“He’s human. They’re not as protective as our kind, and they don’t like to do anything too rough.”
Laughing, Scorch turned back to the woman. “So I’m useful for hard, rough sex. It’s a pleasure to know.” He would never understand the human race. Once he claimed a woman for his own there was no way he’d let her out of his sight for any length of time. His main desire was to find a woman who could take all of his attention and focus.
“Don’t be like that, Scorch.”
“I’m not being like anything. We’re talking.”
“You’re not jealous of him?” she asked, stepping closer.
The scent of nicotine coated her skin making him feel sick. “Lidia, never forget that this is not going to be more than f**king. I want nothing to do with you other than the pleasure of your body and the stimulation of your mind.” He held her hands, dropping a kiss to them. If she wanted more from him then she was sadly mistaken.
Her mouth opened to speak, but a loud banging sounded on his door.
“Alpha, we need you,” David said, his second-in-command and friend.
Frowning, he headed to the door ignoring Lidia’s annoyance. Opening the door he didn’t care about his nakedness.
“What is it?” he asked.
“There’s a woman out in the woods. It’s a horrible sight, but we can’t approach without you. These are your woods. She’s not of our pack.”
Already reaching for his pants, Scorch slipped them on as Lidia huffed around the room. Scorch had made sure none of his pack took the risk in approaching another wolf in such a situation. He wouldn’t let any of his men die when he was the strongest of all of them. “We were talking. You can’t tell me something is more f**king important than me.” Her voice rose grating on his nerves.
“Pack business is always more important than you, Lidia. You’re merely a f**k.” He slammed the door closed following David as the other man ran down the stairs. Scorch passed men and women on the stairwell heading out into the bitter cold morning.
“What do you know?” Scorch asked.
“One of the women was out for a walk with her dog, stumbled on a smell that terrified her, and she came running back home to tell us.” David took the lead explaining everything he knew before stopping on the edge of the forest. The sun illuminated everything, so Scorch didn’t have to fight to see in the dark. The fresh air felt amazing in his lungs, and he took a deep breath. That’s when he caught the scent of fear. The smell made him heave, and he bent over at the same time as David did.
“It’s getting worse. She’s scared, whoever she is,” David said.
“I want you to stay back.” The alpha inside him was clawing its way against the surface wanting to get closer to the person in need of help. There was a female out there who needed his help. Pushing David aside he barked orders for everyone to be prepared for the worst. He headed out sniffing the air. Giving up was not an option for him at all.
Turning left, then right, breathing in the bitter scent, he followed on until he heard the faintest whisper of a whimper. All of his senses went on high alert at the sound alone. The blood pumped wildly in his veins as the need to help this mystery woman flooded deep inside him.
Closing his eyes, he took one final inhale, and then he knew where she was. Walking, filled with the need to get to her, he moved in the direction of the noise. Five minutes later he found the woman, and something heated the pumping blood in his veins. She was tied to a tree and curled in a ball. Her body was shivering from the cold. The cuts along her body made him hurt for her.
Dropping to his knees, he reached out to touch her, but she flinched away from him.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I promise, you’re safe here.”
He didn’t know how anyone could hurt another woman. Scorch respected his position as the alpha of his Fire pack. Nothing would make him hurt one of his own or any wolf.
“Please, don’t hurt me,” she said.
Her voice forced him to jerk back. The tones, even layered with fear, touched him deeply. It was like his heart expanded in his chest, and all he could think about was taking care of her and tearing the people responsible limb from f**king limb.
Untying the rope he cursed every single man and beast for the pain they could cause others.
Chapter Two
Victoria felt the man untying her rope. She wanted to tell him to stop, to leave her outside in the freezing cold for dead. Instead, she couldn’t find the words to stop him from helping her. His scent comforted her, surrounding her with his warmth. Her hands were still bound together in front of her body, stopping her from lashing out. She didn’t want him to help her. Chain wanted her to hurt this man who smelled of everything good and warm.
“Don’t cry, honey. I’ll get you out of here.” He untied her wrists. All of her energy poured out of her, and all she could do was slump in his arms. She didn’t realize she’d been crying. There was no energy in her body to wipe the tears away. “I’m going to pick you up. Do you give me permission to do this?”
Run away. Leave me to die. I don’t deserve any compassion.
“No,” she said. Her voice came out croaky from having the chain wrapped around her neck.
He lifted her up, settling her against his body. She gasped, trying not to cry out at the brutal pain exploding within her body.
“You don’t have anything to worry about. I will make sure the people who have done this will pay.”
She remained silent as his scent settled her nerves. This man was a good alpha. He smelled like apple pie and cream. It was the strangest feeling in the world to experience with his arms tightening around her.
“My pack will not hurt you. We’ll take good care of you.”
He took his time taking each step so as not to jostle her body. His touch wasn’t intended to hurt her, and yet with every step he took she felt hurt to her core. She had to lure this man to his death, and she didn’t know how she could do something so cruel.
“My name’s Scorch,” he said, talking to her.
Please, don’t say anymore. I’m going to be the one responsible for your death.
She couldn’t speak any words. It hurt her too much to breathe, let alone tell him she was the reason he would be dying.
“I’m the alpha of the Fire Pack. We’re a good group. We live up in the cold, frozen mountains, but we’re strong and we can make you feel warm.”