“Are you going to get in with me?” He put his hand out to touch the man, but the guy gasped and jerked away like Gabe was a poisonous snake.

“Don’t touch me!” He turned his face away and covered his nose with his hand.

Damn, I must stink worse than I thought. The guy turned his face back toward him with an obvious effort and spoke to him through almost gritted teeth.

“You belong to the alpha, and you’d better remember it.”

“I don’t belongto anybody but myself!”

The large wolf pointed toward the bathroom.“Please go in and get in the tub, so I don’t have to make you.”

“All right, all right.Damn!”

Frowning, Gabe turned around and made his way to the steaming tub. He stepped in gingerly and lowered himself into the water. Some kind of flowery bath salts had been used. He snorted through his nose. Talk about stink. When he got out of the tub,he’d smell like fucking roses all day.

The large wolf stood at the door and pointed out the shampoo and soap.“Use plenty of those.Scrub yourself.”

“Okay, keepyour shirt on. Damn, I don’t smell thatbad.”

“Yes,” the large man said firmly. “You do.” He retreated into the other room, but Gabe could hear him close by.

Gabe snorted and soaped himself all over. Maybe he really did stink, not that he gave a shit. Since he was there, though, he may as well take advantage of the tub. The hot water really did feel great. He allowed himself to sink back into it for a few moments and just soak. It had been a long whilesince he’d had time for that kind of luxury. Most nights during the past year, he’d been either too tired or too drunk to do much more than grab a quick shower. He sat forward after a bit and reached for the shampoo. After lathering and rinsing in the tub, he turned a dripping face toward the door.“Could you hand me a towel at least?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” The deep voice from the night before sounded too close for comfort,and Gabe’s eyes flew open. He flinched in surprise. Instead of the large wolf from before, the alpha stood lounging in the doorway, looking even bigger and more powerful than Gabe remembered. Dressed in jeans and a white button-up shirt, he wasn’t naked this time, at least. He snagged a towel from a rack on the wall and walked toward Gabe.

Gabe fought hard to resist the impulse to lower his head in submission when the man approached him. Where did that even come from? He vaguely remembered drinking blood directly from the guy’s wrist the night before. Had he been changed again in some way?

He made himself take the towel and wipe his face as calmly as he could, his hands trembling slightly. When he looked up, the alpha leaned against the wall, looking down at him curiously.

“How do you feel?”

“Oh, just fuckin’ great,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I highly recommend being beaten up, kidnapped, and thrown in a jail cell. Youshould try it some time.”

The alpha continued to study him with interest.“Do you always respond this way when you’re frightened?”

“Who the fuck said I was frightened?”

The alpha continued to regard him closely and stepped further into the room, making Gabe flinch back involuntarily.“Calm down. No one here is going to hurt you.”

Gabe snorted.“Well, that’ll make a nice change.”

“What’s your name?” His voice was calm and completely unmoved by Gabe’s sarcasm.

“Who wants to know? Tell me what the fuck I’m doing here!”

“Unless you want your mouth washed out with the bar of soap in your hand, I suggest you stop all the cursing. Settle down and answer me.What’s your name?”

Gabe fought a real battle with himself. On the one hand, he hated obeying this guy, but on the other, he figured the man was crazy enough to do exactly as he said. He was plenty big enough to get the job done too, not to mention the dude from before, who probably still lurked around somewhere close by in case his help was required.He’d have to bide his time and pretend to cooperate.

He sat up straighter and lowered his gaze, not wanting to see any look of triumph on the alpha’s face. “My name is Gabe, Gabe Sullivan”

“What pack are you from?”

“I told you I don’t have any fuck—any pack.I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

A silence followed--long enough for Gabe to sneak a glance at the alpha to make sure he was still there. He was, standing tall and strong, his arms crossed over his muscular chest.

“Who made you, Gabe? You’re not a wolf, so you must be some kind of pet or Werekin. Who did this to you?”

Gabe bit his lower lip as painful thoughts of his mother seared through his body. His voice, when he was able to speak, came out harsh and ragged.“I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about! I am a damned werewolf—a fucking monster just like the one who bit me and my mother!”

The alpha’s voice was soft as he asked the next question. “Your mother? Where is your mother, Gabe?”

Tears sprang to Gabe’s eyes, and he angrily dashed them away, managing to get soap in his eyes. They burned and filled with moisture.“She’s dead!” he choked out. “Murdered by the filthy monster who bit me! I guess he thought he’d killed me too,but I wasn’t quite dead!” He laughed,a strange, hysterical sounding laugh even to his own ears. “I fooled him! I woke up bleeding from my wounds while my p-poor mom…” He sputtered as he tried to keep the sobs from bursting from his throat, visions of his mother’s bloody body in his head.

“They tried to save my mother, but…” Gabe looked up with blurry vision into the sympathetic gaze of the alpha, and the tears streamed down his cheeks.He hadn’t ever cried like this about it, not even just after it happened.

Picked up out of the water, he was cradled against a strong, hard chest. Grabbing a huge towel off the rack, the alpha carried him in his arms to the bed and sat down with him. He wrapped the towel around Gabe’s shivering body and held him close, letting him cry against his chest. It only took a moment for Gabe to understand what was happening, and he reacted with violence.

“Get off me,” Gabe said furiously, struggling in his arms. “I don’t need anybody! Especially not some damn wolf!”

Ignoring Gabe’s words, the alpha held onto him, murmuring something to him in his ear. Soft wordshe couldn’t even make out, but the murmuring sound was soothing. He stopped struggling and leaned into him even closer. It had been a long time since anyone had touched him with anything other than lust, nothing like this sweet, sympathetic kindness being shown to him.

He was tired—exhausted from running from the truth of what he’d become. He relaxed into the alpha’s arms, feeling safety and power radiating off the man. He closed his eyes—just for a minute—and drifted gently down into a soft, dark sleep.

Chapter Two

The moon was full, and the shift was later that night. The whole pack was edgy as a result. Some disagreements had broken out earlier, and Zack had spent most of the day arbitrating and soothing ruffled feelings while Gabe slept.

A pack rule required that any unknown newcomer spent some time isolated before the pack members let him near their mates and children, even the alpha’s new mate. His scent was strange and unhealthy, too, and noneof them, including Zack, knew exactly what to make of him. He’d sent his cousin down to deal with him in his place that morning, intending to go down later and talk with his mate.

Unable to stop thinking about him, Zack decided to take the time to go downstairs. He ’d told Tim to call if there were problems. Timhadn’t called, but a nagging, uneasy feeling made Zack go down to check. Aggravated with his distraction, he entered the bathroom, but his irritation only lasted until the moment he saw his mate again, his body slick and wet and his head covered in soap suds.He’d stood there in the doorway of the bathroom, watching him rinse away the soap and get some in his eyes.He’d turned toward the door to ask for a towel with an adorable squint.

When Zack spoke to him, he was still angry and hurt —damaged. It brought out every one of Zack’s strong, protective urges. When Gabe had burst into tears, hehadn’t hesitated to pick him up and cradle him next to his body.

Zack was heartsick as he held his sweet mate to his chest. He mentally kicked himself for not finding out more about his new mate before leaving him to fend for himself. He’d had no idea this young man had been so abused and damaged by one of Zack’s own kind, another wolf. The strongest pack law forbade preying on humans, an offense punishable by death. His outrage and fury warred with his sympathy and regret for what his mate had been through. He laid him gently down on the bed and covered him with blankets before leaving the room and going out to pace the hallway. Having what they thought might be a new young whelp to care for so close to the full moon had thrown them all for a loop, but to realize the newcomer was an abused human Werekin—it was almost unimaginable.

Tim sat in a chair by the door, watching Zack warily as he paced up and down. “Is something wrong, Zack? Did he do something to upset you?I didn’t touch him.”

Zack glanced over at his cousin’s worried face. Touching another wolf’s mate was forbidden by the pack.Even though he hadn’t gone through the mating ritual as yet, he had claimed him, and Tim respected that claim. He wondered if Gabe had flirted with Tim. The idea made him surprisingly jealous and possessive. Though Tim was his younger cousin and the only wolf Zack trusted enough to allow unsupervised around Gabe, Tim had been reluctant to take on this chore. He told Zack he knew how bad his temper could be if something went wrong.

Tim was another alpha male, but he suppressed his dominant tendencies to be able to stay with the pack. Some years ago, they had faced each other in the ancestral ring to see which of them would lead the pack when the time came. Zack had won quite easily, and Tim left the pack for over two years, going to live and work with the North Carolina wolf pack. Once Tim came home, Zack put him on the council, and he became an important council member. Zack relied on him a great deal.