Page 25 of Crossed Fates

But hell if I could make myself focus now.

I pushed through the house, ignoring everyone and everything in my path, and burst out through the door of the back patio.

Then I took off at a sprint into the woods.I just need to run and breathe.

Run and breathe.

Run.

And.

Breathe.

Makayla

So,this is awkward,I thought as I took in the room of grieving wolves.

My heart had broken a little for Alaric, his family, and his pack. Not just because of the loss of his brother, but because of the innate tension flourishing through the small space. Something had clearly happened between Alaric and his pack, something that had alienated him or caused him to feel like an outsider. The discomfort still lingered in the air, making it difficult to swallow.

No wonder Alaric bolted.

His emotion had been so raw that I briefly considered waiting until later to approach him, but time wasn’t something we had a lot of at the moment. This situation had clusterfuck written all over it. They’d even mentioned that another girl had been taken.Gloria.What did the disappearances have to do with the silver poisoning? Clearly something since Vex had received a call about it.

I really need to talk to Alaric about that call.

If anything, he’d probably appreciate a distraction.

Besides, I’d known the guy for less than a day, so I didn’t feel any guilt about originally keeping the information to myself. However, staying silent going forward would be a real dick move. If that had been my brother lying in that bed, I’d kill anyone—and have every right to—who denied me information that would bring his killer to justice.

Decided, I slipped away to find Alaric. Not that anyone noticed me to begin with; they were all too lost to their grief to pay attention to me.

Alaric’s woodsy scent surrounded me as I stepped outside, but I didn’t see him. Following my nose, I discovered him pacing in the woods at the back of the property.

His fists clenched at his sides as his body trembled with unadulterated aggression. It whipped across my senses, provoking my wolf. His anger and hostility had mounted over the last several hours, reaching a high point now.

“When was the last time you shifted?” I demanded, recognizing the animal in his pacing.His inner beast craves freedom.

Alaric paused and slowly raised his head. His eyes were black, his wolf barely contained, both the man and the animal filled with rage. “Go the hell away,mate,” he growled, spitting the last word as though it left a dirty taste in his mouth.

“But—”

“Not another word,” he bit out. “Unless you want to fight or fuck, go away.”

My brows shot up to my hairline. “Excuse me?”

He stalked toward me, his expression akin to an animal hunting its prey. My wolf urged me to run because she knew he would chase. And if his wolf caught her, he would mount her. Which led me to thinking about Alaric taking me like an animal from behind.Shit!

As Alaric drew closer, I mentally snapped at my wolf to control herself and held my ground. I’d never been one to back down, yet anxiety danced around the edges of my arousal.What the hell?I’d faced bigger, scarier men in my job and had never felt a twinge of uncertainty or fear.One super-hot alpha looks at me like he’s going to eat me for lunch, dinner—and dessert—and I’m freaking out?

The wicked smile that spread across his face told me he smelled my interest. If he hadn’t just watched his brother die, I would’ve knocked that expression right off his face.

I assumed he would stop prowling forward when I didn’t back up in defeat. But he kept advancing, stirring a shiver deep within me. My face heated, partly from the dominant vibes coming off Alaric in waves and partly because I took an involuntary step back.

Arrrrgh! Don’t back down,I screamed at myself. And yet, I retreated another four steps with Alaric immediately eclipsing all the space I’d put between us. My back hit a tree, halting me midstep as he cornered me against the bark wall behind me.

Well, shit.

Alaric pressed into me, his palms settling on the tree trunk on either side of my head to cage me between his arms. I swallowed hard at the glimpse of fury and lust in his intense gaze. The emotions coiled so tightly together that I doubted he knew the difference between them. “You heard me, Makayla.”