Fated Magic (Claimed by Wolves 1)

But before she can say a word, several loud voices rise up outside the cabin. The girl’s face changes instantly, and she recoils into the couch cushions, her gaze darting toward the front door.

I sigh, the sound a mixture of irritation and disgust. I recognize the voice clamoring loudest over the dull uproar.

The front door bangs open, and my brother, Lawson, barrels into the house as big as a mountain and wearing his fury like a cloak. A handful of his cronies rush in behind him, until my living room is nothing but pissed-off shifter energy.

“What the fuck, Ridge?” Lawson snarls, pointing at the girl.

Too late, I realize I should have locked that fucking door.

6

Sable

For a moment, I got lost in Ridge’s honey-colored eyes. I woke up expecting to come face-to-face with Uncle Clint, but what I ended up getting instead was pretty much the complete opposite of the man who raised me.

When the dark-haired man caught me near the trees, I was so certain I was about to die that I fought with everything I had in me. But inside his house, something shifted in his demeanor.

His gruff voice managed to block out the fear, to shove away the rising panic so that I could focus on him and his calming words.

I started to calm down.

I started to feel… safe.

But I don’t feel safe now.

Nearly a half-dozen of the biggest people I’ve ever seen crowd into his living room, voices raised as angry, violent energy pours out of them. My terror returns full force, and I cower into the cushions, wishing I could sink right through them

and disappear to the other side of the planet.

Ridge meets my eyes, a look of resignation passing through his amber irises. Then he pushes to his feet.

He’s just as big as any of the men who’ve barged into the house, if not bigger. He wears a plain white t-shirt and Wranglers, but beneath those working man clothes, he has a body like I’ve never seen before: lean, muscular, broad shoulders and powerful legs. His ash-brown hair has a messy, unbrushed look that happens accidentally, and the close-cut beard gracing his jaw only heightens the scruffy wildness of his appearance.

He turns to face the newcomers, his boots shoulder-width apart and his hands dangling at his sides as he addresses the crowd. “Lawson. You ever heard of fuckin’ knocking?”

Something about his pose tells me he’s not casual—Ridge looks as if he could jerk into motion at any moment and put his fist through the big guy’s face.

Lawson, the apparent leader of the group, puffs up his chest, his scowl deepening. “You brought an outsider into our village.”

“What the fuck were you thinking?” another guy snaps. His question raises a rumble of agreement from the others.

“The pack wants answers.” Lawson opens his palms up as if to indicate the mob behind him. He’s a little taller than Ridge, but he doesn’t take up the room with just his presence like Ridge does. I have a feeling this guy is all show.

The thought doesn’t really help me breathe past the looming panic attack though. He’s still massive, with fists like ham hocks and an expression so full of loathing, I can’t tell if he wants to get rid of me or Ridge. Possibly both.

“We’re already facing a threat from the witches!” the only woman in the group snaps, raising her voice over the dull roar of the crowd. She’s tall and formidable, muscles rippling in her golden brown arms. “And you drag this fucking carcass into our pack? You don’t know that she isn’t one of those wolf-hating assholes!”

I can’t keep up with what they’re saying. Panic has turned my heart into a fluttering bird in my chest, and their faces and voices are starting to blur together.

The pack? Witches? Wolf-hating?

None of this makes sense, and it’s only exacerbating the fear I’d barely gotten past before they arrived. My panic is clawing its way back full force, stronger than it was before.

I try to hold it in, to control it and contain it. Ridge doesn’t have any plans to hurt me—I’m sure of it. I saw something in his mesmerizing amber eyes before the mob arrived, a kind of protective warmth that barely made sense at the time. We don’t know each other, but he wants to help me.

I believe him.

But voices are rising in anger. Six large people shouting at Ridge about putting the pack in danger, and Ridge facing them down with a stoic, expressionless face and low tones. He looks formidable, more dangerous than any of them could ever hope to be. But it’s still six on one, and I don’t want to be hurt anymore. I don’t want anyone to be hurt.