by Lola Glass
We moved quickly, my brain spinning as I struggled against the pain. My legs shook, and by the time we sat on the icy asphalt outside Jamie and Arla were carrying me completely.
Both male Alphas were in their wolf forms circling each other when we got outside, beige vs black fur making it easy to track their movements. Roman snarled in my direction, and Ledger took the opportunity to attack. His teeth sunk into Roman’s back leg, and I bit back a scream.
Roman kicked the other man in the face, snapping at Ledger’s shoulder. Ledger dodged and then lunged for Roman’s throat. Roman ducked to the side, slicing into Ledger’s shoulder as he moved.
The men exchanged blows a few more minutes. My hands were clenched tightly on Jamie’s arm, icy sharpness cutting into my bare legs. Arla held the cleaning stuff to a wound on my upper back, but my injuries were a past thought as we all watched for the outcome.
I’d never seen Ledger fight before or since he challenged Roman in the ‘scraper. He’d been cocky then, and unprepared. That wasn’t the case this time. This fight was much closer.
Roman dodged a particularly powerful slash of Ledger’s claws. Ledger rolled over the top of him, and Roman barely jumped away from a kick of claws toward his belly. He leaped for Ledger as the beige wolf landed, and the men rolled a few times. Roman bit down on Ledger’s uninjured shoulder and yanked. The beige wolf snarled and slashed at Roman, who ducked to the side to avoid another cut.
Ledger launched toward my Alpha, and Roman lunged for his throat. Roman’s teeth met Ledger’s pulse and ripped with a powerful shake of his head.
Ledger’s body fell to the ground, lifeless.
He was finally gone.
Roman lifted his muzzle to the sky and loosed a powerful, victorious howl. The Colorado pack shifted forms at once, every member falling to his or her bellies and responding in kind.
My big black wolf stalked toward me, blood on his muzzle as he walked around me and the girls, checking to make sure I was in one piece. I shut my eyes, heavy relief on my shoulders. Roman had won—he was fine—and Ledger was gone.
Large, calloused hands cradled my face. I opened my eyes.
“I shouldn’t have left you.” Roman’s eyes were filled with self-hatred. It wasn’t an expression I’d seen on him before, and it surprised me. His face was covered in blood and I didn’t even care.
“You have a life. You can’t be with me every minute of every day.” I croaked.
“You are my life.” He growled, turning his attention to his sister and Jamie. “I’ll take her from here. Thank you.”
A warm, muscular arm slipped under my legs.
“Careful of her—“
I cried out as Roman’s arm pressed into my back. He yanked it away, taking a closer look at the tattered fabric. A loud snarl ripped through the air, making most of the wolves around us whine.
When he lifted the material and saw my back, a barrage of curses spewed from his lips.
“I’m tired.” I whispered. As grateful as I was for his rescue and fury on my behalf, I’d gone from chained to a wall being tortured to sitting half-naked on sharp, icy asphalt. A shower and a bed sounded heavenly.
Roman’s face twisted into a grimace.
“Do you want Jamie and Arla to help you get cleaned up instead of me?” I could tell he had a hard time getting the words out. No part of him wanted to let me go, but he was trying to be understanding of what I’d been through.
“No.” My hand moved a couple inches, grabbing onto his arm.
Relief crossed Roman’s face and he lifted me carefully, my chest pressed to his. The wound on my boob throbbed with pain, but it was nothing compared to the fire on my back.
“Thanks, guys.” I murmured to the girls.
They nodded.
“We’ll deal with whatever we can without you.” Arla told her brother.
His head bobbed. Cradling me to his chest more gently than I’d known he could, he carried me into the house that smelled of Ledger. With my head in the crook of Roman’s neck, even Ledger’s scent didn’t scare me.
THIRTY-THREE
“I want a shower.” I spoke into Roman’s neck as we stopped in a bedroom that smelled like a variety of people, none of which were Ledger. It was a guest room, I assumed, and I was grateful for that. I felt his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed and then nodded.
“I’ll have a hard time putting you down.” His voice was rough.
“Don’t put me down.”
Roman’s arm tightened around my hips, and he carried me into the bathroom. Turning the shower handle, he spun so the ice water hit his back. When it was warm, he eased me into the water too. My head remained against him, and I felt Roman’s body begin to relax beneath the hot water.
“Can you get this shirt off me?” I asked.
Roman lifted his leg, using it to hold me up as he reached for the neckline of the shirt Ledger had dressed me in. He tore the fabric down the back and eased it off my skin before maneuvering it from my arms. I pulled my chest off of his, and with another bob of his throat, he pulled it off completely and tossed it to the side of the shower.
He stared at me, and I stared at him. Both of us naked, much of our bodies pressed together.
I was getting turned on again, but was exhausted and in pain. So, I just leaned my bare chest into Roman’s and wrapped my arms around his back again.
His fingers pressed into my backside as he lowered his leg, holding me up by my hips and ass once again. Roman’s desire made me feel warm and light after the heavy darkness of the storm cellar.
“Can I heal you?” his words tickled my ear as warm water fell on my bloody, dirty hair.
“After I’m clean.”
He nodded and carefully pulled my hair out from between us. Rubbing the strands between his fingers, he cleaned as much as he could with water before grabbing the shampoo.
“You can wash yourself, you know.” My lips brushed his throat, and I loved the way he moved beneath me because of it.
“I’ll take care of you first.”
His gruff voice sent goosebumps up my arms.
“Does that only apply to this situation?” I whispered.
Roman’s chest rumbled. With his knuckle, he lifted my chin so our eyes met and our lips were barely an inch apart.
“You’ll always come first. In every situation and every way.”
The mischief in his eyes had my lips cracking in a smile.
“I missed you.”
He grabbed some shampoo and massaged it into my hair and scalp, going slowly and thoroughly. His hand glided over my skin as he cleaned my body, warming me with every brush of skin against skin.
The perfect ‘I clean you, you clean me’ romance novel cliché. Minus the back injuries, and a bathtub.
By the time he was done cleaning me, I was somewhere between hot, bothered, and relaxed. We wouldn’t be mating right after I spent a day being tortured though, so I ignored the hot and bothered bit.
Roman stepped out of the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around me and carrying me to the bed. He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck after setting me down on the bed on my stomach, striding back to the shower to finish scrubbing off the blood. He was back less than two minutes later, holding a towel loosely around his waist.
He opened drawers on a dresser at the side of the room until he found a pair of basketball shorts and tugged them on, then slipped onto the bed beside me.
“Do you want me to heal or feed you first?” His voice was soft, His hand sliding gently up the back of my thigh as he waited. My eyelids fluttered closed, body heating as his fingers stopped before reaching my ass and trailed back toward my knee. Roman stroked back up my leg and side, stopping to rest on my hip as he leaned over my back. “Hen?” He prodded.
“Healing first.” I wiggled a bit and swore at the pain that erupted as the towel brushed my back. Roman pushed the fabric off to my sides, large palm landing on my lower back.
“Are you goin
g to shift?” my words came out sounding choked.
“Yes.” he met my eyes. “This is going to be intimate, Hen. You passed out last time, but when you healed me…” He trailed off. “It was intense. You can tell me to stop at any time.”
Roman shucked the basketball shorts and shifted. His tongue slid over my shoulder and I gasped at the feel of the warm, wet silk on my skin, back arching in pleasure. The pain that accompanied the movement had me whimpering, and Roman shifted back, his other hand landing on the injury he’d healed on my shoulder.
“Stay still. Let me take care of you.”
He shifted back. His tongue stroked over another cut on my back, and I bit back a moan. I felt better and wanted him more with every stroke of his tongue, my body flaming with desire.
My back was healed when Roman tugged the blanket over my lower half and carefully rolled me over, his eyes landing on the cut on my very exposed boob. I covered my nipples with the towel and his hand spread over my flat stomach, my back arching again at the contact.
“May I?” His eyes were nearly black.
“Yes.” I bit my lip, trembling with want as his tongue traced over the wound.
He pulled away a moment later, my eyes held closed as I struggled for air. When his hands left my skin and he slipped out of bed, I made a noise of protest. He pulled the blanket over my body, and the rough feel of the fabric had me biting back a groan.
“I’ll be back with food.” The low rumble of his voice had me grabbing his arm to stop him from going.
“I’m not hungry anymore.” My eyes met his, my body still flooded with want.
“You need to eat.” He bent toward me, lifting my hand to his mouth and pressing his lips to the tattoo on my wrist, intact thanks to Ledger’s chains. My eyes shut again after he strode out to the kitchen.
With the room quiet and empty, I relaxed and began to feel heavy. When he stepped back in with a sandwich, I was mostly asleep. Roman woke me up with his lips on my neck and wouldn’t quit licking and kissing me until all of the food was gone.
We cuddled up on the bed afterward, only a thin towel and basketball shorts separating our skin. I’d just fallen asleep when a fist pounded on the bedroom door.
“Henley!” Arla yelled. My eyes opened and collided with Roman’s. “ROME!” She yelled louder. “The Alphas of All are here. Ledger called them—they’re here for Henley!”
Horror filled my eyes while fury burned in Roman’s.
When they saw my hair, they’d flip.
Arla burst into the room, panic in her eyes. She saw my lack of clothing and ran to the closet, flinging the doors open and yanking clothes off the hangers.
“You need to get dressed—you have to run.” Arla shoved the clothes at me while Roman rolled away from me, fists clenched.
“I’m tired of running.” I pushed the clothes back to Arla, climbing to my feet with my towel as Roman began to pace the room.
“I don’t care!” She screeched at me, grabbing the shirt she’d shoved into my hands and yanking it over my head. I pushed her away, but she wrestled my arm into one of the sleeves.
“I’ll challenge them.” Roman snarled.
Arla froze, leaving me wrestling her and the shirt I was half-wearing.
“No, you won’t.” I snarled back.
“I won’t let them anywhere near you.” He growled at me, crossing the room and forcing my arm through the other sleeve of the shirt.
What was I, a Barbie doll?
“I’ll run.” I said. It was a far better alternative than losing Roman to the Alphas of All. “You can’t fight them. I’ll go so you’re all safe.”
“Like hell you will.” Roman grabbed me by the shoulders, lowering his eyes so they met mine. “You’re mine, Henley. I’ll kill anyone who gets between us.”
His wolf was at the helm, but mine was close to the surface too.
Roman had protected and taken care of me for months. It was my turn to protect him. As far as I could see there was only one option.
I reached to my wrist to slice through the scar and tattoo there. Jamie flew through the doors and I hesitated long enough for Roman to realize what I was about to do and grab my arms, holding them away from each other.
“What are you doing?” Jamie demanded, looking between the three of us. “They didn’t kill anyone last time you saw them. We’ll be fine.”
“I have Alpha hair.” I tugged my arms from Roman but he held on too tightly to get free.
“We’ll hide it.” Roman growled.
I felt the touch of a crazy strong Alpha power reaching for me; it had to be them.
“Pants. I need pants.” I lunged for the closet. Arla shoved sweats in my face and jammed a hat over my head, stuffing my hair up in it as I struggled into the pants.
Roman scooped me into his arms as soon as the pants were on while Jamie helped Arla finish wrestling my mass of hair.
“I can walk.” I snapped at Roman.
“I don’t care.” He snapped back.
The feeling of their Alpha Power became stronger, and I heard tires crunching snow outside the house.
Roman strode out the door, an iron grip on me. I stopped struggling against his hold since there was no point.
Arla and Jamie were close at Roman’s heels, Oliver and Gunner waiting outside already. Roman stopped beside them, the Alphas and enforcers standing together in a united line. And then there was me.
Wolfsbane.
The Alphas of All rode in a massive black hummer with windows tinted so dark I couldn’t see a thing through them. The driver’s and passenger’s doors swung open together, the Alphas stepping out of the vehicle at the same time. The doors closed, revealing the werewolves who’d visited the skyscraper weeks earlier.
Their hair seemed even redder than I remembered.
“Shit.” Arla muttered.
Roman shot her a glare and she snapped her mouth closed.
“Roman Ellis.” The Alpha Female’s voice boomed, she and her companion strolling toward me and my pack. Their alpha power flowed in a continuous stream, and the way they held themselves said they knew their strength.
“Alphas.” Roman’s head bobbed jerkily. He wasn’t a guy who bowed to anyone.
Why did I have their hair?
They covered the distance between us and walked along the line of our pack, their noses only inches from our faces. They sniffed each of us, crossing paths with each other so they both smelled everyone.
The Alpha female stopped in front of Jamie, leaning her nose all the way to Jamie’s neck before pulling away with a small smile, pressing her hand to Jamie’s lower belly.
“Cherish the time your pup lives within you. They are much more difficult out than in.”
Jamie’s face flushed bright red and she met Oliver’s gaze. All the blood rushed out of his face.
When the Alphas finally stepped back, satisfied with our scents, they were focused on Roman.
“Tell me you haven’t taken out another Alpha.” The male Alpha of All glowered at Roman and protectiveness rose within me. I fought the instinct to bare my teeth at the man.
“Ledger King abducted me again. Roman killed him to save me.” I spoke. Roman’s arms tightened around me and I got the sense he didn’t want me defending him to these people.
“Why were the men fighting over you in the first place?” The Alpha Female hit me with an icy stare.
I pulled myself from Roman’s arms, and he put me down although his arm remained around my waist.
“My name is Henley Clark, but I’m more well-known as Wolfsbane.” I pulled my shirt down to show them the tattoo on my collarbone.
Awareness filled the Alphas’ eyes.
“Well,” The female looked to Roman, her body position more curious than angry now. “We have many questions for you.”
“I can imagine. And I’ll answer them.” I swayed a bit, and Roman pulled me closer as he held more of my weight.
“Henley spent the past twenty-four
hours in Ledger’s torture room. She needs food and sleep before answering anything.” Roman was acting too much like he was in charge; I was afraid the Alphas would freak out at him. Instead, they exchanged glances and nodded.
“We’ll handle things here and visit your pack when we’re finished.” The Alpha Female said.
The Alphas seemed surprisingly reasonable, given their reputation.
“Thank you.” Roman nodded his head again, slightly smoother this time.
“The Colorado pack has been gathered in their cafeteria.” Arla said. She must’ve had the same thoughts as I did, that they were reasonable.
Maybe having their hair wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
“Go.” The male commanded. Though I didn’t feel the impact of the order, Roman lifted me by the waist and my people all walked rapidly toward their rental van, their limbs moving stiff and robotically.
Arla took the driver’s seat and Gunner the passenger’s. Roman set me in the back seat and climbed in beside me, leaving the middle row to Jamie and Oliver. As they shut the doors, screams erupted from the building Arla had called the cafeteria.
She drove us away, still under the Alpha’s orders, but she rolled down the windows.
My heart stopped.
The scream of one grown man was followed by another, and another, and another. Arla rolled up the windows as it continued. Tears tracked down Jamie’s cheeks. Roman’s arms went tightly around me, and Arla’s fingers were white as they clenched the steering wheel.
The Alphas of All weren’t reasonable. Not at all.
And they were coming to question me in just a few days.
Me and my pinkish-red hair.
Damn, I was screwed.
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