Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“C’mon now, darlin’—you know I never thought protecting you was a burden. I’m your big brother—taking care of each other is what family does.”
“You’re not really my brother, you know,” I pointed out. “Not by blood, anyway.”
“Yes, by blood,” he insisted, as he pushed inside the cabin’s front door and kicked it shut behind us. “By the blood and brands that our fathers shared. By Pack Law, you’re my little sister. In some ways it’s a bond even stronger than if we’d been born biological siblings.”
I didn’t agree, but there was no point in arguing.
“I wouldn’t know anything about ‘Pack Law’,” I said coldly. “Since I haven’t had anything to do with any of this ‘Were’ nonsense until I was stupid enough to come back here to Wolverton.”
“It’s not nonsense—it’s deadly serious.” He frowned as he sat me gently on a soft leather couch. Inside the cabin was cozy, if a bit old-fashioned. There was a large, hand-woven rag rug on the hardwood floor and the glowing remains of a fire in the fireplace on the far wall.
Nick went to poke up the fire and then laid some more wood on the glowing coals.
“Hang on—gonna run you a bath,” he told me. “We need to get you cleaned up before we can get you patched up.”
He left and I heard the sound of running water from another room. A few minutes later he returned and reached for me again.
“No!” I put up a hand in protest. “I’ll lean on you but you don’t have to carry me.”
Nick looked hurt but only nodded and offered me one muscular arm. I gripped it, trying not to notice how his bicep felt like warm, flexible steel, and rose unsteadily on my one good foot.
I hop-walked into the bathroom with Nick’s help and saw a big, old-fashioned claw foot tub, already half filled with warm water.
“I hope it’s not too hot,” Nick rumbled anxiously, as he helped me lower myself into the high-sided old tub. “I don’t want to make your injuries sting.”
“They’re going to sting no matter what,” I said grimly. “Especially this ankle.”
In the brighter light of the bathroom, I could barely make myself look at my mangled leg. It was a bloody mess—I looked like I’d gotten my ankle caught in a bear trap. I wondered if I shouldn’t go to the hospital, but I still had no clothes and I didn’t want to go naked.
Speaking of me being naked, I couldn’t help noticing the way Nick’s eyes kept flicking towards my bare body and then away again. He seemed to be trying hard to keep his eyes on my face, but he couldn’t quite manage it.
His gaze on me should have made me feel embarrassed and uncomfortable but for some reason it didn’t. I hadn’t seen him in so long—had done my best to forget him entirely—but somehow being with my “big brother” once again felt much more comfortable than it should.
The water did indeed sting the scratches from the rough tree bark on my breasts and arms and belly and it turned pink at once when I finally got the courage to lower my hurt ankle into it. I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from shrieking as I felt the warm water wash over the ragged, torn flesh. But after a long moment the agony became a bearable pain and I was able to relax a little in the bath.
My feelings must have been clear on my face because when I looked up, Nick was watching me anxiously.
“You okay, darlin’?” he asked hoarsely. “Does it hurt too much?”
“It’s a little better now,” I told him. “Let me just soak a minute and you tell me why you’re here.”
“You tell me first,” he said, frowning. “What in heaven’s name possessed you to come down here back to the Were world when you were safe and happy teaching in Massachusetts?”
“To be honest, I’d forgotten all about the ‘Were world’ until tonight,” I told him, deciding there was no point in lying. “I guess I blocked it out—I tried to, anyway. I just came down here to try and find a great aunt of mine. I…I was looking for a relation—for family—any family at all,” I confessed, my voice sinking to a whisper.
Nick looked stricken.
“I’m so sorry, Kira. I had no idea how lonely you were. Maybe…maybe I should have tried to get in touch.”
“Yes, you damn well should have,” I snapped, angry at him all over again. “Anyway, the great aunt turned out to be dead and buried so I was headed out of town when that asshole, Deputy Boyd, stopped me and dragged me to the Open Breeding. That’s where I met Chief McCain—who’s apparently the same one who killed both our fathers,” I added darkly.
Nick’s face went dark as a thundercloud and for a moment, he looked truly frightening. He had gotten a lot bigger and more muscular since high school, I thought uneasily. He was six foot six if he was an inch and he had been lifting me and hauling me around like I weighed no more than a feather pillow—which was definitely not the case.