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He turns, forcing Ruby to walk away by herding her with his massive form. I try to touch her mind, but she’s closed to me. Protecting both of us by not revealing our bond. I groan, crawling feebly towards her in the snow, but when she looks back and shakes her head I know she’s right. If he sees me coming after her again, none of his fanciful talk of sparing my life will matter. He’ll rip my throat out without a second thought.
I ruined Ruby these last few days, whoever Cole pairs with her will know instantly that she’s not the perfect princess she claimed to be. She’s been marked, her innocence taken by the enemy, and no other male will want her now. If they do… I bare my teeth, growling low in my throat.
“I’ll kill anyone he pairs you with, you are mine!”I declare to her and only her.
But she doesn’t hear me.
* * *
The way home is treacherous, my body is torn and weak and the parts of me that would have normally healed by now are fighting to perform due to loss of blood. It’s nighttime before I find the road again, before I see the lights of the town below. I pull myself up, dizzy, thick blood oozing, and howl as loud as I can into the night sky.
It’s the last of the strength I have, and I collapse in the snow on the hill. I look up at the stars, so bright here in the forests, and think of Ruby. By now she’ll be home, back in comfort and luxury. Did she mean what she said in the cave, or will she forget me?
I lied to her, I’ll admit it, she’s the best anyone could have ever had. Something inside me told me to annoy her, get under her skin, but she’s akin to the moon in my life now, my goddess, and I pray I survive long enough to tell her that no one could ever be better than her. No one will ever be good enough after tasting her on my lips.
The night explodes with howls, dozens of them, both far and close. The earth trembles as paws claw at the ground and run as fast as they can all in my direction. My pack was out looking for me, tracking me down as I would do for them. Sniper finds me first, his long legs carrying him faster than anyone else. He looks down at me with golden eyes, prancing as he steps carefully around and calls for the others.
Soon I’m surrounded by a mass of fur and howls, each pack member taking a stance around me to protect me from anything unseen. I hear someone shift and gasp, and red hair floods my vision as Rachel hovers over me.
“What did you get yourself into, Chase?” she scolds me, hands hovering over my fur as she takes a mental note of all my injuries. She laughs and pokes my nose. “Didn’t your mother tell you not to play with bears?”
I don’t have the strength to retort, and she frowns as Ryder steps up behind her. His wolf is bigger than Cole’s, and that fills me with pride. He towers over Rachel even in her human form, his head almost as big as her torso, and sniffs my wounds.
“I smell the Silver Dawn on you,”he growls, and the whole pack freezes, everyone snarling and baring their teeth. The energy switches from concern to the thrill of incoming battle.
“I…trapped in the woods…survived… Ruby, she was getting attacked by a bear…right thing to do…” I gasp, fading in and out of consciousness.
The last thing I see is Rachel and Ryder exchange glances as Rachel tells him the bite marks on my scruff belong to Cole Richardson. She would know what his teeth look like, wouldn’t she? Bitterness clouds my vision and everything fades to black.
* * *
“Dude, dude! Tell us again how you thought you could take on a bear with a broken arm?” someone behind me yells and the whole bar begins to chant “Tell us! Tell us!”
I laugh and run my free hand through my hair while Rachel looks at my arm. The bar is packed to the teeth, the old wooden siding can almost be heard cracking and bowing, it seems that full. The whole pack is here, in the orange dim lights, and the neon beer sign in the window flashes on and off and paints Rachel’s face in red.
“Haven't you all heard enough? Let me heal him! Shoo!” Rachel snaps, waving them away, but no one leaves.
I don’t remember leaving the woods, but Ryder said there was a pack mate with a truck not far away. Rachel eased me through the transformation as she rode in the back with me, her eyes are still dark now as she seems to be remembering the horror. Ryder told me she didn’t think I’d survive it, but here I am.
Rachel’s healing touch is legendary. She puts her hands on someone and fever will fade and wounds close, leaving nothing but a scar. Her chanting under her breath in Latin always chills me to the bone. I’m glad I was unconscious.
“This is awful!” Rachel mutters as she strokes my arm, waving for the pack to shut up. “Bob! We’re gonna need the good stuff!” she shouts over the din and exchanges worried glances with Ryder, whose hands are on my shoulder from behind my chair.
I can see on her face what she’s thinking, and I try to get up and run. Ryder pushes me back down, digging his fingers into the newly healed scars from the bear claws and making me grunt in pain. He bends down, his head next to mine, and talks through clenched teeth.
“Sit, stay.” he growls. I look at him, and his ocean blue eyes wink at me. In his human form, he isn’t the biggest of us, but he’s the strongest. He flips his long black hair to the side and looks at me from under his severe brows. “You will do as the healer orders, or I’ll make you wish you did,” he threatens, his smile making his hard words seem softer.
I look over at Rachel in horror and she rolls her eyes.
Rachel is Ryder’s twin, and she looks like him so much it’s impossible not to tell. Both of them are the epitome of beauty; tall and lean, perfect strong bodies. Both of them are covered head to toe in tattoos and piercings, but while Ryder’s dark and brooding, Rachel is a ray of sunshine, and her bright red hair screams that. As loving and happy as she is, she’s not one to fuck with, and never—ever—tell her no.
Bob pushes through the crowd, yelling and shoving. “God damn mutts, give the kid some space! Can barely breath in here! If you break my table, Sniper, so help me God I’ll break your ass!” Bob slams a bottle of his best whiskey on the table and turns to talk to me, but the crashing sound of shattering glass takes his attention. “Cookie! Cleanup on aisle three!” he shouts, and I see the tiny body of Cookie dash out from behind the counter with a broom and dustpan.
She smiles over at Ryder, her pixie haircut bobbing, and Ryder grunts and looks away. I look at him from the corner of my eye and raise my eyebrow and glares at me. He opens the whiskey and jerks my head back, pouring it down my throat, successfully drowning the sarcastic remark I was about to make about how Ryder wanted a bite of that Cookie.
“When he’s good and drunk, Ryder, break it,” Rachel says and I sputter. She’s got an iron grip on my arm and Ryder smirks, he’s going to enjoy this too much.
“My friend, everyone must be punished for trespassing and ignoring orders,” he laughs, pointing out the nick in my ear. “I don’t want to maim you, but it’s better than the beating I had planned.”
