Page 26 of Hayden's Haven
Mila heard the shouting before she reached the compound. She hadn’t expected to see Hayden in a shouting match with Lars and Benji, Finley’s friends. They were two of the easiest going shifters she had met since arriving here. Was Hayden that mad at her that he was taking his anger out on them? She couldn’t imagine it, but there Hayden was, poking a single finger into Benji’s chest, causing the shifter to stumble back into the stump where he had been splitting logs.
“You’re too like your brother to ever be one of us,” Benji said. “Damien only made you second because he pitied you. You’ll never be alpha because no one here will ever follow you, Novak.”
“You’re welcome to leave anytime, Olsen,” Hayden said, his voice deceptively calm. His back straightened, making him look every bigger compared to Benji. It was a common move among strong shifters, one she had seen too often in her life. This shouting match would degrade into fisticuffs soon enough unless someone intervened. Mila glanced around. She didn’t know most of the shifters who had gathered around, but several of the males had grouped behind Benji in obvious support, while others simply maintained a safe distance.
“Just another fucking traitor,” Benji spat out.
Hayden’s muscles rippled and she could swear he was going to shift and lay into Benji. Instead, Hayden shoved the shifter forward. “You’re the last person I have to prove myself to.”
As Mila approached from behind Hayden, Benji curled his lip and tilted his head to look past Hayden. “Hey, cutie,” he said to Mila. She almost turned to see who he was talking to. She wasn’t on familiar terms with Benji. She’d only met him once. “I’ll be done here in a minute, okay, cutie?”
Hayden drew in a deep breath and spun around. Dark eyes grew wide. “Mila. . .” His expression eased, softening in a way that made her want to reach out and caress his cheek. What was it about this shifter that called to her? He was not right for her, yet her heart raced, and her entire body grew warm just from that one look he was giving her.
Whatever it was he intended to say, he never had the chance as Benji grabbed the ax and swung at Hayden while his back was turned. The blade sliced across Hayden’s lower back. Pain flashed through his eyes before they turned deadly cold.
Hayden shifted so fast Mila found herself speechless. Shouts and screams erupted all around her as the white wolf pinned Benji beneath him. The weaker shifter never had a chance to shift. The ax lay in his clench hand, with Hayden’s forepaw on Benji’s arm, holding him and the ax down. Hayden’s gums pulled back in a very scary snarl that had other shifters begging him to release Benji.
They all thought Hayden was going to kill Benji. He wouldn’t kill a packmate, would he? Hayden’s jaws opened as they clamped over Benji’s exposed throat.
“Hayden, no!” Mila shouted as her body shook with fear.
Three wolves suddenly leapt into the area, but none made a move toward Hayden. They assessed the threat and understood it for what it was, their second was putting a weak shifter in his place. But they didn’t know what had led up to it or how Benji was seconds from having his throat ripped out.
The tan wolf shifted. She didn’t know this one, but he was all muscle and wore a scowl a mile long. “Everyone leave.” Every shifter in the area, including the guards that had come to ensure the pack was safe, disappeared into the trees. Only the tan wolf remained. “You too, Doctor.”
“He’s injured.”
The shifter glanced at Hayden, only now noticing the blood staining his white fur. “Stay, but don’t interfere,” he said as he too started to leave.
“Where are you going?” she asked, panic seeping into her voice. “What if he kills Benji?”
The shifter glanced back over his shoulder. “Who? Hayden?” The shifter lifted a brow and then walked away, leaving her to witness, or clean up after whatever was going to happen.
Hayden stood on top of Benji, a low growl coming from his throat as he bared his teeth. Then, as quickly as the fight had started, it ended, with Hayden’s wolf jumping off of Benji and walking into the woods. Mila glanced at Benji, who was already sitting up, shaking, but otherwise unharmed. She ran after Hayden, but he had disappeared.
This was one of those times she wished she could smell and see better. Following tracks out here was near impossible given how many shifters passed through the area every day. Mila frowned when she found several drops of blood. Why hadn’t he waited for her?
She followed his trail to a small cabin a hundred yards or so off the main trail. The place was quaint, log cabin style, with glass windows and a chimney that wasn’t in use despite the cold. The cabin didn’t have a door knocker or a lock for that matter. Just a handle. With a mere push of the door, it opened.
The interior didn’t look as rustic as the outside but was rather homey if not sparsely decorated. In the back was a kitchen large enough for prepping food, but not eating. A large sitting area faced the fireplace and another room beyond the fireplace, likely a bedroom. For a moment she questioned if she was in the wrong place. The easy-going camaraderie she had seen between Hayden and Callen, not to mention Kate had given her the impression that Hayden would be in one of the cabins down by the lake with the other single males, shooting the breeze when off duty. This setup here, a cabin in a very isolated part of the pack’s territory, seemed out of place like he was intentionally keeping his distance from the pack.
“What do you want, Mila?” his brusque voice boomed from the backroom. He had smelled her from the moment she had entered.
“I want to make sure you’re okay, Hayden,” she called back to the bedroom. She hated talking through walls.
“I’m fine. You can go.”
The dismissiveness in his tone hurt. Was this how she had sounded to him in her lab?
“I need to check your wound.” It was a lie, a partial one. Given the amount of blood, the cut was likely shallow. Hayden and his wolf were strong, and possibly already half-healed.
Silence greeted her from the backroom. He didn’t need her as a doctor. He didn’t need a shifter like her at all. She had been a fool for coming here. “I won’t bother you again,” she said, walking to the door.
As she opened the door, he appeared behind her, his hand over hers, slowly pushing the door shut. His hand followed the path of her arm, to her shoulder, sending one long, delicious shiver through her body. His warm breath tickled the side of her neck as he eased her hair to the side. Her breath caught while he kissed that spot behind her ear that made her knees buckle. By some miracle, she kept herself upright.
“I was worried,” she said, searching for a way to stall until she found her feet again. He hadn’t pinned her or forced her to submit. He had barely touched her, yet she couldn’t move. There was a power to Hayden that held her there at his mercy. It was a different power than what she was used to, what she had come to fear.
At Hayden’s mercy. . . the very idea sent another spine-tingling shiver through her.
