The energy around him dimmed and the part of him that was human slowly emerged. Then she saw the mess she’d made of his wrist and blanched. “What did I do?”
Taggert gazed at her calmly, clearly pleased by her concern. “It doesn’t hurt.”
She reached out to stop the bleeding when Rylan spoke. “Not while you’re touching both of them. Bite marks become very erotic when touched by their alpha.”
Color rose in her cheeks at what a picture they presented. “Taggert, go with Rylan and bind your wound.”
Rylan gave her a dirty look but nodded. “You have ten minutes.” He gave Jackson a hard glare and disappeared. Taggert didn’t object, and she found herself alone with the undivided attention of a wolf.
“Jackson?” Those yellow-green eyes met hers. When she shifted, his hold loosened, but didn’t release her. If she so much as twitched, she had no doubt he’d drag her under him and take what his body demanded. And she wasn’t sure she’d protest. If anything happened between them, she wanted the human in him to decide he wanted her, not some primitive animal instinct.
She slowly lifted a shaky hand to his face. Those eyes followed her every gesture. She laid her hand against his cheek. Instead of retreating, he leaned into her touch. “Jackson.” His eyes slid closed, and he inhaled her scent. When she would’ve pulled away, he grabbed her wrist.
“You need to get away from me.” The guttural demand took her by surprise.
“What?”
“The wolf is fighting me.” He panted, each word torn from him. “And I don’t think he has any plans on letting you go.”
A chill swept through her gut despite the warmth of his embrace. “What do you need me to do?”
A fine tremor shook his frame as his body fought itself. A grunt of pain escaped his clamped lips, and a hint of fangs protruded from his mouth. Part of her screamed to run. The sensible part told her to trust him and wait for his signal.
She placed her hand over the wild beat of his heart. A swirl of energy battered his insides. She tried to drop her shields and pull it away from him, but her animals were in full charge.
“When I let go, run.”
“But–”
“Now.”
The warm arms she’d found so comforting peeled away, leaving her feeling naked and exposed. Before she had a chance to move, he scrambled backwards so fast he was on the other side of the room in less than a second, the dresser he cracked into rocking at the impact.
“Run!”
Raven ignored the most basic rule of shifters and darted out the door, slamming it behind her. She hesitated, her hand on the knob, pressing her forehead against the cool wood, her body itchy with need to touch him. She swore she felt him on the other side of the door, pressed against the wood as if seeking her.
“I can still smell your need.” A sharp, pain-filled chuckle cut off abruptly. “Go!”
Could she leave him in there to suffer alone? She could help him, she knew she could, but damn it, she just didn’t know how.
When something battered against the heavy oak wood, she slowly drew away. Another blow landed on the door, shaking the frame. Giving into his plea, she dashed down the stairs and ran straight into Rylan. A scream strangled in her throat at his unexpected appearance. For a second, she’d thought it had been Jackson.
“Did he hurt you?” He gripped her arms, his eyes whirling slightly as he searched every inch of her for an injury.
It did nothing to stop the pounding of her heart. Hell yes, she was afraid, but part of her liked the chase and that frightened her the most.
“I’m fine. Jackson–”
She never even finished when Rylan streaked up the stairs in a blur of black. “He didn’t hurt me.”
Rylan didn’t stop. She went to follow him when Taggert stepped out of the kitchen wearing only a low slung pair of jeans and snagged her arm. “Leave them.
“But they’ll tear each other apart–”
“They’re just blowing off steam. Neither would do anything that would upset you. If you want to leave without them following, now’s the time.”
Raven hesitated, studying his face, uncertain what to make of his comment, but more certain she wasn’t ready to face Jackson anytime soon. “You’re sure?”
He understood her unspoken question. “They’ll both be alive when we get home.”
That sounded more ominous than comforting. The balcony doors in her room shattered in a crack of wood and a tinkle of glass. Her eyes narrowed at their childish attitude to strike first, and any residual concern for their wellbeing vanished. “Let’s go.”
Raven quickly collected her keys. They were down the road under five minutes. The constant battering of emotions was exhausting. She didn’t know how people stayed sane under the constant bombardment. Diligently, methodically, she built her walls back into place. It was harder this time.