Red's Wolf - Piper J. Drake Page 0,5

and shoulders so taut, like cords of steel. Working carefully, he eased them. He had to be careful. Humans bruised easily, built more delicate than shapeshifters. Still, as one knot after another rolled under his thumbs, she allowed her head to fall back and a sigh escaped her lips. His inner wolf stirred under the surface in response to the sight of her very beautiful face and the feel of her silken gold hair brushing against the tops of his hands.

"That…" Her eyes closed as she tilted her face up to him, completely relaxed, her expression softer, "is fantastic."

"Compliments appreciated." He couldn't help smiling. Maybe she should have been one of the cat shapeshifters, a leopard maybe. She obviously liked being petted. "I'll take another thank you in exchange."

Her startlingly blue eyes shot open, staring straight up at him, her perfectly plump lips parted as she drew breath to say something.

A knock at the door cut her off.

He stepped to the door and opened it, letting in Ben with a basket of food.

"Oooooh." Excited and energized, she popped up out of her seat with more appreciation than Jason had gotten for giving the shoulder rub, though he refused to be annoyed over being trumped by a basket full of food.

Yeah, actually, he was.

"You forgot again, didn't you?" Even though Ben clearly spoke to Carri, he shot a piercing look at Jason, crossing the room and placing the basket on a clear section of counter space. Jason leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. Whatever had Ben irritated didn’t worry him.

"We were busy." Unrepentant, she peered into the basket. When her stomach rumbled, she blushed and gave Jason a look daring him to make fun of her.

Well, he couldn't resist the invitation. "It's only midmorning. A little early for lunch, isn't it?"

She opened her mouth, but Ben beat her. "Carri has a condition, Jason. She's hypoglycemic with complications. Insulin resistance, for one."

You should take better care of her. Ben didn’t speak the words, but Jason heard them. It didn't matter if he hadn't known. Wolves, especially the dominant males, cared for those around them. The more dominant the male, the more responsibility he had in the pack to protect those needing protection. But as a lone wolf, Jason had no pack to worry about, to care for.

Old anger simmered through his veins as he recognized the accusation in the alpha male's eyes. On pack territory, Jason had to toe the line according to expectation, even if he’d only been brought on as a consultant for this project, a temporary visitor. No room for consideration given, no attempt to understand.

Holding his wolf tightly reined, Jason curled his lip at her. "So you're not only human, you're a broken human?"

She watched him. Her gaze steady and face blank, she offered none of the anger he’d hoped for in response. "Yeah. I'm broken." Ben growled but Carri continued rather than be cut off again. "I need to remember to eat every couple of hours. If I go too long, you'll smell a sweet ketone scent.”

Deprived of the fight he’d tried for, Jason prompted her, poked at her. “So you smell sweet when you’re sick? What happens next?”

She sounded tired, as if she’d given the speech too many times. “I'll get dizzy, speech faculties will degrade. You'll hear a characteristic slurring, and responses jumbled rather than clear." Her voice fell into a flat clinical cadence. "Shortly after, I'll faint.”

“So what, you take a nap?” Though he didn’t want to, he became concerned. Her condition sounded more serious than a dizzy girl needing a snack. The wolf aspect of his nature grew restless, agitated and he resisted the urge to pace.

She shrugged, her expression resigned. “If left too long, I bottom out, potentially fall into a coma.”

“You’re kidding.” He bit the words out. He couldn’t imagine her like that, her vitality snuffed out.

She rattled out the next words quickly, as if trying to reassure him. “Quick remedies for the situation are foods with a high bioavailability of sugars, such as fruit juices. Then, I need to have a real meal with a reasonable ratio of protein and complex carbohydrates.” She still sounded like a person reading a script, like she’d said it one too many times. He gritted his teeth. She probably had.

She fell silent, her shoulders slumped, her previously animated body language muted. Ben still growled. It occurred to Jason how much it cost her to have to admit it. She gave the impression of