Page 80 of The Wolf Lord's Mate

Standing there in the doorway, Nathaniel's towering form was rigid, fists clenched and eyes black with anger. I had never seen Nathaniel like that, practically shaking with rage, his sharp jaw so tight that it looked like the tendons in his neck might pop.

Nathaniel seemed larger somehow, his shadow longer, the swell of the musculature beneath his clothes more defined; something inside of him was reaching out, bursting at the seams to be let loose. A lesser Wolf would not have been able to contain themself, but Nathaniel was different.

Gods, he was different.

"I do not mean to trouble you, your Lordship," The other Wolf's voice held a thread of hesitation in the face of Nathaniel's blossoming fury, "One of your humans made a mess of things, and she must correct her mistake. It's nothing to worry yourself with, we will be done in a moment."

"You will be done now." Nathaniel's voice was deathly calm, and the Wolf behind me stiffened.

"Your Lordship—"

"—Remove your hand." Nathaniel's attention had not shifted from me, not once lifting to meet the other Wolf's eyes.

Sliding his gaze along my person, it landed on where I was clutching my arm to my chest. A growl ripped from Nathaniel's throat, curling into a snarl that forced his teeth to bare, "What happened? "

"She burned herself tending to the fire, it's her own fault that she was not careful enough." The hand on my neck tightened before disappearing completely, only a rush of air in the empty space behind me that followed a heavy thud on the floor below.

And then Nathaniel was there.

And then nothing else mattered.

I was safe.

"Here, little one," Nathaniel whispered into my hair as a warm arm wrapped around my waist, sweeping me against his broad chest, "I will take of this, I promise."

I said nothing, only offering a minuscule nod before leaning in against him, a whimper escaping my lips the moment his scent hit me. Nathaniel's expression crumbled at that pathetic sound, my cowering form only fanning the flames of his vitriol.

"Have I done something to offend you?" The Wolf called out, rubbing at a space on his jaw where a blood bruise was forming beneath the skin. It would likely turn purple by the morning, swelling into a painful mark across his jaw.

The Wolf had been knocked flat on his back, although I was not entirely sure what had occurred due to Nathaniel's speed. All I knew was that in the span of a few seconds, Nathaniel had managed to rip the Wolf off of me and send him flying halfway across the room.

The Wolf was not as large as Nathaniel—I had yet to meet a Wolf who was, although Walton was close—but he was still much bigger than the typical male, and yet Nathaniel had removed him like a speck of dust.

"Your presence offends me, as does the way in which you touched a female that does not belong to you.

This is my home, these are my staff, and this is my female.

" Nathaniel's words dripped with malice, a snarl curling his lips that should have terrified me.

Instead I stood in a state of semi-bliss, breathing in every morsel of cinnamon and cloves that I could.

Just touching him, feeling the delicate sparks dancing along my skin helped ease the pain radiating from my burned arm.

"I had heard of the way you handled humans, but I thought they were only a rumor," The Wolf said, clearly choosing every word as carefully as he could, and not daring to rise from the floor just yet, "The humans in Lord Walton's care do not receive as much leeway, your Lordship.

I was only behaving the way I would at home. "

The thought made a shiver crawl down my spine, and I nuzzled closer into Nathaniel's chest. The absurdity of the situation did not escape me.

If someone had told me a few weeks previously that I would be seeking comfort from an Alpha after being terrorized by another Wolf, I would have laughed in their face.

And yet I could not help but cling to Nathaniel, to press my body against his warm and looming frame, wrap my injured hand around his biceps, his arm so thick that I could only grasp part of it.

"Understand this," Nathaniel began with a growl, "And relay the message to the rest of your party; my staff and those residing in this manor are under my care and protection regardless of their kind.

They will assist you as needed as a gesture of my generosity, and therefore any misuse or abuse of them is a slight against me.

Do not test me, and know that if you touch this female again, that you will no longer have hands left to feel, or eyes left to see, or the faculties to even remember who you are. Am I understood?"

"Yes, your Lordship." The Wolf clearly wanted to say more, but his wariness of Nathaniel in that state saved him from making his situation worse. I had no doubts of any of Nathaniel's threats, and if anything knew the outcome could be far worse than what he described.

Nathaniel picked me up by the waist with only a single arm, cradling my form against him as I clung to his shoulders. The door slammed shut behind us, leaving me blind to the darkened light of the hall, and we only just made it around the corner before Nathaniel set me down on my feet.

Crushing me up against the wall, Nathaniel leaned down and buried his face in my neck, his arms wrapped fully around me until I was surrounded by a cocoon of supple-skinned muscle. Inhaling deeply, Nathaniel shuddered out a breath, his body shaking with pent up aggression.