Page 14 of A Wolf's Heart

I remained emotionless on the outside, watching Tats, waiting for him to state my second choice. It seemed to take longer than seconds as he assessed my demeanor and lack of reaction. The slightest smirk twitched his lips before he composed himself.

“Your second option is to stay and conform to the pack.”

“Wait, what?” Weylin turned to Kage. “I thought it was going to be a—”

“Wey,” Kage warned before turning his attention to Tats. “The problem needs to be eradicated.”

The problem. Hmm. They didn’t have the authority to kick me off my territory. I mean, if there was actually something that required me to be registered, that meant there were governing bodies. Someone higher up than them. They were banking on me leaving town under the threat. I looked to Tats but couldn’t stop the gentle smile and slight relief. He pinched his lips together, knowing I’d figured it out.

“Well, now we have to kill her,” he snapped at Weylin.

My smile disappeared. “Wait, what?” I copied Weylin’s earlier tone. I stepped back as three large men stalked towards me.

“Hopefully, she doesn’t have many ties to take care of,” Kage said.

Yep, time to shift now. I stretched my hands out, but Tats was already staring at my claws, as he grabbed hold of my arm. The moment his hand touched my skin, my shift halted. Burning heat spread from his touch through my arm, slithering across my shoulders, a shiver traveling down my spine as I gasped. It was like fireworks going off inside my heart, both breathtaking and exhilarating at the same time.

My stare met his and that was the first time I noticed the redness of his eyes. A low, menacing growl vibrated through hischest, his grasp tightening around my arm before he pulled me towards him.

“Stop!” I yelled, throwing my other arm up to defend myself. I didn’t have to, though. He positioned himself in front of me, between his friends.

“Rainor—”

“She’s my mate.” He spat the word, as if it disgusted him, cutting off Kage’s warning.

“If you shift, he will kill her,” Weylin seemed slightly worried. Was this not what they had planned in the first place?

“Leave,” Rainor snapped, though his voice was disconnected.

Weylin stepped forward, but Kage threw his arm out. “Go.” His voice was calm, despite the situation. “The beast will take care of her for us.”

Weylin glanced at me, back to Kage, and nodded. “Sorry, little wolf,” he said. He actually seemed like he meant it. “We would’ve made it painless.”

The two men backed out of the alley, all the while keeping their eyes trained on Rainor as he fought his own shift. “I kinda liked her,” I heard Weylin say to Kage as they walked away.

I had never seen another wolf shift before. I knew the process, obviously, but to see another body go through the transformation was new. Rainor looked as if he was struggling, though. His muscles twitched and jumped, a crack of a bone here or there, and it didn’t take me long to understand what was happening.

I could run—I should run—but I had a feeling Kage and Weylin weren’t far away. Plus, that warmth that had spread through me, those fireworks in my heart, lingered and throbbed the closer I got to Rainor. My wolf whimpered each time I stepped away from him. My back hit the wall. I didn't want to leave him while he struggled so much.

“Why are you fighting it?” I asked.

“He’ll kill you,” Rainor grunted out. I could see in his face that he didn’t like losing control. In the span of seconds, he went from planning my murder to now protecting me from himself. He screamed, nearly a battle cry, as he fell to his knees.

I couldn’t take it anymore. “Change,” I said.

Rainor’s body spasmed, his eyes going wide, his glasses sliding down his face.

“Change,” I demanded, more force in my voice.

The black hair growing along his body, the thickening and crunch of his chest, the ripping of his shirt as it made way for the large wolf that now stood before me was intriguing to watch, and though I knew I should run away, I couldn’t.

Rainor was a large, snarling mess of crazy. The redness in his eyes was a thing of nightmares as the color became more vibrant, bolder. The hackles on his neck and back stood on end, paws braced on the ground, claws extended… He was still fighting his raw, feral wolf.

My wolf begged to change, but not so she could run. She felt the need to comfort him, and as much as it went against every alarm bell in my mind, I trusted my wolf. I wasn’t sure if I could communicate with Rainor in wolf form, though, so I remained in human form.

“Stop fighting him,” I said, taking a step forward.

The wolf’s legs trembled as Rainor forced him to take a step back. He snapped at the air, his teeth almost as long as my fingers, spit dripping from them in rage.

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