Wolf on the Hunt by N. J. Walters Page B

half-breed.” She’d seen him shift and he’d told her that half-breeds didn’t shift. No, that’s not quite true. He’d told her that if she were going to be able to shift she would have done it when she was a teenager. “You can shift,” she pointed out. She’d seen him, even though she still couldn’t quite believe it.
    “Oh, I’m full-blooded, but that doesn’t matter to the old man.” Louis leaned his elbows on the counter and leaned in closer. “My father is alpha of our old pack in Louisiana. Pierre LaForge believes his word is law and he enforces it with a brutal fist. He thinks women are little more than chattel and all the men in the pack live to serve him.”
    Gray’s mouth was suddenly dry. He didn’t sound like the kind of man she’d like to meet. “What happened?” How had Louis ended up in North Carolina?
    “There were some of us who wanted more, wanted better for our lives. We left in the middle of the night and settled on some land we’d purchased up here. There were five of us.”
    She was fascinated in spite of her horror over their situation. It was like some dark fairly tale, complete with a nasty villain. “Five of you? I thought you said there were nine of you?” She hadn’t misheard him earlier.
    “My brother, myself, our cousin and two friends all left.” A half smile touched Louis’s lips. “The women came later.”
    Oh crap. Here she was fantasizing about Louis naked and he most likely had a wife or mate or whatever it was she was called. “Do you want to call your girlfriend to let her know you’re all right?” She was proud of how steady she sounded. No sign that her stomach was in knots or her chest hurt.
    Louis shook his head. “There is no woman to worry about me. The rest of the pack is mated, but not me.”
    There was no denying the sense of relief that slammed into her. She ignored it and tried not to smile. “I’m sorry.”
    He reached over the length of the counter and covered her hand with his. “I’m not.”
    Her heart began to race and she could feel herself sweating. Surely he didn’t mean what she thought he did?
    He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. Goose bumps raced up her arm.
    “Gray,” he began.
    She pulled her hand away and stood. Self-preservation dictated that she not get involved with this complicated man. After all, look what had happened to her mother. She’d ended up pregnant and alone, and if Louis was right, her mother had been hunted because of Gray.
    “Why is your father trying to kill you?” Nothing like a little murder and mayhem to get her mind off how sexy Louis was.
    Louis growled and the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. It was a visceral reminder that this was no ordinary man sitting across from her. This was a werewolf. The rules she’d learned about dealing with normal men didn’t apply.
    “Because no one leaves a pack without permission, especially not the alpha’s sons.” Louis stood and began to pace. The towel hung low on his hips and the slit parted to give her a glimpse of his muscled thigh. She’d seen him naked. It shouldn’t be such a big deal now that he was half-dressed. Yet somehow it was.
    She’d been in shock earlier, only partially aware of his nudity. Now, she was fully aware of Louis as a spectacular specimen of manhood.
    He paused at the window before turning around. Her gaze followed the thin line of hair down the center of his chest to where it disappeared beneath the towel. The fabric twitched and her eyes shot to his face.
    “You keep looking at me like that, chère , and you’re going to see more than you bargained for.”
    She swallowed heavily. She realized she wouldn’t exactly mind if the towel slipped away. Focus , she told herself. This was no time to get distracted by a gorgeous man.
    “So your father is really trying to kill you?”
    Louis began pacing once again. No, not pacing. Prowling. Like some great beast, he flowed from one side of the room to