The Wolf's Surrender

“Tommy and Kev Payne were the ones who took off a few minutes ago.”

Mia frowned, feeling a sick twist of fear at the reminder of the two men vanishing into the woods. “Do you think they’re okay? If it was Jeff—”

“It wasn’t,” Jenner said quickly. “I would know. They’re just taking care of a…pest…we have out here from time to time. Nothing to worry about. You can trust me on that,” he said, and there was something in the way he said it that left Mia no doubt she could believe him, at least on this. And as for the pest he’d mentioned, she was pretty sure she’d rather stay in the dark on that. The werewolves and, of course, Jeff had been enough of a revelation for one night.

“We’re all Blackpaw pack,” Jenner continued, “and you’re right in the middle of our territory. Not a problem for a human. Big problem for a drifter, especially a feral like this…Gaines, did you say?”

Mia nodded. “Jeff Gaines.”

He tilted his head just a little, putting her in mind of a predator listening for its prey.

“Hmm. Boyfriend?”

Mia felt her shoulders begin to hunch defensively. Yes, she wanted to say. I’m one of those women who ends up dating a psychopath. Apparently, I’m blind. Instead, she kept it simple.

“Not anymore.”

That prompted a small, sexy smile that left Mia feeling a little breathless. Werewolves in movies were almost never this gorgeous. Of course, werewolves in movies weren’t real, either. All she could think of was the way she’d felt when Jenner had touched her. Not a great idea…but better, she supposed, than focusing on what Jeff Gaines had almost managed to do to her. And what it seemed he had done to her.

“Fair enough,” Jenner said, and turned to the others. “Ian, why don’t you go back to the Hollow, have Buddy run the name just in case. It’s probably not his real one, but you never know. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“You got it,” said one of the men, sandy-haired and with bright green eyes that lit on Mia with keen interest and a surprising amount of compassion. “Don’t worry, miss. You’ll get used to us. Well, except maybe Jenner.” He grinned at the name Jenner called him under his breath, then added more somberly, “We’ll make sure this guy gets his.”

He dashed into the trees at a speed that was far beyond anything Mia had ever seen, then vanished. She assumed he hadn’t just gone ahead and turned into a wolf out of deference to her, though at this point, Mia thought, he might as well have just gone for it. She turned her attention back to Jenner.

“Buddy’s the sheriff in Ferry’s Hollow. He’s one of us,” Jenner said.

“Convenient,” Mia said.

“It comes in handy sometimes.” Jenner looked at her closely. “Look, you seem to be healing well, but you’re paler than I’d like. That bite’s going to take you down hard at some point. That’s just the way of it. No getting around it, but you’ll feel a thousand times better once you’ve slept. I’ll take you back to town so you can rest. The others will start hunting for Gaines, and call out the others who can help. Not much else we can do without you, and I don’t want to risk it until tomorrow, at the earliest. The details can wait until then.”

He offered his hand, and Mia looked at it, how large and strong it was, feeling more than ever like she was having an out-of-body experience. She was suddenly very, very tired, and her memories of the evening had begun to press insistently against the cocoon of her shock, threatening to take her places she didn’t want to go. Rest might be the best thing, Mia decided. But before doing so, she had one question left to ask.

“This bite,” she began, lifting her gaze from Jenner’s still-extended hand to meet his eyes. She saw the subtle change in his expression, and knew the answer before she even asked it. The truth stunned her. Didn’t she have enough to grapple with? Still, she needed to hear the words.

“You said if I didn’t help you I’d wind up just like him. A…a feral, whatever that is. Does that mean I’m…I’m going to be a…”

“It’s not so bad,” Jenner said softly. “Saved my life, anyway. But that’s enough for tonight. There’s plenty that will wait for morning. You’re going to be fine, miss. That I can promise you.”

She felt no real horror. Not when she’d been living with her own secrets for this long. What was one more? But she also knew that this foggy indifference would evaporate by morning, when the cold light of day would probably see things looking awfully different to her. For now, it was enough to know. She’d deal with it…but later.

Mia looked back down at his hand. Given the choices she had, there was really only one option. Tentatively, she placed her hand into Jenner’s, struck by how small her own was in comparison. And then struck again by the hot snap of connection where their skin touched. It still seemed wrong, to feel such a thing on a night like this, but Mia had no strength left to fight it. His fingers closed gently around her own, and again she felt those threads between the two of them, tightening and pulling them closer.

“I’m Mia,” she said. “Mia D’Alessandro.”

“Mia,” Jenner said, and no one had ever said her name that way before, as though it was being tasted, savored.

“Welcome to the Hollow.”

Chapter 2

Dex hadn’t been kidding, Jenner thought ruefully. She was a pretty little thing.

And if he kept noticing, it wasn’t going to do either one of them any good. He had a feral to catch, and Mia had a lot to adjust to in a short amount of time. He was going to make sure the latter was someone else’s problem, though. He had enough on his plate. Still, the way her hand had felt against his chest was going to haunt him. He hadn’t touched a woman in a long time. Too long, since it hadn’t taken much for him to start imagining that Mia’s fingertips had some kind of magic in them. It wasn’t just the attraction, either, which was going to be tough to ignore. He could have sworn, just for an instant, he’d heard music…

Shaking off the strange feeling, Jenner steered Mia toward his beat-up old pickup. One of his pack mates had left it for him on the side of the road heading back into town at his request. Walking home wasn’t going to be an option tonight.

And neither was carrying Mia, for entirely different reasons.

The others had peeled off one by one, eager to join the hunt for the night. Jenner couldn’t blame them. Hell, it was what he would be doing if the woman wasn’t the key to finding the feral. The thrill of the chase was one of the things he loved about his position in the pack. The Lunari always led the hunt, and often took the kill. As it was, he was stuck playing both babysitter and guard, at least for tonight. Until he knew more, Jenner wasn’t comfortable passing off the job to someone else. Wasn’t likely Mia’s erstwhile boyfriend would try and come back for her, despite her fears, but you never knew with that type. So he’d let her crash at his place, then tomorrow get her set up with one of the mated couples who had some space to spare.

He glanced over at her, at the long waves of chocolate brown hair that glinted in the dim light, the strong, classical profile that could have been printed on a Roman coin, and thought: Early tomorrow…the sooner the better. She wasn’t Angelina Jolie.

She was far more beautiful than that.

Mia, thankfully, seemed oblivious to the scrutiny. Her eyes were pointed determinedly forward, as though it were taking everything she had to get where she was going. Likely it was, he knew. Her strength would return in spades, but it wouldn’t be tonight. Still, she hadn’t complained, which he hated, or cried, which he hated even more. It spoke well of her character. Hopefully she’d make a good addition to the pack, once she accepted the way things were.

She was very lucky some of the pack had been out for a run. A few more minutes alone with her attacker and she would have been linked to a feral, cut off from anyone who could help her make a normal transition and possibly, probably, damaged beyond repair.

The thought of it, of that faceless psycho forcing himself on her, filled Jenner with a slow burning rage. He clenched his teeth. Yeah…he wished he was still out in the woods tonight.

“What’s wrong?”

Jenner turned his head and was instantly caught by a pair of large almond-shaped eyes, hazel with fascinating little flecks of green. Her arms were crossed over her chest, wrapping the jacket he’d given her to cover the tattered remnants of her shirt tightly around her, like armor. It surprised him how easily she had picked up on his tension. He’d always been very good at keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself—it was part of what made him effective at his job, and a tough werewolf to crack besides. But then, Mia was different. He’d sensed it from the first.

Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen. His instincts told him there was more to her story. But it was going to have to wait.

“Do I look like something’s wrong?” He tried to ask it lightly, and knew it had come out sounding surly anyway. She didn’t seem fazed by it, but at this point, it didn’t surprise him. Whatever else she was, Mia was a woman with some spine…though she might have been better off being a little more intimidated by him.

Well, he might have been better off, anyway.

“You look like you want to kill someone,” Mia said, weary eyes regarding him in the darkness. “But as long as it’s not me, I guess it’s fine. Carry on.”

Her sense of humor caught him by surprise, charming him. He didn’t want to be charmed. He set his jaw, determined to keep this as impersonal as possible.

“I was just thinking about next steps,” Jenner replied. And that was true enough. “This is my truck, here. Hop in.” He led her around, opened the passenger side door for her. Mia hesitated as she peered into the dim interior of the truck, which Jenner was relieved to find was pretty clean except for an empty soda can in the cup holder.

“I’m sorry, but…where are we going, again?” she asked, stifling a yawn mid-sentence. Her gaze was cloudy when she looked at him. Jenner didn’t expect her head to really clear until sometime tomorrow—the feral’s saliva had only been working on her for about an hour, and he’d seen with his own eyes that the initial effects of a werewolf bite could cause all manner of strange symptoms. In Mia’s case, it seemed like it was going to take her down into the inevitable deep sleep sooner rather than later.

That was likely better for them both.

“I’m going to take you someplace where you can get some rest for the night, remember? You’ve been through a lot. Some sleep will do you good.”

He kept his voice casual, reasonable, and that, coupled with Mia’s fatigue, was enough to get her in the truck with little more than a resigned sigh.

“I’m not going to wake up with fur, am I?” she asked when he’d gotten in, found the keys beneath the seat, and turned on the engine. Jenner chuckled at the expression on her face despite himself.

“No fur. Not even a headache. Trust me, when you make your first change you won’t sleep through it.”