But the worst is his eyes. He looks at me like he wants to rip my clothes off my body. Like he… Goddess no.
I’m definitely not going down without a fight. Come on, Annie, you can do it!
Steve taught you some moves. Dad taught you some too. You are not completely helpless.
What am I supposed to do when I’m cornered like this?
He’s holding my hands, but my legs are free. I gather my full strength, allowing Leah’s survival instincts to kick in and smash my knee against his groin. He groans in pain, momentarily letting me loose. I grab for something, anything I can reach, my fingers circling an empty bottle of something. I don’t care what it is. I just grab it and smash it across his head before kicking him off me.
The other guys stop laughing, they look uncomfortable suddenly, but I can’t waste any more time. I scramble to my feet, and then I feel his grip around my ankle, pulling me down to the ground again.
However, this time I scream and thrash around like crazy. Hopefully, someone will hear me.
“You stupid bitch!” he hisses.
One of the other guys yells at the crazy dude on top of me. “Marc, come on, let her be. That’s enough!”
He’s not having any of it, though. “Just shut up!” he yells, balling his hand into a fist. I close my eyes, expecting the blow to come.
But it doesn’t. Instead, the weight is suddenly gone.
“Liam,” I whisper.
He must have run here in his wolf form because he’s not wearing any clothes. When I raise my gaze, I see another man circling them. Wow, even in their wolf form, they had to be incredibly fast to be here in less than fifteen minutes. I assume it’s part of their Lycan power. A car approaches us too, and Aryanna jumps out of it. She throws clothes at Liam and that other man.
“Annalise,” Liam slips into his shirt and kneels next to me, pulling me in his arms while Ari and Dante keep the guys cornered. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You are safe. We have it under control.” He strokes my back softly.
Annalise, say something, dear, anything.
I nod my head weakly. “Thank you,” I rasp out, my voice hoarse from screaming. "I'm not hurt."
In Liam’s arms, I can feel my heartbeat calming down. I allow him to look me over, but I’m not really hurt. Just some minor bruisings around my wrists and some scratches from falling. All in all, I got pretty lucky.
Judging by Liam’s gaze, though, it doesn’t seem like he would call it lucky. He looks majorly pissed. When his gaze shifts towards the group of young wolves, he stares at the one to the left. He has scratches all over him, blood running down his forehead. “You put up quite a fight,” Liam acknowledges. His gaze is dark though, when he turns to look at my attackers. They don't even dare to move an inch now. When I take a closer look, I notice they look very young. That's why Liam didn't beat them up more.
The man who accompanied Liam approaches one of the guys. He radiates something calm and dignified yet powerful. Looking at him now, he has to be Liam’s other Beta. “Awww… Look at you! Your prey wasn’t that easy to catch, was she? Hopefully, you didn’t lose any important body parts.”
“Yeah,” Ari says threateningly. “Goddess forbid you wouldn’t be able to reproduce anymore.”
I allow my gaze to scan the surroundings. It is five guys all in all.
“We didn’t mean to hurt her or anything,” one of the younger guys rambles when Liam’s Beta stares down at him. “It was just supposed to be a joke. Marc kinda lost it when she fought back.”
I rub my head between my hands. “I freaked out,” I mutter. “I was so on edge… I didn’t even consider that it could be a prank.”
Judging by Liam’s gaze, he doesn’t see it as a prank at all. His other Beta doesn’t seem to think that way either. “A prank,” Liam gets up and walks towards the group. His whole aura is changing again like it did when Lauren insulted me. This time, though, it's even darker. Veins on his neck pop up slightly, and the blue in his eyes is gone completely. They are pitch black. “What kind of sick joke is that?” His dark and angry voice sends a shiver down my spine. The guys look at him wide-eyed, pailing as he steps even closer. They bare their necks to him, but he doesn't care. “You were on top of her when we arrived. You attacked her. She was about to get seriously hurt! You found that funny!? I don’t! What excuse do you have?”
“You heard him,” his Beta huffs, kicking against one of the guys’ legs. “Answer him!”
“It was just supposed to be a prank. Catch her, and play a bit with her, but not hurt her.”
“What do you mean play with her?” Liam’s eyes darken.
“N-Nothing, just chasing her,” one of the guys stutters.
Liam bends down, grabbing the boy’s arm tightly. “Now try again,” he hisses. “If you lie again, I will rip your head off.”
“Just so you know,” his Beta says evenly. “His gift tells him if you lie.”