“I know you’re in shock and I realize you must be very frightened, but I swear, you’re safe now. I’m Anton.” He paused, regretting giving her his name but it had just slipped out. “I’m afraid that branch is going to snap and you’ll fall to your death if it does. Please come down.”

“I’m not stupid. You’re trying to trick me.”

He didn’t blame her for her fear or suspicion. She had to be traumatized as hell. Not only had she been attacked and hunted but learning werewolves really existed after watching them change forms had to be messing up her human mind. He took a slow breath and blew it out. It didn’t help his case that he stood there completely naked. She probably feared him because he not only had turned into a wolf but he might also be some major pervert who’d attack her.

“I don’t think you’re stupid. They were really wrong to attack you. I sent them away but that doesn’t mean more of them aren’t out running in the woods. If I left and you tried to walk out on your own, to be honest, there’s a real possibility that you’d run into more of them. You don’t know me but you saw me chase them off. You watched me strike one of them when I realized what they’d done to you. I give you my word, I won’t harm you or allow anyone else to.”

“You could be a big, fat liar.”

“I could be.” He hid a smile, amused again. She had a nice voice and while he studied her, that wasn’t the only thing he could appreciate. Most of her face remained hidden by a curtain of hair, but from what he could see, she appeared pretty. “You’re right. Let me put it this way. How long do you think you could survive up in that tree? It’ll grow dark soon and the temperatures will drop drastically. Do you really want to spend a cold, miserable night up there? I doubt you want to climb down and stumble around in the dark once I leave. You also can’t stay up there indefinitely. It would only be a matter of time before you either have to climb down or they climb up after you if more of them are in the woods. At this moment you’ve got no chance of survival but I’m offering you safety and protection.”

She seemed to mull over his words. Anton watched her pull her lower lip into her mouth and then the pouty fuller lip returned after she either bit it or sucked on it. He wished he could see more of her features but her messy hair hid parts of it.

“Okay, but I want you to swear on your life that you won’t hurt me or allow them to.”

“I give you my word of honor and that means everything to me,” he stated honestly, relaxing. The faster he got her back to her world, the quicker he could get on with his day—after he kicked some pup ass. “I’ll protect you with my life.”

She moved and Anton received another surprise. She’d been balled up, wrapped tightly around the thin branch, in a fetal position. As she lowered her legs and stretched downward toward a branch, he saw a glimpse of her shape. She didn’t appear very big but what he could see had definite appeal to him as a man. Werewolf women tended to be tall but on the lean side. The woman had a lush body with soft curves.

“What’s your name?”

She paused on her downward climb to twist her head and peer at him. “Shannon.”

He didn’t comment or blame her for not sharing her last name. Neither had he. If she reported the attack to the police he didn’t want them to have too much information. The last thing he needed would be bullshit questions from some overworked cop who wouldn’t see the humor in checking out a woman’s crazy tale of a werewolf attack. He pulled away from his musings to watch her climb lower.

Anger returned when he saw blood smeared on her bare feet and he stopped breathing through his nose. The scent of her bleeding so soon after he’d shifted could affect him. The last thing the woman needed would be to see his eyes darken or hear his voice thicken into growls. He pulled air in through his mouth and hoped the scent wouldn’t be strong enough to taste. The cologne he always splashed on before pack meetings would help mask it. He’d made a habit of wearing the stuff to keep some details of his personal life private. Wolves could smell way too much but artificial fragrances could confuse their noses. He moved under her, ready to assist as she climbed down the tree.

“That’s it,” he encouraged. “Don’t fall, Shannon. I’m going to reach up and help you down, okay? Don’t be alarmed because I’m not wearing clothes. I swear I won’t hurt you.”

She paused again to shoot him a frightened look. He could make out more of her features and his gut tightened. She had big, beautiful blue eyes framed with dark eyelashes, and they were shaped in a way that stole his breath away. Not even the purplish bruise could distract from her attractiveness. He hesitated and then lifted his arms to assist her to the ground.

“It’s okay, Shannon.” He kept his tone soft, attempting to lure her closer to safety. “I keep my word. No one is going to hurt you.”

Anton could tell she wasn’t certain if he could be trusted but she still lowered down the last eight feet that separated them until he gently gripped her waist. His hands wrapped around soft h*ps and he tried not to notice her full, rounded ass displayed in the pair of thin cotton capri pants too close to his face. He really didn’t want to become aroused. She’d scream if he allowed his body to show his sexual interest.

He lifted her easily, placing her carefully on the ground. She turned, faced him, and kept her gaze fused with his. She didn’t glance down at his body but instead gave him a fearful look that made him wonder if she’d attempt to climb the tree again. Her back pressed tightly against the bark. He could see her terror as clearly as the cute, tiny freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose. Her much shorter height—a few inches above five feet—made him question her age. She looked mature, late twenties maybe, but then again, teens seemed to appear much older than their years, in his opinion.

“See? I’m not going to hurt you.” He tried to sound harmless, the irony of that not lost on him since he had to be the most dangerous thing within miles of the small female. “I’m the good guy,” he lied. No one would ever call Anton Harris that title without it being the punch line of a sarcastic joke. He had become one of the most feared members of his pack. “Where did you come from? I’ll take you back there.”

Fear gripped Shannon in such a tight fist that it made breathing difficult. She knew she couldn’t hide it from him. A big, vicious werewolf in his human shape of solid muscle and strength stood just feet from her. He had to be at least six-foot-four. She regretted climbing out of the tree. Her instincts screamed at her to flee but her legs refused to move. They suddenly were rooted to the ground—heavy and paralyzed.

“Hey,” he whispered, his deep voice turning husky. “Calm down, Shannon. It’s going to be fine.”

Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She wondered if this gripping terror came from the part of her she’d thought she’d gotten a handle on years before. Memories of her childhood surfaced—of those gut reactions she sometimes experienced and of that other part of her that she chalked up to her father’s diluted but rare bloodline.

In the third grade a bully had pushed her. She’d hissed at him and clawed his arm, never meaning to, but it just happened. In fifth grade, she’d found herself up a tree when a dog had run at her. She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten up there or even making a decision to do it, but somehow she’d discovered her ability to climb pretty much anything if fear motivated her. Her teen years had been a nightmare when the urge to eat raw meat had struck with puberty. She’d feared, along with her mother, that it meant more than it had. She’d never changed, never done any of the things her father could, and it had eventually passed.

“Where do you live? Let’s start there.”

His voice drew her from her childhood confusion and she stared into the darkest eyes she’d ever seen. They were framed with thick, long eyelashes that matched his jet-black hair. He didn’t look at her in a way that justified her fear but it still remained in full force. She knew she had to find her voice to answer him.

“Anderson,” she got out. “I live there.”

His full lips curved downward. “That’s a distance from here. What were you doing taking a stroll in the woods?”

“I wasn’t.” Talking became easier. “I was taken from the grocery store parking lot two blocks from my apartment. That blond you hit and another guy walked up to me. The blond’s friend punched me in the face and I woke here.”

He closed his eyes and the anger that tensed his features made Shannon push tighter against the massive tree at her back, wishing she could climb back up it, even inside it, to hide from the large wolf in skin. He softly growled before his eyes snapped open again.

“I’ll make them pay for this, okay? The important part is, I found you in time.” He paused. “If you tell anyone about this they won’t believe it. Are you aware of that? I don’t want them locking you up in some loony bin. You’ve been through enough without that shit. I’ll get you home and you need to forget this ever happened, okay?”

She nodded, acknowledging the intelligence of his advice. The cops would put her into a straitjacket if she told them the truth. Worse, it would draw attention to her, a really bad thing and something she’d always feared.

He visibly relaxed. “Good. If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to beat the hell out of those boys for kidnapping you. They won’t move for weeks without regretting ever putting a finger on you.”

Shannon saw sincerity as he spoke and some of her fear eased. His anger wasn’t directed at her but at the ones who’d attacked her. She could happily deal with that. All she wanted now was to get away from him and go home. She silently promised to move out of her apartment as soon as possible. If they’d found her, someone else could too. She loved her home but she preferred remaining alive a lot more.

They both tensed when a twig snapped nearby and their heads jerked in unison toward the direction of the sharp sound. Shannon tried to spin around and lunge up the tree when a wolf came into view. Terror overtook everything else but a big, strong hand grabbed her arm to keep her tethered. She started to shake as the wolf growled viciously and his body lowered into a crouching position, preparing to pounce on her.

Shannon clawed at the hand holding her still, a scream trapped inside her throat, but Anton wouldn’t let go. She heard him snarl at the wolf, maybe even at her, but she wasn’t sure where he directed his anger. She was too panic-stricken to do anything but try to flee.

“Enough,” Anton roared. “Jerry, back off. You’re terrifying her!”

She couldn’t break free of the hold on her arm and she couldn’t get up the tree. She needed to climb, needed to get higher, out of the wolf’s reach, and her instincts screamed in a painful blast of strong awareness. She spun, faced Anton, and before she could stop herself, grabbed him. Her hand gripped his shoulder and she jumped, her body hit his much larger one. To her horror she wrapped around him, clinging to his body with every ounce of strength she had. Her legs squeezed around his waist and her face buried into his neck.

Shock held Anton immobile as the woman trembled against his chest. Her arm wound tighter around his neck, nearly strangling him, her legs locked around his waist, her knees under his arms, and her heels dug into the muscles of his ass. Her breathing tickled as she panted against his neck. He had to move his head to see Jerry since her long, tangled red hair partially covered his face and then he glared at his pack mate.

He released her upper arm after a slight hesitation to wrap both of his around her waist, hugging her. She trembled more when her other arm wrapped around his neck and a protective feeling spurred his anger to burn brighter at the wolf sitting in the clearing staring at him with a dazed, confused look.