Werewolf Rage Book #2 in the Taming The Wolf Series (13 page)

Harry came to stand in front of them and stared down at the ring on her hand.
“Ava, we need to talk later tonight,” he said and then glared at Cyrus. “After I get through talking to you.”

Cyrus grinned up at Harry and nodded his head.
“Anything you say Dad.”

Harry closed his eyes but a small smile played around his lips.
“But you are a damn fine leader. You turned it around for us tonight. On behalf of Perry and Cole, thank you,” he said humbly and held out his hand. Cyrus ignored Harry’s hand and stood up, hugging her father and pounding him on the back. Tobias and Patricia joined them and Ava was pulled into the group hug too. She laughed and squealed as Tobias lifted her and put her on top of his shoulders. Perry and Cole stood on the edges of the crowd, part of them, but yet still separate.

Harry noticed Perry and held his hand out to her, pulling her into his arms.
Cole crossed his arms over his chest looking relieved and worried at the same time. But when he glanced up at Ava’s laughing face, his eyes were dark with disappointment. Cyrus caught the look from Cole and walked over to him.

Cyrus held his hand out to shake Cole’s.
Cole stared at Cyrus’s hand for a long time before slowly reaching his out to take it in a firm clasp. “Thanks for what you did for my sister. We were close to running for the exits when you turned the crowd our way,” he admitted with a half-smile.

Cyrus shrugged.
“Anything for my future mother in law,” he said with a grin.

Cole smiled back, sadly.
“Looks like I’ll be your uncle soon then.”

Cyrus sighed.
“Life just gets stranger and stranger doesn’t it?”

Cole laughed and wandered off.
The people began to stand up and form small groups, talking and discussing everything. Ava wondered if maybe they should keep the meeting going and talk about ways to protect themselves from hybrids or organize a contact list or form a werewolf army or something. When she brought it up to Cyrus he laughed.

“We’re werewolves Ava. We got this.”

He took her hand and led her to the stairs. “Let’s get home. You look exhausted,” he said, rubbing his hand down her back.

Ava nodded and leaned in to Cyrus’s side as a yawn overtook her.
“Dinner then bed,” she said, reaching back for his hand.

They passed group after group of people who wanted to talk and ask her questions about the hybrid.
It was a half an hour before they even made it to the door. Ava looked back over her shoulder before leaving and noticed a lone man, standing in the far corner staring after her. His black eyes seemed to pierce her and she felt a cold shiver make its way down her spine. And then she was out the door, Cyrus pulling her quickly through the parking lot and back home.

She soon forgot about the strange man as Cyrus made her sit down while he made her dinner.
She watched with a grin on her face as Cyrus made her scrambled eggs with cheese and toast with jelly for dinner.

“Cyrus, this looks amazing,” she said as she took her first bite of salty, buttery eggs.

Cyrus stared at her expectantly as he watched her chew and swallow, his eyebrows lifted hopefully. Ava grinned and couldn’t believe how cute Cyrus was. The man was adorable.

“You did such a good job I want you to start cooking more.
You’ve got a real way with eggs,” she said taking another bite.

Cyrus
blushed a little and sat next to her, taking a bite of his own eggs. He chewed a few times and got a puzzled look on his face. He looked at her quickly before looking at his plate doubtfully. “You like them?
Really
?”

Ava nodded, hiding her smile.
“Cyrus, I love you,” she said leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Thanks for making me dinner.”

Cyrus grinned and dug into his eggs happily.
They ate quickly and then Ava told Cyrus good night. She was going to take a hot bath and go to bed.

Cyrus kissed her breathless before she closed her bedroom door and ten minutes later as she was luxuriating in a mound of bubbles, she closed her eyes and focused on all the good things that had happened that day.
She pushed the bad to the back of her mind and decided to think about that later.

She crawled into bed a half hour later and fell immediately to sleep.
And in her dreams, she dreamed of the dark eyed man.

Ava woke up the next morning refreshed but unsettled. She lifted her hand and stared at the diamond on her finger and felt a bright happiness settle over her. She was going to be Cyrus’s wife. Sooner than she’d expected, true, but she knew in her heart that it was what she wanted. And then she did it. She tried it out. “Ava Carlston,”she said softly while staring up at the ceiling and liked the way it sounded.

“
I heard that!”

She sat up in bed gasping as she stared at the door.
She hopped off and ran to fling the door open, glaring but stopped when she saw Cyrus holding a tray of food with a delighted grin on his face.

“Werewolves have really good hearing, did you know that?” he said, laughing at her red face.
He moved past her into the room and sat on her bed. “I brought you breakfast in bed so hop back in. You’re now my fiancée and will be treated like the queen you are,” he said, more seriously now.

Ava made a huffing sound but slid back under her cool sheets. She was so mortified she had trouble looking Cyrus in the eyes so she stared at all the food on the tray instead.
There was a ham and pepper omelet, bacon, a blueberry muffin and fresh strawberries from Patricia’s garden.

She smiled at Cyrus and shook her head.
“You’ll have to help me. There’s no way I can eat all this.”

Cyrus lounged on his side as he looked at her, his eyes soft and melting.
“I’ve already eaten. Just take what you want. I wasn’t sure what you’d want so I might have gone a little over board,” he said leaning forward and stealing a strawberry.

Ava sat crossed legged and took a bite of her omelet.
“
Mmmm
. Oh my word, did you make this? It’s incredible,” she asked taking another bite.

Cyrus grinned.
“I had a little help. So um, what was that you were saying just when I was about to knock on your door?” he asked, with a teasing glint in his eye.

Ava blushed again and patted her lips with her napkin before taking a sip of orange juice. “I can’t remember.
I might have been talking in my sleep,” she said.

Cyrus made a low humming sound in his throat and suddenly he was lying next to her.
“I could swear I heard you say something like,
Ava Carlston
and then you made this sweet little sighing sound,” he said, his voice warm and coaxing.

Ava looked at Cyrus and leaned down to kiss him, his lips tasting like strawberries.
“You caught me,” she said pulling away before he could pull her down beside him and send all the food crashing onto her bedspread. “It’s what girls in love do,” she admitted shyly.

Cyrus sighed happily and reached up to wind his finger through her long hair as she continued eating.
“It sounds really good to me too,” he admitted.

Ava saw the look in his eyes and bit her lip nervously.
Maybe Cyrus bringing her breakfast in bed wasn’t such a good idea. She glanced down at her tank top and pale blue silk sleep shorts and felt suddenly naked.

Cyrus could sense her emotions and sat up, scooting closer to her as she took a bite of her muffin.
“I’m making you nervous,” he said sounding happy about it as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’ll go then. Kurt says you’re not working today, so I want you to stay close to home. I’ve got to run to work for a few hours but then I’ll come back for lunch. Harry promised he’d teach you how to shoot a gun today,” he said standing up slowly.

Ava felt a sense of disappointment.
She frowned and pushed the tray off her lap and stood up too. She went to him and lifted her arms around his neck as she held him tightly. “I’ll miss you,” she said kissing the rough underside of his jaw.

Cyrus wrapped his arms tightly around her, lifting her off the ground as he kissed the sensitive spot between her neck and her shoulder.
“I won’t be gone very long,” he said and set her down as he smiled down into her face. “Stay out of trouble now,” he said and walked out of the room as she shook her head.

She walked to her doorway and watched him walk down the stairs.
“You’re the only trouble I can see,” she called out, making him grin wickedly back at her.

“You better believe it,” he said and disappeared around the corner.

“I love you,” she whispered softly, feeling the emotion surround her.

“I heard that!” he called out and then the slammed the front door.

Ava laughed softly and looked back at her bed, where her food tray still sat. The dreamy smile she knew was on her face felt pretty good. If only every woman could know what it felt like to have a gorgeous, kind and good man spoil them rotten. She walked over to her tray and took one more strawberry and popped it in her mouth.

She spent the rest of the morning puttering around and then realized she was bored.
She glanced at the clock and frowned. Cyrus had only been gone for two hours. She sighed feeling slightly imprisoned. She hated the idea of facing another hybrid, but staying cooped up in the house all day just waiting for Cyrus was driving her nuts too. She wasn’t the type to stand still or watch TV all day. She wandered out into the back yard and began stretching as she moved into her favorite gymnastics poses and moves. Working out always freed her mind and centered her like nothing else could.

As the sun came out and she began to feel the heat on her skin, she wondered about asking Cyrus for a pool.
She’d always wanted to try diving. Which made her wonder where she and Cyrus would live. As much as she loved Patricia and Tobias, she wanted her own home with Cyrus. A place she could call her own and decorate. She could even plant her own flowers, designing the colors and arrangements.

She smiled happily to herself and did a front hand spring.
She stood up tall and stretched to the sky in an embellished flourish and heard the sound of slow exaggerated clapping behind her.

She turned slowly, feeling a faint chill of warning and saw the man from the night before standing in the shadow of a large maple tree.

“You’re very talented.
And flexible
. Your fiancée is a lucky man,” the man said walking toward her and coming into the light.

Ava heard the obvious sexual connotations of the remark and stepped back away from the man.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice strong and hard.

The man smiled wide and held out his hands to the side.
“I’m the man you were all yelling about yesterday. Please let me introduce myself to you. My name is Braxton Mayhew.”

Ava’s stomach clenched sickly and her face went white.
She was in trouble and she was all by herself.
Again
. The man was tall like all werewolves but he was thinner, more sophisticated looking. He was wearing all black. Black jeans, black biker boots and a form fitting black t-shirt that showed off a large tattoo of a wolf on his bicep. He wore his dark hair, slicked back and she noticed a diamond stud in his ear. He didn’t look like a werewolf. But she could sense the rage and power simmering just underneath the surface and knew he was. She could smell the anger coming off him in waves. And right now, it was aimed at her.

“Get off my property now.
Leave
,” she ordered stepping back toward the house again. She might be able to outrun him. If she could just get back to the house and lock the door, she’d be safe. All she’d have to do is grab her phone and call for help.

Braxton smiled at her and stepped forward, putting his hands on his slim hips.
“That’s not very nice Ava.”

Ava blinked in surprise.
He knew her name. Of course he did, he’d been listening last night in the gym. He practically knew her whole back story. Her father, her fiancée and her vow to protect Perry. He stood with his weight on one hip and crossed his arms over his chest as he studied her.

“I’ve come for my mate as you are all aware.
But since Perry isn’t here and you are, I find myself thinking Fate has stepped in. This town has taken something that belongs to me. Maybe I should take something from them? You know, I like it. An eye for an eye,” he said softly, looking her up and down in an obvious way that made her skin crawl.

Ava went on instinct and turned and sprinted for the door, surprising him.
He hadn’t been expecting her to run from him and so he was a few seconds behind her. But she was fast. She pounded up the steps and flew through the open door, slamming it and locking it just as Braxton’s hand reached the door knob.

She stared at the black eyed man staring at her through the glass door, her chest heaving from fear and adrenaline.
She couldn’t help remembering the last time she’d been chased through this door and how the hybrid had stared at her in the same exact way that Braxton was staring at her now.
Hungry
. Braxton grinned at her through the glass. The one thing about werewolves was they loved a good chase.

She let out a shaky sigh and rubbed the goose bumps on her arm.
Braxton leaned his forearms on the door as he stared at her. She turned and ran to the kitchen, grabbing her cell phone off the counter. She punched Cyrus’s number as she heard the sound of breaking glass behind her. She couldn’t help the sound of distress that escaped her. She kept the phone in her hand as she sprinted for the front door. She had to make it to the pub. There was no other choice now.

She ran barefoot through the hallway to the front door, ripping it open just before two steely arms grabbed her from behind. The scream that ripped through her filled the entrance way as Braxton held her firmly against his chest.

“You’re fun,” he whispered in her ear, before he bit the side of her neck.
Hard.
She felt the tender skin of her throat tear a little and whimpered in pain and terror. Her phone was still clamped in her hand and she could just barely make out the sounds of Cyrus frantically calling her name. She had to think and she had to warn Cyrus.

“Braxton, what do you think you’re doing?
  You can’t just break into Cyrus’s house and take me. He’ll hunt you down and kill you,” she yelled, hopefully loud enough for Cyrus to hear.

Braxton laughed and dragged her out the front door. She pulled frantically at his hands, holding her too tightly
. He turned her around in his arms, staring down at her with an almost a friendly smile on his face before he slapped her so hard, she wondered if he might have broken her neck.

She moaned as blood from her mouth dripped down the front steps of the
Carlston’s home as Braxton dragged her down to the sidewalk.

He took in a deep breath and grinned as he surveyed the town of Paskell.
He reached down and snatched the phone she’d been holding tightly in her hand.

“Cyrus?” he asked politely.

Ava could hear clearly, the snarling sound of her mate on the other end. Braxton laughed. “Isn’t that a coincidence? That’s exactly how I feel. Fun, huh? Now listen to me carefully. I have decided to make a trade with you. You want Perry so much? Fine. Have her. I will take Ava in her place. Her father, Harry Paskell right? Tell him that I respect his wish to help women. What a fine modern man he is. I wish I had so many principles. As the leader of this town, I know he won’t want a war between us. And you Cyrus? Listen closely. I’m taking the woman you love so much. I saw the kiss you gave her in front of the town. I’m looking at the ring you put on her finger right now. You’ll probably start going through withdrawals any second, so before you turn into a raving maniac, listen closely. If anyone from this town tries to take her back, we’ll slaughter you. I won’t rest until every man woman and child in this pathetic little town is dead. Got that?”

Ava gasped as she heard the roar of fury just before Braxton threw the phone as far as he could into the park.
He glanced down at her thoughtfully and pulled a strand of her hair through his hands. “This might not be such a bad trade. You’re exquisite,” he said, tilting her face to the side. He studied her bruised and bloody mouth and leaned down and licked a drop of blood from her lips.

Ava jerked her head back as a wave of horror and disgust engulfed her.
Braxton pulled her face roughly back to his and kissed her although it didn’t resemble any kiss she’d ever experienced. It was a punishment, not a caress.

She stared at him, his eyes right in front of hers and she could feel his excitement at her fear and her pain.
She saw the blood from her mouth now on his and knew that whatever danger she’d been in from her grandfather and his hybrids, it was nothing compared to Braxton Mayhew. His plans for her included total domination in all ways. She could sense it and jerked in his grasp, hating his hands on her body.

“
Please
,” she begged, hoping that if she could just stall that Cyrus would get there in time to save her.              

Braxton’s eyes gleamed delightedly down at her. “Begging already? I love it,” he murmured, right before a f
ist smashed into the side of Braxton’s face, leaving her free as Braxton’s arms fell away from her.

She fell hard on the concrete and looked up to see Cole standing over Braxton’s body.
She felt a wave of relief so intense she couldn’t move. Cole looked like a demon from hell as he reared back and kicked Braxton in the side. Braxton acted like he’d barely been touched. He laughed before jumping up, rubbing his side with his hand as if a two hundred pound muscular man hadn’t just attempted to break all his ribs.