Lone Wolf (The Wulf Pack Book 1)

Rage didn’t sleep as he laid in bed. He didn’t need sleep. He had been trained to survive on very little sleep, all his brother’s had.

His mind twisted and turned as he tried to ignore her smell, the slight scent of blood that mixed with it. The smell only made him angry as he forced himself to remember that not everyone was trained like he was, like his family was.

If she could make it, by tomorrow evening she would be safe with his brother, on the way to the safest pack on the continent. And that is all he wanted: was for her to be safe, even if it was without him.

He prayed to the moon that she would go without trouble, he wasn’t going to go back with them. He had no intention to go back to his family, to his brother’s pack. He did not want to argue with her, like he was going to have to argue with his brother.

The sun was soon to rise when he pushed himself out of bed. Grabbing his phone and a shirt, he headed out the door, calling his brother.

“Where the hell are you?” Fury’s voice grumbled through the phone, agitation bleeding from his voice.

“Had to stop for the night,” he responded with a sigh.

“I left my mission to help you Rage,” a growl rumbled through the phone, “you said you would be here hours ago,” he sighed again at his brother’s words.

“Her paws were raw and bleeding...” he trailed off, there really wasn’t much left to say.

“Oh...” they both were quiet for a few moments before Fury spoke, “Who is this female that you want me to take home?”

“An abused female that was being kept against her will in a pack in Washington,”

“They wouldn’t let her leave? Is she still a pup?”

“No, she is an adult, an orphan, the Alpha was allowing younger pack members to do what they want to her,”

“Are they going to come after her?” Rage rolled his shoulders, feeling the tension in the muscles building.

“Maybe,”

“Are they going to come for you?” Fury asked without hesitation, he knew his brother so well.

“Probably,”

“What did you do, brother?” Rage took a deep breath, releasing it in a long sigh.

“I killed the Alpha’s son,” his brother cursed, knowing full well that Rage would probably have the pack hot on his tail.

“I’ll see you soon, brother,” Fury finally said, breaking the tight silence.

“Before sundown,” he responded before hanging up.

Returning to the room, he found Willow still sleeping, curled up in the fetal position, seeming to be how she always slept. He guessed it was a habit she picked up over the years of abuse.

“Wake up little wolf,” he whispered, brushing his hand down her face. She was so small and fragile, like a little bird with hollow bones. But he knew she was strong, each mark on her body, new and old, proved she was strong, resilient.

She snapped awake at his words, jumping up, nearly knocking him over as she institutionally moved from the venerable position of sleep.

He ground his teeth at her reaction, even though he tries to show her gentleness, the abuse damaged her. His thoughts moved to wanting to wipe that pack from existence.

“It’s alright, little wolf, we are leaving soon,” she frowned at his words, her brown eyes meeting his, the glazed look caught his breath. She wasn’t awake. Even in her sleep she was ready for an attack.

A pain shot through his heart as he looked down at her. This female, he just wanted to pull her to his chest and never let anything near her. He wanted to protect her. A foreign feeling, he had never wanted to take care of anyone, yet this instinctual feeling seemed to come from deep within him.

“Come on, little wolf,” he whispered, placing a hand on her cheek, “you need to wake up,” she only stood in a daze, her eyes unfocused as he tried to coax her from the realm of sleep, “Willow, you need to wake up,” he said, no longer whispering, hoping she would hear him from her slumber.

“Wake up, Willow, my sweet little wolf,” he whispered, leaning forward to place a kiss on her forehead, shocking himself. He froze and she jumped back at the contact, falling backward onto the bed, her brown eyes now looking at him as he looked down at where she landed on the bed.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, trying to keep her calm, “I was just trying to wake you,” she looked away, pushing herself into a sitting position, keeping her eyes on her lap.

“It alright,” she nodded, “you just shocked me, that’s all,” he couldn’t stop the smirk that formed at her words. She seemed embarrassed, but he should be the one embarrassed.

“You were sleep walking,” he said, and she nodded once more.

“It’s something I have been doing since my mother died,” she watched her hands twist themselves in her lap, “it has gotten me into trouble on a few occasions,”

They were silent for a few moments before Rage stepped away, heading to the bathroom, he pulled the medical tape out as well as a bunch of cotton ball, filling his pockets before returning to the still silent Willow.

“I am going to go check out, meet me in the clearing where we changed before,” he didn’t wait for her to acknowledge his command as he slung his duffel over his shoulder and headed from the room.

The man at the front desk frowned as he looked at him, glancing a few times as if waiting for Willow to walk into the little office. He probably thought he killed her or something. Rage rolled his eyes at the thought.

He tossed the keys on the counter, wordlessly leaving the man standing behind the counter, as he headed to meet Willow.

She was already there, shifted, clothes set at her feet as she looked up at him with her gray eyes, her brown tail betraying her calmness.

He sat on the ground before her, crossing his legs before taking her paw in his hands. He used the taken medical stuff to wrap and cushion her feet in an attempt to avoid injuring them again.

Her wolf eyes watched as he moved from each of her front paws, to her back, walking slightly weird as she tried to get accustom to the strange feeling.

The sun was setting as they stopped at another motel, this one smelling like burnt meat from the bar next to it. Willow huffed at the smell as she followed Rage’s wolf form across the abandoned parking lot, to a first floor room door.

He surprised her by soldering the door once before stepping back, looking up at the door as if he was waiting for it to open. And it did, reveling a dark haired man, with striking yellow eyes. He took the sight of them in before stepping aside, allowing them to enter.

Rage sat at the foot of the bad, looking back at her, nodding his head to the bathroom door. She didn’t hesitate to move into the small room, nudging the door closed and shifting.

When she exited the bathroom, a thin towel wrapped around her, she found Rage sitting on the bed, dressed in only a pair of sweatpants, speaking to the other man. The resemblance was clear, the eye color was only shades difference, the dark black hair was the same, but the other man was much leaner, and looked younger.

“Willow, this is my brother, Fury,” he said as four golden eyes shot to her. Fury’s held many emotions, something Rage’s cold eyes, never did, his plump lips pulled into a smirk that sent a sweet chill down her spine.

“Nice to meet you,” Fury stood, his lean body taller than anyone she had ever encountered before. His lean body only made him look taller. His long fingers attached to a hand that he held out to her.

His kind face stretching into a wicked smile as he noticed her clutching the towel, instead of shaking his extended hand.

“He is going to take you back to his pack,” her eyes shot from Fury to Rage, the hardened man’s eyes showed nothing as he let his words sink in.

“You’re not coming?” she asked, something in her chest bringing a burning sensation that made her want to cry. He only shook his head, looking away from her.

“I left that pack, I can’t go back,”

“Brother...” Fury’s words were cut off by a loud howl, all eyes snapped to the door, “damn, they followed me,”