Chapter 6
The Man of Her Life
Eve’s earlier encounter with Braden had left her confused and vulnerable. Tom had insisted she shower when she got back to camp, and really, the warmth of the pulsating water spray had helped release some of the tension in her shoulders. For whatever reason, her anxiety when alone with Tom continued to grow. So, when he suggested they go eat at the mess tent, she’d eagerly agreed. At least they’d be around other people.
Also, Eve had hoped to run into Braden. The way they’d left things in the woods unsettled her. She wanted Braden. Heck, she yearned for him. He consumed her every thought. Her damn knee jerk reaction to his statement, “making you mine,” had ruined the moment—ruined everything.
And now, he was flirting with the blond bitch sitting directly across from Eve. How could Braden want to make love to her one minute, and then make googly eyes at another woman less than a few hours later? He sure moved on quick.
Eve scooped up a spoonful of mash potatoes and shoved them into her mouth as she leveled her gaze at the blond. She was incredibly beautiful,of course. Eve wanted to fling her plate at the woman—her rival for Braden’s affection.
When Braden sat down next to the blond, Eve ground her teeth. It was damned difficult to keep from jumping across the table and bitch-slapping them both.
“Braden!” the woman said with a light and friendly tone. “Where’ve you been keeping yourself?”
Eve could smell the woman’s arousal—not strong, but enough to put Eve on edge.
“Hey Lizzy.” He gave her a brief smile. “Oh, I’ve been around.” He glanced nervously at Eve before turning his gaze to his plate.
Lizzy. The bitch’s name was Lizzy. Well, if Lizzy didn’t quit touching Braden’s hair and his arms… Eve’s eyes widened as she watched Lizzy’s hand go under the table. She couldn’t stop her bounding pulse from climbing to her throat with a throbbing intensity. Her control circled the drain as the color in the room around them dimmed and a sharp pain in her palms drew her attention. She looked down—surprised to find blood seeping from the wounds in her hands from her own elongated claws.
“Eve.” Tom’s hand clasped around her wrist, and she yanked her arm away from him, but never took her eyes off Lizzy.
The blond raised a brow at her. “You all right?”
Eve shoved her plate and stood up. She looked down at Tom. “I think I need some air.” She had to get away before she did something really stupid…like deflate Lizzy’s perky tits with her fork.
“I’ll go with you.” Tom stood, but Eve held up her hand.
“I really want to be alone right now.” Why was Braden making her so crazy? She’d only met him this morning, and she’d made the choice to stop him. She’d sent him packing, and he’d moved on. And why wouldn’t he? He was a beautiful, gorgeous, and sexy-as-hell man. Of course he had other options aside from Eve! Her knee-jerk reaction when they’d been alone had completely ruined her chances with him. In all her life, she’d never connected so fully with another person, and what did she do—she rejected him. She hated herself for being so stupid—and hated feeling out of control.
She hadn’t walked too far out of the mess tent when a roar followed by a loud ruckus snapped Eve out of her self-pitying daze. She ran in and saw Tom and Braden, both partially transformed, their clothes mangled and mostly torn away as they grappled on the floor. They had flattened the table between them to the ground, and several people were trying to break them apart.
Tom had Braden pinned, his elbow pressed hard into Braden’s jaw as his beastly fist pounded against the side of Braden’s head.
Lizzy pushed against her shoulder. “I’m pretty sure this is all about you, darling.” She gave Eve a wink. “What are you going to do about it?”
With no thought and no plan, Eve ran full out and leapt the last few feet. She landed on Tom’s back and tried to pry him away from Braden. His arm lashed at her. She cried out when the back of his fist caught her in the side of the head, knocking her away.
“Eve!” Braden’s roar was deafening as he threw Tom off him. He stood to his full anthro-form height of over seven feet tall. He slashed his claws at Tom who came at him again when he tried to get to Eve. She noticed that while Tom might be the bigger of the two men, in this guise they were nearly equal in size. It took four lycanosapiens—fully shifted—to finally wrestle Tom to the ground, and another five to pin Braden who was still fighting to get to Eve.
She crawled toward them both, ignoring the rocks and hard ground biting into her hands and knees. Tom snarled and snapped at the men holding him down, while Braden’s deep howls of frustration vibrated deep in her chest.
Lizzy shouted to her over the commotion. “You can have one of them or neither of them, but you need to make a choice before someone gets really hurt.”
Choose.She didn’t want to hurt or betray Tom, but her mother’s words echoed in her mind… the whole world disappeared around us…in that moment, I knew he’d be the man of my life.Tom might be the man who saved her life, but what if Braden was the man of her life? Of course, there was the third option… choose neither.
Lizzy brushed past Eve and went to help the five men holding Braden. In his blind rage, he’d gotten an arm loose and had nearly gotten to his knees. Watching the blond touch Braden, even if it was just to get him under control, sent Eve spiraling. The irrational fury wound tightly in her chest causing her bones to shift and reform as her body lengthened and reshaped.
They were holding Braden down, keeping him against his will. They were hurting him, and now that bitch, the one who wanted Braden for her own had her hands all over him.Well, she couldn’t fucking have him!
“Get away from him,” she roared. The lycanosapiens holding both men down all looked at Eve with equal confusion. Only Lizzy was smart enough to get out of the way as Eve rushed the five holding Braden. She knocked into them like a bowling ball mowing down pins, giving Braden a chance to leap to his feet with a howling roar. Eve rejoiced when Braden ran straight to her, scooped her up in his arms, threw her over his shoulder, and sprinted out of the tent and deep into the woods.
