Page 44 of Venice Heat (Urban Heat 2)

“We’re almost there. Another five minutes,” he informed her.

She bunched her hands into fists on her thighs. “Where are we going, and how do you know about the place?”

“Marcus told me about it. He set it up.”

“Who?”

“He was Darryl’s second.”

Shae went cold. That guy had also challenged Eiji to be alpha of the pack now that Darryl was dead. “You shouldn’t trust him, Eiji. He wants to kill you.”

Eiji reached over and grabbed her hand. “Don’t worry. He doesn’t need to kill me anymore.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I gave him the position of alpha in exchange for helping me with you.”

She stared at him in silence.

“The others will be here soon.”

He turned onto a road that led deep into a wooded area. At the end of it, a small box home sat, nothing fancy, just serviceable. No vehicle stood outside, so she assumed the others hadn’t arrived yet.

Eiji stopped the car and turned to her. He took her hand. “Shae, I will help you to change and make sure you are safe. What you want to do after that is your choice. I told you, you can’t remain a rogue wolf. Men will try to take you, shifters of all kinds. The beast compels them to try to…” He searched for the word.

“Conquer me?”

“Hai.” His big, rough hand brushed her cheek, and her belly did somersaults. “I will stay with you and protect you.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait, you’re saying you’ll go wherever I want to go and just protect me, not be my mate. Just be there? From what you’re saying, you know how many fights you’d have to put up with? I mean, unless I stumble onto some place where there aren’t any shifters.”

He nodded.

“Eiji, why would you do that? Because you marked me? Look, I know it was an accident. It’s fine. You don’t have to throw your life away because of me. Hell, one life lost between us is enough.” Feeling sorry for herself was not a part of her nature, but she wallowed in it for a few moments, her head lowered, while she dealt with the emotions.

“You don’t understand.” He raised her chin. “Shae, aishiteru.”

She opened her mouth to ask what he’d just said when a ripping pain shot down her back. She screamed, but the pain didn’t let up for a second. Muscles spasmed at every inch of her body, and bones seemed to melt with a fiery heat that made her gag and sob. Eiji pulled so hard at the seat belt covering her chest, the fabric tore in two. He dragged her into his arms and kicked the driver-side door open. Metal ground against metal. Shae hardly noticed the door hanging at an odd angle as Eiji carried her up the steps to the house and shouldered his way inside. More pain blinded her, and spots danced before her eyes. Her head lolled on her neck, and she passed in and out of consciousness.

“Eiji.” She screamed his name, or thought she did. Her voice came from so far away, and her lover’s response didn’t seem close by either. She cried harder thinking he’d left her, but someone squeezed her hand. The sensation pierced the pain ravaging her being, but not by much.

“Listen to my voice, Shae. Hear me,” came Eiji’s commanding tone.

His voice seemed to tug at her soul. From the darkness and pain, he was a beacon, and she followed, reaching out to him. Somewhere behind the blindness, a light shone. Eiji stood there, at first a man and then a beautiful white wolf.

He spoke, but she didn’t see his mouth move. She heard his words in her head. Was this real, or had she fallen into a dream?

“Shift, Shae.”

“I can’t. It hurts.”

“You can. Let me help you.”

Again, the pull, and a gentle, vibrant energy, surrounded her. Eiji’s power eased her suffering. He invaded her mind, but not in a bad way. He chased the demons away and reached out. She took a tentative step forward—whether mentally or physically, she wasn’t sure. He appeared closer, still sitting in the middle of a meadow. Weren’t they in a house? The wolf raised his nose and howled to the sky, where the moon shone bright. The sound echoed through her head and heart, but then something inside her whined to do the same. She shrank back, ashamed.

“That’s too weird. I can’t do it.”

He howled again, and her wolf croaked a small sound so pitiful she wished she could laugh.

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