The Reluctant Wolf (Book 1 Cloverleah Pack) (4 page)

Chapter Five

Kane didn’t think he had ever been so angry in his whole life.  When Griff had phoned him he had been sitting at home, alone, having a pity party because HE had made the rules that no-one was to talk to his mate and HE had made the restriction that HE wasn’t going to see his mate for at least another week. 

He felt bitter and jealous because his pack was all at the diner that evening.  They would all get to see a glimpse of his mate - they were out having a good time and he was stuck at home all because of his own stupid plan.

He had just about decided to head off down to the diner anyway when his phone rang.  He looked at the screen, Griff.

“Having a nice dinner,
asshole?”  Kane wasn’t in the mood for niceties.

“It’s your mate. He’s been shot outside the diner.  The boys are moving him into the back alley so that he can shift, but it looks bad Kane, you gotta get down here.” 

Griff’s voice was low and full of compassion but Kane didn’t bother to answer him.  With a roar, he took off out the house, not even bothering to lock the door.  Rushing to his SUV he forced the locks, turned the key and peeled out of the driveway, headed towards the diner.

Ten minutes later he turned down the alley to the side of the diner and found his men surrounding a blue glowing orb on the ground.  Yanking the door open, he stepped out and rushed over.

“What the fuck?” He said, looking at his men.  “What the hell happened?”

“We can’t get near him, boss.”  Dean came up to him and put a hand on his chest.

“What do you mean, can’t get near him - he needs help man.”  He jerked away from Dean and went to touch the big beautiful silver white wolf that lay under some pale blue, pulsating orb.  He crouched down and went to move his hand through the blue when he felt Griff pulling him back, both arms wrapped around his chest so tight he felt he couldn’t breathe.

Standing up, Kane rounded on Griff, pushing at his chest before he gave him the full force of his Alpha stare.

“What the fucking hell do you think you are doing Griff?  That’s my mate; he is clearly hurt; he needs help, now!”

Griff visibly blanched at the Alpha tone.  He had never heard his friend ever use it before.  Every instinct in him made him want t
o submit despite the fact that he came from an alpha line as well. He took a step back and put up his hands in a placating manner.

Speaking quietly he said, “We have been trying to help him, okay.  But when the boy shifted this blue orb appeared out of nowhere.  It gave us all an electric shock when we tried to get near him.  You can’t touch him, man.  That is some pretty weird shit, but none of us can get even close to him.”

Kane turned back to the mate he had only met the once.  He hadn’t even spoken two words to the man. He had been dumbstruck by Shawn’s human form. But looking at him lying there, unconscious as his beautiful wolf Kane felt the need to love and protect this precious being, because hey it was obvious his mate was so much more than wolf.  But it didn’t matter to Kane.  He wanted this man, wolf, whatever, in his bed, in his pack, in his life in every single way.

“There is no way I am gonna let him die like this.”  Kane growled out the words as he crouched down and peered through the blue haze.  Examining Shawn with his eyes, Kane could see that there were two wounds bleeding out over the silver white fur
; one in his shoulder and the other in his leg.  The holes were large and there seemed to be some kind of black discharge mixing with the blood that ran down the fur.  Kane shuddered to think of the pain Shawn must be feeling even in wolf form. 

Looking up at Griff, he said, “Were there just the two bullets?”

“Yeah, just the two.  The guy’s aim must have been good because all four of us were with him, yet Shawn got both shots.”

Kane growled.  “What do you mean, you were with him?  I told you guys to stay away from him.  He’s mine!”  He kept growling as Scott tried to appease him.

“We weren’t doing anything wrong.  We just wanted to ask him about his bike, that’s all.  Thought we could show him that we were friendly and that we might all have something in common, that’s all.”

“He’s MINE.”  Kane didn’t even try and hide his anger.

Troy stepped up trying to calm the bigger man.  “Look Kane, we didn’t mean any harm.  But hey man, you have been like a bear with a sore head this week, snapping at all of us and throwing things around.  We figured if Shawn could feel comfy around us then you could get closer to him sooner and we wouldn’t have to put up with so much of your shit.” 

He gave a little smile trying to make Kane feel better, but the truth of the man’s words hit Kane hard.  Backing down a bit, he stopped growling at least.

“Yeah, okay, I get it.  I’ve been a shit. You guys have been trying to do the right thing. But what the fuck do we do now?  We got to get him home.”  My home, he thought to himself because now he saw the state his mate was in there was no way he was going to be parted from him a moment longer.

Walking around his mate, being careful not to touch the blue orb, Kane noticed some markings on the white chest. 

“Hey guys what do you make of this?”  Pale under the white fur, but clear nonetheless were a set of black markings.

Scott came round to have a look.  “He has had his wolf tattooed.  Wow I have never seen that before.”

Dean spoke up from the shadows.  “That might be where this magic is coming from.  Those are magic symbols.  I don’t know what they mean and I have never seen them on a wolf before, but that is what they look like.”

“Given this bloody blue orb, they are probably a protection spell,” said Griff.  “I’ve seen them on doorways and such down N”Orleans way, but never on a person.  But look, the power is getting weaker, cos the blue isn’t as intense as it was.  This boy isn’t gonna make it if’n we don’t do something fast.
”  Looking at Kane he said, “I’m gonna pick him up and put him in the SUV, okay.”

Kane flew at Griff, his wolf struggling to get free.  “No, no-one touches him but me,” he growled
right in Griff’s face.

Griff didn’t seem fazed by his friends’ actions.  He spoke quietly, willing Kane to get his wolf under control.

“Boss, we don’t have time for this shit.  Your boy is dying; we gotta get him out of here.  The magic shit puts out an electric shock - I am bigger in build than you, my body will be able to handle it better and if something happens to me then he is gonna need you to get him well.  You got no choice, back away.”

Kane hung his head and shuddered.  Turning to Troy, he said, “Bring the SUV as close as you can and open up the back.”

Moving back to Griff again, he clapped him on the shoulder and looked into his best friend’s eyes.  “Be careful.”

Griff just nodded and looked down at the stricken wolf. He heard Troy starting Kane’s SUV, the sound getting closer as Troy maneuvered it down the alley.  Hearing Troy’s “Okay,” he bent down in one fluid motion and scooped the wolf up in his arms.  Straightening up Griff could feel the electricity of the magic surging down his arms and through his body
as the wolf came in contact with his chest. 

Every part of
Griff’s body screamed at him to get away from the pain but he just gritted his teeth and turned towards the vehicle. Three steps later he had the wolf positioned at the back of the SUV.  Carefully, doing his best not to jolt Shawn any more than necessary, he laid the wolf carefully down on the carpet.  Shawn’s eyes flickered open once, then closed again and a faint whimper filled the air. 

Griff fell back on the ground, sweat pouring down his face, his lungs were burning and his heart was racing.  He felt a strong hand on his shoulder and looked up to see the pack watching him carefully.

“You okay my friend?” Kane asked.

“Yeah, give me a minute, then I will ride with you.  You gonna need me to get him out at the other end.”

Kane motioned to the other three - “you guys can head off now, thanks for your help.”

“Oh no boss, we will all meet up at your place. 
One of us will bring Shawn’s bike and Dean can ride with us.  You are not going through this alone.”

Kane just nodded, too tired to fight.  Hoisting Griff up off the ground he took him round to the passenger side of the SUV.  After getting Griff settled, he raced around to the drivers
’ side, threw himself in and floored the SUV out of the alley. He had to get his mate home.

Chapter Six

“We gotta get those bullets out - he’s not gonna make it otherwise.”  Kane tore his gaze from his battered mates’ body to look at Griff, who was still recovering from getting the blue hazed wolf into the house. “He’s still got some power in there, I could feel it when I picked him up, but it is getting weaker and it has got to be the black shit in those bullets that is doing it.”      

Kane looked back down at the wolf.  Shawn’s mouth was open and he was panting now in obvious distress.  As Kane watched he could see the wolfen eyes trying to open and he made a quick decision.  Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out his knife and then he dropped to his knees next to his mate.

“Get me some water; some of the bottled shit in the fridge, please Griff.  Those wounds will need to be cleaned.”

Bending low over the wolf’s ear Kane started talking.

“Hey babe, it’s me, Kane,
I’m your mate.  I need to get those bullets out of you babe or you are not going to make it.  I need for you to let me in; let me get close to you so I can help you, please baby. Let me do this.”

Shawn struggled to open his eyes.  He could hear Kane’s voice and smell his sweet, delicious scent and he so badly wanted to let him get close.  But Kane hadn’t been near him since the day they had met - his mate didn’t even want him.  He met Kane’s gaze, before closing his eyes again.  A plaintive whine stemmed from his chest and he couldn’t hold it back.

Kane dropped his head like he understood.  Then he was speaking again and it was all Shawn could do to hold onto consciousness - he could listen to that voice forever.

“I am
so sorry, Shawn.  I thought I needed to give you some space so you wouldn’t bolt.  Please Shawn let me help you get well and then you can tell me what a shit I have been.  Please baby.”

Shawn’s brain was muddled - he could barely think straight. It sounded like his mate was truly sorry for staying away and for
one moment it was enough for him.  He had been running too long, been on his own for too long and right now he had wolves around him that honestly seemed to want to help him.  He had a
mate
that wanted to help him.  He just had to trust in this moment, get himself well and then see what happened from there.

Using his mind’s eye he reached down into his heart where his runes were
centered. Flicking over them in his mind he pushed the word
mate,
into them and then sighed as the blue orb was absorbed back into his skin.  He lay shivering feeling more exposed than he had ever been in his human form. He felt rather than heard the heartfelt
thank you
from Kane.

“Shit, we should have tried that before,” Griff said wryly still rubbing the spot on his chest where the wolf had lain. He
had come back into the room and held the water out for Kane who was still kneeling at Shawn’s side.  But Shawn stayed focused on his mate who was talking again.

“Okay, sweetie this is going to hurt, I realize that, but I will be as quick as I can, okay?”

Shawn blinked his eyes once and then kept them open so he could watch as Kane leaned over him.  He felt the water being carefully poured into the pain in his shoulder.  Then Kane’s face came back into view - he was showing Shawn the knife. Shawn looked into Kane’s beautiful blue eyes, so full of pain and concern.  He blinked again once and watched Kane shift from view.

FUUUUUCK his shoulder blazed.  Shawn
squeezed his eyes shut but couldn’t stop from howling long and loud.  He heard the two men talking, something about ‘what the fuck’ and guessed they were talking about the bullet that was now, thankfully out of his shoulder.  He took in a huge breath and then another one.  He could smell the calming influence of his mate and tried to settle down. 

“Shawn, Shawn sweetie, are you still with us?”  Shawn struggled to open his eyes and he saw his beautiful mate’s face twisted in pain.

“I am so sorry, I really am, but I have got to get the one out of your leg as well.  Can we do this?”

Watching for the answering blink, Kane moved down
out of sight, but Shawn could feel his heavy hand stroke down his back.  The delicious thrill of being touched by anyone throbbed through Shawn’s entire body - God it really had been too long.

“Sh
sh, sweetheart, let me do this and then you can shift again, okay.”  Shawn clamped his jaws together to hold back the howl that threatened to overpower him again as the second bullet came out of his leg.  All that escaped was a whimper and Kane was back at his head in a second stroking over his furry head and down his neck with a firm hand.

Shawn had never been petted in his wolf form and he had to admit, to himself at least, that it did feel quite good. He kept his eyes shut as he tried to calm his shaking. He was aware that Griff was pouring more water over the wounds, trying to dilute the acid on the fur and as his senses scanned the room they were in, he could feel the presence of the other three wolves in the
room even though he couldn’t see them. He took in one deep breath after another.

“Hey honey?”  Shawn looked up at Kane’s words. “Do you think you can shift for me?
  You know it will help the wounds heal over don’t you?  I will get one of the boys to get you some clothes down here for you…”

Shawn gave a mini
‘hmph’ at that, he couldn’t help himself.  Yes, he knew he would have to shift and he knew his magic would heal the wounds within a few hours now the bullets were out.  There was no residual magic in the wounds thanks to the water.  But truth be told for the moment he was quite happy laying on the floor in his wolf form.  No one could make him say anything. He didn’t have to do anything but enjoy the feel of his mate’s touch on his fur. 

But even as he closed his eyes again he knew there were things he had to face, including one very handsome alpha wolf.  With a sigh, he thought,
cargo shorts, muscle shirt,
and then bought forth his human form.  Might as well give his mate a hint of the weirdness of what he could do.