A Wolf's Heart (Wolf Mountain Peak Book 1) Read online

  “I’m on it,” Kate said. Monica had some time to scan his body. The stranger had clearly lost a lot of blood. He was pale, but none of his wounds could justify such quick blood loss. Apparently, whatever had happened to him had taken place long before he knocked on her door. It was getting clearer to her that he had fought with a wild animal. No human could have possibly done that to a huge man like him. Nevertheless, something puzzled Monica, something she could not explain: his nudity. Where had all his clothes gone? Had a bear or a wolf caught him napping, naked in the middle of nowhere? No. That was too farfetched.

  “Julia, thanks a lot for all your help,” she told her friend. “You can go to my bedroom if you want. Stitching people up can be–”

  “Gruesome,” Julia finished her sentence. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  Monica gave her an appreciative nod before taking bandages, sterile tweezers, and gauzes out of her first aid kit. As she began to clean up the stranger’s wound on the left side of his abdomen, she noticed tiny particles of dirt deep within the lacerations. No surprises there. He had battled against a predator. If anything, Monica expected to find that.

  “Water’s ready,” Kate announced, carrying a blue bowl as she returned to the living room. “Will you call 9-1-1 later?”

  “There’s no need for that,” Monica claimed, tossing bloody gauze on the small table on her right. “I’ll only call if he deteriorates.”

  “Aren’t you just a little bit scared?” Kate inquired.

  “I’m scared of him dying in my living room,” Monica attempted a commanding tone, glaring up at her. “Please, put some pressure on that chest wound.”

  With Kate’s help, Monica was soon able to stop the bleeding. Her friend’s words about calling an ambulance were still lingering in her mind, but in her opinion, she had done the right thing. She was a doctor. She would not dismiss anyone in such dire need of her assistance. Monica feared that he would bleed to death on his way to the hospital, and she would have to carry this heavy burden for the rest of her life. She would spend her every waking moment wondering if he would still be alive had she not decided to treat him herself.

  Later in the night, Kate excused herself and left her friend alone with him. Once again, Monica checked his pulse. It was stronger; somewhat quicker. Relief flashed through her eyes; she had saved his life. The odds of him deteriorating were slim. The thought of waking him up crossed her mind. She was curious to know what had happened to him. However, she quickly rejected it. Administering a powerful drug could have side effects, like an allergic reaction to it. Monica would not jeopardize his life just to satisfy her curiosity. Finding out more about his encounter with an apex predator could wait until the morning. Right now, they both needed some rest.

  Chapter Three

  The searing pain in his chest woke Raul from his deep sleep. He squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth as he endured the agony. A soft light entered his line of sight. Raul threw a quick look around him. He didn’t recognize his surroundings. The house he was in didn’t resemble his cabin. There were no logs up on the ceiling or a fireplace in the corner. Glancing down, he saw a candle on a table, surrounded by boxes of gauze, bandages, and a bottle of alcohol. Another glance down his body told him what had transpired. Raul was covered in bandages; some of them even had small spots of blood on them. He could even feel the threads of stitches on his skin. To his dismay, he had ended up in a human’s home, and that human had taken care of him.

  Within seconds, his nostrils were overwhelmed by lingering scents–medical supplies–but those were quickly masked by three separate, much sweeter scents: human women. Each one had a different scent. One smelled like cinnamon, one like almond, and the most intriguing, like roses. The flowery one was stronger. Looking across from him, he spotted his savior sitting across from him on the couch, arms folded across her chest, head tilted to the side, eyes closed, with a few of her long, whiskey curls draping her cheeks. Raul swiped the towel away from his body. He sat up, his gaze locked on her, watching as her chest rhythmically rose up and down. Getting off the couch, he smiled to himself, unable to believe that this human had been so kind to him. And better than that, she was a sight for sore eyes. Even in her pink pajamas, he could see every soft curve of her voluptuous body. But as he closed in on her, Raul couldn’t help but marvel at her gorgeous face–soft, deeply tanned skin that glowed, high cheekbones, luscious lips, and a French nose.

  He stopped right in front of her. Bending his knees, he sat down on his feet. Raul reached up. The sensation of her curls in his hand made his body tingle as he tucked a few tendrils of her hair behind her ear. He tilted his head up, desperate to taste her mouth, even though he knew very well that a human woman was forbidden to him. His lips touched hers tentatively. It was as if Raul was afraid he would break her. He drowned in her scent, lightly caressing the delicate skin on her cheek.

  “Thank you,” he said in a near whisper. Monica’s eyes twitched as a broad smile spread across his face. Her brows popped up in shock as their gazes met. Raul lifted his free hand to her mouth. The last thing he wanted was to scare her.

  “Shhh…” he admonished. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to thank you, okay?”

  Monica nodded her response. Slowly, he slid his hand down her face. Raul had lingered there too long. He had expressed his gratitude. Now, he had to leave as fast as possible.

  “You shouldn’t be up.” Her feathery voice tore the silence as he arose to his imposing, six-foot-four stature. “You should be resting. What happened to you?”

  Her simple question turned his happy smile into a bitter one as Raul recollected the reason why he had ended up at her house. All the same, a brutal fight between him and two more of his kind was something that a human could not comprehend. He might have been grateful to her, but sharing his secret with her was out of the question. It would only complicate their lives.

  “You have a good night now.” He spoke in a calm voice, dragging his gaze away from her. Raul turned and strode off as the torrential rain whipped against Monica’s living room window.

  “Will you at least give me your name?” Monica requested, her voice shaking. “I’m Monica. Monica Mills. I’m a doctor.”

  Raul froze halfway through her living room, his eyes a blazing yellow as a low growl started in his throat. He wouldn’t answer. He couldn’t. Her question had bothered him. She was being too inquisitive. For his savior’s sake, his identity had to remain a secret. Yet another stream of lightning flashed and sizzled as he whirled his head around. Monica’s face went slack in utter disbelief as he glared down at her over his shoulder. She curled up in her seat as he raised his upper lip in a terrifying grimace. A wave of regret washed over him. Raul had done precisely what he had been meaning to avoid: scare her. Sadly, though, he didn’t have time to make up for it. He turned his attention back to her front door. The cool, wet breeze blew right into his face as he swung it open. With a few quick strides, he crossed the empty street.

  Raul jumped over a short bush, finding himself at the top end of Sutton Valley–his home. Mud gave way beneath his feet as he started down the slope. The heavy rain blurred his vision as he picked up the sound of Monica’s door being slammed shut. He looked back longingly at her house, wishing he could go to her and apologize. In fact, Raul continued to stare at it, putting distance between him and the town of Shandaken, until the slope blocked his view.

  “So long, good doctor. It is better this way.”

  By the time he reached an acceptable spot, water was streaming down his entire body, soaking bandages and skin alike. Raul ran both hands through his short, black hair, the vapors from his breath clouding his vision as he readied himself for what was about to follow.

  Ribs rippled cracked like dry twigs. Neck, fingers, muscles, and cells reshaped with agonizing pain in just a few seconds as the wolf ripped out of his skin. Massive and dark gray, with a few contrasting shades o
f light gray on his chest, a diamond-shaped patch of white on his right shoulder. Raul’s wolf tossed his head back. His loud howl resounded through the valley just before he started his short trip back to his family. However, for some reason he couldn’t yet understand, the fear in Monica’s eyes was swirling in his mind. Loping through the brush, he could still recall her reaction, wishing that he had kept his cool just for a few more seconds. At the same time, though, he realized that this was one of a series of mistakes he had made that night. Yes, it wasn’t as important as his bloody fight earlier, but it was a mistake all the same. This was not a way to treat his savior.

  Furthermore, Raul had a bad feeling about the welcome of his brothers. He had been in a fight with the two wolves he should stay away from: Warrick and Bryant, his alpha and his lieutenant, a fight that almost claimed his life. As the oldest of them, Raul should have known better than to engage them. He should be the one to teach them some restraint, and yet he had failed to do so. Still, Dean and Ray were his blood. The brothers were close, and despite their occasional argument, they would understand as soon as he explained the circumstances of his fight against their alpha and his lieutenant.

  Raul soon crossed the border of the balsam fir tree forest that encircled Paxton, the town of their ancestors. Ears ticked high, hackles raised, and tail straight out behind him, he loped through the trees, his big paws crushing small twigs as he sped past. Tipping his chin up, he hoped to catch any familiar scents, but to no avail. The only thing he could smell was wet soil mixed with soaked wood. As he sprinted toward the edge of town, however, he recalled Monica’s scent: roses. That simple fact made him angry at himself. He hardly knew her, and he could not take his mind off of her.

  “Snap out of it, Raul. She’s human. Humans are forbidden.”

  Maybe it was her nature that attracted to him. Or it could be her impeccable looks. Or maybe it was all of the above. At any rate, Raul had to put this behind him. A relationship with a human woman was punishable by death. Should he pursue her, he would put her life at risk as well.

  The lights in his cabin peeked through the trees as he climbed the short hill at the end of the forest. Raul expected to catch a whiff of his brothers’ scents, and eventually, he did, but not until he stepped into his front yard. Moreover, it was rather weak, a clear sign that they had left long before he arrived. He shifted into human form. His legs lengthened and thickened, his fur disappeared, his muzzle shortened, his claws retracted and reformed, his hips changed shape, and his eye color returned to its usual, sky-blue shade. Raul took a few, furtive glances around him as he climbed the short staircase that led to his front door. He grabbed and turned the golden doorknob on the left side, eager to put some clothes back on. It had been a strange, long day for him. He could do without the embarrassment.

  Raul sprinted up the stairs to his bedroom, his chest heaving from exertion. Without wasting any more time, he quickly dried off, put on a pair of boxers, black jeans, and a red sweater. As he shoved his feet into his boots, though, Dean’s scent filled his nostrils. Before he knew it, he heard paws galloping in the distance. Raul rose from his bed and went to the window. A pair of yellow eyes was staring up at him. Dean curled up his lips and threatened a growl as Ray’s loud bark tore the night. He wasn’t far behind. Adding to Raul’s discomfort, his brother had also settled his gaze on him.

  “Come on in, you little mutts.” He smirked, nodding at the same time. “I’ll explain everything.”

  Chapter Four

  Of course, Dean’s angry glare was the least that Raul had anticipated. He took his time, pondering responses to whatever his brothers would throw at him. With a heavy heart, he exited his bedroom and climbed down the stairs. Ray was leaning against the kitchen counter, hands in his pockets, a fierce look in his eyes, whereas Dean was standing under the doorframe, shaking his head in disapproval.

  “Going up against Warrick and Bryant?” he barked out. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “Dignity,” Raul retorted, stepping off the landing. “Warrick may be my Alpha, but I’m not his bitch.”

  “None of us are, Raul,” Ray clipped out. “What happened out there? Where did it happen? We’ve been all over the place, looking for you.”

  “Well,” Raul sucked in a deep breath as a long snarl blasted from his throat, “two miles east of Shandaken. I had a flat tire. I was trying to replace it when those two pulled up behind me. Bryant got all…,” he faltered. “Annoying again. That prick really pissed me off today. He tossed my jack down the road. Warrick just kept on watching. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to start a fight. But then…,” the snarl turned into a growl. “He said he’s been waiting for Melissa, ‘to show her a good time.’ Would you let that slip?”

  “Motherfucker!” Dean cried, fury washing over him as he jerked his head in a spasm of anger.

  “Again, Warrick didn’t intervene. He just watched,” Raul went on, raising his upper lip as his fangs lengthened in his mouth. “What was I supposed to do? Listen to that asshole say what he’ll do to my little sister? Of course not! Fuck him! Fuck Warrick! I just pounded on him: fists; claws, fangs; the works. I had him, up till Warrick stepped in. We wrestled around. I did a pretty good number on Bryant, but I was too tired to fight them both. I had to leave the fight. I, uh….”

  “You did what?” Dean raised an eyebrow, leaning forward.

  “I was bleeding. Bad. I knocked on the first house I came across. I don’t remember much after that,” Raul replied, his baritone lowering more and more by the second. Upon finishing his sentence, he gripped the hem of his sweater and pulled it up, exposing the wounds on his stomach. “She saved my skin.”

  “You went to a human for help?” There was a deep frown in Dean’s voice, one that frustrated his brother even further.

  “I’d be dead if I hadn’t!” Raul roared in anger, his brows popping up as his blood boiled in his veins. “What would you have done in my shoes? Think about the rules? No, Dean. You’d choose living over dying. Am I right?”

  At that, Dean dropped his gaze from his brother’s stare. Neither of his brothers could come up with a rebuttal. They seemed to comprehend his decision. Their silence served as an approval for his actions. Indeed, Raul had done nothing wrong: he had fought for his family’s honor and then sought help in order to save his life.

  “Her name’s Monica Mills. She’s a doctor,” Raul added, his voice much lower and calmer this time as he tried to control his intense breath. “And she doesn’t know a thing about me. Not even my name.”

  “She must be new here,” Ray concluded, smiling up at his brother. “There are six doctors in Shandaken. I know them all.”

  “Make that seven,” Raul murmured, taking one step closer to him. “I may have screwed up, though.”

  “What do you mean?” Ray squinted at him. “You didn’t….”

  “No, man, I didn’t lay a hand on her,” Raul assured, shaking his head sideways. “I just glared at her when she asked me my name. I was thinking about the fight. I almost snapped at the poor girl.”

  “Ahem…,” Dean cleared his throat. Raul felt his teasing gaze before his brother even opened his mouth. “That’s a rather unusual choice of words for a guy like you. What’s the matter, Raul? You like the human?”

  “Shut up, Dean,” Raul grumbled, turning his attention to him. “Are you telling me you’re not attracted to humans? Because that’s a lie, and you know it.”

  “You’re treading on thin ice, big brother.” Dean heaved a long, deep sigh. “Do all of us a favor and stay away from her. Please. I don’t like the rules, either. But, if you do break them–”

  “It is war,” Raul said, finishing his sentence. “War against me and the whole damn pack.”

  “Us,” Ray corrected him. “War between us and the pack.”

  “It’s still four against fifteen, junior,” Raul gave him a sad smile. “Thanks, though. It means a lot knowing you guys have my back.”


  “Give your own kind a chance,” Dean suggested, raising his tone, slightly. “Most females would love to have you as their mate.”

  “I’d have to move to do that,” Raul scoffed, his eyes glinting with amusement.

  “Why?”

  “Because the whole freaking town is full of submissive ones.” His smile turned into a broad grin. “I was never into those. Where can I find a gutsy one?”

  “You should focus on healing first,” Dean advised, winking at him. “I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight, boys,” Raul said.

  In spite of his brother’s advice, as soon as he found himself all alone in his cabin, he had an idea. His painting skills had made him known among his kind. What would be better than immortalizing the moment he had laid his eyes upon his savior? Memories fade, and he didn’t want to forget Monica. It would be an ideal way for him to remember her glorious face. For all his desire to draw her feminine figure, though, Raul was still in a considerable amount of pain. His wounds were already starting to heal; his nature allowed him to heal much faster than humans, but scratches and bites alike still stung too much. He wouldn’t be able to focus on her, and his work wouldn’t be as good as she deserved. Therefore, Raul chose to put that thought aside. Monica’s face would still be fresh in his mind the following day.

  “You’ll never know it doctor, but you’re staying in Paxton. It will just have to wait a few more hours.”

  Chapter Five

  The first thought that entered Raul’s mind the next morning was Warrick and Bryant’s potential retribution. More than likely, they would seek to finish what they had started the day before. At least, Warrick would. The damage Raul had inflicted upon Bryant was much too great for him to attempt to retaliate. Had his alpha not intervened, his pompous lieutenant would have been killed. And even though Raul might have been right to attack him, he wasn’t allowed to do so. Alphas and their lieutenants outranked him and everyone else in the pack. They were considered untouchable. He had to have a very good reason to engage him, much more serious than just a threat to his sister. Those were the rules.