but he wouldn’t budge. His brother patted her bare thigh. “About time you returned to the pack. Sure missed having you around.”

She slapped his hand.

“They’ll catch all of us if we don’t split up,” Devlyn countered, shifting his attention from the road to his rearview mirror, and gave his cousins a dangerous glare.

Murmured objections filtered forward, but by pack rules, Devlyn was older, and since Argos, though the eldest, had stepped down from pack leadership, Devlyn made the decisions.

“Bella stays with me. Everyone else takes whatever route they need to, to make it back to Colorado,” Devlyn clarified.

Argos took a deep breath. “And the two of you?”

“We’ll have a time with Thompson.” Devlyn shook his head at Bella. “You sure have confused him.”

She jerked Tanner’s fingers free from a coil of her hair. “Touch me again and you’ll lose your fingers.”

The cousins all laughed, but Devlyn gave them a look like he’d be the one to follow through with Bella’s threat if they didn’t behave.

When they arrived at the hotel, the time approached one in the morning. With obvious disdain, Devlyn’s cousins reluctantly drove off into the dark in separate vehicles. Argos gave Bella a warm embrace in the parking area of the five-story hotel. He’d been the father she’d lost so long ago, and her heart sank with the knowledge that she might never see him again.

“Welcome back to the pack, Bella. We’ll see you soon.”

Instantly, he stoked her ire. She was never returning to Volan, ever. “It’s good to see you again, Argos. You take care.”

He’d always been kind to her, protecting her when the overly rambunctious males had overextended their boundaries with her during her teens, keeping in touch with her all of these years. She loved seeing him again, even briefly. But she knew she’d never be able to correspond with him again for fear Volan would discover her.

Argos nodded as if he knew her thoughts and acknowledged she would make Devlyn’s life hell if he contemplated returning her home.

He shook Devlyn’s hand. “Keep her safe and bring her home.”

“Will do.”

Argos quickly disappeared into the blackness, too.

Instantly, being alone with Devlyn sent a spark of concern through her. All male, he was the right age to crave mating with a female in heat. Would he make a move on her while Volan remained out of the way?

Secretly, the urge to mate with Devlyn wreaked havoc with her feelings. She couldn’t encourage his attentions, or both would suffer Volan’s wrath. But still the desire to have Devlyn’s kiss again—

Devlyn grabbed her arm and pulled her into the cement stairwell, their footsteps echoing all the way up to the second floor. Down a long, carpeted, dusty-smelling hall, he hastened her to his room.

“You’re barely able to stay on your feet and your eyes look soggy, half-drugged. We’ll sleep here for a couple of hours and then move.” He shoved the keycard into the slot and then opened the door into a living area furnished with a sofa and a couple of chairs.

At once, the idea that he’d take her back to the pack leader stirred her blood all over again. “You’re not taking me back to Volan.” She didn’t have to say it, but she wanted to state the facts up front, to let Devlyn know that, even if he thought he was the boss of the situation, she had other plans.

He walked her across the living room and then pulled her into the bedroom. “Whatever you say, Bella.” While blocking her escape path through the doorway, he yanked off his leather jacket.

The black shirt he wore fit over shoulders that had broadened since the last time she’d seen him. Were his pecs as hard and well sculpted as she imagined them? She was dying to see. On the other hand, she couldn’t let him know how much she desired him.

She folded her arms. “You’re not staying in here with me.”

He crossed the floor to her, pulled the way-too-big jacket from her shoulders, and then dropped it on the floor. “You’re not sleeping by yourself so you can give me the slip. We’ll have enough running to do. That Thompson fellow is like a bloodhound. He won’t be satisfied until he gets you back.”

“You mean the wolf back.”

“Yeah, and that means you.”

Her eyes remained riveted on his buttons while he worked to remove his shirt. When he pulled it off and dropped it on the floor, she stared at his dark-haired chest and chiseled abs. She sighed at the sight of his well-toned body. Already her hormones were set in high gear. She would be attracted to any male, she reminded herself, as much as she desired to mate. But she couldn’t help the feeling that this one stirred her like no other.

Her nipples tightened and her breasts swelled in anticipation of his touch. She was sure the short curls between her legs were drenched with expectation, as much as she ached for him. Damn being in heat.

She folded her arms again and hoped to both stop what she figured he had in mind and still leave herself a chance of escaping him. “Volan won’t like it if you share a bed with me.”

“He doesn’t have to like it.”

She raised her brows to hear his defiant words. “So, does that mean you’ve finally grown some balls?” If he were ready to fight Volan—

“Don’t, Bella. Don’t make anything more out of this than a bad case of necessity. You’ll run if I don’t stay with you. That’s all. You’re going home to the pack where you belong.”

She curbed the anger that simmered beneath the surface. He didn’t want her after all. He only used her to get in good with the leader of the pack. “Why didn’t you have Argos stay with me instead?”

“He’d have let you have your own way.”

She didn’t believe Devlyn for an instant. Sure, Argos had always been good to her, but she was certain he felt she’d be safer at home with the pack and wouldn’t have let her off that easily.

“And your cousins?”

“Any one of them would have tried to have their way with you. They’re immature and would lose their heads over the thought of you naked in bed with them.” He reached over to touch her belly. “As ripe as you are, your smell is an aphrodisiac.”

She slapped his hand away. His intimation that her alluring scent was the only reason the other males wanted her forced a chill of irritation across her skin. But hell, maybe he was right. Maybe Volan was the only one who really desired her for a permanent mate. Her stomach rolled with nausea at the idea.

Devlyn walked over to the bedroom door and shut it. With a click, he locked it. But it wasn’t half as secure as the zoo cell. She smiled inwardly but glowered outwardly. He returned to the bed, sat, and pulled off his boots.

Considering his words again, she observed his actions. “But you won’t lose your head over me?”

“I have a bit more control than that.”

Right.

She walked over to the bed and jerked the solid green comforter back. “Good for you, though I’m not removing anything more anyway.”

Crossing the floor in a flash, he pulled her around to face him. His unbridled actions signaled danger. She sensed he was close to losing control. He’d done it before when he kissed her, and the fire burned and the anger smoldered in his dark eyes now like that day long ago. His gaze dropped to her lips as her heart sent the blood rushing to her ears. He wasn’t as immune to her as he pretended. Why couldn’t she meet a human male who aroused her like he did? But Devlyn could never be her mate. He would always be Volan’s lackey.

She tried to pull away, but he shoved her back on the bed, making her sit. Glaring at him, she folded her arms.

He yanked off the cardigan sweater and then unbuttoned her shirt. Once he’d pulled it from her shoulders and dropped it on the floor, he said, “I won’t sleep with something that smells like a human male.”

His gaze dropped from hers to enjoy her nudity. He smiled appreciatively.

“You’ve seen me naked before.” She slid into bed and then yanked the covers over her.

“It’s been a good long while and you’re a bit more mature now.” His eyes sparkled with intrigue and his lips still smiled.

She assumed he wouldn’t try to make love to her.

But then he dropped his pants and she saw his erection. He was one gorgeous hunk of a gray lupus garou. She hadn’t remembered him being that big. She wasn’t sure he could hold back and not attempt to mate with her. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to stop himself, either.

He yanked the covers off her. “Slide over.”

“Go around to the other side of the bed,” she growled.

“You’re on my side. But if you prefer to sleep here, too…” Letting his words trail off, he climbed on top of her and pinned her to the mattress.

Clenching her teeth, she tried to wriggle out from underneath his hard, naked body, but his hands seized her wrists and he spread his legs on either side of her, boxing her in. His thick arousal pressed hard against her mound and liquid heat pooled between her legs.

“Like it here still?” he asked, licking her cheek.

Lost in the feel of him, his heart beating rapidly against her chest, his skin hot, his body hard, and his smell wild, out-of-doors, and musk, she fought parting her legs for him; the ache to have him penetrate her feminine folds was overwhelming.

His erection stirred and he swept his lips over the sensitive skin at her throat.

Was he having a difficult time maintaining his subservient position in the pack?

“Get off me,” she growled, although she wanted to encourage his actions.

“I gave you ample opportunity to move and you wouldn’t listen.” His voice sounded drenched with lust. His mouth caressed the line of her jaw, making her skin tingle in heady expectation. “When you’re in a pack, there are rules.”

Unable to control her body’s reaction, her heated core ached for him to follow through. “Yes, and one of them is not to seduce the pack leader’s intended bitch,” she said, meaning to sound irritated and put him off, but her voice seemed sexually frustrated instead.

Devlyn cast her an evil smile. “I’m not seducing you. You’re still suffering from the effects of hypothermia. I’m merely providing necessary medical attention.”

Again she tried to squirm free, to show him he couldn’t control her, but every wiggle only made her more aware of how ready his body was to take hers. She swore she heard him muffle a groan.

“Yeah, right, Devlyn. Volan would really believe that line as much as I do.”

He ran his fingers through her hair and touched his lips to hers, softly this time.

She couldn’t help but respond, desperately needy for a mate’s touch…Devlyn’s touch. The doubts she had about Volan, Devlyn, or wanting a human male all faded from her thoughts in an instant. She licked his lips and then nipped the lower one.

He issued a deep-throated growl.

She paused. What the hell was she doing? He said he could control himself, but not the way he touched her. His erection throbbed against her waist as the sweet ache between her legs intensified. She didn’t want him to stop. What was wrong with her? She couldn’t encourage him. Volan would kill him for certain.

When she stilled beneath him, Devlyn took a long, ragged breath and then rolled off her. “Get some sleep, Bella. We’ll have several long days ahead of us.”

She turned away from him, hurt, confused, angry. She wanted him to be her mate forever and didn’t want to wait for that day.

Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her against his arousal, her backside bared to him, and she wanted him to take her like a wolf would in the wild.

“To ensure you don’t get any ideas of slipping away in the night,” he said, his face nuzzling her hair.

She attempted to jerk away from him.

He tightened his iron hold on her. “It’s hard enough for me to…well, just lie still, Bella.”

But she couldn’t sleep, let alone think; the ache between her legs begged for satisfaction. She rubbed her bottom against him, offering herself to him, and he growled in response, the kind of growl that meant he was losing control.