Page 7

She was stunned silent that he would give it back to her when she’d tried to assault him with it twice.

She stared down at it where she held it above his vise-like hold and took in the tranquility it brought her.

It hadn’t worked well as a weapon yet, but she would hold on to it and keep hoping eventually, she’d get lucky.

Liekki turned and headed back the way they had come without putting her down or adjusting his hold.

In the bathroom, he set her gently on her feet beside the tub.

She expected the water to be set to a hard boil, but it was still. Avalore noticed the bubbles and blue tint of the water. Never in her life had she had a bath that looked so luxurious and inviting.

“How hot is it?” She had no desire to become a lobster.

“Feel it.” He kept a hand on her lower back but stepped to the side.

Hesitating for a moment, she leaned down.

Avalore hovered her palm above the surface, trying to build the courage to stick her hand in it.

She gritted her teeth, pressed her hand down, and broke through the surface.

The wet, warm heat surrounded her throbbing fingers and soothed them on impact. The temperature was perfect.

“Well?” Too much cockiness laced his voice.

“It will do.” That was as much as she would concede as she stood and patted her wet hand on the sheet.

“Remove the sheet, and I’ll help you in.”

“Huh...” she looked at the gorgeous man beside her. She thought about her body and all the lumps and redness, not to mention the days of dirt. “I...can you...?”

“If it makes you feel better, little lure, I’ve already seen all your deliciously curvy charms.” He brushed a lock of tangled strands over her shoulder. “Who do you think took that pitiful honey-soaked gown off you?”

She gasped. She knew she’d been naked as a new babe when she woke. Since she didn’t recall getting undressed, it made sense that someone else had done it. But her mind hadn’t put one and one together to arrive at Liekki stripping her down.

Deliciously curvy . The man was teasing her. “Even if that were true, I’m awake now. I’d rather do it without an audience.”

He lifted one perfectly-arched sable brow. “I’d rather ensure your safe—”

“Liekki?” A loud crackling sound came from somewhere outside the bathroom.

“Damn. I need to get my radio. I’ll be back.” He didn’t readily move away.

“Go. Take all the time you need.” She waved him off.

“Don’t overexert yourself. If you get dizzy, wait for me.”

“Trust me. I got this.” She smiled, not only to put him at ease but to fortify herself as well.

“Fine. But I’ll be back to wash your hair.”

She shook her head. “I don’t need—”

The radio cracked again with his name, but the fiery man stepped into her space. She could feel the heat radiating from him and caressing the bare parts of her skin.

“That’s not up for argument. Your swollen digits will not be able to do it, and you have half the forest in your hair.” He leaned in closer. His face was so close that his cinnamon-scented breath fluttered over her lips.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to lick her lips or his. But she resisted the temptation.

“Either you let me wash it in the tub, or I haul your ass into the shower with me, and I’ll do it there.”

Gulp. She could no longer stop the images of their two bodies naked and slick, brushing against each other in soapy glides under a torrent of water. Heat exploded between her thighs, making her sex swell and her thighs slippery with wetness.

His nostrils flared, and a low growl filled the tiled room.

Her nipples tightened at the rough sound.

“Bath.”

“Liekki, do you copy?”

With a sharp nod, he pivoted on his booted heels and left the bathroom to answer the third crack of the radio.

She may have escaped from the lab, but it became apparent that she had jumped out of the skillet and landed into a live volcano with a roaring fire. The fire was Liekki.

~YH~

“How’d your mate’s transition go?”

Chanin’s heart swelled with pride, and his gut tightened at the thought of Morlie and how well she handled the mating and shifting. As he approached his Beta standing on the path, he declared, “She pulled through just fine. Morlie’s strong, a fighter.”

He could only hope the same fierce spirit would help her deal with what was coming her way.

Chanin would do everything in his power to put it off as long as possible, give Morlie time to become comfortable with her wolf as part of her, and enhance her fighting skills.

As soon as he dealt with the Farkas situation, Chanin could focus on getting his mate up to speed.

“My Lovel and Amira arrived at the same conclusion after spending time with our newest she-wolf.” Bleddyn smiled. His good-natured personality and love for his mates gave texture to his voice.

“Your pair of mates are intuitive.”

“They are.” Bleddyn sighed and continued, “Minsi may be sulking now, but she will not stop.”

Bleddyn confirmed Chanin’s exact thoughts.

“It’s my fault for keeping Minsi as my lover for far too long.

” The lovely Asian wolf was a strong fighter and was often at his side, even though he wasn’t Alpha then.

Minsi was there during some of the rougher battles they had amid the Great Catastrophes, trying to lay claim to land and food.

When he was in need, it was easy to take what she blatantly offered often.

“Minsi and all the Pack knew it wasn’t permanent, and you were always clear she wasn’t your mate or chosen,” his Beta assured him. “Will Morlie be ready?”

“She’ll have to be. I’ll make sure of it.

” Chanin knew it was imperative for Morlie to show strength among the Pack.

The Lupines needed her to prove she was worthy to belong to their Alpha.

They could not end their mate bond, which came from the Great Spirit, but they would not respect her, and the Pack members would constantly look down on Morlie.

Other females would try to relieve him of what they saw as a burden and take her place beside him.

The fuck if I’d let that happen.

“There’s no one as strong and fierce as you, Alpha. Let me know if my mates can assist in any way,” Bleddyn offered.

Chanin nodded. “I will. She needs more than a lioness’s share of sparring partners, and Lovel has proven herself a warrior many times over.” Chanin gave his Beta a firm pat on the shoulder blades. “What’s the current situation?”

Shifting to Chanin’s new direction of the conversation, Bleddyn began, “Boris informed me that Farkas’s scent was picked up and headed south.”

“South makes sense.” Chanin considered. “It is mostly barren land in that direction. Harder to find a food source, but easier to lay low.”

“Faolan and the Fang Warriors are following it to see where it leads.” Bleddyn removed his shirt and dropped it at the base of a tree. “Boris reported something about the scent, which keeps dropping but will pick up again a few miles away.”

Chanin frowned as he stripped out of his clothes and set them on the tree closest to him.

He knew his cousin liked to use old caves and cold storage shelters, as had been Farkas’s pattern.

“What about old subway systems? For the most part, the bombs that attacked the infrastructure or flooded out from the redirected waterways and four years of endless rain that followed the nuclear wars destroyed most of the entrances.”

“Yes. Boris mentioned that they searched any of those they came up upon.” Bleddyn shifted into his wolf in his next breath and continued, But reported Faolan and the others could tell Farkas had entered a few, but due to the flooding level, it didn’t get very far before his scent picked up again above ground.

But now they have lost his trail and are searching to pick it up again.

Chanin let his wolf out alongside his second’s beast and continued listening. We must be missing something.

The Fang Warriors were fierce fighters and some of the best trackers in the Pack because of their unique gifts.

Bleddyn’s wolf took a moment to perform a good, deep stretch with its paws forward, chest to the ground, and hindquarters in the air.

Meanwhile, Chanin’s beast seemed to need a deep-boned shake to work the kinks out of its spine and joints.

Then they were off.

“Chanin. Over.” The radio still attached to Bleddyn’s belt, now resting on the pile of the Beta’s clothing, crackled.

Chanin’s ears perked up at the sound a few feet behind them. They trotted back as the outsider's voice came through.

I got it. Chanin shifted and held a staying hand toward Bleddyn, keeping his Beta from shifting as Chanin walked back to the tree entrance of the path. He was naked and unashamed. Their kind didn’t have the same uncomfortableness humans had about displaying their bare bodies.

Hell, his Pack spent most of the rain years in nudity. They didn’t see the point in putting on clothing only to end up sodden once they were outdoors. And no one enjoyed trying to get into wet apparel.

Bleddyn’s wolf followed.

It wasn’t rare, but it wasn’t often they received contact from other territories. Chanin didn’t expect the chat to take long, and he would ensure it didn’t because he wanted to get on the trail with his men to ensure they found Farkas that day, even if they had to stay out all night.

His wolf would enjoy the hunt. It was a big part of their genetics. However, with the low whine his wolf released inside him briefly, Chanin knew that the beast would prefer to be in the woods cavorting with Morlie and making her wolf his instead of chasing down a rogue late into the night.

At the tree, Chanin stooped down and swiped up the radio before the call could come through a second time. “This is Chanin. Go ahead.”