Page 12 of Wilder Obsessions

“How long, Arwen?”I repeat, the low growl escaping my throat, causing the night to shudder.

“Only a couple of years,” she admits, her voice breaking.The surrender in her tone feels like a dagger through my heart.The image of that pathetic bastard, with his filthy hands on her, is like gasoline to a fire.I clench my fists, fighting the urge to unleash the beast within.

I take a step forward, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her to me, the warmth of her body seeping into mine, momentarily calming the raging storm.

“I’ll kill him!”I growl, unable to contain the turmoil any longer.

“No, it’s my fault,” she lies again, her voice a trembling breeze, shoving the guilt back down my throat.My breath catches as she looks up at me, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.A swell of protectiveness overwhelms my senses.

“You don’t understand, do you?”I dare, letting the anger edge my words.“How dare you lie to me.How dare he lay a finger on you.You don’t deserve this!”She shrugs out of my grip, tears streaming down her cheeks, and it feels like every drop is a nail driven through my chest.

“I’m not done, Arwen!”My voice rumbles like thunder and I can hardly recognize the fury in me.It is my puma, it resonates through me, echoing every insecurity, every primal instinct I possess.

“It was just an accident!He was mad that the tips were lower than expected.We were slow that night!”Her voice cracks in distress.I know she is trying to make sense of it, trying to justify the unjustifiable.

Something inside me snaps.I step forward again, my focus narrowing on her.“You know what you need?You need to come with me.You need to let me protect you.”Her eyes flare with emotions I can’t decipher—fear, uncertainty.

“I have to get back to work,” she murmurs, turning away, fighting the thread that connects us.I let her go, but my hands twitch with the need to reclaim her warmth, revisit that solace amid the chaos.I feel this overwhelming need to claim her and take her as far away as I can to a safe place so she can never be hurt again.

****

After our bathroomencounter, I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to her that we belong together.The night air is thick with tension as I watch her leave the bar, her figure casting a long shadow in the streetlight.I follow her home, sticking to the edges of the darkness, careful to remain unseen.My instincts tell me she can sense me.She continually turns back, glancing over her shoulder, her senses heightened in my presence.

Arwen.

Her name is like a mantra, and soon she’ll understand why I’m so relentless.

I watch as she ascends the creaking stairs to her almost condemned apartment.Anger billows within me, knowing she’s living in such a desperate place, but there’s no time to dwell before a piercing scream slices through the air.Fuck.

I rush through the entrance.In an instant, I spot him—the man in the bedroom.My heart races as I see Arwen bleeding, and the rage takes over, clouding my mind, taking control.I charge at him.

All I see is red.

Nothing compares to this bloodlust, not a damn thing.A formidable mountain of muscle, I throw my fists into his throat, feeling the satisfying crunch against my knuckles as I begin to press down, intent on ending this.He struggles but it’s pathetic, really.I have no doubt he deserves no mercy for the years he’s put his hands on her.

“One...Two...Three...”Each press sends shock waves of vengeance through me, his body flailing against my grip, futile against my strength.This motherfucker has no hope.

And then, silence.He’s dead in a pool of his own blood.

“Arwen!”

Turning ever so slowly, I see her collapsed on the floor behind me.My focus leaves the dead bastard, and it takes a moment to process the look of horror on her beautiful face.

“Oh, God.You ...killed him?”

“Yes.”

Her alarm stabs into me, a piercing agony I didn’t expect.The fight returns to her as she jumps to her feet to run, panic flooding her face.No.I leap forward.She can’t leave.

“Arwen, he deserved to die for what he did to you!”My voice is low, shaking with desperation.“For all the years he put his hands on you.He could have fucking killed you in the worst ways!”

She drops back to the floor, trembling, clutching the cash that slipped from her bag.She shakes her head back and forth, denying all reality.Different emotions swirl within me as I stride toward her, pulling her into my arms.She pushes at me at first but eventually gives in.

“Pack a bag.You’re coming home with me, Starlight,” I whisper into the shell of her ear.

Her face contorts in disbelief at my words.Her tears stop as if the world has flipped on its axis, and her eyes turn blank, empty.

“I-I don’t even know you!And you’re a-a...”

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