Page 20 of True North

“What?” My head reels back in shock. “Why?” I demand.

If he’s planning to ransom me, he’s got the wrong wolf. Even if Callum wanted me back after everything that happened last night, his resources are going to be tied up trying to get what pack he has left back on their feet.

He looks up, glancing at the wolves surrounding us and the kid still eagerly listening in. He shakes his head, clearly not wanting to have this conversation with them present. Well too damn bad.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

I grit my teeth as I push to my feet despite the shooting pains running up the length of my leg. I probably have a few hours before that sting is completely gone. Better than if I was a human breaking my leg, but bad timing regardless.

“Wait.” He steps in front of me, startling me just before I can shift. “I’m Luca.” He puts a hand out to me even though it feels a little late for introductions now.

I eye him warily and make no move to take his hand.

“I got a little carried away back there,” he says, lowering his voice as if this is a private conversation. With wolf hearing, I’m sure the others can still hear him. “I swear I didn’t mean to scare you. I just smelled you… and then I pictured you being there in danger with the rest of that pack and…” He trails off, then clears his throat and admits, “Instinct got the better of me.”

I feel like I’m blinking in slow motion as I stare at him, his words sinking in.

He didn’t bring me here to kill me or try to ransom me, I realize. He brought me here to try to mate with me.

My cheeks flush as I put a step between us. Hurt flashes across his face—the man is far too expressive for his own good—but he steps back clearly intending to help me feel more comfortable. He’s more of a gentleman than expected considering he just blatantly forced me here against my will.

“I can take you back,” he offers, his voice slow like it isn’t something he wants, but he feels obligated to offer.

“No!” I answer too loudly, making both of us flinch. “No,” I try again, “I can’t go back there.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to clear away the memory of the wolves converging on Jimmy. I’m not interested in a mate—look what happened when I considered taking Callum up on his offer—but I also can’t go home. I could go home to Tevin, but that’s not a permanent solution. As soon as he hears what happened, I won’t be able to bear looking him in the eyes either.

Everyone will know what I did—choosing Callum over Jimmy.

“I need somewhere I can clear my head,” I decide, realizing only belatedly that I’ve said the words aloud. The exhaustion of the past twenty-four hours is starting to take its toll.

I sway unsteadily on my feet.

“Woah there.” Luca reaches out to steady me, and I let him because the other option is turning into a heap on the ground. I lean slightly into him, letting him take more of my weight as my leg throbs to remind me of exactly how shit my situation is.

The kids starts to offer, “Should I go get—”

“No,” Luca cuts him off easily before he can get the rest of his sentence out. “You all go back to the pack house. Don’t speak a word to anyone about this, I’ll speak to Alpha myself,” he says with a false bravado that makes me wonder if he’s lying.

The other wolves don’t seem to notice, so maybe I imagined it.

Luca waits until they’re out of sight before speaking again. He runs his hands up the length of my arms, putting me back on edge again. He’s coming on far too strongly for me. Especially when I know in my gut exactly what pack he must belong to.

I won’t be caught dead mating with someone fromhispack. These past three years have strengthened me, I won’t go backward. Not for any wolf.

“Hear me out,” Luca says as if reading my mind. “Just come to my place for a few days. You can nurse that leg back to health, and no one even has to know you’re there. Okay?”

I narrow my eyes at him. He’s already made his intentions clear, and I can only imagine that being alone with him in his house would only increase his desire to mark me. I’m better off finding a neutral territory and trying to blend with humans for a few days while I heal.

Except I have no money or identification thanks to my ill-conceived getaway.

“I’m not in the business of touching unwilling women,” he says, frowning. “If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t. I’m more than happy to try wooing you the old-fashioned way, but I wouldn’t dare mark you against your will.”

There’s an honest quality to his words, maybe because of the conviction with which they’re said. I believe him, but I also know all too well—especially after last night and Ms. Margaret’s words—that my scent, for whatever reason, has a way of driving wolves mad.

I study the man again. There’s a kindness in his eyes that I was too distracted to see before. I like to believe I’m a good judge of character, but there’s a part of me worried I’m not a good judge of anything right now. Still, his offer is the closest thing I have to safety.

One night, my wolf suggests.We can heal a bit and think through our next move. His Alpha will never know we were here.

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