Wolf in his Heart (Salvation Pack) Read Online Free Page B

take the jerky and the short break, and be thankful.
    She kept one eye on Sage, which wasn’t exactly a hardship. He was big and handsome and part wolf. It had been over a year since she’d been in the presence of her own kind.
    He’s a half-breed , she reminded herself. They were weak and shunned by the packs. Well, she’d been shunned too, and she was full-blooded, so in the end what did it really matter? She’d learned a lot in her time alone. What a person did was a hell of a lot more important than what they said.
    Family might be everything to her kind, but when push had come to shove, her parents had chosen their pack above her, their own daughter. They’d stood by and watched as she’d been cast aside. Mikhail might have stood with her, but he’d been away working at the time of her banishment.
    She’d been alone.
    “Who is after you?” His question jolted her back to the present.
    She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not your problem.”
    Sage shook his head. “Now that’s where you’re wrong. It’s definitely my problem. You need to come home with me.”
    It was official. The only werewolf she’d met since she’d left home and he was a half-breed crazy. “Yeah, I don’t think so.” The alpha would not approve of bringing a strange wolf home, especially one who’d been banished from her own pack. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
    “Why not?”
    She liked his calm manner. Most of the men she’d known were ultra aggressive, always trying to assert their dominance. Sage had a quiet power about him. It was as if he was confident enough of his own strength that he didn’t need to prove anything to anyone.
    Her wolf found it very alluring. Come to think of it, so did she.
    “You can’t just bring home a strange wolf.”
    Sage shrugged. “Sure I can. Won’t be the first time the pack has opened its doors to a strange wolf.” His smile would have sent her to her knees if she hadn’t already been sitting. He was lethal to her senses.
    Was it because he was the first of her kind she’d seen in months? Or was it because he was being kind to her? God knows, her soul was starved for some kindness. Or was the attraction something more?
    Maybe that proved her pack was right about her. That she was defective. After all, she’d turned away a dominant, full-blooded male werewolf and was drawn to a seemingly laidback half-breed.
    “I have to go.” Lingering was only making leaving harder. It was natural for her to want to be part of a pack, even a temporary pack of two.
    “Okay.”
    Her heart bled just a little at how easily he acquiesced. It was just as well. He couldn’t have really meant his offer. He was just being kind. But he’d fed her, and that was worth a lot.
    Rina pushed to her feet and brushed the crumbs from her jeans. The food had helped some, but she was still exhausted. She swayed on her feet and took a deep breath before adjusting her pack on her back. She probably should have taken it off while she was resting, but she couldn’t risk losing it.
    Sage started toward her, and she backed away. “Thanks for everything.”
    He repacked the remaining food and began to roll up his sleeping bag. “You’re welcome.”
    Even though it was full dark now, he deftly tied the sleeping bag to the bottom of his knapsack. He gave one last look around the camp, nodded in satisfaction and swung the pack on his back.
    “What are you doing?” Maybe it was the exhaustion, and maybe it was because he’d fed her, but the more time she spent in his company, the more she was coming to trust him.
    “Going with you.” It took a few seconds for her to really grip his calm pronouncement.
    “What do you mean you’re going with me?” She didn’t understand why he was doing this.
    Sage reached out and gripped the back of her neck. His broad hand was hot against her skin. His gentle touch shackled her as firmly as iron chains. Maybe even more so. She would fight the chains but had no