Page 29 of New Blood

She didn’t want to tell him that she’d hoped that William Gallagher would make good on his promise to give her a decent job so she could be a little bit more independent of the pack. Or that she hated being a servant, when she knew she was capable of so much more. The point was moot right now with William gone.

They’d arrived at the first of three cottages on the property. This was the one she’d lived in until three months ago.

“What happened here? It looks like it burned.” Jude walked closer to the small building.

“Gas explosion.”

“Was anybody in there when it happened?”

“I was.”

Jude whirled his head to Danielle, a shudder racing through his body. The thought that Danielle could have died in a gas explosion before he would have even had the chance to meet her made him feel sick to his stomach. His heart began to race, and his breath trembled. He ran a shaking hand through his dark hair, trying to regain his composure.

“Tell me how it happened.”

“It was in the middle of the night. I was sleeping.” She pointed to one of the rooms where the windows were blown out. “That was my bedroom. I heard something, maybe a car from the freeway or a coyote. I really don’t know. But I woke up. That’s when I smelled the gas. I ran into the living room and could hear that gas was escaping from the old fireplace. So I tried to turn it off. But I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“The key was gone. You know, one of those three- or four-inch-long iron keys that you stick in a hole in the wall to turn the gas on and off? It was gone.”

He could hear the panic in her voice now, as if she were reliving the incident.

“I ran into the kitchen, because that was the fastest way out of the cottage, and when I raced through it, I saw that one of the gas burners on the stove was lit. I hadn’t even cooked that night, because I’d eaten at the main house. I have no idea why it was lit.” She shook her head. “It was only a matter of time until the gas would reach the kitchen and ignite…”

She took a breath. “I didn’t have time to turn off the flame. I just ran. The door was sticky, you know the way it gets when the wood expands when it’s damp outside? I nearly couldn’t get the door open. Just when I did, the gas ignited, and I was thrown clear of the building. If I hadn’t woken up when I did…”

He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to pull her to him to comfort her, but she pushed him back.

“No! You said you wouldn’t touch me.” Her eyes widened as if she was scared of him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…” He retreated, then cursed, “Fuck! I know what I promised you. But to think that you could have died in that explosion… It does something to me… I want to keep you safe…”

She shook her head. “You can’t touch me.”

“Even though we both know what we are to each other? You feel it too, don’t you? We’re drawn to each other.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Please be honest with me. You feel it, too.”

He stared into her ice-blue eyes, pinning her, forcing her to give him an answer. And not just any answer, but the answer he wanted to hear.

“It doesn’t matter what I feel,” she insisted. “Because I can’t act on it. I won’t repeat my mother’s mistake. She got pregnant by the man she thought would be hers. And look where it got her. She ended up alone. I’m not doing that. I’m not repeating history.”

He noticed her hands balling into fists, her jaw tight, her chest heaving. She was agitated, but there was something else: she was trying to push down her feelings, force her inner wolf to remain quiet and not admit what they both knew.

“Danielle, I felt it when we kissed. I felt you.”

“I never should have allowed you to kiss me. I should have stopped it right there and then.”

“Please don’t deny it: We’re meant to be together.”

“You’re not a free man! You said so yourself! You announced it last night: you’re going to mate with Eve. It’s your duty.”

He knew what he’d said the previous night. He didn’t need a reminder because right now, he wished he could go back in time and undo it.

“But if I were free, would you want me?”