Chapter 6

Ava's POV

The first rogue lunged.

It was a blur of teeth and muscle. I dodged, but not fast enough. Claws raked across my forearm, shredding my jacket and skin.

Fire exploded in my nerves. Blood-hot and metallic-sprayed onto the dead leaves.

"Help! Cole! HELP ME!" Lexi shrieked, cowering on the ground like a child.

The second rogue circled me, drool dripping from its jaws. I was cornered. Nyx was growling, begging to shift, to rip them apart, but I couldn't. Not yet. If I shifted now, Cole would know I had a wolf. He wouldn't let me go.

I grabbed a fallen branch, swinging it like a bat. "Back off!"

The rogue snapped the wood like a toothpick.

I braced myself for the kill.

ROAR.

A massive shape crashed through the underbrush.

Cole.

He burst into the clearing in his human form, eyes glowing red, partially shifted. He looked magnificent and terrifying-a true Alpha.

"Cole!" Lexi screamed. "Save me!"

The rogue nearest to Lexi lunged at her.

The rogue nearest to me lunged at my throat.

Time slowed down. Cole looked at the rogue attacking Lexi. Then he looked at me, blood dripping down my arm, the beast inches from my face.

He had a choice.

He didn't hesitate.

He dove for Lexi.

He tackled the wolf attacking her, ripping its throat out in one brutal motion. He gathered Lexi into his arms, shielding her body with his own.

And he left me to die.

I watched, paralyzed, as the second wolf's jaws opened wide, aiming for my neck.

So this is it, I thought, a bitter calmness washing over me. He really did choose her.

I closed my eyes.

WHOOSH.

The air pressure dropped. The temperature plummeted to zero.

There was a sound like a guillotine blade slicing through meat. Thwack.

Warm liquid splattered across my face. Not my blood.

I opened my eyes.

The rogue that was about to kill me was gone. Or rather... it was in pieces. Its head was rolling on the grass five feet away.

Standing in front of me was a man.

He was massive. Taller than Cole. Broader. He wore a black tactical suit that strained against his muscles. His hair was dark as ink, and he radiated an aura so powerful, so suffocating, that the remaining rogue whimpered and bolted into the trees.

The stranger didn't chase it. He turned slowly to face me.

My breath hitched.

He was devastatingly handsome, with sharp, aristocratic features and a scar cutting through his left eyebrow. But it was his eyes that froze me. They were the color of glacial ice. Cold. Ancient. Possessive.

King Kaelen.

He didn't look at Cole. He didn't look at Lexi. He looked only at me.

He stepped closer, the scent of rain, steel, and expensive scotch enveloping me. He reached out, his large hand gently cupping my uninjured cheek. His thumb brushed away a speck of blood.

Electricity arced through my skin where he touched me. My knees went weak.

"Found you," he murmured, his voice a deep rumble that vibrated in my chest.

"You..." I stammered, my brain misfiring. "You're the King."

"And you," he said, his eyes darkening as they dropped to the wound on my arm, "are bleeding."

The tenderness in his voice was terrifying.

"Cole!" Lexi's voice shattered the moment.

Cole was standing up, helping Lexi to her feet. He looked shaken, staring at the dead rogue, then at Kaelen.

"Who the hell are you?" Cole barked, trying to regain control. "This is Bloodmoon territory!"

Kaelen finally looked at Cole. The temperature dropped another ten degrees. He didn't shout. He didn't growl. He just looked at Cole like he was an insect.

"You let your Mate face death while you saved a mistress?" Kaelen asked. His voice was quiet, lethal.

Cole flinched. "She's not-"

"Silence."

Kaelen turned back to me, scooping me up into his arms like I weighed nothing. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest. He felt... safe.

"Put her down!" Cole stepped forward, his Alpha ego bruising. "Ava is my pack member!"

Kaelen paused. He looked over his shoulder, his lips curling into a cruel smirk.

"Not anymore, boy," Kaelen said. "You threw her away. Now? She's mine."

He walked into the shadows, carrying me away from the life that almost killed me, and into a future that felt a hell of a lot more dangerous.

And for the first time in three years, I didn't want to run.