Page 16 of Rituals & Runes

CHAPTER6

I strode along the path, holding Aila's hand in mine. I wanted to relish her soft skin, and appreciate her curves but I was on edge. Barefoot and nude, she trudged along next to me in the direction of my compound, her arm over her breasts, her step heavy, reluctant. Her eyes were tight, set in the distance. She covered her breasts with her arms. I was about to ask why but kept my question back since it pleased me she hid her body. Then the reason for my tension hit me.

Aila’s heat had already sent out tendrils of her sweet scent through the air. And I’d revved her up. Sharpened that fragrance like sending out an alarm to every male within miles. It wasn’t only her worried look that had me on alert. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. My wolf growled and paced. I sniffed the air, as did Aila. She glanced at me, her brow furrowing but she said nothing. We both sensed the same thing.

Two men leapt from behind a clump of pine trees. Knox and Torin, shifters from my pack. Two who still believed the lies that had been spread about me. Knox charged me, aiming for my middle. Torin raced towards Aila, targeting her.

Heated rage ripped through my veins. They intended to take Aila. Their false belief in me plus Aila's heady fragrance had gotten to them, but that wasn’t an excuse to attack us.

I pushed Aila to the side, away from them. “Stay with me, Wolfling. Don’t get separated.”

Knox slammed me to the ground, knocking the air out of me. I wrapped my arm around him, flipping him on his back. I straddled his middle, immobilizing him.

Torin swerved around me, heading for my mate.

My hands went for Knox's neck. I tightened my hands around it, not to kill, but to warn. “What the hell are you doing, Knox? Have you lost your fucking mind?”

Torin grabbed for Aila but she dodged him. She surprised me with her speed and agility. I didn’t expect that from a half-human. Torin lunged for her again this time capturing Aila in his arms.

Knox choked but didn’t try to answer. He only shook his head, a crooked grin on his face. His arms twisted free from my grip. He took hold of my forearms, trying to wrench free. “If it’s Aila you want, you’re one confused dumb fuck. She’s mine and no one lays a finger on her.”

I snapped his neck. Knox's face sent slack. His eyes closed. Torin gasped but didn’t let Aila go. She kicked and punched him, slamming her feet onto his knees. He grunted and struggled to keep hold of the wild thing. She shifted her teeth, drawing out her canines, then sank her jaws into his forearm.

Torin screamed then yanked his arm free. “You’ll pay for that.”

I charged Torin, slamming my fist into his nose. Blood sprayed onto Aila'a hair. His hold on Aila loosened. She broke free, and scrambled up a boulder, using it as a step to get up a pine tree.

Torin grabbed my shoulders as he tried to escape me. He slammed his feet into my shins. Stabbing pain shot into my bones. I remained standing then rammed him into the tree trunk, socking the air out of him.

I wrapped my hands around his neck, cutting off his air. “I tolerated Knox and you staying because, despite our disagreements, you stayed away. But you’re out of your mind thinking I’ll let you attack my mate and me.”

His face turned purple but I snapped his neck before he passed out. Torin slumped to the ground.

I glanced up at Aila who gaped at me. She trembled as she held her arms around the tree trunk. “Come down, Aila. Let’s go back to the compound so you can take a shower.”

With her lips pulled tight, she shook her head in silence. It seemed she couldn’t talk.

I cocked my hands on my hips. “You heard the rumors, didn’t you? You think I’m a killer? I snapped their necks to protect you and I would do it again in an instant. But don’t worry, they’re pure bloods. They’ll heal. I just did it to punish them. To warn them and others to stay away. No one lays a hand on you, understood?”

Still frozen, she stared at me, swallowing hard.

I took a step toward the tree. “Aila, I’m not going to hurt you. Come down so I can take care of you. Anyway, you don’t have much of a choice. It’s going to be daytime soon, and you’ll need food and shelter.”

After a few moments of silence, she shimmied down the tree, then we fell into step next to one another. When I reached for her hand again, she flinched, so I let it go.

When we reached the main compound, Bently trotted up to us, going first to Aila. “Hi, big guy,” she said, her warm, inviting smile spreading on her pink cheeks as she scratched his head. She didn’t know how she riveted me. So damn adorable.

He only snorted at me and then followed us to the bedroom where I would settle Aila, and laid down on a space rug. Afterward, I showed Aila to the bathroom, let her take her time to bathe, then gave her a change of clothes I kept in the closet.

“Sorry, I don’t have other stuff right now.”

My t-shirt engulfed her so she didn’t put on the pants. She eyed me. “It’s okay. Are you going to stay with me? Everyone wants to kill me.”

Her lithe legs extended from below the baggy t-shirt. My chest squeezed at her wanting to know if I would stay with her, and my cock twitched in my jeans. “They wanted to mate you, Aila. From me and anyone else. And I don’t know what anyone told you about me, but I’m not a killer. I had nothing to do with my father’s death, or anyone else’s. They were the first ones to die from the curse, but we hadn’t made the attack public. We were still trying to figure out what was happening and we wanted to keep everything under wraps. Firebrand Pack took advantage and spread rumors it had been me.”

She eyed me with a wary look but followed off after me. When she climbed into the bed, her body sank into the mattress, and her eyes closed. The most serene, lovely look fell over her oval face.

I sat by her side for the rest of the night, staring at her. I wouldn’t leave her side. Not when we were under attack.

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