As they left, he ran through the barn and thankfully didn’t scent anything unusual. No wolves waiting to attack later. As he looped back around the outside of the barn he found Noah, completely naked, shouting at an equally naked Erin. Noah held one of the horse blankets and was trying to shove it at her.

Connor hadn’t wanted to shift to his human form yet but he braced himself and underwent the change. Shifting back always hurt worse. He didn’t have his animal side to block out most of the pain.

It took a moment before he could see straight. Everything in front of him was hazy and blurred. When his vision cleared he stalked toward them.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Erin turned to glare at him—the first real sign of defiance he’d seen in her since they’d found her, broken and bloody, all those months ago. Almost immediately she dropped her gaze to the ground and the timid she-wolf he’d gotten used to fell back into place.

“She was out there fighting!” Noah’s voice filled with anger—and fear.

At his words Erin’s temper flared to life. “Yeah, and I killed two of them. You shouldn’t be yelling at me, Noah. You should be thanking me!”

“You killed two of Taggart’s wolves?” Connor couldn’t keep the surprise—and respect—out of his voice.

“Yes, I did, Alpha.” Her words were less heated when she addressed him.

When they’d first found her she’d been covered in a lot of blood and Noah hadn’t allowed any of them to see her naked body for long. Before he’d even spoken to the small she-wolf he’d treated her like she was his mate. Since then she’d been so careful about shifting with any of the males present, always keeping her body hidden from others. Now he could see old scars nicking her neck, shoulders, and side. Really, really old.

Noah growled low in his throat and Connor realized it was because he was looking at Erin. His assessment might be clinical but the other wolf wouldn’t care. As a mated male who understood the protective urge more than most, Connor didn’t blame him.

Connor shook his head and grabbed the blanket from Noah. He draped it around Erin’s shoulders.

She stiffened slightly at the contact but didn’t pull away. “Are you going to punish me?” Her voice was deadpan.

Punish? Hell, no. “You haven’t talked much about your past and I haven’t pressured you until now. Were you part of the warrior class of your old pack?”

With her jaw clenched tightly, she simply nodded in response.

She wasn’t particularly small in her wolf form but she wasn’t hulking either, so it surprised him. “Why didn’t you say anything until now?”

She swallowed hard. “I wasn’t ready.”

“And you are now?” Connor asked.

“No, she’s not. She’s not fighting anyone. This is insane.” Noah stepped in between them but Connor placed a light hand on his shoulder and pushed him back.

“If she wants to fight it’s not your place to stop her.” Connor understood that the other wolf was protective but he also understood that whatever had happened to Erin had stunted her somehow. If she was finally coming out of her shell and was ready to fight again, it would be the best therapy anyone could offer her. He wouldn’t stand in her way.

“Really?” There was a light in Erin’s eyes he hadn’t seen before and he knew he’d made the right decision.

“If you can hold your own I have no reason to stop you. We’ll talk about this later, though.”

She was silent but her lips curled up slightly at the corners.

Noah started to protest but he silenced him. “Enough, Noah. I don’t have time for this. Help me round up the rest of the guys and meet back at the main house. We need to take care of the bodies and do a head count.”

Connor knew he needed to get the rest of the guys but he desperately needed to see that Ana was okay. He headed across the main yard. Liam and Ryan were patrolling the house, but he had to see Ana’s face. Touch her skin. Make sure she was safe. She might have communicated with him briefly before but that was an anomaly he’d chalked up to her raw fear. When—if—they officially became bondmates the telepathic link would become permanent.

When he reached the front porch he grabbed an afghan draped across the back of one of the rocking chairs and wrapped it around his waist. He didn’t mind the nudity but he thought it might make Ana uncomfortable.

As he opened the front door, a scream ripped through the night air. His heart leapt into his throat. Ana!

Chapter 16

Ana clutched Teresa’s hand as her cousin let out a toe-curling scream. Her back arched and her eyes were open as she stared at the ceiling, but it was as if she wasn’t seeing anything. The scream seemed to go on forever but after a few seconds she fell back against her pillow and her eyes fell shut again.

Ana shivered. Whatever was going on inside Teresa, she was in pain. Serious, serious pain. Ana hated that there was nothing she could do for her. The poison just needed to work its way out of her system. If only it would do it faster.

The bedroom door flew open and slammed against the wall with a thud. Connor rushed in, his dark eyes wide with fear. He wore a blanket around his waist and there was blood smeared down his shoulder and side.

Her heart jumped in her throat. She flew at him, mindless of the discomfort that shot down her legs. She was careful not to touch him since she didn’t know where he was hurt. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Most of this isn’t my blood. I heard a scream. Are you … ?” He faltered and suddenly looked unsure of himself. “What’s going on?”

She spotted Liam and another male in wolf form hovering behind Connor, but when they saw nothing was wrong they turned and disappeared back down the hallway.

Ana glanced back at Teresa. Gloria, one of Teresa’s sisters, wiped her face with a damp cloth. “It’s Teresa. I think she’s okay, though. For now.” Okay being a relative thing. She was breathing at least. No matter what they did the effects of the poison would be excruciating. She was like an addict going through withdrawal.

“Where’s Dr. Graham?” Connor winced as he pressed a hand to his shoulder.

Alarm pulsed through her. He’d said most of the blood wasn’t his but he was too stubborn to let on if he was in pain. “He had to get some sleep and go to work. He’ll be back tomorrow, though.” The truth was, there wasn’t much he could do anyway. They were already doing the best they could to purge Teresa’s body of the poison. While it felt like weeks had passed, in reality it had barely been two full days. Her body was simply fighting to survive. Maybe Connor was asking about the doctor’s whereabouts for himself. She didn’t want to question him in front of Gloria, however.

“I’ll send your other sisters in, okay?” she murmured to Gloria, who held Teresa’s hand tightly.

Her other cousin nodded, but Ana didn’t miss the sheen of tears in her eyes.

Ignoring the uncomfortable sensation in her legs, she strode out of the room with Connor. Her bones had basically healed; she was simply stiff. “Let’s talk in private.”

He nodded and placed a strong hand at the small of her back as they left the room. Without knocking, she pushed open the door to the room next door and told the other women to go sit with Teresa. They’d been taking shifts so they wouldn’t crowd her, but since she was unconscious Ana wasn’t worried. As soon as they were gone she reached for Connor, wanting to comfort him. “You’ve been hurt. What happened?”

He brushed her hand away. “I’m fine.”

She jerked back at his rejection. Was it so strange that she’d be worried about her mate?

Immediately his expression softened and he stepped toward her. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her close. “I’m sorry. It’s instinct not to let anyone … I’m sorry, Ana.”

“And you say I don’t ask for help,” she murmured. She eyed his shoulder and realized it was his blood. Thankfully the wound wasn’t deep and was already starting to heal.

“It’s not that. I want to take care of you.”

“Just not the other way around?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you’re not denying it either. Why don’t you want me to take care of you, Connor?”

“Because … I’m afraid of getting used to it.” His words were barely a whisper and made her freeze.

She didn’t want to touch what he’d just said right now. Afraid? Connor wasn’t afraid of anything. And something told her he hadn’t meant to say the words out loud. Careful not to touch his wound, she smoothed her hands over his chest and stepped closer into his embrace. His grip tightened on her hips and for a moment she fought to think straight. When he’d gone to fight Taggart’s wolves she hadn’t expected the raw panic that had overtaken her entire body. She was used to worrying about her sisters. That was second nature.

But what she’d felt for Connor was different. Deeper. And a whole lot scarier. The thought of losing him … She simply couldn’t think about that. She was supposed to be keeping her distance from him. Getting him out of her system. If he left again, she had to make sure she was free of him. Unfortunately he’d already worked his way into almost all her waking thoughts. “Uh, did you find Taggart? Or did he just send some of his pack?”

His expression immediately darkened. “He wasn’t there, but we took out a lot of his guys. He’s gonna be hurting after tonight. I’m going to contact the Council in the morning and let them know what’s going on. At least so they’re aware.”

Ana snorted. It’s not like they’d do much anyway. Eventually they’d send an investigator down and maybe the enforcer, but these pack skirmishes weren’t affecting them nationally and they weren’t affecting their relationship with the humans, so Ana guessed they wouldn’t be at the top of the Council’s to-do list. Since they now had an Alpha to look out for the pack, the Council would want them to take care of things themselves if they could. “You want me to help you patrol tonight?” she asked, even though she knew it would be foolish to try to do so.