A Pack of Two. Jacky Russell
“He was attacked by Malandanti. They wrecked his bike and he’s here beside the road with a bunch of broken bones and a hell of a lot of blood on the ground. Can you send a Medivac Transport for him?”
Simon ignored my request. “Are you sure these were Malandanti?”
“Got the sizzle marks to prove it. Now will you please send help? I tied a tourniquet on his leg but he’s losing a lot of blood.”
“He’s a civilian and since we are under orders not to engage, I can’t very well send an American military aircraft to land in the middle of the road,” Simon bellowed. He was ready to strangle me for disobeying orders.
After a French cursing tirade, Simon agreed to call for a chopper. “You need to get away from that wolf now. Injured wolves are dangerous and this one doesn’t know you.”
Simon was right but I couldn’t walk away from this wolf. His head was now on my lap and his fingers firmly clamped around my hand. He hadn’t spoken, but he knew he wasn’t alone. He might believe I was someone else, his mate or girlfriend, someone to comfort him as he lay dying. If that was what he needed from me, so be it.
“Does that wolf have any idea what you did to get rid of the Malandanti?”
“No, he hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“Good, at least we won’t have to try to explain that. By the way, how did you get rid of them?”
“I called a friend.” The back of my fingers brushed along the wolf’s bruised cheek. He moaned softly and licked his lips.
“Breanna, you need to let the Bravo wolves deal with this. The Italian Alpha is one of the most powerful werewolves in Europe and could easily believe you attacked this pack wolf.”
“I’ll be careful.” I signed off and looked down at the injured werewolf. His grip, even in his weakened condition, was substantial enough my bones ached. I pulled a cloth from my fatigue pocket and dabbed at the blood trickling from his mouth.
His eyes fluttered opened, pure silver boring into me. The werewolf, his wolf fully ascended, watched me warily. He was human in body but wolf in mind and that made him very unpredictable. He was injured, but had enough strength that he could easily snap my neck if he felt I was a threat.
“I mean no harm,” I said.
The silver eyes never wavered from mine. In wolf language, direct eye contact was a display of dominance, a solicitation for a fight, a demand for submission, but oddly there was no threat in his stare. Somewhere deep inside me, something snapped to attention, as if my soul had awakened for the first time.
He squeezed my hand harder. My bones threatened to crunch. He held his breath and clenched his teeth until I placed a hand on his forehead.
“Shhh, easy, Wolf. Shhh, easy.” I stroked his forehead while his breathing resumed and his jaw relaxed. “Easy, Wolf, I’m here to help.”
He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, his grip loosening a little. My heart beat wildly as his thumb rubbed tiny circles on the back of my hand. My body reacted to his touch, yearning for more, wanting to caress his lips, his chest, his…
“Thank you.” He sounded like he’d gargled with glass.
“You’re welcome.”
He opened his eyes, now tinged with brown, and smiled weakly. “What happened?”
“You ran off the road. Your bike’s over there. Pretty much totaled, I’d guess.”
He turned his head and groaned at the sight of the charred Ducati. I chuckled and the brown eyes captured me.
“Why are you helping me?”
I wiped the blood from his face and shrugged. “You had a cool bike.”
He reached for my face, gloved fingers softly caressing my cheek. I was lost in his eyes, helpless as a mouse with no hope of escape as his fingers travelled along my jaw toward my chin.
“What’s your name?”
“Breanna.”
“Breanna. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”
“You must have hit your head when you crashed.”
He clenched his eyes and gritted his teeth, a semblance of a laugh rumbling in his chest. “Ow,” he choked, coughing up fresh blood.
“Sorry,” I said, wiping his pain-twisted face.
He smiled but it didn’t touch his eyes. I wished I could do more to help him. My grandmother would have known how, but his injuries were beyond my magical abilities.
“Some other wolves are on their way to help get you to the hospital.”
I expected him to look relieved but he didn’t. He hacked up more blood. I eased him farther onto my lap and held his head until the coughing fit passed.
“You need to save your strength, Wolf.” I wiped the blood from his face, my fingers lingering along his jawline.
Silver tinged his espresso eyes. “Will they hurt you for being here?”
What an odd question.
I brushed back his hair. “No, they are soldiers in my unit. They won’t harm anybody unless I tell them to.”
He smiled and my heart thundered loudly enough every living thing in the forest could have heard it. He had the most beautiful, perfect white teeth. “I’d kill them if they hurt you.”
“Brave words for a wolf in your condition,” I muttered before finding myself lost in a sea of brown.
“I’m Lucas.” His voice was weak, his eyes dulled with pain, but there was an aura about him, unrelenting dominance. “Lucas Benelli.”
The man was too hot for words. It really had to be illegal to look that good in a leather riding suit.
Holy cannoli.
Before I could formally introduce myself, the bright glow of headlights shone over the cliff above us. Tires squealed to a stop, followed by voices yelling for me.
“Sounds like the cavalry is here,” I said as the voices grew closer. “Down here, fellas.”
Rocks rolled and I shielded Lucas’s head with my body as Ordy and two other werewolves plunked into the clearing. They were all empty-handed.
“Did you forget something?” I asked as they got closer.
The soldiers looked at one another like I had asked for the top speed of a charging wildebeest.
“You guys plan to kiss him and make him better? Where the hell are the backboard and the first aid kit?”
Lucas tightened his grip on my hand. Alpha-like dominance filled the air.
“It’s okay, Lucas. They’re friends.” I laid my hand against his cheek and urged him to look at me. “I give my word they mean no harm.”
Desperation flickered to fear before the silver took over his eyes. His wolf surged, trying to force a change, but a change in this condition would kill him.
“Lucas, can you hear me?” I motioned for the approaching wolves to stop. They did.
Nothing but wolf looked back at me.
“Wolf, listen to me.” The silver eyes watched apprehensively. “If you force the change, you will both die. Let me help and you will both live. I swear no one will harm you.”
His gaze flickered from me to the waiting werewolves. “Stay.”
I nodded and the silver slowly receded. He sighed heavily.
“Thank you.”
I motioned for my wolves to come forward but their eyeballs were bugging out of their heads.