Alyssa's Wolves (Wolf Masters, Book 4)(45)

“Wiser than dying in the woods in the cold.” He chuckled alone and then continued. “I’ll make it. Let’s just get out of here. Besides, it’ll heal faster in wolf form.”

Everyone stripped and stuffed their clothes into the bags the men had brought. In no time they were gingerly making their way back to the house, Tyler keeping the majority of his weight on just three paws.

The conversation on the way back was minimal, and as far as Tyler was concerned, that was for the best. He was too busy gritting his teeth to chat.

* * * *

Alyssa stood on the porch staring into the evening. The sun was almost completely gone over the horizon before she spotted the five wolves emerging from between the trees.

She’d been holding her breath, pacing, and biting her nails for over two hours. Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief. There were five of them. Thank God. And the blond one on the right with a hint of red in his hair was limping. The Masters were hard to tell apart from this distance, but Tyler stood out without her ever having seen him in his wolf form before.

Alyssa had never been particularly comfortable watching the men shift, but she couldn’t bring herself to go inside this time. She needed to know Tyler was okay. When they all clambered up onto the porch, Alyssa kneeled down beside her injured mate and reached for his paw. “Are you okay?” Her hand trembled.

She knew he couldn’t answer her, and for the first time in her life, she sincerely wished she could communicate telepathically. If they’d been mated before the men had gone out for their run, they could have communicated with her from the woods, and she could have sent help.

Ever since Michael had shown up, yelling for help and scrambling to get supplies, Alyssa had been a nervous wreck. Could she have prevented this? Had her stubborn need for the men to work out their problems before claiming her caused Tyler undue pain and suffering?

She wanted to slap herself for putting off the inevitable and contributing to Tyler’s injury. It wasn’t as though she truly intended to not let them claim her. She could no more deny these two men than she could fly to the moon.

Guilt and responsibility made Alyssa tense. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. She was so relieved to have her mates back at her side she didn’t want to waste another moment of their lives in limbo. The sooner she let them claim her the better.

Everyone shifted and dressed in her peripheral vision, but Alyssa kept her gaze on the wolf in front of her. He lay panting heavily at her feet where she crouched to rub his gorgeous fur.

She’d never felt one of them before. Even when she’d lived at home in Oklahoma, the other members of her family and pack never shifted in front of her. She’d seen them from inside the house but hadn’t had the opportunity to pet even her mother.

And in the last two years since she’d come to live with the Masters, she’d been too embarrassed to hang around the men when they shifted. Or jealous maybe. That might have figured into her hesitation. But, her cheeks burned to imagine seeing any of them naked. Even the women. Tessa had teased her about it few times, telling her it was perfectly natural, but that didn’t ease her mind.

“Can you shift?” she asked Tyler.

A hand landed on Alyssa’s shoulder, and she glanced back to see it was Michael. He was dressed now, well in jeans anyway. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat as she stared at the expanse of his chest. How long had she been crouched here in front of Tyler?

“Give him a minute. He’ll shift. He’s exhausted from running on three legs.” Michael leaned down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. “He’s okay. It’s not broken.”

“Are you sure?” Tyler’s fur was so soft beneath her fingers, and Alyssa leaned forward to lay her face against him. She needed the contact and calmed considerably when her ear hit Tyler’s chest, and she could feel his heart beating against her cheek.

“Yep. Justin checked it out before he shifted in the hole. Trust me. We took every precaution. It isn’t safe to shift to human form with a break. That’s why we didn’t risk it, and I came for help. Once we determined no bones were involved, he shifted so we could get him out of the hole and then shifted back. It’s gonna hurt like a bitch, but he’ll mend.”

They stayed like that for several minutes, Michael rubbing Alyssa’s back and Tyler’s heart rate gradually slowing beneath her cheek.

“Alyssa? He’s gonna shift now.” Strong arms pulled her off Tyler, and she reluctantly let go of his pelt.

For the first time in her life, Alyssa didn’t move from her spot as Tyler shifted to human form right before her. He had been glorious in his wolf form, but he was spectacular in his human body. He still sat on the wooden floor of the porch, inches from where she crouched in front of him.