Chapter 10 - Tannen

We lay on the couch, panting as we stared up at the ceiling. My head spun, even as my wolf growled his contentment, trying to get a grip on what had just happened.

Thea. I'd just fucked Thea.

I hadn't been lying when I told her I'd been attracted to her more or less since I met her. But I don't know if I'd ever actually expected to act on any of it. And the sex had been great. I wouldn't have any regrets about any of it if it weren't for one thing: the claiming bond.

The bond would only get deeper after something like this. We were still in the stage where I was fairly certain I could find a way to break it. But any more instances like what had just happened, I wasn't sure how easy it would be.

"Are you all right?" she asked almost timidly. I glanced over at her and saw her watching intently, something like apprehension on her face.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just thinking."

"Thinking what?" she asked, sitting up.

I closed my eyes, wishing I didn't have to say what I was about to say. "That this should probably be a one-time thing."

Now that it was out, I wished I could take it back. It wasn't what I really wanted, but it was what we had to do.

"Ah," she said, her tone inscrutable.

"Don't get me wrong," I said. "I would love to do this with you again. Really. Part of me wants to fuck you senseless right now. The problem is that I don't know if it's the best idea."

I'd expected her to be disappointed. She might have been, but all she did was nod.

"I get it," she said. "The claiming bond."

I gave a curt nod. "The more intimate and physical we get, the quicker the bond can sink in. It would be better for both of us, I think, if we didn't make things worse."

My wolf growled in protest, but I knew this was the right thing to do. Even though I hated myself for it. I knew I had a reputation for this sort of thing, that I was probably only confirming her suspicions, but I had to do what was right for both of us.

Even if I didn't want to.

"I understand," she said. Her eyes had a faraway look to them, as if she were thinking something, but her face was still unreadable.

I opened my mouth, but she shook her head.

"Seriously," she said. "Don't worry about it. The whole thing was brought on by adrenaline and heightened emotions. That's all."

Thea stood. I watched as she strolled naked to her pile of clothes and began slipping them on. I admired the way her breasts swung when they were free of a bra. My cock twitched, and I wished again that I could pull her onto me and have her bounce on my dick.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push the thoughts from my head. I wished I had access to a computer. That way, I could at least see if these symptoms were normal, or if there was some way to curb them. As it was, I felt as though I was flying in the dark, something I absolutely detested. I preferred having my finger on the pulse. Walking into something dark was typically a recipe for disaster.

For a moment, I considered suggesting looking back on this after we knew the claiming bond was out of the way. We could at least give it a shot, if we were both still interested after all this was over. Granted, with the way Thea thought of me and my reputation, I wasn't sure how she would take that idea.

Still, the thought had its merit, and it wormed its way into my head. I opened my mouth, planning on tossing out the idea and gauging her reaction—

A rustling sounded from outside.

My ears pricked, and I froze. My entire body stiffened as my wolf snarled, going on the alert. Thea frowned, her eyes searching my face, unease flickering across her expression.

"What—?"

I held up a hand, shaking my head, jaw set. She fell quiet, her own face stiffening.

I sniffed the air, trying to see if I had been crazy or if there really had been something going on. The tantalizing smell of the stew wafted over everything else, making it hard to smell any oncoming threats. Except my wolf howled at me, screaming that something was wrong, even if I couldn't tell exactly what it was.

I motioned for Thea to move into the middle of the room, as far away from the windows and doors as possible. She obeyed, stepping quietly toward the center of the room, her feet barely making a sound.

Creeping toward the window, I peered out, squinting to look through the trees outside, searching for any movement in the branches beyond. I knew I'd heard something.

Silence fell. I waited, not breathing.

Just as I was beginning to wonder if I had been wrong, something flew through the window, sending shards of glass flying through the air, slicing across my face. I stumbled backward, hand covering my eyes.

A scream pierced through the air. Thea.

I spun around. Her eyes were locked on the wooden door. A dull thumping sound echoed through the air, the door rattling in its frame as someone tried to break in.

I moved toward Thea. Before I could get more than a few steps, someone leapt through the open window. I spun back just in time to see a snarling wolf jumping toward me, jaws wide as they lunged for my throat.

I threw up a hand, crying out as I fell to the ground, the wolf's teeth sinking into my forearm. My head slammed against the floor as the breath rushed out of me. At the same time, the sound of cracking, splintering wood reverberated as someone broke the door, bursting into the room.

I shifted, but it was too late, the wolf keeping me in place. I stayed pinned to the floor, so the only thing I could do was watch as a hulking figure sauntered into the safe house.

Viktor's eyes flicked to me, the shifter's paw pressing against my throat, then flicked to Thea, still in the middle of the room, her only way of escape blocked by the massive shifter. He smirked.

"Good to see you both," he said. "We've been looking for you."