He Left Me Dying, My Killer Wolf Family Is Coming

Chapter 2

I stared at him, the familiar, long-lost thrill of running into one of my own kind washed over me. All those old memories from the mountains came flooding back unbidden.

After my family got cast out of the werewolf clan, we moved deep into the mountains, and we were always scraping by, worrying about where our next meal would come from.

When I was in school, I barely ever went home.

Every time I stepped through the door, the sharp, coppery reek of blood slammed straight into my nose. Prey hides were strung up to dry on the windowsill, and my mom would be there, smiling softly at me.

"Elena, finish your homework first, okay? I'll whip up some meat broth for you soon.

"The meat's extra fresh today."

I nodded, then headed inside to wait while she took care of the kill.

A hunter once shot clean through her front limb, so she moved slowly when she lifted a knife with that arm.

She'd get the whole pot of broth simmering, then wait for my dad and my brother to get home.

My dad had blood-red pupils, and a deep, jagged scar sliced through his left eyebrow. It was another wound from a human who'd trespassed on our territory and attacked him with a dagger.

It was clearly visible even when he shifted into his wolf form.

Every time he came back from a hunt, he'd haul the carcass over one shoulder, thump it down on the kitchen counter, and hand it off to Mom to dress. She'd always set the bones aside to dry out in the sun.

Gabriel would take those bones and build me a brand-new chair to use when I did my homework. Every single time, he'd ruffle my hair gently.

"Don't worry, Elena. I'll protect you forever. No human's ever going to hurt you."

Back then, I was their entire world, their most prized possession.

When I turned 18, my wolf soul failed to awaken. I couldn't shift into a wolf at all.

That meant the dangerous aura all werewolves carried was barely there on me.

None of the other werewolves wanted anything to do with me. They thought I was too weak. Up until I met Lucian, I'd been completely alone.

We ran into each other outside the orphanage. I couldn't catch even a whiff of a dangerous aura off him.

When I was struggling to find a job, he'd reach out to help, saying, "You don't have to push yourself this hard, you know?"

When he saw the necklace my mom had given me for my coming-of-age, the one carved from a hunter's bone, he didn't even flinch. He just looked it over calmly.

"This is a really thoughtful gift."

That was when I realized he was nothing like the humans I'd heard about my whole life.

He wasn't cruel. He wasn't violent.

Once, he asked me about my family.

I hung my head and fumbled for words, too flustered to string a proper answer together.

But he immediately thought of the orphanage where we'd first met. He ruffled my hair gently and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked.

"Don't worry. From now on, I'm your family.

"I'll take good care of you, I promise."

That same day, he formally proposed to me with a bouquet of fresh flowers and a diamond ring, vowing he'd protect me for the rest of his life.

I kept the marriage a secret from my family and stayed in this city with him for seven whole years.

I never dared breathe a single word about him to them, because my family hated humans with every fiber of their being. My mom lived for hunting down human hunters. My dad got a sick thrill out of watching humans die. And my brother? He loved listening to humans scream in agony.

They'd all said the same thing, over and over, "Humans are vicious, cruel monsters. They all deserve to die."

But when I met Lucian, I really thought he was different. That belief didn't even last seven full years, though. He threw my life away without a second thought just for Victoria.

He wouldn't even bother looking into why the elevator failed in the first place. I was the only one who knew without a doubt that Victoria had her hands all over that whole mess.

Jason handed me the phone.

I grabbed his arm, my voice tight with fervor. "Yes, we're stray werewolves. If you save me, I won't let my family hurt you. I swear."

Jason glanced down at my wound and gave a small nod.