* * *

When Knox arrived at Rose’s house and saw the shattered front door, murderous rage hit him hard, blurring his vision with a red haze. The smell of the lycans was pungent, and he leaped from the truck after he’d slammed it into park. Curved claws shot through his fingertips, fangs erupted from his gums, and the familiar heat of his inner wolf coming to life seared the blood in his veins.

He let out a howl that nearly shook the house as he ran inside. There was blood on the living room floor, and near-crippling pain tore through his chest at the thought of Rose being hurt. When he got to the bedroom door, the rage inside him boiled to a level he’d never felt in his life. There were three of them. One red wolf who appeared to have been shot—dumbass hadn’t even shifted to human and back again to heal the wound—

a gray wolf, and a black. The black bastard stood over Rose’s unconscious body sprawled on the floor.

There was about to be three dead wolves, and he wasn’t inclined to show them one ounce of mercy.

“Hey assholes.” All three wolves turned their heads toward him. He wondered at their level of stupidity, as they hadn’t even bothered to acknowledge his warning howl or his presence until he’d said something.

Immediately, the gray and red wolves shifted to their human forms. They looked like damned kids barely in their twenties, and while he felt sorry that he was now going to have to kill three of his kind, he understood that it was something that couldn’t be helped. None of them held the despair in their eyes that the lycan from the other night had—the one he had hope for. No. These were too far gone for reformation, and it was his duty to do what was necessary.

He hated killing, but the thought of these punks getting their hands on other potential mates made him sick. If he hadn’t found Rose now, they would have either killed her or taken her, and he most likely would have never seen her again. How many other lycans had been deprived of their mates because of the actions of these rogues? Crippling despair tore through him.

“Who the fuck are you?” The red wolf, who was now a red-haired punk, snarled at Knox.

“I’m your worst enemy, boy, and that there is my mate.”

“She’s got the scent. That makes her fair game to all of us. If you want to join in on the fun, you’re more than welcome. Otherwise, I’d get out of here before you get hurt.” Red Hair spoke again while the man with silvery hair, who had shifted from the gray wolf, inched toward him.

Knox growled and took a menacing step toward them while keeping an eye on the black wolf still too close to Rose for his comfort. He wanted to rip them to shreds—would rip them apart—but he had to be careful for Rose’s sake.

“You obviously have no idea who you’re talking to. Either that or you have to be the dumbest motherfuckers I’ve ever met.” Knox noticed the men’s eyes widen when the idiots finally realized he was partially changed, and now understood what exactly they were up against.

“Yeah. I’m an ancient, and I’m going to tear your balls off and make you eat them for touching my mate.”

“Ancient or not, there’s three of us,” Silver Hair taunted, but now the cocky confidence the pup had exuded only seconds before was laced with fear.

“You really are dumb motherfuckers, aren’t you?” Knox snorted. “It wouldn’t matter if there were ten of you. You young pups don’t stand a chance against me. So let’s get this party started, shall we?”

The words had barely left Knox’s mouth when the black wolf jumped at him, jaws snapping, going for his neck. At the very last second, Knox twisted and brought his claws up in one smooth motion, ripping the wolf’s stomach open from throat to ass. Blood and guts spilled on the floor, and he knew the black wolf would not recover. He turned to the two men still standing where they’d been before their friend attacked him.

“Two to one now, boys. Who’s next?” He raised a brow and smirked, mocking their stupidity outright.

A soft murmur distracted Knox, and he turned to find Rose awake and propped up on her elbows, blue eyes wide and mouth slightly open, probably in shock. His heart thudded in relief at knowing she was okay, but suddenly Red Hair—catching Knox off guard—clocked him one in the face that sent him careening backward, and Rose cried out.

“No!” She tried to crawl toward him, but the silver-haired punk grabbed her.

Knox quickly recovered and blocked the next blow from Red Hair. He drove his palm into the man’s nose, satisfied by the resounding crunch and blood spray. The rogue yelped in pain, but recovered quickly and came at Knox once again. Knox dodged the charging pup, grabbed him by the head as he sailed past him, and twisted. The popping bones and instant slump of the rogue’s body were testament that the pup’s neck had been broken. He let the dead wolf’s limp body fall to the floor.

Knox slowly turned to see Silver Hair still had Rose, but now he had her back pulled up against his chest and held her in a choke hold. Knox clenched and unclenched his fists, claws digging into his skin of his palms with each flex. The need to get to her, to protect her at any cost was so overpowering he almost fell to his knees.

“Look.” He spread his arms wide. “Take me, but don’t hurt her.”

“You think I’m that big of an idiot?” Silver Hair practically screamed. “I let her go, and you kill me. I don’t let her go, and you’ll kill me anyway, so I might as well cause you some suffering before I die.” He tightened his arm around Rose’s throat, and her face turned red as she struggled for her next breath.

“You’re right. I’ll kill you either way, but if you let her go, I promise to make it fast. If you hurt her, I’ll make you pay slowly and painfully.”

The rogue’s eyes flared with fear, and his arm relaxed a fraction. Rose’s hand inched up to her waist, and

Knox’s heart nearly stalled in his chest when he realized what she was about to do. He had no way to stop her as she slid the dagger from its hiding place under her shirt. With one enviable, quick-as-lightning motion, she flung her hand backward, and the dagger embedded in the lycan’s chest to the hilt. Silver Hair screamed in fury and punched Rose in the face.

Knox watched in horror as she flew backward and hit the wall hard with a thump before crumpling in a heap on the floor. He jumped on the rogue and broke his neck as he had Red Hair’s, then turned and ran to

Rose. His claws retracted, along with his fangs, as he bent and trailed his hands along her legs and arms, checking for broken bones. He tilted her head back and sucked in an angry breath when he saw the deep purple bruise already marring her cheek.

He’d failed her. He’d let his guard down, allowed her to escape, and had arrived too late to adequately protect her. It was his fault she had gotten hurt.

* * *

Rose started to regain consciousness and cringed when the throbbing in her cheek, jaw, and head made her wonder if she’d been hit by a freight train. When she could finally open her eyelids, she thought she might be hallucinating, as Knox was kneeling in front of her.

“Knox?”

“Yeah, baby, it’s me.” He stroked his long fingers over her aching face. Somehow, his touch soothed the battered skin instead of bringing her more pain.

She’d never thought she’d see him again, and her heart fluttered with joy. Not only because she’d be dead if he hadn’t come, but because she’d . . . missed him. She flexed her jaw and moved her limbs one by one.

Thankfully, nothing felt broken, but she hurt like hell.

When she’d seen Knox partially changed, he’d been a terrifying but wondrous spectacle to behold. Had his anger been directed at her instead of the other lycans, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to keep her composure about her. She’d been awed that the rogues hadn’t immediately realized the danger they faced.

She’d never seen a lycan partially change, hadn’t known it was possible. Still, instinctively she’d known that the others didn’t stand a chance against him and wondered why they hadn’t figured that out sooner themselves.

His long claws, fangs, and glowing eyes had been both awing and terrifying. She wished that they had been alone so she could have examined him closer, and found it comforting, if not a little unsettling, that she hadn’t felt any fear—not from Knox anyway. The other lycans she’d been terrified of, but she’d been one hundred percent positive that Knox wouldn’t hurt her. The fury she’d seen burning in his eyes had been the result of her being in danger.

He had killed for her without a second thought. He’d put his life in danger for her. Oh my God. It finally dawned on her that she’d fallen in love with him. Somehow, no matter how hard she’d fought the attraction she had for him, no matter how hard she’d resisted seeing him as a man instead of a monster, she’d fallen for him. Deep down she knew she’d probably loved him from the moment he’d tackled her in the woods, but she’d refused to listen to her heart. She hadn’t wanted to like, let alone love, the thing that she’d hated all of her life. But that wasn’t true, was it?

She had never hated Knox, never really hated lycans, if she was being perfectly honest with herself.

She’d hated the destruction and the pain they’d caused just as she hated when her own fellow man caused such chaos in the world, and she’d never hated all humans because some of them were cold and heartless, had she? Knox was the best man she’d ever met, aside from her father. He’d shown compassion where she might have none. He’d shown loyalty to what he believed in, and he’d kept his word to her when he said he’d never hurt her and would protect her.