Found in Flames Read Free Page A

moved into view, Russell eyed the woman still mostly unconscious and hanging off Luka’s shoulder, asking, “Who’s she?”
    “Dinner?” Vanna asked, an undeniable tone of disdain in her voice, as one dark brow rose on her forehead.
    Narrowing his eyes on the sisters, Luka snapped, “Put some fucking clothes on. She’s under our protection.”
    The girls weren’t the only ones who blinked at him like he’d just started singing Disney and he growled. “Gather at the cave.” He had to get this human off his shoulders and find a way to tell his pack the bad news. It was going to be a long night.
    “Why are we protecting a human?” Russell asked as the sisters scampered off to obey Luka’s order.
    “Alpha,” Chad interrupted, hesitation in his voice. He was looking around, nose lifted slightly as he scented the wind. “Where’s—?”
    The body over his shoulder tensed in split-second warning and Luka cringed even as another high-pitched shriek tore through the air. If my ears ever stop ringing I’ll be damn lucky. And judging from the expressions of the frozen, wide-eyed, wincing wolves around him, Luka imagined he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. But he knew damned well he was the only one who’d do anything about it, so he kicked aside a rock and deliberately dropped the woman on her ass.
    Her scent rushed past his nose as she fell and he was reminded forcefully of the wave of desire he’d first felt when he’d tackled her full-figured, curvy body to the ground in that alley. For an illogical moment he’d wanted nothing more than to taste her. Fortunately, as before, he was quickly pulled back to his senses.
    “Ow!” the woman exclaimed, her scream ending abruptly as she crashed onto the dirt. The jolt of the impact only threw her off for a moment, however, as she immediately scrambled to her feet and threw a pointer finger into his face. Or, rather, as ‘in his face’ as she could from her 5’8” height. It was kind of cute the way she had to crane her neck just to maintain eye contact when she got close. “Just who do you think you are, pal?” she said, jabbing his collar with her finger. “You can’t run around kidnapping people!”
    He had a fleeting second to consider that, under vastly different circumstances, he might have been highly entertained by the scene she presented. But he was in no mood for humor or long, loud, unfounded lectures. Fortunately, their audience wasn’t afraid to make itself known, either.
    Distinct throat-clearing from Chad seemed to break through her rage because her eyes widened and she cut a glance to the side. Luka watched as she quickly realized they weren’t alone, noting the rush of blood to her cheeks and the way her shoulders tightened as her scent changed from surprise to embarrassment to fear. She turned in a complete circle, taking in the gathering strangers, and when she was done she’d taken a partial step closer, as if she suddenly trusted him.
    “Where are we?” she whispered out the side of her mouth.
    “Safe,” Luka replied shortly. If he’d intended to say anything else, though, he supposed he ought to have known better.
    The woman whose name he didn’t yet know spun back to him, her brown eyes wide again. “Safe? Are you serious? I’ve been kidnapped! How am I supposed to feel safe?”
    “Maybe you shouldn’t,” Vanna offered bitingly as she and Morgan stepped down from a crevice of rocks, lightweight dresses hanging off their shoulders. They came to a stop several feet away, on the other side of Chad, and kept their glares on the human as if they were sending her psychic insults. Which, Luka figured, they undoubtedly would if they could.
    But Luka really wasn’t in the mood for their crap, so he cut in with a glare at the wolf who should’ve known better. “Vanna.” He waited until she’d looked away, head bowed and silent, before returning his attention to the human woman. “You can leave whenever you want,” he