Page 26 of Rising Reign (The Wolves of Crescent Creek #3)

WREN

I kept a close eye on Puck all afternoon.

The moment we came back inside, he’d donned his mask.

The one of the flirty charmer. He’d laid it on thick for Ginger when she and Amos came in for date night and had gone above and beyond slinging drinks and chatting up everyone in the bar. Everyone except for me.

Annoyance and worry battled within me as I felt the distance growing. And it sure as hell didn’t help that Rhys watched the whole thing like he was taking in a tennis match. By the time our replacements came in for the dinner shift, I was cranky and more than a little pissed off.

Normally, Puck wouldn’t have let that stand. He would’ve pressed to know what was bothering me. Instead, he remained completely silent as he drove Rhys and me home.

Rhys leaned forward from the back seat, his focus moving between us like that tennis match was back in action. “Am I the only one feeling the awkwardness? ”

“You’re lucky you’re not feeling my hand ripping out your heart,” Puck muttered as he hit a button to open the gate onto Arcane territory.

I turned toward the window, watching the familiar trees pass as the road curved toward the house.

It only took a handful of minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

The moment Puck slowed the SUV, I was out and heading for the house.

As soon as I hauled the door open, the other guys and Hera were there.

Kingston looked particularly surly. “Puck said something happened. What?” he growled.

Locke moved into my space, his hand cupping my face as he swept my body to make sure I wasn’t injured. “You’re okay?”

“I’m totally fine,” I assured him.

“Then why,” Ender snarled, struggling to keep his breathing even, “is there a healing blade mark on your arm?”

A series of growls lit the air, and Brix moved to lift my arm for inspection. “This looks like it was deep.”

“Barely a scratch,” Rhys huffed.

“A deep wound because you wanted to conduct some sick experiment,” Puck snapped.

All eyes moved to Rhys, but Ender prowled toward him. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“She was perfectly safe,” Rhys defended. “I would’ve stepped in if things had gotten out of hand.”

“The fuck you would’ve. You knew Dent was out there. Knew he would try to kill Wren. You told me you had her back, but you’re a goddamned liar,” Puck snarled.

Kingston moved so quickly Rhys didn’t have a prayer of defense. His fist lashed out, striking Rhys square in the nose with a sickening crunch.

Rhys doubled over, cupping his face. “Damn it all to hell. You broke it.”

“You deserve far worse. You asked for our trust and betrayed it the first chance you got,” Kingston ground out. “You’re lucky I didn’t take your head.”

I crossed to King and placed a hand on his arm. “That’s taking it a little far. He really was trying to assess my fighting skills.”

“I don’t give a damn,” Kingston roared. “You could’ve been seriously hurt. Killed.” He hauled me against him, his breaths ragged.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, giving him what he needed. Contact. The assurance that I was all right.

“I need some air,” Puck muttered, heading back out the door.

My eyes followed him as he left, but I kept a hold of King. It was as if I were being pulled in infinite directions because we were all falling apart.

Rhys straightened and cracked his nose back into place. He let out a stream of curses at the fresh wave of pain.

I met his gaze with a pointed stare. “You did deserve that one.”

Ender snickered. “At least it wasn’t my nose for once.”

“I can remedy that,” Rhys challenged.

I released my hold on King and looked up into his eyes. “Are you okay?”

His hands ghosted over my face. “I’m all right.” He brushed his lips over mine. “Can’t stand the thought of you being hurt in any way.”

“I feel the same about you.” The idea that any of them could be injured because of some danger I’d put them in was almost more than I could take.

Kingston kissed me again. “We’ll get through it together.”

“Together,” I whispered, glancing over my shoulder at the still wide-open door.

“Go,” King said softly. “He needs you.”

I looked up at our alpha, searching his pale-blue gaze. “You’re sure?”

He nodded and then kissed my forehead. “Go. We’ve got things handled here.”

I didn’t wait. I took off at a jog out the door, hoping that having things handled didn’t mean a group beatdown of Rhys.

I scented the air and followed the trail of smoky whiskey.

Puck had put some serious distance between him and the house, but I finally found him about a mile away.

He’d followed the creek’s path and stood staring at the bubbling water in the twilight.

His blond hair caught the purplish light, making it almost glow. But as I approached, his muscles stiffened. “I need some time, Wren.”

Wren. Not Birdie, like he usually called me. It was as if he was creating an invisible distance between us.

“Not leaving you alone when you’re hurting,” I said softly.

The tension flowing through Puck twisted his muscles tighter. One second, he stood before me as a man. The next, a golden wolf was bounding away.

I cursed, instantly letting my wolf free. She gladly accepted the challenge, but our shift wasn’t as quick as Puck’s. We could make up for that with our speed on the ground. That was the thing about growing up as a submissive. You got fast.

My paws hit the forest floor in a thundering beat as I chased Puck’s trail. It wasn’t long before I caught him in my sights, a flash of gold in the darkening woods.

I pushed harder, my muscles burning and my lungs heaving, but I gained. His smoky whiskey scent grew stronger, and it was the fuel I needed.

With one last push, I launched myself into the air. I caught Puck on the fly, the force of my leap taking us both to the ground in a roll. We landed just beside the creek on a mossy embankment.

I didn’t wait. My teeth pressed to the side of Puck’s neck, pressure without puncture. But I’d bite if I needed to.

Puck let out a low, frustrated growl. But then he shifted back to his human form, and a completely naked man was underneath me.