Chapter 6

 “The Edge of the Alpha’s Mercy”

Touch me again, Revan, and I swear—

 Pushing into his chest, my back against the stone wall, breath stopped somewhere between anxiety and something... other, my voice broke.

 "You'll what?"  His smell—smoke, leather, and something primal—wrapped around me like a prison.

 I said, "I'll stop pretending I don't feel it as well."

 That was not my intention.  Goddess, what was amiss with me?

 This time I pushed him away more forcefully.  "Stay away from me," I growled, disregarding the fire blossoming in my chest and searing its path downward.  Another Alpha's kid I'm carrying.  Do you desire peace?  Then quit toying with fire.

 Revan's gaze became darker, and for a brief moment I saw something wild awaken in him—something unhinged.  "You believe I care about Jordan's spawn?", he said, moving forward once again.  The moment you entered Stormfang territory, you were mine.

 I didn't come voluntarily.  I retorted.

 You didn't run either.  His remarks struck more forcefully than a strike.

 I started to object, but he was correct.  I had not run.  I was unable to.  I didn't even know which way was out among treachery, heartache, and this pulsating turmoil inside of me.

 Two days before

 Bruised in body and spirit, I'd been pulled into Stormfang's territory.  When his guards tossed me into the guest rooms, which seemed more like a polished jail, Revan hadn't even glanced at me.  I assumed I would be forgotten.

 Revan, however, remembered.

 That night he knocked.  Not his soldiers.  Him

 “Eat,” he instructed, throwing a dish on the table.   “You’re not starving with my child inside you.” 

 "It's not yours," I grumbled.

 He remained unflinching.  "Not yet."

 I tossed the tray.  The dish broke against the wall behind him, food flying like my inner fury.

 That's when I saw he wasn't upset.  He seemed... entertained.

 Lora, throwing things won't alter who you are.  Or who you are becoming.

 What the hell is that supposed to mean?

 He left.

 That night I skipped dinner.

 Present:

 Now he stood inches from me again, eyes examining my face as though he could read all the terrible remnants Jordan left behind.

 “You don’t get to rewrite my fate,” I responded.   You don't get to choose who I belong to.

 His hand crept up, slowly—like he was touching a flame—and stroked a strand of hair off my cheek.   Then why does your heart rush every time I'm close?

 You scare me.

 Well.  You ought to be afraid.  His voice fell lower.  "I don't care whether you're broken."  I don't mind that he originally marked you.  I just want you to be mine.

 His lips were uncomfortably near.  His statements are too unrefined.

 I looked aside, but his fingers seized my chin.

 I'm not Jordan, he said.  I don't give up what belongs to me.

 I don't belong to you!  I shouted.

 But my body let me down—shivering at his touch, dissolving into his warmth.  I despised wanting him to kiss me.  I hated that his nearness seemed like protection and danger all at once. 

 You feel it, Lora, he said softly, breath touching my lips.  "You simply don't want to acknowledge it."

 I pushed him back once more.  "Even if I did... even if there was anything here, it would never work.  Jordan—he will come for the baby.

 Revan answered icily, "Let him."  I will bury him personally.

 The intensity in his speech made my knees give way.

 “I don’t need saving,” I muttered. 

 “Too late for that.” 

 I was unable to sleep that night.  Every nook and cranny of my mind was plagued by Revan.

 His gaze at me was not one of sympathy or remorse but rather one of ownership.

 No one had ever gazed at me like that.  Not even Jordan. 

 It horrified me how badly I wanted it.

 MORNING AFTER

 I crept outside for fresh air.  The guards now let me pass without interrogation.  Perhaps they believed I was innocuous.  Perhaps Revan advised them not to prevent me.

 Beyond Stormfang's estate, the woods were dense, quiet.  Until they were not.

 From my left came a deep snarl.  Then came a second.  I felt my spine tighten.

 Canines.

 But they weren't Revan's.

 I backed up too slowly.  From the undergrowth, a dark beast pounced at my legs.  I stumbled and fell roughly upon the mossy floor.  Behind it, another wolf with red blazing eyes showed up.

 Outlaws.

 Keep back!  I yelled, wrapping defensively about my abdomen.

 The first one attacked once more; suddenly a huge black wolf sprang from the trees and slammed into it mid-air.

 Revan

 He was unflinching.  Savage and handsome in a way that left me breathless, he tore through the rogues like a hurricane.

 The ground was drenched with blood.  Then came silence.

 Revan, muscles tight, chest heaving, moved back, totally naked under the moonlight.

 My face was on fire as I turned away.

 Rushing over, he remarked, "You're hurt."

 I'm okay, I said falsely.

 Beside me, he fell to his knees and ran his hands over my stomach and arms.  Should they have reached you—if something occurred to the infant—

 What would you do?  Kill more wolves?

 I'd murder everyone, he hissed.  You don't get what you are to me.

 Revan, I'm not your friend.

 "Not yet," he said once again.

 He helped me up; his hands stayed longer than necessary.  I felt his warmth penetrating me.  My heart raced.

 I despised him.

 I wished for him.

 Later in the evening:

 Sitting near the window, I gazed at the moon.

 Jordan had once said the moon goddess was flawless.

 He was untruthful.

 Perhaps I was the error.

 I put my hand on my stomach.  A glimmer of movement reminded me of all I had lost and all I still had to defend.

 There was a knock.  I stayed still.

 Revan let himself in nonetheless.

 Standing, I remarked, "I need answers."  Why should you care about me?  Why do you keep claiming I'm yours?

 "Because I felt you before I ever saw you," he added.  "Because I dreamt of a red-haired lady amid flames and stillness.  The instant I smelled you, something snapped in me.

 He moved closer.  Years have passed waiting for the companion who never arrived.  Now you are here—broken, pregnant, and all I never anticipated.

 You wish for me…  still like this?

 I need you.  Not your history.  Not your child.  Only you.

 I trembled.  This is not just.

 Nothing ever is.

 He gave me a kiss.

 I allowed him.

 His kisses were forceful, insistent.  But the way he gripped my waist showed kindness; the way he stroked my face showed respect.

 For a time, I forgot everything—Jordan, Eva, the treachery, the conflict.  There was just Revan and the way he made me feel not merely something to be exchanged.

 But as we separated, reality came slamming back.

 “You’re making a mistake,” I muttered. 

 That doesn't matter.

 Another knock broke the moment.

 Revan opened the door; one of his Betas ran in, panting.  Alpha, Black Moon wolves have crossed the boundary.  They want Lora.

 I felt my blood run cold.

 Revan's jaw tightened.  "They will go with a warning."

 "There's more," the Beta remarked.  Eva is among them.  She claims she is also expecting.

 The globe tilted.

 All I believed I knew crumbled.

 Revan turned to me gradually.  "Is it real?  Is she—?

 I was speechless.  Breathing was impossible.

 My fingers shook on my belly.

 Far away, the cries of conflict reverberated among the woods.