Page 8 of A Wolf's Wound
There is a low rumbling in my chest again.
Then she rolls her eyes.“I know all about you.You have a reputation.I just wish I had known thatyouwere the one she was going out with.I would have warned her.”
I want to try and convince her otherwise, but we have bigger problems to deal with.My wolf whines in my chest and I clear my throat.
I hear a rustling noise outside the kitchen window and outside the broken-down apartment door.
I close my hand around her wrist and pull her off the couch, into the curve of my body.She doesn’t protest.
Maybe she heard the noise too.Maybe she knows it isn’t safe yet.
“What did you do to the councilman?”My eyes track along her face while my ears listen for any other approaching sounds.I need to determine why she is a threat in order to protect her.“Why did he attack you?”
“Why do you assume I did something to provoke him?”Her voice is still cold.And maybe I deserve it.“I barely know him.”
Footsteps.On the fire escape on the second floor.“I was home, on my own, and he showed up.”
“And he just attacked you?”I ask, tugging her hand as I move toward the footsteps creeping closer.
I need to keep her close to me, but not let the threat gain too much ground.As they grow closer, I turn to Hannah.I lean down to her, until our lips are less than an inch apart.Instead of pulling away, she looks up at me, her eyes tracing the lines of my face.
“Get in the closet,” I whisper.
She nods.
“Stay there.”
The wolf is impatient; he thinks a fight could be coming.
Maybe he is right.
Could the councilman have sent reinforcements?Did he foresee that he might not be successful?
I keep Hannah close to me a second longer.Her scent was the one the wolf had picked out—the one that stood out on my way to her apartment.
Sweet and bright, cut through with citrus.Lavender and vanilla.And lemons.Or oranges.Her skin is soft against mine, and for a moment she leans into me.Then she pulls away.
The wolf growls in protest.She tiptoes away from me.I only move when I hear the closet door close.
Good girl.
I exhale heavily and then my eyes sweep the apartment as I survey my fighting grounds.I hear more footsteps now.I stay still, in the center of the apartment, and close my eyes.My hearing amplifies and I pick out three sets.Three people.Three heavy men from the sound of it.They were probably waiting for the councilman.
The tiny man probably thought he could come in and deal with Hannah on his own, but he didn’t count on me appearing.And now they’ve come to see why they’ve been waiting.
The wolf paws at me, growling in earnest now.My skin prickles, and Hannah’s scent, which has enveloped me, blooms on my tongue.
My hands morph into claws as the need to protect her grows.My spine arches, curves.The wolf isn’t waiting for me.He knows the fight is coming.
How long will it take April to come home?You had better handle this before she does.And with cleanup time to spare.
The shift is so close I can taste it.
I know I can take three men.As the beta of my pack, I am about as strong as my alpha.I have to be, in order to defend him and our pack from any attacks.
My teeth have sharpened and lengthened, and my nostrils are flared.My nose flattens, along with my mouth.My ears become pointed, flattening too.I ready myself for my muscles to grow.
Power and adrenaline course through me.I am already ten times more powerful than my human form.
