Page 10 of Alien Huntsman (Alien Wolf Tales #2)
CHAPTER 10
K orrin stalked the edges of the clearing in front of the cabin as dawn broke over the mountains, his eyes scanning the treeline. The morning air carried a thousand scents—evergreens, soil, small game moving through the underbrush—but his attention kept returning to the cabin where Tessa slept.
He’d risen before first light, restless and agitated. The possessive growl that had escaped him last night still echoed in his mind. The way her eyes had widened, not with fear but with something that looked like… interest.
Dangerous. This was all dangerous.
A twig snapped beneath his boot as he completed another circuit. He’d told himself a hundred times he would leave once she was settled. The supplies were stocked, the cabin secure. There was no reason to stay.
Yet here he was, guarding the perimeter like a territorial male.
One of the pups tumbled out the half-open door, followed by its siblings. They spotted him and raced over, yipping and stumbling on oversized paws. Despite himself, he crouched down, letting them climb over his boots and nip at his fingers.
“You’re getting bolder,” he muttered, scratching behind a grey pup’s ears. “Going to be trouble soon.”
Movement at the doorway caught his eye. Tessa stood there, hair loose around her shoulders, watching him with the pups. His chest tightened at the sight of her.
She belonged here. The thought ambushed him, powerful and certain. Not just in the cabin or the clearing, but with him. The realization should have sent him running in the opposite direction. Instead, he found himself rising to his feet, drawn towards her like iron to a lodestone.
“You’re up early,” she said, smiling as he approached.
“Someone has to keep watch.”
“From what?” She gestured to the peaceful forest. “Deadly berry bushes?”
His lips twitched. “Funny.”
Her teasing smile was doing things to him he couldn’t explain. He’d spent years alone, convinced he preferred it that way. Now the thought of returning to that solitude felt hollow.
“I should check the fish trap,” he said, though he’d already done so at first light.
“I’ll come with you.” She stepped closer, and the morning sunlight caught in her dark curls. “Unless you’d rather be alone?”
He should say yes. Push her away. Remember what humans had done to his mother, to his kind.
“No,” he said instead. “I don’t want to be alone.”
She started to herd the pups back towards the cabin when the air shifted. His nostrils flared, catching an unfamiliar scent that hadn’t been there moments before.
Vultor. Male. In beast form.
The pups whimpered, pressing against her legs. Their instincts were sharper than any human’s—they’d sensed the threat as well.
“Get inside,” he growled, his voice dropping an octave as his beast rose to the surface.
She gave him a startled look, confusion crossing her face. “What’s wrong?”
The wind shifted again, carrying the scent stronger now. Too close. Too deliberate in its approach. This wasn’t a random encounter—the stranger was tracking something. Or someone.
He didn’t wait to explain. His protective instincts exploded through him, overwhelming all rational thought.
Protect her.
He launched himself toward the treeline, his body already shifting mid-leap. Bones cracked and reformed, muscles stretched and bulged as fur erupted across his skin. The transformation was painful but quick—he’d learned long ago to embrace the pain rather than fight it.
His claws dug into the forest floor as he landed on all fours, now fully in his beast form. His senses sharpened further, the world around him becoming a vivid tapestry of scents and sounds. The stranger’s trail was clear now—circling the clearing, watching, assessing.
He let loose a warning growl that rumbled through the forest. Mine. This territory, this woman, these pups—all under his protection.
He stalked forward, following the scent. Whoever this intruder was, they were about to learn a painful lesson about trespassing. His hackles rose as he detected a shift in the stranger’s movement—no longer circling but approaching.
His vision turned red as he charged deeper into the forest, determined to meet the threat head-on before it could reach his mate. He burst through a thick patch of underbrush, snarling as he locked eyes with the intruder. The stranger stood in a small clearing, already fully shifted into beast form—and he was massive. Easily a head taller than him, with shoulders twice as broad and limbs corded with muscle beneath dark silver fur. Battle scars criss crossed his muzzle and chest, telling stories of fights won against formidable opponents.
The stranger didn’t attack immediately. Instead, he watched him with calculating yellow eyes, his posture neither submissive nor overtly aggressive. He tilted his head, nostrils flaring as he took in Korrin’s scent.
It didn’t matter. This beast was too close to the cabin. Too close to Tessa.
His rational mind recognized the stranger wasn’t actively threatening, but his beast didn’t care. Someone had invaded his territory, endangered what was his. Blood roared in his ears, drowning out everything but the primal need to protect.
He launched himself at the larger Vultor, claws extended and jaws open in a savage roar. The stranger barely had time to brace himself before he slammed into him, driving him backward into a tree trunk that cracked under the impact.
The larger beast recovered quickly, swinging a massive paw that caught him across the shoulder. Pain exploded through his body as claws raked deep, but he twisted away before the stranger could get a grip on him. The wound would heal, but not if he gave his opponent time to press his advantage.
He darted in again, faster than the bulkier Vultor could counter. His jaws clamped down on the stranger’s foreleg, teeth sinking through fur and muscle. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he tore away, dancing back from the retaliatory swipe.
They circled each other, both bleeding now. The stranger growled, a sound that might have been meant to communicate, but he was beyond listening. His beast had taken control, driven by something more powerful than territorial instinct.
He was fighting for her. For Tessa.
The thought of her—her scent, her smile, the way she’d kissed his cheek—fueled him with renewed strength. He feinted left, then ducked under the stranger’s guard to rake his claws across the beast’s underbelly. The larger Vultor howled in pain and fury, but Korrin was already moving again, too quick to catch despite his opponent’s superior size and strength.
His claws dug into the stranger’s chest, pinning the larger Vultor against the forest floor. Blood matted both their fur, but he barely felt his wounds through the haze of battle fury. The stranger thrashed beneath him, powerful but tiring. Victory surged through his veins as he lowered his head, jaws opening wide to clamp around the exposed throat.
One bite. One decisive move to end this threat.
A sudden cascade of icy water crashed over them both.
He reared back, sputtering and shaking his head as the cold shock yanked him from his battle trance.
“STOP IT! Both of you, stop right now!”
Tessa’s voice cut through the fog of his rage. She stood a few feet away, empty bucket in hand, her face flushed with exertion and her eyes blazing. The pups clustered behind her legs, whimpering.
“I said STOP!”
The larger Vultor had gone still beneath him, making no move to capitalize on his distraction. Instead, those yellow eyes flicked between the two of them with what looked almost like… amusement?
Shame crashed through him as his rational mind reasserted control. He eased off the stranger and shifted back to human form, the transformation rippling painfully through his injured body. He crouched naked on the forest floor, chest heaving, water dripping from his hair.
“What were you thinking?” Tessa demanded, her voice trembling. “You could have killed each other!”
He couldn’t meet her eyes. She’d seen him. Seen the beast in all its savage glory, teeth bared for the kill. Not the controlled predator he’d shown her before, but the monster—the part of himself he’d tried to keep hidden.
“I…” His voice came out rough. “He was too close. I thought…”
He’d thought what? That she was in danger? The stranger hadn’t even been moving toward the cabin. He’s simply reacted, his beast taking over at the first hint of another male near what it considered theirs.
The realization sickened him. He wasn’t protecting her. He was possessing her.
The larger Vultor remained in beast form, watching him.
His muscles remained coiled tight as the stranger lowered his massive head. The Vultor’s eyes—intelligent even in beast form—darted between him and Tessa.
“No harm,” the stranger growled, his voice guttural but the words unmistakable.
Before he could respond, the massive creature turned and melted into the trees, his dark fur blending with the shadows until only the rustling of undergrowth marked his passage.
He remained frozen, every sense straining after the retreating Vultor. His beast prowled beneath his skin, urging him to pursue, to make absolutely certain the threat was gone. The scent of the stranger lingered in the clearing—unfamiliar, powerful, an intrusion on what his primal side had already marked as his territory.
A small, warm hand slipped into his.
The touch shocked him back to awareness. Tessa stood beside him, her fingers twining with his. Her skin felt impossibly soft against his calloused palm. her sweet scent wrapped around him, calming, comforting.
“Are you okay?” she asked quietly, her eyes searching his face.
He swallowed hard. His beast, so agitated moments before, settled at her touch. The bloodlust receded, replaced by an entirely different hunger that he fought to suppress.
“I’m fine,” he managed, though his voice came out rougher than he intended.
He should pull away. Should put distance between them. Instead, his fingers tightened around hers.
“You’re bleeding,” she said, reaching up with her free hand to touch a gash on his shoulder.
The slight pressure of her fingertips sent a jolt through him. He sucked in a sharp breath, suddenly intensely aware of his nakedness, of her proximity, of how easily he could pull her against him. Every instinct screamed at him to pull her into his arms, to bury his face in her hair and breathe in her scent until the last traces of the intruder were gone from his senses. His fingers tightened around hers, his body swaying forward before he caught himself.
What was happening to him? This small human female had him fighting his own nature, desperate for her touch while simultaneously terrified by how much he needed it.
“You need to let me clean that,” she said, her eyes fixed on the gash across his shoulder. Blood trickled down his chest, but she showed no disgust, no fear of the crimson staining his skin or the violence she’d just witnessed. “Come inside.”
She tugged at his hand, trying to lead him toward the cabin. He remained rooted in place, his muscles locked as he struggled against the warring impulses inside him. His beast prowled restlessly beneath his skin, still agitated from the confrontation, demanding he sweep her up and claim what it already considered theirs.
“Korrin.” Her voice softened. “Please.”
That single word broke through his defenses. He allowed her to pull him forward, one reluctant step at a time. His senses remained on high alert, scanning the treeline, nostrils flaring for any hint the stranger might return.
Inside the cabin, she released his hand and moved to the stove where a pot of water simmered. He immediately felt the loss of her touch, an emptiness spreading through him that made no sense. He’d survived alone for years. He didn’t need anyone’s comfort.
Yet he watched her every movement as she gathered clean cloths and herbs, his beast settling only when she returned to his side.
“Sit,” she instructed, gesturing to a stool by the fire.
He had enough sense to pull on a pair of pants before he obeyed, his eyes never leaving her face as she dampened a cloth and began to clean the blood from his skin. Her touch was gentle but firm, and when she caught him watching her, she smiled at him.
How could she be so unafraid of the beast she’d seen emerge?
Because she’s ours.