5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

N atalie

"You're… you're an Other," I whisper, heart pounding as I stare up at the towering wolven male. "A wolven."

He nods slowly, piercing silver eyes studying me with a mix of wariness and curiosity. "Fury. I'm with the Wolven Warriors Security Team. I was called in to help search for you when your team lost contact."

Fury. The name suits him, brimming with power and barely leashed intensity. I've heard of the Wolven Warriors, an Other-run community policing group in the Integration Zone. Definitely not part of the regular human search party I expected.

"You found me," I rasp, thoughts still sluggish. "How?"

A ghost of a smirk touches his lips. "I followed your scent trail."

Of course he did. Super senses.

"Well… thanks. For saving my life." The words feel inadequate, but what else can I say?

He shrugs, muscles rippling beneath his dark Henley. "Just doing my job."

An awkward silence descends as we size each other up. I'm acutely aware of my vulnerable position: horizontal, injured, and half-dressed. This man, this male, undressed me! I'm in bed with an apex predator looming over me. Most of the Others picked their own names after they arrived on Earth. His name is Fury. Very revealing… and frightening.

Yet, he rescued me, brought me here, covered me with quilts, and lit a fire. I'm trying to reconcile the image of the snarling, feral beasts my father talked about when he described wolven, with the calm, efficient male in front of me.

"I've got water boiling for tea," he says abruptly, turning toward the fireplace. "You should drink something. You're probably thirsty."

"I… yes, thank you." It's surreal, watching him move around my space with fluid grace, bushy tail swaying. Like a domesticated wolf playing at being human.

As he works, I let my gaze drift over his form, taking in details I was too rattled to absorb a moment ago. He's tall, easily over six feet, with a lean, muscular build that speaks of coiled strength and agility. His long, glossy hair was probably light blond until strands of gray encroached.

His mustache is somewhat darker than his trimmed beard, which is shot with gray. It emphasizes the sharp lines of his jaw. Rising up from that tousled mane are two unmistakably lupine ears, pricked forward attentively as he listens to the sputtering kettle.

He's unlike anything I've ever seen. Fascinating. Terrifying. And though I'm loath to admit it… strikingly handsome in a primitive, untamed way my biologist's mind itches to learn more about.

What is wrong with me? I must have hit my head harder than I thought. This is a wolven, not some rugged human forest ranger. An Other. An unknown entity who's never been domesticated, still utterly wild.

As if sensing my interest, he glances over his shoulder, those disturbingly beautiful eyes locking onto mine. I feel pinned in place, a rabbit before a wolf .

"Tea's ready." He pads silently to my bedside, a steaming mug in hand. My favorite mug, I note with an odd jolt. He holds it out to me, his expression unreadable. "Drink. It will warm you."

I push myself up on shaking arms, ignoring the wave of dizziness and nausea that crashes over me. I'll be damned if I let him take care of me like an invalid.

But as I reach for the mug, the blankets fall away, exposing my bare shoulders and the lacy edge of my bra. I freeze, sudden heat flooding my cheeks.

Fury's eyes widen fractionally, his nostrils flaring as he inhales sharply. For a moment, something dark and hungry flashes across his face, so primal it sends a shiver down my spine that has nothing to do with the cold.

But then it's gone, replaced by a stoic mask as he carefully hands me the mug, averting his gaze.

"I had to get you out of your wet clothes." His voice is gruff, a note of apology in his deep voice. "They were soaked through and… I tried…" He shakes his head and shrugs.

He clears his throat, stepping back from the bed. "I couldn't reach the rescue team on either of our radios. I found your phone on the counter. Both yours and mine are as helpful as bricks. I think the storm's interfering with the signal. We might be stuck here for a bit until it clears."

I digest that information, my stomach doing a strange little flip. Stuck here. Alone in my remote cabin, miles from any other humans, with a wolven who seems more feral than Larry the lynx.

"Well then," I say, trying to project a calm I don't feel. "I guess we'll have to make the best of it. There's more tea in the cabinet. You might as well have a cup, too."

A peace offering. An olive branch to my unlikely savior and now, it seems, my temporary roommate .

Fury studies me for a long moment, his eyes narrowed, then nods. A ghost of a smile flits across his rugged face.

"Okay."

I take another fortifying sip of tea as Fury grabs a second mug. Outside, the wind howls through the trees. Inside, the crackle of the fire fills the silence.

It's going to be an interesting day until the rest of the search team gets me off this mountain. Certainly that will happen before dark, right?