Page 31 of Savage Hunter

I want to spew flames and leave this place in smoldering embers.

Fuck this. No one will humiliate her while my knuckles can still knock teeth out.

Ares pushes Nova behind her, and I do the same with Harmonia.

The bear of a man levels me with his signature scowl on me as he speaks to Harmonia. “Avery, come here.” Ares holds a hand out to Harmonia causing her brows to pinch together in apparent confusion.

She clutches at her towel. “Ares, I…umm.”

Harmonia shakes in my arms. I don’t know if it is out of fear or if she is feeling torn between our past and the need to be loyal to whoever Ares is to her now. It doesn’t matter. This ends.

I wrap my arm around her waist and hold her to me to keep her on this side of the door.

“Fuck you, Ares. I’m good enough to kill for you, and that is it, huh?”

“Okay, this is going too far.” Harmonia cuts in, the look of confusion now full of disbelief.

My dark stare meets gunmetal gray. I’m not sure what the fuck has his hackles raised or why he thinks I am a danger to Harmonia, but I don’t like the alpha posturing. I don’t give a shit what oath I took; he tries to remove my hands from Harmonia one of us will die. We’re closing in on the same height and I have a good thirty pounds on him. It will be a fair fight.

Nova must see the fists at my side because she jumps between us, hands raised.

“Whoa, baby. Avery doesn’t look like she’s in danger. Take a step back. All our nerves are shot. Take a breath, men. Don’t make me go into premature labor over dick measuring.”

“Nova Masters—” Ares sounds about as amused as I feel. Harmonia tries to move in front of me, but I keep my body between her and the danger. I prepare myself for the second fist fight of the day. The last one ended with the other guy dead. This one won’t be any different.

Nova puts her baby bump between us.

I take a step back, and Ares’s hulking shoulders seem to loosen up.

Blue eyes chisel a hole into Ares’ and I actually feel sorry for the bastard. “Don’t Nova Masters me, Ares. You can turn into papa bear later. Right now let’s go see what is going on at Doc’s place. And let’s not forget Avery is a grown woman. She will let us know when she needs help.”

I’ve never seen someone talk back to Ares like that and not get a pissed off man in their face. But Nova doesn’t look scared and Ares has fucking hearts floating in his eyes when he looks at his woman.

“Avery says she’s okay. Let’s trust in her. Wolfe isn’t a stranger either. We can pick this up later.”

“Ares, thank you. I’m fine really.” Harmonia puts her hand in mine and Ares notices big time. If Nova is having a girl, I pity that man. He won’t know a moment’s peace for the rest of his life.

Those gray eyes bore into mine. Yeah, Ares and I will have a heart to heart in the future for sure.

“Let’s go. Rage needs us.”

Harmonia’s faint intake of a sharp breath is subtle but has the monster in me wondering what her connection to Rage is and if I’ll have to fight him some day. She pushes me to the side with a worry of a different kind written all over her beautiful face.

“Rage? Is he okay? What happened?”

Seven

Avery

Oh, God. This is real. Like a dream come to life.

Shivers climb the length of my spine and a rush of adrenaline refuels my hammering heart beating a hole through my chest. For several frenzied heartbeats, I can’t do anything but stare at the vision of Wolfe standing at my door.

He should be dead, my head screams. I smell the open road on him. The pine scent that is so heavy this late in the summer. And blood. So much blood.

Eyes closed, I sway for one heartbeat. Two. Wolfe’s lips on my skin, his hands on my body. His warmth wrapped around me.

It is because of this my heart, six senses and my head start a war.

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