“Only you would find a man tangled in a rope trap a threat.”Macy’s voice dripped with contempt as she looked back at Griffin.
A few in the crowd chuckled, the sound rippling through the tense air.Griffin’s face flushed red, his jaw tightening as he shifted the club back onto his shoulder.
“You think this is funny?”he snapped, bellowing at the onlookers.Then he leaned forward, his face inches from hers, and hissed, “Last chance, Macy.Move, or I’ll move you.”He lifted the club as if he was going to swing it toward her.
The crowd gasped, but Macy didn’t flinch.Her chin lifted, defiance burning bright in her eyes.“Do it!”Macy dared him, sick of his twisted games he played with others.Not many people liked him, except for a few of his followers.
“I warned you,” Griffin said with a sneer, his threat clear in his voice.
And that was when it happened.
The ropes gave way with a sharp crack, the fibers snapping like gunfire.Gasps and shouts erupted as the man shifted in an instant, then surged forward, free from the ropes.His body trembled with raw power, golden eyes blazing, but instead of lunging at the crowd or escaping, he moved in one swift, furious motion, planting himself between Griffin and Macy.
The club Griffin had raised faltered midair, his bravado draining under the lethal snarl that shook the ground itself.The Werewolf’s massive frame loomed over Griffin, muscles coiled and ready, his voice a guttural threat that silenced the clearing.
Macy’s breath caught.He was protecting her.
The way his body shielded hers made her pulse race in ways she didn’t dare name.Holy shit, a full-blooded Werewolf stood in front of her, protecting her.He grabbed the club from Griffin, throwing it into the woods.The crowd that had gathered scattered, some screaming for their lives.
The Werewolf took a step toward Griffin and roared into his face, sending him sprawling on his ass before he scrambled to his feet and took off, leaving Macy alone with a creature who many thought, her included, had been wiped from the face of the earth.
The clearing had gone deathly silent.
Macy’s breath caught as the Werewolf turned toward her.He was massive, with his fur bristling and his golden eyes burning with wild intensity.He was a nightmare pulled straight from the stories told around firelight, and yet, standing here, she couldn’t look away.
For one suspended moment, they faced each other.His chest heaved, each breath a growl in itself as the raw power of him vibrated through the ground.She should’ve run.Every instinct screamed at her to get as far away as possible.But she didn’t.She held his gaze with her heart racing in her throat.
His snarl faded into something else, his head tilting just slightly as though he were… studying her.But not as prey, nor a threat, but something else.
Macy’s pulse thundered as she realized, without knowing the reasoning, that she had to help him.“We need to get out of here,” she whispered, her voice rough with urgency.
Without thinking, she moved closer and reached out.Her fingers brushed against his thick, coarse fur that was hot and damp from his struggles.The contact jolted through her like fire, but she didn’t pull back.Instead, she gripped tighter, her hand buried against the solid strength of him.
“Do you hear me?”she urged, her voice low and desperate.“They are going to come back, and this time they will kill you.We have to go...now!”
The Werewolf’s golden eyes flared as they locked on hers.A low rumble rolled through his chest, deep enough to vibrate her bones.For a breathless heartbeat, she didn’t know if he’d snap and kill her on the spot and eat her or follow.
“I swear you better not eat me,” Macy mumbled as she stared at him, not sure what he was going to do and wondering if she had lost her damn mind.There was no wondering to it.She had most definitely lost her damn mind.
With a sharp, deliberate exhale, he stepped toward her, towering and protective, his massive frame shadowing hers.“Go,” The word was a garbled growl.
Macy took off at a run, heading toward the car.Glancing over her shoulder, she checked to make sure he was following.He was, and at that moment, Macy didn’t know if she was relieved or scared to death.
CHAPTER2
Macy yanked open the back door of her car and pointed.“Get in the backseat and lie across it.”
Golden eyes burned into hers, wild and unblinking, like he was deciding whether to trust her or not.A harsh caw of a Crow cut through the trees.
“Not only is your ass on the line, but my ass is also right there with yours.”Macy hissed, her eyes narrowing.“Now move, dammit.”
With a guttural exhale, he folded himself into the backseat, the frame of the car groaning under his weight.
Once he was in, Macy slammed the door and then ran around, diving into the driver’s seat.Glancing in the mirror, she frowned.“Duck down, dammit.”She started the engine, breathing a sigh of relief when it roared to life.“You’re in the backseat for a reason.A Werewolf riding shotgun will most definitely get us noticed.”
The low rumble from the back wasn’t a growl this time.It was a chuckle.A deep, dangerous one that sent a surge of attraction through her veins.Her grip on the wheel tightened.What the hell?Not happening,she warned herself.Absolutely not happening.
Gravel spat out behind them as she floored it down the dirt road, headlights cutting through the dark.Wings beat overhead as sharp, black shadows crossed the beam of the headlights.The Crows circled, crying out like sirens as they summoned the others.
