The Pack (The Pack 1)

“You filthy bitch!” He rolled on top of me, slamming his fist into my face. “I’ll teach you to respect me.” He used the hand in my hair to beat my head against the ground, the pain blurring my vision as he continued to scream obscenities at me. Suddenly, he was gone, his body ripped off me and I laid there, my head throbbing as the sound of a high-pitched scream abruptly cut off. The snapping of teeth forced me into motion as I rolled away; keeping my eyes averted as I heard pained whimpers. I dragged myself slowly to the edge of the trees, using my elbows and feet to propel me. I collapsed against a tree, panting, as I tried to find the courage to look back.

My head hammered as pain pulsed though me, but I forced myself to take in the carnage that surrounded me. The mangy wolf laid a few feet from me, blood smeared on his white fur, his body limp. A sharp cracking sound drew my gaze to the wolf poised over Hanley. His neck was between Dominic’s massive jaws, the sharp crack the sound of his neck breaking. I swallowed hard as the wolf dropped the dead man and turned to me.

Dominic, I thought frantically to myself. It’s Dominic. Not a wild animal. Dominic.

The massive wolf’s eyes met mine, their golden yellow standing out against his black fur, and familiar enough to calm my racing heart. There was no mistaking the intelligence in them as he lifted his head and let out a long howl. Once he heard an answering howl, his head dropped down, and he paced closer to me as I held completely still, the pain in my head throbbing in time to my pulse. He paused and as I watched, the wolf blurred and there was Dominic.

He stepped forward again, keeping his movements slow as I studied him. My eyes drooped as I fought to stay awake, the pain quickly winning the battle, but as my eyes drifted closed, I managed a smile.

Dominic naked was an impressive sight indeed.

Chapter Twelve

I woke up to a wet tongue licking my face. A large, wet tongue. As I registered the sensation, I reacted automatically.

“Ew, stop!” My hand came up as I pushed away whatever was licking me, and got tangled in thick fur. I blinked as my mind tried to sort out what I was seeing. There was a dog – wolf? – sitting next to me, its tongue lolling as it smiled at me. Yes, smiled. I blinked, remembering my head being slammed to the ground several times and wondered if this was what a concussion felt like.

As I stared into his eyes, I said the first thing that popped in my head, “Caleb?”

Those friendly eyes left mine as his head tilted and I followed the direction of his gaze. At the sight of Dominic, the breath hissed out of me. He’d pulled on shorts but there was still a lot of naked skin exposed.

“Go home and inform the….others.” I caught his hesitation as he adjusted his word choice. The wolf glanced between us and then ran off. “Are you okay?”

He crouched down, his eyes running over me, and I opened my mouth to respond only to realize I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I should.

“Depends on your definition of okay, but I’ll live.” My hand went to my cheek where the bastard had hit me, but instead of pain and swelling my fingers encountered dog slobber. “Ew. He had to lick me?”

“Healing properties.”

I nodded, a dozen questions bubbling, but as I glanced around – anywhere but at the broad and bare chest filling my line of vision – I saw a dead body.

I swallowed as the reality of what had happened hit me again. They had tried to kidnap me, and planned to – my mind recoiled at the word, but I forced myself to acknowledge it – rape me. They were going to rape me. My gaze skated over Hanley’s dead body and then landed on the dead wolf. The memory of its snarling rage, the feel of him knocking me to the ground flashed through my mind and I brought my gaze back to Dominic.

“They’re dead,” I stated, needing to be sure.

“Yes,” he confirmed, his gaze worried as he watched me. I wasn’t entirely sure how I should react. I’d just watched Dominic turn into a giant wolf and kill the guys who’d been after me, one of whom was also a wolf. I was also positive the wolf who’d licked me was Caleb, not that I was about to ask. I figured Dominic would lie to either protect his pack or he’d tell me the truth, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for either option.

Instead, I went with, “Could you put on a shirt?”