Chapter Five
Olivia flipped the page on her e-reader as she got lost in a romance about a land full of magic and mayhem. Torren had bought the device for her the other day and let her load it with over two dozen books. She’d always loved going to the library to borrow books, but now she could read anytime she wanted and didn’t have to wait on a title to be returned by another library patron. She could read as much as she wanted, as fast as she wanted, and she got to keep the books.
The silence of the house wrapped around her, and she sighed in pleasure as she turned another page. She hadn’t been alone since she’d woken that first morning in Torren’s bed. Not that she didn’t love spending time with Torren, but his hovering was getting on her nerves. Since their fight over her pregnancy several days ago, he’d constantly tried to feed her, coddle her, and had driven her completely crazy. For a woman used to taking care of herself, Torren’s hovering was a bit of a pain. The Beta, Baxter, had come to get him earlier, claiming there was an issue the Alpha needed to resolve, and Olivia had breathed a sigh of relief when they’d left the house.
A bit of a headache was forming between her eyes, so she shut off the e-reader and set it aside. Her body was likely going through caffeine withdrawal. Torren refused to let her have anything with caffeine in it, and she was nearly murderous over her lack of coffee. Earlier, when he’d tried to place a blanket over her legs, she’d snapped and snarled at him, which was completely out of character for her. He’d only been trying to take care of her, but Olivia had nearly lost it.
Olivia dug through the bathroom cabinet, but she didn’t find so much as a bottle of Tylenol. Her headache was getting worse -- there was now a pounding in her temples.No. She frowned. That was the front door. Shutting the cabinet over the sink, she hurried to the front of the cabin and pulled open the door. A wolf stood at the foot of the steps, its coat a light brown with red streaks. The amber eyes nearly glowed as it stared at her.
“Is it Torren? Did something happen to Torren?” she asked, stepping out onto the porch. The door still stood open behind her, but she didn’t take time to close it. The wolf spun and took off into the woods, and Olivia ran after it. What if Torren needed medical attention?
The leaves crunched under her feet as they sped through the wooded area. Olivia didn’t know how far they’d run from the cabin, or where they were going. Why was Torren out this far? He hadn’t said a word about what he’d be doing when Baxter had come to get him. They really needed to learn to communicate better.
The wolf came to a halt, and Olivia looked around in confusion.
“Where’s Torren?”
The wolf shimmered, and she heard bones popping. The fur receded and the wolf’s form grew until a very naked man stood in its place. A man she hadn’t seen before. His red-gold hair hung in his eyes, but it was the snarl on his lips that had her pulse racing.
“The Alpha took what was mine, so now I’ll take something of his.”
“Took something of yours?” she asked, trying to edge back a step, but the wolf noticed and growled. Olivia froze, every muscle locked into place. She was almost afraid to breathe, much less move.
The man circled, and she noticed his fingers were still tipped with claws. The amber of his eyes said his wolf was near the surface, and she didn’t know if he was more man or beast at the moment. Her heart started to pound, and she wondered just how much trouble she was in. No one knew where she’d gone, or that she was even missing. How long would it be before someone discovered she wasn’t at home?
“Your Alpha came to my pack. All the bitches wanted a piece of him, except for one. It didn’t matter to him if Gwen desired him or not. He took her, mated her, and forced her to move here,” the man said.
Gwen. Torren’s dead mate. “Gwen was yours?”
He nodded. “We had plans. She was supposed to be mine! I’d been the one to claim her virginity. The one to run with her every full moon.” He growled. “The one to get her pregnant.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. Gwen had been pregnant? Did Torren know? And if he did, was he aware the baby hadn’t been his? He’d scented a change in her, so he would have been able to do the same with Gwen, wouldn’t he?
“I don’t understand,” Olivia said. “If Gwen was yours, how did she end up with Torren?”
“Her father. He demanded that Gwen mate with your Alpha. Didn’t stop us from being together though.”
“You… you kept seeing each other? Even after she was mated to someone else?” she asked.
“Gwen loathed your precious Alpha, couldn’t stand for him to touch her. She had to take special herbs to keep him from scenting me on her. Gwen went for daily walks in the woods, and we met in this exact spot each time. I’d fuck her for hours, until she knew she’d be missed, and then she’d go home to that jackass.”
Bile rose in Olivia’s throat. The way Gwen and this man had deceived Torren was horrible. Torren had said he’d tried to be good to Gwen, and she’d thrown it back in his face by cheating on him? As wonderful as Torren had been, if a bit clingy the past few days, she couldn’t imagine any woman not wanting to be with him. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, and so much more.
The man’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her. “You love him.”
Olivia’s startled gaze flew to his. “Love?”
He sneered. “It’s not only written on your face, but I can smell it on you. As well as the brat in your belly. It’s his fault my woman and child are dead, so I’ll do anything to take his from him.”
“You don’t want to do this,” Olivia said. “I didn’t do anything to you. This baby is innocent.” She placed a hand over her belly.
“My Gwen was innocent.” The man snarled and she watched in horror as fur started sprouting across his skin again. “I’ll give you a head start, which is probably more than my Gwen got. Run, little girl.”
His features started twisting and reshaping into that of his wolf, and Olivia started running, back toward the cabin. She pushed herself to run faster than she ever had before.
“Torren!” she screamed.
Olivia could hear the wolf closing in behind her, and her fear spiked. She screamed for Torren again, and pushed even harder, trying to move even faster. The wolf behind her howled and the hairs on her nape lifted. He was close. So damn close! The crunching of leaves made it sound like he was right behind her. Olivia braced herself, preparing for an attack.
