know?? she questioned softly, disappointed by his answer.
?You don?t have a mark.?
She bit her lip, knowing that ?marking? was a term she was familiar with, but not being able to pinpoint it in her memory. She glanced over at him and found his amber eyes were locked on her, briefly glancing occasionally at the road ahead of them. Her throat went dry at the awareness that he was watching her. She swallowed and said, ?I don?t remember what marking means.?
He took a deep breath and exhaled, again seeming to be choosing his words. After a few moments, he said, ?When a wolf finds his mate, on the night of a full moon, he bites her and she bites him. The exchange of blood strengthens the connection they have to one another and bonds them, making them one being in two separate bodies. Their fates connect, their lives become one, and they even become one mind.?
?What do you mean ?their fates connect???
?When two wolves bond, their souls unite and once their souls are entwined, one cannot live without the other. If one dies, they each leave this world together.?
Jane was quiet a moment, reflecting on his explanation. After a few passing moments she turned to him. ?Do you have one?? she asked. ?A mate, I mean.?
?Somewhere,? he murmured, and even in the darkness she could see a yearning in his eye. She felt it too. Even though she?d forgotten what it meant to be a wolf, she still felt the desire inside her, the call within her, urging her to go on the hunt and find her mate.
Chapter 3
Jane spent the remainder of the drive hoping that her memory soon returned. She was fast realizing that the lost feeling welling inside of her wasn?t just from the loss of her memory, but the loss of her pack as well. As Dirk had explained to her, wolves were social creatures and they didn?t do well on their own. Their pack was, in a way, their family and they vowed to do whatever necessary to protect one another. So where was her pack and how had she become separated from them? Surely they were looking for her.
She wondered what would happen when the hospital realized she was missing. She felt guilty, knowing that she?d racked up a large bill for her treatment. In the future, maybe she?d repay them. But how? She couldn?t let them discover who she was because the doctors knew that she was ?different?. She wondered if the hospital had security cameras in the parking lot. Hopefully it was too dark that they wouldn?t be able to get a good view of Dirk?s license plate if any of the cameras had caught them leaving.
She turned to Dirk and asked, ?Did you happen to notice any security cameras in the parking lot? Do you think they will be able to get your tag number??
He shook his head. ?Already taken care of.?
?How?? she questioned, thinking that maybe he?d put fake tags on the car.
He smirked, ?We have an insider at the hospital and we have a wolf on the police force in town.?
She grinned, ?Very resourceful creatures, aren?t we??
He nodded and laughed, ?You could say that.?
Before she could question him further, they turned off the main roadway onto another street and Dirk pulled into a strip mall. Jane didn?t ask what they were doing there, just got out of the car and walked with him inside.
He led her into a store and stopped once inside, letting her move around him. She also stopped and turned to him questioningly. He smirked and said, ?Aren?t there going to be some things you need??
?What are you saying? You want me to grab some clothes?? she asked.
He nodded, ?Yes, as well as anything else you need: toothbrush, hair brush, shampoo, whatever.?
She nodded, not knowing how to feel about him taking her shopping. It was nice that he was thinking of her, but it felt odd to let a stranger buy her things.
She?d gone through the store and picked up a few necessities and was now circling a sale rack. Dirk strolled over next to her and whispered, ?There?s no need to worry about the price, pick out whatever you like.?
?You?re not planning on stealing this stuff are you?? she queried.
He chuckled, ?You?re something aren?t you?? He shook his head and said, ?No, we?re not stealing it. My Alpha gave me a pretty big chunk of money and told me to get you whatever you needed. The