01 Taming the Wolf - Anna Avery by Stephanie Nelson Page A

passed out because when I opened my eyes again, I was laying in my bed. My leg was propped up on pillows and bandaged.
    “You’re awake,” Elle said with a smile and sat on the edge of my bed. “What happened?” She grabbed for a washcloth and trailed it over my forehead, a concerned smile on her face.
    “I need something to drink.” My throat burned. Elle retrieved a glass of water and handed it to me. I gulped the entire contents.
    “Oh my gosh, Anna, what happened?” Sawyer burst through my bedroom door, kneeling beside the bed. His hand cupped my face. As much as I hated the reaction, I blushed at seeing his concern. He placed a kiss on my forehead and held my hand. It’d been almost three days since I’d seen him. Adam kept him busy with tracking.
    “I went for a run,” I began and then looked over when Adam walked through my door. “I needed some air from being cooped up. The hunters must have set traps. I leapt over a downed tree and landed on a bear trap.”
    Elle cringed and Sawyer’s grip on my hand tightened.
    “Have you started healing?” Sawyer asked.
    “I think so. My body shut down in the forest. I tried to hop back, but my strength drained too quickly. I guess I’m lucky our alpha found me and not a hunter or hungry mountain lion.” I looked over at Adam and smiled. He’d saved my life twice now.
    “I need to speak to Anna, and she needs her rest. You guys can see her later,” Adam told Elle and Sawyer.
    “I’m going to the video store to rent movies. We’re having a girl’s night tonight,” Elle smiled and left my room. Sawyer leaned over me and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
    “You think she’ll allow one boy at your girl’s party?”
    I smiled. “I think I can talk her into it.” Sawyer rose and nodded to Adam as he left. Adam glared at his back and then shut the door, turning the lock. He crossed his arms and watched me. I was dressed now. I wondered if Elle or Adam clothed me.
    “Thank you for saving me, again,” I told him. “How’d you find me?”
    “I’ll always find you, Anna.” His voice was soft, but held an edge, a promise. Walking towards me, he placed his arms on either side of me and leaned down. His lips claiming my mouth, separating my lips as his tongue darted out and swirled with mine. The excruciating pain was temporarily forgotten as I lost myself in his kiss. Dear God help me! I’m a fool for this man.
    “There. Now it’s my taste on your lips,” Adam said with a smirk. “What were you thinking going out in the middle of the night when there are hunters on our mountain?” Adam sat up straight, turning his back to me while he rested his elbows on his knees. “Do you have any idea what I thought when I found your naked body splayed on the forest floor?” He looked over his shoulder at me.
    “It’s not like I planned this,” I said, motioning towards my bum leg. Adam was quiet for a while, his muscles tense as he thought about something.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Anna, I need to know why you were really out there”
    “I told you, I needed to run. It’d been three days since I shifted, and I was antsy. I didn’t think hunters would be out at night.”
    “Another body was found,” Adam stated. When I didn’t respond, he turned to face me. “Tell me you’re not the one killing these men.”
    I gaped at him. “How could I have killed him when I was passed out in the forest last night?” Although I’d been out of it, the dream I’d had this morning revisited my mind. Was that the man who’d been killed?
    “The man was a hunter,” Adam said, answering my question. My breath caught in my throat. “I found him not fifty yards from you. His throat was ripped out like the other.”
    I rubbed my forehead as if the motion would erase the memory of the dream that stalked my mind. I couldn’t explain any of it, and it’d be only a matter time before all fingers pointed to me.
    “I didn’t do it,” I muttered, but my voice lacked