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  She was immensely relieved when they moved out of the way, though she half expected the wolves to go for her heels as soon as her back was to them.

  As they passed the female wolf, Taylor dared a close look at her. She had to be at least six feet tall. Catching Taylor’s gaze, the wolf’s yellow eyes narrowed on her in an intense scrutiny. Taylor quickly looked away.

  This time, she was much happier to have Alder drag her through the woods. Every step they took was one more step in between them and the wolves.

  Taylor slowly began to shed the stress and anxiety caused by the confrontation. Euphoria welled up in its place, and after a few minutes she would have been skipping had her ankle not been killing her.

  As he was prone to doing, Alder stopped abruptly. Taylor smacked into him face-first, but quickly regained her balance, rounding on him with excitement.

  “You were so awesome,” she gushed, rubbing her nose. “I’ll admit, I had my doubts when you went all—”

  “Taylor, I need you to listen to me.”

  He didn’t look nearly as relieved as she did. In fact, he looked very concerned. Her stomach knotted.

  “Okay,” she said, because what else could she say?

  “We had a treaty with them. I don’t know what my brother did, but we only a have a few minutes before they regroup and come after us.”

  Alder shrugged off his bag and handed it to her. She took it in a daze, her brain working overtime to process what he was saying.

  In a small voice, she said, “Alder, I don’t think I can run. My ankle, it’s…”

  She trailed off as Alder cupped her face in his hands. They were very warm, and it made her realize how cold she suddenly felt.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, understand?”

  Taylor shook her head. “No.”

  In spite of their dire circumstances, Alder grinned. “You will.”

  Alder let her go, taking a few steps back. She watched as he kicked off his boots and removed his socks. It wasn’t until he started taking off his shirt that it finally hit her that he was undressing. Reflexively, she turned on her heels, her face heating.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  Alder didn’t answer. A few seconds later she heard a popping sound coming from behind her and then she knew.

  A tiny part of her had suspected it for a while. The pieces were all there. He lived in the mountains, he sometimes asked weird questions that any normal person would know the answer to, and he knew more about werewolves than anyone she’d ever met.

  It took Taylor a minute to prepare herself for what she was about to see. She swallowed hard and, gathering her courage, she turned around.

  She wasn’t really sure what she’d been expecting to see—maybe something similar to the other wolves, but slightly less terrifying. She definitely wasn’t prepared for the sight of him.

  The first thing she noticed was his fur. It was a light, tawny color that shimmered like silver in the moonlight. It was long and beautiful, and her hands immediately itched to touch it.

  He approached her slowly, captiously, and she noticed something else about him. He was huge—nearly the size of a horse, and muscular to boot. Alder was a big man, but she couldn’t fathom how all that wolf had been contained inside his human body.

  Stopping in front of her, he lowered his head, revealing two beautiful and familiar eyes of gold and blue. She shifted his bag to one arm before tentatively reaching out to him, her shaky hand stroking his muzzle. He was so soft.

  “Alder,” she breathed. “You’re amazing.”

  He closed his eyes, turning his head into her hand. For a short while, nothing seemed to exist except for the two of them.

  Then the howling began again. The sound jolted her back into reality. It was time to start running.

  Alder bent down low, and she instinctively knew what he wanted her to do. She strapped his bag to the front of her chest and climbed onto his back, gripping the fur between his shoulder blades. He gave her a shake, as if testing to make sure she was secure, and then took off into the forest.

  Chapter Twelve

  She was riding on a wolf.

  The wind whipped through Taylor’s hair as they soared through the forest. Alder moved so quickly that his feet hardly touched the ground and she had to hold on tightly to the pocket of skin between his shoulders.

  It was still hard for Taylor to come to grips with the fact that the creature beneath her was Alder. The man she’d traveled with for three nights, the man she’d kissed, the man she’d slept beside was actually a wolf.

  She remembered thinking, when she’d first seen Alder, that men like him shouldn’t exist. As she’d gotten to know him, she’d realized that it wasn’t only his body that was exceptional. Alder was an incredible man. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made that he wasn’t human.

  If all werewolves were like him, she could understand why human women were so eager to leave their lives behind to be with them. Then again, it was more likely that Alder was an exception among his own kind as well, because the wolves who were pursuing them didn’t seem all that friendly.

  She could see at least three behind them, swiftly darting through the trees. Alder was fast, but she could sense that he wasn’t moving at his full speed, probably because he was afraid she would fall.

  Fear and anxiety rose up again, but she squelched them down, tightening her grip on Alder. “They’re catching up!”

  Alder sped up, and Taylor had to clench her legs to stop herself from flying off his back.

  They raced down a narrow pathway. The trees were thick, their high branches reaching out like hands to block out the moonlight. Taylor saw a blur of movement and the next thing she knew, something sprang at them.

  She didn’t even have time to scream as a dark wolf lunged at her. Alder wasn’t so slow to react. He maneuvered his body just in time to take the brunt of the assault. She felt the wolf’s claws tear at her chest, but Alder’s bag protected her.

  Alder immediately regained his footing. She expected him to start running again. Apparently, so did the other wolf. It moved as if to chase Alder, but Alder sidestepped him and in one lightning-fast movement, he went for the enemy wolf’s throat.

  Taylor heard a loud cracking noise, and it was only seconds later, when they were on the run again, that she realized Alder had snapped the wolf’s neck.

  Her adrenaline spiked. She’d known that they were in mortal danger, but the fact that he’d just killed one of his own kind spoke to the true severity of their circumstances. If they didn’t escape, they would die.

  There was light up ahead. It grew, until finally they broke out of the forest and into a wide-open field of grass. Against her better judgment, she looked back at the forest.

  Wolves of all shapes, sizes and colors seemed to pour out of the woods. She was momentarily stunned by what an astounding sight they made, until she reminded herself that all of those wolves wanted her dead.

  One wolf in particular caught her eye. It looked to be almost the size of Alder and was either black or dark brown, she couldn’t tell. It surged forward ahead of the others, murder in its gaze.

  When she looked ahead again, Taylor squinted, struggling to understand what she was seeing. There was a mountain in the distance, and she could see the very tops of evergreen trees, but the field seemed to come to an end. It was only seconds later, when they were flying through the air, that she realized Alder had just jumped off a cliff.

  For one instant, her heart seized. She could see the river below them, flowing through the bottom of a steep gully. She thought for certain they were headed for a watery grave, and was almost a little relived because at least then she’d be dead by the time the wolves came to eat her.

  But in the next instant they landed on solid ground. Hard.

  Unable to hold on, Taylor was flung from Alder’s back. Pain split through her head as she hit the ground, but she didn’t lose consciousness. Al
der was immediately at her side, nudging her with his muzzle.

  Disoriented, she sat up and looked around. They’d jumped from one cliff and onto another. Looking at the wide gap between the two pieces of land, she couldn’t believe they’d actually made it.

  As she watched the opposite cliff, the wolves skidded to a halt at the edge. One of the smaller grey ones attempted the jump but only made it halfway before falling into the gully. The largest of the wolves let out a vicious snarl and Alder returned the gesture with one of his own. She wasn’t sure which of them was scarier.

  Taylor tried to stand, but her legs felt like they were made of jelly and she couldn’t get them to cooperate. Alder circled around her anxiously before inclining his head and carefully picking her up by the back of her dress.

  As he dragged her into the forest, she saw two of the wolves shift on the far cliff. One was the she-wolf who had accosted them earlier and the other was the very large male, presumably the fabled Silas.

  Taylor knew that they weren’t out of the woods yet—so to speak—but given that none of the wolves seemed keen on attempting the jump, she hoped that meant they were safe.

  * * *

  Alder knew that it would take the Whiteriver pack at least twenty minutes to circumnavigate the gully if they decided to give chase. He also knew that no matter what his brother Hale had done to slight them, Silas wouldn’t attempt the jump. Alder hadn’t even been sure he’d be able to make it, but there hadn’t been any other choice.

  He began to calm as he pulled Taylor into the safety of the forest. Once he was certain they were sufficiently shielded from view, he placed her against a tree, taking a step back to examine her.

  She stared up at him through tired eyes. Damp hair clung to her flushed face and in one corner of her forehead blood trickled from a small wound. Despite her injury, his eyes were drawn to his bag, which she’d strapped to her chest.

  It had been slashed open, though it wasn’t its missing contents that concerned him. Although he had taken most of the damage and had a gash on his arm to show for it, had Taylor not positioned his bag as she had, the wolf could have easily slashed open her stomach. The thought caused bile to rise in his throat.

  Looking around once more to ensure they were alone, Alder shifted back into his human form. After days of being stuck in his human body, he’d almost grown comfortable with it. Now that he’d been in his wolf form again, he was reminded of how restrictive human flesh could be.

  As he came fully into his human body he saw that Taylor had gone slack-jawed. Pressing his lips together, he crouched down in front of her, cautiously reaching for her forehead. He was relieved when she didn’t flinch away.

  Brushing her hair back, he examined the wound. It appeared to be superficial, but head wounds could be insidious.

  “You’ll need stitches,” he said.

  Taylor groaned. “I hate needles.”

  Alder’s hand drifted down her face. Caressing her cheek with his thumb, he said, “You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”

  She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes. “Are you kidding? You being a werewolf is the best thing that’s happened to me all week. If you hadn’t been one, we’d both be wolf chow right now.”

  Alder wanted to kiss her. No—he wanted to do far more than that. But she was injured and they were still in danger.

  “I’m going to shift again,” he told her. “When I do, I need you to get on my back so I that I can carry you.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “Are you gonna take me back to your den?”

  His lips curved. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  Alder shifted, though it wasn’t as easy as before. His own energy reserves were running low and his muscles strained with the exertion. He wouldn’t be able to shift again until he fed.

  With their combined efforts, Taylor was able to hobble onto his back. Once she was secure he set out into the forest, going at a fast but sustainable pace. They would have to go a roundabout way to reach his territory without encountering members of Whiteriver again.

  When he did get back to his den, he fully intended on breaking Hale’s nose. After that, as soon as she was well, Alder was going to claim Taylor as his mate.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Your mate is rather fierce,” said Lark.

  His pack mate was standing in the doorway, one hand on her hip and the other holding a slab of meat over her eye.

  Alder gave her a reproachful look. “She’s not my mate. Not yet, anyway.”

  He looked down at the female in question. Taylor was sleeping peacefully in his arms, her head resting against his chest. They had tended to her head wound. As he’d suspected it had appeared far worse than it actually was, but he was still too concerned to sleep.

  They had arrived at his den a couple of hours back. He’d initially brought her into the lower chambers, his instincts driving him to keep her deep within his den where it was safe. Once Taylor had been patched up, he’d become much more reasonable and Lark had convinced him to take her to the upper chambers where it was brighter.

  Morning sunlight filtered into the small chamber from fissures in the ceiling. Taylor’s face was turned into his chest and the light fell on the back of her head, illuminating her red hair.

  “What did Hale do to piss off Silas?” Alder asked quietly.

  In his relief to have Taylor back at the den, he’d almost forgotten the circumstances that had put them both in jeopardy in the first place.

  “No idea,” said Lark. “He’s been gone for three nights now.”

  That explained why Hale had yet to rear his head. It wasn’t unusual for his brother to disappear for days at a time, but it was always when Alder was there to look out for the pack in his stead. It pissed Alder off immensely that Hale would leave the pack leaderless for days.

  “Are you going to leave us?”

  Alder glanced back up at Lark, unsure what to make of the question. “Why would you think that?”

  She nodded at Taylor. Understanding dawned on him.

  Five years ago, when they’d set out to form their own pack, he had assumed that Hale would be the alpha. Although he’d had the size and strength of an alpha male, Alder had never been overtly dominant, not like Hale was. Alder had assumed that he would naturally fall into a beta position in their new pack. He hadn’t.

  Without their older brother Cain to rein in Hale’s aggressive and impulsive nature, it had fallen on Alder to step up and be responsible for the welfare of the pack. Perhaps because of the bond they shared as twins, Hale had never resented Alder for taking dominant position in the pack. While it wasn’t something they’d ever fully addressed, they had somehow managed to fall into roles as co-alphas of their pack.

  Alder couldn’t pretend taking a mate wouldn’t change things. Hale had a general dislike for humans and had never had any interest in taking a mate of his own. While he doubted his brother would challenge him for Taylor, Alder recognized that her presence would upset their dynamic.

  Following his line of thinking, Lark said, “You can’t have them both. Not with the way Hale is…”

  “I know.”

  It didn’t matter if Hale was tolerant of Alder taking a mate, Alder would never be able to share the territory with his brother, not when he had Taylor, and eventually, pups to consider. He could never let Hale’s erratic behavior jeopardize his family.

  Alder said, “If it comes down to it, there’s a small stretch of land outside of Cain’s territory. He offered it to me a few years back.”

  “You never told me that.”

  He frowned. “I never thought I would want to take him up on it.”

  Taylor made a soft noise, turning her head to the side. She was still sound asleep, but a lock of her hair had somehow fallen into her open mouth. He pulled it away, tucking the strands behind her ear.

  Looking down at her, he thought it was almost comical how much trouble she’d caused him in the few days since they’d
met, and how much trouble she was bound to cause him in the weeks to come.

  Lark sighed from the doorway. “I’ve never left the valley before.”

  “I would never force you to come with me,” he said.

  “Are you kidding?” she said. “This place will be a mess with Hale in charge. I’m going wherever you go, boss.”

  His lips twitched. “We’ll worry about that later. For now, go clean up the cabin.”

  Once they were alone, Alder found himself absently stroking Taylor’s hair. She might have been trouble from the start, but for the first time in years, he felt like he was doing more than just going through the motions. He felt that with her, he would have a future.

  * * *

  It was difficult for Taylor to want to wake up. She was warm and cozy and her pillow smelled amazing. She tried to burrow her head deeper into it, but came up against a sharp pain that had her eyes flying open.

  “Ouch,” she said hoarsely, her hand moving to her forehead.

  Something caught her wrist. Taylor blinked several times before Alder came into focus. Forgetting the pain for a split second, she smiled up at him.

  “Hey, you,” she said.

  His eyes were full of affection, and she almost wanted to look around to see if there was someone else in the room. But those blue and gold eyes were focused squarely on her. It scared her. It thrilled her.

  “Don’t touch,” he instructed, placing her hand down. “You’ve already picked the bandage off twice.”

  Alder reached to grab something from behind her. As he did, she looked around the room.

  While it was clear to her that they were in some sort of cave, it didn’t look like what she’d imagined. She’d been picturing a dark hole in the ground, but the cavern was spacious, about the size of her bedroom, and well lit. It was also pretty clean looking, all things considered.

  Alder handed her a plastic bottle of water and several pills. “Antibiotics and aspirin,” he explained.