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"Not at first sight, it can take time to--"
"He said I was his mate" Her hand rose between theets one true mate"
Broken
"And for him, seeing her to eye level and letting her toes dangle in the air
Erin blinked "Uh, Jude…"
"Get the idea out of your head, got me? Just ’cause some fucked up psycho thinks he’s yourto hih to ever claim you"
Well, that was--
He kissed her Hard and deep and her toes curled and her heart raced and she held on to hi the perfect mate for that freak--no, even God didn’t hate her that ue swept inside He still wanted her He didn’t care about the wolf so it was okay and she could tell him--
He broke the kiss and muttered, "Wolves are insane Everybody knows that"
Her heart thudded to a stop
"If they’re in a pack, they follow their alpha like blind dogs," Jude continued
Not always So and--
"And if the bastard is Lone, well, shit, that means even the pack didn’t want hi screwed," Jude said
She shoved against hirabbed the sheet, right before it started a fast slither down her body
Fucking screwed
Her cheeks iced, then burned Her right hand clenched, holding the sheet close to her chest
"Erin--what is it? What did--"
But she shook her head and skirted around him About six more steps and then she’d be in the bathrooht I just need to take a hot shower" To wash away the memories
She pushed open the bathroom door
"LetErin cleared her throat "Maybe next ti the door shut behind her
And turning the lock Not that the fliood if Jude wanted inside
The soft creak of the floorboards reached her ears Co this way
The sheet fell to the floor and she put both hands on either side of the sink, holding tight
"Erin…" He sounded hesitant Maybe even worried "What happened, it doesn’t change you"
No, it didn’t Nothing would change her
"You don’t have to hide fro the eyes that held their own golden glow The cheeks that had hollowed, the teeth that had lengthened
Her claws dug into the undersides of the sink "I’ll be out soon, okay?"
More hesitation She could feel it
Then that soft creak again He wasaway now
Her breath flooded out
If the pack doesn’t want you, then you’re fucking screwed
Yeah, she was
Because she was a Lone wolf, one fighting to survive She had a psychotic mate on her trail, and a lover who apparently hated her kind
Jude stared at the closed bathroom door, his fists clenched He could hear the roar of the shower, so trying to speak to Erin then was not really an option
She’d locked hiet inside, no probleainst the door and he’d be in that small room with her, the steam from the shower around them He could join her in the shower stall Take her into his arht her story about that asshole had changed the desire that he felt for her, well, she was dead wrong
Her story had just sho tough she was, how deterth was da
But he turned away froive it to her At this rate, hell, he’d prettyshe wanted
The bastard out there would pay He’d see to it A wolf There had been whispers and rumors about the wolves for years
Centuries
They kept to theht in their packs Very, very rarely did they ht dirty, they fought hard, and they generally fought to the death It was their way
He hadn’t been kidding when he’d talked about the Lones The wolves out there who either turned their back on the pack or who had the pack turn on them were the badasses the Other kept away from, if they were smart Because so insane
When you were crazy, with the full strength of a wolf shifter, folks were smart if they avoided you
Jude liked to think he was a sonna be avoiding that wolf He was going after hiet ready to do so of his own
The hunt was on
"Hey, Jude!" Dee’s yell caught hiht Watch office "I ondering when you’d be dragging your sorry butt in here" She flashed hirin, then bent low over her desk as she dove into a pile of paperwork "I’ve been digging up your girl’s past, and man, she had quite a reputation"
Jude cleared his throat
Dee’s head popped up, a furroeen her golden brows "What? You got--"