Chapter 8


    Chapter Eight


    Sirens re and lights start flickering.


    “I think your Alpha is going to want to see me. Now.”


    The guard growls then nces around nervously. He storms back into the gatehouse and starts


    punching keys on theputer.


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    Good luck with that, bro.


    Even if he is as good as I am, it’ll still take him an hour toe up to speed.


    I cross my arms and lean against my car to wait.


    It doesn’t take long. In seconds I hear the first howls. They echo and grow in volume. I use my wolf


    hearing to hone in on the direction.


    I swallow hard.


    There are many wolves thundering toward me.


    Hundreds, maybe.


    I stay perfectly still, acting like I don’t have a care in the world as theye into view. But I really want


    to scream.


    Holy shit.


    The wolves running full out toward the gate are huge. They snarl and race straight at me. I hold my


    ground, even as the gates draw open–what once had kept me out now is my only protection. The gates


    continue to inch apart, letting this massive pack barrel through.


    The lead wolfes within a foot of me. His canines are long. His fur is ck and gray and he’s the


    biggest wolf among them. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a wolf so big, and my former pack had a


    reputation for its size and strength.


    The dark wolf growls at me. If he lunges, I’m dead.


    Breathe. Just breathe. Show no fear.


    My wolf snarls. I wonder sometimes if I was gifted a wolf with such a temper to bnce out the pacifist


    in me. Inside, I’m terrified, but N…she is fearless.


    Fight, she tells me.


    Uh. No. I’m a survivor. And ‘one versus a hundred’ aren’t odds I can hope to beat even on our best day.


    N growls. She’s fighting me for control and wants me to shift. But that’s not happening either. I need


    to reason with these wolves. And for that I need my voice and all my wits. If I cede control to my wolf…


    it’ll be a fight for sure, and while most packs will honor a victory–only our strongest wolves rule–it’s not


    a chance I’m willing to take.


    The air in front of me ripples, and in scant seconds the Alpha stands in front of me.


    His abs ripple and his thighs flex. It’s dark, but I can still see his…


    Oh my god.


    He ps both his hands on the car, caging me in. His eyes are feral. He’s so close that each breath I


    take is filled with the scent of him.


    When his hands move from the car to my throat, I gasp. He’s tall and strong and that’s without drawing


    on his alpha strength. Yet, his touch…


    Thesest few years… no man has touched me.


    I shudder.


    His eyes widen for a second and he leans in toward my ear. His hair is soft, which is an odd detail to


    process as dozens of wolves surround us, sirens re, and I’m inches away from being torn to pieces.


    “I told you midnight,” he whispers in a wry tone.


    I can’t help it, I choke on augh. “What can I say? I like to make an entrance.”


    He leans into me more, pressing his hard chest against mine. My nipples tighten.


    “Hmm.” It’s a soft hum, an inquisitive one. Did he notice? “What’s your y?”


    “You have twenty seconds… sound familiar?”


    Now heughs. “Hmm.”


    He doesn’t ease back. And with the way he’s pressed up against me and caging me in, I can’t breathe


    without drawing in his scent. It’s a headybination of earth and air and trees. My blood rushes and


    flows. His presence…stirs something inside me.


    “Fifteen seconds,” I tell him when he doesn’t move or speak, “before a distress call routes to local


    authorities.”


    “Your terms?”


    “You agree not to kill me or to threaten my family.”


    “I see.” He angles back and pinches my chin to raise my eyes up to his. “And you thought attacking my


    pds and breaching our security was the way to prove you aren’t a threat?”


    Sh*t.


    “It’s not like I have a lot of leverage, Alpha–”


    “Eric. My name is Eric MacPhearson.”


    I swallow hard. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to call him by his name. There’s something too


    personal, too intimate about doing that. Our customs and etiquette dictate that I would only call him


    Alpha. But he wants me to forego the formalities and I don’t know why.


    “Call it off, Mia.”


    When I make no move to obey, his eyes sh gold. His fingers on my face tighten painfully. He could


    snap my neck at this angle, and as the seconds tick by–eight, seven, six…–I know he’s preparing to do


    just that.


    Don’t force my hand, he projects into my head.


    Wait. How can he do that? He is not my alpha. I have no pack. I’ve no blood-bond to this group nor


    have I drank his blood and pledged my submission.


    How?


    N, what is happening?


    But my wolf is silent.


    “Mia!” Eric shouts. Call it off! hemands me.