Lupus stood at the end of the bed watching Tala hold her father's hand.
He had been unconscious for hours, he was dying and she cried into his palm. She whispered, "Please... please..." Everyone so still and quiet. "stay with... me."
They knew it the instant he died. His breathing had gone heavy, Lupus watched Tala's face as she watched her father die. Then his breathing stopped completely.
Tala barred her teeth as the healer approached, "I need a moment. Alone."
Lupus said softly, "He is dead Tala."
"A moment." She glared up at him.
"Fine." He nodded. Command had shifted to Lupus the instant Tala's father died and he signaled for everyone to leave. At the door he turned, "I will take you as my mate."
"We are not true mates -"
"My mate died. I need a new one. You are
the strongest woman of the pack." He wasn't looking right at her. "Everyone expects it. You should too. Tonight is a full moon and we should not wait. It will happen tonight. It would be good for the pack to have an Alpha and a Madam in charge again and soon."
"I cannot talk about this now. I said I needed -"
"I know." He nodded again and backed out of the room.
She kissed her father's cheek and grabbed a collar bag. After undressing by the window she stuffed her clothes into the bag and then jumped out the window. She landed on all fours and ran. When she was far enough away she let out a gut wrenching howl. It was still early morning and she wondered with the strength she had now if she could run to the other side of the world. Through the forest her father owned she blazed down paths she and her pack had made over the years. She felt crazy. Alive, but dead all the same time. She wasn't paying attention to how fast she was going and didn't realize she'd come onto the highway so quickly and she cut off a motorcycle. The motorcyclist veered off fthe road, but had been going at high speeds too and so the human slid several hundred feet. In the bushes Tala fought within herself as to whether she should go to him and see if he were dead or not. From here, she could tell it was big and burly man.
Her decision was made when she saw him try and get up, but he let out a gasp of pain. Quickly, she shifted into human form and then put her clothes back on. She ran out to him and knelt down, "Are you okay?"
"Damn animal ran out in front me." He sat up this time and held his arm. He wore leather, but the crash had ripped the leather up his right arm and it hung useless at his side.
When he looked up at her she saw his eyes go wide. He looked her up and down, then back at her eyes. She wore tight skinny blue jeans, trendy pink flat shoes and a flowy top that dipped low. When she realized she was leaning forward and revealing her black lacy bra and decent sized chest, she sat up right.
"Can I help -"
"Where's your car?" He looked around now.
"I was taking a walk and I saw."
"There are wolves out here." He blinked at her. "You shouldn't be walking out here alone." Why the hell did he want to protect this perfect stranger? "It was a wolf, a red wolf."
She looked at her hands, "Um..." She swallowed. This guy was making her crazy and she didn't know why. Maybe it was because her father had just died? Probably. "I saw it too."
"That's what I am talking about. These woods are dangerous." He looked at his arm now. "I can get back on my bike if it's good to ride."
"Are you sure? I've driven a motorcycle before -"
He laughed and shook his head arrogantly, "I'd never let anyone drive my bike, let alone a little girl like you."
She eyed him, he wasn't much older than she was. He was just tall and broad shouldered and looked intimidating. Then she watched him stand up and she followed to his bike. For a human, he was strong and he left his bike up with just one good arm. He got onto the bike and when to turn it on, but something insane crossed his mind and he looked up at the girl, "What's your name?"
"Tala." She wrung her hands together in concern for him.
He eyed her, "My name is Max."
"Are you going to be okay Max? I feel really bad -"
"Why would you feel bad?"
"I..." She dropped her hands. "I don't know. I just do."
"Come with me." It sounded like a command rather than an invitation.
He was amazed at the way her eyes looked at the back of the bike. Max was certain she would have denied him flat-out. However she was biting her lip and it looked as if just a few more words from him would convince her. He didn't need a girl with him and she wasn't like him. On her wrist was a diamond bracelet and so that meant she was well taken care of. Somebody would come looking for her.
Finally, completely out of character for him, he said, "Let me just take you home. If there is a wolf around here I can't just leave you here. Can I?"
She almost laughed, she was the danger he was referring too, but something desperate was inside her and she actually wanted to go with this young man, "How about you drop me in town?"
"Sounds good to me." He nodded. "I don't have a helmet -"
He heard her giggle as she slid onto the bike, "Then don't crash again."
"I'll be careful." He turned the motorcycle on and then said, "Although you're going to want to hang onto me."
"I have the handles behind you -"
"Sweetheart, you'll want to hang onto me."
She moved her arms around his middle and hung on loosely. He laughed when he pulled out, expertly jerking the bike into a high speed and he felt her completely hold now. She leaned into him and he quite enjoyed her softness across his back. They were half an hour out of town and about ten minutes into the drive he felt her lay her head on his back and rest her cheek against him.
At the first and only stop light in the town, Max was reluctant, but asked, "Where to, sweetheart?"
"Um..." She didn't know where. She only came into town with her father a couple times a year. She spent of her time back at the den or in the forest. "Here?"
He turned to look at her, he wasn't going to leave her here in the middle of the road, "How about we get some food? I am starving."
"Okay." She said with a small smile.
He could see a diner up ahead. He drove toward it and parked. His hand landed over one of hers and she stiffened, "Helping you off, sweetheart."
She slid off the motorcycle with his help. Max got off and didn't let go of her hand for a long moment. He tilted his head, "If you don't want to come with me you don't have too." He had to say it. He felt crazy about her and he didn't know why. Maybe it was too many miles down the road alone?
She looked down at his hand, "I want too."
"Good." But he couldn't bring himself to let go of her hand. Actually, all he wanted to do was pull her closer and see what she felt like. Her red hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and he wanted to let it loose and see what it looked like down. Then he wanted to kiss, then feel her and then - "Sorry." He let her hand go finally at the thought of wanting to bite her.
She smiled up at him softly, "What about your arm? Should you go to a doctor or something?"
His scrapes were dried, but he was kind of a bloody mess. He turned away and got black long sleeved shirt out of a bag. "I'll change and clean up in the bathroom. No, I don't need a doctor."
She followed him into the room. He was surprised when she followed him into the bathroom. It was for men and women and she shut the door behind them. He looked at her for moment, the girl didn't look afraid of him at all, but very concerned. He pulled his leather jacket off and his black tank went up over his shoulder. There was a soft gasp from the girl at the door.
