Page 21 of Out of the Darkness

“We don’t kill innocents, Colby,” Xavier warned. “Those are the rules. What would Rodrigo say if he?—”

“Rodrigo isn’t here, is he?” Colby snapped angrily, making Madelyn jump behind him. “I marked you because I want to destroy you, Xavier. And what better way to do that than by killing the woman you so obviously love.”

The air became heavy with the truth of Colby’s words. His hurting Madelyn was the best way to destroy Xavier solely because of the fact that she was his fated mate. He did love her, he always had. That love may not be reciprocated yet, but it would happen over time. Of that, he was sure. He just needed to make sure they got that time.

As much as he hated to admit it, it looked as though the decision on whether or not to expose his wolf had been made for him. He couldn’t let Colby hurt Madelyn, and he, himself, wasn’t ready to die yet either. Not now that he had her. He wanted the chance to further explore the bond between them, the bond that had only gotten stronger since last night when he had finally buried himself inside of her.

“Madelyn,” he said softly. “You are going to need to step back for me, little dove.”

“What?” she whispered.

He squeezed her thigh again, never taking his eyes off Colby. “I need you to back up, baby girl. Give me some room.”

Even though he could feel her confusion, Madelyn did as she was told. Usually, she fought him tooth and nail on everything, but she must have sensed the severity of the situation and decided against it. He was grateful for that because, with her out of the way, he could do what needed to be done.

She took several slow steps away from him, and he hated the distance, but it was for the best. He didn’t want to risk hurting her with what he was about to do.

“Yeah, that would have been my choice too,” Colby chuckled, moving to aim the gun right between his eyes. “Any last words?”

Xavier cracked his neck and then lifted his chin. “Yeah. You fucked up. You never should have come after Madelyn.”

Colby’s brows furrowed in confusion as Xavier made his move and lunged forward. The sudden movement startled Colby, and the gun ended up going off in his hand, the sound deafening in such a confined space to his overly sensitive ears. The bullet splintered the wall behind Madelyn, causing her to scream and drop to the floor. But at least, she was unharmed from what his quick glance in her direction could tell.

Xavier’s clothes fell in tatters as he leaped over Colby’s head, the material unable to fit his new form. He stretched the claws on his right paw and dragged them along the guy’s cheek before he landed on all fours just behind him. Colby screamed a blood-curdling scream as blood began to pour out of the jagged wounds, and he turned his attention to Xavier, which was exactly what he had wanted. If he was focused on him, then his focus wasn’t on Madelyn, and that gave her the chance to get away. Xavier stood up straight and shook out his fur before snarling and swiping his massive paw at Colby, his eyes blazing.

The acrid stench of fear filled the room, burning his nostrils, as everyone went still. Xavier chanced a look over in Madelyn’s direction, to see how she was fairing with the discovery. The terror and confusion in her eyes cut him down to his very soul but also pissed him off. He had never given her any reason not to trust him, no matter how shocked she might be.

On the other hand, Colby was staring at him with wide, fearful eyes and his whole body trembling. Xavier snarled at him again and took a step forward, judging the distance between them in his head. He could be on the man in just two strides. It would be easy to take him down, and he deserved it. Not only had Colby marked him, but he had threatened Madelyn, who was innocent in all this. He had to pay for that.

However, Colby shrieked before turning and scrambling toward the front door. Xavier bounded after him, not wanting him to get away, but Madelyn’s squeal of fear, as he got close to her, caused his steps to stumble, and he knew then that he couldn’t kill Colby now. At least, not in front of her.

Xavier watched with disdain as Colby stumbled down the stairs. He hit the gravel face first, breaking his nose again, and his gun went flying somewhere into the grass. However, he wasted no time scrambling back to his feet and bolting toward his car, leaving his gun behind.

Colby peeled out of the driveway just as Xavier reached the bottom of the porch. He let out a roar of frustration as well as a warning. He wouldn’t let Colby get away again. The next time he saw the guy, he was a dead man.

When Colby was finally gone, Xavier returned to his human form on the porch. He was naked, but he paid that no mind as he stepped into the grass and picked up Colby’s discarded gun. Carrying it back into the house, he set it on the entry table before closing the door and heading back into the living room.

The moment he entered, he spotted Madelyn in the same place she was before, sitting on the floor with her knees clutched to her chest and tears rolling down her cheeks. He moved toward her. However, she flinched away from him, which stopped him in his tracks. Even after she had witnessed him kill a guy the night before, she hadn’t reacted that way to him.

This was solely because she had seen his wolf, and the reaction angered the beast inside of him. He had just saved her life, again, exposing his biggest secret to protect her, and she was still afraid of him. All he had ever done was protect her and love her.

“W-what are you?” she stammered, slowly pushing herself to her feet and taking a step away from him.

He folded his arms across his chest if only to keep himself from reaching for her again. “I’m a shifter.”

“A… a shifter?” she gasped, her eyes going wide.

He nodded once curtly.

After a moment, a strained laugh bubbled from her lips. “An assassin, a stalker, and a shifter. Jesus Christ, is there anything good about you?”

“Hey! I just saved your fucking life, Madelyn! Again!” he snapped at her. It wasn’t intentional. He was just still struggling to calm the beast inside of him. So, his reaction was to lash out.

“And my life wouldn’t have even been in danger if it weren’t for you!” she screamed back at him.

Her words rang true, and he hated that, but it didn’t change anything either. She was his mate. They were destined to be together. She may be struggling to accept what he was right now, but that would change. It had to. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to pair him with someone who was incapable of accepting him.

“Were you ever going to tell me?” she asked him pointedly.

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