Loving Her Scars (Loving Her Scars Series Book 1)

by B M Griffin

  Before Adam could step away from Shayla to address Mike, Jared moved around the table to stand in front of Mike. With his teeth clenched he growled out the one thing Adam thought he’d never heard his friend say, “I challenge you.”

  The anger on Mike’s face morphed into surprise, and for a brief second, Adam saw fear flicker behind his lashes, before he smoothed his face into a stoic glare. Other than Adam, Jared was the pack’s strongest fighter and Mike wouldn’t stand a chance against him. The other members around the table stood up and moved toward the back of the room where Adam and Shayla stood. They got out of the way just in time. Jared shifted and attacked Mike, raking a claw down his face, before his feet fully hit the ground.

  Adam turned to Shayla. He couldn’t let her witness what was about to happen. “Shay, come on. We’ve gotta get out of here. Now.”

  Shayla nodded quickly. She was shaking in fear as he pulled her from the room. Unfortunately, getting her out of the room did nothing to keep her from hearing the sounds of the two wolves as they fought for control. There was growling and howling as one of them was dealt a painful blow. Adam felt torn between showing support for Jared, his friend who’d stood up for Adam and Shayla to do the right thing, and getting Shayla away from the house as quickly as possible. He decided that Jared could handle himself, but he didn’t think Shayla would be able to handle being in the house while another person was killed, so he ushered her toward the door.

  When they stepped outside onto the porch, she turned to face him and pressed her hands to his chest to stop him. “You have to go back in. They are your pack, and Jared is your friend. I know you want to be in there to show him the same support he gave us.”

  He covered her hands with his and shook his head, no. “He’ll understand. I’m not leaving you alone, Shay.”

  “Adam, I’ll be fine. I’ll just be out here waiting in the car. It’s the right thing to do. Now, go.” She pointed toward the door they’d just walked through. Adam opened his mouth to argue again, but she put her fingers over his mouth and stopped him.

  “Fine,” he relented, “but you get in the car and lock the doors. Don’t come out until I come to get you.”

  Adam still insisted on walking her to the car and he didn’t walk away until he heard the distinct sound of the locks going into effect, then he turned around and ran back into the house, praying he would find Jared coming out on top.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Shayla

  Shayla kept her eyes open, as she sat in the car waiting for Adam to come back out. She was still in a bit of shock that their coming here and asking for help had led to this. Adam had tried to warn her, but she wouldn’t listen, and now someone was going to die because of her. They might not have asked Jared to challenge Mike for his role as the pack alpha, but they were to blame, nonetheless. He challenged Mike because Mike refused to help her and Adam. The best outcome she could hope for now was that Jared would be the one to come out on top. Still, even that result wasn’t one she could be happy about, because it would mean that Mike was dead and she didn’t want anyone getting hurt over her.

  It felt like hours were passing by as she sat there waiting for Adam to return, but her phone told her it had barely been fifteen minutes. Shayla thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye to the left of the car, but when she turned to look in that direction, all she saw was the tree line. She felt a chill run down her spine. Something was wrong. She stared at the front door willing it to open. She needed to see Adam--to know that he was okay.

  Shayla waited another five minutes still staring at the door to the house, but nothing happened. The bad feeling had grown until she could no longer sit and wait to find out what was going on. She put her hand on the door handle and slowly pulled it, pushing the door open. The second she stepped away from the car, a large gray wolf came barreling at her.

  Shayla screamed and turned to run, but the wolf was much faster than her. She felt something sharp graze her back, and turned her head to see the wolf clamping down on the back of her shirt with his razor-sharp teeth. He lifted his head and her feet left the ground. Shayla screamed louder and started thrashing around, trying to kick the wolf, or make him lose his grip on her shirt so she could get away. She heard a loud crash and the wolf jerked his head, and subsequently her body in the direction of the house. A familiar-looking werewolf burst through the splintered door and was barreling in their direction. When she caught sight of the bright, glowing blue eyes, she knew that it was Adam. His presence didn’t have the usual calming effect it usually offered her when she was in a panic. How could he possibly get to her while she was being held in the mouth of another werewolf?

  Shayla heard more growling from behind. When she turned her head, more werewolves were making their way toward them. They appeared to be coming from the back of the house. Shayla couldn’t tell if the newly approaching wolves were friends of hers or her captor. Either way, she was shaking with fear. She could only remember being this afraid one other time in her life, and on that particular day, she had almost lost her life. That night would forever be with her thanks to the nightmares and the gnarly scar that took over one side of her face. Now, she would have two permanent nightmares to deal with—that was, of course, if she survived long enough to ever attempt sleep again.

  The wolves were heading their way at a full run, and Shayla closed her eyes not wanting to see what was coming. Maybe if they were quick about it, she wouldn’t feel too much pain when they ripped her to pieces. She expected to feel pain any second, but instead, she felt herself fall the short distance from the wolf’s mouth just before her body collided with the ground. Shayla’s eyes flew open and she saw several of the wolves from the backyard ripping into the wolf who’d had her in its jaws seconds before. She forced herself up onto her feet and turned to run for the car, then she jumped inside and quickly locked the doors. The fight between the wolves only lasted a matter of moments. Considering how highly outnumbered her captor was, Shayla wasn’t surprised that he was put down quickly. Including Adam, it had been six on one. Considering what Adam had told her about himself, she imagined he could have taken out her attacker on his own.

  As soon as the werewolf who had attacked her was taken down, Adam shifted and snatched her car door open. He pulled her into his tight embrace with her face pressed against his bare chest. Adam pressed his cheek to the top of her head. It took Shayla a minute to realize he was actually the one shaking, and she wrapped her arms around him, and held him as tightly as she could.

  “I thought I was going to lose you,” Adam said.

  His voice was shaky and thick. Shayla knew he was struggling to control his feelings. Adam liked to be the strong one. He always tried to put on a happy facade for her, even when she knew he was having a rough day, so hearing such raw emotion in his voice was a huge deal. He was vulnerable in that moment and it was Shayla’s turn to show him some support for once. She was scared shitless, without question, but she wanted to make him see that she was fine. The jerk had scared her, but he hadn’t hurt her. She pulled her head away from his chest, so that she could look up into his face.

  “I’m okay,” she told him. “He didn’t hurt me, thanks to you and your friends. You kept me safe, just like you always do.”

  “Huh,” Adam’s face grew stoic and his mouth was pressed into a firm scowl. “You wouldn’t have even been in danger tonight if it wasn’t for me.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Yeah, it is, Shay. None of this would have happened to you if you didn’t know me. Not tonight, not Kevin trying to weasel his way into your life, none of it. You didn’t even know werewolves were real two days ago, and if I wasn’t in your life, you could have continued living your life normally. I was stupid to believe I could keep my world from interfering with yours.”

  Now he was pissing her off. He had saved her every bit as much as the doctors had after Eric beat her and left her for dead. The doctors kept her body alive, but Adam was the
one who made her want to live again. She took a step back and glared up at him. “You are the only..." Shayla was interrupted by an approaching wolf.

  Jared shifted back into his human self, before he made it all the way over to them. He was naked with blood splattered over his body. Shayla averted her eyes, as she felt a warm blush creep up her face and heard Jared chuckle beside her, but he was nice enough not to call her out on her embarrassment. She had never seen as many naked men as she had on this night in all of her life.

  Adam was focused on Jared and there was no amusement in his tone when he spoke. “Is that mother fucker dead?”

  “No,” Jared replied.

  Adam growled deep in his throat. Shayla couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through her body, as the underlying malice of the sound ran through her, but she closed her eyes and allowed her inner monologue to run on repeat. It’s just Adam. He won’t hurt you. He loves you. He isn’t Eric. When she had the shivering under control, she opened her eyes and saw the other werewolves from Adam’s pack approaching. They were dragging the unconscious body of the wolf who had attacked her, and Adam moved so that his body was blocking her from the asshole.

  “Throw that piece of shit in the basement,” Jared instructed the others. “When he wakes up, we’ll get some answers out of him, or he’ll die painfully.”

  “I don’t know what good interrogating him will do,” Adam said. “He belongs to Kevin’s pack. That’s all I need to know.”

  Shayla didn’t need to hear Adam speak the words to know there was an underlying threat in what he’d just said. Apparently, neither did Jared.

  “Adam,” Jared’s voice was stern, but calm, “we need to be smart about this. If you go in there all half-cocked throwing blows, things won’t end the way you want.”

  “We don’t need to be anything,” Adam snapped. “I am going to kill that prick.”

  “You’re not going after him alone.” Jared was getting pissed. Shayla could hear it in the way his words were starting to roll off his tongue like a growl. “I know how powerful you are, Adam, but even you don’t stand a chance against an entire pack by yourself. Especially not Kevin’s pack; he controls the largest pack in the country.”

  “As long as I get to kill him, it doesn’t matter what happens to me.”

  Shayla heard all she was going to stand by and listen to. She moved between Jared and Adam, who were staring each other down, and put her hands against Adam’s chest and pushed him hard. It was like pushing against a stone wall that wouldn’t budge, but it got his attention and he looked at her in shock. “You will not go after Kevin alone! Don’t you understand that I can’t lose you?”

  Shayla didn’t realize she was crying until Adam took her face gently in his hands, wiping her tears away with thumbs. She couldn’t help it. In that moment her heart was breaking. In that moment, with images of Adam being killed swirling through her head, Shayla knew that she was in love with him too. She had been blind to his love for years, too afraid to let another man into her heart after Eric did his best to make it stop beating. She had let him kiss her, and she’d even kissed him back and accepted that their friendship was more than that, but she had yet to return his admission of love. It was time for her to change that. Maybe if Adam knew his love was returned, it would be enough to convince him to listen to Jared and allow his pack to help him fight Kevin and stay alive.

  Shayla wrapped her hands around his wrists and leaned up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. When she pulled back from the kiss, she stayed close to Adam and looked him in the eyes so he could see just how serious she was. “I love you. Please listen to Jared and let your pack help you. I can’t lose you.”

  Tears were steadily streaming down her face, and she could see that Adam was struggling to hold his own emotions in check if the tears shimmering in his eyes were any indication. He wiped her tears away again, but there really wasn’t any use. She was full-on crying and the only thing that could make it stop was Adam.

  He bent and gave her the most intense kiss she’d ever experienced. Shayla was certain she could feel it all the way to her toes and back again. It was like that single kiss left an impression all over her, inside and out, and she allowed herself to relax, her body melting against Adam’s. She wasn’t sure how long they stood there kissing, before the sound of a throat being cleared pulled her out of the bliss Adam’s kiss had induced, but as far as she was concerned it was too soon.

  Jared’s voice broke through the happy haze Shayla had quickly fallen into. “Maybe we try interrogating the asshole the guys threw in the basement before the two of you…ya know, maul each other in the driveway.”

  Adam shoved Jared, and the guy took a couple of steps back laughing. Shayla’s face took on the red shade of a stop sign, thanks to the heat of her blush. All it had taken was a kiss from Adam to make her forget about the fact that they were not alone. Not only weren’t they alone, but she was currently standing between two naked men: Jared and Adam. How did people grow so comfortable being naked around each other all of the time?

  Adam let out a breath and nodded in agreement with Jared. He took her hand and started for the house, but stopped again after only taking a couple of steps. “I think I should take Shayla home first.” He turned to face her. “You shouldn’t be here while we do this. Kevin might send backup when this guy doesn’t show up.”

  “I’m not going home, Adam. Do you really think I’m any safer at home alone? Kevin Hall has more than enough resources to track down where we live. Besides, I’m not leaving you. I got us into this mess.”

  Adam shook his head. “None of this is your fault, Shayla. The only reason Kevin is after you is to get to me.”

  “That might be true,” Shayla interrupted him, “but something in my gut told me that Kevin and his entourage were off. I was too worried about my job to listen to the warning bells in my own head.”

  Adam’s mouth was drawn tight as he stared back at her. When he opened his mouth to speak again, he was cut off before he could get a word out by Jared stepping between the two of them. “The two of you standing here arguing isn’t getting us anywhere. Adam, I know this isn’t what you wanna hear, but she is right. She’ll be safer here where she has all of us watching her back.”

  Adam glared at Jared and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. Shayla stepped up next to Jared and mimicked Adam’s pose. She could be just as stubborn as him. Apparently, something about her stance was funny, because Adam looked her up and down with amusement dancing in his eyes and a smirk on his face.

  “Fine,” he said after a moment, “Jared makes a good point.” Adam shifted his focus to Jared and said, “Just make sure the rest of the pack is on board. I need to know they will protect her like she was their own.”

  Jared gave an affirmative nod. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem after what they just witnessed with me and Mike, but I’ll be sure to emphasize they are expected to ensure no harm comes to Shayla.”

  “Thanks,” Adam said. He held his hand out to Jared who took it in a firm handshake.

  Shayla turned to Jared to thank him. “Thank you for this, Jared. I feel safe here-a lot safer than I would at home.”

  “We protect our own,” he said. “You are with Adam and that makes you pack, wolf or not.”

  Shayla couldn’t remember the last time she felt like she belonged somewhere, yet with just a few words, Jared had made her feel like she was at home. She closed the gap between them and awkwardly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Her voice was a whisper when she repeated the words, “Thank you.”

  Jared patted her on the back in acknowledgment and then she stepped back. She was surprised to hear Jared chuckle, but he wasn’t looking at her. She looked at Adam and saw that his eyes were glowing, and if looks could kill, she knew Jared would burst into flames in that moment.

  “She hugged me, man. I’m sure she just couldn’t help herself.”

  Adam’s eyes got even brighter for a second, before he pu
lled Shayla to his side and put his arm around her waist in the blatantly possessive move. Shay just smiled and shook her head slightly. Adam looked over her shoulder at Jared. “Alpha or not, I won’t hesitate to rip your arms off if I see them around my girl like that again. I don’t care if she hugged you first or not. Hands off.”

  “Oh, you’ve got it, bad brother,” Jared said. “I think it is safe to say that your wolf has already started bonding with her. Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure she only wants you too.”

  Jared gave her a small smile, but Shayla was more confused than before. What the hell was bonding? She turned to Adam to ask him to explain, but she didn’t get the chance. Someone came running out straight for the three of them and all the amusement instantly fell from Jared’s expression. “What’s going on, Lou?”

  “He is awake and back in his human form.”

  “Okay. We were on our way down to wake his ass up anyway. Adam and I will get some answers out of him.”

  Shayla noticed that Lou kept glancing at her and he looked like he needed to say something more, but was afraid to. Adam must have noticed as well. “Is there something else, Lou?” he asked.

  “He said he’ll talk, but only if he gets to see Shayla. Said they have some catching up to do.”

  Shayla felt Adam tense beside her and without looking at him she knew the expression on his face must have been one of rage, because Lou flinched ever so slightly, and then he stepped back to put some distance between them.

  “No fucking way!” Adam growled out. “He’ll talk to me or I will show him real pain.”

  “I’ll do it,” Shayla said. All three men’s eyes were drawn to her. “He’s in a cage, right? And I’ll have you guys there with me. He won’t be able to get to me.”