"Did you notice his expression? He seemed as if he was about to attack us, as if we were his prey," said Tegan.
"But was there a girl? I didn't see her. Right, guys?" asked Alan, his eyes wide with fear.
Cayden said nothing. He could sense Max, who was sprinting madly towards the forest. Suddenly, he detected a faint scent of a human.
"Max was right. There was a human here."
The betas gasped. "Should we go after him?"
"Tegan and Ben, you check on Max." He commanded. "You all dispose of the bodies." Then he went forward and grasped Selena's arm.
His eyes were shining with fear and anxiety. He grabbed her into his arms and inhaled deeply, appreciating her distinct fragrance. Luna, if anything had happened to her, he would have torn up these forests and disembowelled and mutilated all the wolves who'd attacked them. Then he would have pursued any conspirators involved.
"Will Max be, okay?" Selena asked. She watched as more pack members came. These were evidently staff from the clinic, as they had portable stretchers for the dead wolves.
"He'll be fine. Are you okay? I sensed your pain. Where did you get hurt?" Cayden cupped her face and twisted her head left and right. He then carefully scrutinised her from head to toe. She looked well, a touch pale, presumably from the fear of Max nearly dying.
"One of the dead wolves bit me on the shoulder, but I'm alright," she cautiously felt where the wound should have been.
Cayden was running his hand lovingly over the flesh, surprise and relief fighting inside him.
"I am alright, you are more hurt than me." She whispered, stroking the cut on his stomach.
"Why didn't you remain in the car?" He snarled.
Quirking a brow at her. Go on, he encouraged.
"I couldn't see Max die. You were both outnumbered."
"I wonder why we had an assault the day Cayden and Max were away?" Natasha spoke up. The other betas and warriors stopped whatever they had been doing and listened.
"Natasha, what do you mean by that?" Cayden asked.
Natasha walked up to him and lowered her head as she did so. She gave Selena a quick glance before saying, "Alpha, I think someone is watching us. Maybe an insider?"
"Are you accusing your pack members?" Cayden inquired with an eyebrow lifted.
"There is no way to know for sure. And just because someone is a member does not imply that they will be loyal."
The level of tension was so high that it was possible to feel it. All the surrounding people had become silent, and their eyes kept darting between Natasha and Cayden. Selena understood what Natasha's plan was. She was sowing seeds of uncertainty in the minds of everyone. Once it became clear to the pack that Selena could not be trusted, even Cayden would have a difficult time maintaining authority over the pack. In every pack, the penalty for treachery was death.
"This is something we'll discuss at a later time. The first thing that we have to do is go back and figure out who these rogues are as well as who sent them. When you have finished cleaning up, please come see me in my office."
Cayden reached inside an omega's bag and pulled out two tracksuits. He handed one to Selena. He pulled on his pants, not bothering to put on the t-shirt. As he had finished getting dressed, he took Selena by the arm and escorted her to his vehicle.
***************
Kylie muttered an expletive under her breath as she shook her head to rid herself of the momentary disorientation that had overcome her after the man/animal thing had struck her. She stared in awe as the massive black wolf transformed into a man just a few steps away from her, and she drew in a deep breath as she took in the breathtaking sight that met her eyes. He was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen in her life. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was tall, heavily muscled, and has short, black hair. His brown eyes were penetrating. But this was not supposed to happen. She had to leave. So, she ran before the others arrived.
The noises of people fighting could be heard echoing across the whole woodland. She tried to push her anxiety aside and rushed towards the motorway.
"Hey!"
She halted and turned around to face the unknown man, who was staring at her with worry. Kylie was overcome with embarrassment when she realised he was completely nude, and she focused her attention on his face to prevent her eyes from wandering to what she expected would be an amazing sight.
"Are you feeling all right?" Max inquired anxiously while fighting his natural inclination to scoop her up in his arms and lay claim to her.
She reacted with some trepidation by saying, "Um, sure, I'm alright, thank you."
"You are bleeding. Are you OK?"
She said, "I am fine," as she attempted to leave. Kylie wobbled. The world around her spun, and then she gasped as she felt brawny arms enveloping her body, which caused her to get dizzy for an entirely other reason.
The stranger offered some words of reassurance by saying, "It's alright, I've got you."
"I'm Max Rudin. What's your name?" Max admired the stunning hazel brown eyes of his mate as he carefully brushed away a strand of her chestnut-coloured hair and stared into her gorgeous eyes.
"Kylie Rose."
"Kylie is such a pretty name," he mumbled.
She stutteringly thanked him. "T-thank you."
"Allow me to take you to a hospital so that we can get you checked out. Is it okay with you?"
"What? No, it's not needed. Look, I'm really thankful that you saved me, but I'm alright and I don't think it would be prudent to go anywhere with a naked werewolf right now."
********************
Max couldn't believe that she was aware of who he was. How come she wasn't completely freaking out? When Kylie gazed into his eyes, she nearly could not contain her amusement at the hilariously perplexed expression that was visible in his rugged features.
"Don't act like you're so shocked, Mr. Rudin. It would scarcely take a rocket scientist to figure it out. You went from being a wolf to a man right in front of my eyes, while the fools who assaulted me suddenly grew claws and fur out of nowhere. That's some pretty convincing evidence of who you are, isn't it?"
Max couldn't help but keep staring at her, amazed by the way she seemed to take all she had witnessed in stride.
"OK, so you've worked out who we are, right? It doesn't affect the fact that you took a very heavy hit and that you're still bleeding. I will get some clothes and then take you to the hospital as soon as I can. And please call me Max."
"No. I appreciate your care, but unfortunately, no, Max. I can look after myself. I'll be fine to go after I replace this tyre," she stated with absolute certainty.
Max rolled his eyes at his mate's obstinacy and quickly realised that he would not be successful in persuading her otherwise. In this situation, he needed to use his wits.
"At least let me sort that out for you then, Kylie. I'll put on some clothes first if it will make you more comfortable," he teased with a cocky grin.
Kylie heaved a sigh and gave him the opportunity to fix the flat tyre. He wasn't going to let her go like that, and she was still feeling a little off balance.
"Alright Max. But where are you going to find clothes now? You have a hidden cave or something?" she asked somewhat sarcastically.
Max grinned in response. "Actually yes. Give me a second."
He dashed off toward the vegetation and vanished into the thicket while Kylie watched from a distance. She suspected that Max Rudin was going to cause her some problems, but in the most delectable manner possible. She understood she had to treat him with caution or else it would be very difficult to get rid of him. She did not plan this. She was here to protect the lives of her loved ones.