Taming the Wolf (Anna Avery #1) 1

I don’t know how long I laid there before my bedroom door opened. Adam sat on the edge of my bed, his fingers brushing over my forehead and down my cheek in a gentle caress. It was still difficult to look at him, to believe in him, but I was getting better. When I first woke up, he’d been there, sitting in a chair beside my bed. It freaked me out, and I’m sure it freaked him out when I screamed at the sight of him. After calming me down, he gave me some space and said he’d be back.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m…okay. Still a little weak,” I told him.

“How about we get you a bath?” Adam leaned over and kissed the top of my head, his powerful scent enveloping me.

“I thought I was bathed when I got home?” I asked, mild fear in my voice. Was I still a bloody, dirty mess? Is that why everyone stared me with worried eyes?

Adam brushed his hand over my head in a soothing motion. “You were out of it when I brought you home. I didn’t want to give you a bath while you were passed out, so I cleaned your face, arms, and legs with a wash cloth.”

Adam gave me sponge bath? My heart softened towards him a little bit, but my mind was still wary of the feeling.

“Alright.” I sat up, bringing my knees around to face him. I focused on his chest then slowly moved my eyes up his throat to his nose and then his eyes. We regarded each other for a few seconds before Adam stood, leaned over, and lifted me into his arms.

“I can walk,” I mumbled, hating the weakness in my voice. I didn’t even recognize it anymore. Amazing what six days of torture could do.

“I know,” Adam said softly, “but I like holding you.” He paused. “Would you rather walk?”

I glanced up. “No, it’s okay.”

Once in the bathroom, Adam set me down in front of the mirror. I hadn’t looked at myself since I’d gotten back. I didn’t want to see the evidence of my capture.

“Are you cold?” Adam asked, resting his hands on my shoulders. His presence was dominating and comforting. But can I trust those feelings? I looked up, my eyes finding the reflecting glass. My blonde hair was stringy, clinging to my head in a matted mess. My brown eyes had dark circles around them, sunken and afraid. My body—Elle had been right— was thinner and fragile. A three inch gash that started from my hairline and traveled down over my forehead was half-healed. Purple and yellow bruises dotted my face, arms, and chest, contrasting against my fading tan.

When I didn’t respond to Adam’s question, he said, “I’m going to undress you.”

I watched in the mirror as his fingers curled underneath the large T-shirt he’d clothed me in when he found me. With gentle hands, he lifted it up and over my head, setting it on the counter. More bruises decorated my stomach and legs. My eyes found Adam’s before I looked away. I couldn’t bear to see the sympathy on his face. I wanted him to scowl, to argue, to show other emotion than empathy. I need to get my head together and find my strength, find my voice.

Guiding me over to the tub, that was already full, Adam stepped inside and sat down, outstretching a hand for me to join him. I eyed him, not expecting him to join me. Finally, I stepped into the tub and sat down between his legs. His arms surrounded my waist, resting on my stomach. Out of curiosity, I flipped his hand over. The raised scar was in the same place as mine. I trailed a finger over it, unsure if it was real or not.

“Who was he?” I whispered.

“Your captor?”

I nodded.

Adam was silent, his hands fisting against my skin. “My brother, Anthony.”

“He looked just like you.”

“My twin brother,” he hesitated, his hands relaxing. “You thought he was me, didn’t you?”

I didn’t miss the offence in his voice.

“He looked just like you,” I repeated. “He pretended he was you.”

Adam released an annoyed breath, rising to a sitting position and reaching for the washrag. He squeezed a dollop of soap into the cloth and trailed it over my shoulders and down my arms.

“You really think I’d be capable of treating you like that?” The edge of his voice awakened something within me, making me feel more alive than I had since coming home. I needed to test this theory of mine.

“Maybe,” I told him and waited for his response in hopes I’d get the right one.

“I see,” Adam said, his tone clipped and cold. “So everything I’ve told you, admitted to you, shown you, meant nothing? You were able to forget it that easily?” His voice grew angrier, but still controlled enough that it didn’t raise in pitch.

A spark ignited within me, that fire that’d always been between me and him. The one I used to push him away all those times before. I grasped it, clutched it with dear life and smiled when more of my former self pushed through the gloomy fog. If it took arguing with Adam to escape the dark place in my head, I’d start world war three. I thought about what to say, testing the words in my head before speaking. “If I’m not mistaken, I fled from the house because you were keeping something from me. You knew all along, didn’t you?” I accused him.

A growl vibrated through his throat. “You will not blame this on me. I tried to explain, tried to get you to stop. If you weren’t so stubborn and had listened to me, this wouldn’t have happened.” He threw the accusations right back at me.

I smiled, biting down on my lip to hide it from Adam. This was normal, me and Adam going back and forth. He didn’t watch his words around me or treat me like a fragile piece of glass. His defenses were up.

“You’re ignoring my question,” I reminded him.

“If I answer your question, it’ll be the last we speak of it. I can’t talk until I’m blue in the face to make you believe me. At some point you’re going to have to have as much faith in me as I do you.”

I nodded.

“Yes, I had a feeling it was Eve who was killing the humans,” he started. “It was only a feeling though. I didn’t have any proof and to accuse one’s mate of murder is a serious offence against their nature.”

I flinched at hearing him called her his mate.

“As for the dream, it was not me with her when she attacked you, it was Anthony. My brother went rogue when I took my father’s place as alpha. He always thought packs should be made up of purebreds. That’s why my father didn’t choose him to rule. When we were in our early twenties, before I was alpha, Anthony and Eve hooked up from time to time at our semiannual summits. Of course I didn’t know this until my father named me his successor and announced that Eve would be my mate. Anthony held that against me, even more than taking the position of alpha,” He stopped talking to reach for a cup. He filled it with water and poured it over my hair, his fingers caressing my scalp as he massaged shampoo into my dirty locks.

“He loved her and love can make you accept things about another person that you thought you never could. Eve was always a little more aggressive than normal. She and my brother shared the same frame of mind when it came to purebred packs. I suspected they still met up from time to time, but all I had were speculations. And in all honesty, I didn’t mind. I didn’t love her and my brother did. I guess it was my way of giving him something he wanted.”

It was a lot to take in. I never heard him, or anyone else in the pack, talk about a brother. Part of me understood Anthony’s fury. He’d wanted to become alpha, but it’d been giving to his brother. He loved Eve, but she was given to Adam. I could see how his resentment could grow from disappointment and heartache to something more bitter and dangerous. Did that mean I had sympathy towards the man who held me prisoner and treated me like something he’d stepped in? No, I still hated him, but I understood him better.

“But you acted like you knew something when I asked about Eve killing humans,” I told him.

“I’m sorry if I made you think that. I didn’t know for sure, that’s why I wanted you to come back and tell me what happened. Maybe we could have formed a coherent piece of evidence between the two of us,” Adam said, his voice calmer. “Anthony once told me Eve had a dark side, a side he wasn’t sure he could tolerate. He didn’t tell me what it was, but I think I know now. When everyone thought you were killing humans, I asked myself the same question: could I handle that darkness within you?”

“And?”

“It’d be hard to refuse you, Anna.”

Silence settled between us as Adam washed my body and hair. I felt more like myself in his presence and better now that I knew Adam wasn’t involved with Eve and the killing of humans.

“Do you feel like talking about it?” Adam asked.

I owed him the details of my stay with Anthony and Eve. If it were him who’d gone through it, I’d want to know what happened. I told him about everything, starting with the car crash and how I thought it was him in the middle of the road to Anthony fooling me into thinking he melted the scar off of his hand. I also told him about the torture of hearing him and Eve having sex. By the time I finished, Adam’s body was rigid and made of stone.

“How about we get out and get you something to eat,” Adam said, standing and helping me up.

He tried very hard to rein in his temper and stay calm around me, and I hated it. I needed the fiery passion of his words and anger. That spark ignited something within me and helped me react.

“You don’t have to watch yourself around me,” I told him as he slipped a robe around my shoulders. “Everyone’s walking on eggshells, treating me like I’ll crack under the pressure. I need normalcy and you holding your tongue and smiling is not normal.” I caught his gaze in the mirror.

His body relaxed a little. “You’re damn frustrating,” he said. “Is that truth enough for you?”

I smiled and nodded.

“Now, let me take care of you.”

As we made our way out of the bathroom, I stopped. The house was loud. It looked like the entire pack was here.