Why now?
962 Words
Adam
“P-please,” she chokes out.
I ignore her. Instead, I press harder, letting my presence crush her like a tidal wave. Her words echo inside my head like poison:
A sport?
I kill for a sport?
The accusation isn’t just ridiculous — it’s insulting. Dismissive. As if everything I’ve done, everything I’ve endured, is a joke to her. My blood surges in fury, clouding reason. I should kill her. End it here and now. Let her see what real monsters look like.
But before I can do anything, her legs buckle beneath her and she crumples to the ground with a soft thud. My claws retract mid-movement.
I freeze.
Panic — unfamiliar, unwelcome — creeps in.
She’s not moving.
She looks... small. Fragile. The fire that was in her eyes just seconds ago has completely vanished, snuffed out like it never existed. She’s curled in on herself, her body unmoving. Something inside me snarls at the sight, something ancient and territorial.
I move toward her without thinking.
“Are you dead?” I mutter under my breath, suddenly aware of my own ridiculousness. I’m stark naked in an alley, crouching over a possibly unconscious woman I almost killed. Not my finest hour.
I reach out, hand hovering uncertainly before pressing two fingers lightly against her lips.
She’s still breathing. Good.
But also bad. Because she’s weak. Pathetically so. A proper wolf would’ve lasted longer — five more minutes at least — before passing out. And I hadn’t even tapped into my full power.
I’m about to stand, shaking off the tangle of confusing emotions in my chest, when—
“Let me guess — poor woman fainted at the sight of a stark-naked weirdo in the alley. How creepy.”
Killian.
Of course.
My annoying cousin. Unfortunately alive. Unfortunately here.
“Right on cue,” I say flatly. “Were you watching?”
“Even though I’m bi, you’re not my type,” he drawls, tossing me a fresh set of clothes. “Next time, spare the nudity.”
I roll my eyes, pulling the black tee over my head as he starts running his mouth.
“What happened?” he asks. “I stopped by Mrs. Choi’s to surprise-pick you up and… surprise! You weren’t even there.”
“Get rid of the body.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say?” he deadpans.
I ignore him.
“Okay, fine. The body’s getting dealt with. But the girl?”
“Leave her here for all I care,” I mutter, slipping into the pants he brought.
Killian gives me a look. “You’re cruel, your highness. Leaving an unconscious, helpless lady in a dirty alley? You know humans are less cultured than wolves. Someone might toy with her—”
“Is she your sister? Your mother? The f*****g queen of whatever land you came from?” I growl. “If not, she can rot here for all I care.”
I’m not even mad at him — I’m mad that he’s right, and the thought he planted is now festering in my brain like a weed I can’t pull out.
Killian raises his hands defensively. “Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just saying... it’s not safe.”
“Whatever. Take the damn body and leave. We’re done here.”
I walk away in deliberate steps. Away from the alley. Away from the unconscious woman. Away from whatever this is.
I was almost successful — I was — until the i***t shouted after me:
“Aye aye, Alpha!”
I pause.
Raped.
The word echoes again in my mind like a steel trap slamming shut. I curse under my breath.
Damn it.
Fine. Just this once.
The world needs more doctors, right? I can’t just leave her like this.
Twenty Minutes Later
I stand in a house I don’t recognize, holding a woman I barely know — who nearly got herself killed — in my arms.
Her body is soft and warm against me, her scent faint but strangely comforting.
I checked her bag. Found her ID. Used her scent to track the closest match for a safe place—some dusty apartment that reeks of secondhand books and lavender soap.
She’s limp and relaxed.
Then she sighs in her sleep and shifts closer, nuzzling into my chest like she belongs there.
What the hell?
My wolf — the traitor — purrs.
Purrs.Loudly
Seriously?
Malcolm, get your s**t together. I mentally sneer. Reacting to a plain, wolfless girl like this? Have some standards.
I move to set her down gently on the bed.
Shit.
I freeze.
Wolfless.
That doesn’t mean she’s human. Not necessarily. But still—
Fuck. f**k. f**k.
I set her down quickly, like she’s fire scorching my hands. But she doesn’t let go. No—instead, she pulls me closer in her sleep, dragging me over her like it’s instinctual.
“Let go,” I mutter, low and sharp.
But I don’t mean it.
I’m burning up. Every vein feels like it’s about to burst, my heart pounding like a war drum. Malcolm is pacing like a beast inside me, all restless energy and heat.
He’s really reacting.
To her.
Why now?
I was fine back in the alley. Maybe too distracted by the fight to notice her scent?
This is bad.
She’s a wolfless rogue. Living in the human world.
There’s no way the Moon Goddess would screw with me like this.
Right?
I try again to stand, desperate to get away before I lose all sense. But she yanks my shirt—hard—pulling me forward. I trip. Fall. Land on her bed.
And my lips brush hers.
What the f**k?
Mate, Malcolm growls, triumphant in my head.
I am so f****d.
- Writer
