Lyric rushed to shove the pans into a paper sack she found under the sink, then bolted for her room and grabbed a few more things and shoved them into a backpack, and dragged the rest out in an armload to shove into the suitcase she had sitting in the kitchen. She looked up to find Vic’s hand out. She slipped her palm against his and a warm sensation drifted from his touch up her arm. Safe. She was safe. He was going to get her out of here.
Vic took her backpack from her and shouldered it, then grabbed the handle of her suitcase as he passed it, and kept a firm grip on Lyric’s hand, holding her tightly behind him. He didn’t rush or lower his posture. He walked unbothered out of that house and met the eyes of the werewolves that were gathering on the porch.
They backed off one by one. A couple stayed down in the yard at a distance.
“It’s done,” Vic told them. “Lyric doesn’t belong to this Pack anymore. If you come for her, you will meet your death. I swear it.” Truth, truth, truth. Chills, chills, chills. “It’s time to let her go.”
“I’ll never let this go,” Eden gritted out from the porch. “You are my enemy now.”
Lyric lifted her chin higher into the air as Vic set her suitcase in the back of his truck. “I think I always was, Eden. Be grateful for the years I did your bidding, and move on.”
Eden’s smile was evil. “You’ll regret this.”
“No, she won’t,” Vic assured her easily as he shut his driver’s side door and led Lyric to the passenger’s side of his truck. He opened the door and helped her up, with no rush. He leveled her with a golden-eyed look. “Keep the doors locked.” He clicked the auto-lock button.
“Wh-what?”
“Take the truck if they come for you.”
“Wait. Vic?” she asked as he shut the door. “What are you doing?”
Vic pointed at Cian and then twitched his head to the clearing. Without breaking step, he peeled his shirt over his head and threw it to the side. The scars on his back were a different texture from the rest of his skin and shone silver in the porch light.
Cian’s blazing eyes and empty smile met her as he walked past the truck.
Shhhit.
Vic’s Change was fast, and a wave of power pulsed through the clearing and right through the truck into her chest as his wolf settled on all fours. Cian Changed, but it took longer, and Vic paced back and forth, his hackles raised, his eyes trained and unblinking on him. His animal looked terrifying.
The Pack drifted toward them and formed a loose circle around the wolves. Cian lunged at Vic the moment he was upright.
In general, she was desensitized to violence. Lyric was a werewolf after all, but this? This was a different type of violence. Cian stayed on the defense from the first moment and Vic bled him so quickly. It was maybe fifteen seconds and Cian was on the ground, and not willing to get up again.
She’d never seen him beat. Not ever.
Lyric sat frozen in the seat, watching as Vic Changed back and grabbed his jeans off the ground. He slammed his shoulder into one of the Pack who was standing in his way, and he stopped and said something to Eden on his way back to the truck. His eyes flashed and glowed like an animal’s in the porch light as he spoke to her. And then her hate-filled glare followed him as he sauntered toward the truck.
His skin remained unmarred by the fight. A slight sheen of sweat glistened on his shoulders and powerful chest, and every muscle was flexed as he walked, his jeans clutched in his fist. His gaze met hers through the window, and he nodded.
She unlocked the door as he reached it and he yanked the door open and slid in.
“You’re…you’re not even bleeding,” she whispered. Maybe this was what shock felt like.
Vic threw his truck into drive and hit the gas so hard, the back end fishtailed and sprayed the house with mud. He eased off the gas, caught traction, sped out of the clearing, and headed for the main road that would lead out of Pack territory.
His body was humming with tension, and she didn’t know what to do. He gripped the steering wheel so hard, the leather creaked. His abs flexed with every breath.
She’d never seen a hotter man in her entire existence. Holy shit. Her body was reaching for him, but right now, he needed to control the wolf. He didn’t need a distraction. They still needed to get out of here and figure out what the hell she was going to do.
“Who is he?” Vic asked in a snarling voice.
“His name is Cian.”
“No, I mean who is he to you?”
“My ex,” she said softly.
He nodded, his eyes trained on the road. There were headlights ahead, and her heart started beating harder.
