AGAINST MY WISH.

chapter 6

odor of death and something more caught her attention—the smell of a red male

lupus garou. Instantly, she made the connection between the rogue she’d caught

a whiff of in the woods and the one who had been here. Her skin chilled. She

was used to the hunt, but this was something else, something purely evil.

Intending to investigate and sure that Devlyn would not agree, she twisted

her arm free of him and ran up the steps to the front door.

Dashing after her, Devlyn grabbed her wrist. “No,” he whispered harshly.

“You stay here and I’ll check it out.”

Grateful he would, she asked, “Do you smell it, too?”

A look of feral hostility flashed across his face.

“Maybe we can…help.” But she doubted they could. She yanked at his

leather jacket. “You have a lock pick, don’t you?”

“Standard lupus garou toolkit. Where’s yours?” He pulled out a leather kit

and slid a tool out.

“I never sneaked into human’s homes like you and your cousins did for fun,

remember?”

“Only because you were too shy.”

She snorted.

Jiggling the pick in the lock, he sprang the mechanism open. He shoved the

door aside and walked into the room. “The air is foul,” he whispered.

“Someone’s died,” she whispered back, her skin damp and crawling.

“A few days ago. Decay’s already set in despite the place being ice-cold. Air

conditioner’s running on high even though the temperature is barely above

freezing outside.”

“Natural causes. Let it be by natural causes.” But she knew it wasn’t, knew it

had to be the killer she’d tried to track in the Cascades. She recognized his scent

right before zoo man Thompson had caught her on her jaunt through the woods.

Was it one of the two wolves she saw watching her at the stream? She couldn’t

be sure. The breeze had shifted and it might have disguised which of them it

was. Or it might have been another, one she hadn’t seen, hidden in the woods.

The sound of shattering glass in a room down the hall incited Devlyn to

surge forward, but as an afterthought, he turned to her. “Stay here…and don’t

leave.”

She nodded, realizing he wanted to keep her safe, but her blood heated that

he’d think she’d run out on him when their situation only grew bleaker by the moment.

The strong odor of incense filling the living area overwhelmed the faint odor

of blood emanating from what she assumed must be the bedroom.

Everything in the place appeared immaculately clean, as though a maid had

just tidied up, except for a patch of…

She drew closer to the pale blue sofa. Coarse brown hair, reddish at the tips,

clung to the back. She reached out to collect it.

Devlyn rushed out of the bedroom. “Let’s go, Bella.” His stern face allowed

no argument. He seized her wrist and jerked her toward the door. “Now, Bella,

now!”

“What happened?”

After pulling her from the apartment, he slammed the door. “A woman

around your age, murdered in bed.” He rushed Bella back to the SUV. “We have

to risk driving. We can’t be caught here.”

“How was she killed?”

He banged her door shut and ran to the other side of the vehicle. As soon as

he started the ignition, he turned to her. “A wild animal ripped out her throat.”

“Lupus garou,” she whispered. “They’ll think it’s us.”

“They’ll think it’s a wild animal. Werewolves are fanciful legends concocted

by our human ancestors, remember? But it fits. He killed her before the waning

moon completely faded.”

“But the sound of the glass shattering—”

“He must have been living here for the last couple of days. By breaking into

the place, we startled him, and he busted the window and took off. The window

must have been stuck tight.” Devlyn sped out of the parking lot.

“They’ll think the killer is Rosa, the freed wolf…me, because she’d be the

only wild wolf loose in the city.”

He pursed his lips and pinched his brows in a frown. “Possibly. If zoo man

Thompson gets hold of this news, he may think the woman had something to do

with freeing Rosa, that she kept her in the apartment, or maybe they’ll think it’s

another wild wolf.”

“We have to stop him.”

He glanced at her, his dark brows lifted. “I have only one mission and that’s

returning you to Colorado and the pack.” . She shook her head. “He’s one of mine.”

Devlyn stared at her like she’d lost her mind.

“He’s a red.” She raised the clump of hair she’d hastily plucked from the

couch. “We have to stop him before he exposes the legend for what it really is—

fact.”

“No. Humans are already hunting us.”

“You didn’t…didn’t kill Thompson or the cops, did you?”

The look Devlyn gave her made her wish she had never spoken the cutting

words. Dark-seated hurt flashed across his eyes. He clenched his jaw and turned

to watch his driving. “We’re being hunted because you and I freed a little red

wolf from the zoo and because I liberated you from the hospital, knocking some

officials out in the process. I’m sure they consider me armed and dangerous. I’m

not sure what they think of you, considering you were n***d and nearly frozen.”

“I’m sorry, Devlyn. This whole thing’s kind of gotten to me. Lupus garous

don’t kill humans without good reason.”

“This one did.”

“Yes, and we have to make sure he doesn’t again.”

“Not us. His own pack, Bella.”

“Then we have to make them aware that he’s doing this.” She wouldn’t stand

by and let it continue, though her own investigation hadn’t turned up much. But

the scent of the one in the apartment definitely matched the smell she had caught

a whiff of in the woods. Was he one of the ones she saw at the zoo? She’d been

only able to catch the smell of one of them because of the way the breeze shifted

at random. She couldn’t have identified which one the scent had belonged to.

But at least one was in the clear.

Concentrating on his driving, Devlyn didn’t say anything for a moment. “No,

Bella, we’re not contacting the reds.”

Taking an exasperated breath, she reached over and touched his hand. “We

have to.”

“Damn it, Bella, you’re going to get us both caught and in a hell of a lot

more trouble.”

She folded her arms. “We have to,” she growled. “We owe it to our kind.”

Again, a shimmer of something elusive crossed his face. For several more

minutes, he remained quiet, and she knew he was coming to a decision. He

finally let out his breath. “All right.”. Relief shadowed with worry skittered across her skin. “Thank you.”

“I hope we don’t live to regret this,” he groused, “but it’s about time you

realized where you belonged.”

For a second, she didn’t respond, wondering where the hell that came from.

Then the realization struck her—she’d given up lupus garou to live with humans

and now wanted to help her own kind. That’s why he agreed. Hoping what?

She’d give up the notion of finding a human male to mate?

Figuring he had made a concession and might change his mind if she ticked

him off, she bit her tongue before she made a hasty retort. “Did he urinate in the

apartment?” she asked instead.

Devlyn studied her for a moment, took a long breath, and nodded.

“His territory. Do you think he wanted her, and she grew terrified when he

changed into the wolf?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe not? Does he just want to kill humans?”

Devlyn gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Devlyn?”

Through clenched teeth, he said, “She was a redhead, Bella. He’s a red lupus

garou looking for a mate. There must be a shortage of eligible females in the

area.”

Bella’s throat felt parched as if she’d crossed the Badlands without a lick of

water.

Devlyn continued, “He must have convinced her he loved her and then

risked changing to turn her. Only she would have been terrified. Humans can’t

deal with what we are, Bella. Can’t you understand that?”

This wasn’t about the woman. She figured this was about Bella wanting a

human male.

“You see now why I didn’t want you involved?” he asked. “If he catches

sight of you…”

He shook his head.

Rubbing her temple, she tried to figure out a way to alert the killer’s pack.

“The two men at the zoo are probably related to the killer’s pack. We have to

send word to them. Find them somehow.”

“How do you propose to do that when we’re on the run? “Take us to Tigard; it’s south of Portland. That’s where I live, and we can

use it as our base for the time being.”

He scowled at her. “The things I do for you.”

“Yeah,” she said huskily, “like relieving my…tension.”

He glanced at her, granting her a wicked, wolfish smile that said he wanted

to eat her all up, and she wondered then if he’d want to do more to relieve her

tension the next time. But a police cruiser passed them by, and she shrank in her

seat, remembering the danger they were still in.

Thirty minutes later, they reached Bella’s house without incident, thank the

stars. But until they’d hidden the rental SUV, she still didn’t feel safe. And if her

neighbor saw her coming home in a different vehicle than the one she’d left in,

the questioning would begin in earnest.

Good-natured Chrissie was truly a friend, but she was also too curious for

her own good.

At four in the morning, the area remained blanketed in black, except for two

security lights highlighting the entryway of the peach stone two-bedroom house.

“Your outside lights are on,” Devlyn said, his voice worried.

“Security. They automatically come on when it grows dark. Park around

back. We can hide the SUV in the garage, but we’ll have to open it from inside. I

don’t have my garage door controller with me.”

“Your vehicle is still in the Cascades?”

“Yeah. Next to the cabin I own there.”

They shut the vehicle’s doors as quietly as they could, and then he hurried

with her to the front door. “Let me go inside first.”

Slipping a key from a vine-covered trellis, she handed it to him, appreciating

his concern. “Be my guest.”

As soon as he opened the door, he took a step inside, lifted his chin, and

sniffed the air.

“Smell anything?” she whispered.

A slow smile crept across his face. “Yeah, you, Bella honey.”

She pushed him into the house and locked the door. “You’re supposed to be keeping your mind on business. Let’s move the SUV into the garage; then we

can plan our next—”

“Sleep. We haven’t had enough sleep to keep us going.”

She noticed then the darkened skin beneath his eyes. “All right.” She

motioned to the kitchen. “Door to the garage is that way.”

“Be right back. Undress and I’ll meet you in bed.” He waited for her to

agree.

“Still worried I might bolt?” She folded her arms and lifted a brow.

“No. Not now that you want to catch the killer.” He sounded annoyed.

“Then you can sleep on the couch.”

“In your dreams.”

She chuckled and intended to go to the bedroom when she noticed how

wilted her houseplants were and made a detour to the kitchen. She swore that as

soon as she gave water to the ficus trees and the winding ivy, they perked up

right away. Then she entered her bedroom and glanced out the window at her

greenhouse. Chrissie would have made sure everything was well watered, she

was certain. It seemed like eons since she’d been here last, not just a few days.

Sighing deeply, Bella felt safe for the moment and overjoyed to be in her

own home again. She yanked off her sneakers, determined to climb into bed and

fall asleep before the big gray wolf returned and gave her other notions. Then

she formulated a plan.

After crossing the room, she dug in her linen closet and pulled out a spare set

of sheets and a pillow. Dashing back down the hall, she hurried to the floral sofa.

She laid the sheets and pillow on one end and strode back to her bedroom.

Once she removed the rest of her clothes, she heard the garage door grumble

shut, and then the kitchen door leading to the garage opened and closed. She

climbed into bed, pulled the green velvet spread under her chin, and closed her

eyes.

For several minutes, she lay still, listening for Devlyn, but when he didn’t

come to the bedroom, her heart sank. Playing games with him when they were

young inspired her interest in him. Didn’t he realize she was teasing him about

sleeping on the couch?

She was too tired to care.

After another couple of minutes, she tossed onto her side and growled.

The shattering of glass on the tile kitchen floor sent a spike of adrenaline .racing through her veins. She bolted from the bed, tugged on the sweatshirt, and

ran down the hall. All she could think of was protecting Devlyn, yet when she

approached the kitchen, she realized she had forgotten the g*n, even though the

silver bullets were meant for Volan, should he ever find her.

She peered around the cabinets to see into the kitchen.

Standing in front of the refrigerator, Devlyn stared at the collage of pictures

hanging from the door. Broken glass rested at his feet.

“Devlyn,” she said under her breath, her heartbeat thundering.

He looked at her. “Who sent the pictures of us to you?”

Holding her breath, she rubbed her arms as a chill fluttered across her skin.

She didn’t like the accusation in the tone of his voice or the anger in his eyes.

“Who, Bella?”

Without answering him, she turned to a cupboard, but before she could grab

the broom and dustpan, he crossed the floor and seized her arm. Pulling her to

face him, he asked again, “Who, Bella? Who in the pack knew where you were

and for how long?”

“Let go of me,” she growled and tried to free herself from his iron hold.

He pressed her back against the cupboard and gripped her shoulders. “You

didn’t really leave the pack permanently, did you? You kept in touch. Someone

sent you our photos. The colored pictures more recently, black and white for

some years earlier, sepia before this. Who’s been corresponding with you about

us?”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. If she hadn’t been so tired, if one of her own

kind hadn’t killed a woman, if she hadn’t been incarcerated in the zoo, she could

have handled Devlyn’s harsh accusations better. She missed them terribly, nearly

every one of the pack…her family. But she wouldn’t be Volan’s. And if she

returned, she’d have no choice.

“Bella,” Devlyn said, his voice gentler as he lifted her in his arms and carried

her to the bedroom, “you cared about us, didn’t you? Even though you have

more pictures of me than any of the others in the pack.”

She wiped her eyes, attempting to avoid the implication. “He sent more of

them to me.”

“Who?” He laid her down in the bed and then unbuttoned his shirt. “You

have mine more prominently displayed.”

“There were more of them. I already said so.” Her voice was sterner than she meant it to be.

His penetrating gaze clouded with l**t and he yanked off his shirt.

She tugged her sweatshirt off and tossed it on the floor and then pulled the

covers up.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He unfastened his belt and pulled

his zipper down. His gaze took in her furnishings, but before he could look at her

nightstand, she grabbed the picture off it and shoved it under her pillow. No

sense in giving him the wrong idea.

But he caught her in the act and his eyes turned black. “A secret admirer? A

human male?” His voice was couched in anger. He sat down next to her on the

edge of the bed. After pulling off his boots, he stood and removed his trousers,

dropping them on the floor.

Her gaze shifted to the dark curly hair between his legs and his prominent

erection. He was ready to mate if she were willing, and the overwhelming

animal urge instantly prepped her for his penetration.

“Who sent the photos to you?” His tone turned lighter, more conversational

rather than demanding.

She glared at him, still annoyed with his earlier bullying. “It’s none of your

business.”

He hit the bed with his fist, shocking her at seeing his temper flare so

quickly. She jumped, irritated with herself for reacting instead of remaining

calm, unflinching.

“Damn it, Bella. I’ve searched on and off for you for years.”

Her eyes grew big as her heart leapt. Then she realized he’d followed pack

orders—Volan’s command to have her returned to him. She narrowed her eyes

and crossed her arms. “Yeah, so you could return me to Volan.”

His brows knit tightly, but he didn’t say anything; then he jammed his hand

underneath her pillow and yanked out the cherry wood picture frame. A smile

simmered on his lips.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she tried to think of a reason for

having his photo next to her bed. Unable to come up with a plausible

explanation, she turned her back to him and closed her eyes. “Good night,

Devlyn. Pleasant dreams.”

He jerked the covers aside. She turned and glowered at him.

Smiling appreciably as he gazed at her n***d body, he took in a deep breath. “Feral like the redwoods, sweet as wild roses.”

She recovered herself.

He wiggled his dark brows. “It’s a picture of me.” He glanced back at the

photo he’d set upright on her nightstand. “Great image, too. One of my better

pictures.”

“What of it? It was too big to fit on the fridge. I told him not to send any

more that size because they’re too big.”

Devlyn pulled the back of the frame open, and she knew he’d discover the

truth.

“You’ve had this one enlarged. Gives a photo ID on the back, a local Oregon

printer. You had a smaller version of the same photo on the fridge, probably the

one he sent you.” He cast her an elusive smile.

She pursed her lips.

Pulling the covers back down, he exposed her breasts to the cool air in the

bedroom. Instantly, the n*****s turned into pert red peaks. He leaned over and

kissed one and then the other, making them throb with need.

But she couldn’t mate with him, as much as her body readied itself to accept

his virile strength. She’d endanger him too much if she gave into her primal

instincts, her deep-seated cravings for the gray. She touched his whiskery cheek.

“You were supposed to sleep on the couch.”

“You’ve been keeping my image close to your bed. Now you can keep the

flesh and blood me in your bed.” He climbed into bed next to her and touched

her cheek. “Tell me how much you love me, Bella. Tell me how many times you

wrote to whoever it was, asking about me.”

“He didn’t tell me you searched for me.”

“Who didn’t tell you?”

She sensed the tightness in his voice, the way he barely curbed his anger.

“It’s late. We need to sleep.”

He ran his tongue down her belly, forcing a quiver of anticipation. “I won’t

quit asking until you tell me. Who was it?”

Giving up the guarded secret, she sighed heavily and admitted, “Argos.”

Devlyn stilled his actions and growled, irritated that the old wolf hadn’t told

him the truth. How he had longed to know what had become of Bella all those

years. When he’d spoken to Argos, the sly old wolf had assured him she’d be all

right. He should have known Argos knew what had happened to her. “Damn him.”

“I shouldn’t have told you. I wrote to let him know I was safe after I ran

away. I couldn’t let him think I’d died. From then on, we corresponded.”

“No wonder he knew it was you in that news report. I figured he had some

kind of a sixth sense. But all along he knew you lived in the area.” He studied

her eyes, tired and wary. The annoyance he felt that Argos had kept the secret

about Bella faded into wry amusement. “You wanted to know about me, about

how I fared.”

“Don’t be so conceited.”

Knowing she disguised the truth, his lips curved up. His intense craving to

mate with her filled him with an ache he longed to fulfill. He threaded his fingers

through her satiny hair and licked her throat. She moaned. His erection pulsed

with renewed gusto. His instincts were right concerning her. She wanted him as

much as he lusted after her.

He pressed his arousal against her soft body. “You know how much I desire

to have you, Bella. Tell me you want me, too.”

Shaking her head, her eyes misted.

He growled at her stubbornness. Then he nuzzled his cheek against hers,

enjoying the delicate ivory fragrance she’d washed with, hoping she’d succumb

to his advances. He ran his finger over her firm n****e. “I won’t let Volan have

you. We’ll return to the pack and then—”

“No. He’ll kill you. I don’t want you for a mate. Don’t you understand?” She

tried to pull away from him, her voice heated with anger. “I don’t want you.”

But he recognized from her words and actions that it wasn’t true; he’d use

every trick he knew to convince her to tell the truth.