man who?d growled, it was Dirk. ?Augen von,? he spat at the man, sending him a deadly gaze.
Jane wondered what the words meant because the other man scowled back at Dirk and the two seemed to be having a stare down, neither pulling their eyes from the other.
Moment after moment passed and finally, the other man gave a slight nod to Dirk, some sort of silent acknowledgement, then Dirk averted his eyes and his shoulders slightly slumped.
The man turned back to her and seemed to be studying her reaction. It didn?t take long for her to realize what had just happened between him and Dirk, because with him staring down at her, she couldn?t help herself from lowering her eyes to the floor and slouching before him. He had a power emanating from him that she couldn?t bear. She knew that it too, was a wolf thing. Every wolf within a pack had a place in the ranks and the lower wolf always submitted to the higher-ranked wolf. In nature wild wolves lower their head and clamp their tails between their legs under the gaze of a dominant wolf. Sometimes they may be seen exposing vital body parts to the other such as the throat and at times, even roll over to expose their belly. Of course werewolves didn?t do that when in human form, but there was still a formal protocol that they practiced. By pack law, they had to act in this manner as a form of respect to their Alpha and his commanding wolves.
The man leaned in and sniffed at her and another growl rumbled through the room. Dirk was growling again. He stepped up beside Jane and said, ?You?re making her uncomfortable.? He might have been bucking against the wolf a second time, but this time, he was respectful while doing so and kept his eyes lowered.
The man sighed and held out his hand to her. ?I didn?t mean to make you uncomfortable. I don?t do well with civilities. My name is Fritz. I?m the Beta of the Wolfzburg pack.?
She shook his hand lightly, ignoring the shock that radiated from the contact and said, ?I?m
Er, Jane.?
Dirk laid a hand on her shoulder and explained, ?She?s lost her memory from the accident and doesn?t know what her real name is. They dubbed her Jane Doe in the hospital.?
?I see.? The man replied with a suspicious gleam. He studied her another moment, then looked over to Dirk and said, ?Dirk, a word with you in the hall.?
Dirk nodded at him and as the man moved out the door, Dirk turned to Jane and said, ?Make yourself at home. I?ll be right back.?
Jane wondered why he?d seemed to soften. He?d had a different attitude when he first walked into her hospital room, not much different from the new man she?d just met.
She knew she shouldn?t do it and that she?d probably be reprimanded if she was caught, but she couldn?t help herself, she had to move closer to the door to hear what they were saying.
They?d moved up the hall and were whispering, no doubt trying to get out of hearing range, but she cracked the door open a tad and leaned her ear up to it and was just barely able to make the voices out.
?Dirk, that?s no way to behave in front of a stranger we?re bringing into our pack. Our Alpha is a hardass and you shouldn?t put on an act of disrespect. If she thinks that kind of behavior is permitted in our pack, Kasimir will stitch her lips together.?
?I know Fritz, but you were really making her uncomfortable, especially with your roaming eye.?
?I?m not some love-sick pup that was lusting after her. I was only thinking that you would need a lecture later for taking the girl such revealing clothing.?
?Well, I was surprised to think that that?s what you were doing, but that was what it appeared. I?m sorry, I don?t know why I reacted without thinking. And I bought her some more clothing. I believe the ones she just got should cover her better than what she?s wearing now.?
?So how much of her memory has she lost?? she heard the man named Fritz ask.
?All of it. She doesn?t remember who she is or where she?s from, hell, she didn?t even remember that she was wolf.?
The hall went silent for a moment, then Fritz said, ?Do you think she?s lying? Maybe she?s protecting someone with this act.?
?No. There?s no scent of deception about her.