After she was done, she shivered. Her mind was obviously dragging the memory back up. My instinct was to step forward, sit on the bed, and wrap her in my arms. I wanted to protect her. My wolf was actually egging me on, trying to get me to do exactly that. I had to clamp my hands into fists to stop myself. I’d only met her five minutes ago, and she’d been attacked by shifters less than a day ago. That type of close contact wouldn’t go over well.
“So, you have no idea what they meant?” I asked. “Do you have any other girls who work for you who are shifters? Could they have you confused with someone else? A case of mistaken identity?”
She shook her head. “No. They for sure wanted me. They even, like, sniffed the air, like I smelled funny or something. They definitely wanted me for some reason.”
The hairs on my arms stood on end, and I could see Luis taking a slight step back. She did have a smell unlike anything I’d ever encountered. Shifter noses were just as good as the animals we shifted into. I smelled millions of different pheromones, odors, and chemicals each day. As soon as I caught a whiff of something new, my brain stored it away for later.
And she was something totally new. Not just a new person, but something I’d never encountered before in my entire life, which was pretty difficult to find.
Luis caught my eye and his brows knitted together, his eyes flickering with unspoken question. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to get across. I’d have to ask him when we got back into the waiting room.
“Listen…shit, I don’t even know your name.” The realization made me feel like an asshole.
“Maddy Sutton. Maddison, but I go by Maddy,” she said.
“Okay. Listen, Maddy. We’re certain these guys belong to a different pack. It’s run by a guy named Javi. He’s…” I looked at Luis, who gave me a lopsided, humorless grin. “He’s not a very good dude, let’s put it that way. If his guys attacked you and didn’t finish the job, then there’s a pretty good chance they’ll come back to…try and finish.”
She stared at me for several seconds, her face impassive and emotionless. Then her eyes grew moist and her lower lip started to tremble. Her whole body began to shake, and she pulled the blanket tighter around her. “Why is this happening?”
She wasn’t asking me, just whispering the question to herself as she cried, but I stepped closer to the bed, wanting to console her. “It’ll be okay. I’m not sure why it’s happening, but I promise I’ll help you figure this thing out.”
Her teary eyes flicked up to me warily. “Why? Why do you even care?”
That was a good question. One I couldn’t answer. Whatever I said in response had to sound logical. No matter what, I didn’t want to scare Maddy off. I had to figure out what was going on with this weird attraction I felt to her, and I couldn’t do that if she was on the run. “Javi and I are rivals of a sort, if that makes sense. Now that I’ve involved myself, he’ll be gunning for me. I’m sure his guys saw my pack. He’ll know I stopped the attack. We’re connected now. In a sense,” I added quickly. “So I’m offering you the protection of the Lorenzo pack.”
“So, you have no idea why? This is a mystery to you, too?” She looked equally confused and irritated.
I shrugged a shoulder. “No clue. But like I said, Javi’s pack is after you for some reason. Whatever plan he has, he’ll want to see it through. I fucked those plans up, so now there’s going to be trouble for me. He’ll assume I’m involved somehow. It’s a long story, but we’ve got a bit of history. I need you safe until I can figure out what Javi’s planning, and I can put a stop to it.”
Her eyes went cold, and I could almost feel the chill in the room. Luis seemed to notice it as well and took a second step back, his eyes growing wary of Maddy.
“So, you’re just going to use me? Furthering your own agenda? Am I bait or something?”
“It might seem that way, depending on how you look at it,” I said. “Though, are you really going to refuse help when it’s clear that Javi’s crew is trying to kill you? Don’t you want to know why you’ve been targeted? You could call the cops, sure, but what are they really going to do? Maybe get the few guys who attacked you, if they’re really lucky. Then Javi sends more guys after you. Not a great plan, from where I’m sitting.”
Her lips pinched together, and I was certain she was making the same connections in her mind. She slumped back against the pillows, huffing out a pissed-off sigh. “Fine,” she said to theceiling, then tilted her eyes toward me. “What doesprotectionimply?”
Luis cleared his throat, holding up a hand to get her attention. “Two options, really. The first is that you’ll come stay with the pack. I’m head of Nico’s security, and we have a plot of land on the outskirts of the city. We’ve turned it into our own little gated community. If you choose that option, you’ll always have someone around to keep an eye on you and protect you. We’ve got incredible security there, and there’s almost no way anything will happen to you there.
“Option two is we have an around the clock guard tail you. Sounds less intrusive, but for it to be real protection, the guy would have to live with you. Crash on your couch or whatever.”
“Okay, no,” Maddy said. “I’m definitely not sharing my house with some stranger. Christ, how do I know he won’t piss on the bathroom floor or something? Hard pass.” She frowned and sat back up. “I’m not super fond of the first option, either. I have a life. I already have a place to live.”
“You’re totally free to reject both offers and try to protect yourself,” Luis said. “The problem is, I know Javi, and I have to question how long you’ll stay alive once he knows you’re unprotected. I’m going to go wait for Nico out front. Think about it.”
Luis turned to leave, and Maddy watched him go, her eyes narrowed into slits. “He’s a real dick,’’ she murmured under her breath.
I laughed, unable to help myself. Luis was honest to a fault and never sugarcoated things. I could see why he could look like an asshole to someone who didn’t know him. It was still funny to hear her say it, though.
“This is all for your well-being. I hope you can trust me when I say that. But Luis is right—you can reject both options. You’ll be all on your own, though.” My wolf didn’t like the sound ofthat. The beast was actually snarling at me. I thanked God only I could hear him. “Get some rest. I’ll stop back by later tonight. You can tell me what you’ve decided then.”
Maddy nodded absently, seeming lost in thought when I exited the room. My wolf whined, wanting to go back in there. To just see her. I fought the urge and forced myself to walk out the front doors of the clinic.
Luis was leaned up against my truck, puffing away on a cigarette. He flicked the butt off into the shrubs. “What the fuck is going on, Nico?”
All I could do was shake my head. “I don’t know, man.”
Luis pointed back toward the clinic. “Something is off about that chick. I can’t put my finger on it, but…there’s something weird going on here. Every time I get around her…I don’t know. When she talked about Javi’s boys sniffing her and saying all that shit? I can smell it, but I have no fucking clue what she is.”
