Read Online The Touch of Her Hands [The Wind River Pack 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Missy Martine - Free Book Online Page B

station, small restaurant, and what looked to be a bus station that consisted of one bench.
    Aurelia traced the pattern on the tablecloth with her finger. “Once we get the car it should be clear sailing. Tell me more about this mating. Is there a ceremony that binds us together?”
    “It’s kind of like a ceremony.” He rubbed his fingers over the skin where her neck met her shoulders. “I’ll bite you here, and it’ll leave a scar that tells other shifters that you’re spoken for.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “Will it hurt?”
    “Maybe a little, at first, but I’ll bite you while we’re making love, and I’m told it enhances the pleasure. I’ve never bitten anyone, so I don’t know for sure.”
    She worried her lip with her teeth and studied the checkered pattern even closer. “Will your bite turn me into one of you, like in the movies?”
    Zack took her chin with his fingers and raised her face so he could gaze into her eyes. “No, you can’t be turned into a shifter. You have to have some of the DNA already in your system, like from an ancestor, before anything like that could happen.”
    “What will your family think about you wanting to mate someone with freakish abilities like me?”
    Before he could answer her, the sound of automatic gunfire sounded from behind the building. Zack grabbed Aurelia’s arm and pulled her to the floor. Angry shouts from outside told him that whoever was shooting was probably still there. Then, several shots hit the front of the building, sailing through the flimsy wood with no effort at all. A wild shot hit the wall above their heads, showering them with pieces of plaster. Then, Rosa fell, a red blanket spreading over her right shoulder.
     
    * * * *
     
    Aurelia gasped when Rosa fell to the ground. Squirming out of Zack’s hold, she made her way to the fallen woman and touched her back. Rosa was lying in a fetal position, surrounded by an increasing puddle of blood. The pounding of her own heart seemed to shake her body as she searched for the woman’s pulse. When she found a steady beat, she grabbed a napkin from the nearest table and wiped the blood away from the wound. The blood had soaked through her shirt, dripped down her arm, and covered her fingers. There was an entrance and an exit wound, so the bullet had gone all the way through. With no other problems, she could still save Rosa.
    Zack grabbed Aurelia’s arm. “We have to get out of here.”
    She shook off his hand. “Not until I heal her.” She scooted until she was no longer touching Zack and placed both of her hands over the bloody wound on Rosa’s shoulder. “Don’t touch me until I let go of Rosa first,” she told Zack. Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes and concentrated on Rosa’s pain.
     
    * * * *
     
    Zack cursed under his breath and watched as Aurelia went into a type of trance. Her fingers twitched and then began to softly glow orange. As he watched, Aurelia swayed back and forth, making it hard for him to obey her wishes to not be touched. He kept his gun handy, listening to the shouting from outside. When the sounds quieted, he tensed, keeping an eye on the door while keeping watch over his mate. His coyote was scratching at his insides, wanting out to protect their mate.
    After a few minutes, he noticed the blood flow from the wound was slowing down dramatically. He looked closer and was amazed to see the skin begin to knit itself back together. He’d never seen anything like it. The closest he’d ever known was the ability of his people to heal after a shift. And that wasn’t always successful. It depended on the severity of the injury. When Rosa began to groan, he looked over in time to see Aurelia move back and nearly fall on her face. Zack put his arm around her and pulled her close.
    She smiled, the dark purple circles under her eyes standing out against her pale skin. “She’ll be okay, now,” Aurelia whispered.
    “Can you stand? We need to get out of