Page 18 of New Blood (Werewolf Alliance #1)

D anielle carried the last of the boxes downstairs and brought them into the storage room.

The room was getting pretty crammed, but luckily, the boxes she’d packed with William’s clothes and shoes wouldn’t be staying there for very long.

She’d marked them with a black Sharpie so that Flora would be able to easily identify them when the time came to ship them to whatever location William would be exiled to.

She still couldn’t believe how quickly the world she knew had turned on its axis.

Now they all had to get used to something new, and nobody knew whether things would change for the better or the worse.

She wished she could say that things were turning out better for her under the new pack leadership.

However, the kiss she and Jude had shared had made it clear to her that she wouldn’t be able to suppress her feelings for the man who should become her mate and not Eve’s for very long.

“Danielle.”

The soft male voice made her shriek and whirl around, nearly bumping her head against the door frame. Jude stood entirely too close to her, his tall frame blocking the door and preventing her from seeing if anybody else was in the corridor.

His masculine scent instantly filled her nostrils, and his nearness created goosebumps on her skin.

By the heat rising into her head, she guessed that she was blushing like a ripe tomato.

And why shouldn’t she? Any woman would blush if the man who’d kissed her passionately and touched her intimately not an hour earlier stood so close to her that she could feel his body heat.

“J-Jude,” she stuttered, before clearing her throat and making another attempt at speaking. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

The chocolate-brown color of his eyes suddenly sparkled as if tiny flames were flickering in them.

“Yes, in fact you can. I want to see the estate.”

“Oh, uhm,” she stammered, searching for an answer so he could leave quickly and wouldn’t do anything stupid. “I’m sure Heath would love to show you around. He should be out by the garage in the back. You can’t miss him.”

“I’d like you to give me the tour,” he said, his eyes pinning her. “Please… or do I need to play the alpha-card?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Asking me when anybody else could give you a tour.”

“I prefer your company to that of anybody else.”

She swallowed, and her mind went back to the moment they’d kissed in his walk-in closet.

“It can’t happen again. Please, just leave me be,” she begged.

“I promise I won’t touch you during the tour. I give you my word,” he said, “but if you refuse to give me a tour, I’ll kiss you right here, where anybody passing can see us. Is that what you want?”

In shock, she stared at him.

“Yeah, didn’t think so,” he said with a confident grin.

She knew she had no choice. He would kiss her if she didn’t comply.

At least if she showed him around the property, he wouldn’t touch her.

She believed that much. He was a man of honor, if she discounted the moment when they’d both lost their minds earlier today as if they were randy high school kids.

“Alright.”

Jude stepped aside and let her exit the storage room.

She quickly glanced around to see if anybody was near and could have heard or seen the exchange, but she didn’t see or hear anybody.

She was grateful for it, because she didn’t want to have to explain to Flora or anybody else why she was talking privately with the alpha.

She didn’t speak until they were outside and the back door closed behind them.

“This way,” she said, pointing to a path that led past the garages. She saw Heath vacuuming the inside of one of the SUVs, but he didn’t see or hear them as they walked past the garage.

“There are six cars parked in this garage, and there’s space for several more in the front driveway,” she started.

“How long have you lived here?”

Jude’s question was unexpected, almost as if he hadn’t even heard her explanation about the cars.

“I thought you wanted to get a tour of the estate,” she deflected.

“Which you’re giving me. Thank you. It doesn’t mean we can’t talk while you show me around.”

She felt his gaze on her. He was right of course, but why did he have to ask her about her private life? It was something she kept close to her vest. The less anybody knew about her past, the safer she was.

“Danielle, talk to me.”

When he suddenly stopped and turned to her, he stretched out his hand as if wanting to touch her. She made a step away from him.

“Alright. We’ll talk. I came to live with the Gallaghers six years ago.”

As they resumed walking, Jude asked, “Where were you before?”

She shrugged. It was best to keep her answers vague.

“Here and there. My mother and I moved around a lot. After she died, I came to live with the Gallaghers.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s unusual for werewolves to move around a lot. Was your mother not a member of a pack?”

“She was cast out by her pack.”

Danielle didn’t know the whole story, but she’d asked her mother questions over the years and received a few clarifications about her circumstances, and had pieced together the rest.

“I’m sorry. What happened?”

“She got pregnant with me. But she wasn’t mated to anybody in the pack.

She’d fallen in love with a werewolf she’d met somewhere else, but I guess he didn’t want her…

or me. I suspect he was mated already.” She shrugged.

“When she didn’t reveal who my father was, they sent her away to fend for herself. ”

“That must have been horrible for her and for you.” Jude’s voice was softer now than before.

“I didn’t know any different. I was twelve before I even realized that my mother and I were werewolves.

She taught me everything I needed to know about being a wolf.

She got married to a human a few years later, but Carl was a drunk.

I couldn’t stand him. He was violent when he was drunk. Belligerent.”

“Did he hurt you and your mother?”

“He tried. But we were stronger. Mom left him eventually, and we found a pack that took us in.”

And that was all she was prepared to say on the subject.

“That sounds tragic, having to go through so much pain. So the pack you and your mother joined back then wasn’t the Gallagher pack?”

She shook her head. “No. I joined the Gallagher pack after Mom died.”

“Why not stay with the other pack?”

Danielle hesitated. “They…” She let out a tremulous breath.

“Let me guess… They arranged for you to mate with one of their pack members.”

She stopped walking and stared at him. “How did you know?”

“It’s not uncommon,” he explained. “Female pack members without family attachments are often mated to another pack member to keep them in the pack. It’s common practice. But I guess not having grown up in a pack, you’re probably not aware of all the dynamics that rule our community.”

“I learned pretty quickly,” she replied, unable to avoid the bitterness of her experience from seeping into her voice.

“You didn’t like the man they’d chosen for you?”

“Didn’t like? That’s an understatement. He was violent and abusive.

I didn’t want to make the same mistake as my mother.

It would have been worse than what my mother had gone through with Carl.

A human I can fight off, but not a werewolf…

” She shook her head. “I knew one day he would have killed me.”

Jude nodded slowly. “You did the right thing by leaving. I’m glad you found a safe place here. Are the Gallaghers good to you?”

Danielle made a motion to continue walking before she spoke again. “I have a roof over my head, and nobody is forcing me into a relationship I don’t want.”

She didn’t want to tell him that she’d hoped that William Gallagher would make good on his promise to give her a decent job so she could be a little bit more independent of the pack.

Or that she hated being a servant, when she knew she was capable of so much more.

The point was moot right now with William gone.

They’d arrived at the first of three cottages on the property. This was the one she’d lived in until three months ago.

“What happened here? It looks like it burned.” Jude walked closer to the small building.

“Gas explosion.”

“Was anybody in there when it happened?”

“I was.”

Jude whirled his head to Danielle, a shudder racing through his body.

The thought that Danielle could have died in a gas explosion before he would have even had the chance to meet her made him feel sick to his stomach.

His heart began to race, and his breath trembled.

He ran a shaking hand through his dark hair, trying to regain his composure.

“Tell me how it happened.”

“It was in the middle of the night. I was sleeping.” She pointed to one of the rooms where the windows were blown out.

“That was my bedroom. I heard something, maybe a car from the freeway or a coyote. I really don’t know.

But I woke up. That’s when I smelled the gas.

I ran into the living room and could hear that gas was escaping from the old fireplace.

So I tried to turn it off. But I couldn’t. ”

“Why not?”

“The key was gone. You know, one of those three- or four-inch-long iron keys that you stick in a hole in the wall to turn the gas on and off? It was gone.”

He could hear the panic in her voice now, as if she were reliving the incident.

“I ran into the kitchen, because that was the fastest way out of the cottage, and when I raced through it, I saw that one of the gas burners on the stove was lit. I hadn’t even cooked that night, because I’d eaten at the main house.

I have no idea why it was lit.” She shook her head.

“It was only a matter of time until the gas would reach the kitchen and ignite…”

She took a breath. “I didn’t have time to turn off the flame.

I just ran. The door was sticky, you know the way it gets when the wood expands when it’s damp outside?

I nearly couldn’t get the door open. Just when I did, the gas ignited, and I was thrown clear of the building. If I hadn’t woken up when I did…”

He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to pull her to him to comfort her, but she pushed him back.

“No! You said you wouldn’t touch me.” Her eyes widened as if she was scared of him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…” He retreated, then cursed, “Fuck! I know what I promised you. But to think that you could have died in that explosion… It does something to me… I want to keep you safe…”

She shook her head. “You can’t touch me.”

“Even though we both know what we are to each other? You feel it too, don’t you? We’re drawn to each other.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Please be honest with me. You feel it, too.”

He stared into her ice-blue eyes, pinning her, forcing her to give him an answer. And not just any answer, but the answer he wanted to hear.

“It doesn’t matter what I feel,” she insisted. “Because I can’t act on it. I won’t repeat my mother’s mistake. She got pregnant by the man she thought would be hers. And look where it got her. She ended up alone. I’m not doing that. I’m not repeating history.”

He noticed her hands balling into fists, her jaw tight, her chest heaving. She was agitated, but there was something else: she was trying to push down her feelings, force her inner wolf to remain quiet and not admit what they both knew.

“Danielle, I felt it when we kissed. I felt you.”

“I never should have allowed you to kiss me. I should have stopped it right there and then.”

“Please don’t deny it: We’re meant to be together.”

“You’re not a free man! You said so yourself! You announced it last night: you’re going to mate with Eve. It’s your duty.”

He knew what he’d said the previous night. He didn’t need a reminder because right now, he wished he could go back in time and undo it.

“But if I were free, would you want me?”

Danielle averted her eyes and shook her head.

“You’re not free.”

“Answer the damn question,” he snapped. “Would you have me if I was free?”

She lifted her chin and stared straight at him, squaring her shoulders as if steeling herself for a battle she had no chance of winning.

“No. I don’t want you. The kiss was a mistake.

You’re wrong. I’m not meant to be your mate.

You’re probably just getting cold feet about having to mate with Eve.

Let’s face it, she isn’t exactly the warmest person.

I’m sure once you have her in your bed, you’ll feel differently, and you’ll see that all you see in me right now is a way out. ”

He let her talk, let her say what she wanted to say, but deep down he knew that she was lying. She was lying to make it easier for them both. But did he want the easy way out? Or was he ready for the toughest battle of his life?

“Now excuse me, please. I have chores to attend to, or Flora will get upset with me.”

He said nothing in response and simply watched her march back to the house. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. But he needed to keep a cool head to figure out how to proceed.