Rebecca's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 6) (6 page)

Rebecca shook her head. “Trust me. There’s very little you could say or do right now to freak me out further.”

“Yeah. Well. I bet we could.” Sharon lowered her face.

Rebecca didn’t want to follow that cryptic insinuation. Instead she pointed out the other obvious issues. “It’s going to get cold. And there’re bears. We can’t be out here at night.”

Sharon looked at Zachary. “She’s right about that. You should take her down the mountain. I’ll stay with Griffen.”

“What?” Rebecca winced as she shot Sharon a sharp look. “No. Are you crazy? I’m not leaving you here alone with an injured wolf. You wouldn’t survive an hour alone.” She squeezed the wound harder, willing it to stop bleeding.

Zachary rummaged around in her bag and then handed her a few wipes. While she lifted the shirt to clean the wound, he continued with her line of thinking. “She’s right, Sharon. Not a good option. You wouldn’t be able to fend for yourself alone against a bear and take care of Griffen. We don’t know how long it might take them to get back.”

“Shit.” Sharon stared down at the wolf.

Was it really Griffen? It was growing harder to doubt that. If it wasn’t Griffen, then where the hell was he?

Rebecca poured water over the gash and examined it before covering it with gauze and taping it around his leg. At least it was sterile. She yanked another shirt from her bag and wrapped it around the wound next, applying pressure.

Finally, she set her free hand on his back and wove her fingers into his fur. She eyed him closely. He watched her every move, his jaw hanging open. If she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed to be communicating with his eyes.

He squirmed as she stroked her hand down his front paw. When he lifted it and set it over hers, her heart nearly stopped. It was him. She knew it.

His gaze left hers and met Sharon’s.

Sharon spoke to him. “You want me to take Rebecca down the mountain? I could do it. Leave Zachary here with you and get her to safety.”

There was a hesitation, and then he shook his head.

Holy hell
. He shook his head. He was communicating with his sister.

She blew out a breath. “You sure? I’ll do whatever you think is best.”

He nodded this time.

“He’s right,” Zachary said. “It’s too dangerous for us to separate. It’s not a good plan for you two girls to wander back down the path alone. And it would be a worse plan for you to stay here by yourself. We need to stay together.”

“But—” Sharon glanced at Rebecca. “It’s going to be so cold later.”

“And we’ll have plenty of fur to keep her warm.” Zachary smiled when Rebecca turned to him.

Every second of this new universe got loonier. “Sure. Yeah. You two can just become wolves also, and I’ll snuggle between the three of you.” She gave a sharp laugh.

“Exactly,” Zachary said, his voice perfectly even.

“I was kidding.” Rebecca rolled her eyes.

“I’m not.”

“He’s right,” Sharon added. “We’ll be fine.”

Rebecca shivered and leaned closer to Griffen. For some reason she felt incredibly protective of him, as if he was the sanest thing in the general proximity at the moment.

A wolf. One that had been a man she was falling for half an hour ago. One who had a life-threatening wound he might not survive.

Yep. That was her new reality, like it or not.

It was almost dark when three figures bounded through the clearing.

Rebecca was leaning against Griffen, holding his leg and resting her head on his chest.

Sharon sat on his other side, watching. Zachary had leaned against a tree nearby, seemingly on watch.

When the three wolves came into view, Rebecca shot to a sitting position, grasping Griffen’s fur along his back. It was one thing for her to care for this wounded animal lying immobile at her side. It was another thing entirely for three enormous lupines to jump into her space, heaving for breath.

One of them carried a pack on his back, and Zachary quickly jumped forward to tug it loose.

While Rebecca sat mesmerized by the activity, all three wolves transformed in front of her eyes. In a reverse demonstration of what she’d witnessed earlier, their bodies elongated, their fur receded, and their faces resumed their normal shape. It took only seconds and three naked men stood before her.

“How is he?” One of them, maybe Trace, asked as he grabbed his clothes from a pile next to their bags and tugged on his hiking pants.

“He’s stable,” Sharon said, getting to her feet.

Rebecca couldn’t take her eyes off the two men who scrambled to cover themselves. Insanity.

She realized they must have stripped naked before they left, and now their clothes were right where they’d left them.

Except the newcomer. He had to be Miles. And he was the one who had carried a bag with him.

Zachary rummaged around in the bag and lifted out a pair of jeans. Miles turned to face Rebecca, however, and didn’t make any motion to take the proffered jeans. His chest heaved. His fucking sexy chest.

He was huge. And built. And damn hot. She thought he was Native American. She licked her lips as her gaze roamed over his darker skin and shoulder-length black hair hanging in loose curls around his face.

He stepped closer.

She flinched.

What the hell was wrong with her, lusting after yet another man? She’d already fallen hard for one wolf this weekend. She didn’t need two. The idea almost made her laugh.

Miles stood rooted to his spot, feet from where Rebecca sat. He fisted his hands at his sides as she tried to avoid staring at his cock.

Jesus.

She jerked her gaze up to his face. He was definitely Native American, and his face was every bit as sexy as the rest of him. A small scar above his left eye was the only thing marring his beautiful face, and even that was more of an added attraction than a deterrent.

His brow was furrowed. His chest rose and fell with every breath. Finally, he spoke. “Fuck me.” His gaze was on Rebecca. He hadn’t glanced at Griffen yet.

She could feel his stare as though it reached inside her and grabbed onto her heart. She held tighter to Griffen’s fur, probably hurting him with the pull she had on his side now.

Griffen stiffened beneath her touch. He lifted his head a fraction.

The newcomer was intense.

She shivered as he continued his perusal of her as though she were the oddity instead of him or any of this other motley band of wolves. She actually started to believe that may be the case.

“Shit,” Trace said.

“I prefer my original idea.” It was only the second time Miles had spoken, and his words were deep and gravelly.

Rebecca’s hands shook. What did he mean by that?

A low growl vibrated through Griffen, and she jerked her gaze to his head. His eyes were on her. His jaw hung open, but he lifted his head as though he was attempting to stand.

Rebecca held him down, ignoring the sexy naked man also growling at her. “You want to help out?” she asked him in exasperation. “Or just stand there staring?” She didn’t mean to be a bitch, but wasn’t that why the man came? To help Griffen?

Sharon chuckled. Though for the life of her, Rebecca couldn’t imagine why. “This is rich.” Whatever Sharon was referring to, it certainly didn’t take precedence over the current problem.

Griffen needed medical attention. Wasn’t that why his brothers had run off through the mountains in the first place?

And now this broad man with skin darker than any of them stood over her as though brooding. Still naked.

“Miles.” Trace broke the trance. “Let’s deal with Griffen first.”

Miles jerked his gaze to Trace and nodded. Finally, he leaned down and hovered over the wounded leg, noticeably
still
naked.

Rebecca fought the urge to stare at his body. His cock… Lord have mercy. It bobbed there between them, making her lick her lips. Out of nervousness, right?

And the bear of a man didn’t give one hoot about his nudity. He made absolutely no movement to cover himself.

When Miles set his hand on hers to lift it off the bandage, they both sucked in a sharp breath.

She knew it wasn’t just her. It felt like a bolt of electricity raced through them, and if she wasn’t mistaken, it included Griffen.

Miles gripped her hand firmly and met her gaze before tipping his head to examine Griffen’s leg. He used his other hand to peel away the gauze, not releasing Rebecca’s fingers.

His hand was huge and warm and comforting all at once. She felt a twinge of guilt at the way he made her calm almost instantly. But after the day she’d had, she relished the sensation and had no desire to break the connection even though her intentions should have been a bit more altruistic.

All she cared about was his thumb stroking her palm where he held her as though his right arm weren’t in cahoots with his left, which proceeded to prod against the deep hole in Griffen’s leg. “Do you have a flashlight?” he asked over his shoulder.

In seconds someone aimed a beam of light over the leg. The sun had slipped behind the mountain, leaving them in the dim light of early evening.

Miles lifted the rear leg with his one hand, completely undaunted by what should have been a hindrance.

Griffen growled.

Miles chuckled. “I know I’m not hurting you physically, buddy. Don’t even try to pull that one over on me. Share nicely. You have no other choice.”

What the hell?

Rebecca had no idea what he was talking about, but his words sent a renewed shiver down her spine. Something was happening here she was neither privy to nor wanted to be. It would be best if she kept her mouth shut.

“I’m gonna shift back,” Miles said to no one in particular, his gaze locked on Griffen’s. “Talk to Griffen. Get a better idea of the pain and what he wants to do.” He lifted his face to Rebecca.

His penetrating stare made her breath catch. His voice lowered to a gentle tone. “Stay right here, love. Don’t move. I want to be able to see you at all times. Got it?”

All she could do was nod. She had no clue what she was agreeing to, but she couldn’t deny him, either.

Miles squeezed her hand firmer and pulled it to his cheek. He rubbed the back of her fingers against his day-long stubble and hummed. His eyes closed briefly while she watched him, mesmerized. Shock didn’t begin to describe what she felt.

She was in a trance, held there by a naked god and a wolf.

Miles shook his head as though in dismay as he released her. “Heavenly spirits, what on earth have you gotten me into?” he asked of the world at large.

She was certain she saw a twinkle in his eye and half a smile before he leaned back and transformed into the form he’d arrived in—a giant wolf, darker than Griffen, almost black, and larger if she wasn’t mistaken.

He set his paw on Griffen’s back and stroked. The act was so tender. Raw.

Rebecca sucked in a sharp breath and leaned forward. Part of her felt as though she was eavesdropping on a private moment. The rest of her felt as though she was a part of it, her world intertwined with theirs in some strange fashion.

Besides, no matter how close she got to them, there was no way for her to know what they were communicating. They didn’t even make sounds. And yet, their gazes were locked together.

Griffen flinched once, lifting his front paw toward Miles. Miles batted it away and set his own back on Griffen’s side. He leaned down closer, narrowing the space between them.

Rebecca set the hand Miles had held on his hind leg. She couldn’t explain her need to touch him, but it was instinctive. Her other hand still rested on Miles, having slipped to his belly.

No one spoke around her. She could hear them breathing close-by in the silence, but they kept quiet and waited.

The air around her was thin. It was almost totally dark now. She should have been cold, but all her focus was on the two wolves exchanging volumes of information without any outward indication. She knew that fact without a doubt. Just like she knew the sky was blue and the trees were green.

Finally, Miles turned to her and dipped his head to nuzzle her hand, the one on top of Griffen. Miles blinked a few times and then eased back, tugging his hind leg free of her grip.

He stretched out next to Griffen and reenacted the process of becoming human.

Rebecca flinched, but she was growing used to this insane new reality. She didn’t take her gaze off Miles as his bones popped back into place. He rose onto his knees on the other side of Griffen, tucked his hair behind one ear, and took her hand in his once again. “Okay. Here’s the deal.” He stared directly into her eyes, but he spoke to everyone at large. “He’s gonna be okay. I’ll doctor up the leg here, and then we’ll have to hunker down in a pile for the night. By morning he’ll probably be able to make his way down the mountain.”

“What are you going to do?” Rebecca hadn’t broken the stare-off, either.

“I have a poultice I’ll use, and I’ll make sure the tendons and ligaments are aligned right.” He lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed her knuckles before setting her hand on Griffen’s leg. “I may need you to hold him steady.”

She could barely hear his words through the ringing in her ears. He’d just kissed her hand?

She blinked, trying to make sense of the senseless.

Miles rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a jar of something brown. “You’re a nurse they told me.”

“Yes.” Her voice sounded weak even to her own ears. “Humans are my specialty.”

He chuckled, a deep tinkling sound that warmed her all the way through. “Hold on to him, love.”

That was the second time he’d called her
love
. Was it just his way of speaking to others? Women perhaps?

He worked the leg in every direction, prodding and pulling and stretching Griffen so much, Rebecca was afraid she wouldn’t be able to hold him steady. If he worked his way loose, she was liable to get kicked.

Finally, he was done. “No broken bones. That’s good. Has he had much to drink?”

“Yes. He had a bottle of water out of my hand. Most of it at least.” She’d done her best without a bowl while they’d waited for Miles to arrive.