Page 6 of Wulf's Pack
I can’t take my eyes off the woman, and she hasn’t stopped blushing since she approached. She keeps trying to make eye contact with me, but can never hold my gaze for long. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m a pro at making people comfortable, but right now I’m acting like some intense, creepy stalker. And this woman is a wolf. I should be hightailing it out of here.
Charlie clears his throat. One look at his amused face, and I know he’s feeling my interest in this woman. I groan. The last thing I need is a cupid determined to check me off his list knowing a wolf has caught my attention. If I’m not careful, I’ll be mated by next week.
Still, when Rook steps forward to speak to the woman, I push him out of the way so I can talk to her instead. “Call Enzo,” I tell Rook again, then flash my best smile at the goddess in front of me. “Hi, honey. How can we help you?”
The woman looks back and forth between Rook and me, then gives her attention to my brother. My wolf doesn’t like that.Iwant her focus. She gulps, and I can smell her fear. My wolfreallydoesn’t like that. Why is she scared? “Are you the alpha for this city?” she asks Rook. “I don’t know the protocols for entering a new city, but I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to get permission from the local alpha. I booked a room at the casino hotel not far from here. There was a nice fae woman working the desk. When I asked, she told me I’d find the Detroit alpha behind the bar at Underworld.”
My eyebrows fly up. Rook, Charlie, and I all exchange surprised looks. “Since when are you the Detroit alpha?” Rook asks.
I shake my head. “Since when does Detroithavean alpha?”
The woman frowns at this. “This is free territory,” I explain.
“Oh.” She sags with relief and lets out a breath. “Is it the whole city? Can you tell me where the nearest pack boundaries are?”
I’m surprised by the question. Why does she want to know where the packs are? How does she not know? Where is she from? What is she doing here? And why is she so nervous?
Rook must sense her distress too, because he speaks to her in a soothing voice. “Which pack are you looking for? We know all of the local alphas. We can help you get in touch with them.”
She quickly shakes her head. “I’m not looking for a pack. I just want to know pack boundaries so I don’t accidentally cross into their territories.”
Rook and I both startle. She’s packless? This timid little thing with a wolf so weak I can’t even feel it? I don’t like that. She shouldn’t be on her own.
Why do I care? What is this hold she has over me?
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her what’s wrong with her wolf when she shifts her weight and lets out a quiet gasp of pain. Rook finally calls Enzo, and Charlie jumps off his stool to offer it to the woman. “Please, have a seat.”
She gives him a grateful smile and gingerly sits down. Her face drains of color with the movement, but once she’s settled, she takes a deep breath and relaxes a little.
“Would you like a drink?” I ask. “On the house.”
She meets my gaze for a brief second and blushes before looking away. My wolf preens at her rosy cheeks. We like that we’ve made her blush. “Something strong would be great,” she says. “Thank you.”
I grab a bottle of whisky made specially for shifters. We have high metabolisms, and it takes a lot to get us drunk. I always appreciate women who can hold their liquor, but this woman wants it to dull her pain.
I hand her the drink and study her as she takes a huge gulp. While she’s beautiful, she’s not healthy. I hadn’t noticed it from across the room, but up close it’s obvious. She’s not just thin, she’stoothin. Her face is gaunt. Her skin, smooth and blemish free, isn’t just fair, it’s sickly pale. And she has dark circles beneath her eyes.
This woman needs help, but she’s skittish enough not to ask for it. If she’d been hurt in an accident or something, she wouldn’t be afraid to seek help. She’d be looking for an underworld clinic. Instead, she’s hiding from all packs in clothes that don’t fit, and she hasn’t even bothered to shift to speed up her healing. I can’t feel her wolf. Something bad happened to her. “What’s your name, honey?”
She bites her lip as if debating whether or not to give it to me. “Skylar,” she finally says.
“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”
She doesn’t respond to my flirting. Not that I was really trying to hit on her. I may be a flirt, but I can recognize inappropriate timing. I’m just trying to put her at ease. I give her a smile I hope she finds comforting. “I’m Wulf.” I wave toward Rook. “That’s my brother Rook, and the cupid is Charlie.”
Charlie flashes her a grin. “Welcome to Detroit.”
Rook hangs up his phone and joins us again. “Enzo’s on his way. He’ll be here in ten.”
I let out a breath of relief and smile at Skylar again. “We’ve called a healer. He’ll be here to help you soon.”
Skylar seems shocked by this, and her eyes gloss over. “Thank you,” she murmurs in a shaky voice.
“Why don’t you shift while you wait?” Rook says before I can. “It would speed up the healing process and help with the pain. We’ve got a private suite upstairs where you can wash up and relax in peace and comfort until we can get you healed.”
Skylar grimaces, and I’m immediately on edge again. “What is it?”
She eyes the three of us warily. Her fear spikes, and she looks toward the exit as if she’s considering bolting.“Skylar,”I say with a bit of command in my voice, demanding an answer and nipping any thoughts she might have of running in the bud. I don’t know why, but I’m positive that if she tried to leave right now, my wolf would stop her.
