He didn’t get to come into my home and make it sound like I was sleeping around. I’d had sex with one male, and while he was probably the worst choice I could have made, it was my choice and my body. I had to deal with the fallout of what came from my choices, and I would if it came to pass. He didn’t have to worry about it, nor did anyone else.
However, I wasn’t over the fact we’d had a lot of sex, and not once did pregnancy crossed my mind. I hadn’t even considered it a possibility, but I probably should have. I needed to ensure that I was protected from creating a life with him since I wasn’t ready to become a mother, nor did I want a child with a man who hated me more than he liked me.
Everyone stood and started toward the door. I followed behind at a slower pace, allowing no male behind me as they sent their pheromones into the air. Nor was I willing to chance any alpha trying to subdue me, since Dimitri had made his intentions clear with his jealousy. Luna had explained his obsession, or the basic wolf’s need to dominate and own whatever it craved, which unfortunately seemed to be me lately.
We started toward the woods that bordered ours and Knox’s property, and I gazed at the darkened house that had been silent for days. I was lost in thought as I moved toward the creek, checking that the portal there was still marked and sealed. The few Knox had learned of were all marked and had a spell to prevent them from acting as an open doorway between realms.
I stopped walking and peered around the forest before pausing, noting I’d become separated from the others as I had been consumed by thoughts of consequences for what I’d been doing. Great, of course, I’d been thinking about Knox and ended up lost in the woods alone after dark. It also didn’t help that the further from the house we got, the darker it became.
The hair on my neck rose as if I was being watched, and I stopped mid-step, peering around again as I moved in a slow circle. Swallowing, I frowned and noted that I wasn’t alone. I was being followed.
I tripped over a stick that caught my foot, looking over my shoulder only to find one of the alphas watching me as he sauntered toward me. I got up, dusting off my hands, and started forward again, moving deeper into the woods at a faster pace.
It was difficult to watch for sticks and branches that poked up from the ground or hung from dead trees as the light continued to fade. Branches slapped my face, whipping across my flesh as I moved through them. I wasn’t stupid; I realized he was sending me deeper into the woods, but what he failed to see was that we were almost to Knox’s property line. The moment we entered it, Knox would be alerted. My foot crossed over the line, and I turned to face the male who watched me with darkness in his gaze. I was being hunted.
Staring at the alpha, I crossed my arms as he slowly stalked me. He growled low from his chest. The noise he created rose with a warning, announcing his intentions. He would make a play to subdue me, and I would take him down easily. It was rather stupid on his part to assume just because I was cut off from the others, I was weak.
“You think you’re so fucking special, whore? You are nothing but a stupid little bitch that lies down and spreads her pussy for the bastard who thinks to rule us all. You need to be put down and put down hard, and I can’t wait to make you bleed.”
As if anyone could put me down harder than Knox? The man knew how to make a woman beg for it and then decide she’d bitten off a lot more than she could chew. I opened my mouth to respond, but a branch snapped in the opposite direction, pulling my attention to another alpha entering the small clearing.
Then another joined his friends, and I realized they’d separated me on purpose. I’d fallen into their trap perfectly while trying to avoid this situation from happening. I exhaled, watching each one as they started closing in on me from every angle. Fear kicked up into my throat, and I fought to calm my rapid heartbeat. Adrenaline shot through me, and I fisted my hands at my sides, waiting for one to lunge toward me.
“You don’t want to do this,” I whispered through the burning in my gums.
“You killed Fallon, and for what? Because you were too good for us to fuck?” one of the alphas snapped icily, malice dripping from his lips. “You will know the difference between an alpha and a wannabe king when we are finished making you scream and bleed for us, stupid little bitch.”
“I didn’t want to be raped, and I didn’t make Fallon choose his path. It doesn’t mean I thought myself better than you. I was protecting myself from being raped. I am not a wolf, nor am I bound to play by your rules!” I hissed as power erupted into the clearing, causing goosebumps to spread over my arms. I peered around the area, tasting the rawness of the power that had just entered it.
The men looked around warily, sensing something else had come into the fight. It wasn’t like Knox’s powers. It was undiluted, pure raw power that sent a shiver up my spine and warning bells erupting inside my skull. The men looked between each other, and then one stepped closer toward me, only to vanish before his foot had even touched the ground.
We all went still, listening to the noises within the forest. It was eerily silent, and everything inside of me said to run, now. I exhaled slowly as I started to take a step in the direction I assumed the house was located. I watched in horror as the missing alpha’s head was tossed back, rolling past my feet before his body dropped from the sky.
I looked up, staring at the treetops as the other alphas began to run deeper into the woods in separate directions. I closed my eyes, breathing loud enough that it was the only noise I heard until screaming erupted from the direction one of the alphas had taken. The hair on my arms rose with fear, and my throat tightened with a scream held within it.
At the sounds of the alpha’s screaming, I started running toward the house, at least what I hoped was the right direction. Whatever was in the woods, the barrier wasn’t preventing it from attacking. More screaming sounded before it went eerily silent, and I turned, staring into the woods. My breathing was hard, labored, and ragged from running and trying to stay ahead of the alphas. I turned back toward the house and released a blood-curdling scream.
Chapter 50
Knox stood in front of me, shirtless and covered in blood dripping from his razor-sharp claws, pushing through the tips of his fingers, black as night. Blackness surrounded his eyes, which were now swallowed in obsidian, banked with fiery embers that burned within them. He looked like something out of a horror story! Power was rolling off of him in deadly waves as he took a step toward me, and I tripped backward, landing on the ground only for him to follow me down.
He didn’t speak, but his nose went straight to my sex, inhaling it deeply like some wild beast before he slowly climbed my body, pinning me to the ground. He stared down at me as fiery embers continued to burn within his gaze. His mouth lowered to my neck, running his nose over the rapidly beating pulse at the hollow column where my neck touched my shoulder. Knox’s teeth skimmed my shoulder, sniffing it as he boxed me in with his body and held me to the ground with his weight. His knee pushed against my core as he licked my shoulder, creating a moan within my throat that I couldn’t prevent from bubbling up and escaping.
“Knox.” His name came out past the chattering of my teeth as heat flooded my core. He slithered against my flesh, watching me through dark eyes. He was one hundred percent predator, and I was the prey that he watched as he played with me. His facial features were more defined sharper as he studied me.