Bitten, Beaten, & Loved Read online

  He smiled warmly. “You’re welcome.”

  I looked at the small bruise on his chin. “You got in trouble because of me, didn’t you?”

  He touched the bruise on his chin. “I overstepped my place when I stepped between you and Ralph. He’s beta in our pack and I shouldn’t have done something so dominant towards him.”

  I realized I was reaching out towards his chin and pulled my hand back into my lap. “I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged. “They know better than to startle an unknown wolf like that. They shouldn’t have ganged up on you like they did. Ralph got in trouble too.”

  The waitress came over smiling at Sean. “How can I help you?” I don’t think she meant with the food.

  Sean nodded at me. “Beautiful ladies first.”

  I smiled sweetly at the waitress who was annoyed at the obvious sign from Sean. “I’ll have two tacos and a side of rice and beans.”

  Sean frowned at me. “That’s it?” I frowned back at him and he sighed. “No wonder you’re so thin. I’ll have six tacos and beans and rice. Oh, and add another three tacos to her order. Thank you.” I wanted to argue, but I really could use the extra food. He looked at my face. “I’m sorry, but you’re too thin. Even in wolf form your ribs are showing. It’s not safe or healthy for you to be so thin.”

  I glared at him. “It’s not like I starve myself on purpose.”

  He smiled. “If you would talk to my alpha he could help you. The pack helps each other out.” I started to stand up and he put his hand on top of mine. “Don’t go. I was just giving you a suggestion. Please. Stay.”

  I wanted to leave, but the pleading look in his eyes made me sit back down. Plus, it felt good to be near another wolf, even if I wouldn’t admit that out loud. “I can’t be in a pack. It doesn’t work.”

  He shook his head. “We have females in our pack and they’re perfectly happy.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Are you sure they are? Or is that what their mates tell you?”

  He frowned. “Of course they are. They have voices of their own. This isn’t the fifties.” He was so serious that it caught me by surprise. No wolf I had ever dealt with before spoke of women in a high regard. Women were just there for amusement, whether it be sex or torture, but not for friends or as real lovers. He rubbed his thumb across my hand and I realized he was still holding it. I jerked it back and ate a chip to hide my face. He asked, “What pack were you from?”

  I swallowed the chip and asked, “Why does it matter? I broke the ties and I don’t want to go back. I’ll die before I go back to them.”

  He exhaled and the soothing magic spread over me like pulling up a warm blanket in a cold room. “Let’s talk about something else. Why did you pick this city?”

  I shrugged. “Our kind don’t usually like the cities so I figured I wouldn’t run into many here.” Sean was very attractive even for our kind, his thick black hair was spiked again and his hazel eyes shone in the lights. Why was he talking to me? “Isn’t your mate going to be mad that you’re talking with me?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t have a mate.”

  I stared at him in shock. “So, are you one of the ones that date human girls?”

  He looked disgusted, as though he vomited in his mouth at my question. “No.” He seemed to understand my questions and smiled. “There aren’t many free females around…”

  The waitress brought us our food, which interrupted him. He waited until she left and smiled wider at me. “I’d really like to get to know you better.”

  I stared at him in shock for a full minute before my brain finally began to function. “I don’t know if I can give you what you want.” Dammit, that’s not what I meant to say. I meant to say no.

  He shook his head. “All I want is for you to give me a chance.” He pointed at my plate of food. “Eat.”

  I shook my head. “You’re more dominant and…” He raised an eyebrow and the look was so sexy and breathtaking that I found I couldn’t argue. I started eating my tacos and he started eating with me. We ate in pleasant silence and I felt safe for the first time in years. Dominants can make a submissive feel completely safe just by their presence. Whether the dominant could really protect you or whether they wanted to was another matter altogether though. I chastised myself mentally for letting my guard drop with him and allowing myself to be so attracted to him. It didn’t matter how much I craved a mate, I knew it didn’t work. I knew what pain they could inflict.

  We finished our food and started walking back to my office. He didn’t talk until we were standing outside the door. “Come out with me tonight.”

  I shook my head and backed away from him, preparing for his anger when I refused. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

  “I don’t know what happened with your last pack, or how they treated you, but not all of us are bad,” he whispered softly as he looked down at me. “Lumping all males into the mean jerk category is like lumping all human males into the psychotic serial killer category. A few do not represent the many.”

  I knew he had to be right, but I couldn’t chance it. I couldn’t go back to the way it was. “I’m sorry.”

  He exhaled softly and looked sad. “You have my number, so when you decide that you’re tired of playing the lone wolf, call me. If you want, we could go running together. No strings attached. Just a nice evening run.”

  That sounded like the greatest thing ever, but I couldn’t be alone with him. I wasn’t sure how he had controlled himself this long as it was. I couldn’t risk him losing control and beating me or worse. “I’ll consider it,” I whispered.

  He knew I was lying, he could smell it. He stepped towards me and my body shook with fear. He inhaled my scent and whispered, “Have a good day, Rose.”

  I watched him leave and then walked on wobbly legs into the office.

  “What happened?” Richard asked.

  I shook my head. “Nothing. We ate lunch and he asked me out, but I declined.”

  “You declined! Why would you do that?” Richard asked in shock.

  I glared at him. “It’s none of your business. I just don’t like guys like him.” Only that wasn’t true. I craved the companionship of another wolf, especially a male, alpha wolf. It was hard being a lone wolf.

  Richard threw his hands up in exasperation and walked to his office.

  Humans. They were all just focused on two things, money and reproduction. They didn’t understand what it meant to survive; to endure pain and torture at the hands of the ones you couldn’t help loving. Every day was torture for me.

  Except today. Today with Sean near me had been pain free and nice. Of course, that would all stop once he gave up the charade and started beating me.

  He had saved me from his beta though. That could just be part of his ploy. I groaned angrily and focused on the work at my desk, trying to forget about him.

  As the clock ticked over to five I hurried out of the office and home. I continually checked the air, but never found his scent or any other of our kind around. I made a small meal and finished the evening by watching television and eating ice cream.

  Why was he being so nice? He had seemed angry when I made a comment about their females. Was his pack different? Did his pack actually treat women with kindness? There was only one way to find out, but I couldn’t go to his alpha without risking being sent back to my old pack. That would not happen. I would sooner die than go back to them.

  I felt twitchy so I changed into sweats and tennis shoes and jogged down the street. People milled around on the streets, some already intoxicated as I jogged by. The blare of music spewed from the open bar doors. I watched as scantily clad women paraded in front of the human men and felt jealous. I’d been just like one of them, until Jeff had found me and bitten me. I shouldn’t have ever caught his attention. I should have trusted my instincts and stayed away from him, but he was a tough guy and that had excited my stupid human brain. Plus, he’d been great to me while I was human.

&nb
sp; Now I wished that I could take it all back. Never met him. Never became a werewolf. Never have fallen in love with that psychotic jerk. Even now part of me missed him. I firmly believed it was just my wolf side missing a pack, but if I really analyzed my feelings, I knew it was because of the mating bond. I still hadn’t quite figured out how to break that. There had to be a way though.

  My nose picked up a scent and I slowed as I came to the corner and saw Sean with two other men, both obviously werewolves too. Sean laughed at something his friend said and then turned and met my eyes. He was beautiful and I desperately wanted to be near him again. He smiled at me and started to move towards me, but I turned around and ran. I couldn’t let myself fall for another man. I couldn’t let him take control of my life like I had let Jeff.

  I made it home and locked my doors as quickly as I could. The locks wouldn’t stop them, but it made me feel better.

  I showered and climbed into bed. There had to be a solution. There had to be a way to test him. Surely, I could think of someway to make him show his true intentions. I had spent a lot of time in therapy to become able to even exist in the human world. My therapist told me that the last step was accepting exactly what Sean had said, not every man was bad. Could I do it? Could I let myself fall for another male? Could I make myself vulnerable? I had escaped my last pack so it was possible I could escape Sean if he captured me and hurt me. I wasn’t as weak as I had been when first turned.

  A run with him was the perfect idea to test him. I was faster than most males, so if he became threatening I could just run into the forest and make a trail no one would be able to follow. Yes, that’s what I would do.

  I fell asleep dreaming of running through delicious bunny-filled fields with Sean by my side.

  Richard was unusually grumpy the next morning and no joke I made helped his mood. I finally broke down and walked into his office. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

  “You. I just can’t believe you turned down a rich, handsome guy like Sean Wright. Do you know that women are always vying for his attention, but none ever gets it? You, however, caught his attention and you turned him away. I just don’t understand.”

  I knew why the women never caught his attention. Humans were not ideal mates for werewolves. They either freaked out when they saw you change or did stupid human things that irk the wolf within. Plus, our wolf could never be happy with a human.

  “Well for your information I’m calling him tonight to go out. So, you can stop being so damn crabby and cheer up.”

  Richard sat back in his chair and templed his fingers. “Why the change of heart?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve had a bad track record with guys like him turning out to be psychopaths, so I’m going to give him a chance to show his true intentions.”

  “Sounds smart to me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Glad my plan meets your approval.”

  He smiled and waved me out. “Go call him.”

  I shut his office door and walked to my desk. I’d planned on waiting until later to call, but now was as good of a time as any other. I pulled the card from my purse and dialed the phone number.

  “Sean Wright, travel agent.”

  “Hi Sean, it’s Rose.”

  A chair creaked on his end and he said, “I wasn’t expecting you to call after last night.”

  I felt embarrassed and was glad that he wasn’t here in person to see my face. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I was just scared your friends might make me go to your alpha and I will not go to him.”

  “So, why are you calling?” he asked suspiciously.

  “I wanted to take you up on your offer for a run. There’s a park about thirty miles away that’s big, full of small animals and is unused by humans. We could change and run in it. That is, if you still want to.” My stomach felt like it was tied in knots.

  “Of course I want to. What time? And do you want me to pick you up?” he asked excitedly.

  He seemed genuinely happy. Or he was acting again. “Seven o’clock and you can meet me at my house, but I prefer to drive myself.”

  “Still don’t trust me?” he asked sadly.

  “I don’t trust any wolves.”

  “Alright, I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  “Rose, I’m really looking forward to tonight. I’m glad that you called.”

  I smiled at the affection in his voice and said, “Me too.”

  I hung up the phone and groaned loudly, thumping my head down against the desk. What the hell was I doing? If he ended up being like Jeff I was going to have to run away all over again. I hated running away. I was tired of running away.

  “Didn’t go as you’d planned?” Richard asked from behind me.

  I sat up and sighed. “It went exactly as planned.”

  “And that’s a problem?” he asked quizzically.

  I put my head back on my desk and whispered, “I don’t know.”

  Richard patted my back reassuringly and said, “Just give him a chance. He could end up being the sweetest, most perfect guy you’ve ever met.”

  “Or a psychotic rapist who gets his kicks by torturing me.”

  Richard laughed. “You’ve definitely had some bad relationships. Rose, I’ve worked with Mr. Wright for three years and he’s always seemed like a good guy. Sure, he’s a little different than most people, always commenting on smells and weird things like that, but overall, he seems like a good guy. Remember, this is coming from a lawyer.”

  I laughed and sat up. “Thanks Richard.”

  He nodded his head and handed me a large file. “Now, make two copies of this and hole punch them for me. Thanks.”

  I took the file and smiled at him as we returned to our normal work relationship.

  I finished work, changed clothes and stood on my porch anxiously waiting for Sean. Part of me hoped he wouldn’t show, while a larger part of me couldn’t wait to run with another wolf, especially one who wasn’t hunting me.

  Sean stopped in front of my house in an older truck and smiled at me as he climbed out. “Ready?”

  I nodded my head as my fingers dug into my arms. “I’d like to set some ground rules first.”

  Sean nodded his head. “Okay.”

  “Play is okay, but if I yip you back off. I only hunt small animals like rabbits so no taking down any deer or anything large like that. And absolutely no mating.”

  Sean smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

  I nodded my head and climbed into my car. Sean followed behind me as we made our way out of town and towards the large park. It took half an hour, but we finally made it and my nerves were completely frayed. I climbed out of my car and walked deep into the trees. Sean followed me silently, not even making noise with his shoes. I wished I was as stealthy as him.

  I stopped at my favorite place to change and turned to face him. The moonlight highlighted his hair and face, making him look like an angel. A very sexy, muscular angel. “Okay. I’m going to go behind this bush to change. I don’t like people being near me while I change. I’ll yip when I’m done.”

  He nodded his head and walked to another bush across the way.

  The change was painless and I took a moment to stretch in my preferred form before yipping and stepping around the bush. Sean walked towards me and I admired his wolf form. He dropped the front half of his body down and wagged his raised hindquarters in an invitation to play. I snorted and spun around, running into the trees. He yipped in excitement and caught up to me quickly, running next to me.

  I spotted a rabbit and was preparing to pounce on it when Sean snapped it up in his jaws and shook it. He dropped the rabbit in front of me, but I snorted and shook my head. I would not accept food from him. Not this early on.

  Sean whined and nudged the rabbit towards me. I pushed it with my foot back towards him and took off after a squirrel that had tried to dart past me.

  I trotted back to Sean who was eating his rabbit and ate my squirrel. Sean wipe
d his muzzle with his paw as he waited for me to finish and studied me. His eyes roamed all over me as I ate and even though I knew it was dumb, I felt naked. I finished eating and sat down on my rump, meeting his eyes. Sean suddenly leapt at me and knocked me over. I yipped in fear and he jumped away, tilting his head sideways in question. My heart was racing as fast as a cornered rabbit’s and my body shook in fear.

  He dipped his head down and crawled to me on his belly in submission and apology. He lifted his head and licked the bottom of my jaw.

  Never before had a male werewolf apologized to me. I stood up and faced him, my head now tilted in question as I tried to understand him. Was it a ploy or was he just sorry for frightening me?

  Sean whined and licked my jaw again before backing away and standing up. I didn’t know what to do. How do you acknowledge an apology? I bobbed my head up and down in a yes and then stood on my back legs before pushing on his back and knocking him to the ground.

  He huffed and bit my front leg, but kept his teeth away from my skin. I pulled my leg out of his mouth and ran away, pausing when I was a reasonable distance away and wagged my tail happily.

  Sean’s tongue lolled out the side of his mouth and he sprang after me in excitement. He tackled me and then ran away. I tackled him and then ran away. We played until we were too tired to move and then lay down on the ground side by side. It was the most fun I’d had since becoming a werewolf. I wished time would freeze so I could enjoy this moment forever, but I knew real life would come back and bite me in the rump.

  Sean stood up and stretched, flicking his tongue over my muzzle. I stood up and we walked back to our clothes and got dressed.

  Sean waited by our cars, looking nervous. “I’m sorry I scared you at first.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault.”