Jennifer Ashley: Wild Wolf

“We need to get out of here,” Graham said.

“That’s the plan,” Diego said then turned to Misty. “You okay?”

“Fine,” she said. “Now that there’s water.” She took another long drink.

Graham ignored them and pushed his way to the truck, Dougal still hanging on him. Without a word, he continued to the truck bed, where he convinced Dougal to turn him loose so Graham could lift his ruined motorcycle into the back, then they both climbed in with it.

Diego watched Graham, a puzzled look on his face. “I thought he got himself shot.”

“He did,” Misty said, too weary to go into details. “Can we go home now?”

Diego opened the pickup cab’s back door. “Your carriage awaits.”

Misty gave him a weak smile and let him help her up into the cool interior. Diego had the air-conditioning going full throttle, the icy blast making her blink. Misty leaned back into the soft leather of Diego’s custom seats, thinking nothing had ever felt so good.

Diego slid into the driver’s seat. Reid, who’d not said a word, was at the back of the truck talking to Graham. Misty couldn’t hear what they said, but Reid wore a worried expression as he scanned the desert.

Reid then climbed into the pickup’s bed, still conversing with Graham. Diego said nothing, only put the truck into gear and pulled out.

“Can I borrow your phone?” Misty said, her voice thin and tired. “I need to call my brother.”

“Already taken care of,” Diego said. “Your brother is safe, in Shiftertown, in fact. My brother and a couple of my guards are at your house, making sure no bad guys show up there. Paul’s at Eric’s house, which is where we’re headed.”

“No,” Misty said sharply. “I want to go home.”

Diego looked at her in the rearview mirror, surprise on his face. “Your brother’s worried about you.”

“Keep him safe, and thank you. But I need to be alone for a little bit. Tell Paul I’m fine, and I’ll see him later. If my house is safe, I want to go there.”

Diego still looked puzzled, but he didn’t argue.

Misty dozed off once the truck left rutted road for smooth pavement. The pickup’s deeply tinted windows kept out the sun and leather seats cradled her body.

The sleep didn’t refresh her, though. Flashes of dreams struck her—Graham with blood all over him, Flores’s pockmarked face when he’d pushed it close to hers, the despair when she’d been locked in the hot shack. Threading through these visions was the remembered sensation of the wonderful, sweet, clear coolness of the water. Misty wanted more. She had to have more.

The truck jerked as Diego slowed for traffic on the freeway, and Misty woke. The dreams fled, and she couldn’t remember them when she reached for them. But she was still thirsty.

Diego pulled off the freeway and took the streets to the ordinary suburban neighborhood where Misty lived. In a short time, he was pulling into her driveway, the house a welcome sight.

Graham was up and out of the pickup’s bed as Misty opened the cab’s door and let Diego help her out. She started for her front door but realized in dismay she didn’t have her keys. They’d be at the shop in her purse, still locked in her desk drawer.

Didn’t matter. Diego’s brother Xavier pulled open the house’s front door from the inside, looked around, then gave a thumbs-up to Diego.

Graham got in front of Misty as she went up the walk. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“Inside.” Misty motioned to the door where Xavier waited. “I live here.”

Diego raised his brows, looked at Graham, and then turned and moved discreetly back to the pickup, pulling out his phone to text someone.

“You’ll be safer in Shiftertown,” Graham said, his voice a growl.

“But I want to stay here.” Misty shook her head. “Thank you for helping, Graham, and I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.” She paused. Xavier had retreated inside the house, as discreet as his brother, leaving her and Graham relatively alone. She drew a breath. “But don’t call me again.”

“What?” Graham’s focus shot to her, the distraction of his fear and anger gone. His eyes burned, every part of his unnerving attention on her.

Misty stepped into the shade of her small front porch. “I said don’t call me. I’m done.”

“Done with what? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Good-bye, Graham.” Misty made herself walk inside the house and start to shut the door.

She thought Graham would grab the door at the last minute and charge in after her, raging all the way, but he only stood there, amazingly still, his wolf eyes going silver as she closed the door in his face.

This is what I get for tangling with a human.

Graham repeated this to himself all the way back to Shiftertown. He and Dougal were now riding inside the cushy cab of Diego’s truck, in the backseat, the air conditioning on too high for Graham’s taste. But Graham wanted to ride inside because Dougal still needed Graham’s reassuring hugs, and Graham didn’t want the dumb-ass human police seeing Dougal basically on Graham’s lap, and pulling them over. Dougal wouldn’t last against human police right now—he might do or say something stupid and get them all arrested.

In fact, humans were pains in the ass all the way around. Graham would keep that fact to himself while Diego, a human, was driving them home. Plus Diego had found Graham a clean T-shirt, black with a tiny DX Security logo on it.

But for the most part, humans weren’t worth the time. Misty was a distraction for him, and Graham didn’t need distractions right now.

Her scent, that was most distracting of all. A scent Graham could wrap around himself until everything bad went away. Misty’s smile was pretty good too. He remembered when he’d first seen her in the bar—she’d given him that sweet smile and asked if he was Shifter.

The smile had been completely absent this afternoon when Misty had said, I’m done, and closed the door on him. The finality of it bore into Graham’s heart.

Like he needed a human in his life. Graham’s day had been hell since he’d woken up. First the Lupine woman had attacked him in his own house, sent to try to get Graham to mate with her. Then Misty’s scared voice on the phone. In the seconds he’d heard her, he’d known that nothing else mattered but finding Misty and making sure she was all right.

She hadn’t been all right. He’d had to fight for her, which had led to him getting shot. Then he’d slowly baked in the sun until Misty made him drink water a Fae had given her.

Graham knew the “hiker” Misty had stumbled upon had been Fae. Reid agreed. The cave she’d described, which had mysteriously disappeared, screamed of Fae. They must have been on a ley line out there in the desert, one of the lines of magic that crisscrossed the world. Stone circles were found on them as well as other mystical places—Fae loved ley lines.

Graham remembered how the gang leader had smirked and said he only needed one Shifter. One Shifter for what? To give to the Fae lurking nearby? For what ?

No wonder the human had been stupid enough to give Graham directions to his location instead of setting up a dead drop. The human had planned to give him to the Fae. Why, Graham had no idea.

Didn’t matter though, did it? Graham had drunk the effing water. It had cured his gunshot wound almost instantly, but Fae cures came with a price. Whatever else the water had done to him, he wasn’t sure yet.

He’d planned to talk it over with Misty when they got to Shiftertown, where he’d explain everything to her. Diego, the traitor, had taken her home instead. Fucking humans.