Chapter 8: Chapter Eight

Heart pounding, and mind racing with thoughts about her encounter, Saffron stared at the spot where her mystery man had just vacated with a bewildered expression.

The look on his face, the way his eyes had darkened with anger at her rough treatment with the Alpha and his men, and the flare of interest in his dark brown eyes made her heart race in a good way.

The feeling of his palm against her neck had sent a shiver of awareness through her, waking up some parts of her she never knew existed. The fact that he could have snapped her neck at any moment when they were together should have terrified her, but instead, it only called out to a feminine part of her that no man before him had ever been able to.

His touch against her neck had been soft but firm, and it had not been fear that had shaken her limbs and stuttered her heart against her ribs, rendering her incapable of coherent speech and movement.

It had been excitement.

Pure unadulterated excitement.

She swallowed as she felt a phantom breath caress her earlobes, causing shivers to rack up her arms.

She had never been as aware of herself as she had when he had been next to her. And it was only now, after he had left, that she became more aware of him.

Aware of the way his body had taken up so much space so casually, without making her feel intimidated. Of the way his broad shoulders had shifted the air around her, the throb of his blood as it pulsed against his neck, the elegant arch of his bushy eyebrows, and the sharp sweep of his aristocratic cheekbones.

And his scent. His spice and woodsy scent, mixed with musk and sandalwood that was all pure male, which had filled her nostrils, and breathed magic into the air itself.

At that moment, it had felt like all of her senses had heightened. Her sense of smell and touch, to be exact.

Her mind had been clouded by the heady intoxication of the unknown male, and it was only now that he was gone that she realized just how much space he had taken up.

He had been too big, too domineering, and she felt his dominance down to her very soul.

But there was a part of her that craved that particular strength in a man. And now, it was only after this meeting with the mystery guy that had cemented that fact for her.

Whatever it took, she was going to find him, no matter how dangerous it would be. And, she was going to make sure that he felt what she felt.

Was it crazy for her to feel this crazy over a guy she had just met, who had creeped around on her in this cramped hallway and scared off the only friendly face she had met since her capture?

Yeah, it sounded crazy even to her. And for once, she wished that the voice would talk to her and calm the racing in her heart and mind.

She wished she still had that voice giving her a sense of direction to be there, giving her the feeling of worth she needed so that she knew she wasn’t alone.

She placed a hand over her temple, feeling that empty chasm that had appeared in place of the voice–the one constant in her life–expanding wider and wider, a deep ache blossoming in her chest.

It was only now that she realized just how much the voice had come to mean to her, praying that their last talk wasn’t the last time that she would ever hear it.

Glancing back one final time at the empty hallway behind her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her mystery guy, Saffron carried along towards the path she thought Kiera had fled to, following the scent of cloves and garlic that wafted through the hallway into a much larger and brighter hallway that opened into an impressive kitchen.

***

Ryder watched as the human girl traipsed towards the kitchen while he hid in the shadows, his mind consumed with thoughts of her true identity.

Beneath his skin, he could feel his wolf prowling and pacing, feeling as agitated by the situation as he did.

It was a battle of wills as he stood there without moving, while his wolf wanted to take over and lay carnage against those who had dared to hurt her.

He felt this unexplainable pull towards her and a masculine urge to protect and shield her away from the horrors of his world.

He wanted to sink his teeth into her skin and mark her as his, so that no man would dare to touch her again.

And where these thoughts had come from, Ryder had no idea, and not knowing pissed him off.

She was just a human, brought by his father as a slave, and he was a werewolf, next-in-line to inherit the Blood Moon pack and be their next alpha.

There was no instance where he could entertain such thoughts, or even the ideas his wolf was coming up with, about claiming her for themselves.

He could claim her as a toy, just like other wolves tended to with the pack slaves. But he was going to be the next alpha. He had to set an example.

And the thought of her just being a toy to him had his jaw clenching.

No, it was just not possible.

But, why couldn’t he seem to look away, or even muster up the courage to leave the slave quarters and head out to the pub, which had been his intended destination until her scent had beckoned him towards her?

And like a moth to a flame, he had been drawn towards her, even before he knew what he was going to find.

Need… Out… his wolf grated out, stumbling over its words, as it beat against the proverbial walls he had built against it.

Ryder hated caging his wolf, but he couldn’t risk letting it out now when he too was at the brink of losing his control.

Seeing those handprints against her neck and the bruises on her cheek had made him see red and filled him with so much rage it was a miracle his level of control had stopped him from shifting in front of her.

Losing control and shifting in front of her when she was human would have been an idiotic move on his side since she hadn’t been initiated fully into the pack life.

Keeping their business and the truth of what they were a secret was one of the rules his father had drilled into him since childhood.

And while he hated his father and didn’t agree with most of what he said or did, on this Ryder knew that he couldn’t risk exposure to her, not when she was still a flight risk.

If he had shifted, he not only risked revealing his truth, but he also risked her life.

The Alpha would have ordered her death if she knew what he was and tried to run away. And Ryder couldn’t have that on his conscience.

And so, with tremendous effort, he pulled away from the shadows and stalked back towards the way he had come from.

He had to forget about the new slave and focus on his plans of taking over the pack from his father and keeping the wolves and humans safe from the Alpha’s reign of tyranny.

He wouldn’t let the blonde bombshell ruin plans that were years in the making. That just won’t simply work.

As he walked away, he could feel his wolf’s agitation making his gait slower and heavier, but he pushed along, knowing that there were more important things than assuaging his curiosity and interest with the human girl.

Lives were at stake, and he was the only person standing between his father and the total annihilation of the pack he was going to rule over one day.