This time when she changed, he was so close that his mouth brushed against her soft cheek. Something awakened within him—a flood of desire, an urge to protect, and a foreign feeling he couldn’t name.
He rolled the young woman on her right side. To his relief, the gash had almost sealed, leaving only a series of dark bruises. There was no way to tell if she had internal injuries, so he went through the process three more times until she fell into a deep sleep. That was the best he could do.
Lorenzo rose to his feet and approached the fireplace on the left side of his bed. After a few minutes, he had a strong fire going. He lifted the young woman and placed her on the bearskin rug close to the heat, covering her with a fur blanket.
The bed would hide her if anyone walked in, but to be on the safe side, he locked the door. The wall to the left of the fireplace extended forward, boxing her in and making it the warmest spot in his room.
He sat in a chair by that wall, looking at the elegant mane of hair spread across the fur. It felt as if he were privy to a secret that no one else had seen. The only thing visible beneath all that fur was Ivy’s unblemished face.
She had regal Native American features, but he could tell she was of mixed descent. Her hollow cheeks appeared softer as she slept. Ivy’s lips were lush, and combined with the intellect behind her eyes, it made her a striking woman.
But her eyes were closed, and her black lashes fanned downward.
Lorenzo widened his legs and dragged his gaze to the fire. He couldn’t hand her over to Cole in this condition; he was certain Cole would seek more than compensation. They’d once been rivals in their youth. Because Lexi was related to Lorenzo by blood and they were neighbors, he’d had to make peace with the Weston pack, but he and Austin were neither friend nor foe.
She moaned, moving her head to the side and nestling her face against the fur.
His captive.
Chapter 6
In a dreamlike state, I recalled someone holding my head up and warm broth sliding down my throat. I coughed a few times and shoved the dream away, thinking I must have fallen asleep away from my dreamcatcher.
Voices tumbled into my dream from a distance, and I barely heard them, as if they were lost in the wind.
“Did you get her to shift?”
“She’s recovering. What’s the word among the packs?”
A throat cleared. “I don’t think you’re going to like this. She belongs to Austin Cole. He’s been scouting for her all day and put the word out. That’s all I’ve heard.”
“Clearly I’m aware of whose pack the woman belongs to, now that I’ve seen her face. That’s Ivy.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Do not speak of this to anyone inside or outside this pack, and keep everyone off my floor. I need time to consider how to handle this delicate situation.”
“Why don’t you just dump her off somewhere while she’s still unconscious? I’m serious! She won’t remember—”
A door slammed and pulled me from my sleep. I rubbed my eyes, feeling my body surrounded by something soft and heavy. Crackling noises sounded on my right, along with an insistent heat that warmed my cheeks. My entire body felt weighted to the ground, and it took every ounce of effort to open my eyes.
When I did, the light from a fireplace pierced my eyes like spears. I straightened my head and looked up at the ceiling. Above and behind me I noted a bed, and at my feet was a leather chair in front of a dark wall. Fur surrounded me from top to bottom.
I furrowed my brow, trying to recall my last memory. I’d been talking to Fox and then my wolf shifted and lunged at him. He also shifted, and after that, everything went dark. I closed my eyes, puzzled by my surroundings.
When I opened them, I gasped. Lorenzo Church towered over me, standing on my left side. He didn’t have on a shirt, and his arms were folded, pushing out his tight muscles. Then I felt my nakedness beneath the blanket.
His long hair draped across both shoulders as he looked down at me with dark eyes. “Why do women always get the wrong idea?”
“My clothes…” I tried to finish my sentence, but my voice was raspy.
“I’m used to women coming into my bed without clothes, so I’m afraid I cannot help if you’ve misplaced them. Do you recall what happened?”
I shook my head, struggling to sit up. “No.”
In a heartbeat, he fell on his knees and pushed me down. “Stay still. Your injuries are severe. It’s too soon for you to move around. You’ve been asleep all day,” he said, pinching my chin. “I forced your wolf to shift many times, so rest or you’ll anger the spirit wolf. I’ll move you to the bed later, but keep your body straight and still. You’ll shift after you eat.”
“I can’t lie here on the floor like one of your ornamental rugs.”
His eyes glittered when he smiled. Lorenzo had a broad mouth that I shouldn’t have been eyeing so closely. “You’re a sight prettier than the musty old pelt you’re lying on.”