Page 4 of Kiss My Sass

The thought did nothing to calm his beast, who was desperate to rip out of his skin. It was that fiercely loyal side of him that made him a good Enforcer, among other things. But even with the need for vengeance burning in his veins, his Demon Wolf could not bring himself to leave her. Not until he knew she was out of harm’s way.

Her eyes fluttered open just as he put some salve on one of the dozens of scratches across her flesh. Thor paused, unmoving, while caught in her line of sight. The blue of her eyes was clearer now, and something inside him warmed at the fact he’d helped.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Her eyes were still laced with exhaustion and pain, but there was something else, too. Maybe relief.

Too much pain. Never again.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he whispered.

Unable to help himself, he moved closer, reaching up to brush back her wild curls from her face carefully. He’d covered her with a sheet to protect her modesty. Her comfort was tantamount to everything right then.

“Thank you anyway,” she whispered, wincing with the effort.

“It’s no problem. But I need you to tell me who.”

Thor was aware of Brock lingering in the periphery of his vision. The Beta looked on, concerned as the fragile woman moaned softly, shivering as her body pushed her to heal. Finally, her gaze focused back on him, and it was laced with such sorrow, Thor’s heart damn near stopped altogether.

“Who did this to you?” he repeated, intent on her answer.

“My mate,” she answered, right before her eyes rolled up.

She had passed out again, and it was a good thing. Thor’s heart seized in his chest, unadulterated rage filled him.

Her mate? No!

She could not belong to another. She just couldn’t. What kind of man would do this to his woman? What kind of cowardly sack of shit could hurt the one person he was to protect and cherish?

Mate? No. Fuck that.

She was his, dammit. How could the Fates be so cruel?

Mine, snarled his Demon Wolf just before the animal tore out of him.

Chapter2

Three weeks.

That was how long she’d been hiding out with the Dire Wolf MC in Blue Valley, a suburb in south Jersey. Three weeks. That was when Domenica Corvo, Nica to her friends, had plummeted to what she’d thought was her death from the sky. Only she did not die.

Nica didn’t even hit the hard, black asphalt that had been getting closer and closer as she lurched into a panicked freefall when the last thread holding her wing in place came undone with an agonizing snap. Something had stopped her fall. No, not something, but someone.

She’d been saved. Caught in the arms of a hulking brute who should have scared the poop out of her. But there was always something a bit off when it came to Nica and her sense of self-preservation. As in, she simply didn’t have any.

Instead of being frightened by the tattooed giant with the shaved head, she couldn’t help but admire him. Even if only from afar. Sigh. Three weeks. That was how long since she’d first spied her savior. It was also how long he’d been avoiding her.

She wasn’t beautiful like the other women in the Pack. She was short, curvy, and a bit of a tomboy, really, with her lack of finesse and fashion sense. Maybe he preferred tall, sophisticated blondes or something.

Gods knew that was not her. Disappointment filled her and regret whenever she thought of the type of woman who might attract Thor Ulger. But even if he hated her on sight, at the very least, she’d expected some questions about her situation and how she’d landed there.

But other than the Alpha couple, no one else had asked. So, she just hadn’t bothered to tell anyone her story. Derrick and Lucy Rand were wonderful, easy to talk to, and sympathetic to her plight. They’d offered her sanctuary, and she took it.

What else could she do? Nica had nowhere to go. Plus, she was curious. She wanted to know more about the big, quiet man with the dozens of intricate tattoos covering his arms, chest, belly, and even his neck. He was not bald, as she’d first thought, but rather, he shaved his head with a long, sharp knife. She knew this because she’d walked in on him once in one of the several bathrooms in the Pack House.

It was more like a compound now that they’d added suites and wings to it, keeping in line with the oldish design out front, but affording the Pack some privacy by dividing the rooms up. She was staying in an unoccupied bedroom, but it was located in Thor’s wing.

She’d been startled at first and offered to move to another room. But he’d canted his head in that animalistic way he had about him and replied with one word, one very important word.

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