Enigma

Chapter 46

Lillian put her hand on Noah's forearm and pulled him back. It took several seconds before he let himself be uprooted from his spot. Lillian had never seen his eyes so bright. She could feel his wolf so close it was a wonder he didn't shift yet. Her own wolf was not far behind.

"Why did you do it?" Lillian asked once Noah was standing by the door. It cost him to let her so close to the bastard, she knew. She could feel the fire of his own anger and thirst for blood in her veins.

Ashton snickered again. "I wanted to. They offered a nice piece of ass. Who would've said no?"

"I see," Lillian said, slowly walking around him. He didn't turn his head her way, his focus on the bigger predator in the room. Perhaps Noah was bigger and stronger. But Ashton should learn that there were fewer things in life scarier than a vengeful woman.

There was a cold peace within her. She came to terms with the fact that she had had no hand in what had happened to her, no matter what others tried to make her believe back then. She finally accepted her wolf's red fury and violent craving for retribution as her own. She finally accepted that she had every right in wiping him out of existence without a shred of guilt.

Those emotions were liberating, and she embraced her wolf's instincts as her own.

"Who was involved?" She asked Ashton.

He rolled his head this way and that. "Can't tell you that, doll," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Can't or won't?"

He chuckled. "Does it matter?"

"I guess it doesn't since we already know," Lillian said, finally stopping to stand behind him. She wrinkled her nose. His scent was sour from sweat and silver.

"Ooooh, I'm glad the bastard finally got what he deserves." He tusked. "Serves him right. I told him I want to see the kid I helped create. But I heard they're twins, eh? That makes me proud."

Lillian stared at the back of his head, her veins running cold. The image of his hands on the twins snapped something in her. Everything else turned into background noise. Her senses sharpened, focusing on him. His scent, his pulse, the sound of his breathing, the rustle of his clothing, the outline of his body, the rise and fall of his shoulders. The predator in her rose to the surface.

"Do you need him for something else, Harvey?" Lillian asked, her eyes on the pulse of the bastard's neck. It sounded so loud and lush to her ears. Her skin prickled.

"No, we had Mariano look into his head while he was under," Harvey said. "Nothing we don't know."

"What the fuck?" Ashton snarled, looking at Harvey. "Why in the world did you have someone in my head-"

"Good. Let him go," she said, her voice cold.

"What?" Ashton asked, swinging his head to her. Harvey's brows raised.

But Noah understood. "Let him go, Harvey."

Harvey gave Noah a look, but proceeded to unlock the chains around Ashton. He started laughing, looking between Lillian and Harvey. "Are you serious? Are you really letting me go?"

Harvey let the last of the chains drop. It clanged on the floor. Lillian was shaking, barely holding her wolf back.

He slowly stood up and looked over his shoulder at her. His smile froze. His heart beat increased.

"You shouldn't have brought up the twins," Lillian told him, her voice rough and growly as the shift took over her. "Run."

He bolted through the door, and Lillian's wolf burst forward, uninhibited and wild, driven by the dangerous instinct of a mother to protect her pups.