Deadly Seduction (Feral Protectors 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

forest, you’re fighting back. You can do this. You can get better.”
    The basket of flowers Gwen had been carrying lay on its side, the contents spilled out across the grass. As she bent to gather the roots and petals, she considered Akila’s statement. She made it sound so easy, just choose to be happy, choose to forget the past. But it wasn’t that easy.
    Her life had been split into two distinct parts—the time before the attack, and the time after. What would it take her to feel safe? What would it take to return to the woman she was before the attack? She craved the return of joy, stability and love to her life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.
     
    ***
     
    Nosh hissed a breath as he used his good arm to roll onto his hip. He couldn’t take another second of laying around. But as he tried to sit upright, pain flooded his broken leg.
    Gwen rushed into the room. “What are you doing? Lay down right now.”
    He grimaced as he rolled onto his back. “I need to get up and walk around.”
    “I don’t care how much you want to get out of that bed. If you get up now, you could permanently damage your leg. Do you want to hobble around for the rest of your life?”
    Her fiery response was so unlike her that he was momentarily silenced. Under her mousy exterior, she still retained a spunky spirit. He liked seeing that side of her and wanted to see it more.
    He grinned. “All right. I’ll stay in bed, but only if you’ll join me.”
    She huffed and turned to walk toward the door. “I’ll be back later with some ginger tea. It will help your circulation.”
    He didn’t need help with that, at least not below the waist. Watching her stalk out of the room made blood rush heavy and thick through his veins. How he could think about anything but pain was beyond him. But he welcomed the temporary reprieve. He’d much rather focus on the sway of her hips than the searing pain in his leg.
    As the minutes ticked by, his eyelids grew heavier. He’d just rest his eyes for a few seconds.
    Loud voices jolted him awake. The argument came from down the hall, but Gwen and Akila were close enough that he could hear every word.
    Gwen’s voice bordered on hysterical. “I can’t stay here by myself.”
    “Diana’s in labor. I need to go take care of her,” Akila said.
    “I’m coming with you.”
    “No. You’re staying here to take care of Nosh. He’s in serious condition and will need to be watched for the next three days. I don’t want you to let him out of your sight. If you need more herbs, ask Fadian or Lucian to fetch them.”
    “They’re not going to take orders from me. I’m just your assistant. I’m nobody to them. I’m not ready for this.”
    Akila’s heavy sigh echoed down the hall. “I have absolute faith in you. Nosh is an alpha and will heal fast, but he still needs someone to watch over him.”
    “I know how to help a woman through labor. I’d be much more useful if I went back to help Diana.”
    “She’s a few weeks early. There may be complications with the baby so I need to be there.”
    “But—”
    “Stop. You have plenty of other wolves here who can help you. It’s only for a few days. You’ll be okay.”
    Gwen’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You can’t leave me alone with all these men. How do I really know I’m safe? How do I know one of them won’t attack me?”
    Nosh frowned. Did she really think anyone in his pack was capable of hurting her? The terror in her voice sliced through his heart. It had been almost a year since she’d been attacked, but fear still controlled her.
    Akila asked, “Has any wolf ever tried to attack you?”
    “No.”
    “You were attacked by a human. We don’t attack our own kind.”
    The fight in Gwen’s voice ebbed. “I know you’re right. It’s just that I don’t know anyone here very well. There are a lot of wolves in this pack that I’ve never spent any time with.”
    “Just stay with Nosh. Only a few other wolves will come