Page 39 of Claiming Xan (Shifters of Greymercy #7)
XAN
Work had picked up. The holidays were always our busiest season at The Candy Jar, and I’d been working extra hours, trying to save so I could buy last-minute Christmas gifts.
Not to mention, River had passed his driver’s test this week and I wanted to get him something special to celebrate. I was so damn proud of him.
It’d been a long-ass day. My lower back and feet were killing me, but besides a bit of flirting from TJ, which I’d fended off, it’d been a good day.
I was excited for tonight. River was picking me up and we were going to see a movie in an actual theatre. No funny business, just enjoyment.
Dumping the dirty mop water, I finished up my paperwork for the day and clocked out. My keys jangled as I pulled down the security shutters and locked the shop up, then headed for the exit.
I began walking through the parking lot. Tiny snowflakes blustered about, bringing with them a bitter chill to the air. I shivered and tugged my hood up, tucking my hands deeper into my pockets.
Something felt…off though. I paused and looked behind me, but there was nothing there. I sniffed, but all I smelled was crisp air and the coming snowstorm the forecast was calling for.
Weird. Still… I got this uneasy feeling, and immediately, my thoughts landed on Sky. Sky, whose eerie warning had lingered with me for weeks. Sky, whose tongue had dripped with jealousy and venom.
A tendril of fear coiled around my heart as I glanced around. I scented again, but again, nothing.
“Hello?” I called out to the mostly-empty parking lot. No one answered, of course. Why would they? If Sky was a wolf, he wouldn’t have words, anyway.
I turned back around—and screamed when someone grabbed my arm—but it wasn’t Sky.
“TJ? You scared the shit out of me, you asshole!” I slapped his chest, but he didn’t even have the good grace to flinch. “What are you even doing here? You got off hours ago!”
He stared at me, an unreadable expression on his face. His grip on my arm was firm, his fingers digging in. Another quiver shook through me. Had he been waiting for me?
“TJ? Let me go,” I said softly, but he didn’t. His expression turned clouded, then almost angry as he jerked me closer to him. I gasped. “TJ!”
“Tell me why you keep turning me down, Xan,” he uttered, his voice low. “I’ve done everything I could to make you like me. Everything I could think of. You’re all I think about, and you won’t even give me a chance!”
I swallowed hard, my chest tightening. Oh shit… “TJ, we’ve been over this—ow, stop!” I tried to pull back, but TJ yanked me closer. His fingers snared in my hair as he forced my head back, forced me to look at him, eye-to-eye.
“I’m tired of being denied what I want by an Omega bitch,” he hissed, his face so close to mine that I could nearly taste the sour tang of his breath. “I saw you first.”
He kissed me hard, rough, without care for my feelings. I bucked beneath him, but the hand in my hair sent pain shock-waving through me. I squealed and did the only thing I could think of—I bit down on his lip until the flesh popped and salty, coppery blood filled my mouth.
TJ reeled back with a roar of outrage, but he didn’t let me go. He slammed me bodily against the cold cement, then pinned me there with his body. It was dark and there was no one around to see me struggle—but damn, did I struggle.
TJ groped at me, his fingers yanking down the zipper of my jeans. I shrieked and tried to knee him in the ground, only to get my thighs yanked apart.
“STOP IT! STOP! HELP! HE?—”
“SHUT UP!” TJ snarled, knocking my head back against the ground.
Stars swam through my visions. “Boys like you like this kind of attention, remember? You always flaunt around like you want it, but I’m not allowed to touch.
” He sneered down at me. “I’m tired of your games, Xan.
Not anymore. I’m taking what I deserve.”
Tears burned my eyes. “TJ, please, don’t do this,” I pleaded. “I have a mate! I’m pregnant! I?—”
TJ covered my mouth, muffling anything else I might say, and I filled my lungs to scream again—and then wham!
TJ was thrown off of me and slammed to the ground by an unstoppable force, a dark form beginning to wail on the human Alpha.
I scrambled to my feet, panting and gasping for breath. TJ yelled and grunted, but the man didn’t stop. His fists just kept flying, but the unending growls told me exactly who had saved me.
“River!” I cried, but he didn’t stop—and he wasn’t going to, either. He’d kill TJ at this rate, and then he’d go to jail and I’d be alone. “RIVER!” I grabbed his arm before it could land another punch and tried to pull him away. “Stop! Please!”
“Xan!” Breathing heavily, he turned to me, looking me up and down. His eyes nearly glowed with rage. “Are you okay?”
“Please, let him go. He’s not worth the jail time. I need you,” I begged him, tugging on his arm again.
He seemed to consider it, then snarled down at TJ. “Touch him again and I’ll tear your fucking spine out,” he spat, then rose to his feet. I about sobbed with relief.
TJ, bloodied and bruised, stumbled to his feet, spitting out teeth as he went. “Fucking psycho!” he shouted before limping off.
River snarled, low and vicious, and for a heart-stopping moment, I feared he’d take chase. Instead, he scooped me up like I was a damsel in distress, and he carried me back to the car.
I collapsed in the passenger seat, shaking. “You could’ve killed him,” I whispered.
“I wanted to!” he snarled back, before punching the steering wheel. The horn blared, making me jump, and then the tears burst free.
I reached for River’s hand, squeezing it in mine. River was here. I was safe now. “You saved me…” I whispered. “Thank you.”
“You’re mine,” River growled. “If he ever touches you again, I’ll do more than break his face! I’ll break off his dick and leave him for the crows.”
He huffed out an angry breath, then sucked in a deep inhalation, like he was trying to calm himself. For several long moments, we just sat in the car, me with tears streaming down my cheeks, and River silently steaming.
He reached over and wiped the tears away with the backs of his knuckles. “Xan… Baby, don’t cry.”
“I was scared,” I admitted.
“I know. When I heard your scream, I got scared too.” He frowned. “That was the sleazy coworker you always talk about, wasn’t it? You need to bring this up with your boss. He can’t be allowed to do shit like this.”
I sighed, but I knew River was right. “Okay,” I agreed. I knew Roger wouldn’t listen, but maybe if I brought River along, he would. “I’ll talk to him. Let’s just go home? Please? I wanna go home.” I sniffed and wiped my face with my coat sleeve, no longer in the mood for our theatre date.
“On our way,” River promised me.