“Hey, girl. I’m going to snuggle up to your back once I get this fire started. We need to keep warm, but the cavalry is coming.’
The fire pit I created began to smoke, and then a small flame came to life. “Yes. I make fire.” I pumped my fist, knowing I sounded like a caveman. I looked over, sure I’d heard LeeLee snort, but the animal had her eyes closed.
Dammit. I was jumping around in the freezing cold with my junk hanging out, acting a fool, and I was more than likely not putting on a good show. I looked down at the anatomy partin question, thinking the cold had surely shrunk it a couple of inches. I grinned, happy to see it looked the same size as normal. Nothing could be done about the blue hue to my skin since I was a natural redhead, although I usually had a nice tan, unlike many with my coloring, so I wasn’t pasty white. I shrugged and let my hands fan out over the flames, resisting the urge to turn around and warm my ass. A man did have standards.
Once the flames were crackling nicely, with enough wood piled up next to it to keep it going for the night, I stood in one fluid motion. I ignored the stiffness in my cold limbs, picked up the sleeping LeeLee, and carried her closer to the fire. I lay her down on a bed of leaves far enough away that she wouldn’t get burned if a stray flame leaped out. I settled her onto her side, facing the fire, then curved my body around her back. The soft fur of her wolf was like a blanket against my front. I ignored the fact that my ass was cold, knowing she was now warming from front to back.
I used my arm to rest my head on. Warmth seeped into my body slowly. Exhaustion pulled me into a restless sleep.
The feel and sound of a thrashing wolf woke me from a fitful sleep. Sharp claws raking across my calf made me jump into a crouch before I could get maimed. It took me a fraction of a second to realize we weren’t being attacked. LeeLee slept on. Fearing I’d hurt her or she’d hurt me, I tucked myself behind her again, grabbing her front legs in my hands while I pinned her back ones between my thighs. I murmured in her ear for her to wake up, hoping she would recognize my voice.
A few minutes felt like hours. Sweat beaded my brow, but finally the stiffness left her body. If asked, I couldn’t say what I’d murmured, only that I kept up the litany of words.
LeeLee lay panting, as if she’d run a marathon instead of sleeping for the last couple of hours. When I was sure she no longer dreamt, I moved away from her back. I knelt in frontof her, the wounds in her sides not healing as quickly as most shifters—which pissed me off. The curse words I wanted to yell, I kept inside my head.
“You okay now?” I asked and held out a hand to test before laying it on her head.
She tried to lift up but fell back. “Jenna should be here shortly. I wish I knew what you were dreaming about. When you are able to shift, you will tell me.’
If a wolf could roll her eyes, LeeLee did before she sighed and fell back to sleep.
I looked at the four furrows lining my calf and called my own wolf. Now that we were safe, I’d slept some, wasn’t freezing my ass and balls off, and LeeLee was protected from my humping ways. I shifted into my wolf, then snorted. The sound coming out was all kinds of wrong, but I gave no fucks since no one was around to hear. I sat down on my hindquarters and waited.
A shimmer of air alerted my wolf that we were no longer alone. The small woman standing too close to LeeLee smelled like Fey and, oddly enough, like family. I allowed the shift back to man, nudity not an issue for our kind.
“Thank you for coming, Jennaveve. I hope you are well.’
Her scent reminded me of honey with a slight hint of mint. She nodded, waving her hand in my direction. A slight breeze surrounded me, shocking me into stillness. I looked down to find myself completely clothed. I’d been too distracted and injured to worry over clothing.
“Thank you.’
“Let’s take her back to my place. It’s going to take more than just me to fix her.” The young woman before me sounded weary. At closer examination, she looked as if she’d been through hell and back.
“Why, thank you, sir. You sure do know how to make a woman feel good.” Jenna placed her hands on her shapely hipsand smiled. “I have been doing a lot of work for you silly wolves. You’d think y’all would know how to stay out of trouble,” she tsked.
I narrowed my eyes. “Who was hurt?’
She waved away my concern. “Nobody you’d know. Kellen Styles is a very stubborn male, though. Now, let’s get this little gal fixed up. Come, take my hand, and no funny business. I know you have all these rampant emotions going through your head, but no humping my leg either.” She flashed me a smile.
I decided I liked this Fey, especially if she was able to joke about the alpha of the Iron Wolves. The big bad alpha was enough to send most men and wolves running in fear. Putting my hand and trust into hers, I gasped at the power emanating from the contact. She made a swirling motion with her free hand, causing the sleeping LeeLee to float up toward us.
“Now, place your palm on her,” she instructed.
When Jenna did the same, the world as I knew it fell away. I’d never transported before, and I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to do it again, even if it were a matter of life and death.
The room we entered was warm and on this side of feminine, with jewel-toned walls of all colors, reminding me of marbles I’d collected as a kid.
“Let’s place her on the pallet in front of the fire.’
I blinked to clear my vision. Fire? I looked around, not seeing anything that resembled one—and then my eyes widened as a stone hearth the size of my bedroom appeared along one wall.
“Right there will do just fine. Do you think she’ll mind lying on fur? It’s faux, of course.” Jenna moved around the room, leaving me holding a sleeping wolf.
I walked over, placing LeeLee on the thick pallet, wishing I could lie down with her. “Where are we?” I asked, staring at the woman moving around gathering things.
“My home,” she said simply.
Since arriving, her energy levels seemed to rise. I crossed my arms over my bare chest and glared, wondering why and when I’d lost the shirt she’d provided moments ago. “Obviously, this is your home, but where exactly is it? I don’t smell anything remotely like South Dakota. If I were near my home or near somewhere I’d been before, my nose would tell me. I don’t recognize any scents except LeeLee.’
