S. Yule - Lycan Vengeance

He stopped by a huge oak tree that was a marker for the property lines and rubbed against it before putting fresh claw marks down the trunk, next to several others he’d put there on previous occasions. The wolf insisted on marking its territory, and Knox had no problem allowing the behavior. It was a natural and effective warning to other lycans who might happen into the area. He yipped and turned to run some more, but had only gone a few miles when he picked up the hint of a strange scent. He stopped and turned in circles, his nose pointing in the air. He sniffed a few times before a low growl of warning sprang from his muzzle.

It was the scent of a rogue, and the male was close, too close, to his female. He took off in the direction of the house, where Rose was sleeping, and prayed he made it there before the rogue.

Rose shifted restlessly, trapped somewhere between sleep and consciousness. Her senses screamed that something was wrong, but her sore body demanded more sleep. Her inner alarm bells clanged to high heaven, and she could no longer fight the imminent warning. She cracked her eyes open and slowly scanned the dark room. She remained perfectly still, not allowing one muscle to move, not wanting to alert whatever or whoever had disturbed her sleep that she was awake. At that moment, the moon chose to slip out from whatever cloud it was hiding behind and shined through the window—the window she’d earlier found to be stuck shut when she tested it for a possible escape route—and cast a soft glow over the bed.

A faint sound caught her attention. The scratching noise sounded as if someone were trying to pry the window open. Something or someone was trying to get into her room. She sat up slowly and reached for the bag Knox had brought in from her truck. She dug around in it for a weapon, but, of course, he’d removed them all. Thanks a lot, Knox. She had nothing, not even the dagger he’d returned to her in the woods, as he’d also taken it, along with her clothes, earlier.

Now what am I going to do? She slid silently out of bed, tiptoed to the wall, and pressed her back against the cold wood just beside the window. She fought the shiver threatening to shake her body and rattle her teeth, more from fear than cold, as she took quiet, deep breaths. She hoped she was simply being paranoid, and that the wind would end up being the culprit that had made the noise, but the clang, clang, clang of her inner warning bells were telling her otherwise. She’d learned long ago not to ignore them, and she’d be a fool if she did so now.

She inched closer, until she was standing next to the glass, cautiously leaned around to look out, and barely kept from screaming when she saw a huge gray wolf staring back at her, its front paws propped against the pane. She sprinted for the bathroom, the sound of shattering glass echoing throughout the room, and had just flung the door shut and braced herself against it when something slammed into it hard. The whole thing shook so hard her teeth clattered, and she was amazed it hadn’t shattered under the force. It took all her strength to hold the knob—why couldn’t it have a damn lock?—as it was jiggled furiously from the other side. A few seconds later, the jiggling stopped, and it was silent for a moment before something slammed into the door once again.

This time, the force knocked her back, landing her hard on her backside. When she looked up, a man with hazel eyes and stringy black hair stood glaring at her. His eyes were glowing, and he was naked. Just what she needed. Another lycan to deal with, yet this one didn’t look as if he’d play by the same gentlemanly rules Knox did. Speaking of Knox. Where the hel are you? For one dreadful moment, she wondered if this could be a friend of his. She sincerely hoped not because this one creeped the hell out of her. She got to her feet slowly and took a self-defense stance.

She’d been taught to run, when possible, if up against a stronger foe, but she had no choice in this matter—she was trapped. He was stronger, quicker, and she’d probably lose, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for the bastard.

“Come with me, and I won’t hurt you.” He held his hand out to her.

Was he freaking insane? Of course he is. He’s a fucking rogue. Did he think she was a dingbat or something?

No, he probably didn’t think of her as much of anything other than a piece of meat or play toy. There was no way she was going to go with him anywhere willingly.

“I don’t think so.” As much as it galled her to admit it, she really wished Knox would make an appearance right about now.

“You have the scent. You belong to me. You don’t have a choice.” He sneered at her.

“Last I checked, this was a free country, and we all have choices. I choose not to go anywhere with you.”

He took a step toward her, and she crouched and put her fists up in front of her, readying to defend herself. He stopped, his nostrils flared, and his eyes glowed brighter.

“I like a woman with some fight in her. You’ll be fun to break in.”

“Believe me when I say, you won’t like me in the least when I kick your balls up in your throat, buddy. I wouldn’t ever let a scumbag like you touch me.”

Her stomach churned, and bile burned the back of her throat. How many other women had he pulled this crap on? How many other women had he hurt? How she wished she had her bow or a dagger right now because she’d carve him a new one. He came at her. She dodged him and ran under his arm into the bedroom.

But he was quick—as were all those damned lycans. He caught her around the waist and slammed her to the floor face-first.

The wind was knocked from her lungs, and she gasped for air. He didn’t handle her with the gentleness

Knox had. In fact, his weight pressed her so hard to the floor, she could barely breathe at all. She was going to black out if he didn’t let up a bit. He fisted her hair and yanked her over onto her back, but the moan of pain she craved to voice couldn’t escape her oxygen-deprived lungs.

“Yeah, you’re going to be real fun to play with.”

She spit at him, and anger contorted his face. He raised his hand, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow to come, but it never did. Instead she found herself freed of the lycan’s weight. When she opened her eyes, Knox stood over her attacker, as naked as the lycan. Funny how she kept thinking of the rogue as a lycan, but not Knox, even though they were the same.

A small voice inside her whispered that they weren’t the same, but she chose to ignore it and the implications it held. She scrambled up off the floor and ran out of the bedroom, a need to get away driving her to the front door. She hadn’t been scared in a long time, but the encounter with the rogue had unleashed the fear from the night Tammy had died, and it rushed her from every direction. She had to run as hard, as fast, and as far away as she could. Unfortunately, her terrified mind didn’t take time to remember the fact that it was freezing outside and that she only wore a T-shirt. By the time her legs started cramping from the exertion, she was shivering.

Knox stood over the rogue, ready to kill him if he had to. The lycan struggled for breath through the hand

Knox had clamped on his throat.

“How dare you come into my home and threaten my mate? I will kill you for touching her. You do understand that it is my right to do so by lycan law?”

“No! I was taught that any woman with the scent was ours to do with as we saw fit.”

Knox shoved his face close to the rogue and spoke through clenched teeth, the need to kill him riding him hard.

“I’m an ancient, pup, and I’m telling you that is some fucked-up information you were fed. It’s all lies. I’ll tell you something else. You have two options: first, I kill you, which is feeling pretty right to me at the moment, or second, you haul ass to Sanctuary for some reformation. Your choice, but make it quick.”

The hesitation and fear that played over the pup’s face might have made Knox feel a bit sorry for him if

Rose hadn’t been involved.

“I don’t understand. I was doing what I was taught.”

“You were taught wrong. Ancient law plainly states we are to protect any potential mate until the destined mate is found.” Knox squeezed the lycan’s throat tighter until he gasped harder for air.

“Please. I don’t understand what you mean about destined mates!” the pup gasped, and his face started turning purple.

The sadness that hit Knox was disheartening. How had his kind gotten so out of control? “I can only assume you’ve never been told that those that carry the main scent also have a mated scent. All those that carry the main scent are destined mates to one of our kind. That destined mate is the only one who can smell the mated scent. But I suppose the rogues you’ve been running with probably don’t know about that, or don’t give a shit about it themselves. Just think about all of the women you’ve seen used, abused, and think about how they were meant for one specific mate, and how important that pair would have been to our kind.”

A complete and utter look of despair replaced the fear and confusion on the pup’s face. “I swear, I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I’ll go to Sanctuary. Please don’t kill me.”

Knox held on to the throat of the pup for several more seconds, waging a war within himself. He wanted to kill him, but he could tell the rogue was being honest. He was good at detecting lies, and he would be willing to bet his life the pup was telling the truth. He’d chosen reformation, and Knox had to give him a chance to do as he said. He reluctantly loosened his grip.