Wounded Kiss (To Be Claimed 1)

“Lizzie’s perfectly fine, but she was extremely upset and got a bit physical with us after you passed out.” I nod my head. That sounds just like her.

“But she’s okay?” There’s a threat hidden in my cadence. It’s unmistakable and judging by their expressions, they don’t miss it.

“She’s all right, but that’s why Devin, our Alpha, stayed with her and her … guards.” His eyes exchange a glance with Lev’s in the rearview again. “To calm them down.”

Guards? Calm them down? Rubbing my clammy palms against my thighs doesn’t help to keep my head from spinning. I feel like I’m going to snap. I’ve lost all sense of sanity.

“Let me help you with your seatbelt.” Lev tries to push me back against the seat, but I’m still worried about Lizzie and I don’t want to just blindly do what they say. Anxiousness wreaks havoc in my mind and I’m getting increasingly upset with how secretive they’re being. I push back against Lev’s muscular arms, although I may as well be pushing on a brick wall.

“I don’t want to wear it.” I’m aware I sound like a petulant child but I’m losing it, quickly spiraling downward. I need something to grip onto. I need Lizzie. He looks like he wants to say something, but he clamps his mouth shut. “How exactly did he ‘calm her down?’” I stare into Lev’s eyes, urging him to answer me.

Finally, he says, “He really wants you to wear your seatbelt.”

Motherfucker!

Staring down the beast of a man who, I do acknowledge is being kind at the very least, I bite back, “Well, Devin’s not here, is he? So he can shove what he wants up his ass.” Jude’s loud laugh startles me and Lev covers his mouth with the back of his hand as he fakes a cough in an effort to hide his growing smile.

“Let me tell you a secret about werewolves, Grace.” Jude pipes up from the front seat sounding very happy with himself. “As long as we’re within a few miles of each other and concentrate, we can hear what the others are thinking and saying.” I suck in a sharp breath and scrunch my nose. That’s not something I’ve ever heard or read before, but I guess he did say it was a secret.

The car slows down, and the brakes slightly screech as the blur of trees lessens. Goosebumps spread across my skin and prick their way up the back of my neck.

Jude pulls over to the side of the dirt road and stops. Thump, thump. The beating quickens in my chest. I look over my shoulder through the back window to see the car that’s been following ours pull up behind us. Fuck.

I bite the inside of my cheek and ask, “Does that mean he can hear me too?” This is good, I try to convince myself, giving myself a pep talk although my body is on fire with fear.

“Well no, he can’t hear you,” Jude starts as he puts the car in park and twists his body so he can look back at me. “But he can tell what we’re thinking about what you’re saying.” I start to panic at the realization that the Alpha knows I disrespected him. That’s probably like telling a mob don to fuck off.

Fuck. Fuckity fuck. My lungs still and I look everywhere around us to find no one moving yet. Maybe I should have just shut the hell up. My temper shouldn’t be getting the best of me. My head spins with fear and desperation, my gaze shooting to the handle on the car door.

“Why …” I want to ask why we pulled over since we seem to be in the middle of nowhere, but the words are stuck in my throat. Lev opens his door and gets out first, allowing a gust of cool air to filter into the car. My body starts to shake. Bracing his hands on the roof, he leans his head into the car and smiles at me.

“Relax, Grace, we’re just switching people around. We’re only a few minutes away, but Devin thinks it’s best that you see him now.”

I don’t move. I don’t say anything as the heavy footsteps come quicker than I’m prepared for.

Devin’s faster than I can imagine. There wasn’t a moment for me to will my body to move or to run. The car tilts slightly as he climbs into the seat next to me. His masculine, woodsy scent drifts into my lungs and suffocates every thought. He’s tall, his jaw sharp and every inch of his corded muscles are showing with his sleeves rolled up. My chest rises and falls chaotically.

“You’ll be quiet until we get home.”

It’s all he says, the words spoken in a deep low tone and anger pulses inside of me, but something else takes over with a force I can’t describe.