Hunger of the Heart (Wolves of Ravenwillow Book 1)

by Magenta Phoenix

  “Was there something you needed?”

  “I am taking use of your infirmary since you cannot be trusted to do your job.”

  Scoffing with dismay, Dr. Tessa shoved at her long black hair, causing the glossy waves to fall down her back. “I do my job to the letter, Eric. I have always done whatever you’ve asked.”

  “Until today,” Eric bit out shoving back from Rebecca. Giving Rebecca a hard look, he muttered “Don’t even think of moving from this spot.” Shoving past the glaring doctor, he began retrieving bandages and antiseptic from the tall mounted shelves against the far wall before returning to Rebecca’s side.

  What was he doing?

  Looking past Eric as he laid out the items he’d collected, Rebecca found her eyes drawn to the glaring woman a few feet from her. If she wasn’t so terrified in at moment, Rebecca may have conceded that she was pretty in an average sort of way. She wore her hair nearly down to her waist in long black waves. It wasn’t until Dr. Tessa had shoved impatiently at her hair that Rebecca took notice of a thick scar on the right side of her face, where an ear should have been. From what she’d learned of shifters, they had excellent healing abilities, so why was this doctor so horribly scarred? As if feeling her scrutiny, Dr. Tessa stiffened before pulling her long hair over the right side of her face, hiding the hideous scars from view.

  “Leave us.” Eric bit out when he noticed that the doctor had made no move to help or speak.

  With an angry huff the woman stormed from the room, the edges of her white lab coat drifting behind her with her quick strides. Once they were alone, Eric took possession of her bandaged arm and quickly unwrapped the work she’d done just hours ago.

  Still surprised at why he was attempting to attend to her wounds instead of killing her, she stared at him stunned. What was he doing? Slapping at his hand, she attempted to pull her arm from him. “See the bandage, genius; that means I already took care of it. Now let me go.”

  "Shut up and hold still." Eric grated out as he ripped the rest of the gauze wrapping away to reveal a bloody bandage beneath. Tossing the length of gauze aside, he tenderly held her arm still as he lifted the bloody bandage away.

  Eric felt his heart squeeze in his chest at the sight of her wounded arm. He supposed in retrospect it wasn’t that bad, but inside he shook with fury that someone had harmed his mate. On the underside of her forearm was several thin cut from glass, the edges of each cut was red and irritated. The worst of her injuries was a single three inch cut diagonally across her arm. It was deep and still bled a bit.

  “You should have had these seen to.” he scolded, turning to rip the cap from the bottle of antiseptic. Quickly dumping nearly the whole bottle on her arm, he held her still as she cried out in pain as the wound bubbled with the contact.

  “Ow! You ass!”

  “There you go with your language problem.” He teased. Taking a thick gauze pad, he patted the area dry then he worked on bandaging the treated wounds. “Perhaps something needs done with that mouth of yours. A good wash with soap would help your disposition too I bet.”

  "You’re such a jerk, Eric." she grumbled out before wincing in pain at the pressure to her wound.

  He inclined his head at her words as he secured the bandage on her arm with two crisscrossed strips of tape. "I may be a jerk, but I am the only jerk you will know."

  Rolling her eyes, she scoffed. Oh look; arrogant Eric is back. What a surprise."Why? Are you saying you’re meaner than every other man?"

  Lifting his amused gaze to her scowling one, he smirked. "No. But I am the only jerk that is going to be inside you." His hands settled on her thigh, as his hands squeezed and caress her muscles. His touch had her shivering within second. Bastard.

  Slapping at his hands until he moved them to rest on the table beside each of side of her hips, she glowered at him. "Do you always feel the need to talk about sex? Don't be so vulgar."

  "Vulgar?” a single brow rose at the word. “That wasn't me being vulgar. If I wanted to be vulgar I would tell you how I loved how you clawed at my back like a sexy kitten or how I loved being inside you. The feel of your hot body wrapped around mine..."he groaned with the memory as he leaned closer to her. "I couldn't decide whether to sink so far into your soft body and stay there or drive into you until you never remember what it felt like to be without me."

  Womb clinching, Rebecca felt her breast grow heavy. Heat flooded her face as every cryptic word slipped from his lips. Gulping she looked away from him, her body trembled slightly at the feel of heat from his body as he pressed between her splayed legs.

  What the hell was wrong with her? Just moments ago she was sure he was dragging her off to kill her and now he had rebandaged her arm and now was flirting with her. Was it possible that he didn’t know her secret after all?

  If that was the case then why had Chris and Jason showed up as they did and what was the scheme Eric was involved in and how did she fit it? Ugh! Too many questions crowded her brain, confusing and irritating her. Not to mention that the feel of Eric hard body pressing between her spread legs was causing her body to vibrate with need, distracting her from her thoughts.

  She flinched with surprise as his hand cupped the side of her face, his face lowering closer to hers. Like a trapped animal, she held herself still. Surprise filled her when his forehead suddenly pressed against her own. Then for the briefest moment, she could have sworn she’d felt him tremble against her. It was more likely that it had been her instead or simply her imagination.

  “You should have demanded that Dr. Tessa looked at your arm. What if you had been hurt worse?” When he lifted his face from hers, Rebecca gripped his wrist and tugged his hand away from her cheek.

  She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter!” he snarled. His eyes gone wild and were glowing. “And don’t think for a moment that I have forgotten how you kicked me in the face and ran straight into a shower of bullets! I should tan your ass for that!”

  “I am not a child!” she shouted at him. “I wasn’t about to let Emma get hurt because…” of me. Was it possible that other shifters had discovered her secret and decided to attack Eric’s home? Had she nearly gotten them all killed?

  “No, you’re right.” Eric agreed in a quiet tone, his eyes still boring into hers with a look of anger. “You’re not my child, but you are mine.”

  She would be lying if she said that his possessive words didn’t make her heart swell. She wanted that. To hold onto that look that he flashed at her now, the same look that he’d given her last night as he’d taken her. With everything in her she wanted to be able to trust that Eric wouldn’t turn on her if he knew her secret, but it wasn’t a gamble she was willing to take.

  Forcing her gaze away, she shoved at his chest. “Let me down.” With an annoyed roll of his eyes, Eric stepped back allowing her to slide down from the tall table. Straightening her blouse, she looked up at Eric. “Thanks for saving my life. I would be dead if not for you.” She admitted with a slight smile.

  Crossing his arms over his chest, he replied. “Don’t remind me how close you nearly came to dying, Rebecca. I don’t like thinking about it. If I have anything to say about it; you won’t be put in danger like that ever again.”

  Her fragile smile fell. If only she could believe him. Sighing, she looked away from him. Without a word she started for the door. It wasn’t long until the small hairs at the base of her neck stood on end as she felt him coming up behind her. Stopping, she glanced over her shoulder to see that he was walking beside her as if they were going for an afternoon stroll.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Following you. Something tells me that you shouldn’t be left on your own or I may have to hunt you down.”

  Hunt you down…

  If that phrase didn’t worry her, nothing else would. She was correct about trusting Eric; it wasn’t something she could risk. “I’m leaving, Eric.” She said with a firm look, daring him to
tell her otherwise.

  His eyebrows rose in mocking surprise. “Oh, are you now? Did you really think that I would let you out of my sight, especially after what nearly happened this morning?”

  “As much as I worry about Emma and Travis, I know they will be safe here with you and your family. But what happened has nothing to do with me. I’m leaving.” When she turned to walk down the hall once more, her head fell back against her neck as she growled with frustration at the echoing sound of his footsteps beside her.

  “Even if I was willing to let you run from me again, you could be in danger after today. You will remain here until I can figure out who tried to kill us this morning.”

  Before she could question if Eric knew anything about who had attacked them this morning, she heard a voice call out to her from behind her. “Rebecca.”

  Knowing the voice wasn’t Eric’s; her curiosity was peaked, causing her to turn toward the voice. She froze in place as she saw Damon striding to them. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with his blonde hair slicked back, Rebecca was surprised there wasn’t a fan club of panting girls trailing behind this man.

  At the thought, Rebecca found herself mentally slapping herself. Why was she ogling him? She had to remind herself that she wasn’t convinced that Damon hadn’t spilled her secret to Eric or the rest of Eric’s pack. What other explanation was there for the events this morning? She highly doubted that as an architect; that Eric had attempts on his life.

  Though Eric hadn’t attempted to kill her—yet, she still felt wary as to why he was so desperate to keep her from leaving him. He had to know. He more than likely simply wanted to keep her close to find out what all she knew before he killed her, which meant that she had no ally now; least of all Damon.

  Schooling her apprehension, Rebecca smiled friendly at Damon as he came to stop in front of them. Almost instantly she noticed that Eric’s face had darkened at the sight of Damon. His hands fisting at his sides as a low rumble echoed so softly in his chest that she would have missed it if she hadn’t been standing so close.

  “What are you doing here, Damon?” she asked.

  Before he could answer, Eric echoed her question as well. “Yes. What are you doing here, Damon? I would have thought that since your business was concluded here, you would be on your way.” Eric bit out with a murderous glare.

  Shrugging his shoulders, Damon chuckled. “I found something to stay for I suppose.” His eyes turning to give her a lingering look before flashing Eric a knowing look.

  Was she missing something here? Was Damon still attempting to make Eric jealous as he had that one night?

  Waste of time, if you ask me. She thought.

  Regardless of what Damon’s personal game was, she had to find out what he’d told Eric and who else knew her secret. If she was lucky she could find a way out from under Eric’s watchful gaze and escape to freedom. She just had to get Damon alone.

  Easier said, than done. She acknowledged grimly.

  *~ * ~ *

  Fire burned in his stomach as Eric watched Damon look down at Rebecca with a gentle look. I should have killed him! What right did he think he’d possibly have to Rebecca? As far as Eric knew; Rebecca and Damon hadn’t seen each other since the night of their date. God; that word had never tasted so foul in his mouth before, it was even worse when he remembered that night.

  Surely Rebecca wasn’t fooled by Damon’s playboy charm. Much to his irritation, he acknowledged that Rebecca was even able to resist his own brand of seduction.

  To a degree. Eric thought with a smug grin pulling at the corners of his lips.

  Despite what Rebecca may say, her body didn’t lie when it came to him. She was his in every way. Without a doubt he knew that he didn’t need to worry about Damon attempting to pouch his mate.

  Turning to look at his soon-to-be-claimed mate with his jaw slackening, Eric felt his blossoming pride in the situation deflate rapidly as he took in her returning smile. She looked at Damon like she was…happy. Happy to see Damon?! Why the hell hadn’t she ever looked at him like that?

  Jealously filled his gut like a thick oil, sickening him and fueling his rage all the more. Damon wouldn’t be getting within a foot of her after this if it was the last thing he ever did.

  Grinning at Eric, Damon ran a smoothing hand over his jaw. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that I didn’t sustain any permanent damage to my handsome face from your little tap the other night.”

  Fighting against the need to lunge at him and remedy the situation, Eric muttered. “Ecstatic.”

  Shrugging his shoulders at Eric’s response, he turned back to Rebecca with a softening expression. “I heard about what happened this morning.” Reaching out his hands settled on Rebecca’s shoulders as he stepped closer to her. “I am so glad you are alright.”

  Eric’s eyes widened as they fell on the hands that dared to touch his mate. Now I really will kill him!

  Take our mate from him! She isn’t properly bound to us and he will take her! His wolf snarled as he shared Eric’s rage at another touching their mate.

  Before Eric could step forward to kill the back stabbing wolf in front of him, much to his relief, Rebecca shrugged his hands off of her shoulders.

  “I am fine. Just a few cuts and bruises.” She stated nonchalant with a shrug.

  Eric bit on his tongue to prevent from pointing out that she’d nearly gotten herself killed and had injured herself badly. The last thing he needed was Damon fawning over his mate even more than he already was.

  “I’m glad you both are safe; especially you Rebecca.”

  Not bothering to cover his scoff at Damon’s sweet words, Eric stepped between the two as one of his arms curled around Rebecca’s stiff shoulders. “Regardless what your real reason for staying here; run along. Rebecca and I are busy.” He prayed that Damon was intelligent enough to understand the not-so subtle hint in his voice. Moving to steer Rebecca away from the possible threat, Eric flashed Damon a look that said; this one is mine.

  “Damon, wait.” Eric froze at Rebecca’s pleading tone as she held a staying hand out to Damon. “I need to talk to you…privately.”

  Privately? PRIVATELY?! Why the hell would they need to be in private—without him there? Mere thoughts of why this would be needed had Eric nearly grinding his teeth into powder. Perhaps they wanted to pick up where their date had ended? There was no way in hell he was leaving Rebecca alone with this wolf.

  Clearly enjoying Eric’s anger at what was occurring, Damon shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. Will you walk with me?”

  Returning his smile, Rebecca extracted herself from under Eric’s heavy arm too quickly for his stunned mind to act. His breaths became more ragged with his control of his wolf slipping when she allowed Damon to clasp her hand tenderly within his own.

  His pelt will be a nice addition to my bedroom décor.

  Rebecca must have sensed his anger at Damon, because she turned to look at Eric like he was a third wheel nuisance. “I’ll see you later.” She stated with a distracted voice.

  Had she just dismissed him? Oh no. He wasn’t going to chase after his mate like some pathetic lap dog. Feeling his wolf breaking through the bonds that kept him from shifting and ripping Damon’s throat out on principle alone, Eric forced himself to spin away from them and head toward the main section of the house.

  He was in no way done with Rebecca, but until he informed and accustomed her to what he was, he couldn’t risk scaring her. Once his rage wasn’t so high he intended to drag her back to his room and have a long drawn out talk with her. The first thing he would be sure to decree to her was that she would have absolutely no contact with Damon ever again.

  17

  Moments later, after leading Damon far enough away from Eric until she was certain their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, Rebecca turned around a corner to jerk her hand from Damon’s tender grasp to shove at him angrily.

  “How could you!” she hissed out, both her ha
nds shoving at his powerful chest pushing him off balance until he stumbled back a step.

  “Rebecca?” With a shocked look, he adjusted his footing to take a step towards her, reaching a hand out to her.

  Angry tears burned in her eyes. Acknowledgement of how stupid she’d been to trust him was like a slap in the face. He’d promised to protect her secret. She’d thought him to be a friend, an ally. How gullible she was! He’d betrayed her and now he had the nerve to look hurt by her reaction to him. Screw him! “Don’t touch me!” she cried, slapping his hand away from her. “I trusted you! I confided in you!”

  Holding out his hands up in surrender, he took a step closer to her, his eyes filling more and more with concern. “Rebecca, it’s me, Damon.”

  “Oh, I know who you are, Damon.” She answered bitterly. “Now I really see you for the man you are.”

  Eyes narrowing in question, he shook his head. Hands dropping to his sides, Damon released a heavy breath. “What is going on, Rebecca?”

  “Don’t act like you don’t know.” She snapped. “Eric knows and according to Jason and Chris so do everyone else.” Curling her nose at him, her tiny finger stabbed into the middle of his chest. “I don’t know if you are involved in Eric’s scheme—”

  “Rebecca, Eric doesn’t know.” Damon quickly interrupted.

  Stilling, she dropped her jabbing finger from his chest. Rage lessening, she took a step back from him. “What?”

  Damon shook his head as he flashed a gentle smile. “Eric doesn’t know. That’s why I am still here.” He looked as though he meant to say more but quickly snapped his mouth closed. Casting a suspicious look around them, he stepped closer to her, pressing a flat hand against the middle of her back. “It’s not safe to talk out in the open. We might be overheard. Come with me.”