Chapter 3

Jenna

I toss the lacy black underwear into the bottom drawer of the ornate dresser, my cheeks flushing with heat. What possessed me to buy those? They're not my usual practical cotton style, but for some reason, when I was out shopping earlier, trying to replace my wardrobe, these caught my eye.

Maybe it was the same reckless impulse that led me to splurge on that flirty sundress—the bright red one that hugs my curves in all the right places.

Shaking my head, I try to dismiss the thought. It's ridiculous, really. I'm a twenty-eight-year-old kindergarten teacher crashing at my best friend's family estate after a freak fire destroyed my home and left me without anything decent to wear. Lacy lingerie and figure-flattering dresses should be the last thing on my mind right now.

And yet... I can't quite banish the image of Ryan's stormy blue eyes drinking me in over dinner last night. The way his intense gaze seemed to linger on the modest vee of my blouse, making my skin prickle with an electric awareness.

With a frustrated groan, I flop back onto the plush queen-sized mattress, staring up at the vaulted ceiling. This is ridiculous. Ryan is Hannah's older brother—the brooding, reclusive alpha of the Whispering Pines pack. Not to mention, he's a freaking wolf-shifter, and I'm just... me. An ordinary human kindergarten teacher.

There's no way a guy like him could be interested in someone like me.

The bedroom door swings open and Hannah breezes in, her bright green eyes sparkling with her usual sunny energy. "Need any help unpacking?"

Grateful for the distraction, I sit up and force a smile. "Yeah, that would be great." I gesture to the remaining shopping bags scattered across the rustic hardwood floor. "I still have a few things to put away."

"This is so exciting!" Hannah chirps, scooping up an armload of bags. "It'll be like a never-ending slumber party."

I can't help but laugh at her enthusiasm, the knot of tension in my chest loosening slightly. "You make it sound like we're a couple of kids at summer camp, not adults living together."

"Why not?" She winks at me over the teetering stack of bags. "It'll be just like old times, before we were real, responsible grown-ups."

"You know, Jen, I've been thinking... you don't have to feel rushed to find your own place. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need."

My chest tightens with a surge of gratitude and affection for this incredible woman who has been my closest friend for nearly a decade. Leaving my childhood home behind was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but having Hannah's steadfast support makes the transition bearable.

"Are you sure?" I ask, unable to mask the hopeful lilt in my voice. "I don't want to overstay my welcome or make things complicated for you and your family."

Hannah waves a dismissive hand. "Don't be silly. Ryan and the pack elders might grumble a bit, but they'll get over it. This is as much my home as it is theirs."

The mention of Ryan's name sparks that same fluttering awareness low in my belly. I force myself to concentrate on folding the stack of t-shirts in front of me, willing away the flush I feel creeping up my neck.

"Well, if you're positive it won't cause too many problems, I'd really appreciate being able to stay a little longer." I offer her a tremulous smile. "At least until I get back on my feet."

She returns the smile. "Of course. You're family, Jenna."

Despite Hannah's assurances, I can't shake the nagging awareness that, while she might think of me as family, I'm very much not. I'm alone. My parents passed away a few years ago, leaving a gaping void that nothing has managed to fill.

After we finish unpacking and organizing my new belongings, Hannah suggests a quick tour of the estate grounds.

"You've been cooped up in this room long enough," she declares, looping her arm through mine with a mischievous grin. "Time to stretch those legs and get the full Thorne estate experience."

I can't deny it will be nice to get some fresh air—not to mention a break from wallowing in anxious thoughts about Ryan. So I allow my best friend to whisk me outside, soaking in the breathtaking scenery as she leads me along a winding pathway.

The grand exterior of the Thorne estate is impressive, but it doesn't quite prepare me for the sprawling property that surrounds it. Lush forests and winding trails extend as far as the eye can see, with the occasional glimpse of other structures nestled among the trees. There's an undeniable sense of power and magic in the air, setting my nerves buzzingly alive.

Hannah points out various areas of interest as we stroll along a dirt path—the gardens where pack members grow herbs and produce, the training grounds where sparring and other physical activities take place, and finally, the large timber-framed building that serves as the pack's central hub.

"This is where most of our meetings and gatherings happen," she explains as we approach the structure. "We call it the Pack Building."

The moment we step through the heavy oak doors, the rich, earthy scents of cedar and pine envelop me. My gaze drifts across the soaring vaulted ceilings, the rough-hewn wooden beams and stone accents giving the space a warm, rustic ambiance. Despite its grand scale, the atmosphere manages to feel oddly intimate and cozy.

At the far end of the hall, I spot a group of people milling about, their curious stares immediately zeroing in on me. My steps falter, a tendril of unease unfurling in the pit of my stomach at their obvious scrutiny. These are Hannah's packmates, her family, and yet I feel profoundly out of place among them.

Hannah must sense my discomfort because she slides a reassuring arm around my shoulders, guiding me forward. "It's okay," she murmurs. "You're safe here."

I offer her a tight smile, trying to push past the nagging insecurity. These are her people, her inner circle. Of course, they would be wary of an outsider, a human, being granted access to their private den. I'm the one who doesn't belong.

We continue further into the hall, and I can't shake the prickling sensation of being watched, assessed, judged. Hannah exchanges polite greetings with a few of the pack members, but their focus remains fixated on me with undisguised interest and skepticism.

The sound of raucous laughter and jeering cuts through the crisp afternoon air, shattering the tranquil ambiance. Hannah tenses beside me, her shoulders squaring defensively. "Oh, wonderful," she mutters under her breath. "Here comes trouble..."

I follow her gaze to the far end of the training area, where a rowdy cluster of young men has materialized. At first glance, they could be regular frat boys horsing around, with their brawny physiques and rumpled clothing. But there's an unmistakable edge of danger lurking beneath their boisterous antics, a predatory undercurrent that sets me on edge.

The group notices our approach and immediately falls silent, their eyes zeroing in on me with undisguised hostility. One particularly tall, athletic blond separates from the pack, his hazel eyes glittering with a sneer as he stalks toward us.

"Well, well... look who we have here," he drawls, looking me over in a way that makes my skin crawl. "A pretty little human pet for Alpha Thorne."

The words drip with contempt, and I instinctively take a step back, bumping into Hannah's protective stance. She bristles, her eyes blazing.

"Back off, Liam," she growls in warning. "This is my best friend, Jenna, and she's under the pack's protection while staying with us."

His eyes blaze with contempt as they rake over me in an unmistakable challenge. "You can't seriously think it's a good idea to have a human living among us, Hannah. After everything our kind has suffered because of them?" He jerks his chin toward the others watching our confrontation, his voice rising with self-righteous indignation. "The pack won't stand for it. Humans can't be trusted."

"That's enough."

The words slice through the tension like a blade, and I whip around to find Ryan striding toward us. Even in the dim lighting, his eyes seem to glitter with an uncanny preternatural glow as they sweep over the gathered crowd before locking onto me. A frisson of awareness shivers down my spine at the sheer intensity of his stare, that electric spark from last night crackling between us.

He turns to address Liam. "Is there a problem here?" His deep voice rumbles with thinly veiled authority.

Liam's cocky bravado seems to wither beneath Ryan's penetrating stare. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, his expression warring between defiance and uncertainty. "It's just... why are we harboring a human among us?"

One dark brow arches in quiet rebuke. "Jenna is my sister's closest friend. She has suffered a terrible loss and is in need of our hospitality for the time being. That should be reason enough." His tone leaves no room for argument, but a muscle ticks in his strong jaw, betraying his mounting aggravation. "Unless her presence here poses a legitimate threat to the pack?"

A heavy silence falls over the group, but none dare challenge the unspoken warning in Ryan's words. He levels Liam with a pointed look, and the younger man's shoulders slump in reluctant surrender.

"No, alpha. No threat."

"Good." Ryan's gaze finds mine once more, holding my stare with a look of scorching intensity that leaves me feeling curiously exposed. "Because any harm that comes to Jenna during her stay will be on the heads of those who allowed it. Do I make myself clear?"

A rumble of assent rises from the gathered crowd, their eyes skittering away from Ryan's domineering presence. I can't seem to tear my own gaze away, utterly transfixed and more than a little rattled by the sheer force of his commanding aura.

Ryan turns that piercing blue gaze on me, and I feel my breath catch in my throat. "My apologies, Jenna. I should have warned you that not everyone will... appreciate your presence among us. At least, not right away."

There's a subtle emphasis on the last two words, a glimmer of something deeper flickering in those stormy depths. I give a jerky nod, not trusting my voice under the weight of his intense regard.

Beside me, Hannah shifts restlessly, clearly uncomfortable with the charged atmosphere. "Well! I think that's enough excitement for one day. Why don't we head back inside, Jenna?"

Ryan's jaw tenses at her suggestion. "Actually, if you don't mind, Hannah, I'd like a word with Jenna. Privately." His eyes bore into me again, kindling an unexpected flare of heat low in my belly. "There are... certain matters we need to discuss. Alpha to guest."

Hannah opens her mouth to argue, but I quickly cut her off, my curiosity winning over my nerves. "It's fine. I'll catch up with you in a bit, okay?"

She purses her lips in a disapproving frown but nods, casting a wary glance at Ryan before stalking out of the building, her movements stiff with tension.

For a long, weighted moment, neither of us speaks. Ryan studies me with that same inscrutable intensity from before, his eyes darkening to an endless midnight blue. I resist the urge to fidget under the weight of that blazing regard, my pulse kicking into an unsteady gallop.

Finally, he breaks the charged silence in a low rumble. "Come with me."

Before I can process what's happening, strong fingers curl around my elbow in an unyielding grip, gently but insistently tugging me away. I stumble after Ryan's long, purposeful strides, my heart thundering in my chest as he guides me through a side door and into a secluded corridor.

The moment we're alone, I turn to face Ryan, a dozen different scenarios playing out in my mind. Anger over the disrespect from his pack members? A stern warning about keeping my distance, for my own safety? A blunt reminder that my continued presence here is contingent on good behavior?

But none of those guesses could have prepared me for the way he closes the distance between us in two long strides, his large hands framing my face with unexpected tenderness. I gasp softly, instinctively gripping his forearms to steady myself as the heat of his body envelops me.

"Ryan, what are you—?"

His mouth slants over mine in a searing kiss, effectively smothering my startled question. A low groan rumbles in his chest, the vibration shuddering through my body like a shockwave. Every nerve ending in my body blazes to life under the rough stroke of his tongue, his scent of sandalwood and pine surrounding me in an intoxicating cloud.

My mind spins with a dizzying rush of desire and confusion, but my body betrays me, melting against the solid wall of his chest with a shuddering sigh. My fingers tangle in the soft fabric of his shirt, clinging on for dear life as the world tilts on its axis.

This is wrong. He's Hannah's brother... a shifter... the alpha, for god's sake.

And yet, even as the protesting thoughts swirl through my hazy consciousness, a deeper instinct takes over. A primal, undeniable craving ignited by the rough stroke of his tongue and the scorching heat of his palms mapping the curves of my body.

Ryan's hands slide into my hair, angling my head for deeper exploration. His mouth moves over mine with an almost frantic urgency, like a man starved for oxygen finally breaking the surface. My whimper of surrender is swallowed by his growl of possession as he hauls me flush against the rigid planes of his body.

Rational thought is quickly becoming impossible with the overwhelming onslaught of new sensations assaulting me from every angle.

His scent surrounding me...

His hands roaming over me, branding me with his touch...

The rasp of his stubble abrading my sensitized skin as his mouth blazes a scorching trail along the column of my throat...

A breathless cry escapes me when the graze of his teeth scrapes the thundering pulse at the base of my neck. Ryan snarls softly in response, every taut muscle in his body tensing like a wolf scenting its prey.

"Mine," he rasps, the deep rumble of possession ricocheting through my very soul. "You're mine..."

The words should terrify me. They're spoken not with the gentle tenderness of a lover, but with the feral intensity of a predator staking its claim.

Yet, despite the primal tone, there's a warmth that spreads through my chest—a long-forgotten desire for belonging, for someone to care enough to claim me.

With a whimper of need, I tangle my fingers in the soft strands at his nape and yank him back to my hungry mouth, surrendering to the dizzying maelstrom of desire blazing between us.

I've been alone for so long, isolated by my grief and then further displaced by the fire that took my home.

The thought of someone wanting to keep me, to claim me, touches something deep in my heart, igniting a fiercely protective instinct within me.

I'm not sure how long we remain locked in that heated embrace. At some point, though, the desperate edge of our fevered passion begins to ebb. Ryan's harsh grip gentles, his mouth skating across my swollen lips in a series of achingly tender caresses.

When at last he pulls back, just far enough to meet my dazed stare, the look in his eyes steals what little breath remains in my lungs. The blazing azure depths are a swirling vortex of hunger, tenderness, awe... and something deeper, more profound.

My chest rises and falls in shallow gasps as we simply stare at one another. Ryan's hands are still buried in my hair, keeping me anchored against him. I make no move to pull away, still trembling in the aftershocks of that earth-shattering moment we just shared.

"This..." His voice is a deep, gravelly rasp against my swollen lips. "This can never happen again."

The words are like a slap of ice water, jarring me out of the sensual haze fogging my mind. I blink dazedly, unable to formulate a coherent response.

Ryan's expression is full of conflicting emotions—longing, regret, resignation. His fingers tighten in my hair with a fleeting caress before he finally releases me, taking a deliberate step back to put distance between us once more.

He exhales a ragged breath, dragging one hand through his tousled hair as he regards me with that piercing, inscrutable stare. "You need to understand the world you've stumbled into, Jenna. What you saw with Liam and the others? That's just a taste of the prejudice you could face simply for being human in the presence of shifters."

My mind flashes back to the blatant hostility and disgust in their sneers, the way Liam referred to me so derisively as a "human pet." A shudder wracks my frame at the memory.

Ryan must notice because his expression softens minutely, his eyes holding a glimmer of reluctant compassion. "I wish I could shield you from that ugliness, but the truth is... you're a spark in a powder keg just by being here."

His words should anger me, or at least sting with their brutal honesty. Instead, I can only gape at him, a cold knot of dread coiling in the pit of my stomach. Is that really how I'm perceived here—a dangerous disruption simply for being human?

"So what happens now?" My voice emerges in a small, unsteady rasp. "Do I... do I have to leave?"

Ryan seems to read the fear flickering through my gaze because his expression contorts with an unreadable emotion. "No, you can stay. But you should go back to your room. Get some rest."

It's not a request or even a suggestion. It's an undeniable command from the alpha, one that vibrates through me with a visceral sort of compulsion I can't resist or defy.

I nod shakily and force myself to turn away, my legs rubbery and unstable as I retreat down the dim corridor. My entire body still hums and tingles from Ryan's scorching touch, the lingering heat of his kiss permanently seared onto my tingling flesh.

When I finally emerge into the open evening air, I draw in deep, gasping lungfuls as if I've been submerged underwater. Hannah is there, waiting by the front entrance with anxious eyes, and the moment she sees me, she rushes forward to gather me into a tight, steadying embrace.

"Oh god, Jenna... what happened? Are you okay?"

I cling to her slender form, struggling to find my voice amid the whirlwind of confusion and yearning still roiling inside me. "I... I don't know," I finally manage in a tremulous whisper. "I really don't know."