She counted heads. Three wolves. All awake and watching her intently, intelligence glittering in their golden eyes. Hunter had mentioned wolves one time when he’d been drunk and missing his wife. She’d thought he was crazy, his assertion that men could change into wolves, one of fiction.
“You’re safe now. You have nothing to fear from us,” Calian said. “Will you let Dakota and Kansas check you? They have the healing touch.”
Renee hesitated. She’d slept with these men. Hunter had married their sister. She nodded. How had they got to her? Heck, she couldn’t get over the fact they were here.
At her agreement, the three wolves moved. Two stepped away, and she gaped while they transformed to human. “Does that hurt? It doesn’t sound attractive.”
“The first time hurts.” Calian smiled. “Now the shift is merely uncomfortable for a few seconds. You have nothing to fear from us. I’ll protect you to my last breath.”
A naked Dakota glanced at her in concern. “Your color is better.” He lifted the blankets off her while Calian stirred the fire to life.
“My arm isn’t as sore. I thought I’d broken it,” Renee said.
“It is,” Kansas agreed, approaching her as cautiously as her brothers.
Their restraint astonished her, their care with her. No one—apart from her stepfather—had worried about her wellbeing. Certainly not her mother, although she’d settled after meeting Jamie Paulson.
“Why so guarded? Aren’t you the ones who bite?” she asked. “My teeth aren’t sharp enough. Besides, I’m not strong enough to swat a midge.”
Kansas’s mouth rounded. Dakota appeared equally stunned while Matto, still in wolf form, offered a doggy grin.
Calian chuckled at the twins. “With those wide mouths, a midge will think you’re extending a welcome.”
“We set your arm,” Dakota said.
“How?” They weren’t doctors, yet the nagging pain in her arm had subsided a fraction.
Kansas placed his hands on her upper chest. “We’re not sure how our healing works, but if we touch you at the same time, we sense parts of the body and can tell how or why a person is sick or injured. It works best on wolves but we helped you. It looks as if a bullet grazed your left arm, but that should heal well.”
Dakota placed his fingertips on her bandaged arm. It ached, but nowhere as bad as earlier.
“Relax,” Kansas ordered. “Keep your breathing normal.”
Renee complied. Warmth emanated from their fingertips and palms. After a while, it tingled while heat spread inward, relaxing her muscles and relieving the lingering pain.
When they lifted their hands, her eyes popped open. Both Dakota and Kansas appeared pale and drawn.
“I’ll make us something to eat,” Calian said.
Dakota and Kansas curled up, one each side of her. This time the heat coming from their bodies held comfort and friendship. She glanced left to Dakota, and her breath caught. She searched Kansas’s face too. Wonder filled her on seeing his expression.
Love.
So much love in their features, along with relief and gratitude.
She cleared her throat. “How did you get here?”
“We ran in our wolf forms,” Kansas said. “Just about killed me. City living has made me lazy.”
“You ran?” The idea stunned her. These men had risked their lives for her.
“All the way from Churchill. It took over four hours to get here and find you.” Dakota sighed “It made me realize I need to pay more attention to my wolf.”
“I can’t believe you braved the storm for me,” Renee murmured.
Calian entered the lounge with a tray of what smelled like soup. “The last thing we wanted to do was hang around Churchill and worry.”
“It concerned us when you failed to arrive back after your flight.” Matto helped her to sit up and handed her a mug of soup. “We care about you.”
