Run! The Black Wolf's prey.

Chapter 25 - Climbing the walls

“You!” John roared as he crashed the main entrance door open, approaching Nicholas with brisk strides. “You f*****g i***t!” John punched him in the face, hitting him to the ground.

Nicholas jumped up, eyes glowing with an icy shade of steel blue.

“So you say?” he snarled, stepping around John who was in his fighting mode, ready to punch him again. “You are the one who stole my girl.”

“I didn’t steal anything from you,” John growled. “She was never yours.”

“Has it even occurred to you that I might be in love with her, or are you just too full of yourself?” Nicholas lifted his chin defiantly.

“You’re not in love,” John spit. “You’re just obsessed. You don’t even know her.”

They were pacing around each other in circles, both with fangs and claws protruding.

“And you do?” Nicholas scorned.

“I do,” John sneered. “And she loves me, not you.”

“Liar!” Nicholas howled and threw himself at John, shifting into his giant beast while jumping at him.

John shifted, within the blink of an eye, as he moved to the side, and Nicholas' fangs were buried into his black-furred back instead of his neck. John made a quick countermove, wrestling Nicholas down to the ground and took a firm grip of his neck with his canines, holding him down. Nicholas was twisting and wriggling, trying to get loose. It was in vain, though - even if he was a bit stronger than John, the latter was more skilled in combat. It was no match for him to keep Nicholas pinned down to the ground.

"I should snap your neck!" John growled menacingly.

“Stop it!” a female voice cut through the turbulence.

John looked up, his golden gaze meeting Chloe’s green eyes. She was watching him coolly with her arms crossed, and behind her a small crowd was forming as several pack members came to see what was going on - the rumour of the two brothers fighting spread quickly.

“You are both jerks, but I prefer you to not kill each other,” Chloe continued firmly. “Now let go of him, John. And Nicholas? Behave. Control yourself.”

John had always admired his little sister’s courage! She was not afraid of anything, not even of situations where she obviously should be... And stepping in between two big alpha males fighting was definitely such a situation.

“Mind your own business, Chloe,” John mind-linked her, his eyes fuming with anger. “He has destroyed everything.”

“And how does snapping his neck make things better?” Chloe replied, brows arched. “I can see that you are hurt. And you probably have every right to be! But he is, after all, our brother.”

John knew she was right... But he was still furious! He couldn't just let him go, Nicholas had to be punished. With a snarl, he shook him from side to side, digging his canines real deep, before he threw him forcefully to the side. Nicholas landed a few meters away, blood streaming from his neck, as John shifted back to his human form.

“Hey, give us a heads up before you shift, please?!” Chloe blushed and covered her eyes with her hands as John was suddenly standing naked in front of her.

“Sorry sis,” John chortled and grabbed his clothes from the ground.

Nicholas was still in his wolf form, approaching him from behind.

“Don’t you dare, Nick,” John growled and turned around. He stared him right in the eye. “You are hereby not allowed to leave the pack premises. And as I am the leader of our pack and your superior, you will obey my orders.”

Nicholas shifted, not minding anyone seeing his nudity.

“You’re not the pack Alpha,” he sneered. “You cannot tell me what to do.”

“Oh, but I can, little brother,” John smirked. “It was part of the deal I had to make with our parents, thanks to you. I am gradually taking over as pack Alpha from now on, without a prospective Luna. And I made it very specific that I am, already now, in charge of the pack’s fighting squad, you included. You are going to obey my orders, or you will have to leave the pack.”

“And the girl?” Nicholas looked confused.

“The deal is that I am leaving her alone… And so are you. Neither of us is ever seeing her again.”

What John didn’t say was that he had partly agreed to this so he could protect Isabel from Nicholas. He couldn’t risk having him on the loose, chasing after her! He didn’t trust him. The mere thought of him approaching Isabel again made John out of his mind.

“So, from now on, you will not leave the pack premises unless I tell you so. And you are not going to patrol our borders on your own anymore, you will always have company.” John raised his voice, making sure that everyone nearby heard him.

“It’s like you’re putting me in prison,” Nicholas snapped.

“Let’s see if you’ve learned your lesson, and you might get an early release,” John replied dryly, and walked back to the house.

The memory of his conversation with Isabel, the sadness and frustration in her voice, was overwhelmingly painful and his wolf was still grumbling unhappily inside. All he wanted was to go back to the city, find her and hold her close! He wished he could tell her that he was sorry and that he loved her... Instead, he had to protect her by keeping Nicholas on a tight leash, and he had to try to forget about his feelings, which felt absolutely impossible... But maybe his mother was right? Maybe one day, he would look back at this moment and laugh at his own foolishness, that he believed he loved a human. Maybe, eventually, he would find his true mate, and Isabel… she would meet a normal guy, who she could live an ordinary human life with.

John entered his room and slammed the door shut. He walked over to the window, looking out. The sun had set, and the starry sky was already turning black, the new moon hiding behind a few clouds. John was still trembling with adrenaline. He couldn’t calm himself down! He was climbing the walls of frustration, swearing silently. He desperately wanted to call her, just to hear her voice... But he knew it would be pointless. It would only make things worse! There was no way for him to change the chain of events.

“Isabel…” he muttered, looking at the moon, remembering the night she was hit by the door and fell into his arms. How her hazel eyes had gazed into his, how her rosy lips had parted with surprise... and that dress that had perfectly hugged her curves.

Followed by that weekend that they had spent together in his apartment. The memory of Isabel smiling and laughing... But also the look on her face when she thought he had been burned! She had been so concerned, her eyes big as a deer's... and she had looked so cute and innocent, standing there, wearing one of his shirts.

And he couldn't help to think about the way she made him feel - how he so desperately wanted to keep her safe, to have her close. He was already missing her! And those nights they had spent together, their bodies entwined? He had never experienced such closeness to anyone before.

She had been right. She was not just a one-night-stand. If only the circumstances had been different, she could have been his everything.

“f**k, f**k, f**k!” he bellowed.

The window crashed against the wall as he threw it open and jumped out into the night, shifting in mid-air, leaping into the woods.