CHAPTER TWO
The house was quiet. It had been three days since Ross and Jenny had moved out and Beth had been put upstairs, but still nothing had been decided. Beth hadn't said a word to anyone, and Ross had insisted that the pack take a couple of days to rest and recuperate, but Connor was struggling just to sit still.
Connor had offered to be the one to watch Beth. Ross had been surprised but had agreed at once, throwing him a grin as he shook Connor's hand. Even now, Connor didn't know what it was that had made him take on that responsibility. He'd been frustrated with himself, knowing that he wouldn't have been happy if Ash or Thomas had volunteered instead of him. Beth had stayed in Ross's room for the last three days, and he'd brought her up meals and made sure she was comfortable.
She still hadn’t said a word to him. In fact, she looked absolutely terrified every time he came in. Her eyes were wide and staring, and she scrabbled back into the corner of the room as though she was expecting him to attack her at any moment. He didn’t like that about her.
Opening another can of beer, Connor drank it quickly to calm his frustration. If only she’d talk to him then they might get somewhere. Ross had told him just to wait it out, to give her time, but Connor wasn’t the patient type.
Throwing himself into the comfortable chair in the corner of their living room, Connor flicked through the television channels, but there was nothing worth watching. His wolf growled low in his chest, making him keenly aware of just how unsettled he was.
Getting up, Connor ran a hand through his hair. He could go out for a run, couldn’t he? Thomas and Sarah were asleep, and so was Ash, but there was no way Beth could get out from her room. It was locked tight from the outside, and her room was two floors up. His room was right next door to hers, meaning he was always aware if there was any sound coming from it, but everything had been quiet the last few nights.
He’d be fine to go out.
Storming out of the house, Connor threw aside his beer can, promising himself he'd pick it up on the way back, before making his way to the woods at the back of their property. He needed to run, to let the wolf take away some of his frustration and anger. Throwing off his clothes, he braced himself.
His wolf ripped out of his skin immediately, catching his shout of pain and turning it into a growl. Shaking his fur, Connor sniffed the air, making sure no one was around. Slowly, he trotted farther into the woods, shaking his fur until his whole body was filled with energy.
Springing forward, Connor let his wolf run, his sharp eyes making out the trees and branches in his way. He enjoyed the challenge of running at full speed without knocking into anything. His mouth fell open as he drew in a breath, panting heavily. Connor slowly came to a stop.
His blood cooled as he turned around, thinking he’d take the long way back to the house and maybe catch a rabbit or two on his way home. There was nothing like crunching on some bones and chewing tender meat. Settling down, Connor lay on his belly and waited. Rabbits would be along soon. He would just have to wait.
***
Connor jerked awake, shaking his head and realizing he’d completely fallen asleep. Not that he minded falling asleep outdoors, but he should probably head back now and check on Beth. Pushing himself onto his four paws, Connor shook his fur all over and began to slowly make his way through the forest. He guessed it was something like early morning, given the height of the moon. His paws made no sound as he padded through the forest, knowing the way to go almost by instinct.
A sudden sound had him stop in his tracks. The sound of crying, but muffled . . . and a male voice, one he hadn’t heard before. What was going on?
His wolf tensed, his hackles rising as he slowly approached the voices. There was the sound of scuffling, of someone trying to get away. Being the only shifter out in the forest, Connor knew that it would be up to him to stop whatever was going on. The voice was coming closer, the flash of a torch warning him that someone was approaching.
Flattening, Connor lay belly first on the ground, keeping his head low but his ears up. Sniffing hard, he fought to find a scent, but couldn’t get anything. The wind wasn’t blowing in his direction, meaning it was almost impossible to find out who was coming toward him.
“I should have taken you when I had the chance,” came the harsh, male voice. “You think you can just run from me?”
A muffled sound of crying came through the trees.
“Maybe I’ll just have you now,” said the man, his voice now threatening and husky. “Remind you of where your loyalty should be.”
Connor heard material ripping and strangled sobs—and burst into action.
Moving quickly forward, he kept his body low and padded silently toward the sound. There was more ripping and then a dark chuckle.
“You can’t shift, can you? That arm of yours . . . what a shame.” The laugh became dark. “Works for me, though.”
Beth!
With horror, Connor realized that the sound of crying was coming from Beth. She was the only shifter with a broken arm, the only one who couldn’t shift because she wouldn’t be able to use her paw. In that moment, he didn’t care about who Beth was and what she had done. His instincts told him that he had to protect her.
Finally, the man came into view. He’d dropped the torch to the ground and was attempting to pull Beth’s ripped top off her body. She was fighting him as best she could, but her hands were tied and her mouth gagged. The man was at least six-foot-four and strong enough to hold Beth against the tree trunk without much effort.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” the man sneered, grasping the top of Beth’s jeans and yanking them so hard the buttons went flying. “You know how long I’ve been waiting for this, Beth.”
Fury filled Connor’s body and, with a snarl, he pounced.
The man turned at once, putting up his arms to deflect Connor’s jaws. Connor sank his teeth into the soft flesh, gratified by the howl of pain that came from the man’s lips.
The man kicked out, forcing Connor to drop and back away, snarls still pouring from his throat. His eyes glowed with rage as he moved closer, ready to pounce again.
The man shifted immediately, which gave Connor the advantage. In the brief seconds it took for the man to recover from the pain of shifting, Connor attacked again. The man’s wolf smelled familiar, looked familiar. It was larger than Connor and such a dark color that he seemed to melt into the shadows—but Connor couldn’t let himself think about that now. Sinking his teeth into the wolf’s neck, he clung on, refusing to let go and ignoring the swipes of pain that came from the dark wolf’s claws as he tried to force Connor to let go.
The dark wolf suddenly threw himself to his left, toppling over and forcing Connor to release his grip. Stepping toward Beth, Connor stood in front of her, making it absolutely clear that he was not going to let the dark wolf get to her again.
She belongs to me, the dark wolf said, stepping closer. I’ll kill you if I have to.
Connor took in the dark wolf’s form, aware that the dark wolf was stronger than he was. Now wasn’t the time to play the hero. Lifting his head, Connor let out one long howl before dropping his head back to face the dark wolf.
A growl came from the dark wolf’s throat, realizing what Connor had done.
She is mine, he repeated, lunging for Connor again—but Connor met him full force. Swiping at the dark wolf’s eyes, Connor tried not to feel the teeth at his throat. Copying the dark wolf’s technique, he rolled backward and immediately the pain was gone. Scrambling to stand on his four paws again, he stood ready to defend Beth once more, only for the dark wolf to melt into the shadows. Evidently, he was aware that Connor’s howl would bring the rest of the White Fire pack and knew that he wouldn’t be able to defend himself against all of them.
His blood still thundering in his veins, Connor turned to see Beth attempting to cover her chest with her tied hands, slowly sinking to the dirt. Her eyes were filled with tears, her sobs still muffled by the gag.
An answering howl told him that the rest of the White Fire pack were coming. Taking a breath, he pushed his human skin to the front, letting the wolf rest for a while. Staggering slightly, he took in three huge breaths, waiting for the pain from his shifting to subside.
“Beth,” he gasped, hunkering down beside her. “Beth, are you OK?”
Her eyes met his, the tears shimmering in the moonlight that came through the trees.
"Can I help you?" he asked softly, not wanting to touch her until she gave him permission. There was something so frail about her that Connor couldn't help but want to protect her. Clearly, there was something terrible going on with Beth. Perhaps Jenny had been right after all. There was more to Beth's story than they first thought.
Four wolves came out of the woods, sniffing hard as they looked at Beth and Connor.
“The dark wolf went that way,” Connor said, pointing in the direction the wolf had gone. A flare of recognition hit him. “I—I think it’s Beth’s brother. I’ll get her back to the house.”
With a quiet yip of agreement, Ross’s wolf led the other three—Jenny, Ash, and Thomas—through the woods until Connor couldn’t see them anymore.
Turning back to Beth, he held out his hands until she finally put her bound hands out to him. Tugging at the knots, he swore under his breath, trying to be careful of her broken arm. At least the cast was still intact, although it was clearly damaged with one large crack running through it. Someone hadn’t exactly cared about whether Beth was hurt or not.
Something was clearly wrong. That couldn't have been Beth's brother since Connor was sure he had been trying to mate with her—although entirely without her consent. His frown deepened as he slowly unwrapped the rope, letting her hands free.
She tugged the gag from her mouth immediately before trying to scrabble her clothes together to cover her chest. Her entire body shook with sobs as she turned her face away.
Without thinking, Connor pulled her gently into his arms, ignoring his nakedness. She stiffened immediately, but as he rubbed her back gently, he felt her relax. He tried not to react to the feeling of her breasts pressed against his chest, focusing on just reassuring her and letting her know she was safe.
Slowly, her arms crept around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder as she cried. Her tears wet the curve of his neck, and he held her tighter. Her legs buckled, but he caught her easily, lifting her up in his arms.
“I’m going to take you back now, Beth,” he said softly, walking through the forest. “You’ll be safe with us. I promise.”
“Thank you, Connor,” she whispered, her tears still falling. “I thought he was—he was . . .”
“Sh,” he murmured, dampening down his own anger. “We’ll talk through it all once you’re back inside. I won’t let you out of my sight from now on, I promise. He’ll never hurt you again.”