Outliers

Twenty Seven

"I'd never understood what made your lips on my neck such an intimate affair, until your teeth grazed my pulse and I realised you could tear open my throat and make me bleed in your arms but instead you chose to kiss."

Unknown

I'd barely made it two feet from Jack when the sound of my name had me halting abruptly. I managed to turn to face him just in time to see the young male stalking towards me with determination set across the cut of his jaw.

His expression was hard, movements sharp. Long legs crossed the short distance between us in a second.

I was pulled to him, balance askew as my body fell into his.

Before I could object, his mouth slanted across my own with a bruising force. His hands gripped at my forearms tightly, as if he already knew once he let go he would lose me entirely.

I wrenched myself from Jack, features twisted in fury. An aching sense of betrayal weighed heavy in the depths of my gut, spreading to envelope my entire chest.

It seemed impossible to breath as I glared at the male in front of me, the male who would now not meet my eyes, his head hung in rightful shame.

"Jac-" the hiss of my voice was overshadowed.

From across the grass a snarl cut through the air.

Thane's snarl was distinct, sharp, and vicious. Successful in gaining the attention of all wolves in the vicinity.

He had found us.

Jack and I were not alone out here in the middle of the inner territory, on the edge of the towering trees. Pack wolves were within distance to have seen everything. And were certainly now aware of the tall, ancient Alpha across the distance, by the main house, anger coiled in every inch of him.

What had Jack done?

My face blanched as the full reality of this situation hit me. He would kill him. He would rip the other Alpha apart.

Thane's face was twisted into pure unfiltered rage, his expression enough for nearby wolves to flinch. I had never seen him like this. So wild. Only one moment from falling apart entirely.

He was on the edge, his body vibrating with energy, the power of his oncoming shift pulsing through every inch of his muscular body.

The Alpha male marched towards me, his long legs eating up the distance, and I felt my whole body still, watching his approach with my heart in my throat. I was so brutally aware that this powerful male was mine, my mate, my other half. While other wolves were scrambling to escape his path, I stood waiting for him to reach me.

Jack had backed away, sensing that Thane was two seconds from shifting and tearing someone apart. He was smart enough to know he was the source of that very fury, and he would certainly be the first victim of Thane's anger.

Thane reached me, rough hands grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into his body with a force great enough to force the air from my lungs. Still snarling, his face pressed to my exposed neck, rubbing his scent onto me, marking me as his. I knew what was coming next, even before I felt his teeth at my flesh.

"Thane!" I snapped firmly. "No."

He stilled and every single muscle of his body tensed. But he listened.

I pulled back, barely creating any distance between us at all, but enough for me to grab his face between my hands and force his eyes to meet my own.