Free The Wolf's Call (Two-Natured London) by Susanna Shore Page A

security.”
    “Good.”
Before she realised what he was about, he had taken the phone from her.
    “Rafe
here. Send a couple of trackers to the Hyde Park, northern shore of the
Serpentine, near where the Ring meets the Serpentine road. Three outsiders.” He
listened to the other end, grunting in response, before ending the call and
handing the phone back to her.
    She
had to admit that he had handled the call much more efficiently than she would
have, but she still felt miffed that he had just taken over. At least he let go
of her arm and allowed her to walk on her own, but he kept taking long,
powerful strides, forcing her almost to run to keep up.
    Charly
couldn’t understand why Rafe was so angry with her for not following his
orders. Surely he had got her measure better than that by now. He had been so
wonderful before the attack, wrapping his arm companionably around her waist,
making her think that he might be after more than just sex. Being treated like
a witless female after she had begun to warm up to his other qualities seemed
almost cruel.
    Her
bad mood lasted until they were back in Jack’s flat, where Rafe peeled off his
leather jacket, revealing a large dark stain on the side of the long-sleeved
t-shirt he was wearing underneath. Her heart skipped a beat in worry, her anger
forgotten. “Oh, my God! You’re hurt.” The wound looked bad.
    Rafe
glanced down, as if only now noticing it. “Oh, that. It’s nothing. It’s just a
scratch.”
    “A
scratch? A scratch doesn’t bleed that much.” Her voice sounded shrill, but she
couldn’t help it. The fight had been brutal, but until now she hadn’t thought
it could have been fatal.
    The
realisation that Rafe could actually have died put the fight into a different
light. A brawl wasn’t something that normally impressed her, but he had been
amazing. The three guys hadn’t hesitated playing the odds, attacking all at the
same time, but Rafe had dealt with them with ruthless skill. Nonetheless, she
had been really frightened for him and so, instead of fleeing, she had stayed
to see that he came to no harm. When she had noticed the last man lunge at
Rafe, she hadn’t thought about her own safety but had just run in and doused
the bastard with pepper spray.
    Her
legs began to shake when it dawned on her that she might have been hurt too,
but she gritted her teeth and forced her body to quiet. It was no use expecting
sympathy from him. He had kissed her senseless and had then treated her like an
idiot female again, ordering her about. Well, two could play that game. “Take
off your shirt.”
    A slow
smile spread on his face that made her insides melt with the promise it held,
but she hardened herself. “Gladly,” he drawled. He grabbed the tail of his grey
shirt with both hands and pulled it over his head, revealing a tight abdomen
and muscled chest dusted with light hair, just like she had hoped. Distracted
by the sight, it took her a moment to check his wounds.
    She
blinked in surprise. He was right. There wasn’t a gaping hole in his side from
which he would have been bleeding to death. Come to think of it, there weren’t
any signs of the other hits she had seen him take either – no black eye or a
split lip in sight. Even though it was evident that he had bled profusely at
some point, his side displayed only four red puncture marks that had already
closed.
    As she
stared at the wounds that on anyone else would have needed emergency surgery,
one thing became clear. “So you are a wolf-shifter.” He could have been any
shifter, really, with such rapid healing, but she knew he was the wolf she had
seen.
    He
didn’t deny it this time. “Yeah. Does it bother you?” he asked gruffly.
    She
lifted her gaze from the wounds to his face. There was an oddly vulnerable look
in his eyes and her heart reached out to him. She wanted to assure him that she
still liked him, although until now she hadn’t even realised she actually did.
That she wanted him was