Charity Received Read Online Free PDF Page B

smiled. “Are we okay?”
    She drew his hand to her face and rubbed her cheek against his palm. The affectionate act was pure instinct, her wolf needing the reassurance of the pack, and for her wolf, that was Zeke. “Of course. We’ll always be okay.” Charity turned away from him, back to the body lying on the ground. “Christ, I hate all this girlie shit. I feel like I’m back in high school.”
    Behind her, Zeke chuckled.
    After resuming her position, Charity eyed the wounds that had killed the man. He was large and muscular. The bodybuilder type. Several claw and bite marks could be seen under tattered clothing. But the fatal blow—a swipe across the abdomen—had torn the flesh wide open in four places, leaving the victim’s intestines in plain view.
    “It was a frenzied attack. Quick. He had little control. If it had been a vampire, I’d almost say bloodlust. But this was no vampire. Wolf. Male.”
    “You are sure?”
    Charity nodded. “Unfortunately. If his smell weren’t hard to miss, the markings would have given him away. He’s a big wolf, probably over six-two as a human. Had to be to take down this large a man.”
    “What do you mean? You could have taken this human.”
    “Not as a wolf, I couldn’t. I’m not big enough.”
    “Are you saying not all shifters can do the big hairy Bigfoot thing?”
    Charity rolled her eyes. “No. Lucky me, I got the double whammy.” Zeke frowned at her, and she sighed. “Usually only alpha males manage to attain that form. Some betas can too. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only female to have ever acquired the ability. Like I’m not a big enough freak. Made my mother proud.” Zeke opened his mouth to speak, but Charity shook her head. “Later, Zeke. Right now we have a nasty rogue wolf to worry about.”
    “Can you track him, Sasquatch?”
    “Yeah. The leash and collar are in my truck.”
    “I sent Arak back to the club to get it. He’ll take Hope home while you and I are hunting the wolf, then he’ll come back to help us.”
    Nodding, Charity began to undress, handing Zeke her clothing as she did so. She didn’t enjoy getting naked in front of males, even ones she cared for as much as she did Zeke. But she had no choice. If she shifted in her clothing, she’d be left with rags.
    Free from the black velvet corset and skirt, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her wolf really disliked the restrictive clothing she was forced to wear to work. Charity preferred long, loose skirts that flowed around her ankles and baby-doll tops that allowed her the freedom from a bra. Not that she needed one for her small breasts.
    But then, Charity was more self-conscious than most shifters. It came from years of being told she was worthless, a burden upon her mother and her mother’s pack. And before that, from a life she tried desperately never to think about—a life far worse than what she’d endured from age fourteen until her twentieth birthday, when she’d fled the pack, never to return.
    * * *
    Charity and Zeke had been following the wolf’s trail for better than an hour when a scream pierced the darkness. Hastening her steps, Charity dragged Zeke through a parking lot, her four legs scrambling over the pavement as she prayed they would get there in time to save the victim.
     
    The large brown wolf came into view, and Charity lunged without thought. The leather leash snapped, freeing her to counteract the male’s movements. Back hunched and ready to spring forward, he had a woman trapped between the apartment building and a parked car.
    With lips stretched back to reveal razor-sharp canines, Charity reached the wolf just as he moved, his flank butting into her head. He staggered to the side, howling in startled surprise. But it lasted for only a brief moment before he turned to face her.
    He lowered his head, teeth gleaming in the moonlight and ears resting flat against his head as he growled menacingly. Returning the aggressive stance, she placed herself