Page 10 of Hayden's Haven
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I mean like-like, Hayden, as in more than a casual friend.”
“We’ve only just met.”
“I’ve been watching how you look at her, how she looks at you.”
“She’s gorgeous. Of course, I’m going to look at her.” There. That should get Kate off his back. Let her think Mila was just another ‘piece of tail’ to him as Callen had said a few days ago.
“I wouldn’t mind her in my bed,” he added. Might as well lay it on thick. It wasn’t like Mila would ever have any interest in him. She didn’t like white wolves, and who could blame her after she had seen Drake in action. She still didn’t know he was Hayden’s brother. Knowing that little fact would send her running from Hayden even faster.
“That doesn’t sound like you, Hayden. I mean, that’s rather crass.”
He glanced back at Kate, who was watching the rise and fall of Mila’s chest. Yeah, his cousin didn’t like to see the bad in anyone, despite how much of it she had experienced in her life.
Hell, she still saw good in Drake. It had been a long time since Hayden had seen any good in his brother. Kate had created a fantasy world for herself when it came to Drake’s role in her life. Maybe that stemmed from how she had been raised. Abused, unwanted, foster sister killed in front of her practically. Kate needed to believe in Hayden and Drake, to hold onto something of her birth family that she could claim as her own.
In time, she would realize what a disappointment their family was, but she had Callen to turn to.IfCallen returned.
Hayden certainly wasn’t one she should associate with too closely, not if she intended to make a place for herself in Damien’s pack. The other shifters would hold it against her. When they looked at Hayden, they saw Drake and everything the alpha had done over the years.
Hayden’s adoptive pack was full of some wonderful shifters who risked their lives for one another, shared what little they owned, and truly welcomed those they felt worthy. That was the hitch right there. A shifter had to be worthy of them. Hayden had entered with too many black marks against him, unlike Blade who they had accepted immediately.
Damien had made Hayden his second soon after Hayden arrived, but that had only made matters worse. The pack didn’t trust him, and they resented him being Damien’s second. Kate, too, had had trouble being accepted. Mating Callen had granted her some immunity against their wrath. Ultimately, it was how she had fought for the pack, risked her life exposing the Wolf Shifter Suppressor Organization to the government, and uploaded a program that hid the pack’s location from the WSSO’s satellite that won them over. They’d welcome her back, even if Callen didn’t make it. Hell. . . Where was his enforcer?
“Hey there, sleepyhead,” Kate said amidst a wash of foil crinkling.
Hayden rushed over. Mila’s bright green eyes stared up at him, making it very hard to look away. He forced himself to do just that, though his eyes didn’t fully leave her. No, they had to move over her bruised cheeks, split lip, to the ring of bruises on her neck, down to her bandaged wrists. And he couldn’t see what damage lay hidden beneath her ripped blouse and torn jeans beyond the bruised or broken ribs he was sure she had. The shifter had been brutal, and somehow this brave woman managed a smile for him. God, she had spirit!
“You heard me call you,” Mila said, her voice cracking as if she hadn’t spoken in days. Kate promptly held a bottle of water to her lips. Mila took a small sip, then pushed it away as she pulled herself up onto her elbows, her face twisting in pain, and her eyes locked on Hayden.
“I’m sorry, Mila. I shouldn’t have left. I didn’t go far, but. . .” He stopped talking. It didn’t matter what he said, it wouldn’t change what had happened, or the fact that he had failed her.
Her sweet face eased as her eyes grew wide. “You didn’t leave me unprotected, if that’s what you mean. I had the gun, and I know some self-defense. I, well. . . He caught me off-guard.”
Nice words, nice sentiment, but she was wrong. It had been his job to protect, his responsibility. And they were far from safe. They still had several days before reaching northern Colorado. The closer they got to Damien’s territory, the greater the chance they’d cross the trail of one of Damien’s scouts out on recon work. He needed backup, to get Kate and Mila home safe.
“Can you walk?” he asked.
“My legs are sore where he kicked me, but I think I can walk.”
Mila winced and she sucked in air as he slid his arm around her waist and slowly helped her stand. As he steadied her, with his arms still around her mid-section and her sweet scent filling his lungs, his wolf howled a song Hayden had never heard before.
It startled him, and he unintentionally released his hold on her. That stopped the howl and opened Hayden to a bit of scratching from his wolf, the type that said his wolf wasn’t pleased with him for releasing her.
When Mila started to waver, he caught her and scooped her off the ground. Her eyes flew open. She was stuck in his arms, and she knew it. Or maybe she simply didn’t want him touching her. Fierce green eyes glanced at his hand curled up under her knees and then the other on her side before seeking out his face.
She simply stared into his eyes without saying a word. Damn, he wished she’d fight him on this like she had fought him about leaving the bakery. At least then he’d know she really was okay. This lack of fight from her worried him.
Kate shouldered both packs and stood beside him. “Which way?”
“Toward the interstate,” Hayden said, his eyes still on Mila as he answered.
“Hitchhike?” Mila asked as she slipped her arms around his neck to balance herself.
Damn, he liked having her in his arms, her hand around his neck. She almost felt as if she were his, a woman who would love him no matter what. This was dangerous, having her so close, her skin touching his, her scent filling his lungs, but she was too injured to walk.
Kate sent an awkward look Hayden’s way.
