Eight

DEARIL POV.

The soft skin draped over my shoulders warmed my skin, her pheromones wrapping around my heart with vice. It made me angry and calm, all at the fucking same time. My wolf was definitely enamored with her or was it me? It was hard to tell, but that was the only way I could explain what had happened earlier.

I still couldn't believe it, but I'd morphed into a man without my wolf tearing me apart, or me killing my brother and my father. I had been able to pause despite the blood lust that coursed through my veins.

It was fucked up, and I couldn't explain why my wolf wasn't snapping in anger as usual. He hadn't even wanted to hurt the girl after she'd stabbed him. There was something about her and as I dropped her onto the bed, I couldn't help but take in every outline of her. Her shoulder-length jet-black hair was wet, and mud stuck to some of its strands, her eyebrows were dark, with small scars lining the edges of them from cuts, bruises marred her pale cheeks and I couldn't stop myself from trailing my knuckles over them slowly. Her pert little nose was cute and the freckles that dotted around them called to me like a freaking beacon.

Her mouth. I groaned, my knuckles straying until my thumb was pressing against them, testing to see if they were as soft as they looked. They were and my wolf grew restless for no reason.

"Mine" I whispered into the room, staring down at the human who'd given me crap after I'd said those same words to her in the forest. I'd had no choice but to put her to sleep.

What was her story? What had she been doing roaming around the forest of Etral?

Kneeling at the foot of the bed, my gaze swept down her bruised face, down her slender throat, my eyes taking in more bruises from all the fighting.

Without thinking I reached for the neckline of her wet top, ripping it with a thug. The sound of it carried through the room, jarring the quietness that had engulfed the room like a warm hug.

The girl flinched, her pert little nose flaring, as her tongue darted out to swipe at her lips. They glistened, almost calling out to me to have a taste of them, and I would, there was no point in resisting it because I could feel the energy flowing through us, it was an itch that if I didn't scratch would grow worse until I got out of control.

Was she a distraction, someone that'll hurry the curse to its fulfillment? If I got too enthralled with her, I would give up finding my mate, and then that would be the end of my sanity. I leaned closer to her, my wolf urging me to claim for no apparent reason. It grew restless the longer I held out, and I could feel all of its frustrations like shards of glass tearing into my skin. "Fuck! Enough" I growled, smacking my hand against my head.

Two tentative knocks sounded on the door, and the smell of my Beta, Herik permeated the room. My wolf was snarling in a second as if he perceived the guy outside as a threat. Its growl rumbled out of my throat as I approached the door, then yanked it open.

"What is it" I snapped through clenched teeth.

His eyes strayed to the girl on the bed and I was in the line of his vision in a second.

"Look at her one more time, and I'll rip out your throat" I growled unable to stop the poisonous anger streaming through my veins.

"I'm sorry Alpha Dearil, I didn't mean to disrespect you. The maid saw you bringing in a human and they're wondering if you'd allow them to clean her up and tend to her wounds".

I jerked to stare at my human, taking note of all the cuts on her skin. My jaw clenched. I was going to hunt the rest of those hunters down, and once I got my hands on them, I wouldn't stop until I chop them into little pieces. Detinos was also now on my radar.

"They have my permission, but only the female maids. Any other male scent I smell on her dies, even if it is you" I said, meaning every word of it and he nodded, already used to my fowl temperament.

I stepped out of the room, my wolf howling the farther away I got from her, and then the bloody haze started setting in. I clenched my fist as my claws threatened to burst out. Every worker I came across triggered my wolf and it was only by a miracle that I entered my study without ripping anyone's head off. They were all surprised that I was up and about on a full moon though because, during most of my shift, I spent it shackled down in the basement.

Locking the study, I could see the appeal of being chained up once more because my wolf was working me up to a fever pitch.

It was odd, but it hadn't been so intense when I'd been with the human. Maybe it was her pheromones that made me a bit calmer. She had a distinct scent, like ice-cold snow. It was cooling, heady even, but it didn't stop my wolf from wanting to put its scent on her. Thinking about her made the haze clear from my gaze until I could see things a lot clearer.

"Who are you green-eyed human," I asked the room, then picked up my drawing pad.

Inhaling deeply, I started to draw her, her face flashing into my mind. The anger, pain, and passion in her fierce gaze became clearer the longer I pictured her face in my head. My hands worked fast until I was staring at what I'd drawn. The human kneeled over her last kill, a cry on her lips as she raised her dagger to stab into his chest.

Sexy. Beautiful and deadly. She was a lethal weapon, one that was going to be mine because If thinking about her calmed my wolf, then keeping her by my side was guaranteed to keep me in check. My wolf snarled in my head, agreeing with me for once.

I drew another image of her, took a picture, and sent it to my investigation team.

Two minutes later, my phone beeped, breaking my attention from the image that stared back at me. I picked it up and scrolled through the information that they'd managed to collect in such a short time frame.

Jade Alvarez. It was a very interesting name. She was associated with the biggest known Mafia that ran the country almost as if it was their jurisdiction.

She ran most of the family business it seemed, so there was a possibility that we would be getting a search party scouring our peaceful territory to look for her in some distant future, except that there was another piece of news that her father was dead, and his son was going to take over running the family business.

There was something fishy about the whole situation but as long as she'd fallen into my hand, there was no way I was letting her go.

Fuck! I groaned, dragging my hand through the hair that I'd allowed to grow out in the past few weeks. If I wasn't careful enough, Jade might die at my hand just like Bella had, and all because of how unstable my wolf was.

When the rage came on, I couldn't control it. I literally became a mindless beast, tearing through whatever stood in my way until the anger in me subsided, then I became human, but always too late to salvage anything. It was always too late to pick up the pieces of my rage.

The door to the study opened, and Herik stepped into the room, his gaze wary as he took in my stance. His fear called out to me, fueling my desire to destroy.

"The maids are done, but she's still unconscious," he said, then held his breath as he fidgeted under my stare. He shifted uncomfortably, and I tried to rein in the pheromones I was releasing in the enclosed space.

"You may leave. I'll give you new orders in the morning. You can go on a run if you need to, take some of the pack members with you. Have the soldiers tighten security on the west wall, I don't want any unvetted visitor easily getting into this fortress, my brother included" I ordered and he nodded. I waved him off and the relief on his face to be getting out of my presence made my mouth sour.

Walking back toward the room, only one distinct scent had my full attention, and I could clearly make out the rapid beat of her heart the closer I got. The pattern of it changed, and it drummed steadily, almost as if she was waiting for something, with full concentration and determination.

I could picture the exact position she was in, the way her palm tightened around the metallic object she wielded. I pushed the door open and she lunged for me, the sharp pointed object aimed directly at the hollow spot on my throat. I caught the object in my hand mere inches from its target. She gasped in surprise, her eyes widening as I yanked her with the object and she came slamming into me. This was her third attempt and I was starting to get pissed off. My blood dripped down between us and as she glared at me, her fierce gaze piercing into mine without an iota of fear, my wolf reared its head in acknowledgment. We were being challenged, and we both salivated at the thought of it.

My new obsession wasn't tearing people apart anymore. It was Jade Alvarez.