Wolf Bitten by Ella Drake Page B

where Allie had settled, to a point. She knew what city, but not her address or where she worked.
    "Hi, Mom."
    "How's my baby?” asked Sunnie, all sweet, slow molasses.
    "Good, I guess. Listen, I don't want to worry you, ‘cause I'm not in any danger or anything, but a Wolfsbane man was here at work a few minutes ago."
    "Sweetheart, I think you should come home,” her mom said. Though she said this every time they talked, she did sound worried this time.
    "You know I can't."
    "Brock's been in touch. He wants to know where you are."
    Allie's mouth went dry, and butterflies tumbled through her stomach. If she were honest with herself, she might admit that the news excited her a little.
    "Even more reason for me to stay away” she managed to say while her tongue tried to stick to the roof of her mouth. “I told you I couldn't marry him."
    "Don't be so cruel to the poor boy. He bonded to you, and he won't be able to have another. He's a good man. Strong. Protective."
    "Yeah, he's strong. That's part of the problem. He's dangerous."
    "Sweetheart, you know he'd never hurt you,” her mom cajoled. Sunnie continued the habitual pleading while Allie tuned her out. Her mother meant well, but she wasn't married to a werewolf either, so how could she expect her daughter to mate with a beast?
    Brock would never hurt her? Allie knew no such thing. Why did her mom always take his side? Why did the woman think her daughter had run away from home, anyway? Always giving her mom slack, Allie knew Sunnie owed everything to the PACk that had protected and sheltered them both from an abusive marriage. Gratitude could only go so far. Allie had danced around the issue long enough. It was hot, and she was tired and cranky. Not to mention, Brock had always been the best hunter.
    The hair on the back of her neck crawled.
    She turned quickly to look behind her. Nothing there but the inside of the garage filled with tools, the hydraulic lift, and the acrid smell of gas. Brock wouldn't be at a service station anyway. The PACk couldn't come to town because the effects of petroleum weakened them and made some deathly ill. She was safe here, as she'd planned. Working and living in the city threw off her scent, but add to it the effects of petrol, and Brock would never find her.
    For a brief moment, the idea of seeing Brock again pinched her heart, but she stifled that weakness. If he found her, he'd want to mate. He'd want to bite her. Her neck tingled again.
    Her mom continued pleading over the phone, but Allie hadn't followed the chatter.
    "Mom, I've gotta go. I won't marry a man that you promised me to when I was born, for goodness sake. What are we, in the dark ages or something? Besides, I'm not going to do the dirty with a dog."
    Her mom's sharp intake of breath almost made her apologize, but Sunnie needed to face the truth.
    "Allie, Brock's not a dog,” her mother chastised. “But he is a powerful hunter. He'll find you, and let me tell you, there's nothing more persuasive than a werewolf in love."
    Allie refrained from asking why her mother would know that. She was too caught up in calming her leaping heart. “Bye, Mom. I'll call you later."
    "Give him a chance. We both love you and want you home."
    Allie wasn't going home. After Brock had proposed to her when she'd turned eighteen, she'd considered it, but then she'd stumbled on a wolf couple mating in the woods. The feral growls and nearly violent consummation had turned her stomach. She'd run and never looked back.
    Could Brock love her, truly? Even after she'd left him?
    It didn't matter. He'd never find her.
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Chapter Two
    Awakened by the weight of Max's arm across her waist, Allie's heart plummeted. Her bedside lamp glared in her eyes despite the light peeking through the window blinds. “What have we done?"
    "Done? We haven't done nuthin',” Max mumbled.
    She scampered out of bed and knocked into the small end table. Her engagement ring pinged to the floor.