Page 26 of Cursed Wolfsbane

I turn at the sound of his voice and see a man jogging toward us. He’s around the same height as Bastian and Xander, with broad shoulders, a trim waist, and muscular biceps straining the arms of his long-sleeve T-shirt. His dark brown hair is short and slightly shaggy. It falls in front of his gray eyes. The man has a five o’clock shadow making his sharp jawline stand out even more.

Dressed in just a black long-sleeve shirt, dark jeans, and black boots, the man doesn’t seem to feel the December chill in the air at all.

Taking his eyes off Emmy, the stranger turns to us. When he sees me, he stops in his tracks. He looks like he’s seen a ghost. “Little shadow?” he breathes.

I don’t remember ever seeing the guy before, but my wolf perks up at his winter berry and frost scent.

Once he gets over his shock, the man runs straight at me. I flinch slightly at a stranger sprinting full speed toward me. His sharp eyes don’t miss the small movement, and his expression turns thunderous as he comes to a stop in front of me. Clenching his fists, the man looks behind me to the Wyldharts standing protectively at my back.

Seeming to come to some conclusion, the guy mutters something under his breath. A pale green dome then shimmers into existence. It encases Emmy, the man, and me, leaving the Wyldharts outside.

I turn wide eyes to the enraged dude I’m trapped in a magic bubble with and wonder if this is how I die.

CHAPTER 12

BRIAR

“Iwon’t hurt you, Briar,” the man says gently. I open my eyes, not realizing I had squeezed them shut in preparation for death by angry mage. I get lost in his winter-day eyes for a moment, the whole world seeming to fall away as we stare at each other.

Loud banging jars me from my stare off. I twist to see the Wyldharts a millisecond away from losing their ever-loving shit. I need to find a way out of this mage bubble and soon. I eye the stranger skeptically. “Then why’d you trap me in a magic snow globe with you?”

Emmy snorts. The stranger ruffles his hair with one hand, and a small smile tips up his full lips. “First, it’s not a snow globe. It’s a defensive shield. Second, you’re not trapped here. I’m just trying to protect you. Who hurt you, little shadow? Was it the wolves behind you? I’ll take them all out, just say the word.”

“What? No! The Wyldharts would never hurt me.” The dude doesn’t seem convinced. Sighing, I tell him, “It was my stepfather. Happy now, random stranger?”

He raises a brown brow at me and steps into my personal space. I have to tip my head back to be able to meet his eyes. “No, I’m not happy. Someone’s been hurting you. Tell me his name,and I’ll make sure he suffers. And I’m not a stranger. You knew me before your memories were taken. I’m your….” He breaks off, his voice thick with longing.

“You’ll have to get in line. The Wyldharts and Uncle Vale all want a piece of him. I’m sorry I don’t remember you,” I whisper, feeling responsible for him hurting.

His mouth quirks up in a bittersweet smile. “You don’t have a thing to apologize for. How ’bout we go get you your memories back?”

“Sounds good to me. Could you let the Wyldharts through?” They’ve calmed down with the guy not hurting me, but I can still see the rage burning in their gazes.

He nods at me. When he lets down the barrier, Bastian darts around me and leaps at the mage, kicking the guy’s legs out from under him. Once the mage is on the ground, Bastian pulls back his arm to punch him in the face. Only, the mage flips their position so he’s on top. They roll around on the ground, throwing punches at each other when they can.

I shake myself from my shock at Bastian tackling him. “Stop!” I shout. Both of them ignore me. My next words are infused with alpha command. “Stop!”

Bastian freezes where he is on top of the guy. The mage stares at Bastian’s unmoving form for a moment before flipping them again. “Mage guy! Fucking stop!” I scream as he rears back to punch Bastian.

He reluctantly stops before turning to me. “My name’s Saint, and I didn’t start it. I’m just finishing it.”

“I don’t give a fuck who started it. You both need to cut it out!” I shout in exasperation.

Saint clambers off Bastian with one last glare aimed in his direction. He wipes blood off the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand before walking over to stand with Emmy.

“You can get up now, Bastian.”

Once I lift the alpha command, Bastian slowly gets to his feet. He’s going to have a black eye from his fight. I’m sure he’s bruised elsewhere too. Saint got in quite a few good hits. When he takes a step toward Saint, I step in front of him. “Was that necessary?”

“He could’ve killed you, and I couldn’t stop it!” Bastian hoarsely shouts. His face crumples as he pulls me in for a desperate hug.

My anger evaporates when I realize Bastian was just scared. “I’m okay, Bastian. He didn’t hurt me.” I wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze him as hard as I can in reassurance.

Bastian threads one hand through my hair and presses me tightly against his chest. After a long moment, he lets me go. “I’m sorry.” He hangs his head and looks a little like a kicked puppy.

Now I feel bad for yelling at him. “It’s fine. Can you just try not to attack anyone else for a little while?”

“No promises, pretty girl. As long as no one hurts you, I won’t attack anyone, though,” Bastian concedes.

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