Perfect Mate (A Werewolf BBW Shifter Romance #2)(3)

"Then let's go and see the pack," Damien said, kissing her on her forehead. "And I'll introduce you as my mate."

They drove to the hotel that the pack was staying in, and as Julia pulled into the parking lot she shivered in cold anticipation.

"You can wait out here," Damien said. "The wolf—"

"He's just a shifter," Julia said. "Right?"

"Right," Damien said, but he sounded unsure.

"Then let's go," Julia said. She put on a brave face, although she knew that Damien could read her emotions, and she was feeling anything but brave just then. Or maybe that's what bravery was: being scared and not letting that stop you. She locked the car door behind her and followed Damien up the stairs and down the hall. They stopped in front of a door and Damien took Julia's hand before opening it.

Julia gasped. On a table in the middle of the room lay the wolf Damien had fought, blood staining the white sheets under him.

"Damien!" The tall, thin man with dark hair and skin came over and clasped Damien to him in an embrace. He wore an apron stained with blood, and in his hand was some kind of medical instrument, a shiny chrome tool that looked kind of like a pair of scissors.

"Jordan, you've already met my mate. This is Julia," he said.

"A pleasure, dear," Jordan said, taking her hand up and bending over to kiss it. Julia tried to repress a shudder—there was blood all over him—and swallowed hard as his beard tickled her fingers. "And you've met the rest of the pack as well. The two lovers on the couch are Kyle and Katherine."

Katherine stood up, her slim frame moving gracefully across the room with Kyle following. Both blond, they resembled each other so much that they could have been brother and sister. Katherine held out her hand boldly.

"I'm sorry about the way we met," she said. "I didn't realize you were Damien's mate."

"That's alright," Julia said, although she still bristled at the way the girl seemed to expect forgiveness as her due. Katherine had been promised to Damien as the only female in their pack, and Julia still felt threatened by how beautiful she was.

"This is my mate, Kyle," Katherine said. Kyle shook Julia's hand, his eyes averted. Julia thought that perhaps he felt worse about their initial encounter than Katherine did. As he returned to the couch, she noticed that he had a slight limp.

"How's he doing?" Damien asked Jordan, moving over to the wolf lying on the table. The wolf's chest rose and fell shallowly. Damien had a guilty expression on his face, and Julia wanted to throw her arms around him and comfort him. It's not your fault, she wanted to say. He attacked us!

"I've done my best to patch him up," Jordan said. "But it's still touch and go. I'd say he can probably survive if he's allowed to rest for a while."

"Do we have the time?" Damien asked, raising his eyebrows.

The wolf growled, and Julia jumped back, startled. Then the animal on the table began to... stretch. Grow. His arms and legs unfolded, and his face moved, morphing into something entirely different. Julia only realized what she was seeing once his fur had retreated. A nak*d man lay where the wolf had been before.

"Jesus," Jordan said. He grabbed bandages from the side table and pressed them to the man's side to staunch the newly torn wounds. "Katherine, hand me the sutures. Why would he shift now? I'd just finished the stitching—"

The man lifted his head and turned to look at Julia. His bloodshot eyes flashed gold, and he lifted his upper lip in what could only be described as a snarl. He raised his hand and pointed straight at Julia. All of the people in the room turned to look at her, all except for Damien, who reached out to take her hand. He could feel her fright, Julia was sure. There was something in his eyes that made her feel like he was the ultimate predator. And she was the prey. As he stretched his arm out to point at her, he spoke one low, growling word that chilled her to the bone.

"You."

CHAPTER TWO

As the wolf shifted into human form, Damien felt a blast of fear radiate outward from Julia, and he knew before being told that the shifter had spoken to her.

"You."

He instinctively stepped between the two of them. The words of the wolf echoed in his mind from before they had been attacked. You don't know what you're dealing with.

Jordan swallowed hard, and Damien heard the surgical instruments clatter to the floor. Every sense of his was on high alert, even with Julia's fear pumping through him.

"Who are you?" Damien asked.

"Who am I?" The shifter laughed, then coughed wetly, his voice thick with blood. "Who are you? What kind of mangled pack has a blind leader?"

"Where's your pack?" Damien asked. He could hear the hair of the shifter bristling as he shook his head.

"No pack. Not here anyway. They'll be coming."

"A loner?" Damien pressed.

"A scout."

"Scout? Scouting for what?" Damien asked.

The shifter coughed again, his breath ragged.

"I did the best I could, but I think a rib tore into his lungs," Jordan said, turning his attention from Damien to the shifter. "Do you want us to take you to the hospital? Now that you're in human form—"

"No!"