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I contorted my mouth to bare my canines at him and roared in his face. He whimpered and showed his throat to me. I chuckled mirthlessly at his submission and released him.
Zander cowered and slinked away from me, but I caught him swearing as he moved to the bar’s front door. Annoyance burned through me. That asshole was going back to get even more wasted, just like always. If he put as much effort into being a good shifter and contributing to the pack as he did into his drinking, he could be somebody. Instead, he was a waste of a perfectly good wolf.
I warred with my wolf until I was fully in control of myself again. He didn’t take kindly to only issuing a threat to that sorry excuse for a shifter. He wanted to take a bite out of Zander and make sure that fucker knew, without a doubt, who was alpha around here. And more to the point, he wanted to prove to everyone that Tori was off-limits.
There wouldn’t be any warnings next time. If it were up to my wolf, Zander’s death would be a punishment, an example to anyone wanting to mess around with Tori.
I took several deep breaths, willing my wolf back. Knowing how he liked to handle things, I allowed his thoughts but controlled his resolve. After all, we couldn’t go around killing people. Even if I was the alpha.
The unreasonable fury that had swept over me faded to a bad mood instead of homicidal rage. I itched to see Tori, to smell her, taste her, be around her, and it was hitting me so much harder now than it had in the past few days. I wanted to give her the space she’d demanded, wanted her to feel safe and not harassed. Whatever she had faced before coming here hadn’t been good, and I hoped she’d find some solace here. Blackwood Creek was a community that she could rely on; she only needed to see that.
However, I couldn’t stay away from her forever. The rage from my wolf had made that clear. He needed to see her, needed to know she was okay.
Resolved, I decided to approach her sometime in the coming days. Nothing too overt, though—I’d just stop by at the diner or the B&B and politely make sure that she was doing okay. I hadn’t been in the diner since she’d started working there, but it was ridiculous for her to think I would stay away entirely. She’d have to see the reasoning in that, but I needed to give this assurance to my wolf, and if I was completely honest, I needed it for myself as well.
Putting my hands in my pockets, I looked up at the sky. I smiled and couldn’t help but look forward to the Full Moon Howl tonight. I needed a good run, to let my wolf have free rein for a little while.
It was also just what I needed to distract myself from constantly thinking about Tori, which was beginning to be more maddening than anything my wolf could do.
Chapter8
Tori
I curled up in bed, struggling to get the day out of my head. The deputy had irritated me, sure, and I hadn’t enjoyed one second of our interaction, but he wasn’t the one taking up prime property in my mind. The fucking mayor had taken up a permanent residency there. I wanted to evict him from my mind, and I wanted to kick my own ass for not maintaining the low profile I’d always kept before.
I’d never let myself be so visible in any town I lived in. And now I knew why.
Ridge Blackwood. The mayor with the sexy body was overpowering my thoughts now. The wolf inside me, unsurprisingly, wasn’t fighting me tooth and nail. Instead, she was putting him at the forefront of every decision and thought I had.
Seriously, wolf? It was stupid to sleep with the mayor. Get it through your thick head. We’re more at risk now. People are sniffing around, and I don’t like it.
She grumbled but didn’t push back—for the moment, anyway. It was too late, though. The insanely rich alpha had tapped his way in so that no more than a sliver of brain power remained for any other topic. No matter how hard I tried to concentrate, he somehow wriggled even through the tightest locks I had in my mind.
The mere thought of him filled my nostrils with his deep, earthy scent. I could still feel calloused hands where he’d stroked my skin, his soft, feathery lips over every inch of my body. I could still hear his rumbling voice in my ear. Could still remember how good he’d felt inside me. And that lust-filled gaze penetrating my soul.
Heat singed my body as my hips rocked up in the air. My pussy ached to be filled. Slowly, my hands roamed, following the path Ridge had blazed down my body. He’d burned the route onto my skin, branding me with his pleasure.
I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes, imagining him above me. My hands were his hands. I dipped my fingers down, pushing aside the elastic of my sleep shorts...
As I was about to touch myself to relieve the ache that seemed to come from deep in my soul, howls invaded the night. My wolf’s ears perked, and she let out a long, low whine.
I snatched my hands from their destination, thoughts of pleasure chased away by the sounds that only reminded me of the alpha. Ridge was probably out there, leading the pack on their run. I rolled over, trying to get myself comfortable and fall asleep. But sleep had evaded me for the past couple of hours, and I doubted it would take me now.
Cursing, I moved the pillow over my ears to drown out the wolves. It was the Full Moon Howl that Margo had invited me to. I’d forgotten it was tonight. Of course, I wouldn’t have reconsidered the invitation, but I would’ve invested in earplugs.
My wolf was pacing and demanding, but I wasn’t about to budge.
Are you an idiot? We’re running. Hunted. On the lam. I’m never going to let you out again. The one and only time you came out, you almost killed somebody. Do you seriously think I’d let you run around with a pack of wolves?
Invisible claws held me down, and my throat went tight. I fought hard to shake the wolf off and regain control before I turned over in bed again. Squeezing my eyes shut as tight as I could get them, I worked on my meditative breathing, taking slow and steady deep breaths, filling my lungs with oxygen, struggling to find a quiet place in my mind.
She was strong and used more force to demand the shift tonight, but I refused to give in. I couldn’t. I had to be stronger than her.
After several heavy breaths, I regained my control. I managed to hold her in place, though I knew it wouldn’t be long before the struggle started again. But she wouldn’t get out now, and that was a win for tonight.
Suddenly, a strong and vibrant howl joined the wolves’ serenade outside. My hands shook and my gut twisted as an ache throbbed between my legs.
My wolf launched inside my chest and ravaged me as she went berserk. She had to go to that howl. It beckoned to us. She snapped the figurative chains I held her under to stop the shift. Pain racketed up my spine and my body contorted, every joint popping, every muscle tearing. I cried out as the wolf snarled at me.
