Page 6 of Wolf

Cringing, I drop my head, only to freeze when Wolf’s deep voice says, “Cut it out.”

The air displaces around me and before I know it, I’m standing on wobbly legs with Wolf‘s hand wrapped around my bicep while he stares down at me with a frown.

The brief glimpse of his distaste sends a chill through me, and I drop my gaze when he says, “Seriously? She’s like a child. Let her be.”

A child? Wow.

Hunching my shoulders, I wish myself anywhere but here as Miriam says behind Darcy, “You little bitch. Leave my sister alone.”

“Sister?” Wolf says and Darcy spins, hissing, “Stay out of it, bitch.”

“Oh, I’ll stay out of it, right in your face,” Miriam snarls.

Dumbfounded, I watch my supposedly docile sister fly toward Darcy before Duke grabs her by the waist and swings her around.

He whispers something in her ear, and she sags before nodding her head.

Darcy scoffs and walks away leaving me with Wolf. When I peek at him, my heart stutters at his stern gaze but thankfully it’s aimed at the couple and not me.

With a grunt, he grabs my arm and pulls me toward them. Gasping I follow, stumbling to a stop when he pushes me forward and says, “Your sister? What were you thinking?”

Absently I note the heat of his fingers before they're gone, and I smile ruefully. This is not how I imagined being touched by him, and a curl of disappointment presses at my chest.

Miriam raises her glistening eyes, and I step toward her, but she shakes her head and says tiredly, “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Wolf huffs. “It’s gonna be bad enough when yourdaddycomes knocking.”

She stiffens and Duke says, “Bro.”

“No,” Wolf slashes his hand through the air. “You’re playing with fire. Both of you. That man ain’t gonna sit by while you play house. Take her home.”

He nods at me without a glance, and I stare after him with a grimace. I’ve craved just a look from him for what seems like forever and now I’m regretting it because the fantasy was much better than the reality.

He’s gruff, dismissive, and thinks of me as a child.

Great.

Miriam pouts the entire way back while I can’t stop thinking about Wolf’s speech until I’m sick to my stomach. But on the wings of that is a surge of annoyance because he doesn’t know me, and his censure is unwarranted.

When we pull to a stop, I glance out the window and groan. I’m back at the woods and my first taste of freedom was a bust.

My head throbs from where I hit the rock, but I pay it no mind as Miriam stiffly grabs the door handle.

“Babe,” Duke says, and she glances at him. “I’m sorry, okay? What was I supposed to do?”

“Tell your brother to back off,” she says.

He chuckles but the sound is anything but humorous. “You don’t tell him no.”

“Maybeyoudon’t,” she mutters, turning back to the door.

“No one does. Babe…”

“He’s not your boss, he’s your brother.”

“Trust me. There’s no difference and when I’m—“

“Don’t even say it.” She slashes her hand through the air.

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