Page 8 of Supernova

River’s wolf momentarily locked eyes with mine, making sure he knew where I was and that I was safe. He held my gaze for another beat and then his head snapped up towards the moon. The unified howl of the wolves sounded; both chilling and magical, sending goosebumps along my arms and all down the length of my spine.

And then they were off, disappearing in a rapid blur through the thick brush of the pines.

???

Just over an hour later, River’s magnificent wolf trotted back through the treeline and straight for me. I watched him eagerly, not taking my eyes off him as I sat on one of the cushions, chatting to a few stragglers and a couple of wolves that had returned earlier. River was always the last to return, making sure everyone got back safely.

Once he approached, he nuzzled my neck with his nose. And on that cue, everyone made themselves scarce, leaving us to have a moment to ourselves.

I twined my fingers through his soft fur as he continued to nestle himself closer to me. After a few moments, his body quivered again and I was face to face with the man—in all his naked glory.

I wasn’t complaining.

He rested his forehead on mine for a beat, taking in a few breaths. Then he grabbed my face, cupping both sides, and kissed me intensely. I kissed him back. Giving him my all.

If I didn’t remember that people were still around, I had no doubt that he would have undressed me right there on the cushions. Shifters often lacked the same decency that humans did, and honestly no one else would have cared. But I pulled away momentarily to check who was still around. So attuned to me, River knew exactly what I was thinking. He gave me a few final kisses as he continued to hold my face. And then he scooped me up and carried me into the pack house and directly to his room, laying me down on the rug before the fireplace.

It didn’t take him long to get my clothes off.

We made love on the rug; passionate, amorous and so full of emotion.

It was everything we needed in that moment.

CHAPTER 6

I woke up from an extremely restful sleep after our less than appropriate activities earlier in the night. I turned in the bed to find the soft linen cream sheets empty. It was 4am now and I could see the darkness outside was lifting a little. River would be out patrolling.

I got out of bed and stretched before heading to the bathroom to pee. I was also parched. With all our fun last night, I forgot to bring myself a glass of water before bed. My robe was tossed on the floor so I threw it on as a pair of headlights from outside cast a warm glow into the dim room. Curious, I walked over to the window. When the headlights faded, I saw that the full moon radiated almost silver, the light illuminating the night in an ethereal way. I hadn’t noticed that earlier at the pack run but it was beautiful.

Then I saw River carrying a lifeless body.

That was never a good sign.

My heart rate spiked as I thought of all my friends in this pack and the possibility that one of them could have been injured—or worse. I knew I was only human but I loved them all and didn’t want anything to happen to them. I hated that they patrolled every night and I detested the danger they put themselves in. Even if they were wolves and said they could handle it.

I threw myself out of the room and down the stairs, taking two at a time. Once I found myself in the kitchen, I was hit with this overwhelming sense of despair. I ran towards his office.

Something wasn’t right.

From down the hall I could hear River talking to someone, most likely the boys. “I can’t believe I did this.” His voice was muffled but he sounded dismayed and slightly stunned.

I threw the door open. “Riv is everything—“ my words stopped dead in their tracks as my eyes took in the figure Axel was now lowering onto the couch. River was behind his desk, head in his hands, Zander by his side, one hand cupped on his shoulder. All three of them were accounted for. All three of them were also covered in blood.

The young girl’s body lay still now—her life cut short. Her limp arm sprawled off the side of the couch.

She had pale skin with a scattering of freckles and her soft ginger hair was mid length and tousled. It was matted with blood now, blending in with the red hues. I tried not to stare at the bloody, gruesome bite marks littering her body, chunks of flesh missing like they had been ripped off in a greedy frenzy. Steel blue eyes gazed blankly at the ceiling as her soft pout was slightly gaped. A horrible pit in my stomach grew as recognition set in. She looked too familiar.

It was Amelia.

She was from school and was one of the sweetest girls I knew. We weren’t best friends, but that was mainly due to the fact that I was initiated into the wolf clique from a young age. The same wolf clique that now brought death to her door. We grew up together and outside my close-knit group, she was one of the people in town that I spoke to the most. She was kind, smart and loved. And most of all, she would never hurt a fly.

Innocent. She was innocent.

River looked up at me in shock. What he’d been saying before I walked in came back to me, the last few words echoing in my head now: ‘I did this’.

Guilt radiated from him as his gaze darted to my friend and then back to me—his eyes locking with mine, his body trembling. He seemed unable to speak, taken by surprise that I’d even been awake, let alone had caught them. Because that is what I had done, I had caught them.

Fear and adrenaline tore through me as I ran.

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