Without another word, Daemon turned and stalked from her room, leaving Narae staring at the closed door, heart hammering in her chest, pussy clenching with his last threat. Lifting a hand to her chest, she breathed, “Holy shit!” Collapsing back against the wall, she slid down it, then fisted her trembling hands. White-hot lust was ripping through her. In her head, she repeated Daemon’s last words.“And then I’m cominginyou.” But she didn’t want that.
Do I?
Daemon was a beast of a man. Strong, protective, sexy as fuck, but he was also an Allegiance wolf. An enemy. Narae didn’teven think a pairing between them would be allowed. But all of that was secondary to her one main concern. How could he want her? Jury was the beauty, the real prize. Delicate and feminine, Jury was what Narae assumed all males wanted. Narae was the opposite. Narae was quiet and kept to herself. She’d prefer not to have to talk to anyone if she didn’t have to. Where Jury liked help, Narae was hideously independent. Borne of constant letdown, she couldn’t bring herself to ask for help, even when she needed it. When Jury was socializing and losing track of time, Narae had her head down, working to exhaustion. And because of that, because she pulled her own weight, made her own way, and relied on no one else, she had little tolerance. Why would anybody want to be around someone like that? Why would a male want to be mated to someone like her? She wasn’t feminine or delicate. She wasn’t soft-hearted or easy-going. She was a caged tsunami that broke free more often than she’d like. She was set in her ways and too old to change, and she wouldn’t, not even for someone as attractive as Daemon. Knowing there were no females in the Allegiance pack made Narae believe that Daemon was just trying to attachhimself to her because she was the first female he’d seen in a while. His desire would pass. Honestly, she wasn’t opposed to helping him slake his need either. Because she was attracted to him too. No, attracted was too insignificant. She wasn’t just attracted to him. She wanted him. Almost as much as he was claiming to want her. So, what harm was there in sex? They were two consenting adults. Albeit from enemy packs thrown together and awaiting a war, but still. One night of passion to get each other out of their systems couldn’t hurt. Could it?
Aww, God, what if Jury’s right? What if I do have Stockholm Syndrome?
Honestly, watching Daemon decimate the recruits back at her compound had been stunning. She’d never seen any one male toss so many Enforcers around like rag dolls. Daemon had done it with ease. It had been more than impressive; it had been hot as hell.
Shhhit! I’m crushing on him.
Rushing to the bathroom, Narae hurried to get ready for the day. Her first order of business was finding Koe.
Chapter 28
In wolf form, Koe ran the perimeter of his territory, hoping and praying that Bragga and his Biters chose now to make an appearance. Under the guise of searching for enemies, he’d run to the furthest reaches of his territory in order to be as far from the pack compound as possible. He’d needed an outlet for the emotions plaguing him, but now he was panicking. Hiro and Cyrus had come to the compound to give him an update on their shifts, and Koe had given them an assignment, opting to take their next patrol. Now, away from the main house, all he could think about was Jury. Guilt was riding him hard, even though he knew neither Cyrus nor Hiro would hurt her, but still, had he gone too far? No. It had to be done. For the good of his pack. He had to know for certain before he went all in on her.
Slowing to a walk, he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the manor. He wondered how it was going. He wondered if Cyrus and Hiro had fully understood his directive. “Get intel but do no harm. We need answers, no matter the cost.” Now, he was worried about adding that last part. Why had headded it? It was contradictory to his ‘do no harm’ dictate. It would be confusing to his Enforcers because, when he replayed it to himself, it made no sense. Why had he even said ‘do no harm’. He should have said, ‘don’t fucking touch her’. Why hadn’t he told them to keep their fucking hands off her?
Worry gnawing at his gut, he turned and started jogging back to the manor. His jog turned into a run, images of Jury racing through his mind. Then he was in a full-on sprint, deciding along the way that he’d fucked up.
You fucking idiot! What have I done? What have I done?!
Cresting a rise, the manor came into view. The second he saw it, his heart started hammering harder, his gut clenching with the awareness that something was wrong. Something was wrong with Jury.
Ffffuck!If they hurt her…
But he couldn’t blame Cyrus or Hiro. He’d given the order. The blame lay with him.
As he reached the manor, he shifted back to human form. Throwing the door open, he raced inside and didn’t have to go in search of Jury. He felt her the second he stepped inside.
In a blink, he was at the door that led to the lower-level cells he’d initially put Jury in. The second he yanked the soundproof door opened, the sound of Jury screaming, and the scent of her tears slammed into him like a Mack truck. Rushing down the stairs, his insides twisted with fear, regret, and rage. The rage took fore as fur rippled over his skin, his claws and incisors extending as his wolf lunged for the surface. Koe held him back, barely. Feet pounding down the stairs, he raced toward the cell. Hiro turned to face him from the doorway of the cell, hands held up as he said, “Koe, she’s alright. We didn’t…”
That was as far as he got before Koe fisted his shirt with both hands and threw him aside so hard, he hit the far wall and dented the drywall. Inside the cell, Cyrus was standing over Jury where she sat on the cot. Closer now, it wasn’t just her tears Koe smelled but her agony as well. She was hurt, and that sent him over the edge. Cyrus’s head whipped up just as Koe reached him.He only managed to rush out, “Koe, she’s okay.” before Koe had him ripped backward and shoved up against a wall, his hand wrapped around Cyrus’s throat and choking him.
“Koe! Stop!” Jury cried.
But Koe didn’t hear her for the rage pounding in his ears. His hand tightened on Cyrus’s throat as the Enforcer struggled to be released.
Hiro staggered into the doorway and roared, “Alpha, stop! We didn’t hurt her!”
Then Jury was on him, her hands wrapping around his shoulder and yanking on him as she pleaded, “Koe! Please! They didn’t hurt me, it’s not what you think!”
Koe released Cyrus, who staggered forward, gasping for air. Turning to Jury, Koe gripped her shoulders and held her at arm’s length, eyes roving her body, searching for injury.
Tear-soaked face, angled up, Jury quaked, “They didn’t hurt me. Not intentionally. It just… It hurt when they touched me. I don’t know why. They weren’t rough.”
Jury’s words had Koe’s scowl slipping as her words registered. It hurt to be touched? That was typical of she-wolves who’d claimed a mate but hadn’t been marked or fully mated. If possible, Koe’s heart started beating harder with the warring of both hope and fear. Had her wolf attached itself to Koe, or was there someone else? Had he fucked up by trying to keep his distance from her? And if she had chosen someone else, then who? Head snapping toward Hiro, Koe growled low and threateningly. Cyrus’s touch had hurt Jury, so it couldn’t be him. Was she attached to Hiro?
Hiro held up his hands and shook his head. “I didn’t touch her, Alpha.”
Jury reached up and cupped his jaw, forcing his face back to her. Releasing his jaw, she reached down and grabbed one of his wrists and pulled his hand from her shoulder. Grabbing his hand, she lifted it to her face and pressed her cheek into his palm before breathing, “Can you touch me? I feel like it’ll make the pain stop.”
Holy shit!Heart seizing, Koe was certain that Jury didn’t know what she’d just confessed. And desperate as he was to know, he was terrified about it not working. Still, he lifted his other hand to cradle Jury’s face, his thumbs smoothing over her cheeks.
Instantly, Jury’s eyes fluttered closed, a relieved sigh leaving her as her tense shoulders slumped.
Her wolf had chosen him.She was his!
