PLEASE HELP ME 

“Got her,” one guard snarled.

They caught me before I made the corner. Two sets of hands slammed me against the stone wall and held me upright like I weighed nothing.

I twisted, spitting blood. “Get your fucking hands off me. Rejected or not, Ben will kill you both if you touch what’s his.”

The first guard, the one who had kicked me every morning for six months, chuckled. “Ben? That boy just found himself a real mate. She's a strong alpha blood from the northern pack. Pretty little thing with an actual wolf. They’re already in the tent. He gave us the go ahead before he even got her dress off.”

My stomach dropped. “You’re lying.”

The second guard leaned in close enough for me to smell the ale on his breath. “Hear that? Listen real close, wolfless.”

I froze. Through the thin night air came the sounds. Moans. High, sweet, eager. Ben’s voice, thick with pleasure. “That’s it, baby. Louder. Let everyone know who you belong to now.”

The new girl cried out his name like it tasted good.

The guards grinned wider. “He told us to prepare you for him later. In his words, the wolfless bitch might still be useful for warming up the night. Said we could have a turn as long as we don’t break anything he might want back.”

Rage and shame crashed through me so hard I couldn’t breathe. I fought like a wild thing with my nails raking, elbows flying and legs kicking. “Get off me! I’ll kill you! I’ll rip your throats out with my teeth if I have to!”

They were much stronger. One pinned my wrists above my head. The other shoved his knee between my thighs, pressing hard against the heat that betrayed me. My body clenched around nothing and I hated it. I wanted to die right there against the cold stone.

Please end it. Let the pain stop.

“Please,” I whispered, voice cracking. “Just kill me. Do it. I’m begging you.”

The first guard laughed and grabbed my breast through the torn gown. “Not our orders. We’re supposed to make you nice and wet for when Ben finishes with his new mate and remembers the trash he left behind.”

I closed my eyes and waited for the end.

A blur of black moved behind them.

The first guard’s head snapped sideways with a sick crack. He dropped like a stone. The second guard spun, but a fist connected with his jaw before he could shout. He crumpled without a sound.

The stranger from the bonfire stood over the bodies, breathing steady, face half-hidden in shadow. But I saw him. The same eyes that had watched me on that platform.

He turned to leave.

I lunged forward and grabbed the hem of his sleeve before he could disappear into the trees.

“Help me,” I said, looking up at him with teary eyes. “Please.”

He went completely still. His eyes dropped to my face, then lower, and my body trembled with a need I despised.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he said, but his thumb brushed my cheek, wiping away a tear I hadn’t realized had fallen.

“I know exactly what I’m asking.” I stepped closer until my breasts brushed his chest through my torn gown. “ Touch me like I matter. Make me forget his teeth in my neck and his laugh when he threw me away. Right now. Before this heat burns me alive.”

His breath hitched. Then he cupped my face in both hands, thumbs stroked my jaw gently. He leaned down and kissed me, his tongue sliding against mine and I melted into it, curling my fingers curling and pulling him closer.

He walked me backward until the rough bark of an ancient pine pressed against my back, but he shielded me with his body, one arm braced above my head to keep the tree from scraping me further. His free hand slid down my side, tracing every curve like a promise, slipping under the torn gown to cup my breast with aching tenderness. His thumb circled my nipple until I arched into him with a soft whimper.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured against my lips. “Let me take care of you.”

I nodded, tears slipping free again. He kissed them away, then dropped to his knees right there in the dirt, pushing the gown up my thighs. His mouth found me, and tongue stroked through my folds with devastating patience.

Two thick fingers slid inside me, curling gently, stroking that perfect spot until my legs shook and I was moaning, lost in the reverence of his touch.

When I was trembling on the edge, he stood, lifting me effortlessly so my legs wrapped around his waist. He held me there, suspended between his strong body and the tree, eyes locked on mine.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

He entered me in one smooth, deep glide, filling me completely. A broken sob escaped my lips, and he swallowed it with another kiss, staying buried inside me while I adjusted, letting me feel every inch of him.

Then he began to move. His deep, rolling thrusts dragged pleasure through every nerve ending, each one slower and harder than the last. His forehead rested against mine and our breaths mingled. His eyes never left my face.

I clung to him, and drugged my nails into his shoulders, meeting every thrust with my hips.

He reached down between us, circling my clit with his thumb, building me higher until I was gasping.

“Come for me,” he breathed against my ear. “Let me feel you fall apart in my arms.”

I shattered around him, crying out into the night as waves of pleasure crashed through me, clenching and pulsing so hard I saw stars.

He groaned and followed me over the edge, spilling deep inside me with long, shuddering pulses. He held me so tight I felt cherished instead of ruined.

We stayed locked together, breathing ragged, his chest pressed to my front.

“Will you come with me,” he said quietly, his thumb brushing another escaped tear from my cheek. “I'll take you out of here if you need me to.”

“You have done more than enough, thank you." I said with a smile and picked up the discarded cloak from the ground. I wrapped it around my naked body, and walked away without another word.

I was not about to enter another prison. Besides, even if he were as good as he seemed, Brian would kill us both before we could leave his territory and I won't forgive myself if I dragged an innocent man to hell with me.

I have a plan and it didn't include bloodshed. At least for now.