Page 7 of Hayden's Haven
“I didn’t realize you’re half-shifter. It explains why you’re healing slower than expected. On the other hand, you’ve blood-bonded Callen, so I’m sure that’s helping you.”
“I’m lucky he’s a strong shifter then. Not that I would have known the difference when I met him.”
Strong shifter. Those were words Mila hated.
“To me, a shifter was a shifter,” Kate continued as she stared into the darkness, no doubt waiting for Callen to return. “There are so many nuances I have yet to learn about being a shifter.”
“He’ll be fine, Kate. He’s an enforcer, and alphas don’t just give that job to anyone.”
“Callen would do anything for his pack.”
“For you, you mean. He’d do anything for you, Kate. I’ve seen how he looks at you, touches you.”
I want that one day. A man who will look at me the way Callen looks at Kate, as if she’s the center of his universe.
Kate smiled. “Callen never gave up on me. From the moment we met, he always watched out for me, but it took me a while to trust him. I grew up with humans, hadn’t even seen a shifter before, let alone ever imagined I was half-shifter. My first shift was last month, after we blood-bonded. It’s a long story.”
“I imagine we’ll have a lot of time to talk back at your pack. I won’t know anyone else there. Just you and Callen.”
“And Hayden.”
Mila fell quiet. She had learned a long time ago not to say anything that would get her in trouble. She had let her guard down around Kate and said too much, insulting Kate and disclosing her hatred of white wolves all at the same time. What if Kate told Hayden? Mila didn’t want to offend him, especially since he was working so hard to get her to the safety of Damien’s pack.
“Why don’t you like Hayden?” Kate asked, sounding defensive again, as if Hayden was hers to protect.
“I never said I don’t like him. He’s. . . I don’t know, rather pushy.”White wolf. White wolf. White wolf.
Kate’s expression eased. “I don’t think it’s fair judging him under these circumstances. He’s worried about us and Callen. Wait until you see him back at our pack. I mean, I don’t know him too well myself yet, but he’s always been fair and rather easy-going from what I’ve seen. Even after I shot him.”
“You really shot him?” Hayden said something similar before they found Kate passed out, but Mila thought he was joking. “Care to fill me in?”
“It’s a long story.” Kate’s eyes began closing even as she stared off toward the woods.
Mila patted her shoulder. “Never mind. Rest for now. You can tell me later when we reach your pack. Sleep while you can. I promise to wake you when Callen returns.”
Mila finished taping the IV bag to Kate’s arm in case Hayden returned before it finished. She reached into the backpack and withdrew the pouch holding the mylar blanket. She ripped it open, forgetting how obscenely loud the crinkling would be. She already had it out, and Kate needed to stay warm.
After she spread the blanket over Kate, Mila scooped up the gun and searched for an area with some cover to relieve herself. There was no telling when Hayden would return.
Despite what Kate thought, Mila liked Hayden. Too much. Every time he approached, her heart raced. Then the old fears surfaced, strangling her ability to be herself. Inevitably, she’d say something biting, irritating Hayden and sending any chance of getting to know him better into a downhill spiral.
After answering nature’s call, Mila fastened her belt and slipped the gun into the back of her waistband. The foul scent of another shifter nearby reached her nose just as her arm was wrenched behind her.
The male with bad breath slammed her against a tree as he leaned in and whispered, “I finally found you.”
Chapter Two
MILA
Fear coursed through Mila as the man’s foul breath raked over her neck. He grabbed her arm and forced it high up her back, nearly dislocating her shoulder in the process. After taking her gun, he secured her wrists behind her back with a plastic zip tie. If she could put some space between them, she’d kick him in the balls, but he kept her trapped against the tree as he sniffed along her neck.
“You smell nice. Be a shame not to taste you before turning you over, but I have my orders.”
Mila’s body tensed as his hand drew down her chest to cup a breast. As much as it repulsed her to do so, she took a deep breath and drew in his scent. He smelled like raw sewage boiling in the summer sun. Nothing at all like Hayden, who smelled like spring water rushing through a glen. There was no doubt in her mind though. This guy was definitely shifter. He’d be impossible to overpower, even if her hands were free.
He grabbed her by her shoulders, turned her around, and slammed her against the tree a second time, only this time she felt the impact in her bound hands and the back of her head.
“You like my scent, doll? You can taste me. That wouldn’t break any rules, would it?”
