“I don’t understand, Thor. I want to be with you to clear this up. Why can’t I come with you?”
She started towards him, but Thor stopped her with one hand and ran the other over his face. The air felt heavy again, and she swore she saw the air around him shimmer and pulse. He blinked a few times, his eyes returning to normal before he looked at her again.
“Thor?”
“Nica, please understand the Demon Wolf is feeling fiercely protective of you right now.”
“Your Wolf wants to protect me,” she replied, and she almost dropped the sheet she had wrapped around her body.
“If you go out there looking like you do, hair tousled, lips swollen, smelling of sex and me, I’ll tear the throat out of every one of those motherfuckers before Derrick could even think to stop me. Understand?”
Truth.
Shifters had an ear for lies, and every word out of his mouth rang with the truth. Nica swallowed hard. Thor was trying to protect her from his Wolf, from the one everyone called Demon. But Nica wasn’t afraid of him. His animal was possessive of her, and something deep inside her approved. She nodded her head, wanting to offer him comfort. But Nica didn’t say anything. She didn’t have a chance.
Thor was already crossing the room, looking powerful and determined. He slammed his lips into hers, taking her mouth in a fierce, savage kiss that hurt her lips, but in the best way possible. Those big, strong hands she loved gripped the back of her neck as he kissed her, stamping himself on her one more time before he had to go.
“Wait for me here. Say it,” he commanded.
“I’ll wait.”
“That’s my angel. I’ll be back soon,” he murmured, turning around before he could see her swoon.
Why was that such a serious turn on? She had no idea. All Nica knew was she was squirming by the time he adjusted himself in his tight jeans and turned. The man sure knew how to fill out that well-worn denim. His jeans were so tight, they were molded to his long legs and fit perfectly. The tight, long-sleeved shirt he wore was black, as usual, and clung to his musculature like a second skin.
Nica’s mouth watered. He looked like a Viking warrior, all tattooed and scarred. They called him Demon, and she knew why. But to her he wasn’t a Demon, he was an avenging angel. Her avenging angel. But Thor didn’t look at her as he slipped his feet inside his boots. She waited for him to say something, but his hard lips remained closed.
Her heart squeezed, and she felt unsure and anxious. He’d claimed her with his bite, but she still did not understand the full meaning. Crows and Ravens didn’t mate for life, but Nica would be crushed if he let her go. How was she going to survive this? How would she ever survive him leaving her?
Darn it. She was thinking too much. Over complicating things with her runaway thoughts and lack of confidence. The man called her his, that must mean something, right? Should she leave while he was gone? Go back to her room?
She had no experience with this kind of thing. Had no idea how to act. She wanted to make him happy but had no idea what he was expecting from her. Right when she was about to fly off into a full-blown panic, and before he walked out the door, he turned to face her. Thor’s dark eyes found hers, and Nica stilled. Her Raven settled down, even as emotions flooded her system. Nica wasn’t going anywhere.
Thor asked her if she understood what he meant with his oddly specific account of what he would do should she walk across the street to the meeting place. In his eyes, she saw his Demon Wolf, saw the possessive beast staring at her with hunger in his impossibly dark eyes., and something else. Something dark and deadly.
Somehow, letting Thor between her legs and wearing his bite mark had turned the Pack’s Enforcer into a giant murdery powder keg. What else was there to understand?
Okay. Nica swallowed, certain now she understood what he meant.
Kinda. Mostly. Gulp.
Chapter10
The Demon Wolf snarled and snapped inside of him. The giant brindled beast wanted out. He wanted to savage the motherfucker who’d put hands on Nica. The animal was dying to punish the assholes who participated in that cruel and savage beating she’d received, along with the cowards who stood by and let it happen.
Grrrr.
Of course, he couldn’t do that. Derrick would not allow it. His Alpha was already there. The true image of leadership, standing tall and strong, his power obvious to everyone there. But Thor was not concerned with Derrick or that piece of shit Crow at the moment.
He was busy battling theotheras he traipsed across the semi-busy highway to the lot behind the gas station. Dark images of shadow spirits floated around him as he walked to meet with the Pine Murder and their cowardly leader. Their desperate pleas and gravelly whispered bargains pounded against his head.
Whispers full of evil suggestions slithered in his ear, and he fought with his Wolf for control. Unlike his human side, the Demon Wolf had no qualms about gutting the men who’d hurt what was his. But Thor did not live in his fur alone. He could not give in to those spirits whose cries and moans he decidedly ignored whenever he crossed the veil.
They were the cursed ones. The ones who wanted vengeance and threatened to pull him down into the darkness forever. It was a battle sometimes, to return to this side of the veil where the living ruled, and the spirits whispered to those few who had the sight. But not anymore. Thor belonged here in the light with Nica. He just had to make sure these assholes understood she was his now.
Not theirs. She would never be theirs.
Thor canted his head, watching the two groups of males face off behind the gas station, just across the road from the Pack House and their bar. Neutral ground. That was what they thought they had by going there, but Thor had a surprise for them. He didn’t give a fuck whose land they stood on. If they came for Nica, he would gut them all.
