Page 46 of Wolf Cursed
At my words, whatever softness had come over him vanished, and the scowl returned. “In fact,” he went on, “you’re lucky I was there. Otherwise, the others would have—” He broke off and ran a hand through his already mussed hair.
“Would have what?” I demanded. “And whoarethe others?”
When he didn’t answer, my anger spiked again. More secrets. It never ended.
“I already know Oscar is part of your little pack. Who else?”
“I’m not betraying my pack,” he said in a low voice. “I’ll tell you anything else, but not their names.”
“Fine. What were they all waiting for then? Other than for my legs to cramp so I couldn’t flee?”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know. When I got there, they were all just standing around like they were waiting on something. It was weird.”
He gave me a strange look.
“What?” I demanded.
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “You’re a lot more perceptive than I gave you credit for.”
My brows rose. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
He sighed. “They were waiting on me.”
“You?” I frowned. “Why?”
“Because I’m sort of like their leader. Well, me and Oscar, though for him, it’s more of a formality, I guess.”
“What are you, like, the alpha or something?”
If so, would that make Oscar the beta? Man, I was pulling from every werewolf movie I’d ever seen. Mostly Twilight and Teen Wolf, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“No. I’m not the alpha. Our pack is different.”
“Different how?”
“We’re— Ugh. Fuck, you ask a lot of questions.” He ran a hand through his hair. Again. “The bottom line is you shouldn’t have been out there.”
I crossed my arms. “If you’re about to tell me all the ways I’m the one in the wrong, you can save your breath. Oscar already did that.”
His dark eyes flashed, and he strode over to where I leaned against the counter.
I straightened, refusing to be intimidated by the way he towered over me. This close, I could smell the woods on him. That pine scent of his reminded me of those handfuls of seconds I’d seen him as a wolf. Those dark eyes trained on me. The way he’d transformed. And the fact that I’d seen him naked just before he’d shifted. An image I would never, ever forget.
“Oz is trying to protect you, Ash. We both are.”
“Please,” I snorted, shoving away the mental image of a naked Kai before I did something super embarrassing. Like mount him. “At least have the decency to stop piling on more lies. You’re here to protect your secrets. And your little werewolf family. Not me.”
I’d used “werewolf” on purpose, just to piss him off.
Bull’s eye. His expression hardened. “Fine. Believe what you want about me. I’m here to tell you that leaving is no longer an option.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you know too much, Ashes. And the only way I can keep you safe is to keep you here.”
Ugh. That stupid nickname was really starting to piss me off.
