Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Merrik

I should stay the fuck away from her. I shouldn't be out here lurking like some fucking perv that needs to stalk his prey. But I can't stay away. And after that kiss, I am well aware of how hard it is going to be to let her walk away from me during the blood moon. Just the thought makes the creature inside of me fight to get out. And the fact she stood up to me without backing down just made me even fucking harder, even more certain that she was mine. That this is right and inevitable.

Yeah, she slapped me but thankfully, I have other senses that tell me just how turned on she was by that kiss, the scent of her sweetness getting stronger and turning to pure honey as she started to kiss me back. God, I could have dragged her off right then. Or worse, I could have taken her right there in front of everyone standing around.

A scent catches my attention long before I make my way around the camp to where I last saw her sneak off. This one makes the animal in me immediately burst free and rush to my mate.

"I don't…um, like you like that, Doyle. I don't want to hurt you but I…am not comfortable with…you."

"Because you're too busy panting after the mayor. Maybe if I was mayor, you'd start opening those legs for me."

"Oh, God, no! I mean…,"

"You should be careful, Piper. A tiny little thing like you might get hurt chasing after someone so powerful. You know, they found bodies in this forest. Wouldn't want a whore like you to get all sliced up because your too stupid to realize what danger looks like."

Piper's face goes white as blood drains from her face and her scent turns acrid. A growl rumbles out of me and both of them turn to look at the thick underbrush. Doyle goes pale now. He knows I'm here and that I listened to every word he just said to my mate. The wolf and the man are in total agreement that Doyle has signed his death warrant. He will never leave this camp alive. But I don't want to do it now, right in front of my already terrified mate. No, Doyle and I will end this thing tonight. Under the nearly full moon.

I watch as he runs, leaving my girl sagging against the cabin wall. As much as I want to go to her and rub my scent all over her, I also don't want to scare her. So, I bide my time, spending the rest of the afternoon in my wolf form as I track every step she takes. I want to be sure she is safe in her bunk before I finish Doyle.

What I failed to calculate, is how much rot has infested Doyle over his life. She's walking some of the younger campers back to their bunk after they sat around a campfire making smores and telling stories when a large wolf jumps out in front of them. Immediately, my mate shoves the tiny children behind her trying to protect them.

When we are wolves, we are bigger than a normal wolf. I've always wondered if it might be a holdover from the days more of our kind walked among people. Whatever it is, most of us in wolf form are twice the size of a normal wolf. And I'm even bigger than the rest of us because I'm the alpha.

Seeing Doyle in his wolf form is startling to say the least, especially for someone who didn't know we were out here in the world. Someone like Piper. Normal people in her position would run screaming. She stands in front of small children remaining calm and poised. She's got everything it takes to make a good mate for an Alpha like me, everything I could ever ask for in a mate. Everything.

Courage, bravery, and willingness to put others ahead of herself, she's perfect. And I will not let anything harm her or take her from me, especially not Doyle.

Piper backs up slowly and keeps the children behind her as the wolf advances closer and closer. When he opens his mouth, a roar fills the night air but not from him. The wolf's head snaps to the side as it looks with wild eyes as I emerge out of the brush and dark trees. The wolf standing in front of my mate is brown and white and gray while I am big and black, the same shade as the night around us. A color unmistakable among our kind.

I growl deep in my throat as I step closer and closer to the other wolf.

"Oh shit!"

The two words are said in a quiet whisper, but I pick them up, just like I pick up the scent of fear that is heavy in the air, not just from Piper but from the children as well. The wolf looks away from me and back to my mate. I feel his intent before he ever moves and in anticipation, I launch myself at the other wolf catching it in mid-jump sending us both rolling.

The last thing I hear before we both hit the ground is my mate screaming at the top of her voice.

"RUN!!!"