Page 91 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

His hands were on my shoulders, trying to turn me over, trying to yank my straps down, and I slapped and scratched at him, fighting like a wildcat as he tried to strip my dress off me, urging the power to hurry, to punish him.

The thunder came next, only seconds passing before the rain started to pour, to pound down on our heads as he swore.

And then, just like that, the weight behind me, his scrabbling hands, his frantic touches, were gone, and I was weightless, floating in a sea of tumultuous power, the cleansing rain I’d called pounding my skin like so many needles.

I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, could barely breathe as the thunder cracked so loud, it rang in my ears and drowned out everything else. I was frozen out of time, lost in the midst of the storm I’d created.

And then I felt different sensations—softer, warmer, gentler. A warm nose, prodding my cheek. A soft, worried whine. I knew instinctively it was Reed—wolfie, my sweet companion, my valiant protector—come to rescue me.

I was still shaking as I undertook the herculean task of getting back to my feet. I’d lost my new ballet slippers in the fight, and my bare feet slapped into cold puddles as I stood, surveying the damage around me. Reed was swaying on his paws, blood dripping from his maw and gore coating his fur, some of it his, I knew. The other three shifters lay dead on the ground around him, completely eviscerated.

The one who’d turned to human form and tried to… I couldn’t even think the words about what he’d tried to do. Not yet. His eyes were wide, his mouth stretched in a silent howl of pain, his body rigid where it had fallen, frozen where Reed’s claws had finished him for daring to touch me.

I felt a sick sense of gratification at seeing him destroyed for what he’d done. But it was also a horrifying sight, and I briefly flashed back to when Elodie had killed the troll, the gore and the blood pulsing from her wound.

But I was so relieved that Reed was okay—hell, that we werebothokay—that my horror lasted only a second. I leaned down, wrapped my arms around his furry neck, and cried.

The rain pounded in an unrelenting downpour as I wept my fear and pain and fury into his scruff, until he shifted, wrapping me up in his human arms, the heat pouring off his bare chest visceral against the cold lash of the rain.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you. You’re okay, we’re okay. No one is going to hurt you, ever again. I’m so sorry, Fiona, so sorry.”

His words were an endless stream of sorrow to match my own fear and pain, his touch soothing even as it burned me through the cold that was steadily soaking into my bones. I wanted it to beat away the memory of other hands on my skin, but no matter how much I shivered with the cold, I could still feel the man’s grasping fingers.

By the time his security team found us in the alley, my powers had fled, leaving nothing but the two of us, soaked to the bone and exhausted. Everything but exhaustion had drained away as I wept, down into the storm drains along with the evidence of my fury and terror.

I clung to Reed as he carried me to the car, utterly empty inside.

* * *

Getting backto our hotel room was a haze. Nothing seemed to make an impression on me, not until the hot water beat down on my back from our showerhead.

Reed had carried me all the way in, still cradling me in his arms. I didn’t even notice that he’d slipped pants on in the car until he was stripping them back off for the shower.

The dress—the beautiful, sexy dress I’d been so excited to wear for him—was destroyed, tattered from my falls and the fight for my life.

“You can put me down,” I whispered, but I knew with his exceptional hearing, he’d catch it. He tightened his grip around my waist.

“Maybe I’m not ready to put you down yet.”

He hadn’t stopped touching me since he shifted back. It was a comfort. But the heat of the shower, the soft stroke of his hands as he smoothed bodywash over my skin, was slowly bringing me back into reality.

We’d been attacked. I’d nearly been raped. Reed had eviscerated three men to protect me.

Yet I didn’t feel a single ounce of regret for the fact that they were dead. It was us or them, and damn it, I was not going to apologize for choosing us. If my mate had protected me at the cost of their lives, so be it.

Eventually, Reed had to set me down to remove the dress and finish his very thorough wash. We found ways to stay close, keep in contact. And when he was done with me, I took my turn scrubbing him, soft brushes, reassuring touches as we both recovered from the ordeal.

Finally, by the time we stepped out and Reed wrapped me carefully in a fluffy towel, I felt clean on the outside but also like I’d come to grips with it all on the inside. I was shaken, yes, but the primal beast inside me knew that protecting ourselves was necessary.

Not that I’d forgotten or that I wouldn’t still see the gory husk of a man when I closed my eyes, no. But I’d accepted it.

Which was why I was so startled when I finally looked up, to see the look of utter devastation on Reed’s face.

“Reed? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“I’ve failed you, Fiona. I’m not worthy to stand at your side, to call myself your mate. They never should have touched a hair on your head, and it’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I was distracted, and I let them get the jump on us.”

“Uh-uh, no! You didn’t attack me, you didn’t cause any of this. You’ve done nothing but protect me from the shooter and the three wolves. You can’t blame yourself for the actions of shitty men.”

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