Page 16 of Rescuing Red

“Why did you help me?”

The question shot from her wayward lips, and he cocked his head while searching her face.

“I already told you; I couldn’t let them hurt you. I’m not that type of man. Where does your nana live?”

Liz couldn’t ignore the desire running down her spine from his deep, masculine voice. She opened her mouth to answer but closed it and scrunched her brows together, remembering the outcome the last time she shared her plans with someone. When he just sat and waited, watching her with calculating yellow eyes, Liz dug deep in her soul and decided that since her instincts weren’t signaling the alarm for her to run, she could probably trust him.

He’d already done more for her than anyone else besides her mother and Nana.

“East. Near the village of Rontu. She wouldn’t leave when my mother warned her the attack was coming, probably because her friends couldn’t leave, but if she saw me, she’d get us to safety. I must get her out of danger. I need her to be safe.”

Even though Liz wanted to jump up and show him she wasn’t some lost, scared little omega, her legs refused to take her weight, so she sat watching him study her in return. After a few moments of silence, his comforting, addictive purr filled the room.

“I admire your loyalty, Red. Did you know you were going into heat?”

She couldn’t stop the frustrated tears from filling her vision, and he shifted forward as though he wanted to comfort her, but he kept his hands to himself. Liz shook her head and tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat.

“Have you gone through estrous before?”

His question held no judgment, but Liz’s anger rose so fast she couldn’t stop herself. She didn’t feel like a child anymore, especially with the fire flicking up her body and the virile male sitting across the room from her, but his words made her see herself from his perspective.

This was a male who’d seen many, many things. How much older he was than her, she didn’t know, but his question made her feel insignificant and juvenile.

“Of course I have. I took care of myself both times. And I’ve had sex before too, so—”

His sudden movement brought him looming over her so fast she shrank backward and trembled. The fear coursing through her was nothing compared to the arousal roaring through her veins as he dominated her without even touching her. His thickening scent scrambled her brains.

“You’ve had an alpha before?”

“N-no.”

His shoulders relaxed, the fur across them flattening, but he didn’t step away. With a slow, cautious movement, he lifted his hand and rested his palm along her jaw, angling her face up to his.

“Sex with a beta is not the same, little Red. Only an alpha can rut you hard enough to make you cum, stretch you far enough with his knot, and fill you full enough with his seed to soothe your estrous. Only an alpha can service you properly.”

With butterflies tumbling around in her abdomen, Liz drowned in the heat of his gaze. He broke the spell by speaking again.

“It’s too dangerous for you to go out there alone. I can’t let you.”

“Then come with me. Protect me,” she said before she could stop herself.

His thumb brushed along her cheek, making her realize she was snuggling against his palm without conscious thought.

“With every passing minute, your smell becomes more enticing, announcing your upcoming estrous. Once your heat fully hits, every male who can smell you will fight for the right to mount you, alpha and beta alike. The city’s growing more unruly as the attack nears. It’s too dangerous for you to be on the streets.”

His rumbly words only solidified her conviction. If he was so worried about her safety, surely he wouldn’t hurt her himself. His lethal aura hid it well, but she could see the caring, trustworthy male at his core.

“Then take me out of the city. There are fewer men on the other side of the wall.”

With a cock of his head and a twitch of his ear, he considered her words, shocking Liz with the storm of emotions warring within his irises. When she feared he’d reject her reasoning, she widened her eyes and told more truth than she’d planned to share.

“I can’t nest here. There’s nothing nice about this room. I’d rather hide in a hole in a tree in the forest than suffer through that here, especially with all the dangers included.”

The walls pressed in on her, and the flimsy door didn’t feel like enough protection against a child, much less a horde of alphas, and she already knew how little it did to stop scents from seeping outside. The male’s purr dropped an octave, taking her stomach with it. He opened his mouth to respond, but Liz interrupted, feeling crazy for being so honest with him when she didn’t know the most basic thing about him.

“What’s your name?”

He paused, his lips still parted, before stroking his thumb across her cheekbone again in a calming motion.

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