Treeland Pack Tales 3: A Trace of Ivy Read Online Free PDF

arrive.
    “We’re in danger.” The words tumbled from her lips in a
breathy whisper.
    “You’re safe with me.” He met her worried gaze. “By the way,
I’m Chet Tomlin, and I’m quite happy you’re awake.”
    His eyelashes were luxuriously thick and long. They matched
forbidding black eyebrows and framed deep-set brown eyes with glints of gold.
The warm specks softened the harsh lines of his nose and cheekbones. A luxuriant
mustache decorated his upper lip, while a neatly groomed goatee covered a
square chin, giving him a slightly devilish air. His pink shirt was made from
superfine cotton and unexpectedly elegant against a bronze complexion. The
overall visual impression matched his deep voice—debonair and dangerous.
    “I’m Ivy Weathersby. Thank you for saving me. But you don’t
understand how dangerous the beasts after me are. We need to call the
authorities.”
    He raised an eyebrow in obvious skepticism. “Pack business
has to be handled by pack—especially rogues.”
    Disheartening doubts flooded her. She’d never heard of this
pack or rogues. Is PACK some kind of
acronym for a government agency? Hold on, is he talking about a werewolf pack? No, too crazy. But then, up until recently she hadn’t believed men turned into
beasts.
    She was a mess, she had no ID, no resources, and no one
would believe a story about men changing into huge wolves. The most probable
outcome would be her being locked up for a psych evaluation. However, the
monsters were as real as the pain they inflicted. She had to find a way to help
Kat, Tess, and the injured girl.
    “You don’t understand how dangerous these beasts are,” she
repeated, unable to come up with a more compelling argument.
    “I understand more than you think. You and other females
were captured and tortured by rogue werewolves.”
    She nodded, stunned relief lifting her spirits. He did
understand. He would help.
    “The monsters who abused you are being hunted. Most
werewolves are responsible, law-abiding citizens. We’re doing everything
possible to bring these rogues to justice.”
    “And you know this because?” Should I believe him?
    “I’m one of the enforcers—trackers.”
    This explained how he’d found her and actually made sense in
the new reality she’d survived and still struggled to grasp.
    “The monsters—the werewolves—they still have Kat and Tess
and a teenager…a girl.” Her voice cracked.
    Chet growled.
    Every hair prickled, and she froze. The angry noise was one
she knew well. The beasts made the same sound.
    “I would never hurt you.” He promised in his normal deep
rumble—an obvious attempt to soothe her. It failed.
    Fear narrowed her field of vision and squeezed her chest.
She struggled to imagine the soothing heat of a bonfire and took slow, deep
breaths.
    “Talk to me, describe exactly what you are feeling,” her
captor demanded in tones that implied obedience was required because she
wouldn’t like the “or else.”
    “Scared,” she hissed, then clamped her teeth to keep more
terror from leaking out of her mouth. He didn’t need extra ammunition to use
against her.
    “No one will hurt you as long as I am standing. Tell me how
frightened—give me a number from one to ten with one being completely at ease
and ten being all-out panic.”
    “Seven, maybe six.” She spat the answer to prevent her teeth
from chattering.
    “Keep breathing, nice and slow.” He supported her weight
with one brawny arm and tilted her chin until she met his warm, brown eyes full
of concern. “Watch me. I am here and real and determined to keep you safe.”
    A part of her wanted to believe him—insanity. She managed to
meet his gaze for a few seconds. “I’m free to go whenever I like?”
    A tic twitched in his cheek. “Not right this minute. You
don’t have shoes.”
    “That didn’t stop me from escaping the monsters.”
    He didn’t reply, unless she counted the grinding noise from
his teeth.
    “I’m tougher than I