AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Row put his foot on the brake and shifted into gear. “I’m sorry that I have a responsibility to my sister.”
“What? Why would you be sorry about that?”
“Because I should be focused on you, but I’m worried about Dani.”
“Adam’s a good guy.”
“She’s still my sister.”
“I’m an only child, so I don’t know what it’s like to feel responsible for another person, but I’m not worried about Dani and Adam, and you shouldn’t be either.”
He said nothing as she gave him directions to her place. Her nerves kicked up as he parked in front of her small home. Kammie had lived there for seven years, ever since she turned eighteen and was ready to move out on her own.
She felt as if she’d been on her own for far longer than just a few years, though. Her mom died when she was twelve. She’d hardly had time to grieve the loss when her dad took her to his brother’s home and never came back. She’d had a good life up until that point—loving parents, happy childhood—and then the rug had been yanked out from under her. Her uncle looked at her as nothing more than a burden. He was an omega, and unhappy with his place in the pack. He couldn’t be a ranked male because he was nearsighted, even in his shift. He harbored a lot of bitterness over his position, and when she was forced on him by the alpha, his resentment deepened.
She could remember with crystal clarity the first time he struck her. She’d only been with him a few days, and she’d gone to school without food again, because he wouldn’t let her pack a lunch for herself. The school had called him and ordered him to either provide food for her or money for the school’s hot lunch, or else they would notify the authorities. The minute she walked in the door, he grabbed her by the front of her jacket and smashed her into the wall. She had been overwhelmed by the pain as he slammed her again and then let her fall to the floor. He kicked her in the stomach and snarled, “If you ever tell on me again, I’ll kill you. You’re nothing to me. I don’t want you here, but the alpha says I have to take you. My worthless brother didn’t want me in his life, but I get stuck with you because my brother decided he wants to start a new life somewhere else.”
Tears had blinded her. She wanted to run away, but she didn’t know where to go. She was afraid he would kill her if she told another adult; and the murderous glare in his eyes left her no doubt he would follow through on his threat. She learned to hide the bruises and walk tall, even though her body ached from the beatings. When he was feeling particularly vicious, he’d use a belt on her. The scars that had failed to heal over the years were from those wounds, scars that she sometimes felt went bone-deep.
Two years passed before someone finally noticed what was happening to her. She was taken from him and given to a widowed she-wolf to raise, while her uncle was kicked out of town and warned to never return. The female was kind to her, and after a few weeks of nightmares, she took Kammie to see a human shrink for help. That had helped a great deal, but the pack frowned on involving outsiders, so Kammie didn’t talk to anyone about her twice-weekly sessions. She didn’t have nightmares anymore, but there were times—like now—when she was faced with an agitated male who made her brain spin back in time to her uncle growling, furious over some slight within the pack that he felt was in some way her fault.
She shook herself out of her dark thoughts of the past. She knew that her uncle was gone and would never return to Wilde Creek. She didn’t have to be afraid of Row, because despite his size, he looked at her like she was the most important thing in his life. As if he couldn’t breathe unless they were touching. She’d never felt entirely safe with a male before, but she did feel safe with Row. Not that she’d admit it out loud to the gruff, stubborn bear.
She got out of the truck and walked up the short sidewalk to the front door. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up, running her fingertips along the top of the door where she hid a key for emergencies. Her regular keys were, unfortunately, in the pocket of her jeans, which were in the woods where she’d left them when she shifted.
She unlocked her door, stepped inside, and held it open for Row. She shut and locked it behind them, and then gasped as he pushed her against it. His hands flattened against the door as he eased toward her, his gaze zeroing in on her mouth.
Her breath halted in her chest, and her heart began to pound. “Take off the shirt,” he said roughly.
She swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. “I, um, what?”
“You smell of another male, and it’s making my bear angry. Unless you’d like me to go back to his home and kill him…take off the shirt.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line as her heart pounded. She couldn’t smell Adam; all she could smell was Row’s bear. He had a deep, woodsy scent that made her think about dark caves in the winter.
Her wolf wanted her to strip and wriggle against Row until every inch of her skin was saturated with his scent. It was an effort not to do what he demanded.
She decided to try being blunt. “I know you may feel like we’re mates, but I’m not looking for a mate.”
“You might not have been, but you’ve got one.” The muscles in his arms flexed, and a deeper scent filled the air between them. Her body flooded with heat, and it took all of her willpower not to free herself from the shirt.
“I’ll go take a shower. Then I won’t smell like anyone but me.”
His eyes were a deep brown that bordered on black. He stared at her as if he could divine all of her innermost thoughts if he looked at her long enough, and maybe he could. She didn’t really want to find out.
“Shower sounds fun,” he drawled.
While her wolf wentwoo-hoo, she put her hands firmly on his chest and pushed. He moved away, but she knew he did it because he chose to, not because she was that strong. If he’d wanted to stay, she would’ve had more luck pushing a brick wall. “Here’s what’s going to happen, Row. I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. You’re going to camp out on the couch. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“About being mates?” His brow arched.
“You’re stubborn.”
“I’m not the one who won’t take a shower with her mate.”
“You’re a stranger. A complete and utter stranger.”
He snarled and placed one of his hands on her chest, over her heart. The heat of his hand scorched her. “I’m not a stranger, Kammie. Not here. Your wolf knows what I am; why aren’t you listening?”
