Page 71 of Bonded Through Bite

“The sun won’t burn us, sweetheart. That’s a legend, but it is uncomfortable and painful for changelings, so let’s get you inside. The older you get, the more you can tolerate. Heat, cold, sun.”

She buries her face against my neck and we walk inside. Immediately, arguing fills the air; the voices are low but intense and I want to know what’s going on. But first, we need to clean up.

“Shower, clothes,” I mutter and Samantha stills her wriggling in my arms. I can see the fatigue pressing down on her with the rising sun.

“Shower sounds good,” she says around a yawn and I blur us away. Too bad I can’t make it good for her as San did. There’re people—wolves—waiting.

Fucking wolves.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Zack

Santiago Wacerra—the famous monster hunter—is giving me a piggyback ride. When Grandpa told me to get my ass to the middle of nowhere to take over a minor pack, I never thought it might come to this.

I wish I had my phone on so I could have picture proof.

We don’t make it far before moaning breaks the heavy silence in the air. Santiago picks up speed and we pass them in a blur. I’m not sure they even pay attention to us. Based on the sounds she makes, the little blue-haired spitfire is having a good time.

It was pure luck that I happened upon her when I did. Otherwise, she would have been caught by the shifter. Damn thing fought like a possessed beast. The protective instinct rears its head as soon as I think about it, so I push the thought away and focus on staying calm.

No wolfing out on the vampire’s back.

I have to give it to the hunter. Despite me being bulkier than him, he moves smoothly and carries me into the house without jostling my injured leg.

“How’s the leg feeling?” he asks after helping me onto the couch.

“It’ll heal.” The break was pretty bad, but my natural healing combined with the vampire blood should fix everything up in a couple of days. Shit timing. I need to be in top shape to keep the pack in line.

“You want to call for a ride or…”

“Yeah. You have a phone I can borrow?”

He hands me his phone and I call the beta.

“They’re on their way. Should be here in five minutes or so,” I say once I hang up, like the vampire didn’t hear every word on the call.

“Handy, them being so close,” he mutters and paces around the living room. Every two seconds, he throws a glance out the window. “What’s taking them so bloody long?”

I don’t even pretend not to misunderstand. “Fucking.”

He flashes his fangs at me and then goes back to staring out the window until a car sounds at the front of the house and he blurs out of the room. My leg gives a twinge when I try to get up, so I slump back down and cross my arms.

Better to look like I’m staying put as a choice than show weakness at the first encounter. I can take any of them even with a handicap, but if I don’t need to bite necks in the first five minutes, things tend to go smoother overall.

There’s a place for brute force and it’s when diplomacy fails. One of Grandpa’s favorite sayings.

Wacerra leads in two wolves. They introduce themselves just as the back door opens, so I don’t pay attention. Rafael says something about a shower and Samantha agrees. Soon, I hear water running upstairs. Yeah, they would need one. I could use one too.

“Alpha Courtkenay, we need to get you to the pack lands. Get the healer to see to your injuries,” the wolf in front of me insists. She’s high in the pack hierarchy, the other wolf with her is the muscle. Some young pup who continuously glares at Santiago.

“I’m fine,” I say and refuse to budge. I’m not going anywhere until I talk to Samantha and figure out why she was running alone in the forest. I need to see that she’s fine with my own eyes. Smell her again. Make sure she⁠—

The female clears her throat, cutting off my thoughts. “Alpha Courtkenay⁠—”

“Zack,” I interrupt her. I appreciate that she’s using my title as alpha and making a separation from her alpha, but all this formality is hurting my head right now.

“Alpha Zack.”