Kalen Read online

  She leaned forward on the log, trying to cover up the fact that she was nearly half-naked and eyed their warm-looking coats.

  “Along with some clothes,” the shorter one said with a leer.

  For a minute, Ally wanted to bean him on the head for that look. At least she did until he propped his fishing rod against a tree and hung the fish precariously from a broken branch before removing his jacket.

  “Here ya go, ma’am.” He handed her his coat, which fell nearly to Ally’s knees when she stood and slipped it on.

  “Thank you.” Ally tried not to notice the strong smell of body odor that clung to the jacket. At least she was warmer. Her feet were still bare, but she didn’t expect the men to give up their footwear. Even if they had, it would have been way too big for her anyway.

  She inhaled again and fought a grimace. For some reason, it seemed as though all smells were stronger today. It must have something to do with her animal side. She’d given up trying to convince herself that this was some sort of bad dream. Nightmare is more like it. Either way, no matter how impossible it was, what had happened to her seemed real—too real to continue to try to pass it off as something in her imagination. Her imagination was never that vivid.

  “Are ya lost?” The taller one didn’t appear to have all of his sandwiches in his picnic. He was kind of cute in a strange, bucktoothed sort of way.

  His brother, on the other hand, knew which way the geese flew and kept looking at her as though she was a piece of meat. She didn’t like it, or him, but she was cold and lost. What choice did she have but to follow them at least long enough to warm up again?

  “I’m Billy,” the tall mentally challenged one said, holding out his hand. He nodded toward his companion. “That’s my brother Bobby.”

  Ally refrained from touching him. Something about them made her skin crawl, whether it was their strong odor, or the way they looked, she wasn’t certain. All she knew was that she didn’t want to touch either of them and she had to get away from them as fast as she could.

  Something also told her if she changed in front of these two, they would kill her, skin her, then stuff her to hang on their wall as a conversation piece.

  “My name is Alice,” she lied. The last thing she wanted was for them to know her real name. At least with the Al sound at the beginning, she might remember to answer to it. She held the coat out away from her for a minute, hoping some of the smell would waft off it. “And thanks for the use of your coat. It was very kind.”

  Bobby shrugged. “‘Taint nothin’ ma’am. I was hot in it anyways.”

  “Still…” She smiled in an effort to make it look like she didn’t notice the gawd-awful smell that permeated the thing. “It was kind of you.”

  Bobby grabbed his fishing pole and the string of fish and turned to his brother. “Come on, ya nit. We need to get home before dark.”

  Ally looked up toward the ever-darkening sky. If they could get home before dark, then it meant that they didn’t live far from here. She had to do something to get away from them. Somehow, some new animal instinct told her that if she stepped one foot inside their home, she would never leave alive.

  * * * *

  Kalen ran through the woods as fast as he could. He didn’t know why, but something told him the woman was in danger. He knew why they seemed tied together. She’d bitten him. Hard. Her new canines had sunk down to the bone and that small exchange of saliva to bone tied them together.

  The only other way to form such a tie was with a mate. He wasn’t ready for that. He had a lot of wild oats left to sow. The last thing he wanted was a woman around mucking things up. Despite what he wanted, they were connected now and there was nothing he could do about it but bitch and…what was the point in that?

  He continued to run to the east as fast as he could. The sound of his paws hitting the ground and his claws digging into the earth for traction was the only noise in the quiet of the still forest. Smaller creatures knew there was a predator in their midst and kept to the brush, their little hearts drumming with terror.

  The last thing on Kalen’s mind was hunting the small rodents hiding in the brush. The uneasy feeling in his gut had set him on much larger prey. Fear spiraled in his stomach as he felt the woman’s discomfort. Two men approached her. They both scared and repulsed her, yet she felt resigned to following them. He must be close if he could feel her emotions, her repugnance at having to associate with the men she didn’t want to be with.

  Kalen slowed his pace to a trot when the roof of a little cabin came into view. A small spiral of smoke rose from the chimney, giving evidence of a fire, long since ignored. He circled the shack, listening for inhabitants. When he heard none, he went back the way he came and shifted into his human form.

  If the men didn’t carry guns, there was sure to be one in the cabin. He must intercept them before they could enter the abode. If they did carry guns, he would leave and call the others in. He wasn’t stupid. One shifter against two humans with guns was not good odds.

  Once changed and dressed, he wandered back into the clearing, walked up the steps of the rickety porch and knocked on the door.

  Nothing.

  Good. It meant the men with the woman were still outside in the woods somewhere. With luck, they would also be unarmed and getting the newly changed shifter from them should be a piece of cake. His kind didn’t just shift, they were big and strong, very strong, even when they weren’t in their wolf form. It was another of the perks of his kind and there were many. They also had many enemies, such as Dr. Thornton.

  He suppressed the urge to growl at the thought of the other man. It wasn’t any wonder Bastien spent nearly every waking moment in pursuit of the barmy scientist. Kalen would be out for blood too, had the man put his mate in that much pain.

  He stood in the midst of the clearing waiting for the group to return. Kalen knew the woman feared these men, yet she didn’t know how to escape them. It wasn’t any wonder. When they finally walked into the clearing after a ten-minute wait, one walked before her, the other behind.

  Kalen did the only thing he could think of to make these men give her up without a fight. Stepping forward, he schooled his expression into one of deep concern and happiness.

  “There you are, cupcake! I wondered where you’d gotten off to.” He looked her over as though surprised to see her half-dressed, then scowled. “What happened to your pants and shoes? Did these men hurt you?” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Should I call the police?” He paused then, hoping she would realize she had nothing to fear from him, and play along. He raised his brows when she paused.

  “I’m sorry, snookums,” she said, after a brief pause, her voice practically dripping with syrup. “I know you told me not to go for a dip in the stream, but I just had to rinse the bear poop off my pants.” She bowed her head, looking contrite. “I didn’t mean to lose them down the stream and when I went chasing after them, I got lost.”

  Bear poop? The best she can come up with is bear poop? “That’s okay, honey bunny.” He walked over to her, took the stinking plaid jacket off her and wrapped his windbreaker around her shoulders. He tossed the coat to the man who had none. “Thanks for looking out for her, boys. I’ve got her now.” He leaned forward and whispered. “Don’t fight me. I don’t want to have to hurt these two.” Though he would if provoked.

  He pressed his lips against hers. Using the mental bond of their kind, he said, Make it look real or they’re apt to attack me. Right now, I think they’re confused.

  That shouldn’t take much. I don’t think either of them are too bright. She looked up at him, smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I should have listened to you, lover. I’m sorry.”

  But they scared you. Now, open your mouth and make it look like we are lovers, Kalen said, unsure whether he wanted to convince the men, or if he just wanted to taste her. Something drove him to plunge his tongue into her mouth, especially after her lover comment. He had wanted to nothing more than
throw her on the ground and sink himself into her warm and waiting flesh since she’d said it.

  She did as he bid. The moment their tongues met, he lost himself in their kiss. Nothing mattered but the woman in his arms. It was as though there was no one in the world but the two of them, standing in each other’s arms with their tongues tangled together and their bodies pressed close. He could feel her cold, her fear, but mostly, he felt her arousal and it did nothing to help him keep his head.

  He brought his hands up over her back, his fingers gently massaging her shoulders as he ground his hips against hers. Kalen lost himself in the kiss as he shared his warmth with her, willing his body to warm hers even as they both put on the show of being lovers. If they kept this up for long, he had no doubt it would no longer be a show. At that moment, every nerve ending seemed to reach for her. Every cell cried out to be close to this woman. It didn’t matter that he knew nothing about her. His cock along with the rest of his body seemed to have a mind of their own.

  With a jerk, she pulled back and looked up at him with wide eyes. It took a moment for her to play along. Then when she did, she could have won an award for the acting job.

  Her eyelids lowered and her bottom lip thrust out in a pout. “Not here, lover,” she said in a stage whisper as she slowly ran the tip of her finger down the center of his chest. “I do like a bit of privacy.”

  Kalen grinned down at her. Two can play that game, you little minx. He almost laughed out loud when her eyes widened to the size of dessert plates. He could tell by the nervous shifting of her gaze that she had heard him and wondered how she had. Now that she no longer feared him, she finally realized they were talking straight into each other’s minds. You can hear me because our kind have a…sort of community communication channel tapped into our thoughts. We can reach each other through a mental link if we are close enough.

  Then you can’t read minds?

  She appeared worried that he could and he smiled. Only those tied through a blood bond, or mating ceremony can do so. Though there are some legends that speak of mates who were so attuned to each other, they could read each other’s minds before mating.

  Hey there, mister,” tall and skinny said. “We found her. She’s ours.” He looked to the other man for confirmation of his claim.

  Kalen fought the urge to step back from the strong smell emanating from his mouth when he spoke. “No. You found my woman.” Kalen brought himself to his full height and flexed his muscle. He might not look like a man who could take on this pair, but his shifter genes gave him enhancements these two bumpkins didn’t have. He then turned his attention back to Ally. What’s your name? I can’t very well claim you if I don’t know your name.

  It’s Ally Morgan, she said with a sideways glance to the other two, but I told them my name is Alice. She shuddered. I couldn’t stand the thought that they would know my real name.

  He smiled at her before returning his attention back to the two men who were subtly attempting to gain positions that would give them the advantage in a fight. Little did they know, there was no advantage for a human when facing a werewolf unarmed. Kalen tucked her under his arm. If they attack me, I want you to run.

  I can’t do that. It’s my fault we’re in this situation. If I hadn’t panicked and jumped out of that van… She bit her lip. It’s just that I was so scared. How is this happening? People just don’t change into animals. She glanced down at his wrist and her eyes widened yet again. I bit you hard. I know I broke the skin. She reached down and took his wrist in her hand to examine it. The action only served to make the other men anxious. They could see the prize they thought they found slipping away and they wanted to keep her.

  “Just wait a minute, here,” the stockier one of the two complained. “She’s ours. We found her.”

  “You found a woman already claimed. She is under my protection. Surely, even you two should be able to see that we have a connection.” It was a good damned thing they had their telepathy to fall back on. Otherwise, these guys would never have believed they knew each other.

  “It don’t matter, does it, Bobby?” the taller one asked.

  He didn’t seem too bright and appeared to defer to his brother’s judgment. They had to be brothers. They looked too much alike to be anything else.

  “No, Billy, it don’t matter. It don’t matter a bit.” Bobby spit tobacco juice toward Kalen’s feet.

  Kalen took it as the insult the other man intended for it to be and growled. He knew it sounded animalistic, and frankly, he didn’t give a good damn. The longer he stood here with his arm around Ally, the more his instincts told him to protect her, to care for her and to get her to safety. Usually, he didn’t give females a second glance unless he was horny. This woman brought out something in him that he wasn’t sure he cared to examine.

  This woman was mate material. While he didn’t necessarily think mates were a bad thing, he just wasn’t ready to settle down himself. He glanced down at Ally and pressed his lips together. While he didn’t think he was ready to take a mate himself, he knew he wasn’t ready to see her with another male either. The thought of her being mated to another almost made him snarl. She was his, dammit! Kalen paused at that. Where in the hell had that thought come from?

  “Come on then, you two. What are you waiting for?” Kalen held out his hand, his fingers beckoning them in an invitation for their attack.

  “I’m not waiting for a thing,” Bobby reached into the deep pocket of his overalls and pulled out a gun.” He pointed it at Kalen’s chest.

  “That was your first wrong move, mister.” Kalen let his animal rage take over. Ally screamed.

  “Run, Alice,” Kalen snarled over his shoulder just before Bobby pulled the trigger a split second too late to hit him in the heart.

  “Missing my heart was your second mistake.” Kalen grinned as he allowed his wolf to take over. His muzzle elongated, his teeth growing into that of his wolf as he rushed the man and knocked the gun from his hand. Partially changed, he was stronger than when in his human form.

  He took the large man by the shoulders and bit into his stinking neck. “You will never prey on someone weaker than yourself ever again. If you do, I will know about it and I will exact retribution.” His words came out muffled around the man’s neck, but he knew Bobby understood. Kalen released him and turned to Billy. He could hardly blame the other man for his brother’s form of leadership, but he couldn’t leave him untouched. If he did, Bobby could use the less intelligent Billy to carry out his perverted plans.

  Kalen reached for the other man and curled his lip as Billy wet his pants, his knees shaking and threatening to buckle. It was always this way with humans. They thought themselves invincible, on top of the food chain when armed. Take away their advantage and they became nothing better than mewling babes in search of their mother’s teat.

  Kalen drew Billy close, sank his teeth into the other man’s wrist and made their exchange. Now, he would know if these two were up to no good. He might not be close and he may not be able to do much about it until he returned, but he would know and the link would give him the power to direct their thoughts away from nefarious activity. How far their two minds were gone would determine the amount of his control. If he couldn’t control them, they would have to send an extermination team back after them. The last thing he wanted was to see them on the news, talking about the wolfman who attacked them in the forest, and he would never kill them in front of Ally unless her life was in danger.

  He pushed Billy away and toward their cabin. “Go inside and wait for your brother.” When Billy turned to head for the structure, Kalen reached out and grabbed his arm, holding him in place. “From now on, you’re in charge. If Bobby wants to hurt someone or something other than killing an animal or fish for food for your table, you have the authority to stop him.”

  “Not likely,” Bobby snarled. “That’ll be the day when I listen to the likes of him!”

  With a smile, Kalen turned and pinned Bobby
with a glare. “You will listen to him, Bobby.” He moved closer, allowing the other man to see the predatory glow in his eyes. “You will listen to your brother, or you will die.”

  The other man’s eyes widened, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he listened to Kalen’s instruction. Nodding, he turned and shuffled past them and into the house.

  “Let’s go. I’m not sure how strong my hold is on them and I don’t want to give them a chance to get their rifle loaded and come after us.”

  Ally squealed when Kalen picked her up and began to run with her. “Put me down. I can run all by myself.” She wriggled in his arms, trying to get him to put her down.

  “I have no doubt that you can run all by yourself, but you aren’t wearing shoes.” Stopping, he closed his eyes for a minute and shook his head. He took off again at a faster pace. “They aren’t staying put. They’re coming after us. Stop wiggling, dammit. I can’t run as fast with you trying to make me drop you.”

  “I told you, I can run. I’ll ignore the sticks and stones biting into my feet.”

  “Why should you have to?” Kalen knew his expression showed her just how idiotic he thought her idea was as he stared down at her in his arms, brow raised. “I can run just as fast holding you as you can run by yourself, perhaps faster.” She was a new turn, after all. Who knew how long it would take her to come into her full power?

  “I just don’t think it’s proper for you to carry me like this when I’m not wearing any pants.” She crossed her arms and thinned her lips, obviously showing him she wasn’t pleased with his arbitrary ways.

  “Too bad, sister. You should have thought of that before you jumped out of the van and started running through the woods with nothing more than a too small t-shirt and a lacy thong to wear.”

  He tried not to think about how delicious she looked and smelled in her pretty underwear. He couldn’t help but see the dark thatch of hair at the apex of her thighs. Not to mention the fact that her damned thong did nothing to cover up the delicious smelling aroma that came from her nearly naked pussy.