She showered quickly, dressed, and towel dried her hair before braiding it into a fishtail to the side. She poured a cup of coffee and drank it while inspecting the contents of the cupboards, then the living room. There was no TV to keep her company and he didn't seem to own a single magazine. She looked out the window onto the quiet street, poured a second cup of coffee, and finished that. She washed her cup and leaned against the counter, exhaling a breath. This was boring. And she was hungry.
They had passed a small convenience store just two blocks from the house. Surely he wouldn't mind if she ran out and bought some food. She could have the bacon cooking before he even walked in the door. Besides, his brand of coffee wasn't exactly good coffee. She picked up her purse, checked to make sure she had some cash, took her keys, and walked out the front door, only considering for one moment that she wouldn't be able to lock it behind her. She'd only be gone for fifteen, twenty minutes tops. It would be fine.
* * *
Still in wolf form, Marcus heard the car start when he neared the house. He ran to the edge of the woods, snarling, lifting his nose into the air but picking up no new scents, no sound of struggle. He caught sight of the car as Rachel backed out onto the street. Relief flooded him when she drove down the road at a leisurely pace. At least she wasn't in trouble. Well, at least not in trouble that could get her hurt. Remaining in wolf form, he followed the car and watched, hidden from sight, as she parked at the local convenience store and walked inside.
He scanned the parking lot. There were several other cars but nothing out of the ordinary. She walked quickly into the store while he waited patiently, growing angry about her having left the house after he had told her explicitly not to. Was she so oblivious to the danger she was in?
A quarter of an hour later, she emerged from the store carrying two plastic bags full of food. Balancing them awkwardly, she managed to get the trunk open and loaded them into it. She looked quite satisfied with herself as she climbed back into the driver's seat and drove back to the house.
That was when he saw the shiny black Volvo with the tinted windows turn the corner. Marcus watched it, a low growl building in his chest. He then ran at full speed, chasing the cars back to the house.
* * *
Rachel drove back over the gravel road and to the quiet little house. She hadn't been gone even half an hour but she still felt anxious, worried now that when he found out she had left the house, Marcus would be angry. Her spanking of a few nights ago was still fresh on her mind, even if the physical reminder had long worn off.
She parked and switched off the engine, looking toward the house. Was he home waiting for her? Had he been worried that she was gone? She hadn't even thought to leave a note. She climbed out of the car and went to the trunk, but before she opened it, she heard the sound of tires on the otherwise deserted road and turned, her heart racing when the black Volvo pulled in behind her and both of the front doors opened before the car had even come to a complete stop.
"Miss Maren?" one of the men asked, walking toward her.
Rachel took a step back, feeling the color drain from her face as the back door opened and another man climbed out, speaking into his cell phone for a moment before disconnecting the call and turning to her.
"Miss Rachel Maren?" the same man asked.
Her throat was dry and she was unable to answer. The men walked closer, one of them smiling a little. He was the largest of the three. If the smile was meant to reassure her, it did not.
"Lucky we saw your car when we did, we'd almost given up," the man from the backseat said.
"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked, reaching out to touch the door handle of her car, knowing she would never be able to get in and drive away without one of them grabbing her.
"We're with Wayne Laboratories. We're working with Professor Lance Weston-I believe you know him?" the man who had climbed out last said.
Instinct took over and Rachel turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could toward the woods. Footsteps followed her, that and laughter, but that laughter was drowned out by a scream in the next instant when a loud growl made them all stop and turn. Rachel's voice joined that scream as the large wolf took down the first of the three men, standing on his chest and closing his jaws over the jugular of the terrified man on the ground.
Shots rang out and Rachel jumped onto the back of the man closest to her who held the gun. His first shot missed and he hadn't even shoved her off before getting another shot off. The other man had his gun out and fired at the wolf who fell backwards onto the ground with the whine of a wounded dog.
"No!" she screamed, trying to get up when the man stalked slowly toward Marcus and shot another bullet into him. Marcus's body twitched and Rachel screamed.
"We need the anti-shift drug. I want him alive."
"Marcus!" Rachel called out, finally getting to her feet and running to him. But she was caught before she made it and she struggled in her captor's arms, watching Marcus lie helpless on the ground.
The man who had shot him walked closer to him and nudged him with the toe of his shoe. "Two shots couldn't have killed him," he said, shoving his foot into Marcus' ribs.
"Marcus?" Rachel called more quietly this time when the beast didn't move or make a sound.
"Fuck," the man said, squatting down next to the animal.
Just as he did, Marcus sprung up and pounced on him. The man's scream filled the still morning air. Blood splattered from him and his body went limp almost instantly. The man who held Rachel dropped her and ran. She fell to the ground and watched as Marcus ran after him, easily taking him down, killing him as quickly as he had the other two.
"Marcus?" Rachel asked, her voice tentative as she backed up to lean against the car, blood all around her, the bodies of the three dead men too close. Marcus glanced at her briefly before walking to the other side of the car and returning a few moments later-naked, his face, chest, arms, and hands bloodied.
"Rachel?" he asked, squatting down beside her.
That was when she realized she wasn't even crying. Not a single tear had fallen until just now, until this moment when the reality of what could have happened dawned on her. She reached out a hand to touch his face, smearing some of the blood on her trembling fingers.
"Are you all right?" he asked, just looking at her.
She nodded, unable to speak.
He pulled her to her feet and walked her inside. "Don't look," he said when she turned her head to see one of the mutilated bodies.
This was the second time seeing him in wolf form and she had seen him and Elijah in action at Lance's house. Before that, before the kidnapping, she had seen him and the entire pack like this. That didn't frighten her. It was the killing that had done it. Seeing him fight Lance was one thing and that was terrible enough. But today, what she witnessed took everything to another level, one where life and death hung on the line.
She turned to touch Marcus' hand but paused at the blood. He registered her hesitance.
"Go inside and get in the shower. Get yourself cleaned up," he said.
She looked down at herself. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, seeing the blood that had splattered onto her clothes, her shoes.
"Shh, it's okay," he said, taking hold of her arms and holding her firmly, forcing her to look at him. "You're okay. They can't hurt you anymore. Rachel, look at me," he said when her eyes wandered to the bodies.
She turned slowly to meet his gaze.
"I want you to go inside and have a shower. Throw your clothes away. I'm going to clean up out here and I'll be in soon. Do you understand?"
She nodded, still unable to speak.
"Go inside now."
She turned and walked into the house and went straight to the bathroom. She stripped off her clothes and threw them into the trashcan then switched on the shower, the water as hot as she could stand it.
* * *
Marcus walked into the house and locked the door. She was still in the shower, he could hear the water running. He went into the bathroom and opened the shower door, startling her. Without a word, he stepped into the stall with her. She started to speak but when he lifted her and pressed her against the wall, she only gasped, her eyes roving over the red and pink water as it washed the blood from him. He didn't care about that though. Supporting her between the wall and himself, he covered her mouth with his. Pushing her head against the wall, he thrust his cock deep inside her pussy in one hard motion. She gasped into his mouth but didn't resist when he pulled out and did it again, his kiss still pushing her head to the wall, his body holding hers against the hard tile at her back. He didn't wait for her to come, that wasn't the intention of this fucking. He opened his eyes to watch her instead as he thrust three more times, the last the hardest of all, until he stilled, orgasm making him groan a wild groan while his cock pumped its release.