Chapter 10

A lonely life. And one that twelve years later still made her question if it had been the right choice. As her mind went through its third cycle of the night that everything changed, she felt herself pulled from the dream. As she floated back to consciousness, she realized someone shook her gently while a persistent voice insisted she wake up. She slapped at the hand that tapped her cheek, her mind sluggish, and her eyelids held closed by a ton of bricks.

"Stop," she protested in a weak voice, forcing the words past a tongue that was thick and dry. She fuzzily wondered how she hadn't died. She remembered pain, lots of it. She also recalled her deep despair and the wish to end it all. She definitely didn't recall lying on a soft mattress like the one she found herself on now or the enticing smell of wolf that, for once, didn't make her want to bolt. Fear kept her eyes closed. What if she had died and was now in some sort of werewolf heaven?

"And here I thought you'd be eager to wake up and yell at me a little bit."

The familiar voice did what gentle cajoling couldn't. Nathan? A vague recollection of him in her cell, morphing from beast to man, floated to the surface of her mind. Could it be? Her eyes popped open. She didn't see Nathan, but the face bending over her seemed vaguely familiar. Handsome, with brown eyes that twinkled, the stranger smiled at her, and though she scented his Lycan nature, his calm demeanor didn't raise her hackles. Actually, her inner wolf stirred with interest. How unusual.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty. Nice to see you're back with us." He offered her a bottle of water, and she grabbed it from him eagerly, slopping it wetly on herself as she drank, but she didn't care.

The cool liquid moistened her mouth and refreshed her, enough that she could ask, "Who are you? Where am I?" She withheld the third question. Was that truly Nathan I heard? And if it was, am I happy or not that he's found me?

"You probably don't remember me, but we ran into each other a few times in our younger pack years. My name's John."

The fuzzy wheels in her mind turned, and the answer popped up. "I know you. You're Nathan's best friend. You used to be a lot skinnier." He'd remained cute, though. If Nathan hadn't asked her out after years of her mooning after him, she might have gone for his bookish friend. She still might. She found him quite attractive, and something about him made her relax, a feeling she hadn't enjoyed in what seemed like forever.

John grinned at her, displaying a dimple she found much too hot. "And geekier. You can say it. It was true then and still is now. As for being skinny, when I finally stopped growing, my body caught up. I'm surprised you even remember me, given you and Nathan were always off hiding in corners, necking."

Dana blushed at the reminder of her youth. "Yeah, well, that won't be happening again." She ignored the snort in the background and the way her heart stuttered. She spotted the stethoscope around John's neck. "Are you a doctor?"

"Yup. Mind if I check you over and make sure you're healing all right?"

His soft drawl made her tummy flip pleasantly. Even stranger, she didn't feel an urge to argue or refuse. I must still be hurt. "Okay."

His lips curved again, and she couldn't help but smile back, a smile that widened when she heard the impatient sigh from behind John.

She didn't fidget while John shone a light in her eyes and checked her pulse-a pulse that raced for numerous reasons. The doctor appeared to be having the oddest effect on her and distracted her almost as much as the man she sensed at the periphery of her vision. A man she refused to crane to see because that would smack too much of eagerness, and she was most definitely not eager to see him.

"I need to check your ribs. If you don't mind, I'm going to press them lightly. Let me know if they hurt."

She expected him to slip his hands under the sheet and cop a feel-she actually kind of looked forward to it so she could get indignant and erase these fuzzy feelings he engendered. But John acted a true gentleman and palpated her through the sheet, keeping his eyes trained to hers. Even through the thin fabric, though, her body temperature rose. Oh, Doctor, I think I have a fever. Dana wanted to giggle. The whole situation seemed surreal. Attracted to one werewolf while her body anxiously waited to see another. Had the beating she'd taken knocked her hatred of getting hooked up with a Lycan right out of her?

"You're healing well," her brown-eyed doctor declared, taking his hands away-and was it her, or did he do so reluctantly?

"How long was I out?" she asked as she inhaled and found only a slight hitch, whereas before breathing had resulted in burning agony.

"We ended up keeping you under for about three days. You were injured pretty badly. Luckily, you only had fractures, so I didn't need to break and reset anything. We also managed to stem the internal bleeding until your healing abilities kicked in with the aid of some proteins fed via IV."

Three days! Dana didn't like knowing she'd lain so helpless for so long. And just where had they taken her? Anxiety hit her in a rush. "Awesome. Thanks for patching me up. Now if someone will just give me some clothes, I'll get out of your way." She threw that out there, knowing it would get a reaction. That and she really wanted some clothes, as she noticed she was pretty freaking naked under the damned sheets. If anyone copped a feel, or more, while I was out, there is going to be hell to pay. She blocked the mental images of gentle John touching her skin, seeing her naked form as he treated her.

Did he like what he saw? Not that she cared.

"Nice try, Dana." The deep voice set her limbs trembling, and she couldn't have said if it was fear or anticipation.

The doctor moved to the side, and Nathan came into view. Despite her apprehension, she drank him in, stunned with the shock of seeing him again.

He'd changed and yet hadn't. The same bright blue eyes stared at her, and he sported the same thick, dark mane of hair. But the boy she'd known was gone, replaced by a man, and a big one at that.

Apparently, he'd done some more growing after she left. He towered inches taller than she recalled and filled out his lanky frame, but not with fat. He bulged with muscle. He also looked hard, from the set of his jaw to the glint in his eye to the evident strength in his body. She suddenly feared this new man, this stranger she no longer knew but who had evidently sought her out. For what purpose?

"What do you want with me?" she asked in a voice that sounded weak and soft. She also wanted to slap herself for asking such a stupid question. She knew what he wanted, to bed her and impregnate her. But surely he could have found another woman in the years she'd been gone? Lycan females were rare, but given his evident alpha stature and good looks, the available ones would have fallen over themselves to snare him. Surprisingly, she didn't like this train of thought.

"Well, my dear fiancŽe, you ran off before we could be wed in the eyes of our people. I intend to rectify that delay as soon as possible, willing or not." He said it so matter-of-factly, so coldly, that it took her a moment to process it.

Her mouth dropped open. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Yup."

His answer took her aback. Had Nathan truly gone mad? She looked to John. "Tell me he's joking."

"John doesn't get a say," Nathan growled. "So stop looking at him. I'm the one you promised to mate with. I'm the one who saved your ass. I'm the one you will look to, not him."

She looked away from John, who shrugged apologetically. She faced Nathan again and saw the tic in the side of his jaw. Is he jealous of John for some reason? "No."

"No, what? Did you think you had a choice after the way you ran away from me?"

She narrowed her gaze and found her temper at last. "You betrayed me."

"I was a boy following the laws of my alpha. The laws we all follow."

"You could have said no." What she left unsaid was he could have chosen to run with her. He already knew that.

"Ah yes, you and your precious policy of not sharing regardless of our kind's laws and customs."

"Don't worry. You made that point abundantly clear. You'll be glad to know you win. Happy? I won't be sharing you with anyone else."

She heard the doctor utter an exclamation of surprise. "Nathan, the pack won't like that."

Nathan rounded on him. "I don't give a fuck what the pack likes. I lost her once because I let the pack tell me what to do. I won't do it again. I'm alpha, and they'll do as I damned well say. And don't think I don't smell your interest in her. She's mine. I am invoking pack law on this one. She's unmated without a guardian to speak for her. Let it be known I claim her as mine."

Dana's temper simmered at his cave-wolf decree, and in exact reverse, her heart stuttered at his admission of regret. But change of mind or not, she wasn't about to reward him. He'd hurt her too badly, and now, she'd do the same right back. "Pack law is pack law. Isn't that what you once told me? Well, guess what. I'm also going to invoke your precious fucking pack law. I demand the right to a true pack mating." Dana invoked a clause rarely used, but one all girls were taught about by their mothers at a young age. In the case a Lycan female found herself of age to marry without a guardian, while a male could claim her, the female could request up to three more mates of her choice, a buffer of sorts in case the male who claimed her wasn't her first choice.

"What?" Both men whirled to face her, the doctor in surprise, Nathan in fury.

"You heard me, Nathan. Since you're going to force me to accept you as a mate, whether I want to or not, then I demand the right to choose three more mates. After all, it's for the good of the pack."

She embellished her saucy retort with a twisted smile. "And I'm starting with the good doctor over there, who, if my nose doesn't deceive me, is unmated."

"You can't do this," Nathan growled. "Do you have any idea how long I've looked for you? Waited to tell you I was sorry?"

"Gee, I guess you forgot the Ôsorry' part when you ordered me around like some kind of slave to your wishes. Once again, it's all about you and what you want. What about what I want?" she yelled, clutching the sheet to her bosom before it fell and she gave them an eyeful.

"What's going on?" Another werewolf poked his head in, a rather good-looking one, and Dana pointed her finger at him.

"Him. I want him too."

"Dana!" Nathan bellowed, but she shot him the middle finger and a glare.

When another body jostled for position in the doorway, a tousled blond with a grin from ear to ear, she pointed again. "And that one for my fourth." She shot Nathan a triumphant grin.

"I won't share you," Nathan said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, sorry, was I ignoring what you want? Gee, what do you know? Payback's a bitch. Now if you men wouldn't mind, I need my rest if I'm expected to fuck you bunch of animals after you all claim me like some fucking prize."

She turned on her side and buried her face in the pillow, the tears hot as they spilled onto the fabric.

She could hear one of the men whispering, "What the hell just happened? Did I just get engaged?"

But the sound of their voices was quickly muffled as they closed the door-and locked it.

Alone, she gave in to tears. In truth, she understood Nathan had never had a chance against his father so many years ago.

But now that I've slapped him in the face with his betrayal, how the hell do I get out of it? She didn't actually want all the men-okay, that wasn't quite true. John actually really appealed to her, and seeing Nathan again only reinforced the fact that she'd never gotten over him. But still, revenge was one thing, mating with a bunch of strangers another. I guess I'd better start planning my escape. Somehow that idea held even less appeal. Had she changed so much in her years away that being bound to a bunch of guys was more appealing than a life of freedom-always on the run and never having roots?

Fuck me, what am I going to do?