AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And when I’m ready to leave, I’ll disappear. It’s none of your fucking business what happens to me.”
My wolf growled. Like hell it wasn’t my business. I’d made her my business. I wanted everything about her to be my business.
I just couldn’t understand why.
Chapter5
Tori
Working furiously to control my mind and emotions, I glared at the man—no, the half-beast—before me. I couldn’t believe this cute little town was unknowingly led by a monster like him. No doubt he was murderous. All shifters were.
I’d know. I’d almost become a murderer myself. It took everything in me to control the monster.
Anger bubbled inside me. How the hell did I end up sleeping with one of them? How could I not have known? It didn’t help at all that the man was sexy, that he was shameless about his nakedness. Or that my body still throbbed for more.
Then he’d insulted me by throwing his money around, trying to get me to stay. What the fuck was up with that? Was it a ploy to keep me in town so he could tell the hunters where I was? I wouldn’t be surprised. I’d been sold out for far less, and by people with more meaningful bonds to me.
Feeling a desperate urge to escape, I couldn’t get away fast enough. I started for my bag when Ridge blocked my path. His hands stayed up in the air, but he wasn’t letting me leave the corner of his room. My beast stomped around inside my head, and I couldn’t help the pulsing heat of anger rolling through me.
One more step, and he blocked me again, but some energy force pushed me back. I shrank down and cowered against the wall, my primal instinct flashing hot in my head. Not only was this another shifter, but he was also an alpha. An alpha I’d angered somehow.
“You, little wolf, are absolutely my business.” A guttural tone laced his voice. “When a frightened, defenseless wolf who’s clearly in trouble ends up in my town—the very town I’ve worked endlessly to make a safe haven for shifters—they become my business.”
He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes never leaving mine. “It’s not natural for a wolf shifter to be alone. It’ll only end with you getting hurt, slaughtered by hunters, or placed in a fucking insane asylum.”
He stood taller. It seemed like an immense power entered the room as he kept talking. I cowered more, even though I fought my beast not to submit. Sweat broke out on my brow. I. Would. Not. Submit.
“You’re going to stick around Blackwood Creek until you get a grip on yourself. At this point, you’re not only a danger to yourself but to every person you come into contact with. Do you want their blood on your hands?”
Shame slammed into my chest. An innocent being hurt because of this monster inside me? That was my biggest fear.
“You need to get control of your wolf. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I can tell it’s been a lot, so it’s even more imperative that you get a sense of normalcy, even if it’s temporary. Both of you deserve a safe place to relax and breathe without dreading that everything coming around the corner is coming at you. Being here will help settle you down and hopefully calm your wolf.”
The weight of power in the room slowly ebbed, and I didn’t feel such a strong urge to submit. I hated that what he’d said was effective, that it held such a ring of truth. Mostly, I hated that his sheer alphaness was a major turn-on. My core ached to rehash the night before.
I still couldn’t comprehend how I’d slept with another shifter without realizing what he was. Weren’t shifters supposed to sense each other? He obviously knew who I was,whatI was. Determination fueled me as I vowed that nothing would ever happen between us ever again. I’d never fuck a shifter ever again.
Shifters were monstrous beasts, and no good ever came from any of them. I’d know. My family has hunted them for generations, and one killed my mother. By killing her, that shifter had taken everything from me.
I still didn’t know how I became a shifter. Perhaps because of some horrible curse, or a far more terrible thing—such as my mom becoming pregnant at the hands of a shifter, either willingly or by force. It didn’t matter, though. No matter how incredibly handsome or talented he was with his cock, an alpha stood in front of me, and I didn’t like that one fucking bit.
I refused to act like one of them, refused to let the monster inside come out. I certainly wouldn’t be with one of them again, much less ever make a life or family with one.
I turned my head so I wasn’t gazing at the hot specimen before me; it’d cost me if he caught on to my arousal. I snapped back at him instead. “Fine, Old Yeller, I’ll stay in Blackwood Creek for a week or so as long as you stay the hell away from me. You better make sure that no other shifters in this town start coming around me and trying to sniff my butt, either.”
A smile slowly began to lift the corners of his lips, but he caught it in time and set his face back to neutral, calming his stance.
“And if you have half a dog’s brain, you’ll forget you ever saw me here, and you’ll go on with your life as the self-imposed do-gooder of this town without breathing a word about my existence to anybody who might ask,” I said. “Got it, Lassie?”
Spoiling for a fight so I could save face and back out of this ridiculous agreement, I waited for the alpha mayor to be insulted. But relief relaxed his body.
“You mean that? You’ll stay?” he asked.
Hesitating for a second, I finally nodded. “Yes, I’ll stay, but just for a week. Maybe two.”
He let out a big breath of air. “It’d be better if you stayed around not just for a few weeks but months. You may find being around shifters will do you some good.” He rushed on before I could tell him to screw himself. “We’re social creatures. Being around our own kind helps us stay calm and centered.”
Hope flashed in his eyes and settled on his handsome face, affecting me more than it should.
