Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,94
wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
“Kat, I’m only so strong,” he whispered against her cheek. “I think about you constantly and I don’t know what to do about it.”
Her pulse was skittering out of control at his touch. And she could hear his heartbeat, strong and fast. And then his lips were on hers and the world seemed to tilt and spin around them as she tried to turn her head. This was wrong. No matter how good it felt, it wasn’t a good thing to do.
But she could smell the ocean, the soap on his skin and . . .
. . . somebody else in the forest.
She broke away from him with a start and covered her mouth with her hands.
“What is—” He stopped, sniffing the air. “It’s Doug,” he said in an undervoice. “Doug!” he shouted.
A few seconds later Regan’s husband came into view, jogging toward them, mouth drawn, eyes hooded.
“What’s up?” Justin asked.
“Lee’s looking for you. I told him I’d send you on in a hurry.”
Justin turned to Katelyn, flushed and sweaty. “Guess we’re going to have to run after all.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll walk her there,” Doug offered. “Just go.”
Justin nodded and took off without looking in her direction.
A moment later Doug began walking, and she walked beside him. She tried to check her hair. A few seconds passed, and then he turned to her.
“We need to talk.” There was an intensity to his voice that put her on her guard.
“What about?” she asked, hating the way her voice quavered.
“I think you know,” he said, casting a significant look after Justin.
“I don’t know what—”
“Spare me, Kat. I saw. Hell, a blind man could see what’s between the two of you.”
She licked her lips, not sure what he expected her to say.
He walked steadily, head down, watching the path. Avoiding her. “No good can come of this.”
She lifted her chin, struggling to have an ounce of courage, of defiance. “Why talk to me?”
Then he did look at her. “Because I take you for the smarter of the two . . . and the one more likely to get hurt.”
They walked a few moments in silence and Katelyn struggled for composure.
“You know that he’s spoken for. Lucy would be within her rights to challenge you. To the death.”
“The code of the hills,” she said sarcastically, but she was afraid. And ashamed. If Doug had noticed, others must have, too. And in real life, she would never have poached on another girl’s guy.
She reminded herself that this was her real life.
Doug was silent for a moment. “You and I have a lot in common,” he said at last, blowing air out of his cheeks. “I was nineteen when Regan was allowed to tell me the secret, offer me the choice of joining the pack. And as much as I loved her, it was one I wrestled with. And there were months and months of training before her daddy bit me in.”
Bit him in. How could he have chosen that? She tried to imagine how it had been accomplished. Like a vampire bite? Surely not an attack in the middle of the night, deep in the forest.
“It was what I wanted,” he emphasized, “but after I became a werewolf, oh my Lord, was I lost. Overwhelmed. There were so many physical changes going on that I felt like I’d lost my mind, my identity, my life. I couldn’t control myself and for six months I felt like I was walking around in a fog, except for the nights when I changed.” He ran his hands through his hair, and she saw that they were trembling. “Those nights saved me,” he said, and then he fell silent again.
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked after a beat.
He faced her dead on. “Because I had months to get ready. They let me see them when they changed. I ran with them when they hunted. I knew what I was getting myself into. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been on you. No choice, no warning, no preparation.”
Here was someone who understood. Someone who was being kind to her. It was almost too much.
“It’s been a nightmare,” she conceded.
“And that won’t change, not for a while.” He cocked his head. “And it never will if you don’t leave Justin alone.”
Mortified, she looked down at her hands. “I know. But it’s not just me.”
“I know, Kat. And for his part in this, I’d like to call him out for his