Chapter 24: Those Red eyes (part III)

**Brooke

The eyes were no longer turned to mine, but fixed in the mouth, immobilized in expectation.

“Please do not.” I guessed your next move.

His jaw contracted. “Answer my question.”

“I have … Reasons to believe that …” I swallowed hard, distracted by his breathing. He smelled the damp land and fresh air. A mixture that resembled the nature of these forests, as if it were an element of the eagle mountain itself.

“What?” He insisted patiently.

“I mean, you're much older than me.”

“Practically, yes.”

“So I think, well, I imagine you're used to another type of woman and …”

“You are jealous?”

I lifted my hands against his chest to prevent him from approaching, colliding with a tangle of tendons and muscles that contracted against my fingers. “No, instead, I think you confused me with one of them.”

“If I considered you the same or even such a woman, my tongue would be exploring your mouth now.” He lifted his hand to grab a lock of my hair and played with her, curling her on his finger. “And yet I have been depriving myself of this pleasure for two full days.” You should know, that I won't be able to tolerate it much longer. Because tomorrow I'll be kissing you, whether you want it or not.

“That's exactly what makes me doubt you.” I warmed. “You don't care what I want.”

“I care, you can't imagine how much, but I repeat, I'm not a patient man.” Then forgive my reticence to accept a false refusal.

“False?” I was outraged. I put more strength in my arms and tried to push it back, obviously unable to move it a mere inch.

“Do you want me to leave?” He guessed my intentions.

“I can't think right if you're on top of me that way.”

He immediately stepped back, positioning himself not as far as I would like, but far enough from my mouth. The smell of his breath disappeared, mixing with that of nature and leaving my brain free from its hypnotic fragrance.

“I'm not lying when I say I don't want that, Mr. Farrow.” I watched.

“No? He raised a skeptical eyebrow.”

“No.” I reiterated.

“Mmm …” He scratched his chin with slow gestures, attaching me with one of his classic eyes imbued with severe authority. “If I was malicious, I could test you.”

“You would receive another rejection.”

The hand stopped at the height of the scar that disfigured the skin of his face, hidden under a slight layer of beard, and his eyes fastened inflexibly on mine. I would feel that perfume of roses and strawberries again.

I crouched down to get the cans that had been placed on the floor. “What perfume are you talking about?”

When I got up, I found him on my back, the muscles of my back to the point of shaking, a tight hand on the hair tied in the back of the neck, as if a migraine had burst.

“I talk about your perfume, Brooke, which makes me crazy …” He replied, with his voice. “Usually, your skin only smells like roses. Every virgin carries that smell with it.”

I opened my mouth. “It's just a blatant attempt to ask me if I'm a virgin, and you can just resign yourself because I won't discuss something so personal.”

“I don't need confirmation. I know you are a virgin the same way I know your name is Brooke.”

“Virgin people have no different smell. You are rambling. And if you want to know, I'm not. Happy?”

He turned as if I had shouted. What happened next was so fast that it left me without breath. In a moment Farrow was watching me and at the other I was lying on me, crushing my weight without any consideration. The impact took the air out of my lungs and when I opened my mouth to scream, his hand relentlessly descended over her. He moved so fast that he could not register his movements or predict them.

The violent anger in his eyes made them shine in red, or maybe it was just my imagination. I blinked and tried again: the iris was surrounded by a burning red strip that widened from millimeter to millimeter toward the pupil, narrowing to the point of being thicker than a pin.

“I'll just tell you once. The voice was similar to the growl of an animal. It was scary and made my skin shiver.” Never awaken my jealousy. Your virginity is not a subject that I like to play, so never, never try to question that. Do you understand me?

I choked on fear. The man in front of me was not Farrow. Nothing on his face kept the features I had now learned to recognize. Even with the identical appearance, each feature exuded an animalistic power, the expression completely transfigured by anger was wild, and the completely red eyes were the representation of all the most imaginative fears. Something under the lips seemed to be pulsing, as if the jaw bone was changing and widening To give way to longer teeth. His nostrils trembled in search of the perfume he had mentioned to me.

It was Farrow. But at the same time, it was the closest thing to an animal I had ever seen.

His movements remembered those of a feline. Fast, safe, and unpredictable. So strong that you thought he was hunting prey.

I wanted to vomit and swallow.

“Farrow…” I moaned in the palm of your hand. My tears were trapped in their fingers. “It's hurting me. Please, I beg you…”

“James, stop for God's sake! I heard Malloy's voice in the distance.”

Farrow's hand lifted and the weight of his powerful corpus fell over mine, allowing me to take a deep breath. My lungs burned for lack of oxygen and my breath came out in leaps and bounds, accompanied by tears that, without Farrow's fingers to divert them, slipped through my mouth and descended by my temples.

“The smell of strawberry comes out between your legs every time I get excited.” He whispered in my ear. “Do you know how many times have I heard this?”

Then he jumped and gave me a last look at me. “I gave you a while I never gave anyone. Now you will no longer deny me, little girl.”

Malloy chose that moment to get to us and, realizing my tears, immediately crouched down, putting an arm on my back to help me sit down. The eyes, I realized, did not lose sight of.

“This is not how it should be.” He scolded. “What, do you think you can terrorize it?”

Farrow didn't even look at him.

“My patience is over, Brooke. He reached out and waited for me to squeeze her.” Follow me, let's go back to town.

“Do you want to fire me? I muttered.”

Farrow closed his eyes, and when I opened them, all the traces of red had disappeared. The particularity of his iris remembered that of the wolves that I spotted on the edge of the woods, and most likely this somatic aspect had preached a bad piece of my imagination, leading me to get scarcer than necessary.

On second thought, I realized that Farrow had not hurt me at all, and the only part of me that throbbed in pain was my heart, wounded by the hard and disrespectful words he directed me. My tears suddenly seemed excessive.

“Let me help you. He insisted, then turned to Malloy.” And keep your hands away from her.

“James.”

“Now. He hardened his tone.”

Immediately I felt the absence of Malloy's arm on my back, and for a moment I staggered. I planted my palms on the floor and lifted my knees to get up. As soon as I got it, Farrow grabbed my hand, holding it firmly to cut any protest I could do at the root.

“Let's go.” He ordered.

“I'm not going anywhere with you,” I said, then turning to Malloy.

“Malloy will not be of any help to you.” Interrupted Farrow.

“Why do you want to go back to the city? Malloy asked him.” These were not the plans.

“You agreed. I muttered. The question a few minutes earlier came back, this time in certainty. Fear made me breathe again and the conscience of being alone in the forest, in the company of two men I didn't trust, made the hair on my neck shiver.” What do you want to do with me?

But both ignored me.

“The plan has changed. Its smell is very strong, it is starting to attract wolves in CIO Rio below,” explained Farrow. “And until she's mine, I can't protect her from other men's attention. It is a very strong temptation, Malloy, I was about to take it several times against your own will. I don't think others will have the same consideration.”

“What will happen? He was alarmed, approaching instinctively with me.”

I looked at them without expression. “What are you talking?”

Again, they ignored me.

James wrapped his teeth and a red flash quickly colored his iris again. “The most enthusiastic can come to challenge me.” I thought her smell was strong just for me because of imprinting, but I was wrong. There were six wolves ten meters from her, and if Brooke represents to them at least half of the temptation she triggers with me, I'm sure they will come to the city.

Malloy nodded, understanding, and without explaining to me anything began to take off my coat.

“What are you doing?” I tried to object, but Farrow held me.

“I'll leave her jacket on the edge of the forest so that the footprints are confused.” Malloy took my second sleeve and wrapped my jacket. “Take her away, I'll be here to make sure no one follows you.”

Farrow thanked me with a nod and pushed me toward his pickup without giving me any explanation.

“In between.” He ordered.

“What is happening?”

I wrapped myself in the passenger seat and looked at the darkness of the night.

“Get ready.” He turned on the car and made a risky march reversal, entering the winding way that led toward the city's lights.

“Tell me what's going on.”

“Have you heard?”

“But I do not understand. I screamed in a panic.” You owe me an explanation.

His gaze burned me and the car deflected for a second, forcing him to turn his eyes to the road. “I can't give you any explanation.”

“Why?”

“Because you're not ready to accept them.”

“I want to continue by taxi.”

His laugh was almost offensive. “Now be a good girl and tell your father that we are going.”

“Stop the car. I raised my voice, taking my cell phone to call the nearest taxi point.”

His arm fired toward me and pulled the phone out of my hands.

“You're the rude person I've ever had the misfortune to know!” Why are you taking me out of the set? Why was Malloy so scared?

Farrow growled an answer, too fast for me to understand, but sounded like a series of profanity.

“You agreed from the beginning. You had a plan and I demand you to explain me.”

The jaw broke. The lips are so sealed that they form a white line around them. “Please, Brooke, call your father.”

“And what? She took my cell phone!”

He lifted him to look at the screen without losing sight of the road. He typed the agenda and stopped at my father's number. Before starting the call, he hesitated, looking at me.

“I made a judgment error.” confessed. “I thought the wolves wouldn't smell their distance.” I thought it was the only one that could smell so strong.

“What are you talking about?”

“Wolves can smell much more than humans, especially they can see the smell of a woman who has never been with a man. And that makes them crazy, nullifies all their rationality, leading them to be aggressive and bold.”

I grimaced. “They smell me too.”

“Yes, me too.”

“How do they do this?”

He watched me from the corner of his eye. “Let's say I've lived in close contact with them for many years.”

“So you're taking me out of the forest because you think it's dangerous?”

“Exactly. As I said, I made a judgment error. It's not your fault.”

I opened my mouth, but a laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “You are crazy. And offends me if you expect me to believe in such an absurdity. Do you expect me to believe the story that wolves go in packs to get … Humans?” I reached the last word carefully, just to underline how absurd his version was.

“You can choose to believe or not.” He shrugged. “But the situation doesn't change: from now on you'll be by my side as long as you don't carry my smell near you.”

I turned to the window, finding only darkness. “It's an absurd. This is all completely absurd. And you are making up this whole story to have an excuse to be able to be by my side and be able to take me to bed.”

“I don't need a bed to make you my or a stupid story.”

I turned around and slapped him. The car skidded again and Farrow decreased the speed so sharply that I choked on the seat belt. He stopped the car in the middle of the road and supported an elbow on the wheel so he could turn toward me. His gaze shone with anger.

“How can you be so blind?” He screamed. “How come you didn't wonder why those wolves had red eyes? The same red that fills mine!”