Wounded Kiss (To Be Claimed 1)

I push off the desk and land on my bare feet, my legs still shaking. Half-naked, I sprint to the door. The sound of my bare feet padding against the wooden floors is nothing compared to the screaming in my head. My camisole barely covers my ass, but I don’t care. I need to get out of here. My limbs shake, but I run as fast as I can.

I make it to the door as Devin exits the bathroom and curses under his breath.

He’s fast, but I’m at least able to grip the knob and rip the door open. I scream, “Lizzie!” Adrenaline races through my blood. There’s no way I’m going to make it before he catches me. I’m going to fail her. I already have. As I run down the empty hall, I shout her name again. I don’t make it more than a few feet before I hear the heavy thuds of men running toward me from both sides. I stumble as I realized I’m trapped and I start to fall. My eyes dart to a door on my left, but before I can open it Devin grabs me from behind, lifting my feet off the floor and spinning me around as I scream.

“What the—” a baritone voice starts to say but Devin cuts him off as I push against his hold and squirm.

“Leave us.” His hard voice echoes in the hall and footsteps scurry away in the opposite direction. His arms are wrapped around me too tightly for me to escape. But I refuse to give up, fighting and straining against him. I work one arm free and slam my elbow as hard as I can into his face.

“Fuck!”

I doubt it hurt him but it shocks him enough that he drops me and I land hard on my ass; my palms hit the ground so hard that the resulting pain makes me think I broke my wrist, but at least I didn’t smack my head on the floor. I try to get to my knees at the thought of Lizzie going through what I just did. When I glance up, breathless and weighed down with worry, two silver eyes stare back at me. Lev is wide eyed at the end of the hall with his mouth agape.

Devin’s hand grabs the nape of my neck as he lifts me off the floor with one arm. “I said leave!” he screams at Lev with rage vibrating off the walls. I whimper in his grasp as he wraps one arm around my waist. My hands fly up to my neck and try to pry away his fingers.

“Calm down, sweetheart.” His gently spoken words against my ear are at complete odds with his powerful grip on me. But my body obeys him without my conscious consent. My hands drop to my sides as I start to see white spots dance in my vision. My body may be willing to listen to him, but my mind isn’t okay with any of this. He must know that on some level because he loosens his grip but doesn’t remove his hold on me. As I try to come to terms with being trapped in his arms, he tells me again that everything will be okay and that I just need to trust him.

But I don’t trust him. I don’t trust any of them.

Devin

I leave for one fucking minute and she bolts? Rage courses through me but outwardly I’m doing my best to remain calm. Humans like controlled, collected behavior from shifters and typically I am. I have to stay composed for my mate. My mate who doesn’t even want me.

A coldness settles inside of me, one I haven’t felt in over a year. Not since I noticed her at the offering. I’ll be damned if that thought doesn’t hit me like a bullet to my chest. My wolf doesn’t like it either. My pride is wounded. The only solace I have is that she’s letting me hold her. Grace is finally settling in my arms. At least her body is. I can see in her eyes that she’s resisting me. Struggling to find words to make sense of it all, I do my best to rein in my resentment that she ran right after she gave herself to me. How could she not feel our connection? How could she deny how perfect it was?

“Maybe you shouldn’t have fucked her the second you got her in the house.” Lev’s words ring in my head. I grit my teeth to keep my irritation from showing. After all, Grace can’t hear him. I don’t want her to think my annoyance is with her.

“Watch it, Lev.” I manage to keep a low growl from rumbling in my chest.

“I’m just looking out for my big brother. I really think it would have been better if you’d waited.”