Two
1284 Words
Chapter Two
Ryder’s POV
“Let her go.”
My voice cuts through the night like a blade, overshadowing the rumble of the thunder and the sound of rain patters, commanding the attention and four heads turn to me.
The leader of the group, a broad-shouldered brute with a nasty scar across his jaw looks eyes at me. He squints through the downpour, and grunts when lightning strikes, revealing my face.
“Back off,” he growls. “This isn’t your business.”
Thunder rumbles in the distance as if the storm itself is reacting to the anger suffusing within me, ready to explode like an inferno. More raindrops fall, making the ground slick beneath my boots.
I step forward, slow and deliberate. “It became my business the moment you set foot on my territory,” I say, clenching my jaw and my knuckles c***k.
Scar-Jaw barely has time to process my words before I lunge.
I don’t shift fully—there’s no need. My claws extend, my teeth sharpen, but I remain half-shifted. He doesn’t even manage a blow because I’m on him, tearing into his side with my claws. His cry of agony fades in the storm as I finish him off without mercy, his blood mixing with the rain on the forest floor.
My Beta, Austin, wastes no time either. He’s already locked in combat with another shifter, his movements just as swift, just as brutal. I hear a strangled gasp and a loud thud follows. I don’t need to look before knowing that Austin has finished him off.
A third shifter comes for me. He probably thinks he’ll have a chance now that I’m focused on someone else. But I don’t give him that satisfaction.
I turn on him in an instant, moving with fast speed, like a lightning bolt. Before he can react, I have him pinned against a tree, my claws digging into his side. His breath comes out in ragged gasps, his body trembling as he realizes just how badly he’s f****d up.
“Pathetic,” I sneer. “Fighting a woman? That makes you a real big man, huh?” I tighten my grip on his throat, lifting him higher. “If you’re so damn strong, why don’t you fight me now?”
I sneer, feeling my eyes glow beneath my sockets despite the downpour.
He doesn’t. He just whimpers.
Blood drips from my claws as I push harder, barely containing my rage. Then, a strangled cry escapes from the shifter’s lips. “P-please,” he gasps. “Spare me.”
I pause, my lip curling in disgust.
Behind me, Austin finishes off the last of them. That just leaves this excuse for a warrior, who’s begging for his life. I should end him right here. But then, an idea forms.
I release my grip just enough for him to drop to the ground, his body crumpling into the mud. He scrambles backward, his face twisting in terror.
“You’re lucky,” I say, my voice cold. “You get to live.”
His eyes widen in shock, but I don’t let him get too comfortable. I crouch in front of him, my presence looming. “You’re going to run back to your Alpha or whoever the hell sent you, and you’re going to deliver a message.”
He nods frantically.
“The next time you or your people set foot in my territory and lay a hand on someone who can’t fight back…” I trail off for a second and lean in closer, letting my claws trail lightly over his throat. “I won’t be kind enough to spare anyone.”
I don’t wait for a response. I slam him into the wet ground one last time before stepping back. He doesn’t hesitate. He stumbles to his feet and takes off, limping as fast as he can.
I exhale sharply, shaking off the rest of the rage from my body, and finally turn my attention to the woman.
She’s no longer in wolf form. She’s human now. Naked.
My entire body goes rigid.
Even with the bruises marring her skin, she’s breathtaking. Long wavy blonde hair clings to her damp skin, raindrops sliding down the elegant curve of her neck, over the swell of her breasts. She’s small, lithe, and so damn vulnerable that something inside me shifts.
My wolf stirs, restless. Then, I feel it—an unmistakable pull toward her.
My chest tightens, and before I can control it, heat rushes through me. Blood pools low in my body, thick and insistent, settling in my groin.
Fuck.
I’m suddenly bricked up, and I grit my teeth, forcing my thoughts away from my erection.
I shrug off my jacket immediately, covering her before my thoughts go anywhere they shouldn’t.
I had no plans to run into panther shifters tonight. I stepped out of the packhouse tonight with Austin only because I suspect that the elder of the pack in charge of the distribution of food to pack members who live outside the packhouse might be embezzling funds. My casual clothes—a pair of loose slacks, a plaid button-down shirt, and a long jacket. We decided to take the forest route to avoid attracting any kind of suspicion when we heard this woman’s howl.
My initial thought was that rogue wolves invaded my territory once again, and I wanted to teach them a lesson. It was when I came closer I realized that they were preying on a female werewolf.
Austin steps beside me, his nostrils flaring slightly as he surveys the scene.
“She’s alive,” I mutter after leaning down to check her pulse. “But she needs help.”
Austin nods. “I’ll find her clothes.”
He shifts slightly, sniffing the air before darting off into the trees.
That leaves just me and her.
I don’t know why I keep staring. Maybe it’s the way she looks even in pain—like someone I should know. Maybe it’s the way my wolf is reacting like he’s seen her before.
Whatever it is, I can’t bring myself to move.
I watch her, taking in the slow rise and fall of her chest, and the way the rain slides down her exposed legs, washing off the rest of the stubborn bloodstains. My jacket barely covers her, hanging loose around her shoulders. The sight only makes things worse. My jaw clenches as I shift uncomfortably, willing my body to behave.
Austin returns just then, handling me her clothes.
“I’ll get the car,” he says before vanishing once more.
Then, I pick up her clothes and lift her up with ease as if she weighs nothing and head toward a rock ahead. Her scent is distinct and intoxicating. My insides stir in response, and I gulp from the closeness of our bodies.
I kneel beside her, carefully lifting her back against a large, flat stone. Her body is limp, her skin ice-cold beneath my fingertips.
I need to get her dressed.
I grip the fabric of my jacket, ready to ease it off so I can help her into her clothes. But just as I start to move—
A small sound.
I freeze.
Then, her lashes flutter. Her full lips part.
And suddenly, I’m staring into barely open blue eyes.
Shit.
My breath hitches as air goes out of my lungs.
I don’t move.
She blinks slowly, her gaze locking onto mine. I expect her to panic, to jerk away, to scream. Instead, she just breathes, her voice a weak whisper.
“What…are you doing?”
For the first time in a long time, I don’t have an answer.
- Writer
