Cook, Kris - Primal Desire [Texas Wolf Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Kris Cook Page B

listen to me. Everything is going to be fine. I’m fine.”
    Nothing. Not a single glimmer of humanity could be spotted in him. She watched the two shifters who were still in wolf form come up behind him. They were about to try to take him down, but she doubted they could. Someone would die tonight. It might even be Luke, if she failed to reach him.
    Trembling, she stretched out her fingers and touched his naked chest. “Luke, I’m here. Everything is okay.”
    His eyes remained fixed and his lips shaped into a horrific snarl.
    “Please, hear me. Don’t do this. I can’t take much more.” She began to weep uncontrollably. “You’ve got to snap out of this.”
    As the trees began to sway with the sudden breeze, Luke blinked several times.
    “That’s it, cowboy.” Megan touched his chest. “You can do this for me, please.”
    He reached out and cupped her chin. “Little trespasser?”
    “Yes, I’m here. Are you okay?”
    “You’re not leaving?” Luke’s face was a storm of pain and worry.
    Of course, Luke had gone crazy when he found the cabin empty. He’d cared for her and made her comfortable. How had she repaid him? By running away. She was the cause of his suffering, and she hated herself for that. Why had she chosen to run without so much as a note? In her old life in Dallas, falling so quickly, so deeply wouldn’t have been possible. But here and now as he’d done with her, she was imprinting on him in her own way.
    Though earlier she’d wanted nothing more than to get far from him, now Megan desired to stay with her whole heart. “I’m here. I won’t go.”
    “But we promised Kate to bring you back,” Troy argued.
    Luke’s eyes narrowed, and Megan knew he could slip back into the madness in a heartbeat so easily.
    She faced Rance. “Tell my sister where I am. As long as she knows I’m okay, she’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”
    A long, uncomfortable, silent pause had her trembling. Rance looked unconvinced. Would he demand that Megan leave with him? She wondered.
    Rance sighed. “Kate’s not going to like it if I don’t come back with you safe and sound.”
    “I don’t like it. We all know Luke’s history.” Hawk’s hands were curled into fists.
    “I know what I’m doing,” she lied. Actually, she had no clue what she was doing. Still, leaving Luke wasn’t even a possibility to her. Not now. Not with him in such a state. “Please. If you are worried, come back and check on me tomorrow morning.”
    Rance’s mouth twisted into a crooked shape, showing his disapproval. “Okay, but I’m betting your sister will want to see that you are okay for herself, Megan.”
    “Fine. Bring her back with you in the morning.” Megan looked back at Luke, realizing he was calming down just a bit.
    “You bet I will.” Rance looked at the other men. “Let’s go.”
    Though they seemed reluctant to leave her, each shifted back into wolf form and ran down the path. At the top of the nearest hill, all six looked back at her and Luke.
    When the last of the six disappeared from view, she turned back to Luke. His angry stare remained intent on the hill where his tribesmen had just been. Her anxiety blasted higher inside her. What now?
    “Luke, are you okay?”
    He didn’t acknowledge her.
    “They’re all gone. It’s just you and me.”
    Nothing.
    Megan’s mouth dried up as she wondered if she’d made the right decision to stay.
    Tentatively, she touched his cheek with both hands. He grabbed her wrists hard.
    “Ouch!”
    His eyes widened, and he released her, taking a step back. “I’m sorry, Megan.”
    “I’m fine.” Looking in his eyes, Megan could clearly see his pain and guilt. “You just startled me.”
    “You shouldn’t have stayed with me.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “They were right to want to rip me apart. I’m totally fucked up.”
    “Open your eyes for me, Luke.” He did, and she held up her wrists and presented them to him to inspect. “See. No