She should have shifted by now. But my family never sensed she was a wolf, and even now, as I carry her, the only wolf scents I smell on her are my mother’s, the rogue’s, and mine. Ransom’s scent is also amongst them because she is wearing one of his old band t-shirts. I can’t help but growl at the fact another male’s scent is on my mate.
I stop jogging as I come to a small hill leading down to the road where the car is parked. I see the headlights are already on, which means Mom is down there waiting for us. I take careful steps down the incline, ensuring I don’t slip and fall with Grey in my arms. She’s already pretty banged up, and the last thing I want to do is add to her pain.
I pick up my pace when we are finally on a flat surface and make it to the Jeep in no time. Mom stands at the rear with a thick blanket in hand. “Here, I found this in the back.” She knows I would refuse to put Grey down, so Mom carefully wraps the blanket around both of us. “Go sit down, honey, you must be exhausted.”
Until Mom says that, I didn’t realize how tired I am. I actually can’t remember the last time I slept, but I imagine it was probably those few stingy hours I got at the shitty motel we stayed at in Alberta a couple days ago.
“Is Remi going to meet us?” I ask her as I cautiously take a seat on the rear of the Jeep. I shift Grey’s weight in my arms but still refuse to put her down. If I had my way, I would never put her down again.
“Yes, they should be here any minute. Remi found her some clothes to change into, and the boys are bringing you something to put on as well.”
My mother hesitates, then says, “Ryker, your sister is worried about her friend, even though Pru is your mate, she is also your sister’s friend. Please try not to bite her head off if she puts herself between you and Pru.”
I know it sounds like a reasonable request that I should allow my own sister near my mate, but my wolf is still very much at the surface, and I know if anyone were to try to touch her right now, I might rip their hand off their body. Even if they were just trying to help. Unfortunately, my wolf won’t understand the difference. He’ll just see someone touching his mate, and that isn’t okay with him.
After a couple minutes of me staring at her face, I see bright headlights headed in our direction. The truck parks, and doors open and slam shut quickly after. The engine is barely off before Remington is sprinting to us, the twins close on her heels.
“Pru!” Remi shouts in our direction, a look of panic on her face.
I growl once when Remington reaches for her friend’s shoulder, but I quickly get my wolf and myself together. “She’s still not awake. She has a pretty nasty head wound. Did you guys happen to bring any first-aid supplies?”
“Pru keeps a box full of stuff in a compartment in the back.” Remi points to where I’m currently sitting. “Go put her in the front seat, and I’ll grab it.”
My wolf protests at the idea of putting her down, but I know it will be easier to reach her wounds if she isn’t intertwined with me.
After carefully placing her in the passenger seat, I keep a watchful eye as my mom and sister work on patching up my mate’s cuts and scratches.
“Dude, what the hell happened?” Ranger asks.
“The fucking rogue wolf I’ve been tracking for weeks found her,” I say, pulling the dark pair of sweats on Ransom handed me a moment before. “She’s lucky he was in his wolf form the entire time she was with him. He’s a nasty wolf but the worst kind of human imaginable. His last victim…” I trail off, not wanting to put those images in my younger brothers’ heads.
“I still can’t believe she’s actually Grey.” Ransom stands at my side, his eyes wide with confusion as he also watches the scene in front of me. “Do you really think she doesn’t remember?”
“Dad talked to Addison,” Ranger answers his twin, having obviously talked more to our father after I left, “And I’m sure he got more insight, but we’ll get all our questions answered when Addison gets back into town. Dad told me she wants to be the one to tell Pru the truth.” Ranger pauses then asks, “So, what do we call her now? Pruitt or Grey?”
“Grey,” I say immediately.
“Pruitt,” Remi interjects, having been listening to our conversation.
“That’s not her name,” I argue, irritated anyone would think differently.
“As far as she knows, her name is Pruitt Bailey. That’s all she has known for fourteen years. She doesn’t remember being Grey, and she may never remember it.” Remi scowls at me. “She isn’t the little girl you remember growing up with either.”
“Remi’s right,” Ransom agrees, but a small smile starts to form at the corners of his mouth. “She was a cute kid, but now she’s a smoking hot woman.”
I’m not the one to punch my brother for his comment, although I was about to. It’s our mom who delivers the blow as she passes him to get something out of the truck my siblings had driven up in.
“Next time, I’ll let your brother have a piece of you,” she hollers over her shoulder. She has also changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. The shirt is a couple sizes too large, which leads me to believe
