“Rex, so help me, some day I’m going to make you pay for messing with me.” Her eyes looked heated, which he greatly preferred to the dazed, out-of-it expression she’d been carting around for hours. Angry Elizabeth worried him less than quasi-delirious Elizabeth.
He glared at her. “I’m doing nothing of the kind.”
She shook her head, her emotions unreadable to him. He’d watched all of his brothers go through their respective matings. Even when Tristan had been half-mad, possessed of a curse, and attempting suicide by throwing himself off a cliff, it hadn’t looked this hard. What was he supposed to do with this fragile witch who stirred his blood, alerted his long dormant protective instincts, and made him want to wring her neck all at the same time?
A rush of heat hit his body. It started at the tips of his toes and travelled upward until his cheeks were red with warmth. What the hell? His cock jumped to attention even as his wolf shrugged inside of him. The canine had no idea what happened either.
Rex’s gaze shot to Elizabeth. She regarded him silently. He adjusted his pants, knowing she’d probably already seen the proof of his sudden, unexplained arousal. He’d been fighting back his desire since the moment he’d laid eyes on her. But he didn’t need her seeing him jump around inside his trousers like he was fifteen years old.
“I’m done.” She wobbled to her feet. “This is the best I can do. Hopefully, I’ll be able to follow a conversation now and not zone in and out so much.” His nose told him she wasn’t fully healed—not anywhere near fixed. Her orange-filled aroma still smelled off. Until she was back to her usual scent, he wouldn’t feel satisfied she wasn’t still in imminent danger of expiring. They still needed a hospital, and he needed a phone. Tristan needed to know what was going on. Rex narrowed his eyes.
“When you did your magic-thing, did you direct some of it my way?” Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “No. Why on earth would I?”
“Indeed.” Was the witch up to something or was he just being paranoid?
She wobbled, and in two strides he’d grabbed her. Pressed close together, he could see how delicate her pores looked in the setting sun. Her skin was like porcelain under his fingertips. He swallowed. Hell, he was in so much trouble.
Once you mate her, you’ll feel better. His wolf was filled with useless advice.
Not exactly the appropriate time or place for such things. He didn’t think. Rex had stumbled upon quite a few of the newly mated couples taking private moments in the woods of Westervelt. Elizabeth, however, was severely injured, and they weren’t romping around the privacy of their magical island. His witch might never want to go there since she disliked wolves so immensely.
“I’m going to shift. I can get you to the human hospital faster.” He tugged at his shirt, pulling it over his head.
“Whoa.” Elizabeth’s blue-gray eyes were so huge they looked like they might pop out of her head. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking off my clothes. If I shift with them on, they’ll be gone when I shift back.
I’d rather not present myself at the hospital naked.”
She swallowed, her neck muscles clenched as she did so. He had no idea what he said to make her so tense. Sniffing the air, he tried to see if he could get a sense of it.
Elizabeth wafted a ton of emotions. She seemed to be happy, sad, intrigued, terrified, and
… slightly aroused at the same time.
He held back the urge to grin. Rex would bet good money it was the last bit which made her the most uncomfortable. “Unless you’d like me to be completely nude in the hospital. For you, I’d strip.”
She placed her hands out in front of her like she could ward him off. Rex shook his head. If he really wanted to get to her, those tiny hands wouldn’t stop him. It was a good thing his mother had raised him to be a gentleman. Sort of.
“Just let me turn around.” Faster than he’d thought she could move, considering her head injury, she showed him her back. “And I guess I’ll carry your clothes while I ride on you?”
Her voice shook as she asked her simple question. This time it was the acrid taste of fear filling his senses. His wolf form would really terrify her. As fast as he could manage, he removed the rest of his clothing. “Yep.”
In two seconds, he’d called the white light onto himself, shifting into his wolf body.
As a canine, he was completely black. The darkest of all his pack, his fur had always puzzled the pack elders. Where had a completely black wolf come from in the Kane line?
Does it matter?
That was always his wolf’s question. Rex had always answered no. He really didn’t care one way or another. It was only fur. But lately, it had irked him. His brothers were all one shade of brown. His mother had been the same. Where had his black fur come from? He pushed away the questions. It was just another way he didn’t fit in with the pack, another way he could demonstrate to the others how truly shadowed his soul must be. The darkness matched the man.