Page 5 of Rivals

Human. Alone.

His.

Fear spiked sharp and sweet in the air. Viktor’s blood roared. His wolf lunged.

Impact.

A startled cry, the crunch of bodies hitting the ground. Leaves and twigs snapped beneath them as they rolled, Viktor’s weight pressing his prey down, pinning them effortlessly.

Then the scent hit him full force.

Beneath him, Nick gasped, his chest heaving, his pulse pounding hard enough that Viktor could hear it. Their eyes met—Nick’s blown wide with shock, confusion flashing into something sharper, edged with panic.

“Viktor?!” Nick’s voice was raw, breathless. “What the hell—?”

Viktor’s grip tightened, his body refusing to let go even as his mind scrambled to catch up.

Nick squirmed, shoving at his shoulders. “No. No way. Notyou.”

A dangerous growl curled from Viktor’s throat. “Me.”

His wolf howled in triumph.

Chapter three

Nick

Nick’s lungs stopped working for a full beat.

Viktor loomed above him, all muscle and moonlight, his bare skin hot and unyielding against Nick’s own. The weight of him pressed down, pinning Nick to the damp earth, broad hands braced on either side of his head, thighs like iron around his hips. Heat radiated off him in waves, and—oh great, now Nick’s brain had decided to take a vacation, because the only thing it seemed capable of processing wasnaked.

As in,Viktor was naked.

As in, every single werewolf running through these woods tonight was naked, and somehow, in all his careful calculations, Nick had conveniently failed to prepare for this.

His pulse hammered, blood rushing to places itdefinitelyshouldn’t, because of course his traitorous body had to get involved in this disaster. Because everything else in his life always went wrong—why wouldn’t his annoying, uncooperative biology betray him at the exact worst possible moment, too?

Viktor’s green eyes locked onto his, burning with something dark and unreadable. And the look? Yeah, it wasn’t exactlyI’m here to save you.

More likeI’m going to eat you alive.

Nick’s breath hitched, panic and heat tangling in his chest. His brain tried to form a coherent thought, some kind of protest, but all it managed was:

Oh shit.

Why is he built like this?

WHY IS HE BUILT LIKE THIS?!

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