Thatwas it. I didn’t give a fuck what he meant, becauseno onehurt Flora, and whoever the fucker was, he was going to pay for laying a single finger on my omega.
I closed the distance between them in a flash. Up close, I got a better look at the stranger, and my stomach turned to ice when I realized his face was entirely covered.
Not one of those small masks that only covered the mouth, not a gaiter for the cold. No—this was a balaclava. And he’d paired it with sunglasses.
No one who was up to anything good wore a balaclava.
Well, unless both parties had given prior consent—but that was a whole other fantasy.
“Hey!” I shouted, putting every ounce of alpha tone into my voice. It came out rough, loud, and gravelly.
The stranger stilled, his head snapping up to look at me. All the while, Flora was trying to pull her arm free. There was no mistaking the bulge at the side of his jeans.
The fuck? He’sarmed.The knife wasn’t enough?
He clearly saw me coming—six-foot-three, built like a tank, ready to murder him—and decided that, even with a weapon, he was woefully outmatched. Apparently, he wasn’t entirely braindead, then. His hand dropped from Flora’s elbow, and before I even reached them, he turned and ran.
When I got to the omega, I immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back and up against me.
“What—?” she screamed, dropping her fries as her hand flew to the arm around her.
“It’s me,” I urged, turning her to face me. Her panic immediately melted away when she recognized me, and a flood of relief quelled some of the lingering adrenaline in my blood.
“You,” she said softly, her gaze wide and perceptive.
“Yeah,” I agreed, then gestured with my head up the street, where the guy had run off. “Who the fuck was that?”
Flora shook her head, her brow furrowing as the tears dried on her skin, frozen in the icy air. “I-I don’t know.”
“What did hesay? I wasn’t far behind you, but I couldn’t catch it.”
“He asked me… to gowithhim,” she gasped, her voice shaking, gaze falling to the pavement. “Oh my God. He had a knife. He was going to—” She stopped herself, her eyes finding mine again. She was staring at nothing, her face blank.
Shock.
“Don’t think about that,” I insisted. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
“It’s kind of hard not to!” she shrieked. “Holy shit. Why did he wantme? What didIdo?”
“Come on,” I said, wrapping an arm around her waist again and steering her toward where I’d parked my car. She let me guide her without complaint. “Let’s get you out of the cold.”
“Wait—where are we going?”
“You’renotgoing back to your apartment. It’s not safe. Not with whoever that guy was still out there. Absolutely not.”
“How doyouknow it’s not safe? I have a deadbolt. I’ll be fine. I just need to get home,” she countered, glancing at the building only a few feet away.
“You and I both know that with what’s been happening lately, your apartment isn’t safe.”
Shit.I probably shouldn’t have said that. But we needed to get out of here—now.
Flora stilled, her gaze narrowing. “What doyouknow about what’s been happening to me lately?” Her voice wassomewhat accusing, though I doubted she intended it. She was stressed.
I took a deep breath, knowing my next words would probably enrage her.Yup, here we go.
“Spencer is my pack mate,” I said simply.
Flora’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. “You’refriendswith that psychopath?”
