Chapter 4

Santos:

My phone started ringing before I reached the car, and I didn’t need to look at the screen to know who it was.

Elena.

I’d ignored her calls since leaving the packhouse. Whatever explanation she had ready, I didn’t want to hear it. She’d already told me how she felt about marrying me, and hearing it again wasn’t going to make it any easier to swallow.

When I pulled the phone from my pocket, her name glowed across the screen.

Of course.

I rejected the call and shoved the phone into my pocket. Just because Elena wanted to talk didn’t mean I was ready to listen. I’d spent enough of my life being told what I should feel, and I wasn’t about to let her decide that for me too.

The evening air was cool, but it did little to clear my head. I’d drunk enough whiskey to put an ordinary man on the floor, yet my wolf was already burning through it. With every step toward the car, the things I’d been trying to forget came back a little clearer.

My mother’s face appeared in my mind again.

I could still see the tears in her eyes when I told her to leave. I knew I’d been cruel. Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.

What was I supposed to do? Welcome her with open arms after spending my childhood wondering why she hadn’t wanted me?

I pushed the thought away. There was no point going over it when she’d made her choice years ago. Tomorrow, I’d get back to work and try to carry on as I had before she walked into my office.

At least, that was what I intended. My phone vibrated again, and I frowned. “Damn it, Elena,” I muttered, reaching into my pocket.

I was about to switch it off when a voice stopped me. “Please, Darren. Let me go…”

I frowned.

The voice came from behind the buildings along the street. It was faint, but my hearing was sharper than an ordinary wolf’s. I recognized the voice immediately.

Angela.

For a moment, I considered going straight to my car. Whatever was happening between Angela and this Darren wasn’t my business. After the evening we’d had, the last thing I wanted was another argument with her.

Then I heard her again. “Darren, you’re hurting me. Please! Please just stop.”

She sounded nothing like the woman who’d argued with me at the bar. There was fear in her voice, and she was struggling to catch her breath.

My wolf reacted before I could decide what to do. A low growl vibrated through my chest as I turned toward the narrow passage separating the bar from the neighboring building.

A man’s voice carried through the darkness.

“Did you really think that you can just walk away from me?”  He asked, angrily. There was a sharp thud, followed by a small cry.

I headed for the alley, telling myself I was only checking on the disturbance. If some fool was causing trouble behind the bar, it was better to stop it before the authorities got involved.

The moment I rounded the corner, that excuse disappeared.

Angela was pinned against the wall, and a man stood in front of her with one hand wrapped around her throat and the other gripping her arm. Her feet barely touched the ground as she clawed desperately at his wrist.

“Let her go,” I said.

Neither of them seemed to hear me.

The man leaned closer to her face. “Answer me, Angela. You think you can embarrass me and then pretend I don’t exist? Did you really think that I was just going to drop the subject?”

She tried to speak, but his grip made it impossible.

I stepped closer. “I said, let her go.”

He turned toward me, his expression changing when he saw me. His hand stayed around her throat. “Mind your own business.”

I looked at the hand around her throat. “You have three seconds to let her go.”

He laughed. “Who the hell are you supposed to be?”

I didn’t answer.

His eyes moved over me before returning to Angela. “Is this him? Is this the bastard you’ve been seeing behind my back? Is this the fucking reason why you left me?”

Angela shook her head frantically.

He released her throat, but before she could get away, he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her against the wall again. She cried out and brought both hands to her neck.

“Don’t lie to me!” he shouted.

He raised his hand and struck her across the face, and I watched as her head snapped sideways.

Something inside me went cold.

I was already moving before he could touch her again. I grabbed his shoulder and dragged him away from her. He turned toward me, opening his mouth to speak, but my fist connected with his face before he got the chance.

His nose broke beneath my knuckles with a sickening crack, and the force of the blow sent him stumbling backward. He hit the ground hard and screamed as blood poured between the fingers pressed to his face.

“Son of a bitch! You broke my nose!” He yelled. “I’m going to have you arrested!”

I laughed, and the sound seemed to frighten him more than the punch had.

“Are you?” I crouched enough to meet his eyes. “Go ahead. Tell them what you were doing to her when I got here. You’re fortunate that your nose is all I broke.”

“I wasn’t doing anything. That’s my girlfriend!” He yelled.

My jaw tightened. “And that gives you permission to put your hands on her?” He flinched as I took a step closer to him. “Get up.” When he didn’t move, I took another step watching as he tried to crawl back. “I said get up.”

He scrambled to his feet, keeping one hand pressed against his nose, then looked toward Angela. I moved into his line of sight. “Listen, man. This is between me and her.”

“Not anymore.” The color drained from his face as I could tell that he saw the shift in my eyes as my wolf made himself known for a second before I controlled him. “You going to listen closely; you are going to walk out of this alley and keep walking until I can’t hear your miserable heartbeat anymore. If I find out you’ve come looking for her again, we will have a very different conversation.”

He swallowed and backed away. This time, he seemed to understand that arguing wouldn’t help him. He turned toward the street and hurried off, stumbling as he rounded the corner.

I turned toward Angela a few seconds later only to frown when I saw that she was sitting on the ground with her back pressed against the wall. Her knees were pulled tightly to her chest, and both hands covered her ears.

“Angela.” I said softly. She didn’t respond, and when I stepped toward her, she flinched so violently that I stopped.

An hour ago, she’d looked me in the eye and refused to serve me another drink, even after I threatened her. She hadn’t cared who I was or what position I held. Now she was trembling too badly to lift her head.

A bruise was spreading across her cheek, and red marks circled her throat. I could see the faint impressions his fingers had left behind.

“Angela,” I repeated, lowering my voice. “I’m not going to touch you,” I told her, watching as she looked up at me. She didn’t respond, her heart racing as she looked at me. “Is he your boyfriend?”

Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head. “My ex.”

“Does he know where you live?” I asked, and she looked toward the street as if expecting him to appear again. “Angela.”

“He knows,” she whispered. “He knows where I live.”

I let out a slow breath, trying to keep my anger out of my voice. Her hands were still trembling. I couldn’t just pick her up and carry her out, no matter how badly I wanted to get her away from this place. She was already afraid of me.

I had no idea what to say to make this easier for her. I lowered myself onto one knee, keeping some distance between us. “Angela, can you look at me?”

Eventually, she met my eyes. Tears slipped down her cheeks, and her lower lip trembled. Seeing the bruise on her face stirred my wolf again, but she didn’t need any more of my anger. I forced myself to stay still.

“Did he threaten you?”

“He said I couldn’t leave him.” She wiped at her face. “He keeps calling. I changed my number, but he found it. He comes to my apartment, and when I don’t answer, he waits outside.”

“You can’t go home tonight.” She looked up sharply and pressed herself against the wall. I heard how I’d sounded and softened my voice. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do. But if he knows where you live, he might be waiting for you there.”

“Do you have somewhere else you can stay?”

“My friend has a place, but she lives with her boyfriend. I don’t want to involve them.”

“You’re hurt, Angela. Let them help you.” I hadn’t meant to spend my evening kneeling in an alley with the human waitress who’d nearly driven me out of my mind. My mother had come back, Elena had rejected me, and tomorrow I’d have a desk full of reports and whatever else Nikolai needed me to handle.

I had enough to deal with already, but walking away from her wasn’t an option.

I knew what it was like to be afraid of someone who thought they had the right to control your life.

“I think I can stay with my friend,” she said. I nodded as she tried to stand, but her knees shook beneath her. Then I noticed the blood on the wall behind her. Before I could say anything, her eyes rolled back.

I caught her before she hit the ground and lifted her into my arms. Looking down at her, I shook my head. “Looks like your friend’s place will have to wait.”