He shrugged. “I didn’t want to get blood on my seats.”
Lorenzo smacked him hard in the head and raised the trunk lid.
Silver fur. He hadn’t seen many wolves in his lifetime with the purity of this color. Her snout and neck were as white as snow, but the rest of her body was the most elegant shade of silver he’d ever beheld.
Lorenzo’s eyes lowered and spotted the blood on her hindquarters. He bent down and ran his arms beneath her, only slightly rousing her from unconsciousness.
She bared her white teeth.
“Submit, female. I’m here to help.”
With that, a growl escaped and made him chuckle.
“Stubborn bitch,” William remarked. “If she doesn’t shift for you, then we’ll be dealing with a dead body by morning.”
Lorenzo lifted her limp body from the car and shifted her weight in his arms. The wolf cried out in pain and he shushed her. William closed the trunk and they walked together toward the house.
“What happened?” Lorenzo asked.
“I was heading out toward the Weston territory and—”
“Why?”
William coughed into his hand. “You wanted me to find out about that woman, right?”
“By breaking into their house? Fool! One of the men in the pack is a PI, and I can promise you he’s rigged up that house with security alarms. I don’t need such trivial things because I have the numbers to protect this house; they don’t.”
“I used to break into homes for a living. You don’t think I can get past a security checkpoint? Most Packmasters keep their private office on the lower level, and since the pack usually sleeps upstairs, seems the perfect opportunity.”
They climbed the steps and William held open the door. Lorenzo stopped and lowered his voice. “I don’t have time to argue about this. Find out what you can about the woman, but stay off their property. This isn’t like the old world you lived in. If you get caught, you’ll pull my pack down with you.”
Every muscle in Lorenzo’s strong arms turned rock solid as they climbed the stairs. She was a strong female with a lot of muscle tone.
“Anyhow,” William continued in a quiet voice, “she darted out of nowhere. I tried to turn the wheel, but it happened too fast.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“No. I should have left her there, but they might have hired a Chitah to track me down, and then I’d have to trade in my car or get the grill cleaned. It happened on the main road five miles down, not on anyone’s territory. I pissed on top of the spot where I hit her so no one could identify her scent.”
Lorenzo threw him a volcanic glare. “Get out of my sight. Tell no one of this, and keep everyone off my floor. I want complete privacy tonight and tomorrow. If anyone sneaks up there and so much as taps a knuckle on my door, it’s you I’m going to hunt down.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“What I asked. But if someone starts calling around about a missing bitch, I want to know about it before anyone else. Leave us.”
Lorenzo kicked the door shut and laid the wolf down in front of his windows with the scenic view. He knelt before her and summoned all his alpha power, channeling it through his voice. He pinched her ear until her eyes fluttered.
“Shift.”
With absolute grace, the wolf changed form.
Lorenzo fell back, his eyes wide with astonishment. Before him was a woman with all the loveliness of a flower. Her skin was warm like caramel, and he wondered if it tasted as sweet. Long, silky locks of mahogany hair stretched down the feminine curve of her body, covering her secrets like a cloak. She was lying on her back, her left leg slightly bent over the other. This female was no stranger to him. The wolf William had struck down was Ivy.
His eyes focused on her left leg where the skin was still broken and discolored. There was no question she had multiple fractures and possible internal injuries.
“Shift,” he said again in a voice dripping with power.
She was unconscious, and he needed to rouse her. Lorenzo patted her cheek with his hand. When she didn’t move, he pinched her arm forcefully.
With lightning speed, her arm flew out and she slapped him in the face. As soon as the crack sounded, he pulled back her eyelids. “Shift!”
In a fluid movement of ancient magic, she changed back into wolf form. The process of shifting to heal could be exhausting, so he knew with each time, she would fall deeper into a slumber. Lorenzo quickly assessed her leg. His fingers glided along her soft fur, searching for breaks. Too much time had passed in transporting her here.
He repeated the command, his own hair falling forward as he leaned over the wolf and whispered against her large ear.