Alpha Wolf Page 8

  Kelly rubbed her eyes. She looked at Draven. “Why did you change your mind about us? Either we’re mates or we’re not.”

  “We are mates. That wasn’t the issue.”

  “Then what was?” She touched a section of her forehead that wasn’t covered by a bandage. She drew in a sharp breath.

  “Sore?”

  “More than I thought it was going to be. The painkillers are starting to wear off.” She looked at Draven. “So, if it wasn’t us, then it had to do with claiming me.”

  “It’s not you. It’s because of some past ghosts I’m dealing with.”

  Kelly looked at the passing scenery. “Lori?”

  “Yeah. Lori.”

  “Who is she?”

  “She was my high school girlfriend.”

  “She was special to you,” said Kelly. It hurt to think someone would be more special to him instead of her, even though she was his mate.

  “She was,” agreed Draven.

  Ouch. Kelly bit her bottom lip. There was no way she could compete against a ghost from his past, especially a first love.

  “I cared for her, but my wolf didn’t. He didn’t hate her. He just wasn’t interested in her. At the time, I was too young. I didn’t care what my wolf thought, and then she got sick.”

  Kelly didn’t say anything, though she wondered what disease Lori had. She reached over and slipped her hand into his.

  “Cancer. When the doctors finally came up with the diagnosis, the disease had advanced too far for the treatments to do any good. That’s when I decided I was going to save her by putting a wolf in her.”

  “You tried putting a wolf into a sick person?”

  “Sounds preposterous when you say it now, but at the time I thought that would be the way to cure her. I knew my wolf was different from other wolves, but I didn’t think it would be too strong for her.” He sighed. “It didn’t work. Her body was too weak and eaten up by the cancer. The wolf I put in her tried to break free, but Lori wasn’t strong enough. She died in my arms, blaming me for her death and not being able to tell her family goodbye. I can still hear her screams as her body rejected the wolf and started shutting down.”

  The cab felt crowded as if Lori’s ghost was actually with them. Kelly squeezed Draven’s hand. “Yes, I’m human, but I’m not sick. Stubborn. Hardheaded. But not sick. Lori was too weak to survive the change, that doesn’t mean I’m weak too.”

  “I realize that. When the time is right I will claim you. But I want every possible precaution in place.”

  Kelly snorted. “Just don’t wait until I’m old and gray. Because if you do, I will bite your butt.”

  “You’re not afraid of me or my wolf, are you?”

  “No. Should I be?”

  “Not only am I your alpha, but my wolf is not normal. Haven’t you heard what I’ve said about what happened to Lori?”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “You’re my mate, not my alpha. So what if your wolf isn’t ‘normal’ like other wolves.” She made air quotes with her fingers. “Have you seen any of the wolves in my family? There’s nothing normal about any of them.”

  “But mine is a monster and a monster is what I’ll put inside you.” Draven glanced at her.

  She shrugged. “When you fought Lars, did you notice the scars on the left side of his face and neck?”

  “Yeah. It looked like he almost lost a fight.”

  “Technically he did.”

  “How did he technically lose a fight?”

  “He picked on the wrong mother to make use as an example. It was moms wolf that gave him the scars on his face. If she hadn’t been forced to back down to protect me, she would have killed him and technically have been the alpha.”

  Draven stopped at a red light. He looked at his mate. “You’re joking? Your mom took on an alpha?”

  “Lars decided to take mom from Pops. His buddies attacked Pops while Lars went after her. He wasn’t expecting a monster to come out of a changed human or the monsters my brothers have inside them. When Lars and the others realized they were losing, they tucked tail and ran.”

  “But returned the next day with more of Lars’ crazy ideas,” added Draven.

  “Yeah.” She grimaced. “That’s when Justin’s attentions became more aggressive.” She sighed. “What I’m getting at is that I grew up around monstrous beasts. I’m not afraid of them. I knew they would protect me. The idea of have a monster inside me doesn’t scare me, but having a timid creature does.”

  The light turned green and Draven drove through the intersection.

  “What is Marla to you?”

  “A royal pain that refuses to go away,” said Draven.

  “You don’t want her?”

  “I want her to go away and not come back.” He tilted his neck from side to side, causing it to pop. “She wants to be the alpha female. She and her father are trying to force a mating. Neither one cares that I have a mate.”

  “Because I’m human, and a human cannot be the alpha’s mate. I really think Archibald Perrow was telling Lars what to do and say until Lars became so unstable he couldn’t be controlled anymore.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “It’s not that I have any proof. It’s just a gut feeling. You need to watch Archibald Perrow and his cronies.” Kelly rubbed her temples. Her head was starting to throb.

  “When we get to your place, you need to take a couple of the pills the doctor prescribed for pain and then rest.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” She was glad they were almost to her house. She wasn’t sure how everything was going to work out between her and Draven, but at least they were talking. Really talking to each other. And she had a better understanding why he was reluctant to claim her. She just hoped he understood she was stronger than he thought she was.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Kelly stared at her living room and kitchen. When she first moved in it felt like home. Now, it felt like a stranger’s house. She felt as if she hadn’t been home in weeks, but in reality she had been gone only a couple of days…three at the max. But the homey feeling wasn’t there.

  Spotting the cardboard box on the kitchen table, she walked straight to it. Headache or not, she needed her wallet and phone, though the phone probably needed to be charge.

  She pulled out a chair and sat down. Slowly, she pulled one item at a time out of the box and created piles of stuff all around the box.

  “You need to take your meds and lay down.” Draven dropped her backpack on the couch. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

  “I know, but I need to start a claim with the insurance company. And I need to find my phone so I can charge it. I’m pretty sure it’s dead by now.” She knew her excuses were not working with him.

  Draven walked over and took the stuff out of her hands and put it back into the box. “Come on. You need to rest. That was the doctor’s orders.” He helped her up and guided her to the couch and waited for her to sit down.

  “I’m sitting on the couch. Now what?” asked Kelly. She tried batting her eyelashes at him, but he seemed to ignore it. So much for her attempt at flirting.

  “I’m going to get your meds.” He opened one of the backpack’s side pockets and pulled out a bottle of water, a pack of cheese crackers, and a prescription bottle. He handed her the first two items, but opened the prescription bottle and shook out a couple of pills. He held out his hand and waited for her to take them.

  She swallowed the pills with a large gulp of water. She grimaced as they made their way down her throat. “It would be so much easier if all the pills they prescribe were made as chewable gummies.”

  “Unfortunately it’s not happening. Eat some of the cheese crackers. They will help keep you from becoming sick to your stomach. Throwing up will make your head hurt worse.”

  She pulled one of the cheese crackers sandwiches out of the clear cellophane wrapping and nibbled on it. “I really need to get the information out of my wallet and file a claim with my insurance company.�
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  “I’ve already started the claim for you,” said Draven. He picked up a manila file folder and handed it to her.

  Kelly opened the file and took out several sheets of paper. She skimmed through them. “You started a claim with my insurance company?”

  He nodded.

  She frowned. “How? Why?”

  “It wasn’t that hard to do. Besides, you still have to review everything and approve it. I did it because I’m your mate. Get used to me taking care of you whether you like it or not,” he said.

  “Have the police released a report yet?”

  “As of yesterday, no, they haven’t. I have not checked today, but I doubt it will be ready. It may take them a week.”

  “So that goes on my list along with everything else I’ve got to do.” She shrugged. “

  A phone rang.

  “That was you,” said Kelly, she pointed at him. My phone is still buried in the box. It was yours.”

  Draven pulled his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans. He looked at the screen. “It’s my foreman at the shop. I have to take the call.”

  She nodded. “I’ll be right here. It’s not like I can go anyplace. I don’t exactly have a car anymore.” She knew she sounded a bit whiney, but couldn’t help it.

  He leaned forward and brushed her lips with his. “I’ll be on the front porch. Stay on the couch and rest. The box will still be here after you take a nap. It isn’t going anywhere.”

  “Okay.” She watched him go outside. Kelly bit her bottom lip. She had told him she would stay on the couch and rest, but she hated sitting around and doing nothing just because she was sick, or in this case injured. She looked at the box. She could rest while she sat at the table and went through the stuff.

  Draven was probably going to go all out alpha male when he came back inside and found her not doing what he told her to do. Good thing she wasn’t afraid of yelling back.

  Though tired and sore, she got up before she could overthink her plan. Walking to the table, she sat down in front of the box. A huge yawn erupted from her. “Great! Now my body is agreeing with him. Not funny.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  Yeah, she probably should have stayed on the couch, but she really wanted her phone and wallet. Both had to be in the box because she knew they had been in the car. She reached inside the box and grabbed a handful of papers.

  Kelly frowned.

  She didn’t remember having all these papers in the car. She turned them over and looked at each one. The majority were flyers for a strip club two towns away. The rest of the flyers were for a private party with her listed as the featured entertainment.

  Kelly stared at the flyer. It didn’t make any sense. Never in her life had she even been in a strip club, let alone work in one or as a stripper period. The joke someone was pulling was not one bit funny.

  How did this trash get inside her car?

  She stacked the flyers on one side of the desk. She turned her attention to the last thing in the pile she pulled out of the box…a manila envelope that she had never seen before. Her name was printed in big, bold letters on the front. Kelly had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t going to like what she found in the envelope. Carefully she opened it and tilted it so the contents could fall out.

  A bunch of pictures and a folded sheet of white paper flopped onto the table. Kelly picked up the paper and unfolded it. Her eyes widened as she read the handwritten message.

  What do you think about your new jobs? Personally, I can’t wait for your starring role at the private party I have planned for you. I want you to think about how much fun you and I are going to have at it. Once I’m finished with your body, you will make me a lot of money. This is just the beginning. I’m coming for you.

  Kelly’s hands shook. She laid the note down and looked at the pictures. They were of her, trapped in the wreckage of her car. She dropped them. Her body shook. All she could do was stare at them.

  The front door opened.

  “What are you doing off the couch?” asked Draven as he closed the door.

  Kelly couldn’t answer him. All she could do was stare at the pictures of her trapped inside the wreckage of her car.

  “Kelly? What’s wrong?”

  She gave herself a mental shake and looked up at him. “I think we have a big problem.”

  Draven heard the tremor in her voice. Her face was paler than it had been before he walked outside to deal with the phone call. “What’s wrong?” He knelt next to her.

  His wolf was agitated. It wanted to destroy something. No. It wanted to destroy whatever it was causing their mate this pain and distress.

  Kelly closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and took several deep breaths. Opening her eyes, she grabbed the box and tilted it toward her. She shuffled through the remaining papers. Nothing of hers was in the box. She looked at Draven. “None of this stuff is mine. And it’s not from my car,” she said, letting the box drop back to the table. “Look.” She gestured to the pictures and papers on the table.

  Draven looked at the stuff. He picked up the handwritten note. A low, deep growl rumbled through his chest. He spread out some of the pictures. He felt his wolf’s anger matching his own. The beast wanted out, and there was no way he was going to be able to stop it.

  “Draven?”

  He felt a hand on his arm. Her warmth seeped into him. He tore his eyes away from the pictures and looked into her soft brown eyes. He felt calmer than he ever had. Even his wolf took his rage down several notches. Their mate needed them.

  She stared at him. “I don’t think Moose brought this stuff over.”

  He agreed with her. He pulled out his phone and pulled up the text Moose had sent him. “The text came from Moose’s phone.”

  “I don’t see him doing something like this. He’s a protector. All he wants is to find his mate and start a family.”

  Draven nodded. He tapped the phone’s screen. In seconds, Moose’s phone was ringing.

  “How does Kelly like her new job?” asked Justin Lars.

  Draven growled. “I’m going to kill you.”

  Justin laughed. “Not happening. Tell Kelly that Coach Martin Oakson will never bother her again. He thought he was going to get what was mine, just like you think you are. Not happening. She’s mine. Once I’m done fucking that bitch every way possible, I’ll let my friends have a turn at her.”

  “You come near her and there won’t be anything left of your mangy hide,” growled Draven.

  “You can’t do nothing to stop me. Her blood is sweet. I can’t wait to taste it again; except this time, I plan on biting her as I come inside her. And then I’m going to fuck the she-wolf that rips out of her.”

  “You’re dead.”

  “Just think. I was there first. Not you. She’s mine and always will be.”

  Draven’s growls filled the cabin.

  Kelly grabbed the phone. “Listen here, you piece of trash, and listen good. I’ve had enough of your bullying, the threats, and everything else. You will pay.”

  “It’s so good to hear your sweet voice. We will be together soon.” He ended the call.

  Draven took the phone from her. “Go pack your clothes.”

  She nodded and stood. “The only truth in Justin’s words is that he will try to hurt me, and if he can’t get to me, he will go after you or my family.”

  Draven pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight against his body. She belonged to him and no one else. “Protecting you is my only concern and so far I haven’t done a good job.”

  Kelly leaned into his body, soaking up his warmth. “There are some things that even you can’t prevent from happening.”

  “Go pack. It’s not safe for you to stay here.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “My place.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip.

  He brushed his lips against hers. “Go pack everything you think you’ll need.”

  She was a
little disappointed. She wanted more than just his lips brushing against hers, and she was sure he wanted more. “Fine.” She slipped out of his arms. Just before she went into her bedroom, she stopped and turned around. “Just for the record, I’ve never had sex with anyone.”

  Draven’s eyes darkened as he stared at her. “What did you say?” His voice was almost animalistic.

  She raised an eyebrow. Her face felt hot. “I have a few toys, but I have never been with a man. I’m a virgin.” She didn’t wait for him to respond. She turned and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  Draven stared at the door. He would be the one to teach her the joys of the body. He would be the only man she would ever know.

  Ours, growled his wolf.

  Draven grabbed the back of the chair and squeezed. It was all he could do to keep from following her into the bedroom and strip her. The front of his jeans grew extremely uncomfortable. The primal feeling of desire and protectiveness were overwhelmingly strong. Damn! It was going to be a long ride to his house.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Kelly stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her curves and abundant chest was still there. She wasn’t surprised. Even dieting didn’t help. It just made her hungry and cranky…really cranky.

  She moved her hair off her forehead. The scar was still visible but it was fading. Several days ago, the doctor removed the stitches so she wouldn’t have a lovely railroad track-like scar.

  She looked at the rest of her body. The majority of the bruises were completely gone or various stages of fading. A small handful still looked bad, but that was because those areas of her body had received more trauma than everywhere else. For the most part, she was pain-free and her muscles weren’t stiff and achy like they were the first couple of days after the wreck.

  Kelly stuck her tongue out at her reflection.

  She wasn’t exactly ache-free. The one constant ache she had could only be fixed by Draven.

  Every night, she slept cradled in his arms. She could feel his very aroused dick pressed against her backside. She knew he was aching as much as she was, but nothing happened between them in the sex department.