“Why didn’t you go back with him?”
“Because I don’t want to drag him into this.” Fucking finally, he has the manners to turn and face me. “If there’s a chance the Feral Beasts are gonna come after me again, I don’t want Ash or his family anywhere near me.”
Brave and loyal.
He’d make a good wolf.
But it’s never fucking happening.
“They might leave you alone,” I say instead. To be honest, I have no idea what those arseholes will do. If Corey’s theory is right and they attacked him because he smelt like me? Well, his little stay at this compound won’t have helped matters.
Not my problem, though.
Maybe if I say it enough times it’ll sink in.
“You really think they’ll let it go?” For once there’s no edge to his voice, no glare sent my way.
It forces honesty where I should probably have gone for the lie. “No. I have no fucking clue what goes through their heads at the best of times. But as you’re already aware, they’re not nice.” Understatement. “If they find out you’re alive and think there’s a chance you’ll go to the police...” I don’t need to finish that sentence.
“Right. Yeah.” He sighs again, looking so lost and alone, it’s an effort not to cave and reach for him like part of me—most of me— is so desperate to do. “I should just go away for a bit.”
“Probably.”
“I’ll just—” He stumbles as he turns, legs buckling. Instinct has me surging forward to catch him, arms wrapping tight around a surprisingly hard body.
His scent hits me a second later. Lingering traces of blood and pain, undercut with the subtle essence of grass and... flowers. Fuck me, I refused to put a name to it before, but he smells like summer. I can’t help it, I inhale long and deep. My head dips until I’m so close to his skin I can feel the heat coming off it.
And I can still smellthem.
As my nose skims the base of his throat, it’s so faint. I almost miss it for what it is, but I’m an alpha. My senses are heightened more than most and there’s no mistaking the taint of Feral Beast that clings to him.
They bit him.
Right here.
Right where my mouth hovers over skin that has now healed, but I remember the teeth marks that they left.
How fuckingdarethey.
My jaw tightens, fangs already breaking the skin as my body floods with the need to bite. The primal urge to replace their mark with one of my own. It’s so overwhelmingly powerful, my wolf dangerously close to the surface, I shouldn’t be surprised at the rumbling growl building in my chest.
Awareness grips me before I let loose the full roar I’d been building towards, but it’s too fucking late. Morgan stiffens in my arms, his body rigid where it’d been almost pliant before.
He felt it.
I know he did.
It might not make sense in his head, but the rest of him knows it’s not normal.
“You should get back upstairs.” I keep my voice soft so as not to spook him further. I wonder if he’ll let me get away with ignoring the huge fucking elephant in the room or call me on it.
It feels like hours pass, the silence thick and heavy around us, but I don’t let go and he doesn’t either. The solid weight of himpressed against me feels so fucking right in that moment I forget everything else.
Where we are.
Who’s watching.
Why it’s so dangerous to have him in my arms.
