Punished by the Alpha Book 3

Artemis

It’s late when I head out of my old cabin, the door creaking loudly as it swings shut behind me.

For years I begged my dad for this ancient wooden shack, but he always said it was too far out in the woods. Too far away from the pack.

I finally got him to give in last year for my twenty-third birthday, and I’ve lived out here ever since. I love being out here alone where my mind can be at rest and my soul can be at peace.

Out here, solitude is my fortress.

I step off my wooden porch naked as the day I was born. My bare feet touch the warm, damp ground, and I dig my toes into the soil, feeling the calming vibrations of mother earth.

Closing my eyes, I ground myself and let my wolf come to the front of my mind.

The wild naturally calls to her, and she wastes no time taking over. The change causes my senses to heighten, dull colors turning into bright, vivid hues.

My eyes catch every slight movement around me, and I inhale a deep breath.

The scent of an incoming storm fills my snout, and my wolf sighs contentedly. We have always loved the rain and the way the sky darkens like it’s angry.

It has always been a soothing balm to my soul.

Soon, I shake my fur out and take off at a slow trot through the brush and foliage.

Leaves crunch beneath my paws as I see what all scents I can catch, and unsurprisingly, nothing out of the ordinary happens.

After an hour of watching some squirrels fight over some acorns, it thunders overhead, and that’s the only warning I get before the sky falls in.

Sitting back on my haunches, I lift my head toward the sky and let the rain soak my midnight fur. The heavy drops fall all around me, creating puddles on the soft ground at my paws.

Then, a strong gust of wind blows around me, carrying with it a strange, intoxicating scent. Lifting my snout to the air, I inhale deeply, the distinctive smell causing a shudder to run down my spine.

Whatever it is, it has me moving through the dense trees and underbrush with a deep sense of urgency.

I follow my nose all the way to the edge of the pack’s territory. I’m about a mile behind my cabin when I stop dead in my tracks.

A massive onyx-colored wolf lies about twenty feet in front of me, and he doesn’t smell like death, but he sure does look like it.

I take a few steps toward him cautiously, my wolf whimpering when I see the deep gashes covering most of his enormous body.

Most of his wounds that I can see are fresh, and he looks as if he hasn’t eaten in months.

Against my better judgment, an overwhelming force causes me to draw even closer to him.

When I close the distance between us, I lower my head and breathe him in with long deep pulls.

His masculine scent curls through me, touching and setting fire to every nerve and cell in my body.

My emotions run wild as the flames engulf me. I swear it feels as if his soul is calling out to mine, pleading with me for something I can’t grasp.

It takes me longer than I expect to figure out what is happening to me, but once I do, my heart hammers violently in my chest.

This wolf is my mate.

My pulse thunders in my ears as my wolf leans down and begins lapping at his broken flesh.

I watch in fascination as each wound slowly begins to close until they are nothing more than light pink scars.

Goddess, how is this even possible?

My mind reels as I try to think of an explanation. I have read stories about mates possessing healing abilities, but those were just fairytales. If they were true, I would have seen it before.

As my wolf continues her ministrations, my brain struggles to come to terms with what is happening.

Where did this wolf even come from? How did he end up here?

Most of all, what am I going to do with him?

On one hand, I could take him back to my cabin, keep him there until he wakes up, and go from there, but he is massive despite the malnourishment.

He could be dangerous for all I know, and I doubt I could take him if he attacked me.

Letting my father handle this would be the smart thing to do, but is it the right thing to do?

With my pack’s history, he wouldn’t like the fact a rogue wolf is lurking around the pack’s territory. Mate or not.

There’s a good chance my dad would force him to leave.

A fierce sense of protection envelops me at the thought. Whatever this poor guy has been through, my heart aches for him, and it’s enough to make my mind up.

I spend the next few minutes arguing with my wolf, trying to convince her to let me shift back to my skin.

She eventually relents when I promise I won’t tell our dad about him just yet. Not until I can find out more about him myself.

For the next hour, I wrestle with his enormous body as I drag him through the dense brush. Rain steadily pelts down around us, and it only makes it that much harder.

An hour later, I finally make it back home, and I pull him inside before falling back on my couch.

My chest heaves with the exertion, but I finally recollect myself enough to grab a few towels from the linen closet. After drying us both, I mindlink Jackson.

“What is it, A?” he asks, and even through the link, I hear the grumble in his voice.

“I need you to finish my shift tonight. Something came up.”

The link is silent for a moment before I hear him sigh. “Fine, but you owe me. See you tomorrow.”

Thankful he didn’t ask any questions, I exhale a shaky breath as I turn to the onyx wolf lying on my floor.

I don’t know whether this guy was tortured, abused, or both, but my heart constricts just looking at him. Even though most of his wounds are healed now, he still looks so pitiful.

Nobody deserves whatever this wolf has been through, and if I find out who did it, I will make sure justice is served.

Reaching up, I wipe my cheek as I feel something wet slide down it. Those damn emotions swirl through me again, making me dizzy, so I sit down on the floor beside him.

“What happened to you?” I whisper as I reach out and run my fingers through his fur.

My lips part as he starts purring deep in his chest, the soft vibrations starting in my fingertips until they expand throughout the rest of my body.

I don’t want to admit the amount of comfort it gives me just to touch him. It’s the oddest feeling, but it comes as naturally as breathing.

As I lay back on the floor next to him, I feel my eyes droop, and eventually, the chaos of the night gives way to even more chaotic dreams.