“Wow, can she talk to you guys?”
“I’m not sure,” Kade admitted. “I don’t think she can talk as such, but she can probably sense things. Now, Kirsty, I’m going to transform again. I’ll be much happier in my Wolf form in case we do come across any more rogues. I don’t want to have to waste any time if that happens. I want to be able to attack immediately. My first priority is protecting you. I hope you don’t mind?”
“No, of course,” she replied, although he got the distinct feeling that she would have preferred he stayed in his human form.
He would have preferred that too so he made a decision. “I tell you what. We left some packs a ways back, when we knew you were in danger, so we could move quicker. They have clothes in them. If we don’t sense any other Wolves in the area by the time we reach them, then I’ll transform, and we can walk back together. All right?”
“Sure.” She smiled. Apparently, that pleased her as much as it did him.
What the hell was going on? Kirsty had no idea but she knew something was afoot. Her reaction to the collossal beast of a man spoke volumes. She’d barely been able to have a coherent thought, her eyes drifting south again and again, and boy! When he’d dropped her pack and she saw his package, she’d almost salivated like a bitch in heat.
With Leia acting all weird too, things were feeling increasingly strange.
But she couldn’t pass up the chance to rest and be safe, even for a short while. Leia also deserved a decent meal or two, and if the Wolves could teach her how to catch a rabbit, although the idea grossed her out more than a little, she’d go with it if it meant Leia could eat better.
She just hoped she’d gotten a hold of herself better by the time they reached this camp they were heading to. And then her mind wandered to think of what it would be like. A few cabins in the forest maybe? Shoot, she couldn’t begin to guess what a Wolves’ camp looked like.
Would it be clean and tidy? Damn. She hoped so. What if they were always in Wolf form and they lived like . . . wild animals? Oh no, maybe she’d made the wrong decision. She should say so now and turn back before she got there. It would be too embarrassing if she arrived and her face did that scrunched up thing it did when she smelled something she didn’t like. Damn it to hell and back again. What would she do?
Turn tail and run? Yeah, like that would work. They could catch her as easily as the damn rogues did. But why would they? They weren’t rogues. They were, as far as she knew, law-abiding people who didn’t harm humans. That was what she hoped anyway.
Her nerves all a jangle, she did what her nan always told her. Focus and let her intuition guide her.
The first thing that happened was an image of Kade’s naked body popping into her head. Great. She couldn’t quite get that out of her mind. No wonder. It was a fabulous sight. No woman could possibly deny that but he probably had a bevy of women running around after him, with a litter of babies in his wake.
Stop it. She chastised herself, refocusing her thoughts on how he, and his Wolves, made her feel. She was surprised when her stomach fluttered with butterflies, then a sense of . . . no . . . yes . . . what? Belonging was the only word she could use but that was stupid, impossible, and downright foolish.
She’d barely met the guy so why did that feeling surface? Oh, wait, she’d had a knock to the head and she’d gone loopy. Aye, that was the only reason for the feelings that were now stampeding through her like a runaway stallion, wild and free.
“Oh, shut up, you stupid mare.”
“What?” Kade’s voice startled her, causing her to jump and let out a far too girly squeal.
He was behind her, next to a huge pack that she knew she’d never in a million years be able to lift. It lay open, boots peeking out as he fastened a pair of jeans. Damn. She’d missed the chance to see that glorious body which now had a black t-shirt covering his muscled chest and those dang jeans were now hiding his thick thighs and, well, the rest.
“Sorry, I was just talking to myself,” she replied, nibbling her bottom lip to try and remove the naughty images that suddenly invaded her mind.
“Do that a lot?” he asked, grinning.
“No, I don’t think so, but I’ve been on my own a lot lately so I guess it’s become a habit. It gets awfully quiet when there’s nobody else around.”
“I can’t imagine what that would be like,” Kade said as he tugged the boots on, grabbed a zip-up fleece and waved his arm forward. “I rarely get time on my own, and even then the Pack can still communicate with me through our link. In here.” He tapped the side of his head.
Kirsty wasn’t quite sure what he meant. “You can hear them in your head? Like, what, some kind of ESP mindreading thing?”
Kade’s eyes crinkled at the side as he smiled, his ice-blue eyes shining as he shook his head. Kirsty’s stomach clenched as he gazed down at her, his size making her feel tiny, but strangely not fearful.
“No, it’s something most Pack’s have. We are linked and in Wolf form we can communicate freely with each other. In human form that doesn’t happen, not unless you’re Alpha. I can sense them, their feelings, if they’re upset, or more importantly if they’re in danger. It’s the way we keep the Pack safe, and that means I have to focus to
