Saved by Wolves (Shifters Meet Their Mate Book 1) by Elena Hunter Read Free Book Online

didn’t make a move beyond standing, she took the chance to study him. Huge was the word that sprang to mind. Way bigger than a regular, “real” wolf would be. He stood around three feet tall at the shoulders and was at least five feet long, not including the tail that looked sturdy enough to knock her off her feet. Deep walnut-brown fur shined in the sunlight, making her want to dig her fingers in to see if it was as soft as it looked.
    “Hello, Jackson,” she said. Somehow, she just knew it was him. “Where’s Marcus?”
    The Wolf’s head jerked to the left, and a full minute later, she heard light footsteps approach. She’d always thought her hearing was decent, but the Wolf’s—Jackson’s—put hers to shame.
    Marcus stepped into the clearing in human form, dressed in his jeans and a snug white tee. He even had boots on his feet. His hair was brown, but not the walnut-brown that Jackson’s was. His was more of a mahogany shade. Would his fur be the same rich color? Kirra shook her head at her frivolous thoughts. She’d never compared shades of brown in her life before, and now she was when she was supposed to be focused on saving her sister? She needed to get her priorities straight.
    “You’re awake,” he said. “Great. We should probably get going soon. It’s almost noon.”
    Almost noon? Kirra scrambled to her feet. “You shouldn’t have let me sleep in so late. What about the alpha? We’ve missed the morning meeting.” She gathered up the blankets, wadded them into a ball and tried to cram them in her pack. They wouldn’t fit.
    “Slow down. Take a breath. The alpha will still be there, and you needed your sleep. There’s water by the fire if you want to clean up.” Marcus retrieved her boots and socks and handed them to her, taking the blankets in exchange. Thankfully, she’d packed synthetic sports socks, and they were dry as a bone. Cotton ones would have still been soggy. The blister on her foot stung when she slipped her boots on, but it was a dull pain, easy to ignore. 
    A small pot full of water and a washcloth waited on the flat stone she’d used as a seat. Jackson disappeared, whether to scout ahead or to shift, she had no idea. Kirra took a deep breath and relaxed her jaw. Yelling at Marcus wasn’t going to turn back the clock, and he was right, she’d needed rest to repair and recharge. Francesca liked to say that being in top shape physically and emotionally was the first step to success. A delay of a few hours wasn’t the end of the world. She hoped.
    As she scrubbed her face and hands with the cold water, bits and pieces of the night before came back in flashes. “Thanks for keeping me warm last night,” she said. “I appreciate it.”
    “Hmm?” Marcus was busy folding up the blankets—something she should have done—and didn’t seem to be paying attention.
    “I said thanks for sleeping beside me in your Wolf form last night. I remember freezing and then I was toasty warm. You project heat like a furnace.”
    He shook his head. “I’ve been on guard duty for the last few hours.”
    “Oh.” Had it been her imagination? She was sure she’d felt fur under her fingers and hot breath on her neck. If it hadn’t been Marcus, it must have been...
    No. She must have imagined it.
    ***
    “S o, what do you do when you’re not being shot at and chased through the woods?” Marcus asked out of the blue. They’d been hiking for at least two hours, the sun was high overhead, and the footpath they’d followed the day before had ended, leaving them in the midst of dense trees, detouring around boulders and clambering over deadfalls every few minutes.
    “I’m a content writer for the internet. I write articles for blogs and to generate traffic to websites,” she expanded at his blank look.
    “What do you write about?” he asked.
    “Oh, all sorts of things. Everything from the best way to store apples to how to save money buying a house.”
    His eyes had already