Page 11 of Ravenous

Still, the wind whistled through the air vents and whipped tree branches against the house. I could hear the loud thump of one hitting the side of her house. The protective part of me wondered if she needed anything. She was human and, therefore, vulnerable to danger.

But what kind of danger was I worried about? It wasn’t like the wind was going to blow her house down. The chances of lightning striking her roof were pretty slim with taller trees around.

I was the big bad wolf. I knew all about this.

She was fine.

If she was scared, that wasn’t my problem. I wasn’t about to go rushing next door to hold her and tell her she was safe. That job could be reserved for some other guy.

Except the thought of holding her landed in a visceral way. It landed as pleasure. Like my wolf wanted the little human next door scared and shaking in my arms. Turning to me for comfort.

Which was fucking crazy.

Still, the idea of some other guy offering that comfort set my teeth on edge. No fucking way. But that was just because I didn’t like the idea of having strange men near my house. Not when I had a little girl here.

I wasn’t jealous at the thought of some random would-be comforter to my neighbor. I was just being a protective dad.

Yeah, that was it. I ran a hand down my face and sighed.

Rain beat against the windows and roof. Lightning flashed again at the same time the thunder boomed.

My wolf let out an instinctive growl, ready to protect and defend my family against the storm. I cut through the house and peeked in on Remy. I didn’t need a candle with my wolf eyesight to see her tucked beneath her lavender comforter, her hand thrown up over her head.

The wind gusted, making my windows rattle. All of a sudden, I heard a loud crack and the sound of shattered glass.

A female screamed.

Joy.

Fuck. What had happened?

One last look at Remy ensured she was out cold, and I bolted across the house and threw open the sliding door. It was pitch black outside, but my wolf eyes adjusted to the dark as I sprinted next door. The heavy rain pelted my face.

I was headed to her house once again soaking wet.

“Holy fuck!”

An entire tree–one that had been in her backyard–had blown over and landed on Joy’s roof. The roof and part of the adjacent wall had caved in, smashing the glass to her window. A huge tree limb was half in, half out of her house.

Fuck!

“Joy?” I shouted at the same time thunder cracked again.

She wouldn’t hear me. She was human. She could be hurt.

I didn’t run around to knock on her door. Didn’t wait for permission or an invitation.

Fuck that.

I just leaped straight through her broken window, scaling the tree limb to get there. When I kicked the broken glass in to get through, Joy’s scream sounded just below me and to the right.

“Oh fuck!” I plunged through the broken window, landing in a pile of debris on a bed. “Joy?”

She was under the rubble, pushing her way out.

Fate, no.

“Joy!” I lunged for her, hurling the broken sheets of drywall that had come down from her ceiling out of the way to get to her. The tree limb wasn’t moving as easily, but it didn’t pin her, thank fuck.

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