Wolf on the Run: Salvation Pack, Book 3 (3 page)

“Trust me.”

She didn’t answer and he swallowed back his disappointment. What did he expect? She was a female in a strange pack, depending on a male she barely knew.

Then she squeezed his fingers.

Cole felt as though he’d been given the world. He straightened his shoulders and drew her forward, across the backyard to the cabin. A pair of his jeans hung over the outside railing. Put there by Gator, no doubt, expecting Cole for breakfast once he’d finished patrolling.

He hated to release Cherise but did so long enough to slip on his jeans and button them. He took her hand again and led her up the two steps to the porch.

“Remember, you’re safe here,” he told her. Then he opened the door and ushered her inside.

Chapter Three

Cherise knew what she was doing was crazy. There was no other explanation for why she’d allowed a virtual stranger—and not just any stranger, but a huge male werewolf—to talk her into going into the heart of a strange wolf pack. There was no other logical reason for how she found herself inside a rustic but beautiful home with a pack of werewolves seated around a large dining table. All of them staring at her.

Yup, it was official. She’d lost her mind.

She would have turned on her heel and made a run for it, but Cole was at her back, blocking the door. No way would she be able to get by him. He was just too darn big.

His fingers were still entwined with hers. She tried to pull away, but he tightened his hold and wouldn’t let go. “We have a problem,” Cole began.

A lone wolf slowly rose from his place at the head of the table. The alpha. There was no doubt in Cherise’s mind. This wolf carried himself with an unmistakable authority. There were three other males and two females at the table, but she ignored them. This was the male who would decide her fate. He was the final law in this pack.

In spite of her effort to be brave, fear crept into her heart.

“I can see that,” the alpha calmly replied. “You okay?” He motioned to the healing scratches that ran down one side of Cole’s body and his arms.

“Yeah, nothing to worry about,” Cole told him. And Cherise realized he was telling the truth. Fighting three wolves and being injured wasn’t something he worried about. What kind of life had he lived that made such violence almost commonplace? Cherise wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

The alpha sniffed the air and frowned. “Who is she and why have you brought an unknown female wolf here?”

Before Cole could answer, the woman to the right of the alpha jumped out of her chair. “That can wait,” she blithely informed the alpha. “Can’t you see the poor woman’s exhausted?” She smiled at Cherise. “Welcome. Are you hungry?”

Cherise’s eyes widened as the female with tousled blonde hair and kind blue eyes hurried forward.

“Gwen,” the alpha began and then stopped and released a long sigh. “You might as well sit down and eat. Otherwise Gwen won’t let us have any peace.”

Gwen shot her mate a smile and blew him a kiss. He shook his head and resumed his seat.

Okay, this definitely wasn’t like any other pack she’d seen before. The alpha female of her former pack would never have interrupted the alpha. No one would have.

She peered around the table at the others and found their expressions ranged from amused to indulgent. There was no anger, no derision.

Cherise wasn’t sure what to think. None of the men were weak. She could tell that simply by looking at them. They carried themselves with too much natural confidence. And she’d seen firsthand what Cole was capable of. He’d taken on three werewolves without hesitation, and he’d won.

Gwen wrapped one arm around Cherise’s waist. “Come on, honey. Sit down and eat something. Then you can tell us where Cole found you.”

Cherise looked to Cole for confirmation and he inclined his head. She allowed the other woman to lead her to a chair and she sank down, grateful not to be standing any longer. She set her knapsack on the floor at her feet. Cole followed behind them and took the seat next to her.

She released a sigh of relief. He wasn’t leaving her alone with these strangers. They were friendly, at least right now. They weren’t aware she’d potentially brought a war to their doorstep. Her welcome could be rescinded any moment.

“Gator made French toast and fried some ham this morning.” Gwen smiled at a scary-looking dude with black hair, piercing blue eyes and myriad tattoos who sat next to Cole. “It’s really good. You should have some.” Gwen patted Cherise on the shoulder and went back to sit beside the alpha.

Cherise hated being the center of attention. In her world, that was never a good thing.

“Would you like some coffee?” A slender woman with long brown hair and blue eyes held up a coffeepot. “We have orange juice if you’d rather.”

“Coffee is fine. Thank you.” Cherise’s stomach was in knots, but she knew she had to eat something. The last thing she wanted to do was insult the pack.

“I’m Anny,” the woman told her.

“Cherise.” She turned her attention to the alpha when she realized her blunder. A wolf always introduced themselves to the alpha first. It was protocol and good manners, a way to acknowledge the status of the wolf in charge. “Cherise Michaels.” She practically held her breath until the alpha inclined his head slightly in acceptance.

She slowly released the air from her lungs, feeling as though she’d avoided a potential landmine.

Cole seemed oblivious to it all. He reached out and snagged a large platter from the middle of the table and forked two slices of French toast onto her plate before shoveling six onto his own. Then he lifted a plate with thick slices of ham and offered it to her. “Ham?”

She shook her head. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat what he’d already put on her plate.

“As you probably already guessed, I’m Gwen.” The female alpha said with a smile. “This is my mate, my husband, Jacque. Jacque LaForge.” She gestured to the alpha who leaned back in his chair and simply stared at Cherise, his laser-like gaze boring into her.

A shiver of dread inched down her spine. This was not a man she’d want as an enemy, which might be exactly what happened when he discovered there were three dead wolves on his land.

Gwen blithely continued her introductions. “Anny already introduced herself, and the male sitting beside her is Armand.”

“Armand LaForge,” the wolf clarified.

She nodded and tried not to stare at the scars that disfigured one side of his face. That definitely wouldn’t be polite.

“I’m Louis.” The male seated at the other end of the table added. He looked most like the alpha. Cherise wondered if they were related.

She already knew the other man was called Gator. And what kind of name was that anyway?

“You should eat.” Cole gently nudged her arm, and she picked up her fork. The last thing she wanted to do was insult them.

Cherise used the edge of the utensil to cut off a small piece of the golden-brown bread. She popped the morsel into her mouth and chewed. Flavor exploded on her taste buds. Oh, this was delicious. Her stomach growled in agreement. The hint of vanilla was perfect.

She quickly ate another bite as her stomach reminded her she hadn’t eaten since late yesterday morning. And that had been a bland turkey sandwich from a gas station where the bus had stopped for fifteen minutes to refuel.

Silence surrounded her. Cherise looked up and realized everyone was staring at her. She slowly lowered her fork back to her plate, the two small bites she’d eaten turning to huge lumps of dread in her belly.

The alpha addressed Cole. “What happened?”

Cole paused and set his fork back down on his plate. He reached for his coffee and took a large swallow. “It was quiet this morning and I was getting ready to head back just after dawn when I heard a noise. I went to investigate and discovered three male wolves crossing on the land.”

“Louisiana wolves?”

Cole shook his head. “No, strangers.”

The alpha growled low in his throat. Cherise shivered and reached for her coffee for a fortifying sip. Her hands shook, but she ignored that and gulped the hot coffee, needing the caffeine boost.

“And where are those wolves now?” Jacque leaned forward and placed his hands on the table.

“Dead. I didn’t have time to dispose of their bodies yet. I’ll get to that right after breakfast. I thought it was more important to bring Cherise back there.” Cole leaned back and draped one big arm over the back of her chair.

As Cherise watched, Jacque raised one eyebrow in question. Cherise carefully placed her mug on the table in front of her. She wanted two hands free in case she needed to fight her way out of here. Not that she thought she’d have a chance in hell of doing so.

Oh, why had she agreed to come back here with Cole?

He caressed the back of her neck, stroking his thumb over her nape. A shiver went through her that had nothing to do with fear. Heat branched out from where he touched her, bathing her body in the most wonderful warmth.

“They were hunting her,” Cole added.

The air grew thick with pure menace as Jacque slowly rose to his feet. Cherise couldn’t look away as the alpha pinned her in spot with his golden-brown gaze. “They were what?” he asked.

Several growls permeated the small space. She didn’t know who they came from and didn’t really care. Jacque was the real threat in the room.

Cole, seemingly unconcerned by the growing unease, continued on. “They were members of her former pack. And they were hunting her down to kill her.”

“Why?” Jacque asked the question quietly, but Cherise jumped as though he’d yelled it. Speech was beyond her. She’d thought she’d known what real fear was, but the alpha wolf before her was one scary son of a bitch.

Cherise started to stand, but Cole applied pressure on her shoulders, keeping her in her seat. Anger flared inside her, allowing her to break the alpha’s gaze and glare at Cole.

She’d had enough. It was time for her to stand up for herself. “Because I can’t shift.” She faced the alpha and then let her gaze flow over the others, meeting varying degrees of anger as she did.

“What do you mean you can’t shift?” Jacque asked.

Sweat coated her skin, making her clothing stick to her body. Still she faced him bravely. If she was going to die, she wasn’t going to disgrace herself by acting the coward. She wouldn’t shame her parents’ memory like that. They’d both died to protect her.

“No one really knows why. I was severely ill as a child, which is unusual for a werewolf pup. Maybe that had something to do with it, maybe not. All I know is as my friends got older and started to be able to shift, I couldn’t do it.”

Jacque slowly resumed his seat and studied her intently. “But you’re a full-blooded werewolf.”

It wasn’t a question, but she responded. “Yes. I was born into the Pike County Pack in Kentucky. When it was obvious there was a problem, my daddy was called to face our alpha. I don’t know what happened, but my mama always assumed our alpha sentenced him to death. We never saw him again. She took me and we ran.”

Cherise took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her wonderful daddy, so gentle with her and her mama, so protective, so brave. He’d died for them, buying time while they’d run.

As if sensing her unease, Cole picked up her story. “From what I heard, Cherise and her mama have been on the run for years. Laying low, living in major cities.”

“Is that true?” Jacque asked her.

Cherise could sense all eyes on her and nodded. “Yes, we knew we had a better chance of hiding out among full humans. We worked whatever jobs we could get that paid under the table. We didn’t want any records that could be traced.” And that meant a lot of years of hand-to-mouth existence, living in tiny apartments in bad neighborhoods. But they’d always managed and they’d always been together.

A sob threatened to break from her lips, but she swallowed it back. She would not break down in front of these strangers.

She took a calming breath and continued. “They found out where we were living. When I got home from work, I found my mama’s body. I ran and they followed me here.”

“Why here?”

Cherise shrugged and answered Jacque’s question the same way she had when Cole had asked her. “Bad luck. Good luck. Instinct. I don’t really know.” She hated lying but had no other choice. She didn’t think telling them she’d dreamed she’d walked by a road sign and simple curiosity and a yearning deep within her had led her to their doorstep.

“Were there just three?” Jacque asked.

“Yes,” Cole replied. “But according to Cherise, they’ve got a truck stashed somewhere on the side of the road.”

Jacque rubbed his hand over his face. “This is the last thing we need,” he muttered. “We have enough problems without adding to them.”

Cherise stiffened, but Jacque wasn’t finished.

“Okay, let’s contain this thing. Gator and Louis, you two go with Cole. Dispose of the bodies. Then find that vehicle and get rid of it. Search it first. If they’ve got phones, I want them to go with the truck. If they’re being tracked, that will lead them away from here.”

All three men pushed away from the table. “We’ll take care of it,” Louis stated.

Cole brushed a hand across her head before he stood. It took all her willpower not to grab it and beg him not to leave her. “I should go and help too.” Anything to get her away from the terrifying alpha werewolf.

Cole shook his head. “You stay here where you’ll be safe.”

“Will I be safe?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Jacque prowled around the table to stand next to her. Cherise stood and faced him. When he lifted his hand to her face, she didn’t flinch. Cole stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. But Cherise didn’t take that as a sign of support, not when it came down to her or his alpha. She had no doubt Cole would side with his pack. And she couldn’t blame him for that.

“No one hurts a woman on our land,” Jacque stated. “Do you understand?”

She really didn’t, but she nodded anyway, not wanting to push her luck any more than she already had. Exhaustion and hunger were making it difficult for her to think straight.

“Cherise can stay here with us,” Gwen offered.

Cole shook his head before Cherise could reply. “I’m taking her to our place so she can rest,” Cole announced. Before she realized his intent, he scooped her into his arms and headed for the door.

“Put me down,” she demanded, totally embarrassed in front of all his pack.

“No.” He paused by the door, which Gator opened with a flourish and a slight bow. Jacque didn’t say a word, didn’t try to stop Cole.

Cherise really didn’t understand this pack at all. Since when did a pack member announce to the alpha and the rest of the pack what was going to happen in such a charged situation? It was all too much for her to process.

“Armand, you and Anny go and keep a watch on our guest.” That was the last thing she heard Jacque say as Cole carried her out of the cabin and down a walking path that wound through the woods.