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“I told you I don’t have any fuck—any pack. I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
A silence followed--long enough for Gabe to sneak a glance at the alpha to make sure he was still there. He was, standing tall and strong, his arms crossed over his muscular chest.
“Who made you, Gabe? You’re not a wolf, so you must be some kind of pet or Werekin. Who did this to you?”
Gabe bit his lower lip as painful thoughts of his mother seared through his body. His voice, when he was able to speak, came out harsh and ragged. “I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about! I am a damned werewolf—a fucking monster just like the one who bit me and my mother!”
The alpha’s voice was soft as he asked the next question. “Your mother? Where is your mother, Gabe?”
Tears sprang to Gabe’s eyes, and he angrily dashed them away, managing to get soap in his eyes. They burned and filled with moisture. “She’s dead!” he choked out. “Murdered by the filthy monster who bit me! I guess he thought he’d killed me too,but I wasn’t quite dead!” He laughed,a strange, hysterical sounding laugh even to his own ears. “I fooled him! I woke up bleeding from my wounds while my p-poor mom…” He sputtered as he tried to keep the sobs from bursting from his throat, visions of his mother’s bloody body in his head.
“They tried to save my mother, but…” Gabe looked up with blurry vision into the sympathetic gaze of the alpha, and the tears streamed down his cheeks. He hadn’t ever cried like this about it, not even just after it happened.
Picked up out of the water, he was cradled against a strong, hard chest. Grabbing a huge towel off the rack, the alpha carried him in his arms to the bed and sat down with him. He wrapped the towel around Gabe’s shivering body and held him close, letting him cry against his chest. It only took a moment for Gabe to understand what was happening, and he reacted with violence.
“Get off me,” Gabe said furiously, struggling in his arms. “I don’t need anybody! Especially not some damn wolf!”
Ignoring Gabe’s words, the alpha held onto him, murmuring something to him in his ear. Soft wordshe couldn’t even make out, but the murmuring sound was soothing. He stopped struggling and leaned into him even closer. It had been a long time since anyone had touched him with anything other than lust, nothing like this sweet, sympathetic kindness being shown to him.
He was tired—exhausted from running from the truth of what he’d become. He relaxed into the alpha’s arms, feeling safety and power radiating off the man. He closed his eyes—just for a minute—and drifted gently down into a soft, dark sleep.
Chapter Two
The moon was full, and the shift was later that night. The whole pack was edgy as a result. Some disagreements had broken out earlier, and Zack had spent most of the day arbitrating and soothing ruffled feelings while Gabe slept.
A pack rule required that any unknown newcomer spent some time isolated before the pack members let him near their mates and children, even the alpha’s new mate. His scent was strange and unhealthy, too, and noneof them, including Zack, knew exactly what to make of him. He’d sent his cousin down to deal with him in his place that morning, intending to go down later and talk with his mate.
Unable to stop thinking about him, Zack decided to take the time to go downstairs. He ’d told Tim to call if there were problems. Timhadn’t called, but a nagging, uneasy feeling made Zack go down to check. Aggravated with his distraction, he entered the bathroom, but his irritation only lasted until the moment he saw his mate again, his body slick and wet and his head covered in soap suds. He’d stood there in the doorway of the bathroom, watching him rinse away the soap and get some in his eyes. He’d turned toward the door to ask for
a towel with an adorable squint.
When Zack spoke to him, he was still angry and hurt —damaged. It brought out every one of Zack’s strong, protective urges. When Gabe had burst into tears, hehadn’t hesitated to pick him up and cradle him next to his body.
Zack was heartsick as he held his sweet mate to his chest. He mentally kicked himself for not finding out more about his new mate before leaving him to fend for himself. He’d had no idea this young man had been so abused and damaged by one of Zack’s own kind, another wolf. The strongest pack law forbade preying on humans, an offense punishable by death. His outrage and fury warred with his sympathy and regret for what his mate had been through. He laid him gently down on the bed and covered him with blankets before leaving the room and going out to pace the hallway. Having what they thought might be a new young whelp to care for so close to the full moon had thrown them all for a loop, but to realize the newcomer was an abused human Werekin—it was almost unimaginable.
Tim sat in a chair by the door, watching Zack warily as he paced up and down. “Is something wrong, Zack? Did he do something to upset you?I didn’t touch him. ”
Zack glanced over at his cousin’s worried face. Touching another wolf’s mate was forbidden by the pack. Even though he hadn’t gone through the mating ritual as yet, he had claimed him, and Tim respected that claim. He wondered if Gabe had flirted with Tim. The idea made him surprisingly jealous and possessive. Though Tim was his younger cousin and the only wolf Zack trusted enough to allow unsupervised around Gabe, Tim had been reluctant to take on this chore. He told Zack he knew how bad his temper could be if something went wrong.
Tim was another alpha male, but he suppressed his dominant tendencies to be able to stay with the pack. Some years ago, they had faced each other in the ancestral ring to see which of them would lead the pack when the time came. Zack had won quite easily, and Tim left the pack for over two years, going to live and work with the North Carolina wolf pack. Once Tim came home, Zack put him on the council, and he became an important council member. Zack relied on him a great deal.
“No, Tim, it’s nothing you’ve done. It’s Gabe. He told me he was bitten and left for dead by a wolf. The same bastard killed his mother. ”
“Oh my God! The poor kid. He doesn’t even know what he is or what’s happened to him? No wonder he seems so lost and angry. ”
“Yeah, and I didn’t help any by grabbing him and throwing him over my shoulder like a caveman. The blood lust was strong in me last night, and I was afraid I’d take him right there. I just wanted to get him back here and get some distance between us for a while so I could control myself. I must have scared himto death. ”
“What is he, exactly, Zack? He smells soodd. ”
“I think he’s feral. I’ve heard about them, but I’ve never actually seen one. I heard Marco, the western North Carolina alpha, had a pet who went feral last year, though he recovered fine. He was the first one we knew about for over a century, though we know a little more about the condition today. ”
“Feral? What is that, exactly?”
“It means no one ever cared for him properly, and after the wolf attack, it changes him into a kind of half-wolf creature. All of the ones I’ve ever heard of become savage and crazy, just like the TV shows about werewolves. This is the first time I heard of them changing only with the moon and then changing back, though. Marco’s pet changed when he got angry, I think, but there’s so much we don’t know about the condition. There’s a mystery here, and I mean to get to the bottom of it. He must be very strong mentally and emotionally to have survived alone as long as he has, keeping himself away from other humans when he changes. ”
“Will he…will he shift tonight?”
“Not if I can help it. Our blood is supposed to keep them from changing. He’s been fed once, and I’ll feed him again before tonight. I’ll put him in restraints and lock him in this room, too, just in case, but I won’t put him back in the cell. He’s been through enough already. Don’t worry. We’ll keep the other pets safe. ” He hesitated before adding, “Keep this between you and me for now, Tim. No one else needs to know. ”
