[...Continued from ]
Autumn flinched back, pressing herself against the oak. Her fingers dug into the bark.Her breath hitched as she tried to cover her nakedness with her arms.
"Fuck..." she hissed under her breath, shrinking further behind the massive trunk.
Her arms fumbled, trying to cover herself properly though there was barely enough skin left untouched to hide. Leaves rustled around her.
A figure stepped forward coming into full view with the same damned smirk Autumn remembered him wearing before. That lazy, knowing, unbothered expression, like nothing in the world could touch him.
Her mysterious savior, who called himself "An enemy of your enemy " ... who had come to offer her a way out when Kieran had locked her up in that attic.
The man’s smirk widened real slow, as his silver eyes traced the curve of her body. He took another single step forward.
But his boots didn’t crunch over the dead leaves...he was gliding... almost floating.
"I know what you want, little wolf." His voice was a velvet purr, wrapping around her like smoke. "I know you want him to hurt... just like you do.You want him to ache. To bleed. To fall on his knees and beg like you did...Don’t you?"
Autumn’s pulse spiked. The words slithered into her skull...coaxing...the imagery of it was so tempting.
She swallowed hard. "How the hell did you get into Skarthheim borders?" Her voice was sharp, but it wavered. "You must have a death wish. Are you stalking me? How did you know I would be here?"
He didn’t answer. Just smiled.
"You see, little wolf," he murmured, tilting his head, "I am not bound by borders. I am like the wind."
A shiver raced down her spine.
Autumn’s eyes flicked around...half expecting the land itself to rise up and crush him ( given what she had heard about , keeping things ’in’ and what happened to those that tried to defy those laws...from those warriors...the thought wasn’t far-fetched. Was it?).
But nothing happened.
Even Skarthheim, with all its so-called terrifying protection techniques...didn’t seem to notice him.
He stepped even closer.
Autumn pressed her back to the bark.
His hand extended towards her again, palm up, fingers curled in invitation...just like before. Just like the night she had foolishly chosen Kieran over him... over freedom... and peace of mind.
Autumn’s wolf growled low in her chest, but the sound was weaker than before. Uncertain.
"What are you proposing?" she asked, careful.
His grin widened. "Proposal?" A dark chuckle reverberated inside his throat. "Oh, you mean how we are going to make Kieran Blackmoon suffer?" He held her gaze, unblinking. "Well, to start with, there’s a pretty basic step."
Another step forward. Close enough now that she could smell his iron and dangerous sweet. His fingers brushed the bark beside her head, trailing over the grooves her claws had left earlier.
"There are many ways to hurt him," he murmured, his voice dropping to a sinful whisper. "One can be done right here."
His gaze dragged down her body again, lingering on every exposed curve, every shuddering breath. His nostrils flared slightly, as if savoring her scent.
Something about the way he looked at her...feral...like he wanted to devour her raw...sent a jolt of forbidden heat straight to her core.
No!!! She clenched her thighs together, her wolf bristling.
"Fuck off," she snarled, shifting back into her wolf form in a burst.
But he only laughed, unfazed.
"Running won’t help, little wolf," he taunted, circling her. "You can’t hide from what you want."
She bared her fangs. "I don’t want you."
"Huh? Were we talking about wanting me now? I thought we were talking about hurting your so called fated mate...I heard you wanted to fuck your mate bond....Correct me if I am wrong..." His grin turned wicked.
Autumn was stunned for a while, unsure of how she was supposed to respond to that. She felt stupid and heat rushed to her cheeks.
" By the way, to keep the record straight...I must inform you...I felt your pulse jump when I looked at you. I smelled your arousal."
The colour on Autumn’s cheeks deepened and she felt so hot on her cheeks it was as if someone had slapped them. " You are... you are disgusting! "
"Me? Disgusting? Am I?" He tilted his head. "Or are you just afraid of how much you like it?Me looking at you..."
But her wolf snapped at the air.
However he stepped closer, undeterred by her snapping jaws. "Let me put it this way," he murmured, leaning down until his lips nearly brushed the pointed tip of her wolf ear. "You want revenge? I can give it to you. And it won’t just break him...it will ruin him...just like he has been doing with you..."
"All you have to do is say yes."
The thought was intoxicating.Especially in the state she was in... nothing else mattered... just her pain... And this overwhelming urge for revenge... this unease that he wasn’t as miserable as she was... the need to make him see what she was going through... make him go through the same hell...
"How?" The word slipped out before she could stop it.
His grin widened. "Oh, little wolf," he murmured, stepping so close she could feel the unnatural heat radiating off him. "There are so many delicious ways."One finger traced the curve of her wolf’s back.
"You could let him ’feel’," he whispered, his lips brushing her ear. "Let him ’feel’ what he’s lost. Let him see how easily you come apart under another man’s hands."
A gust of wind swept through the clearing but it didn’t come from the trees.
Shadows curled around his boots, like smoke licking up from scorched earth.Autumn’s nails bit into her palms.
She shoved him back with a snarl. " Watch your tongue. I am not a fucking whore. I am not some fucking pawn in anybody’s fucking games."
He chuckled, unfazed. "Aren’t you?" His silver eyes gleamed. "You already are, I think... The real question is...whose game do you want to play?"
Autumn seethed and gulped... both at the same time.
"Mine just happens to be far more fun... "