Page 8 of Alpha Bond

My brow furrows, and I run an eye over her. The tattered jacket is clearly not hers, and the clingy red dress doesn’t look like something to be wandering around in at night. Sexy as fuck. But it’s hanging too loosely from a frame that looks like she’s missed too many meals. And why come all the way out here? It’s at least a couple of hours from the nearest human urban area. That’s how we stay under the radar. Living on the far reaches of civilization. The places left behind.

She’s lying. No doubt about that.

“Human?” I ask. “The guys who took you?”

She shakes her head. “Rogue wolves. I think.” She gnaws her lip.

That explains the smell. And the activity we’ve been hearing about. But I doubt I’m going to get much more from her.

“What’s your name?” I ask, hoping this basic question will give her less to worry about.

“Sierra,” she says after a pause. “Sierra Barr.”

“Where’s home, Sierra Barr?” I ask, knowing she’s going to flounder now. She gives another panicked look around. “Your people. Your pack. Where are they?”

Her shoulders sag. And then she shrugs.

“I can’t talk about it.” Her voice is small, low. I mull this over for a moment. There’s no point in forcing the issue. She’ll talk when she’s ready. Right now, I need to get her to safety. Whatever she’s afraid of has got her running scared. And I suspect they’ll be back.

“I think you’d better come with me. Back to the den.” I turn in the direction of the compound. I sense her hang back for a moment. She’s deliberating. Weighing up her choices. “You’ll be safer there,” I throw over my shoulder. “Good people. You’ll be taken care of.” I hear a footfall as she takes a step, then stops. I keep walking as if I’d leave her behind if she didn’t come with me.

Huh. Now there’s a joke.

I may fool her, but I’m not fooling myself. There’s no way I’d abandon her here. Not after looking into those terrified eyes.

“But…but I don’t even know who you are.”

“Jagger,” I say. “I’m Jagger Law.”

I’m a hundred feet away by the time I hear her jogging to catch up. I don’t turn to see if she’s near. I can taste her scent on my tongue.

It’s going to be a long walk home.

Chapter 5

Sierra

Jagger Law. What kind of name is that, anyhow? I watch his broad shoulders move beneath the taut, dark fabric of his jacket. Shoulders that are receding into the distance as he walks away.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit!

I look around me, rubbing my arms as I shudder. Even through the torn jacket, I can feel that it’s getting colder. Gooseflesh rises on my skin, and my teeth are beginning to chatter. Who am I kidding? They’ve been chattering all along. Aside from those brief moments when I thought I was running for my life. Or from something.

I have no doubt he was aroused by me. I felt it.

Jagger Law…

He’s still moving. The strong column of his neck leads up to cropped dark hair that I can only see the back of. He’s not turning to look my way. Not giving any indication that he’s upset about leaving me behind.

Leaving me behind!

My wolf whines somewhere in the back of my mind. The male’s nice to look at, that’s for sure. Certainly a thousand times better than that bastard Rack. If I go with him now, would it be so bad, even if his intentions aren’t…pure?

I feel another pitiful whine swirling within. Something stirs.

“Cut it out!” I mutter to myself. It’s irrational that the animal side of me should be responding to some strange male in the middle of a garbage dump. I’ve just spent over a week in captivity, being beaten and starved to force me to accept my life as a breeding machine. I’m not about to let yet another hyper-macho alpha take control of me.

But maybe my wolf knows what’s good for me better than I do. God knows I haven’t had much feedback from her lately. I should trust her instincts.

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