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This time he does grab me, snatching the back of my shirt before I can leave the room. “I can’t let you leave. Not like this. You have my word that I will not say anything. I will protect you. You are safe here. I can’t promise you will be anywhere else.”
Tears well in my eyes, because I can feel the truth to his words. He fully believes he can keep me safe. And maybe he can. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m separated from Chase, Adam, Davian, Kellan, and Evander.
“It’s not your responsibility, Slater. I just need you to let me go. Let me find the others, and let us get off this island and back to the human world.” I try to pull away from him, but he only tightens his fist to my shirt, pulling me closer until his chest rests against my back.
Leaning down, he presses his lips to my earlobe. “I’m making you my responsibility. You need an alpha. I don’t expect anything from you, but I do expect you to be reasonable. You’re a smart woman, Eliana.”
I am also stubborn. How do I know he isn’t going to suddenly turn possessive?
A knock on the door steals his attention, and I twist out of his hold and put space between us. I rush to the door and swing it open, spotting one of his packmates in the hallway.
I look past him and prepare to run for it.
“There are intruders on our land. There has also been an attack at Sunset Pointe. We couldn’t find any of the pack there.” The man’s words stop me in my tracks. What does he mean there was an attack on Sunset Pointe?
Growling, Slater exits the room, and I meet his gaze in the hallway. “Where are the intruders? How close are they to our community?”
“About a mile south,” the man responds.
Slater strides toward me and grabs my hand, tightening his fingers through mine. “You’re not giving me a choice, Eliana. I need you to stay here until I check things out. If we are in danger, I’m not going to risk you doing something stupid. Come on, get back in our room.”
My first instinct is to fight, but I know I shouldn’t. I need to think about everything. Slater is right. I’m too out of control to make any decisions right now. I need to hold tight to my human rationale instead of giving into my wolf.
Slater tugs me toward the room, and he nudges me inside.
“I will send Tristan. Please, don’t tell him anything.” Slater doesn’t give me a chance to respond.
The door shuts in my face, and I listen to a lock click in place. He’s locking me in from the outside. I thought I was done being a prisoner.
I growl, my whole body spasming, my wolf igniting in anger. I can’t do anything as my beastly form takes control. I will tear this room apart.
My wolf only wants to be free.
Chapter nine
Eliana
Numb
“Eliana?Whereareyou?You’re hurt.” Tristan’s voice swirls through my mind.
I hide in the snow right outside the cabin, my embarrassment getting the best of me. I don’t know what happened. It was as if my mind and body disconnected and I watched as a beautiful mahogany wolf destroyed Slater’s room before crashing out the window. I didn’t even know I could do such a thing, but I guess when trapped, I’ll do anything to escape.
I don’t respond to Tristan, resting my snout on my paws. Blood from the cuts on the pads of my paws pepper across the white snow. I’m not terribly injured, and my body seems to heal pretty quickly. I just don’t know how to face the world. I should be freezing, except I’m not. All I feel is numb.
Silence blankets the world like another layer of fresh snow. I close my eyes and listen to my surroundings. I manage to pinpoint Tristan’s heartbeat, the rapid thumps far more anxious than his thoughts sound. He doesn’t move, and I think he’s studying the area.
Something heavy lands on top of me, pinning me to the ground. “Got you,” he says, sandwiching me to the ground with the weight of his body. “You had me worried. Why are you hiding?”
The familiarity of him so close to me triggers my human side. I groan as I transform back into my mortal body. Ice shocks me, and I screech and jerk up, knocking Tristan off me.
He doesn’t let me get far, pouncing on me again, the heat of his body pushing the chill out of the air away. “Transform back. You’re going to freeze your ass off without any fur out here.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a guy ask me to grow hair.” I can’t stop the humor from kicking my mind in the action. I think about how warm my wolf was even in the snow, and it’s enough to get me to transform again. The more I do it the easier it seems to get. The faster too. It shouldn’t feel so natural now, but it’s starting to.
“I like you either way. Do what feels good to you.” Tristan glides his wolf tongue across my snout. “That’s what matters.”
I release a play-growl and snap my teeth at him. “I don’t understand you sometimes. Any of you guys really. You are so sweet. Caring. I don’t deserve any of it.”
