Chapter 270

I knew letting my fear take over could get me killed. But during my self-defense classes, I never imagined how terrifying it would be to face the red wolves alone.

“Victor,” I cried out in my mind as the snarling pair circled me, the streetlights glinting off their angry eyes and sharp teeth.

My own anger began to build when I realized one or both of these werewolves killed Deirdre, and they almost killed my best friend’s father.

“Who are you!” I screamed. “You are nothing but murdering cowards, and I promise you will pay for your crimes.”

My words struck them like darts. The enraged snarls grew more intense, and they crouched low, ready to spring at me.”

“Daisy, remember your training,” Diana begged. “Shift, right now!”

“Diana, come forth,” I commanded.

I shifted in a flurry of fabric pieces, and my wolf’s snarls joined those of the rogue wolves.

They were communicating telepathically, and I could tell when they signaled each other that it was time to attack. Ready for the worst, I moved into a defensive position.

Their snarls turned into surprised yips when a giant black wolf appeared at my side.

It was Victor. He heard my plea for help and hurried to my side. I had confidence that the fight would now be more than fair.

Victor and I moved slowly in a circle, keeping our backs to each other. We used our glaring eyes and fierce growls to intimidate our opponents, and it worked.

One red wolf grew careless and lunged at me. Adam’s teeth came down on its back leg. Its yelp of pain made the other wolf howl in maddened frustration.

The second wolf tried to retaliate against Victor, but Diana’s snapping jaws made him think twice. Both wolves bayed at the moon and disappeared into the shadows.

Diana and I began to follow, but Victor’s voice rang through my head. “No, wait for me, my love,” he said.

“We can’t let them get away,” I said. “This must end before they kill somebody else.”

“I’ll flank you,” Victor said. “One is injured, so they won’t be able to run as quickly. Use your eyes, ears, and instincts as you follow the scent.”

Staying close together, Victor and I followed the rogue wolves’ scent through the deep shadows.

Our quarry tried to remain silent as they crawled behind garbage cans and through the detritus left at the edges of the alley.

Several times, I was sure I was losing them, but then I heard the scrape of metal or the rustle of plastic, and once, there was a faint groan of pain from the wounded wolf.

With Victor guarding me from behind, I followed the red wolves’ trail for four blocks until they went under a city block built over the old canal and disappeared.

It was damp and pitch dark down there, with plenty of hiding places and tunnels leading into buildings and other places.

Rats and other scavengers lived down there. It was an easy place to enter and never return. The rogue wolves were desperate, or they knew where they were going.

“No, sweetheart. It’s too dangerous,” Victor said. “The labyrinth down there is to their advantage. We will capture them another time.”

“You’re right,” I said. “They could be waiting anywhere to ambush us in the darkness. But I am tired of them. They need to be punished for their crimes.”

We made our way back to the rear of the restaurant and saw the explosion of fabric covering the alley’s asphalt behind the building.

“My clothes were destroyed when I shifted,” I said. “But I have an idea.”

Victor nuzzled my throat. “That’s good because everything I wore tonight is history, too. There was no time for me to undress when I saw you were in danger.”

Suddenly, two figures came around the back of Elliot Gray’s pickup. I was startled and ready to attack until I saw it was William and Penny.

“Daisy, Victor, are you okay?” William asked. “When Victor ran out of the restaurant, we hurried outside to see if we could help.”

Victor nodded his huge, shaggy head.

“I found your belongings on the ground among the remnants of your clothing,” Penny said. She held up my handbag, along with Victor’s phone, wallet, and key fob.

It was my turn to motion with my head while I told Victor my plan.

“Amy hides a spare key at the top of the steps in a pot of ferns,” I said. “We can go inside the apartment and see if there's anything for us to wear.”

“Good thinking, sweetheart,” Victor told me. He motioned toward the apartment stairs, and we walked in that direction.

“Yeah, you’re going upstairs to Amy’s to shift human,”

William said. “Penny and I will leave your things on the steps and go get you something to wear home. We’ll be back soon.”

Victor’s wolf bobbed its head in agreement, and we ran toward the enclosed stairs that led to the apartment over Gray’s Restaurant.

We ran up the stairs and shifted on the landing. I grabbed the key out of the pot of ferns and opened the door.

Victor and I rushed inside and snapped on a single light in the kitchen. As soon as he closed the door, we threw our arms around each other and held each other tightly.

I realized I was shaking, and we were both breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush of the fight and pursuit. It had been scary, but the red wolves reminded us of how much stronger we were together.

We kissed and ran our hands over each other’s skin, grateful we were both unharmed.

Before long, comfort turned to passion. Our mouths met, our tongues entangled, and his hands ran down my back to cup my buttocks.

“I was afraid I was going to lose you,” he murmured between kisses. “But you did well in battle, my Alpha Princess. Your warrior ancestors’ blood surely runs in your veins.”

“I only did what you taught me,” I assured him. “You make me better with every lesson you’ve ever taught me.”

Our lips met again in fiery, passionate kisses as we pressed our naked bodies tightly against each other.

“We shouldn’t do this in someone else’s home,” he said. “But I want you too much to wait.”

He picked me up in his strong arms and carried me through the dimly lit apartment.

“What if William and Penny return with our clothing?” I asked. “I don’t want them to know we used Amy’s home for our lovemaking.”

“We will stay in the living room on the couch. It faces the other direction from the front door, ” he said as he loved my breasts with his mouth. “They won’t be able to see us from the doorway.”

“And we’ll hear them …them …oh, yes,” I panted as he knelt in front of me, and his mouth moved lower. “We’ll hear them on the stairs.”

I knew William and Penny could return anytime, but our passion was blazing hotter than ever. There was no other way to get the flames under control but to give in.

“Oh, Victor.” I tangled my fingers in his hair. “It may be wrong to slake our passions here, but I don’t care. Make love to me, my darling. I want you so badly.”

I moaned, and my legs began to shake when Victor’s tongue found what he was seeking between my legs. He brought me close to ecstasy when the sound of footsteps on the stairs reached our ears.

“Oh, not yet!” I cried. “They can’t be back yet.”

“Stay on this side of the couch, and I’ll look out the window,” Victor said.

I hunched down behind the couch and watched Victor’s perfect body walk to the door and peer out the window. I ached for his return. My body throbbed with need.

He locked the door and hurried back to me.

“It’s one of the assistant cooks taking a cigarette break at the bottom of the stairs,” Victor reported. “Now, where was I?” he asked before he pushed me to the floor and dove between my legs again.

“I don’t care who comes to that door,” I said. “Don’t stop.”

A few moments later, I was nearing an intense climax when Victor put my legs over his shoulders and mounted me. I never wanted anything more in my life as I wanted him inside me.

But there were more voices outside the building. One of them was female.

“We should stop,” I whispered, even though I desperately wanted him to keep going. “What if the red wolves returned?”