“You smell like mine” I heard him growl in front of me. Low, deep, possessive. I couldn’t even raise myself to look at him, my head was pounding from the fall. “And who are you?” My voice not louder than a whisper “I don’t even know you.” “I’ve been looking for you.” His voice carried a dark, possessive certainty. He spoke like a man who took whatever he wanted, completely unaccustomed to the concept of no. Hovering over me like I was his property. I knew I had to get up and run. They were after me. But my entire body refused to cooperate. Frozen in place, refusing to move unless it’s towards him. Like it recognizes his claim over me. He takes my arm and a thousand sparks erupted under his touch. “Back off! Don’t you understand? he will kill me if he catches me, please let me go!” I cried, pulling my arm away from him. He crouched down beside me, his hand caressing my hair. Sparks erupting immediately, responding to his touch. “I know he is coming; that’s why I’m here. Nobody touches what’s mine.” My heart skept a beat. “Please don’t, let me go, I’m not worth it.” I tried to get up from the floor again. “You are mine little one” He traced the outline of my arm, as if to prove his point “and that’s enough for tonight.” “Thank you for holding her for me. Now move so I can take her.” John’s voice sounded from behind. Calm, like discussing the weather. My entire body tensed, keeping me in my place. “She is MINE, so this is your only chance to turn around and go away.” He said, starting to raise. A low growl forming in his chest, making the earth shake underneath. Every muscle in his body tensing, getting ready to shift. “Oh but I think your mistaken. That girl is mine to do as I please.” John said, leaning agains a tree with an infuriating smirk, as if he owned the place. He didn’t care that every muscle of the man in front of me was preparing to kill, vibrating with a lethal fury that made the air feel heavy. “She ain’t a toy John, and sure as hell she isn’t yours.” He stood in front of me, shielding me from John’s gaze. One by one, wolfs started to emerge from the shadows, stepping into the tree line, surrounding us. “Walk away and I might let you live another day.” His arms clutching, preparing to attack. “Look around you.” John said, dropping all pretense of warmth. “You stand no chance, give her to me and I’ll even forget your transgression, Asher” “Asher?” The name tore from my throat before I could choke it back. A terrifying surge of memories rushed over me—flashes of a laughter I used to know, golden eyes under a dying sky. My heart hammered against my ribs, deafening and erratic. Could it be him?

I left. I left because I’d die before letting the people I love get dragged into the fire. The heavy steel door of the clubhouse slams shut behind me, cutting out the roars from the highway. The air inside is thick with stale beer and cigarette smoke. I take one step forward and feel his gaze on my skin before I can see him. It takes me a moment to locate him, adjusting my vision to the indoor lighting. He’s leaning against the scarred old bar; a glass of whiskey forgotten in his hand. His dark, messy hair falls over his forehead and his amber eyes locks into mine with a paralyzing intensity. The years have hardened him, carving ruthless lines into his jaw, but the raw predatory hunger in his stare is exactly the same. “Tell me I’m hallucinating” his voice is a gravely rasp, barely above a whisper, yet it sends a violent shiver down my spine. “Because if you’re actually standing in my clubhouse right now… I’m not letting you walk out again.” “Then pretend I’m not here. I’m just looking for my brother.” My voice steady, although I was shaking in the inside. He steps closer, invading my personal space until the heat radiating off his body is impossible to ignore. “Your brother is in the back” he says, voice dropping lower, rougher “but pretending you don’t exist? That stopped working the moment you decided to step in my clubhouse.” His amber eyes drag over my face like he’s memorizing every detail; hungry and unapologetic. “You think I could just ignore you now?” “I thought you wouldn’t care if I left. No let me go.” His hand shoots out, fingers wrapping around my wrist; not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough to stop you cold. His touch burned. “Well I do care.” “Yeah,” he leans in, his voice dropping to something dangerous “I’ll let you walk away this time. But now that you’re back, no one is going to stop me from doing what I should have done years ago.” “And who says I want you to move a finger towards me? I’m not the stupid little girl clinging to whatever drop of love you decide to toss my way. I don’t even remember that girl anymore.” His grip tightened for a second, his thumb pressing against my pulse point like he’s testing if you’re lying. A dark smile curves his smile; predatory, knowing. I swallow hard. “Don’t remember?” He tilts his head. His eyes burning into yours. “Then why is your heart ricing right now?” He releases his grip on your wrist but doesn’t step back, caging me with his sheer presence. “You can lie to yourself all you want. But your body? It knows who it belongs to.” “Don’t mistake fear with lust. I’m just scared he will enter at any moment, sees you here and snaps.” Le laughs at me like I’d just said something funny. “We both know that fear ain’t what’s making you tremble.” “I… I…” my head was getting foggy. Clouded by his presence “you’re to close” it came out weak. I hated how he made me feel; he still had power over me after all this time. “Close?” His voice drops to a dangerous growl. He takes another step forward caging me against the wall “kitten I’ve spent all these years away from you. This is me finally closing the distance.” I knew I had to escape. But my body had a mind on its own. I took an impossible step towards him. Allowing myself to do what I’ve wanted to do since I met him. He places a hand on my hips pulling me closer with a bruising force and started lowering his head to me; I closed my eyes waiting for a kiss that never arrived. “Get your goddamn hands out of my sister.”