Page 37 of Wolf Unleashed
“Tiernan?”
“Yes. Tiernan said he’d talk to his alpha, see what he could arrange. I waited in the woods just beyond their border, in bear shifter territory. That made me nervous as hell, but if there was a chance at getting the vaccine to my pack, I had to risk bear shifters finding me. This was just after the vaccine had been developed by a doctor in Damien Black’s pack, but supplies were low. Really low. Black and Greyson only found one human production facility willing to manufacture the vaccine for shifters, but they had low production capacity.”
“Tiernan brought you the vaccine, though, didn’t he?”
“A few dozen doses. That’s why I pushed you toward him when he was going feral, precious. I couldn’t let him die, not after what he’d done for my pack.”
“And what happened with your father?”
“By the time I returned home, Eero and two dozen others were dead. The virus moved quickly through the pack, but Freya had moved faster, separating the sick from the healthy. Between her quick thinking and the vaccine Tiernan procured for us, no other shifters died.”
“Your father should be proud of you and Freya.”
“He said I did too little too late. I don’t even think he acknowledged Freya’s actions.”
“That was a father mourning the loss of his son talking.”
“He can’t see past Eero’s death. It broke him. He’s not the shifter, or alpha, he used to be.”
Rafe gained a distant look again. She squirmed in his arms, trying to get down. “I can walk. I’m feeling much better.”
“I like holding you.”
“We may have a long walk. And…” She fell silent again.
“Enough already. You’ve hesitated several times now. Speak what’s on your mind.”
“You said something about finding a way to release my wolf. What if I can’t control her? What if…. What if she’s feral, like Tiernan’s wolf?”
Tiernan stopped short up on the trail and spun around, his face white. “You think that’s why my wolf settled? I somehow transferred his feral state to your wolf?”
“Calm down and think about what you just said,” Rafe said.
“You never should have allowed her to blood-bond me.”
“You were sane at the time.”
“Was I? I don’t remember much. How sane was I if I can’t recall much of the ritual? A female turns feral if she blood-bonds a feral male. It’s a known fact.”
“Then she would have turned feral weeks ago.”
Alyssa squirmed in Rafe’s hold. “Put me down!” The second he set her down, she grabbed Tiernan by his collar. “Get this through your head, Tiernan. It wasn’t Rafe’s choice, it was mine, so if anyone’s at fault, it’s me. Secondly…” She froze, listening to the newest sensation rising in her.
“Secondly, what?” he asked, his eyes wild and desperate.
She smiled. “She’s… purring for you, Tiernan. The second I approached you, I could feel her.”
“You sure you’re not a cat shifter, Tiernan.” Rafe teased.
“Okay, maybe purring isn’t the right word,” Alyssa said, feeling light and hopeful in a way she hadn’t felt in years. After so many years of not understanding that presence, or even knowing for sure that there was a presence, and she wasn’t just losing her grip on reality, she finally felt her wolf!
“Are you sure?” Tiernan asked, cupping her face in both hands.
Alyssa loved how he held her with the utmost care. Her wolf stirred at his touch, and Alyssa’s entire body thrummed with approval. “Ooh, she definitely likes you, Tiernan. What I’m feeling is not the emotions of a feral wolf. Or an angry one. A horny one, if anything.”
“Horny, we can take care of,” Rafe said, running his tongue over his upper lip. “Where’s that cabin of yours, Tiernan? I need to claim our female. We’ve already pissed off your brother. It won’t be long before he sends your alpha after us.”
Tiernan laughed. “Don’t worry, Rafe. We’ll have nothing but privacy. My alpha is far from pleased with me at the moment. I’ve defied him yet again.”
