CHAPTER 4 Wolf!

　　Abigail's POV

　　Jolting upright from my nightmare, startled by the loud bangs on my door, the force behind each thud seemingly getting worse.

　　"Ouch," I whined, finding myself on the floor looking up at my bed, my head throbbing uncontrollably from the impact of the fall and the unnecessary thundering on my door.

　　"Red, I am coming in; I haven't got all day." Recognizing the voice instantly, I frowned; no one calls me Red. The door handle turned, causing the last whispers of sleep to vanish and my nightmare with it. My whole body felt empty, almost like all the energy had been sucked out of me, but from what I remember, the nightmare had been paralysing. I didn't eat last night, rationalising inwardly that how I felt was normal—pushing myself back onto my heels, trying to find the motivation to pull myself up onto the bed. I was startled back to reality by a voice beside me.

　　"Why are you on the floor? Earth to Red?" I heard him suck in a breath and guessed I had hurt my head in the fall. It felt like I had. "Are you ok? Your head!" The concern in his voice was unmistakable. Which infuriated me further; bringing my hand up to the source of my headache, I felt a little cut and a small trickle of blood, nothing my hair wouldn't hide.

　　"Perhaps some inconsiderate asshole was banging on my door at stupid O'clock in the morning, making me jump, scaring the crap out of me," I growled as I pulled my aching body back onto the bed, wiping the blood on my PJs. My eyes lifted to meet those jade hues I had no doubt were watching me.

　　"It's the middle of the afternoon, actually." His tone was so flippant. All concern gone. "I came to return your phone; I picked it up yesterday when you threw it." Narrowing my eyes at him, he continued, the nervousness not lost on me. "I forgot till I got home when I realised I popped it on charge for you. But the damn thing rang every 30 seconds, so I turned it off. Your Mother?"

　　Sighing heavily, my expression softened as I looked at him feeling guilty for snapping at him; sincerity spread across my face.

　　"Thank you, I am sorry, I am a little grumpy in the mornings." I watched him apologetically as he dug in his pocket and held my phone to me, which I took gratefully, she'd have had a fit if I lost thing!

　　"Every 30 seconds, huh?" I asked, embarrassed by my Mother's protectiveness and not for the first time. I could feel Damien's eyes watching me as I turned the phone on, looking up at him while it loaded, preparing myself for those soft green eyes I knew I could get lost in if not careful. He nodded, his lips turning into a playful smirk that sent ripples up my spine and a deepening of my cheeks.

　　"Nice PJS Red!" My cheeks instantly blushed a deeper shade of scarlet as I remembered the Stitch PJ's I had on.

　　"OUT," I yelled, pointing to the door. His hands raised in surrender, his eyes full of mischief even as he backed out of the room and closed it behind him with a wink. Throwing myself back on the bed and groaning into my pillow in defeat. Thoughts of those confident green orbs and how he had just looked at me vanished, hearing my phone ringing. My Mother's picture flashed on the screen. Inhaling sharply, I answered, knowing she was without a doubt worried sick as I never checked in with her last night. Hitting an answer with a sigh, I laid back on the bed, preparing myself for the anger I was about to face.

　　Fifteen minutes into trying to appease my Mother's anxiety and assure her I was ok, my phone beeped with another call from an unknown number. Apologising to my Mother, I put her on hold and took the call.

　　"Ms Nakia," Nodding, hearing the gruff voice on the other end of the call, I realised he could not see me nod; I was about to confirm it was me when he started talking at me again. "I have been trying to get hold of you all morning; your apartment is ready. Alice told me you had arrived safely, so if you would like to pick up the keys?" Quickly making arrangements to collect the keys, I ended the call; despite his abruptness, I could have kissed him for helping me out of this B&B.

　　Returning to my Mother's call and apologising, explaining I had to meet my landlord, pacifying her with promises to call her as soon as I had time. Relief spread through my body as I looked around the dated room; I would not have to spend another night in this room. The wallpaper had seen better days; faded images of cherubs and angels fashioned the walls. Smiling, I wondered what Alice would think if she knew a real angel had spent the night in this room and she looked nothing like those images. Eyeing the closet, I was not ashamed to admit I would not miss those creepy dolls!

　　Dressing quickly in a strappy summer dress the same shade as my eyes, flip flops, and my hair pulled up into a messy bun on top of my head, the odd wild curl refusing to stay in its confines instead spiralling down my neck rebelling against the heat. I would have to do it!

　　I had agreed to meet him at the town meeting, which according to the clock on the dressing table, was in 30 minutes, and I still had to find it and settle my bill. Dragging my case to the door after packing all my bits, I looked at the room and closed the door on the nightmares within it.

　　"What sort of establishment doesn't have an elevator these days!" I grumbled to myself, carrying the case down the stairs, already hot and grumpy from the August heat. So absorbed in my thoughts, I walked straight into a wall of solid flesh, the air around me filling with the familiar scent of Damien that had me swallowing hard. Turning and grinned at me, that devilish grin that I am sure had charmed many girls into his arms and bed. Myself included, if I let my guard down too much, I noted. Determined that would not be how I made my mark on this town I pushed down the attraction I felt.

　　"Don't you have anywhere better to be than in my way!" I chirped, confused by his constant presence; walking around him, I plastered a smile on my face as I approached Alice.

　　"Apology accepted, Red" He chuckled to himself. Ignoring him, I paid my bill in cash; the look of amusement that seemed to be hiding on Alice's face as she looked between us was not lost on me, but I refused to acknowledge it.

　　"Alice, I have to meet my new landlord at the town meeting. A man called Jim. Could you point me toward the town hall, please?" I asked sweetly, trying to rise above the charged atmosphere in this small reception room.

　　"Jim?" I heard Damien's voice come from behind my right ear, his breath warm on my neck. When had he approached me? How had I not noticed his closeness? "Seriously, Red?" I could hear the distaste in his voice, and his face didn't exactly hide it either. "He is a sleazeball. God knows what you will catch in that place." My eyes narrowed on Damien, his expensive jeans and designer shirt not lost on me.

　　"Not all of us can afford the luxury. We must make do." My tone was irked by his arrogance.

　　I observed Alice come around the counter and gently touch Damien's arm, clearly trying to reassure him.

　　"Does Abigail here seem the sort of young lady to take any man's crap, Damien? No! And if Jim is an issue, sweetheart, you can come back here. Ok?" she added, addressing me with stern eyes that left no room for question.

　　"Damien and I are off to the town meeting; we will walk you. Damien, sweetie, can you take Abigail's case." She directed, taking my arm in hers and pulling me towards the exit; for a little woman, she had a fierce grip.Turning my head over my shoulder, I stuck my tongue out at Damien childishly.

　　"Shall we go before we end up standing at the back of the hall thanks to someone sleeping half the day away?" Feeling the embarrassment spread across my face, I pulled my tongue back in just as Damien snapped his teeth at it playfully, catching me by surprise.

　　Arriving at the town hall, I stared up at the beautiful building. It was nothing like Alices. It was clearly a building that had been looked after and was no stranger to a lick of paint and a deep clean. I felt a hand on my back pushing me forward; looking over my shoulder, I smiled, knowing by the sparks that licked up my spine that it was Damien.

　　"It's beautiful," I gushed. Alice's tight grip on my arm pulled me forward in a rush.

　　"No seats." She grumbled, one eyebrow cocked as she looked at me disapprovingly; the meeting had clearly started, and we had interrupted.

　　"Sorry," I mouthed to Alice and all the eyes that fell on us. Damien left, walking down to a young couple who sat up front, whispering something to them, they moved over, making room for one more. Nodding to Alice, he motioned for her to come and take the seat.

　　"Damien is such a kind boy; you know Abigail. Don't be too hard on him." She whispered with a loving squeeze of my hands as she rushed to take the seat; only when she was settled did he make his way to the back of the hall to stand beside me. Staring up at him, a little more than curious about who this man was under the sarcasm and charm. A smirk played on my lips, seeing embarrassment wash over his face and a slight colour rush to his cheeks.

　　Giggling, feeling his hand on my jaw, his eyes never leaving the front of the hall, his finger sliding across my jaw to cup my jaw, turning my head towards the front of the hall to where someone had started the meeting again. Ignoring his attempt to silence me, I looked back at him.

　　"Not such an ass after all!" I tried to whisper to him, chuckling, feeling the tingle from his fingers on my cheek flirtatiously. Sighing as he cupped my chin again, twisting my head towards the front again. Seeing a set of unusually dark eyes studying me angrily, my laughter immediately stopped. My angelic senses kicked in, and recognizing the beast behind the eyes; I swallowed hard.

　　Wolf!

　　My senses screamed at me to run; I didn't have a good track record with wolves! They could never get a reading on me, so they usually attacked first and asked questions later. Being mauled by a wolf was not how I wanted to be remembered in this town, either!

　　As if sensing my unease, Damien draped his arm around my shoulder, which seemed to aggravate the situation; giving his arm a shrug to remind him to remove it, I tried to pull my eyes from the angry wolf, wanting him to know I was no threat. Damien held me to him almost protectively, unfazed by the anger that was coming off the male in the corner in waves. In fact, if I was not mistaken, he seemed to be enjoying winding him up, his thumb caressing the rose of my cheeks.

　　"Damien, be careful," I whispered nervously.

　　"I thought you took no shit, Red." His breath was so close to my neck that I felt a shiver with anticipation.

　　"I don't!" I pouted stubbornly sucking in a breath feeling his lips hovering incredibly close to mine, was he going to kiss me? Did I want him too?

　　"Then prove it," He challenged, running his thumb over my bottom lip with a smirk- Just as all hell broke loose around us.