Savage Instinct (16 page)

Riker snickered, ducking a hit as Aiden melded back into a
man and slashed his claws inches from Riker’s chest.  Aiden recovered from the
missed blow, twisting back to land a fist square in the center of Riker’s big
mouth.  He knocked his jaw askew.

“Nice of y’all to join us,” Riker said, spitting blood on
the ground.  “I hope you don’t mind us using your play purty.  We had us some
good fun with her.  You don’t mind sharing, do you, Aiden?”

The red cloud masked Aiden’s vision, narrowing his sight
into a tunnel as furious as a tornado.  He lost his mind then, unable to
retract the beast beneath the surface.  He surged forward, snarling and
growling as if he were still a wolf.

Riker’s eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected that strong
a reaction from Aiden.

Blood thumped in Aiden’s temples, rattling through his
veins as if his heart tried to escape from his chest.  Dimly, he heard Nydia
scream, and it was all the impetus he needed to push him over the edge of
sanity.

His teeth extended as he launched at Riker, ignoring the
stinging blows to his chest, face and arms.  All he could see was a tender
throat, the bobbing adam’s apple, begging to be ripped from the flesh.

He caught Riker’s throat with his teeth, slamming him into
the ground.  Beneath his tongue, he felt the rapid pulse beating, urging him to
taste blood.  Riker grunted, all the air expelling from his lungs as the
impacted the earth and Aiden bore down on his stomach and chest with all his
weight.

Claws dug into his arms.  The scent of his own blood tinged
the air, making him mad with the fury of his beast.  He whipped his head,
making Riker writhe in agony beneath him.

“We’ve got her!  She’s safe, Aiden.  Aiden, she’s safe!”
Malik called behind him.  “They’re done for.”

Hearing Malik’s deep voice pulled him back from the brink. 
Slowly, with every harsh breath through his nose, Aiden returned.  He tasted
blood in his mouth and looked at the wild, fear filled eyes of Lee Riker.

Riker lay still, barely daring to suck in a breath for fear
of Aiden finishing him off.

Aiden warily withdrew his fangs from the tears in Riker’s
neck, slowly getting to his feet as he stared down at the pathetic man lying in
the dirt.  Urine tinged the air and he knew he’d pissed his pants.

Aiden sneered, spitting the taste of the man out of his
mouth.  He planted a bare foot in Riker’s chest, pinning him to the ground.

“Have you had enough?” he growled.

Lee whimpered where he lay.  A furtive glance around told
him that his pack had been defeated.  Most were lying on the ground, wounded
and trying to heal why Aiden’s pack stood over them.

Aiden dug his heel into Riker’s chest, making his ribs
grind.

“Answer me,” Aiden said.

“Yeah.  Yeah, we give up,” Riker said, showing his open
palms.

He kicked Lee’s stomach one good time, making him gasp for
breath.  “Get up.”

Lee slowly rolled to his knees, holding his ribs as he
straightened up to his feet.  Punctures lined his arms and neck, bleeding
profusely.  His pack looked in as sorry a shape as he.

Looking at the beaten pack, Aiden felt a mixture of pity
and hatred.  He was glad he hadn’t allowed his fury to push him into murder,
even though Riker’s actions had warranted it.

They couldn’t help their Alpha had shit for brains and was
a piss poor leader.

That didn’t mean, however, that they could have what he’d
built.  He’d be damned if it did.

“Get…out…of my…county,” Aiden said loudly, enunciating
every word.  “If any of you ever return I will personally kill you.  Stay out
of Misty Springs.  You’re not welcome here.”

Aiden stepped close enough to Riker that their chests
almost touched.  Aiden bowed up, flexing his arms and back.  “At the next
council meeting, I will be telling the council members of your behavior.  They’ll
know that you risked revealing us all by holding a human captive.  Remember
this and make yourself scarce.”  Aiden shoved the man, making him stumble
backwards.

Around them, Aiden’s pack snickered and chuckled.

Lee Riker had been beaten and humiliated.  He would never
live this down, but if he wanted to live, he and his back had to go far away.

That was good enough for Aiden.  For now.  If the fool knew
what was best for him.  Aiden wasn’t so inclined to give second chances to
those who wouldn’t take them.

Aiden remained tense, watching the retreat of the pack and
waiting until they’d tucked their tails between their legs and left until he
finally dared to turn around and face Nydia where she waited with Malik.

He’d felt her eyes boring into his back the entire time,
but he hadn’t dared spare her a glance during the exchange.  Now, however,
waiting any longer to see her beautiful face and feel her body in his arms was
a torture he couldn’t withstand.

Chapter
Sixteen

Nydia watched, feeling breathless and scared as Aiden
slowly turned to face her.  She’d wondered when she’d get to see his face
again, see his eyes looking at her with the fire of desire.

When their eyes locked across the distance, she knew
nothing had dimmed between them.  Their attraction was just as fierce as it had
ever been before.  And it wasn’t just the fact that he’d risked his life to
come and save her.

The fact that she was surrounded by werewolves didn’t
bother her.  Her fear had melted away the moment she saw he’d come. 
Instinctively, she’d known he wouldn’t stop until he’d defeated his rivals, and
now, he was hers.

Why had she fought against him, resented him for lying? 
None of it mattered.

When she thought she might never see him again…the fear
made her shudder.

She shivered in the night air, crossing her arms over her
chest.

Aiden closed the distance, not bothering to speak.  He took
her in his arms, sawing his mouth over her mouth in a kiss that was hungry,
insistant, and demanding.  He stroked her arms, warming her with his touch,
feeling her body all over as if checking her for injury.

The heat and taste of his mouth enveloped her in warmth,
stoking a fire within her.  She melded against his body, trying to crawl inside
of his skin.

Aiden dragged his mouth from hers, kissing her cheeks, the
corners of her eyes.  He stroked her back and her hair, as if his palms
couldn’t touch her enough.

“Did they hurt you?  Don’t lie to me!”

Nydia arched her neck, looking into his eyes, cupping his
jaw.  He was naked against her, and the barrier of her clothes seemed too much
to stand right now.  His skin felt feverish and hot through the fabric.

Oh, if only they were alone without the audience of his
kind around them.

“I’m fine.  They didn’t hurt me.  I was just scared. 
That’s all.”

He gripped her chin, forcing her to hold his gaze.  “They
didn’t…rape you?”

A shiver traveled down her spine.  “No.”

Aiden sighed.  “Good.  I was worried about you.”

She looked up at him, hopeful for more, but he said nothing
else as he led her from the clearing and made the long trek back to her car.

Left alone with her thoughts, Nydia wondered why he
remained quiet after such a passionate kiss.  Did he worry about what the
others might think about her?  Were they really so different that it would
never work out between them?

Had he only saved her because he felt obligated to do so,
for putting her in danger in the first place?

Her questions burned on the tip of her tongue, but her
pride refused to allow her to ask him any of them.

She was left with feeling the rough palm of his hand as he
led her through the dark back to her car.  Her chest ached with strange
emotions, but she dismissed her anxiety as remnants of her ordeal.

The glint of her windshield from the ditch signaled they’d
reached their destination.

Nydia felt deflated that Aiden continued to remain pensive
and quiet.

Malik cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence.  “Would
you like us to put your car back on the road, ma’am?” he asked Nydia.

“Thank you.  That would be very kind of you.” Nydia looked
at the other man and realized that she wasn’t even embarrassed by his nudity or
the nudity of the others that had changed from wolf form to human form.

Somehow, it seemed perfectly natural to be surrounded by
the group.

Malik yelled, “Santos, you and Abel come give me a hand
with this.  Hudson, go to the other side.  I think we can get this out of we
push together.”

Aiden seemed to welcome the distraction from Nydia, needing
something to take him away from her.  The men began to push and maneuver the
automobile until they had the tires pointed out of the ditch.  Santos got in
the car and cranked it at that point and the others got behind it so they could
push it free of the ditch.

Once the car was sitting in the road again Malik said,
“There you are.  Good as new.”

“Thank you.  Thank you for saving me and for saving my
car.”  Nydia turned to look at Aiden and waited for an expectant moment. “I guess
I need to get going,” she said.

“Yeah.  You should.  I’m sorry…for everything.  Good-bye,”
he said, watching as she got into her car and shut the door.

Her chin wobbled, but she sat up straight in the car,
gripping the steering wheel tightly as she pulled away.

She was sure that this was a night she would never forget,
and she was equally sure that the image of Aiden standing there naked in the
middle of the road would forever haunt her dreams.

***

Aiden didn’t want her to leave.  Watching her get into her
car felt like a kick to the gut by a mule.

The air seemed to suck out of his lungs, leaving him to
choke on dust like a dried up mummy.  His throat closed, shutting off his
speech.  His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

Every instinct urged him to run after her car, fling the
door open, and rip her back out of the car.

Would his pack accept a human woman as his mate?  They’d
followed him until now, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t see this as an
act of weakness.  And would she want to be with him forever?

He’d never encountered this situation before and didn’t
know what to do.  Indecision and uncertainty rooted him to the spot.

There were so many things that could go wrong between a
human and a lycanthrope.  He could get angry and transform and injure her, or
he could become so sexually aroused that he transformed during lovemaking and
hurt her.  Or he could force her through the change, but would she want that? 
Would she be willing to risk her humanity to be with him forever?

He watched her red taillights disappear around the curve in
the road.

The rest of his pack had remained silent up until this
point.  Finally, unable to take the tension anymore, Lila spoke first.  “What
is happening here?  Can it be that Aiden has fallen in love with that human
girl?”

Carmen turned and looked at her leader, the somber slump of
his shoulders, the way he couldn’t seem to stop staring at the point where her
car had disappeared.  “I’ve never seen him act this way.  Even when we were
together.  He’s never had that look in his eyes before.”

“I believe that our leader has met his soul mate,” Malik
said.

“I think you may be right, Malik.  Aiden has never acted
like he needed anyone or anything and I get the feeling that he needs that
woman with every fiber in his being.” Lila reached out and stroked the arm of
her partner.

“It would be great if Aiden settled down with only one
mate.  He needs to produce some pups that can take over when he gets old.  As
it stands, we haven’t got a single pup from his bloodline.  He is the alpha
male and he should be bringing forth children.”

Malik moved beside Aiden. “Are you just going to stand
there and let her drive away?”

“That is what she wants and I will honor her wishes,” Aiden
replied.

“Bullshit!  She wants you to go after her and throw
yourself down before her.  She wants you to whisk her off her feet and carry
her to your lair where you’ll bed her properly.”

“She is in love with you, Aiden.” Carmen said.

“What gave you that idea?” Aiden asked her.

“The way she looked at you.  The way she said your name.  The
way she positioned her body when you were around.  All of those things screamed
that she’s in love with you.  You are a complete idiot if you don’t go after
her and make her your woman,” Carmen said, flipping her long dark hair off her
shoulder as she walked away.

“But.  She’s a human….”

“Things change, amigo,” Santos said.

Malik looked at his friend. “Aiden, you aren’t going to
find another woman that you love like you love that one.  I can see it in your
eyes and you need to admit it before you let the opportunity get away from you.
 I’m going home to mate with my woman…and I suggest you do the same.” Malik patted
his friend on the shoulder as he walked away.

Aiden turned and looked at the other members of the pack
who were behind him.  They were all pointing in the direction of her car and
making gestures for him to go.  He thought for one moment and decided that he
was going after her.

He took off running down the road and transformed within a
few feet.  As a wolf he was fast and able to move unhampered by the road.

He knew a shortcut to her house.  If he could keep his
pace, he just might get there before her.

***

Nydia drove in silence.  She couldn’t take listening to the
radio right now.  Her heart felt like it was broken into pieces inside her
chest.

Her throat felt tight, like she couldn’t swallow.  She
wondered if she would ever see him or any of the pack again.

She scarcely noticed the passing of the car through the
dark countryside.  Her brain was on autopilot, taking her home as she tumbled
through her chaotic thoughts.

She stopped the car at her driveway, sitting in the dark
for a few minutes before her fried brain realized she’d reached home.

Pushing her door open, she felt dampness in the air as the
wind brushed through her hair.  A storm was rolling in.

She glanced inside the car and saw her battered umbrella. 
That bastard had thrown it back into the car.

Nydia picked it up and laughed, a touch hysterically, at
the bent arm.  She sniffled and tucked it under her arm before going up to her
front porch.

“Spot?  Spot!” she called for her cat.  Nydia wrinkled her
nose, looking around the yard to see her.  Poor Spot must be hiding somewhere
from the expectant rain.

Shrugging, she unlocked to door and pushed it wide.

As Nydia walked through the door, the first thing she saw
was the silhouette of a man standing in her living room.  She screamed and
swung the bent umbrella.  She was determined that she wouldn’t be a victim
again.

The dark silhouette walked forward.

“Whoa there, slugger, you could permanently injure someone
with a bat like that,” Aiden said, snatching the umbrella out of her death
grip.

Relief flooded her.  “Aiden?  What are you doing in here?  You
scared me half to death!”

Spot meowed and rubbed against Aiden’s legs, weaving
through them and begging for her supper.

“How did you get in?  Spot?  You little traitor!  You’re
supposed to protect me not keep my ‘would be’ assailant company,” Nydia felt
herself rambling, but couldn’t seem to stop herself in her relief.

She melted onto the couch just as Aiden flipped the light
on for her.  Nydia was beyond tears.  She was exhausted and her mind couldn’t
process any more information at that point.

Aiden knelt down on front of her, taking her hands in his.  He
smiled and reached out to caress her face.  “I want you to come be with me.  I
don’t want to live another minute without you.”

Nydia gaped at Aiden, feeling torn, wrought with emotion.