Page 10 of The Pack

His eyes met mine again, and for a split second, something softened in his expression.

He tilted his head again, with a slight smile.

“We want you.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. For a moment, I just stood there, but then I gritted my teeth and lifted my chin. I needed to put on a brave front and fight this.

“Excuse me?” I asked, incredulous.

He couldn’t be serious, right?

“You heard me.” His voice was calm, even, like this was the most obvious thing in the world.

My eyes darted to the other wolves. They hadn’t moved, their hulking forms still and silent, but their presence was suffocating. They weren’t snarling or growling, but somehow that made it worse. It made it seem like they were planning something, and an anxious feeling spiraled up from the tips of my toes.

“Yeah, no, thanks,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “I’m not exactly looking to join a pack of… whatever you are.”

He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by my defiance. “Do you even know what we are?”

“I’ve got a pretty good guess,” I shot back, gesturing vaguely at him and the wolves. “Big, scary wolves who turn into smug, naked men. Congratulations, you’ve got range.”

The smirk on his face deepened. “And yet, we just saved your life.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“No,” he agreed, his tone light, almost teasing. “But you needed us to. And now we want you.”

I felt a flare of anger at his calm arrogance, and it pushed me past the edge of fear. I straightened, meeting his stare head-on despite the way his eyes seemed to burn straight through me.

“What do you mean, youwantme?” I asked, my voice shaking just a bit.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he curled his arm around my waist, pulling me closer, and my breath caught in my throat. The sunlight filtering through the trees cast him in sharp relief: his lean, powerful body, the dark tousled hair that somehow made him look even more dangerous, and those damned beautiful eyes.

“You’re different,” he said finally, more quietly now.

“That doesn’t mean you can just claim me like… like some kind of prize,” I snapped.

“We’re not claiming you,” he said. “At least, not yet.”

“Not yet?” I repeated, my voice rising. “Wow, thanks for the warning. Should I pencil that in my calendar, or do you guys send out formal invitations?”

One of the wolves behind him let out a low growl, but he silenced it with a lift of a finger. His focus never left me, though, and his eyes softened slightly—just slightly.

“You’re scared,” he said, his tone almost gentle now.

I clenched my fists, forcing myself not to flinch.

“No shit, I’m scared. A pack of feral wolves just tried to eat me, and now I’ve got you and your… yourpackstaring at me like I’m the main fucking course,” I blurted out.

“You’re not prey,” he said firmly. “At least, not to us.”

“Then what am I?”

His gaze lingered on me for a moment before he answered. “A human. And humans are incredibly rare here these days. Especially ones like you.”

CHAPTER 2

Magnus O’Rourke

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