Page 14 of Ravaged Wolf
“I don’t want to pressure you or anything,” he murmurs. “We can do things at your pace.”
I just want him to kiss me. Why am I just standing here? He’s my mate. I don’t have to wait. I rise on my tiptoes and search for his mouth, my eyes closed so I miss and my lips brush his stubble-roughened jaw. His wolf growls, but I’m not scared, and neither is my wolf. She growls back, demanding, impatient.
He chuckles and takes my mouth, this time slipping his tongue past my lips, and I don’t expect it, so I startle. He begins to pull away, but before he can take that tongue from me, I suck him back in, tangling mine with his as my whole body goes limp, and I cling to him by the neck like a dress on a hanger.
He holds me upright, his arms sure and strong, and my heart pounds, and my wolf feels like she’s running so fast, she’s flying.
And then the door flies open with a crash.
Instantly, Trevor spins, throwing me behind him. My hip bangs into the handle to the oven. The stench of fur and aggression swamps the room.
Trevor’s wolf snarls.
“Whoa, son. Relax. Everything’s fine,” a deep, even voice calls from the entryway, but it’s an obvious lie. Growls almost drown out the words. Three males. No four. I peek around Trevor’s side.
My father is in the living room, fur sprouting from hisunbuttoned collar and his rolled-up sleeves, his wolf twisting his face. Uncle Howell and my cousin Griff are poised to hold him back. The male who called Trevor “son” is my dad’s age. He has the same curly hair as Trevor, but the honey streaks are gray, and his eyes are a worn gray, dark with worry. No, with fear.
My wolf growls, low and terrified.
“Get away from her,” Dad spits, baring his descended fangs. Griff and Trevor’s dad both flinch at the display, and they shrink, not much, but noticeably.
Trevor’s chest swells. “She’s my mate.”
It’s not a challenge, but there’s no submission in his voice. I don’t know how his head is still high. My dad outranks him by a lot, and Uncle Howell is backing him, and he’s the alpha’s second.
“Not yet, she’s not,” my dad barks. “Hand her over.Now.”
I creep to the side. I don’t want Trevor hurt.
Somehow, Trevor broadens his shoulders. “This is her home now.”
Dad scoffs. “Pup, show neck before I rip it out.”
Trevor’s dad bristles, his wolf rumbling, and Uncle Howell and Griff grip Dad’s arms. Dad’s eyes gleam yellow. He likes that he’s being held back, that Trevor’s dad is too intimidated to do anything. Dad is enjoying himself, and the shame of it breaks through the heat radiating from my body. It’s scalding.
I rest a hand on Trevor’s arm. “It’s okay. I want to go home now.”
Trevor shakes off my hand and grabs my wrist. His muscles have grown impossibly tense, his throat closing on his wolf’s snarl.
“She stays,” he snarls like I didn’t even say anything.
For a long moment, everyone is silent.
Trevor and Dad stare each other down. Trevor’s dad,Uncle Howell, and Griff glance between the two males, assessing. I might as well be invisible.
No, I’m a bone. If Dad could come closer without fur flying, he’d grab my other wrist, and they’d play tug of war. I hate this. Everyone gets to decide but me.
Trevor doesn’t even understand what he’s risking. He probably thinks Dad won’t go too far for my sake, and maybe he’s right, but Dad’s wolf thinks I’m so weak I should’ve been left out in the woods as a baby. Dad’s wolf will tear Trevor limb from limb.
“I’m going home,” I say and start forward, ignoring Trevor’s iron grip. He can let go or break my wrist.
He lets go.
“Izzy—” His voice drops an octave. He sounds confused. My wolf whines.
My dad’s lip curls back in a sharp-toothed smirk. “You can have her when it’s time. Not before.”
Uncle Howell and Griff surround me and hustle me toward the door.
