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again.

"Paige, would you dance with me?" He asked in a low, polite voice.

I gaped at him. I wanted to say, '
Dance? There's no music
', but I would've been mistaken

because someone had turned the music back on.

Riley's arm shot out, shielding me from Dominic. He growled angrily, "Stay away from

her." His tall body moved in front of me to block his nemesis from my view.

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Dominic craned his neck to look at me over Riley's shoulder. "She can speak for

herself...can't you, Paige? What's one harmless dance?" He grinned.
Oh, this guy WATED to die.

His boldness had reached new heights and rendered me speechless. He pointed to Riley and

laughed lightly. "You'd better get used to the possessiveness. All males are like this once they've marked you."

Riley shoved him backwards, but he maintained his balance and pivoted around his body.

When he finally stood next to me, he leaned closer to inspect my neck and shoulders.

"I see you're
not
marked. You're also not a member of the pack, so technically Riley has

no claim over you."

Riley grabbed him by his gray button-down shirt and snarled viciously. By the hostile

expression on his face, he had enough of Dominic's disrespect. I intervened once again because

I'd
had enough of his domineering behavior.

"I don't
belong
to anyone," I said sternly. Riley looked at me, his face aghast. "I'm no one's property, so could you ease up on the possessiveness just a little?" I made the 'little' gesture with my thumb and index finger. "It's only one dance."
ot to mention, I need to get the 411 on
this guy
.

Riley released his grip and pushed Dominic back against the wall. He wrinkled the front

of his shirt, but Dominic quickly smoothed the fabric and straightened his collar. Then he

approached me with a wide smile. Riley growled as he passed him. Dominic tried to take my

hand in a chivalrous fashion, but I walked away and he followed behind me.

When we reached the dance floor, I maintained a safe distance between us because I

didn't want him to get the wrong idea. In another act of bravado, he took my hand and pulled me

closer. At over six feet, he had a dominating presence. He didn't look like someone you should

mess with. He wasn't overly muscular like a bodybuilder, but he seemed cocky enough to take

pride in his physique.

I swallowed nervously because of our close proximity. I expected Riley to appear and

push us apart. He didn't interfere, but I knew he watched us from somewhere in the club. I

looked through the crowd of other dancers and saw him standing in front of the bar. His blond

tousled hair was a beacon in the dim lighting. He had his arms folded across his chest and his

wolf eyes glowed brightly from the shadows.

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While I danced with Dominic, I couldn't stop staring at his eyes because they didn't return

to their human color. Curiosity continued to gnaw at me until I blurted out, "What's with your

eyes?"

For a moment, he looked taken back. Then he said, "Don't worry, I'm not turned on." I

felt my ears get hot with embarrassment. He chuckled. "Oh, so you know about our eyes when

we get sexually aroused?" I could only nod. "I was injured badly in my wolf form. When I had enough strength to shift into a human, my eyes wouldn't change back. The doctor said something

must've gotten damaged because the part of my body that allows me to shift wouldn't heal

completely."

"What color were your eyes before you were hurt?"

"Brown."

I continued to grill him. "Why were you banished?" I hoped he'd answer my question,

and more importantly...tell me the truth.

"Because I challenged Aidan and lost." Astounded by his reply, I slowed my movements.

"Instead of killing me, he showed mercy and banished me from the pack. That was six years

ago."

I gave him a curious look. "Is that when you were injured?"

"Yes."

I noticed his hips getting closer to mine, so I stepped back.
We are OT grinding tonight
.

Suddenly, I remembered Quinn's reaction when she discovered his presence in the club.

"Did you and Quinn have a falling out? She ran out of here when she saw you."

He laughed. "You sure ask a lot of questions."

I shrugged and spoke unapologetically. "Look, I'm curious because the twins seem to hate

you."

When he moved closer, his voice lowered. "Quinn rejected me when I wanted to claim

her as a mate." I looked at him with wide eyes. "She thinks she's too good for me," he finished in disgust.

"So, the males do the claiming and the females either accept or reject?"

"Well, in the past...females
had
to accept, but Aidan changed the law to give them the

choice to reject a suitor. Unless..." He stopped dancing and looked into my eyes.

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Suddenly, Riley wedged himself between us and looked at Dominic. His voice was still

icy, but his rage had dissipated. "That's enough dancing for one night." Then he turned around and grasped my arm. "I think it's time to go."

He pulled me toward the front door, but I looked back at Dominic. He stood perfectly still,

surrounded by dancers. With his head dipped, his wolf eyes bore into my human ones until I

could no longer see him.

Riley and I didn't speak as we walked back to Celia's SUV. I knew he was pissed off. The

only sounds were the crickets, locusts, and our footsteps against the concrete walkway.

We halted our steps because Yuji called out to him. "Hey Riley, wait up man! You said

you'd look at my new design!"

Riley sighed heavily and gave me an exasperated look. I smiled, and cupped his annoyed

face. "Go ahead," I said softly. "I'll wait for you by the truck."

He turned around and jogged toward Yuji who stood outside the front door.

I walked to the Explorer and leaned against the back, looking out at the forest in front of

me. The truck was the last one on the edge of the lot and the farthest from the front door.

Everyone had gone inside and no
Varulv
lingered in the parking lot.

I heard a noise to my right and whipped my head toward it. I stared into the dark woods

that surrounded The Den on all sides. With my senses on alert, I straightened my posture. My

eyes darted everywhere but I couldn't see anything but darkness and trees. I heard another sound

like footsteps crunching on leaves. The sound was closer, and the hairs on the back of my neck

prickled. I knew someone was watching me.

"Who's there?" I can't say I was surprised when no one answered. My breathing increased

and I pressed my back against truck. I slid against it slowly as I shuffled toward the front door of

The Den.

I heard a low growl and froze on the spot, my body already a few feet from the truck. My

eyes frantically searched for the source of the sound.

A wolf emerged from the darkness. It seemed to be one with the night because of its

black coloring. Its yellow eyes fixed on me as it stalked forward. I inched farther away to widen

the distance between us. Its lips peeled back, revealing sharp teeth.

The wolf growled louder and my voice trembled. "Who are you?" It felt strange to refer

to an animal as 'who', but
Varulv
were people too...sort of.

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The black wolf snarled, and I held my breath in anticipation of its next move. I prepared

myself for an attack and positioned my left foot to make a dash toward the club. I knew I

probably wouldn't make it, but it was worth a shot.

Unfortunately, running in high heels on gravel are a bad combination, so I tripped and

fell facedown. In a split second, I turned my head toward the wolf. It rushed me, and I screamed

in terror. I tried to stand, but it leaped on me, flipping me on my back. My hands went up in

defense to shield myself from the attack, but the wolf’s jaws clamped on my right arm, its teeth

piercing my skin.

I screamed again while blood oozed and trickled down my arm. "RILEY!"

The wolf wouldn't let go of my arm, so I punched its muzzle with my left hand. It

released me with a yelp of pain but came back for more. The wolf appeared rabid, it clawed at

me and its jaws snapped at my face. Breathing raggedly from exhaustion and fear, I punched its

body and kicked my legs to get it off me.

For a moment, I thought I had succeeded, but something tackled the wolf from the side

and it flew off my body with another yelp. I sat up quickly and saw Riley in his wolf form,

facing away from me and growling. The other wolf rolled down the parking lot, a blur of black

fuzz, until it finally lay still in the grass.

My bloody arm reached out toward my rescuer. "Riley, I'm okay!"

I stood slowly because my back ached and my legs felt sore from kicking. I felt a stinging

sensation on my face. I knew the wolf had scratched me, and thought about what my face must

look like. I gingerly touched my cheek. Blood coated my fingertips, and within seconds, tears

pricked at the back of my eyes.
This is
g
reat
.
My face was just starting to heal from my accident
.

Riley turned his attention away from the wolf and approached me in his human form. His

wide eyes still held an amber fire behind them. "Paige! Are you all right?"

He grasped my injured arm and I hissed in pain. His other arm encircled my waist to hold

me protectively.

I cradled my arm against my chest. "Yeah, I'm fine, but thank God you came when you

did." I gave him a weary smile. "You saved my life...
again
."

I looked past him at the wolf, and saw a naked Zoë watching us instead. I gasped;

stunned she actually followed through on her threat.
I guess she really DID want to eat my white

flesh
.

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She yelled at Riley and her voice cracked because she was crying. "You won't claim me,

but you'll claim a fucking human?"

Riley released me and turned to face her. He took a few steps in her direction, but I

grabbed his arm to keep him from killing her.

"I never had feelings for you! My heart has always belonged to Paige!"

A young woman ran past us and approached Zoë. She said something to her, but I

couldn't hear it. Then she covered her with a jacket. Zoë staggered and leaned on her for support.

Before they disappeared into the forest, Zoë looked at Riley again. "You're making a big

mistake!"

Riley worried me as he drove us back to my cabin. He was naked and held the steering

wheel in a death grip. His body trembled in anger. A growl rumbled in his chest and his lips

peeled back in a snarl. I knew he was thinking about Zoë.

I touched his shoulder, my voice soft. "Riley, calm down." He looked at me, his wolf

eyes glowing in the dark interior of the SUV. I gulped nervously. "Just let it go. She’s not worth the trouble."

He didn't speak, but he breathed rapidly as he shifted his gaze back on the road.

When we got back to my cabin, I went to the kitchen to wash the dried blood from my

arm. Riley stood next to me at the sink with a look of worry on his face.

"There's a first-aid kit in the pantry over there. Could you get it for me?"

Without a word, he dashed over to the pantry to retrieve the kit. In less than two seconds,

he was at my side again. He wouldn't let me tend to my wounds because he quickly opened the

kit and worked on bandaging my arm. He wore an intense look that made me think twice about

arguing with him.

"You're going to need stitches," he said quietly. I looked at him, but he wouldn't meet my

gaze. "We'll see the doctor tomorrow morning."

My thoughts wandered back to Zoë's harsh words in the club. "Why did she say I was

food on your arm?"

He glanced at me before he looked down at my arm. He was busy taping the bandage, but

sighed softly. The longer he hesitated to answer, the more anxious I felt.

My voice lowered to a whisper and I couldn't mask my fear. "Have you ever eaten a

human?"

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He spoke quietly without looking at me. "Yes." I gasped. His fingers moved slowly as

he'd tear off a piece of tape and place it strategically on the bandage. He repeated the actions