Wolf Read Free Page A

echoed through the small glade. The men screamed, and my arms fell to my sides.
    Freedom.
    I raced toward the trees, coveting their safety with the desperation of a child. I observed the battle unfolding around me, but my mind refused to process what was happening.
    The men’s screams filled the air and drifted into the thick forest. My lungs burned, my legs ached. I accepted that small measure of pain as payment for freedom.
    Somehow I’d been spared.
    But how?
    Who?
    What?
    Questions raced through my mind as I continued my flight. Destination, again, wasn’t as important as distancing myself from the horrors unfolding behind me.
    Darkness hindered me, and I succumbed to the need to rest my aching limbs. I pulled my chemise together and tried to patch what the terrifying man had ripped. Not even a makeshift tying could stop an indecent amount of bosom from showing.
    But it didn’t matter.
    I was safe. Alone, lost and panicked. But safe. A cool breeze whipped through the trees overhead, filling the air around me with the comforting sound of rustling leaves I’d delighted in as a child.
    I sat on the mossy sod and rested against the thickest tree I could find. Time had escaped me, and I was unsure how long or far I’d traveled. Thoughts sliced me.
    My mother was dead. My brother and father…had they lived? Would they return to the village and think me dead? Uncertainty must’ve clouded my senses, because I didn’t hear his approach.
    Beams of sunlight streamed through the trees, welcoming me to my new hideout. A limb snapped behind me, no doubt intentionally on his part. I gasped and leaped up. The movement sent sharp pangs up my legs. I backed away from him and admired his sun-kissed skin. Bare above the waist, he stood dressed in a pair of leather pants like my father wore, but made in a different fashion. They molded to his long legs and lean hips. Chestnut hair fell past his powerful jaw, detracting from his full lips and golden eyes.
    A pang of familiarity trickled through me, but my fear drove me backward. My pulse accelerated, my breathing quickened. His thick arms crossed in from of him. His clean-shaven jaw twitched, but he made no step forward.
    I swallowed the scream lodged in my throat, since I was unsure whether its release would help or hinder me. One man versus one woman was better odds than before.
    And someone—no, something—was still out there. My mind filtered the events of the day and began processing my rescue for the first time. Flashes of gray melded with childhood memories. My gasp filled the area with my realization.
    The boy from my past had been real. A wolf, yet a boy. His people must’ve been the ones who rescued me. Guilt flooded my veins as I glanced around, still unwilling to lock gazes with the man before me. Running away and leaving them to fight my battle had been wrong.
    The man moved forward.
    Was he one of them?
    “Who are you?”
    “You know who I am, Hannah.”
    My heart skipped a beat, my shallow breathing stilled as I absorbed his response. He knew my name. My hand went to my neck and my fingers traced the cord there down until they grasped the talisman hanging between my breasts.
    The action moved his attention there, and my pulse quickened. He took another step forward, his golden eyes fired by a flicker of something I instinctively knew was desire. I knew I should look away, but found myself drawn to his talisman.
    I closed the distance between us, my fingers moving to stroke the talisman resting against his chest. “Stephan.”
    His name tumbled from my lips. Comfort awakened within me. Somehow, knowing the friend I’d made so long ago was here set my mind at ease. The terrified youth I’d befriended was long gone, replaced by a virile warrior who’d tracked my path through the forest.
    His forest.
    I shivered, and his lips curved into a welcoming grin. “One day we’ll meet and neither of us will be in grave danger.”
    My mind raced to make sense of his