by Lola Glass
I gave in to my instincts and peed on a tree, leaving my scent to let Roman know where I was headed. Racing in the opposite direction as the she-wolves on his trail, I left more scent markers as I brushed up against trees and peed a few more times.
When I decided I was far enough away, I settled down in a comfortable spot beside a tree whose shape I liked. In human form the waiting might have bothered me, but I was more patient as a wolf and closed my eyes to take a nap.
My patience was unnecessary. Before I even fell asleep, a large black beast came traipsing into my territory like he owned the place. I stared lazily at him, blinking up at the monster.
He prowled around the area, scenting the air. He’d be checking for evidence of another male, I assumed. In wolf form his protectiveness seemed to make more sense. Hell, I even liked it.
When Roman was satisfied that the area was safe from other interested males, he licked my face. I snapped at his ear, and he growled playfully. I didn’t need any more encouragement to tackle him.
We rolled around the forest floor, wrestling and play-fighting. Happiness seemed to lift my shoulders. For some reason, fighting with Roman felt nearly as freeing as escaping from Ledger had. He didn’t let me win every time, but he didn’t try to dominate me either. It felt like we were equals.
We’d given up fighting and cuddled up in the spot I’d chosen earlier when the cavalry came.
Nineteen she-wolves ran straight for the male at my side. Some snarled and snapped at me while others were solely focused on Roman. I caught Lilac’s scent on the blonde beast at the front of the she-pack and knew things were about to go to shit. That chick didn’t have a chill bone in her body.
Roman stood tall, lifting his head and stepping in front of me. Though I felt certain the black wolf would protect me, I wasn’t about to take a beating on my belly in the dirt. I took my place at his side and growled low at the other bitches. They needed to see that I refused to be walked all over, regardless of whether I was with the Alpha or not.
The she-wolves stopped for the most part, watching the way Roman and I stood together. A few whined at his obvious statement as to which woman his scent had changed for. Four of them ran back into the woods, nursing broken hearts. A few growled at us, but Roman’s snarling response shut them up.
Lilac prowled forward, her nose in the air. I could scent her anger as she looked down on me like the predator she was. She would undoubtedly challenge me for the right to stand by Roman’s side.
Regardless of my form, I despised anyone who’d try to force someone to do something. Lilac didn’t have any right to claim him, and I wouldn’t step aside just because she was a determined bitch.
I strutted past Roman and glared her down, daring her to make a move. Her body tensed a fraction of a second before she lunged for my throat.
I jumped to the side and swiped at her head with my paw, claws leaving bloody trails on her neck as she dodged. She snarled and took a step toward me, but Roman stepped between us with that ginormous body of his in an attempt to end the fight.
“Enough.” Roman growled into both of our minds. Alphas had that ability, but it drained them so they tended to communicate without words in wolf form when possible.
“Stay out of this.” I threatened, a bit of my humanity seeping back in at the words.
What the hell was I doing?
“Fighting for a mate is our right.” Lilac snarled back.
Roman gave a harsh nod. My wolf-mind was certain he’d call it off and protect me if it came to that.
When he stepped back, Lilac launched toward me. My humanity vanished as my beastly side took control and I rolled out of the way. I was back on my feet nearly instantly, dodging her snapping teeth.
We circled each other a moment, and I looked for weaknesses.
Her eyes flicked to Roman, giving away her desire to impress him. She was worried about how this looked. She was focused on coming off strong and confident, making me look weak.
An idea formed in my mind.
She snapped at my neck and I dodged to the side just before she would’ve caught me, purposefully slow. When she stalked toward me, I scrambled backward, extra effort going into making myself stumble.
The next few moments were more of the same.
Lilac swung, I dodged. She snapped, I jumped away. She lunged for me, I rolled to the side. It was a dance whose purpose she was blind to.
Confidence oozed off her as she stalked toward me, tail swishing with every step. Pride glittered in her eyes.
It would be her downfall.
She pounced. Instead of dodging again, I lunged for her throat. My teeth collided with her neck, barely breaking the skin. I wasn’t there to kill her, just to assert my own dominance. Roman wasn’t my territory, but he wasn’t hers either. She had no right to start fights over him.
She snapped and snarled, her body jerking to both sides as she fought for a freedom that never came. I waited until she stopped fighting, then lifted my head and loosed a howl of victory. Roman joined in, but the other females just whined.
The moment I released her, Lilac went for the kill. Roman’s massive body tackled her from the air, but her claws sliced over my back as he knocked her away. The Alpha’s furious snarl shook the ground with the help of the power that slammed through the air, targeted at the honorless blonde wolf.
When Roman finally released her, Lilac stood on shaky paws. Her head bobbed at Roman in a gesture of acceptance and then she turned and ran with her tail between her legs.
The other females echoed her whine and took off in the same direction she’d gone.
Roman nudged me back to the place we’d been lying before the females showed up. I huffed at him, the burning and bleeding on my back making me want to do anything but move. He bumped and bothered me until I plopped back down on my belly like he wanted.
When he tried to lick the wounds on my back, I snapped at him until he gave it up. My skin had already been touched by far too many men’s tongues; the only other person to lick my wounds would be my mate. The injuries would scab overnight and I’d be fine.
My eyes drifted shut. There would be plenty to deal with when I shifted back, but for the moment, all I wanted to do was sleep.
NINE
“Wake up.” A large hand ran over the vibrant strawberry fur on my head. The voice belonging to the hand had quickly become my idea of the sexiest sound on the planet. It was a problem, how much I liked his voice. “I’ve never seen a pink wolf before.” Roman murmured. I shifted back, laying naked on my stomach on the dirt. Though the air was around us was icy cold, Roman and I had warmed the dirt enough that the temperature wasn’t terribly uncomfortable.
“Red.” I mumbled. My whole body hurt too freaking much to move.
Damn Lilac.
Roman chuckled.
“I’ve got to get back to help with breakfast and I won’t leave you here alone.” He was also naked, and obviously checking out my ass. Since I wasn’t in a hurry to get up, that was all he had to look at besides my legs and some side-boob. My hair was plastered to my back, and I winced at the idea of pulling it out of my wounds.
Which still felt wet, if I let myself think about them. They probably should’ve scabbed by then.
Shit.
“How are you feeling?” He reached for my hair, intending to move the tangled mass.
“Don’t.” I bit out the word. His hand paused a few inches from my skin, and his eyes narrowed. “I’m fine. I’ll deal with it.”
Roman leaned toward me, inhaling.
“Damn it, Henley. You’re still bleeding. Let me heal you.” He snarled at me. I glared back.
“I’m fine.”
“If you were fine you would’ve at least started recovering by now. You’ve got two options here. I can carry you back to my place or you can let me lick your wounds.”
I’d have protested, but the odds of me being able to walk without assistance were really quite thin. With a long, slow breath o
ut, I finally said,
“You can carry me.”
Roman looked me up and down.
“Stop checking me out while I’m bleeding.” I snapped.
“I’m trying to come up with the best way to avoid hurting you. Although you do have a great ass.” He was quiet a moment. “I think reverse piggy-back might be our best bet.”
“Great.” My words were clipped. Pain made me pissy.
“If you’re not protesting, you must be in a lot of pain.” His expression was tight.
He didn’t want me to hurt.
Roman lifted me like I weighed nothing. The way he maneuvered me in an attempt not to hurt me was awkward and painful, but there really wasn’t a better option. He headed through the forest toward his place, holding me to him with one hand on my thigh and the other on my upper back.
I tried to ignore the way his muscles felt on my curves. The burning in my back made that task much easier. The forest was quiet, but there were likely still wolves scattered through it so we walked in silence for a few minutes. Well, he walked. I held on with my eyes squeezed shut.
“Can’t say this is how I imagined us spending our first hour naked together.” Roman remarked. I snorted.
“How did you imagine it, then?” I paused. “Wait. Don’t answer that. Pretty sure I can guess. ”
Roman’s chuckle vibrated both our chests.
He was reluctant to leave me in the room I was using when we got back to his house. I convinced him with a reminder that he was supposed to help with breakfast and a promise that he could look at my injuries afterward. I’d have a hard time dealing with them myself anyway.
Locking the door behind me, I started the shower and stepped in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection for a long moment.
My pale skin was tinted brown with dirt, strawberry hair crusted to my back with dried soap and blood. Bits of leaves were glued to my skin by all of the above and tangled in my hair so thoroughly I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get them out.
Despite all of that, my eyes were brighter than I’d ever seen them. I looked alive—happy, even—and felt it too. The New York pack may have taken my freedom, but I didn’t feel trapped. If anything, I felt more capable than ever.
Minus the back wound, of course.
I stepped under the water. It scalded me, and I swore as I cranked the heat down lower.
It took a long while to rinse my hair free of the muck and longer to ease it away from my wounds. The pain worsened the longer I spent on my feet and with every drop of water that hit my back. I should’ve let Roman bandage me before breakfast.
When I finally got out of the shower, my back hurt like a mother and I had a tension headache from the pain. On top of the Band-Aids and Neosporin, I needed ibuprofen badly.
As I slowly pulled on underwear, leggings, and a big black sweatshirt that hopefully wouldn’t touch my back, I began down the stairs. The sweatshirt was already assaulting my wounds by the time I made it down, but a slow and painful search of the kitchen revealed the glorious medication I needed. After taking twice the recommended dose of ibuprofen and a little Tylenol too, I shuffled out to breakfast.
People chatted and grabbed food, sitting on blankets and camping chairs scattered all over the street. Everything looked quieter and more laid back than yesterday.
When I stepped outside the house, a few people stared at me. I heard someone say my name from somewhere in the crowd, and when everyone started talking louder, discomfort rose within me. I steeled myself against it and scanned the people. Arla was the nearest one I recognized, so I made my way to her.
“How are the battle wounds?” Arla’s expression was somewhere between a smile and grimace as she twirled her spatula in the air. My sweatshirt was sticking to my weeping wounds, so I carefully tugged it away from my skin with a nearly-hidden wince. Arla pulled my heavy, wet braid to the side, tugged the neckline, and peeked inside. “Shit.” She let go and flipped a pancake. “We need to get you to a doctor.”
“Eh. I’ve had worse.” It was and wasn’t a lie. I’d been tortured; I knew pain well. I’d just never walked around with the injuries. Most of the time, part of the torture was having my wounds licked by whatever disturbed maniac was hurting me. “How’s Lilac?”
“Physically fine. You obviously weren’t out for blood, though I can’t say the same about her.” She glanced back in my direction with a look of pity on her face.
Man, I hated pity.
“I’m sure she just got caught up in the heat of the moment.”
Another lie.
Lilac had wanted me dead and Arla and I both knew it. For whatever reason, the chick had decided that despite Roman’s repeated rejection he was hers and she was willing to do anything to claim him.
Including kill me.
No point in dwelling on it.
My stomach growled, so I glanced at the start of the food line.
Too far to walk. Not worth it.
“Go sit down. I’ll bring you food.” Arla ordered.
Normally I would’ve argued, but the help was welcome this time.
“Thanks.”
Lilac sat in a group of she-wolves. At least a few of them had been among the girl pack that chased Roman the night before. I wasn’t one to hide from my problems with other women, so I shuffled to them before finding a seat. Lilac wore a stony expression, swollen eyes shimmering with unshed tears and fury. She was one of the few others who had clearly showered before coming.
“You had no right to challenge me for a man who didn’t want you.” I glowered at her, daring her to disagree.
“His scent changed for me.” She snapped. I’d planned on being civil, but she pissed me off.
“No, it changed for me.” My fists clenched at her total lack of apology. “You attacked me after I kicked your ass. It was a move without honor, respect, or loyalty, and the only man who would want a bitch willing to do something like that is an abusive douchebag who would make your life a living hell. I hope you rot in—“
“You made your point.” Roman’s giant hand landed on my lower back, below the injuries, and steered me away.
I flipped her off over his shoulder, then shot him a heated glare.
“What are you doing?” I snapped.
“Preventing you from starting a war in my pack.”
I scoffed as he helped lower me to the grass off to the side of everyone else, but noticed the loaded plate in his other hand and my eyes locked on the food. He balanced the plate on my legs and his eyes swept up and down my figure.
“Do you own anything that isn’t skin-tight?” he changed the subject, but the new subject pissed me off almost as much as the old one.
That sexy drawl would be the death of me.
“Do you ever listen to me when I tell you what I wear is none of your business?” I shot back.
“Listening and agreeing are two entirely separate beings.”
“You are infuriating.”
“So are you.”
Roman and I agreed on one thing, it seemed.
“You were supposed to wait for me in your room.” He dared me to argue.
Should’ve known I’d never backed down from a dare.
“So you could get out of letting people know you’re into me?” I accused. He met my narrowed eyes with the same expression.
“So you wouldn’t hurt yourself on the way here.”
“Liar.” I lifted a grape to my lips. Roman’s eyes tracked my fingers. Icy wetness seeped into my leggings from the freezing grass beneath me but I didn’t have the energy to care.
“Your hand is shaking.”
I dropped the grape back on the plate and set it on the grass. I needed a break from him, and the pack, and everything else. My body freaking hurt and I just wanted to be alone.
“Can I see your back?” he asked, before I could get up and leave.
“No.”
My sweatshirt was already stuck to my wounds again and I was too exhausted to keep sittin
g up, so I slowly lowered my back to the grass. A quiet hiss escaped me as the cold wetness began to soak through to my back. Roman’s growl of frustration was so quiet I wondered if I imagined it.
“You sincerely think I wanted you to wait in your room so the pack wouldn’t know I was into you.” He said.
The last time a guy other than Ledger had been into me I was nineteen. His dad was an enforcer, and when he found out his son liked me he’d convinced the Alpha to lock me in my apartment for three months straight. I’d survived on canned food and willpower, and when I finally emerged, the guy who’d been into me beat me so bloody I couldn’t get out of bed for days.
So yeah. I didn’t think he’d want his pack to know he wanted me, and I didn’t deny it. Probably couldn’t pull off that lie.
Roman stood up, walking to the nearest picnic table. He stepped up onto the bench and then to the tabletop. He had everyone’s attention before he called out,
“Everyone, listen up.”
The neighborhood went silent. Wind in the trees was the only sound.
“I’m chasing Henley Clark. Gossip about it to your heart’s desire because she’s it for me. End of story.” He stepped off the table and strode back to my side. I threw my arm over my face, still laying on the grass. Looking him in the eyes after that announcement would make me blush, and I hated blushing.
“Seriously?” I muttered as he sat down beside me.
“You can feel whatever you want for me, but I sure as hell won’t let you believe I don’t want you.” He gently caught my wrist and used the grip to pull my arm off my face. “Now, show me your back.”
“No.” He looked like he was going to argue. “I’m not wearing a bra and don’t feel like flashing my boobs at the pack.” I clarified. Why I felt the need to do so was beyond me.
Roman leaned over me to grab my shoulder and hip and then carefully rolled me so the front of my body was propped up on his leg. He tugged my freezing braid over my shoulder and went silent for a minute when he saw the way my sweatshirt was plastered to my back.