Aiden knew the area well, as did they all. If Riker thought to use his lands against them, he was badly mistaken.
The kind of fishbowl made a narrow pass at the front, but they knew of access to the rear through a descending creek formed by a mountain spring. They tended to avoid the area in the spring and summer, since it was a favorite spot of moonshiners, and who were inclined to shoot first and ask questions later.
Now, however, moonshiners were the least of their problems.
“Let’s go around this ridge through the back. Down the creek. They shouldn’t be able to smell us from there.” He lifted his head, testing the wind. “If we hurry, we should still be downwind of them and they won’t see us coming.”
Picking a path through the woods, up and around to the spring, the new direction added another hour to their time. Every passing minute made Aiden grit his teeth. He despised not knowing how Nydia faired, but he couldn’t risk the lives of his people by being foolhardy.
They moved in a single file line, the water of the creek babbling around their paws. Mossy rocks formed a slippery, treacherous path.
Soon, it came to the point where they could go no further without being amongst Riker’s midst. Aiden sent Santos ahead to scout the area. It didn’t take him long to return, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he eagerly padded up to them.
“Six men plus the leader. I didn’t see no guards posted. They look sloppy as hell. One woman. She’s in the center. She’s not tied up or anything and looks scared, but okay. She a tough chica, Alpha?”
Aiden huffed through his snout. “Yeah. She can handle herself if she ain’t in tears.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to waste your time on nuthin else,” Santos said.
“Okay,” Aiden said, making them gather around. “Charge at full speed. Hold nothing back. Malik, you stay with me in the center. I’ll take Riker, their Alpha, while you get Nydia to safety. Lila and Abel will flank them on the left. Carmen, Santos, and Hudson will flank their right. Move as one, keep your head low, oh, and try not to get killed.”
The group huffed and pawed at the ground, amused.
“Seriously, try not to die. If you can take your opponent down without killing him, do so. Like I said, I don’t want to spend all night digging graves all over the countryside. They’re strong, but they ain’t working with a whole lot in the brain department. Malik,” he turned to his second in command. “I’m counting on you to get her to safety.”
“I won’t let you down, boss,” Malik said.
“Good. You need to transform when we go so she doesn’t run from you. She won’t know who’s good and who’s bad at first. We’re all wolves to her. Get her to her car as fast as you can. Go through the front if you have to—it’ll be quicker.”
Moving with their natural instincts and the direction of their leader, each group followed the course set to them by their Alpha. The moment they entered the clearing, Riker’s pack reacted to the attack.
Malik transformed into a man, naked and bald, he headed straight for Nydia in the center. Aiden focused on Lee Riker, who turned to greet him with a snarl, half wolf, half man. The combination of the two in one were enough to make a lesser man sick.
Aiden snarled and leapt for Riker, hitting him in the chest. To the left and right, he caught glimpses of the others tangling. Some stayed wolfen, others shifted back to human with elongated teeth and claws.
He couldn’t pay attention to them. When he saw Malik heading for Nydia, he could only pray that she would be safe.
Riker snickered, ducking a hit as Aiden melded back into a man and slashed his claws inches from Riker’s chest. Aiden recovered from the missed blow, twisting back to land a fist square in the center of Riker’s big mouth. He knocked his jaw askew.
“Nice of y’all to join us,” Riker said, spitting blood on the ground. “I hope you don’t mind us using your play purty. We had us some good fun with her. You don’t mind sharing, do you, Aiden?”
The red cloud masked Aiden’s vision, narrowing his sight into a tunnel as furious as a tornado. He lost his mind then, unable to retract the beast beneath the surface. He surged forward, snarling and growling as if he were still a wolf.
Riker’s eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected that strong a reaction from Aiden.
Blood thumped in Aiden’s temples, rattling through his veins as if his heart tried to escape from his chest. Dimly, he heard Nydia scream, and it was all the impetus he needed to push him over the edge of sanity.
His teeth extended as he launched at Riker, ignoring the stinging blows to his chest, face and arms. All he could see was a tender throat, the bobbing adam’s apple, begging to be ripped from the flesh.
He caught Riker’s throat with his teeth, slamming him into the ground. Beneath his tongue, he felt the rapid pulse beating, urging him to taste blood. Riker grunted, all the air expelling from his lungs as the impacted the earth and Aiden bore down on his stomach and chest with all his weight.
Claws dug into his arms. The scent of his own blood tinged the air, making him mad with the fury of his beast. He whipped his head, making Riker writhe in agony beneath him.
“We’ve got her! She’s safe, Aiden. Aiden, she’s safe!” Malik called behind him. “They’re done for.”
Hearing Malik’s deep voice pulled him back from the brink. Slowly, with every harsh breath through his nose, Aiden returned. He tasted blood in his mouth and looked at the wild, fear filled eyes of Lee Riker.
Riker lay still, barely daring to suck in a breath for fear of Aiden finishing him off.
Aiden warily withdrew his fangs from the tears in Riker’s neck, slowly getting to his feet as he stared down at the pathetic man lying in the dirt. Urine tinged the air and he knew he’d pissed his pants.
Aiden sneered, spitting the taste of the man out of his mouth. He planted a bare foot in Riker’s chest, pinning him to the ground.
“Have you had enough?” he growled.
Lee whimpered where he lay. A furtive glance around told him that his pack had been defeated. Most were lying on the ground, wounded and trying to heal why Aiden’s pack stood over them.
Aiden dug his heel into Riker’s chest, making his ribs grind.
“Answer me,” Aiden said.
“Yeah. Yeah, we give up,” Riker said, showing his open palms.
He kicked Lee’s stomach one good time, making him gasp for breath. “Get up.”
Lee slowly rolled to his knees, holding his ribs as he straightened up to his feet. Punctures lined his arms and neck, bleeding profusely. His pack looked in as sorry a shape as he.
Looking at the beaten pack, Aiden felt a mixture of pity and hatred. He was glad he hadn’t allowed his fury to push him into murder, even though Riker’s actions had warranted it.
They couldn’t help their Alpha had shit for brains and was a piss poor leader.
That didn’t mean, however, that they could have what he’d built. He’d be damned if it did.
“Get…out…of my…county,” Aiden said loudly, enunciating every word. “If any of you ever return I will personally kill you. Stay out of Misty Springs. You’re not welcome here.”
Aiden stepped close enough to Riker that their chests almost touched. Aiden bowed up, flexing his arms and back. “At the next council meeting, I will be telling the council members of your behavior. They’ll know that you risked revealing us all by holding a human captive. Remember this and make yourself scarce.” Aiden shoved the man, making him stumble backwards.
Around them, Aiden’s pack snickered and chuckled.
Lee Riker had been beaten and humiliated. He would never live this down, but if he wanted to live, he and his back had to go far away.
That was good enough for Aiden. For now. If the fool knew what was best for him. Aiden wasn’t so inclined to give second chances to those who wouldn’t take them.
Aiden remained tense, watching the retreat of the pack and waiting until they’d tucked their tails between their leg
s and left until he finally dared to turn around and face Nydia where she waited with Malik.
He’d felt her eyes boring into his back the entire time, but he hadn’t dared spare her a glance during the exchange. Now, however, waiting any longer to see her beautiful face and feel her body in his arms was a torture he couldn’t withstand.
Chapter Sixteen
Nydia watched, feeling breathless and scared as Aiden slowly turned to face her. She’d wondered when she’d get to see his face again, see his eyes looking at her with the fire of desire.
When their eyes locked across the distance, she knew nothing had dimmed between them. Their attraction was just as fierce as it had ever been before. And it wasn’t just the fact that he’d risked his life to come and save her.
The fact that she was surrounded by werewolves didn’t bother her. Her fear had melted away the moment she saw he’d come. Instinctively, she’d known he wouldn’t stop until he’d defeated his rivals, and now, he was hers.
Why had she fought against him, resented him for lying? None of it mattered.
When she thought she might never see him again…the fear made her shudder.
She shivered in the night air, crossing her arms over her chest.
Aiden closed the distance, not bothering to speak. He took her in his arms, sawing his mouth over her mouth in a kiss that was hungry, insistant, and demanding. He stroked her arms, warming her with his touch, feeling her body all over as if checking her for injury.
The heat and taste of his mouth enveloped her in warmth, stoking a fire within her. She melded against his body, trying to crawl inside of his skin.
Aiden dragged his mouth from hers, kissing her cheeks, the corners of her eyes. He stroked her back and her hair, as if his palms couldn’t touch her enough.
“Did they hurt you? Don’t lie to me!”
Nydia arched her neck, looking into his eyes, cupping his jaw. He was naked against her, and the barrier of her clothes seemed too much to stand right now. His skin felt feverish and hot through the fabric.
Oh, if only they were alone without the audience of his kind around them.
“I’m fine. They didn’t hurt me. I was just scared. That’s all.”
He gripped her chin, forcing her to hold his gaze. “They didn’t…rape you?”
A shiver traveled down her spine. “No.”
Aiden sighed. “Good. I was worried about you.”
She looked up at him, hopeful for more, but he said nothing else as he led her from the clearing and made the long trek back to her car.
Left alone with her thoughts, Nydia wondered why he remained quiet after such a passionate kiss. Did he worry about what the others might think about her? Were they really so different that it would never work out between them?
Had he only saved her because he felt obligated to do so, for putting her in danger in the first place?
Her questions burned on the tip of her tongue, but her pride refused to allow her to ask him any of them.
She was left with feeling the rough palm of his hand as he led her through the dark back to her car. Her chest ached with strange emotions, but she dismissed her anxiety as remnants of her ordeal.
The glint of her windshield from the ditch signaled they’d reached their destination.
Nydia felt deflated that Aiden continued to remain pensive and quiet.
Malik cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence. “Would you like us to put your car back on the road, ma’am?” he asked Nydia.
“Thank you. That would be very kind of you.” Nydia looked at the other man and realized that she wasn’t even embarrassed by his nudity or the nudity of the others that had changed from wolf form to human form.
Somehow, it seemed perfectly natural to be surrounded by the group.
Malik yelled, “Santos, you and Abel come give me a hand with this. Hudson, go to the other side. I think we can get this out of we push together.”
Aiden seemed to welcome the distraction from Nydia, needing something to take him away from her. The men began to push and maneuver the automobile until they had the tires pointed out of the ditch. Santos got in the car and cranked it at that point and the others got behind it so they could push it free of the ditch.
Once the car was sitting in the road again Malik said, “There you are. Good as new.”
“Thank you. Thank you for saving me and for saving my car.” Nydia turned to look at Aiden and waited for an expectant moment. “I guess I need to get going,” she said.
“Yeah. You should. I’m sorry…for everything. Good-bye,” he said, watching as she got into her car and shut the door.
Her chin wobbled, but she sat up straight in the car, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she pulled away.
She was sure that this was a night she would never forget, and she was equally sure that the image of Aiden standing there naked in the middle of the road would forever haunt her dreams.
***
Aiden didn’t want her to leave. Watching her get into her car felt like a kick to the gut by a mule.
The air seemed to suck out of his lungs, leaving him to choke on dust like a dried up mummy. His throat closed, shutting off his speech. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
Every instinct urged him to run after her car, fling the door open, and rip her back out of the car.
Would his pack accept a human woman as his mate? They’d followed him until now, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t see this as an act of weakness. And would she want to be with him forever?
He’d never encountered this situation before and didn’t know what to do. Indecision and uncertainty rooted him to the spot.
There were so many things that could go wrong between a human and a lycanthrope. He could get angry and transform and injure her, or he could become so sexually aroused that he transformed during lovemaking and hurt her. Or he could force her through the change, but would she want that? Would she be willing to risk her humanity to be with him forever?
He watched her red taillights disappear around the curve in the road.
The rest of his pack had remained silent up until this point. Finally, unable to take the tension anymore, Lila spoke first. “What is happening here? Can it be that Aiden has fallen in love with that human girl?”
Carmen turned and looked at her leader, the somber slump of his shoulders, the way he couldn’t seem to stop staring at the point where her car had disappeared. “I’ve never seen him act this way. Even when we were together. He’s never had that look in his eyes before.”
“I believe that our leader has met his soul mate,” Malik said.
“I think you may be right, Malik. Aiden has never acted like he needed anyone or anything and I get the feeling that he needs that woman with every fiber in his being.” Lila reached out and stroked the arm of her partner.
“It would be great if Aiden settled down with only one mate. He needs to produce some pups that can take over when he gets old. As it stands, we haven’t got a single pup from his bloodline. He is the alpha male and he should be bringing forth children.”
Malik moved beside Aiden. “Are you just going to stand there and let her drive away?”
“That is what she wants and I will honor her wishes,” Aiden replied.
“Bullshit! She wants you to go after her and throw yourself down before her. She wants you to whisk her off her feet and carry her to your lair where you’ll bed her properly.”
“She is in love with you, Aiden.” Carmen said.
“What gave you that idea?” Aiden asked her.
“The way she looked at you. The way she said your name. The way she positioned her body when you were around. All of those things screamed that she’s in love with you. You are a complete idiot if you don’t go after her and make her your woman,” Carmen said, flipping her long dark hair off her shoulder as she walked away.
“But. She’s a human….”
“Things change, amigo,” Santos said.
Malik looked at his friend. “Aiden, you aren’t going to find another woman that you love like you love that one. I can see it in your eyes and you need to admit it before you let the opportunity get away from you. I’m going home to mate with my woman…and I suggest you do the same.” Malik patted his friend on the shoulder as he walked away.
Aiden turned and looked at the other members of the pack who were behind him. They were all pointing in the direction of her car and making gestures for him to go. He thought for one moment and decided that he was going after her.
Savage Instinct Page 15
