“Gabriel's kid?” I asked.
“I know what you're thinking, but she needs help,” Mitch said. “Pack help.”
The young woman looked at his bloody lip and scowled. “Uncle, it's okay. We'll go somewhere else.”
Her soft voice broke through my reservations. “What's her current status with you and Gabriel?”
Mitch shifted his feet. “She's my niece. Her mother recently died in an accident.” He muttered under his breath before he continued. “Gabriel doesn't know she exists, and I would like to keep it that way. But with the soulbonds, she is at risk and needs protection. Your pack is the only one powerful enough to shield her. Please!”
“What's your name?” I turned to the girl.
“Luna.” She lowered her head.
“Well, Luna, there's not too much we can do tonight.”
I eyed Mitch. “Are you still involved with Gabriel in anyway?”
“No.” His curt answer left little room for doubt.
But I didn't trust easily. I approached. He stiffened, but didn't protest when I laid my hands on his temple. I cleared my mind and directed my energy onto his thoughts. Filtering out all the static, I focused on the honesty of his words.
He spoke the truth. His goal was to protect Luna above everything. She was his only family, and I respected the hell out of that. Especially since I had been in the same situation long ago.
I removed my house key from my key ring and tossed it to Luna. “You can stay at my house for tonight. We'll figure the rest out later. Go about two miles up the road and turn left. My house is the last one up the drive.”
“Thank you.” Luna's small shoulders relaxed as if a weight had fallen off them.
“Don't thank me yet. Liam has the ultimate choice of whether or not the pack will accept you. If they don't, you're on your own.”
“Aylin, are you sure?” Connor asked.
“I'm positive.” I replied.
“Thank you.” Mitch grabbed my hands, then shifted and headed for the woods. He stopped, waiting for Luna.
“Go, before I change my mind,” I encouraged the young wolf.
When she glanced at Connor, her face turned pale. Her eyes roamed over his body, halting on his stomach. I didn't like the way she eyed him.
“You'll want to extract the poison from his body before it latches onto his heart. It's already been longer than ideal.” She pointed to the black char darkening the glow of my imprint. “The toxins are impacting your bond. Remove the poison tonight.” She shifted and ran after her uncle, her silver fur glowing in the night air.
“Poison?” I asked.
Connor's smirk told me he suspected as much.
“Lift up your shirt, Mr. O'Neil,” I commanded.
He hesitated, but when I raised my brow, he said, “Yes, ma'am,” and pulled off his shirt, tossing it to the ground.
Dark welts encircled the incision, moving up his hard chest like veins. The spiderlike web stretched from his lower abdomen to his ribcage. The darkness, inches from his heart.
“Connor! Why didn't you say anything? We need to get this healed and quickly!” I cursed and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the door.
Chapter Six
Connor
I stood before Aylin and shivered. The early morning air did little to cool the venom crawling through my veins. The toxin weakened me and dampened my shape-shifter ability.
When I attacked Mitch, I had wanted to smash his face like he pummeled Aylin's truck. I frowned, remembering how Aylin had brought him to his knees. An action she beat me to.
Damn! A sexy redhead downing a man with the flick of her finger was as sexy as hell. How sexy was that? My smile crumpled as a sharp pain surged outward from my stomach. I sucked in a breath.
“After you.” Hiding my struggles, I held the door open and leaned against the frame to keep me upright. The pain of the poison mingling with my need to claim Aylin muffled my thoughts.
After I followed Aylin into my house, she reached around me to shut the door. She traced the black lines ascending my bare chest. I quivered. My lips still tingled from our embrace earlier — our moment interrupted. I leaned down to give her another kiss.
She placed her finger to my lips. “No.”
“No?” My eyelids drooped from lack of sleep. My mind struggled to comprehend the two-letter word.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch. When I fell onto the soft cushions, I pulled her onto my lap. I preferred this position anyway. My lips gently touched hers before she moved away.
“Connor, be serious.”
The words waded through the fogginess of my brain. Why she didn't want to progress with our attraction? She felt it. I know she did. She had whimpered when I pulled away from her outside. If it wasn't for Mitch—the asshat—I never would have stopped. And I wouldn't be questioning if she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
Her hands roamed across my chest then descended to the heavy scar tissue from the sword's incision. Her fingers halted over the thick welts protruding around the point of impact. “Goddamnit!”
“Babe, relax.” My words slurred. I grabbed her hands, pulling them around my shoulders. I loved the way she felt in my arms.
Her concerned gaze met mine, and I frowned. She shouldn't be worried. I wanted her lust, not her concern.
“I don't know how to heal this.” She tried to move her hands back to my wound, but I clasped both against my heart.
“Do you feel that?” I asked, feeling my heart's steady rhythm.
“Yes.” Her husky voice called to me. “But we must fix this.”
I imagined her leaning forward and trailing a line of kisses from my heart to my lower abdomen. When those lips licked the heavy welts and then moved lower, I moaned.
“Connor!”
I snapped back to reality.
“Fuck!” I exhaled. Did she know where my mind had drifted to? Her forest green eyes sparkled with lust. She knew exactly what I was thinking. I
